Chapter 26: Found

Dalaba’s father pretended to be deaf and mute, as if he didn’t see her stepmother abusing her at all!

At that time, Dalaba had been bullied severely by her stepmother and went to cry at her biological mother’s grave.

Why didn’t her mother take her with her, leaving her to suffer alone!

So Dalaba thought, could Manman be the same, feeling too wronged and going to find her dad?

Everyone looked at Wu Zhiqiu and Li Mancang, thinking it was indeed possible!

Wu Zhiqiu also felt that what Dalaba said was very likely.

The graveyard was in the suburbs, and with the dark and slippery roads, Wu Zhiqiu didn’t want Ge Dage and Liu Dajie to go.

She took out ten yuan and handed it to Liu Dajie, “Ge Dage, Liu Dajie, help me buy some vegetables and cook some food for when we come back!”

It was cold, and everyone had been running around all day without even having a sip of hot water!

Ge Dage and Liu Dajie understood their own legs and feet and quickly agreed.

Wu Zhiqiu told the others to wait at home, but they insisted on helping; if the neighbors didn’t help at this time, when would they?

“We’re also concerned about what’s happening at home, let’s go together. It’s dark and the roads are slippery, we can keep you company,” Dalaba said boldly as she headed out.

Wu Zhiqiu wiped her eyes; usually, everyone would gossip about each other, but now, at this moment, they were so eager to help.

A group of people rode their bicycles to Yu Jianmin’s graveyard.

Fenglan sat on the back seat of Li Mancang’s bike, crying with her eyes swollen to slits.

Li Mancang felt helpless; how could this child be like this? How could she be so unclear about things? There wasn’t anyone in the Li family like this!

Of course, his wife wasn’t unclear either! The situation had fundamentally changed!

The roads were slippery at night, and it took over an hour to reach Yu Jianmin’s graveyard.

There were quite a few graves in this area, and it was dark and eerie at night, making people feel a chill run down their spine.

Everyone was worried about Manman, but they didn’t pay attention to their fear.

The innermost grave was Yu Jianmin’s.

A group of people quickly ran over with flashlights.

In front of the pitch-black grave stood a small figure, tightly pressed against the gravestone.

“Manman!” Li Fenglan cried out, rushing over. She stumbled over a stone and fell, but she didn’t care and lunged forward.

Manman’s little face was pale, and her lips were slightly purple.

“The child is frostbitten; we need to get her to the hospital quickly!” Neighbor Zhang Fugui quickly told Li Mancang.

Li Mancang took off his big cotton coat and wrapped it around the crying Fengchun, who was holding Manman.

He picked Manman up and ran outside.

The others also hurriedly ran out; they had found the child, but it looked like she was frostbitten.

Fenglan was crying and shouting from behind.

“Shut your mouth!” Wu Zhiqiu yelled at her eldest daughter, “All you do is cry! What good does crying do?”

If it weren’t for her own lack of clarity, would the child have to suffer like this?

Fenglan was so scolded that her voice got stuck in her throat, and looking at her mother’s fierce eyes, she didn’t dare to cry anymore!

The third son shrank his neck, not daring to breathe!

It was almost midnight when they reached the hospital. The on-call doctor examined Manman and said she had caught a chill and needed to stay in the hospital for a few days.

Everyone felt relieved; it wasn’t anything serious after all.

“Thank you so much, everyone!” Wu Zhiqiu expressed her gratitude to everyone.

“Don’t mention it; distant relatives are not as helpful as close neighbors! We’re not that capable, just putting in a bit of effort!” Zhang Fugui waved his hand.

“Yes, we’ve lived in the same courtyard for decades; there’s no need to be so polite,” Dalaba pretended to be unhappy.

“There’s nothing going on here; let’s head back,” a group of people had been busy all night and hadn’t even eaten dinner.

Now that they relaxed, their stomachs were growling.

“Liu Dajie and Ge Dage are helping to cook at home; let’s hurry back to eat something!” Wu Zhiqiu organized.

Everyone rushed back to the courtyard.

Ge Dage was looking around at the door. When he saw them coming, he quickly asked, “Did you find the child?”

“We found her, Ge Dage. The child was at her father’s grave and caught a chill. She’s been sent to the hospital and needs to recuperate for a few days,” Lin Mancang quickly explained to Ge Dage.

“That’s good; as long as she’s found! Hurry in and eat; you all must be exhausted!”

Ge Dage finally felt relieved.

Liu Dajie was cooking in the kitchen, and Ge Dage was alone at home, which was spacious.

Liu Dajie had stewed pickled vegetables with pork bones and steamed flower rolls.

A group of people, starving and freezing, smelled the warm and fragrant food and quickly dug in, eating eagerly.

Wu Zhiqiu drank a bowl of pickled vegetable soup and felt revived!

Liu Dajie hurriedly filled Wu Zhiqiu’s bowl again.

“Liu Dajie, you should eat too!”

“You all eat first; I haven’t been out running around, so I’m not hungry!”

Liu Dajie was busy serving everyone and didn’t even take time to eat herself!

Wu Zhiqiu felt touched; it was hard to find such neighbors even with a lantern!

“Let’s do it this way for now; tomorrow night, I’ll buy some ingredients and properly thank everyone!” A bowl of pickled vegetable soup wasn’t enough to feel grateful.

“Don’t be so polite; take care of the child first!” Zhang Shunzi, who loved to take advantage, was the first to object.

“What, can’t we run in the same courtyard? Once the child is better, then you can treat us!” The others, having eaten a bit and filled their stomachs, started joking.

“Alright! In a couple of days, let’s have a good meal!” Li Mancang responded cheerfully.

“Hey! Has Brother Li struck it rich? This is the first time I’ve heard him speak so openly!” Dalaba teased.

“Yeah! Old Li always looks worried, as if he’s about to lose everything!” Zeng Laixi, who had a good relationship with Li Mancang, also joined in the fun.

Li Mancang listened to others teasing him with a smile, not feeling angry; he really had struck it rich! But he couldn’t tell anyone!

Everyone finished eating, and it was already two in the morning. They had to work tomorrow, so not much was said before they dispersed.

Wu Zhiqiu still needed to tidy up some things to take to Fenglan in the morning.

The third son quietly prepared to leave.

“Third son, come here for a moment!” Li Mancang wasn’t planning to let him off easily.

“Dad, it’s so late, and I have to work tomorrow! Let’s talk about it tomorrow!”

“Talk tomorrow? Then you can roll out of this house tonight!” Li Mancang’s face darkened.

“Dad, that’s too much; don’t say that! It hurts our father-son relationship!” The third son grinned, thinking he had saved his own skin, but it was tough at home too.

“I have no feelings for you; I don’t have a son who almost caused my niece to die!”

“Dad, that’s too serious! I just went to borrow money from Dajie, but I didn’t make her hit Manman!”

“Without your shameless borrowing, would your sister have hit the child? You really have no shame saying that!” Li Mancang’s eyes turned red with anger.

The third son stood there with his head down, still somewhat unconvinced.

“Dad, I just borrowed a little money. Who knew Manman would say such harsh things!”

Li Mancang was shocked by his son’s shamelessness, which refreshed his worldview.

“You borrowed money? What right do you have to borrow money? Don’t you know what that money represents? To put it bluntly, that’s your brother-in-law’s hard-earned money! What right do you have to borrow it? When your sister and Manman were kicked out of the house, why didn’t you step up? Why didn’t you stand up for your sister? What face do you have to borrow money? Don’t you have any sense of shame?”

“You want to borrow money? What will you use to repay it? You just see your sister has money and want to get it for yourself! You never considered repayment or how they would live after being left with nothing! Calling you selfish is flattering; saying you have the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog is giving you face!” Wu Zhiqiu came out after tidying up, mocking him.