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Wang Mei and her husband were shocked by the recent events. They never expected Wang Zhenhe to take action, nor did they anticipate the severity of Zhang Lan’s illness. They quickly packed their things and hurried back home to the city.
Wang Zhenguo was truly frightened this time. He was worried about Zhang Lan’s condition. “Mom, what should I do? Could my sister-in-law really die?”
Zhu Qiyu, sitting calmly on the kang, pondered, “She won’t die. She hasn’t died all these years, so why would she die now? If she could die, that would be great. Haven’t you heard that the sicker someone looks, the less likely they are to die? Don’t worry. If something happens, I’ll take care of it.”
The commotion at the Wang family’s house spread quickly. Upon hearing about the incident, Wang Deshan, who was working in the mountains, dropped his hoe and rushed to the hospital. When he arrived, he was out of breath. Seeing his granddaughter in such a state, Wang Deshan’s eyes turned red. He never expected that his disobedient daughter would even harm her own niece.
“Qianqian, are you feeling better? Does it still hurt?” Wang Deshan didn’t dare touch his granddaughter’s face, so he gently helped Wang Qian tidy her messy short hair.
Seeing the genuine concern and compassion in her grandfather’s eyes, Wang Qian knew it was sincere. “Grandpa, it doesn’t hurt if you don’t touch it.”
When Wang Zhenhe saw his father arrive, he quickly stood up. “Dad, why did you come?”
He had heard about the incident at noon from his cousin. At that time, his father had already gone to work, so he was unaware of what had happened at home.
Seeing his daughter-in-law lying with her eyes closed, receiving intravenous therapy, Wang Deshan sighed deeply. “This is a disaster. Zhenhe, I’ll handle this. When I return, I’ll definitely teach Wang Mei and your siblings a lesson.”
Wang Zhenhe simply said, “Dad, there’s no need. I’ve already dealt with them. It’s better for our families to keep their distance. Look at what’s happened. We don’t know how Zhang Lan is doing now. She was raised carefully by her parents. Look at how we treated her. I feel ashamed. My siblings, who I care for, almost wanted to kill my children.
Dad, how should I think of them? I’m tired. From now on, I’ll continue to show you the respect you deserve, but I won’t entertain any additional requests. If you need anything, you can come to me directly.”
Wang Deshan had been good to them, but his words didn’t hold much weight. He could do more for his father, but he wouldn’t bother with the others.
The old man knew that his son was truly heartbroken this time. He knew that no one could associate with these people. He patted his son’s shoulder. “Zhenhe, I understand you. From now on, we’ll do things our way. Don’t associate with them. Those two troublemakers have been completely spoiled by your mother.”
The old man didn’t know what to say to comfort his son and grandchildren. After sitting with the family for a while, he returned home.
In the hospital room, Wang Zhenhe felt an unprecedented sense of oppression. It felt as if time had stopped at that moment. No one spoke; they just nervously watched over their mother, afraid that she might slip away.
Outside, the sky had darkened. Zhang Lan slowly regained consciousness. Wang Zhenhe rushed to find the doctor.
“Mom, how are you feeling? Is your heart still uncomfortable?”
At the sight of her daughter’s half-swollen face, Zhang Lan’s eyes filled with tears. Wang Qian knew why her mother was upset. With a slightly awkward smile, she said, “Mom, don’t look at me like that. I don’t feel any pain. Aunt should be feeling worse. I bit a piece of flesh off her. I want to bite her to death for bullying you.” Wang Qian’s teeth itched with hatred. She had decided to confront this woman to the end. She dared to hit her mother. Let’s see who has the last laugh.
Wang Zhenhe led the senior doctor into the ward. After listening to Zhang Lan’s heartbeat for a while, the doctor put away the stethoscope. “In the future, you all need to be careful. Her heart condition is very serious. Try not to upset her or let her get too agitated. Also, she should avoid emotional fluctuations. In the future, try to reduce her workload. It’s a pity that she has this illness at such a young age. Zhang Lan, you need to take care of yourself. Look at your four children. You need to live well for their sake.”
The senior doctor was the same person who had treated Wang Qian’s head last time. Although he received many patients every day, he had a deep impression of this family.
“Doctor, can I be discharged?” Zhang Lan asked from her hospital bed.
The senior doctor glanced at her. “Zhang Lan, I advise you to stay here for observation tonight. Don’t worry about the cost. Your health is more important than money. If nothing happens tonight, you can be discharged tomorrow morning. I’ll prescribe some medication for you to take home. Make sure to take it on time.”
After giving some instructions to the family, the senior doctor left. Zhang Lan looked outside, where it was already dark. “Zhenhe, why don’t you take the children home to prepare some food first, and then come back? They must be hungry.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the door to the ward was pushed open. Wang Juan and Wang Zhenjiang arrived with several children, each carrying a basket.
“Sister-in-law, how are you? You almost scared me to death. Do you know that I heard about your situation from someone else? Oh, the people from the Wang family are really causing trouble,” Wang Juan couldn’t help but lament for her kind sister-in-law. She considered herself less filial than her sister-in-law, but it was often the kind-hearted who suffered the most.
“Zhenhe, all of you come over here for a meal and see what Uncle has brought for you.”
Wang Zhenhai placed the two baskets he brought on the small table by the bed, taking out several dishes and a few cakes from inside. Finally, he brought out a large bowl of millet porridge, which smelled delicious.
“You all eat first, I’ll feed your mom,” Wang Juan scooped a spoonful and fed it to Zhang Lan, along with a forkful of egg.
“Sister-in-law, I’m much better now, I can do it myself,” Zhang Lan struggled to sit up, but was stopped by Wang Juan. “Younger sister, you need to take care of yourself. Get well soon. The whole family is counting on you.”
“That’s right, Sister-in-law, let my mom feed you. We’re all family, so don’t be shy,” the eldest, Wang Mingshan, advised.
“Sister-in-law, thank you so much,” Zhang Lan was truly grateful for her sister-in-law’s family coming at this time. “Thank you for what? We’re all family. Don’t worry about your family’s temporary poverty. When they regret it in the future. We need to be strong right now,” Wang Juan replied.
As they ate, the brothers also discussed the day’s events. “Third brother, I heard you gave those people a beating. I feel relieved. Those people in our family won’t have an easy time, especially Wang Mei and her husband. I even want to beat them up,” Wang Zhenhai said.
Wang Juan added, “Not only do I want to beat them, even I want to scratch her. She’s full of rotten ideas. She even thought of selling her own niece. We won’t have such relatives in the future.”
Wang Juan had also heard about the incident at noon from her husband. She already had a negative opinion of that sister-in-law, and hearing about this incident made her even more worried for Zhang Lan and her family. This bad idea had targeted her younger brother. Was she even human? So she had ordered her husband at noon that Wang Mei and their family should have no further contact with them. She was also afraid that her own children would be manipulated by her.
Wang Zhenhai sighed, “Who would have thought that Wang Mei would become so bad? It’s better not to have such a sister. I don’t know what she’ll become in the city. We rural folks are straightforward. We don’t have as many ulterior motives as city folks. I’ve seen through our eldest sister. She won’t change.”
The incident at the Wang family today caused some discussion among the villagers. When Wang Zhenhai and his wife went to work, many people mentioned it.
However, Wang Zhi simply ignored many of them.
It was the first time Wang Zhenhe had heard his eldest brother say such things. Although he had been impulsive today, he didn’t regret it. “Big brother, do you know how heartbroken I am? I and Zhang Lan have always cared for our siblings, but look at them now. If it weren’t for Wang Zhi hiding, I would have wanted to slap her. She’s really cruel. She even said she should kick my Qianqian hard. You know, even if she’s as hard as a rock, I should soften her. But her heart is even harder than a rock. People like her are becoming more and more like Wang Mei.”
Wang Qian listened on the side, feeling shocked that her aunt wanted to kick her. Sheesh, she’s so young and already so malicious. This won’t end well.
“Dad, in the future, we won’t have such uncles and aunts. Brother, sister, remember the harm our mom suffered today. When the day comes, our life will be better, no matter how they beg, we won’t pay attention to them. Such people are a disaster to have around us,”
Wang Yu, who had been silent, said admiringly, holding the hands of her two sisters.
“Xuan’er, Qianqian, I really admire you both. If anyone bullies you in the future, tell your sister, and I’ll help you fight them. You didn’t see me cleaning the baskets after you left, but I found a small piece of bloody meat on the ground. I guess it was what you bit off. It makes me happy just thinking about it,” Wang Yu said.
Wang Juan was excited to hear her niece talk about this. “Sister, you don’t know how amazing your two daughters are. I heard that they were going to attack the siblings with a kitchen knife. Such people can only thrive in our village.”
Although the rural people are simple and honest, there are still disharmonious elements. Women fighting and arguing is common, but women generally don’t use knives. With the strength of the two sisters, anyone who dares to bully them will have to face a knife. Wang Juan really envied Zhang Lan for having such daughters. Her own daughter was too quiet. She would have to let her children learn from the two sisters in the future. It’s better to bully others than to be bullied.