Chapter 100

The captain asked for a long time but couldn’t get anything out of them. He took his people and left. After all, the family wasn’t in any immediate danger, except for Xia Da Bao, who was a bit more serious.

Currently, everyone was out of their minds, and no one mentioned sending Xia Da Bao to the hospital. The captain was thinking that if he sent him, the village would have to pay, and the village was already broke.

When the captain returned home, Hu Guiqin asked, “Husband, what happened to the Xia family again? They were making such a terrible noise early in the morning. You’ve been gone for so long.”

Sighing, the captain sat down and said, “I don’t know what happened to the Xia family. They said they encountered ghosts. Mrs. He probably had a stroke, and Xia Da Bao’s arm and leg are broken. He’s disabled now.”

Hu Guiqin said, “Then husband, how should we handle this? If we don’t handle it well and it gets out, that’s spreading feudal superstition, and we’ll be sent to be criticized.”

“I’m in a real bind. I have no idea what to do. Xia Da Bao is like that now, and there’s no one in the Xia family who can take charge.”

“Why do they have so many problems? No one else has this kind of trouble. Could they really be possessed?”

“bah, bah, bah,, husband, you’re the captain, you can’t say that. If someone hears you or reports you, you’ll be accused of spreading feudal superstition.”

“Wife, don’t worry. I was just grumbling at home. I wouldn’t dare say it outside.”

Mrs. He’s daughter, Xia Muqing, heard about what happened to her parents and rushed back home to inquire. When she saw her mother’s mouth crooked and her eyes slanted, unable to speak, she asked, “Father, what happened? Mother was fine yesterday. How come you’re all like this after one night? Where did my sister-in-law go? Mother is like this, why isn’t she here to take care of her?”

Old Man Xia pointed at the room next door with his withered old finger, “Your brother and sister-in-law are in that room. Go take a look. And Da Bao, you quickly send him to the town hospital. He’s our only male descendant, he can’t have anything happen to him.”

Xia Muqing widened her eyes in disbelief and asked, “Father, what happened to Da Bao? Sending him to the hospital will cost a lot of money. You know my mother-in-law is very strong-willed, the money is all in her hands, I don’t have any money.”

Old Man Xia said, “Then go borrow some from your mother-in-law. It’s most important to send Da Bao to the hospital now. Da Bao can’t be delayed.”

Xia Muqing said, “Father, didn’t you save up a lot of money for our funeral expenses? It’s come to this, and you’re still unwilling to use it? You know my mother-in-law is the type who says what she means, I don’t dare to ask her for money, she’ll beat me to death with a rolling pin. That money is her life.”

“Then go call your brother, your second brother, your sister-in-law, and your second sister-in-law. Let them each contribute some. We’re all family, we can’t just watch Da Bao suffer.”

Xia Muqing said, “Father, alright, I’ll go call them. As for whether my brother and second brother will give money, that’s not my business. You know my sister-in-law and second sister-in-law’s personalities. It’s probably hard to get them to contribute.”

After ten minutes, Xia Daquan, Xia Dayong, Bai Lanhua, and Yun Guilan all arrived at Old Man Xia’s room. Bai Lanhua, as the eldest daughter-in-law, asked, “Father, you had little sister call us over, what’s the matter?”

Old Man Xia said, “Dayong, Daquan, you heard about what happened this morning. You see, your mother is like this now, and Da Bao is the worst. You know that the money we saved before was stolen, and we don’t have any money to see a doctor now. So I want you two families to contribute some money. I’ll take your mother and Da Bao to the hospital to see a doctor.”

Bai Lanhua said, “Father, as a daughter-in-law, it’s understandable for me to contribute some money when my mother-in-law is sick. But my nephew is sick, why should we give money? Doesn’t he have parents? Besides, where do we have that much money?”

Bai Lanhua thought, this old man was unwilling to give them any money when he had it, and now he wants them to contribute? He can dream on. If the second family doesn’t contribute, she won’t either.

Bai Lanhua continued, “Also, father and mother are seeing a doctor, whatever the second family contributes, I’ll contribute the same amount. I really don’t have any more. We have a family to support, you can’t drive us to a dead end.”

After all, Old Man Xia had three sons, not just her husband. Even if people pointed fingers, it wouldn’t be just him being talked about.

In this era, it’s better to take care of your own life than anything else. If you can’t even feed yourself, why should you care about others? She wasn’t that kind, even if they were brothers. What difference did it make?

When Old Man Xia heard his eldest daughter-in-law’s words, he coughed violently. He couldn’t believe that everyone was dodging responsibility at this crucial moment, no one wanted to care about their old lives.

Old Man Xia looked at his two sons and asked, “Daquan, Dayong, is that what you think too? Are you just going to watch your mother like this and do nothing?”

Neither of them said anything because they knew that there was no money left in the family. Their own families were already dirt poor. They had so many mouths to feed, how could they not eat or wear clothes?

Xia Dayong said, “Father, we really don’t have any money. You know that. Besides, there are so many mouths to feed at home. Are you going to watch them starve to death?”

“Besides, I already gave 20 yuan for Yun Ge’s dowry when she married Er Laizi. Where else would I get money? Do you want me to steal or rob?”

Xia Daquan said, “Father, my situation is the same as my second brother’s. Now that the children are all grown up, they eat a lot. I can only spare 5 yuan from my teeth. I really can’t give you any more. That’s the most I can do as a son.”

Xia Dayong also said, “Father, Big Brother is giving 5 yuan, I’ll also spare 5 yuan from my food. If that’s not enough, you can only go to the captain. We really can’t do anything.”

Both of them thought, if they didn’t give any money for their mother’s illness, people would definitely gossip behind their backs. They would give 5 yuan, and no one could say anything.

If they were asked to give all their money, that wouldn’t be possible. They could actually afford a few tens of yuan, but if they emptied their pockets and something happened to them, who would they ask for help?

Old Man Xia coughed violently. He was scared last night and his condition was very poor today. After calming down, he stopped coughing and said, “Then give me the 5 yuan and also call the captain for me. I can’t just let your mother be sick like this.”

Xia Dayong said, “Alright, father, I’ll send you the money right away and call the captain for you. Father, mother, take care of yourselves.”