Chapter 3: Oh no! She’s bleeding!

Ye Dazhuang had come back!

The moment Su Fang saw her son return, tears streamed down her face. She gave her daughter-in-law another fierce kick before scrambling up from the ground, sobbing and sniffling uncontrollably.

“I can’t live like this anymore! Dazhuang, your wife stole my money to buy things for her mother! Just for a 60th birthday? Was it necessary to steal my 158 yuan?”

“Don’t even mention a birthday! That money could buy her entire family!”

Ding Lanhua lay on the ground, unmoving. Her belly throbbed in pain, twitching with each stab. The pain made her want to cry out, to wail.

Ye Dazhuang looked at his wife lying on the ground, then at his mother sobbing on the floor. His eyes then landed on the two packets of pastries and a brand-new piece of clothing lying to the side.

His teeth clenched with a grinding grrrkk.

This damned woman! He had already told her that buying a packet of pastries would be enough! Yet she still went behind his back and made this new piece of clothing!

But something felt off. He had given her money just yesterday. Even if she had used it for the clothes, it would have been enough. There was no need for her to steal his mother’s money.

“Ding Lanhua, speak! Did you steal money from the house?!”

Ding Lanhua was in so much pain she couldn’t get the words out. Still, she gritted her teeth and forced herself to speak: “Ye Dazhuang! You heartless bastard! Have you forgotten? You gave me fifteen yuan yesterday and told me to buy things!”

“Come help me already, it hurts like hell!”

Su Fang suddenly snapped out of her fit. “You really gave her the money? Where did you get the money from?”

Ye Dazhuang nodded. “Didn’t I go work construction last month? They paid me yesterday. I gave all of it to her.”

Su Fang jumped up from the ground. “So it really wasn’t her—Ding Lanhua didn’t steal it? Then who could it be?”

Ye Dazhuang also realized something wasn’t right. He quickly asked: “Mom, has Ye Qing come back yet?”

Su Fang shook her head. “Haven’t seen her. She probably hasn’t returned yet. Was it Qingqing? Was it Ye Qing who stole my money?! That little wench! I’m going to Town right now to find her!”

As she spoke, she made for the door.

It only took about half an hour to walk from Town to Qiaotou Village. They had thought Ye Qing would be back by noon to cook, but she still hadn’t returned—something must’ve happened!

On the ground, Ding Lanhua was drenched in cold sweat from the pain. She cried out in gasps: “Dazhuang, save me! Save me!”

Su Fang suddenly turned around and saw a large red patch spreading beneath Ding Lanhua.

Oh no! She was bleeding!

“My grandson!”

Su Fang wailed and lunged toward Ding Lanhua. “What are you standing there for, Dazhuang? Quick! Hurry and take your wife to the hospital!”

Neighbors who heard the commotion quickly gathered. Several of them scrambled to help lift Ding Lanhua onto a door plank, and the group rushed toward the hospital in Town in a frenzy.

……

At the same time, Ye Qing was on the train, feeding Nannan a steamed bun! A mix of cornmeal and white flour buns—she had bought them back in Town.

She didn’t have a choice. Most people brought flatbread when traveling far, but she had snuck out in secret. Being able to buy a few buns was already quite a feat.

Up ahead, an elderly woman started arguing with a man.

The man had just boarded the train, ticket still in hand. He glanced at the seat and said to the old woman: “Is this your child? He’s sitting in my seat. Could you please have him move?”

Unexpectedly, the old woman didn’t even lift her eyelids and snapped back: “So many seats around, and you have to fight a kid for one? No one’s sitting there anyway. Just go find another place, what’s the big deal?”

The man tried reasoning with her, saying that seats on a train weren’t just for anyone to take. “Right now it looks empty, but someone might get on later. This is my assigned seat. Please pick up the child, or at least buy a ticket for him too.”

The boy stiffened his neck and screamed: “No! I don’t want Grandma to hold me! I don’t want Grandma to hold me! I just want to sit here! I will sit here!”

Ye Qing glanced over. The boy looked about seven or eight—an age where boys could be mischievous. If it was just mischief, she could understand, but his behavior was clearly unreasonable.

From the looks of it, he was probably spoiled by his family.

Upon hearing her grandson, the old woman quickly comforted him. “It’s fine, it’s fine. We got on the train early, so this seat is ours. Just sit here. You’re the descendant of a soldier! People who don’t respect the family of soldiers don’t support national development—they deserve public criticism and denunciation!”

The man’s brows furrowed. He was about to argue again when another man nearby advised: “Forget it, comrade. Just find another seat for now. If someone else boards later, you can ask the train conductor to help mediate.”

Others chimed in as well: “Exactly. Don’t mess with them. That family looks like trouble. It’s better to avoid conflict when you’re away from home.”

Left with no choice, the man reluctantly found an empty seat and sat down.

The boy was elated. He kicked the seat in front of him nonstop, making all sorts of strange noises with his mouth.

Ye Qing said nothing. She quietly observed everything while chewing on the bun in her hand, but inwardly, she couldn’t help shaking her head. A child like that is bound to suffer sooner or later.

But scenes like this were not uncommon in the countryside. If you really tried to argue with such a child, the grandmother up front could practically skin you alive.

Not long after they finished eating, Nannan suddenly said: “Mommy, I need to pee.”

In the seventies, diapers didn’t exist. If a child needed to pee, they had to go to the restroom. Naturally, Ye Qing couldn’t let Nannan go alone, so she picked her up and headed toward the toilet.

Suddenly, that little boy in front stuck out a foot toward Ye Qing. She didn’t have time to dodge and was tripped. In order to protect Nannan, she instinctively tried to regain her footing—and stomped down hard on the boy’s foot.

Still, she fell.

Nannan, startled, burst into loud sobs.

A nearby older woman hurried to help her up. “Miss, are you okay?”

Ye Qing shook her head. “I’m fine.”

She turned and looked at the boy behind her. While comforting Nannan, she questioned him sternly: “What’s wrong with you? Why did you try to trip me?”

Just as she finished speaking, the boy wailed loudly: “Waaah! She stepped on me! Grandma, she stepped on my foot! It hurts so much!”

The old woman sitting beside him immediately became aggressive. She shouted at Ye Qing: “What kind of walking is that? Didn’t you see the child’s foot there?”

Ye Qing had seen unreasonable people before, but never to this degree. She was instantly furious.

“When I walked past, the path was completely clear. He deliberately stuck his foot out to trip me. I didn’t have time to avoid it and fell. I haven’t even confronted you about it yet! Is this how you raise your child?”

“Waaah! Grandma, she stepped on me! She did it on purpose! It hurts! My foot’s broken! Wuwuwuwuuu…” The boy cried even harder, attracting a crowd.

The old woman quickly comforted him. “Good boy, don’t cry! Don’t cry! Watch Grandma get justice for you. Here, have some candy. Once you eat it, the pain will go away.”

The boy took the candy and shoved it into his mouth, still sobbing and sniffling.

While the old woman was distracted, Ye Qing carried Nannan to the restroom. When they came back, the old woman blocked their way again.

“My grandson’s foot is all swollen. You have to compensate us!”

Ye Qing looked down. The boy’s shoe had been taken off, and indeed his ankle looked slightly red and swollen—but it wasn’t serious.

She couldn’t help frowning. “I was walking perfectly fine. He suddenly stuck his foot out and tripped me, and now you want me to pay? My daughter got scared. I fell too. Are you going to compensate me?”

A pregnant woman standing beside them gently tugged the old woman’s sleeve and whispered: “Mom, let it go. The kid was being naughty. It wasn’t her fault.”

The old woman’s eyes widened, and she exploded: “What kind of mother are you? Your son was bullied and you’re not standing up for him? Why are you taking someone else’s side? You idiot!”

The woman instantly lowered her head and didn’t dare say another word.

An elderly man nearby also tried to mediate. “Sister, honestly, this wasn’t her fault. I saw it clearly—your grandson stuck his foot out on purpose to trip her.”

The old woman’s eyes widened again, her face practically screaming unreasonable.

She shouted: “My son is a soldier! Have you ever seen a soldier’s family be unreasonable? She obviously stepped on my grandson on purpose! If she doesn’t pay up today, this won’t end! I’m going to report this to the railway Public Security! I’ll find the conductor! I refuse to believe no one will stand up for the family of a soldier!”

Just then, a group of young people wearing red armbands walked by.