Chapter 92

Because she couldn’t stand for long, she found a thick bowl, filled it with the little bit of rice crust, and then took a pair of chopsticks. She slowly moved to the living room, picked up the thermos, and wanted to pour some hot water into the bowl to soften the rice.

She picked up the thermos, but it felt very light. Her heart sank. She pulled out the stopper, and sure enough, there was no water inside.

Despair often comes in an instant!

At that moment, all her grievances welled up, and tears streamed down her face. For the first time, she felt that living was so tiring. She thought to herself that maybe it would have been better if she had died on the operating table.

“Mommy…” Yingying saw that her mother hadn’t come back, so she got out of bed and walked out. Seeing that her mother was crying again, she raised her little hand, tiptoed, and tried to wipe her tears:

“Mommy, don’t cry.”

Yáo Hóngméi raised her hand to wipe the tears from her face. She had cried, but life had to go on. Her daughter was still hungry.

She smiled at her daughter and said softly:

“Mommy isn’t crying. Stay here and don’t move. Mommy will go boil some water.”

The little girl was very obedient. She stood there and watched her mother slowly walk outside, bring in an aluminum kettle, scoop half a ladle of water into it, then carried the kettle, taking small steps, out of the kitchen and placed it on the stove outside.

She found it very difficult to squat down now. She tried several times, and the pain made her sweat on her forehead, but she still couldn’t do it. She had to ask her daughter in the house to help:

“Yingying, come here.”

The little girl walked out, her eyes wide and watery, looking at Yáo Hóngméi.

“Can you help Mommy open this lid?” Yáo Hóngméi pointed to the lid under the stove and said to her daughter.

Yingying quickly understood. She squatted down and tried to open the lid with her hand, but she was too weak. The lid was too tight, and no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn’t open it.

Yáo Hóngméi watched her daughter, with her little bottom sticking out, pull hard on the lid. It was both cute and heartbreaking. She was about to tell her to stop pulling, but the little girl used all her strength. Not only did she not pull the lid open, but because of the inertia, her body slammed into the stove.

The stove was made of iron, and it was very hot outside. Seeing that her daughter was about to be burned, Yáo Hóngméi grabbed her and pulled her back forcefully. Fortunately, the child wasn’t burned, but the stove was knocked over, along with the kettle.

She had just used force, and her wound had burst open. Yáo Hóngméi was in so much pain that fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

Yingying, who was beside her, was also scared. She opened her mouth and started to cry. Yáo Hóngméi endured the pain and held her daughter’s hand, saying:

“It’s okay, it’s okay.” She tried to comfort her.

The little girl had just been startled, and she quickly stopped crying. Her tearful eyes looked at Yáo Hóngméi with a pitiful expression.

Yáo Hóngméi ignored the kettle and coal stove that had fallen to the ground. She held Yingying’s hand and walked into the house.

Her stomach was really hungry. The rice crust with rice wasn’t easy for the child to chew. She went to the kitchen, scooped some cold water, poured it into a bowl, and wanted to soften the hard rice.

The mother and daughter carried their bowls back to the room. The rice would take a while to soften. Because her wound was so painful, Yáo Hóngméi lay back on the bed. Yingying took a small stool and sat beside her bed. She didn’t complain about being hungry or say anything. She just sat quietly and kept her mother company.

After a while, she guessed that the rice should be softened. Yáo Hóngméi sat up. Her wound ached and throbbed. She unbuttoned her clothes and found that a lot of blood had seeped out of the gauze. Seeing her daughter curiously looking at it, she quickly pulled up her clothes to cover it.

Then she picked up the bowl on the table and was about to feed Yingying the softened cold rice. Just then, the sound of a bicycle suddenly came from outside the door. She put down the bowl in her hand and stuck her head out, looking expectantly at the door.

After a while, she saw He Shanshan walking in. The expectation on her face visibly turned into disappointment.

Yáo Hóngméi raised her hand and picked up the bowl again. She looked at the rice that had been swollen by the cold water and then at her daughter beside her. She knew that if her daughter ate this rice, she would definitely have diarrhea. She had been mentally preparing herself for a long time, and finally, she spoke to He Shanshan outside:

“Shanshan, Shanshan…”

He Shanshan was combing her hair with a small comb, which had been blown by the wind. Hearing Yáo Hóngméi’s call from the room, she knew she was back. She reluctantly walked to the door of her room. She didn’t go in. She looked at her with a cold face and asked:

“What? What are you yelling about?”

Her mother had told her that a woman who had just had a miscarriage was unclean, and she told her to have less contact with Yáo Hóngméi these days. That’s why she didn’t want to go into her room.

As soon as she saw her, Yingying suddenly stood up from the small stool reflexively. She didn’t even take off her shoes. She quickly climbed onto the bed and hid behind Yáo Hóngméi.

Yáo Hóngméi suppressed all her emotions and said to He Shanshan in a very humble tone:

“Shanshan, can you help make some food? Yingying and I haven’t eaten all day. We’re really hungry.”

She looked pale and very weak. She was almost begging He Shanshan to show some mercy and give them some food.

He Shanshan frowned in disgust, looked at the bowl on the side, and said impatiently:

“Isn’t there rice in the bowl? You can eat that for now. Who makes dinner so early?”

“It’s soaked in cold water. The child will have diarrhea if she eats it.” Yáo Hóngméi explained, still holding out a glimmer of hope for He Shanshan.

He Shanshan glanced at her, looking even more impatient. She said:

“You can just hold it in your mouth and swallow it when it’s warm.” Then she complained:

“Why are you so pampered with a little girl?” After saying this, she ignored them and turned to leave.

Yáo Hóngméi looked at her back, anger and despair filling her heart. She couldn’t help but say loudly:

“He Shanshan, are you even human? How can you be so heartless?”

“Who are you calling inhuman?” He Shanshan turned around angrily, staring at Yáo Hóngméi:

“It’s none of my business if you’re hungry. If you want to eat, get up and make it yourself!”

Yáo Hóngméi was about to speak, but she suddenly seemed to understand something. She looked at He Shanshan with a resentful look and asked:

“Is it because you see that I can’t give birth anymore that you all want to use this method to force us, mother and daughter, to death, so you can make room for other women?”

“You still know you can’t give birth anymore?” He Shanshan looked at her with sarcasm, sneered, and said:

“A hen that can’t lay eggs is still clucking away. Don’t you know how annoying you are?” After saying this, she didn’t look at Yáo Hóngméi anymore. She turned and went back to her room, slamming the door shut.