Font Size:
The elder shook his head helplessly. At that moment, Wang Zhenhe entered with Ye Zhiqiu. “Uncle, how is my wife doing now?” he asked.
The elder patted his shoulder. “She’s okay. Hurry and bring the doctor in to give her an injection.”
Wang Zhenhe and Ye Zhiqiu entered the room where Zhang Lan was lying on the kang. “Wife, Dr. Ye is here. Let’s get the injection,” Wang Zhenhe said.
Ye Zhiqiu asked Wang Zhenhe to help Zhang Lan sit up. After listening with a stethoscope for a while, he said, “Zhenhe, you must be careful in the future. Don’t let your wife get stressed. Her heart is beating rapidly, and it’s quite alarming. There’s no easy solution for this condition. We can only take good care of her. Zhang Lan, I’ll give you an injection. Please try to stay calm.”
Ye Zhiqiu administered the injection to Zhang Lan. “Zhenhe, this is medication for a cold. Make sure your wife takes it. If her condition doesn’t improve, come find me immediately.”
After seeing off Ye Zhiqiu, Wang Zhenhe finally had a moment to sit down. Wang Qian then shared with him the idea of having the elder move in.
“Wang Zhenhe sighed and said, ‘Since there’s nowhere else to go, he might as well come and stay with us. It doesn’t matter to have one more elder in the family. But I feel that your grandmother won’t let this go easily.'”
Wang Zhenhe knew his mother too well. If she caught an opportunity, she wouldn’t let his father slip out of her control.
“Daughter, some things can’t just be decided by your grandmother. This time, we need to teach her a lesson. I don’t know if you noticed her expression when you were on stage, but I did. I saw how she looked so pleased with herself. I want to see how she’ll manage to send the elder back,” Wang Zhenhe said.
Wang Qian had seen the scene, and Wang Zhenhe had noticed it too. Initially, his mother had tried to dissuade them, but in hindsight, he suspected that she had ulterior motives.
“Little sister, we’ve caught the chicken. It was grandpa who helped us catch it. Let’s make soup for Mom,” Mingyuan said excitedly as he ran into the room. He carefully approached his father, who was sitting on the kang, and looked at Zhang Lan lying there. “Mom, are you feeling better?”
Zhang Lan opened her eyes and looked at her son. “Mingyuan, Mom is fine. Don’t worry. It’s just a cold. Dr. Ye has already given me an injection. I’ll be fine after resting for a while. By the way, how did you manage to catch the chicken from your grandma’s house? She was counting on it to lay eggs and make some money. Maybe we shouldn’t eat it. I’ll be fine soon.”
Wang Qian intervened, “Mom, that won’t do. Every time they cause trouble, it’s our family that pays the price. It’s only when Grandma feels the pinch that she remembers what they’ve done. Otherwise, they’ll keep causing trouble for us. I want to teach them a lesson. They can’t just provoke us and expect us to pay up. There’s no such thing in this world. They can’t just bully people at will and bear no responsibility. It’s simply unreasonable. Dad, don’t you think I’m right? Can my mom eat this chicken?”
Wang Zhenhe nodded in agreement. “Wife, you should listen to our daughter. This chicken is for you to eat. What our daughter said is right. If two unrelated parties cause harm, they should compensate. Moreover, it was Wang Mei and her family who caused trouble. We should eat it. Otherwise, who should we demand compensation from?”
Wang Zhenhe was now starting to keep track of things. They had always been at a disadvantage, and he couldn’t let that continue.
“Brother, let’s go get the chicken. Dad, you stay with Mom on the kang for a while. The meal will be ready soon. Grandpa will come over to eat later,” Mingcheng said.
Mingcheng and the others helped Wang Deshan bring their luggage and even his own rations. The elder felt guilty seeing his daughter-in-law lying on the kang.
Seeing the sorrowful look on her father-in-law’s face, Zhang Lan comforted him, “Dad, I’ll be fine after resting for a while. You can stay in our home without worry. We’ll take care of you. We may not have much, but we can handle whatever comes our way. Don’t worry.”
The elder nodded heavily. “Zhang Lan, I may not have much ability as a father, but even though I’m getting older, I still have strength. If there’s anything in the future, I’ll help you. Don’t worry. It’s a sin.”
The elder sighed and left the room to chat with Old Zuo and the others.
Wang Xuan and her sister, along with Hao Lianchun, had just put the chicken into the pot when Wang Juan and her husband arrived. “Qianqian, how is your mom? Is she okay?” they asked.
The family members were well aware of the courage displayed by the couple at the event, and they appreciated their efforts.
“Aunt, Uncle, my mom just had an injection and is resting on the kang. You two should go in. My dad is with her,” Wang Qian said.
Upon seeing the arrival of the elder brother and sister-in-law, Wang Zhenhe quickly got up. “Zhenhe, sit still. We came to check on our sister. Is her heart condition acting up again?” Wang Juan asked.
Wang Juan knew the situation with her sister-in-law. Wang Zhenhe nodded. “Yes, she sweated a lot at the time, and even her padded jacket was soaked through. She caught a bit of a cold on the way back and has a slight fever. But she’s already had an injection. I hope she gets better soon. This time, she was really frightened.”
Upon hearing Wang Juan’s voice, Zhang Lan opened her eyes. “Sister-in-law, why have you come? Have you eaten?” she asked.
Wang Juan saw her trying to get up and quickly held her down. “Sister, you should lie down. The events this morning really frightened us. Tell me, is Wang Mei possessed by an evil spirit? How can she do such despicable things? If she has the ability to confront others, why does she resort to such underhanded tactics? It makes me so angry. Over the years, we’ve been supporting her every year, and it seems all the food has gone to the dogs.”
When Wang Zhenhe brought up past events, he felt a bitter ache in his heart. “Brother, what have I done wrong? Zhang Lan has been troubled so many times. Look at what they’ve done to my family. I regret being born into this family.”
Wang Zhenhai patted his brother’s shoulder and said with a hint of reluctance, “Zhenhe, you’re too soft-hearted. Our mother and the others take advantage of your kindness. You and your wife need to toughen up. Whether it’s our mother or our sisters, if they’re in the wrong, you can’t indulge them. If they do it once, they’ll do it again. As for someone like Wang Mei, if you see her in the future, give her a good slap and see if she learns her lesson. Don’t indulge their bad habits. It doesn’t matter who they are; they can’t bully us.”
Wang Zhenhe had learned his lesson today. His elder brother was right. He had always wanted to leave room for reconciliation in the future. But this mindset had nearly cost his wife and daughter their lives. Now, he truly realized that he had made a mistake, and the fault lay with him.
“Brother, I understand. I won’t hold back anymore. Since they don’t recognize me, why should I recognize them? In my heart, they’re as good as dead,” Wang Zhenhe said.
The old Wang Zhenhe would never have said such words, but today’s events had opened his eyes. He had come to understand that his family members were not what he had thought. When his father was being pulled down by Wang Zhi and Wang Zhenguo, and when his second brother was hiding behind others, he saw it all clearly. These were his own family members. It was almost laughable. He realized that he meant nothing to them, not even as much as an ant.
“Wang Zhenhe, Dad will stay with you for a few days. I’ll go home and make arrangements. You can’t be the only one taking care of the elderly. I’ve discussed it with your sister-in-law. In a couple of days, we’ll have Dad move in with us. Your family has enough people, and we don’t want to cause more trouble for sister. Taking care of the elderly is also my responsibility. You can’t bear everything alone. Your family has enough troubles, and sister is also having a hard time. We can’t help with other things because we’re busy,” Wang Zhenhe’s elder brother said.
Zhang Lan felt genuinely grateful to her elder brother and sister-in-law. If her daughter hadn’t agreed to let the elder move in, it wouldn’t have been reasonable or fair. She wasn’t unwilling to take care of her father-in-law, but the two elders were still married. If her mother-in-law caused trouble, it wouldn’t be a trivial matter.
“Brother, sister-in-law, thank you. Only you are considering these matters for us,” Wang Zhenhe said.
Wang Juan held her hand and chided, “What are you saying? We are all family. They are blood brothers, and we are all in this together. We’ve made our position clear today. They probably hold a grudge against us now. Let’s help each other in the future. We can’t rely on them, especially the second brother and his wife. They even tried to speak up for Wang Mei. We won’t get involved with them anymore.”
After clarifying the situation, the couple quickly left to have dinner. Wang Zhenhe wanted to keep them, but they declined. Their home was already chaotic, and they didn’t want to add to the chaos.
“Aunt, we’ll rely on you to take care of my sister. I’ll come to visit another day,” Wang Juan said politely as they left.
Hao Lianchun smiled and replied, “Don’t worry. I’m here for Lan. Whenever you have time, come and keep her company.”
After lunch, Grandpa Zuo and Grandpa Wu took Mingcheng and the others for a walk, while Wang Deshan went outside to help with the hay. The elder had worked his whole life and was not one to sit idle.
As evening approached, their neighbor Liu Hui brought them some news: Zhu Qiyu had returned, and Wang Mei and her husband had been detained. This news was undoubtedly a relief for the Wang family, as it meant that the wrongdoers were finally facing consequences.
After dinner, Zhu Qiyu did not show up. Wang Qian and the others guessed that she didn’t have time to deal with the situation. Without getting Wang Mei released, Zhu Qiyu wouldn’t have the energy to come and cause trouble for them.