Chapter 31: Bring the Person Back

Li Rui was negotiating with the old man, while Jiang Nian went directly to the room lit by a kerosene lamp.

The door to the room wasn’t locked. She pushed it open, revealing the figures inside.

An old woman and a young-looking adult man stood by the bed. Zhou Xiaoju was curled up on the bed.

Seeing Jiang Nian, Zhou Xiaoju instantly rushed towards her with tears in her eyes, “Doctor Jiang, are you here to save me?”

Jiang Nian nodded and asked her, “How are you?”

“I’m fine. They didn’t do anything to me. They just kept trying to persuade me.” She held onto Jiang Nian’s arm tightly, “I don’t want to stay. Doctor Jiang, please save me. I want to go back with you.”

It wasn’t that the family was bad, nor was it just because she was too young.

It was because she had seen her own mother struggle in pain for so many years and couldn’t escape, and she even lost her life. Now, she was indifferent to all men and didn’t want to get married in this life.

The old woman watched this scene, and a trace of tears flashed in her cloudy eyes, but she didn’t force her anymore.

It was clear that this family wasn’t bad. They agreed to let her go, as long as they got the betrothal money back.

This request wasn’t unreasonable. After all, everyone worked hard to earn money.

Jiang Nian paid eighty yuan for Zhou Xiaoju first.

Before leaving, Jiang Nian asked the old woman a few questions. She learned that her youngest son had suffered brain damage from a fever when he was a child. Since then, he had been silly and his mind wasn’t fully developed.

Jiang Nian took Zhang Ersha’s pulse and told them to come to Zhoujia Village to find her when they had time.

Whether they believed her or not, or whether they went or not, was up to their fate.

They walked back. Li Rui was in a state of excitement the whole way, “Jiang Nian, you just made me fly! Was that the legendary light kung fu? I’ve only seen it in martial arts novels. My god, it actually exists in the world?”

Zhou Xiaoju was still confused. She didn’t know what martial arts novels were, but the words “light kung fu” and “fly” successfully caught her attention.

“No, you’re overthinking it.” Jiang Nian said calmly.

“You’re lying to me!” Li Rui exposed her, “Otherwise, explain it to me. How can you lift a person and fly through the air quickly? What else could it be if not light kung fu?”

It couldn’t be said that way. He described it more like flying, but light kung fu still requires intermediate leverage.

“You’re dreaming.”

Jiang Nian didn’t want to discuss this topic with him. She turned to Zhou Xiaoju and asked, “You’re just going back to the village like this? Your father won’t let you go easily. What are you going to do?”

Talking about such a sad topic, Li Rui was also afraid of hurting the little girl’s heart, so he quickly shut up.

Even though she had long given up hope for him, it was inevitable that she would feel sad after experiencing such a thing.

Fortunately, she was determined. She just sniffed and calmed down again.

“He’s not my father. I don’t have a father anymore, and I don’t have a grandfather anymore. They rushed in to grab me. I wanted to hide, but I accidentally knocked over the herbs drying in the yard while struggling. The two cats rushed over to save me, but Xiao Hei was kicked far away by that man…”

Zhou Xiaoju choked back a sob, just out of concern for the black cat and uncertainty about the future.

She said, “I really want them to pay the price. If I could, I’d rather have them all arrested. But last time, they just lost their jobs. You don’t know, sometimes I really regret it. I don’t regret making a fuss, but I regret giving them the chance to come back from the city. When they weren’t back, grandpa and grandma loved Xiao An so much. Now, they can bear to watch their son abuse their grandson. I used to be jealous that Xiao An was a boy, but now I feel so sorry for him. How can they bear to not feed him? How can they bear to let such a small child go hungry to dig wild vegetables and cut pigweed? I know what that feels like, so I’m so sad. It’s all because I was too impulsive, and that’s why things turned out like this.”

Zhou Shugen and his wife paid the price, but their siblings also suffered as a result. It was a case of hurting the enemy eight hundred and harming oneself a thousand.

Li Rui was only eighteen years old, and he felt really uncomfortable listening to this. He kept comforting Zhou Xiaoju along the way.

When they got back, the yard had been cleaned up by Niu Aixiang. The scattered herbs had been picked up, and Zhao Heiping was using a hammer to repair the herb drying rack.

The tabby cat, which usually jumped around, was lying on the ground, looking particularly lonely. After being given away by its mother, it had lost its sister.

This little tabby was a male cat. Compared to when it first arrived two months ago, its size had increased by more than half. It wasn’t fat, but it wasn’t skinny anymore. Its fur was shiny, and it was clearly well-fed.

“You’re back? How is Xiaoju? Did she get bullied?” Niu Aixiang hurried over to ask her.

Zhou Xiaoju shook her head, “No, Old Man Zhang and Old Lady Zhang are both good people. They didn’t force me when I didn’t want to stay.”

“That’s good, that’s good. I was so worried.” Niu Aixiang patted her chest in relief. She was so thin that even the little bit of flesh on her chest was gone.

But when she learned that Xiao Hei had been buried, Zhou Xiaoju, who had forced herself to stay calm all the way, couldn’t help but break down and cry.

Although the two cats were raised by Jiang Nian, Zhou Xiaoju had been taking care of them since she came, and they were her friends who provided emotional value when she was most helpless.

The black cat was kicked to death because it saved her.

Such a commotion naturally couldn’t be hidden from the village head’s family.

Village Head Zhou had gone to the cooperative for a meeting today, otherwise, he wouldn’t have let the Zhou family do such a foolish thing.

But the damage had been done, and he was helpless.

Walking into the yard, he frowned and said, “Xiaoju, it’s good that you’re okay. Fortunately, it’s not too late to salvage the situation. I’ve already criticized your father and grandfather. I even named and shamed them in front of the villagers at the evening meeting. I believe they won’t dare to treat you like that again. You… you should also feel at ease living here. Jiang Nian is a girl. You should be more diligent here. If you can learn even one-tenth of her skills, it will be your fortune.”

He originally wanted to talk to Jiang Nian about letting his granddaughter learn medicine from her, but he was afraid that his granddaughter was still young, so he wanted to wait and see.

But right now, Zhou Xiaoju clearly needed this opportunity more.

He didn’t know if Village Head Zhou would regret it years later.

Of course, Jiang Nian had never promised to teach anyone medicine. She had occasionally given Zhou Xiaoju some guidance, but that was to help her process herbs.

Village Head Zhou’s words made Zhou Xiaoju understand his meaning. It was always like this. As long as nothing serious happened, he would take a conciliatory approach, just to get through the immediate situation.

If he had dealt with it seriously from the beginning, perhaps their family wouldn’t be like this.

When her mother was forced to agree to the divorce, wasn’t it also a helpless act? If there had been any hope, who would willingly give up their good home to someone else?

She knew it better than anyone, but she was helpless. Because she was weak, she needed the help of others to survive. What right did she have to object?

Zhou Xiaoju was worried, but Jiang Nian didn’t have so many concerns.

“Uncle Zhou, I may not be able to control other people’s affairs, but this is my place. Zhou Shugen not only smashed my medicine but also kicked my cat to death. This can’t just be forgotten, can it?” Jiang Nian said, “Oh, right, and the eighty yuan they sold Zhou Xiaoju for, I paid it back to get her back. But this money can’t be my responsibility, can it?”