Chapter 27.1

After Zhu Qiang left Li Xiao’s house, he went directly to find Zhou Jian. Zhou Jian was the closest to Li Xiao, and he knew almost all of Li Xiao’s friends.

When Zhu Qiang arrived at Zhou Jian’s house, he repeated what he had said at Li Xiao’s place and asked Zhou Jian for help.

Before Zhou Jian could respond, his wife, Wang Yan, called out from their room, complaining of a stomachache.

Wang Yan found out yesterday that she was one month pregnant. Now, Zhou Jian was extremely anxious. Without a second thought, he rushed into the room and asked nervously, “Where does it hurt?”

Zhu Qiang waited outside for a long time but didn’t see Zhou Jian come out. Realizing what was happening, he laughed bitterly to himself, then turned around and left, feeling dejected.

As soon as Zhu Qiang left, little Zhou Hong, who had been hiding in the corner, quietly returned to the room. He rushed to his mother’s bedside and whispered, “That person has left.”

Wang Yan’s stomachache immediately vanished.

Zhou Jian was taken aback, and when he finally caught on, he asked angrily, “Were you faking it?”

Wang Yan rolled her eyes at him. “If I hadn’t pretended, would you have agreed?”

The Zhou family’s house was so small and shabby that anything said outside could easily be heard inside this tiny room.

Looking at Zhou Jian with frustration, Wang Yan continued, “Tell me, who is more capable—you or your brother? If Zhu Qiang didn’t go to him first, why do you think he came to you?”

Zhou Jian was a little angry at first, but upon hearing this, he realized it was indeed the case.

Right, why did Zhu Qiang come to him instead of his big brother?

Wang Yan didn’t give him any face and directly pointed out, “If I were Zhu Qiang, I would definitely go to your brother first. Since he came to you, it means he was turned down by your brother. If your brother and sister-in-law don’t agree, why are you sticking your nose into this?”

She didn’t know much, but one thing she understood was that working with smart people wouldn’t be a loss.

Zhou Jian was quick-witted, willing to work hard, and had a good heart. This was why Wang Yan was willing to be with him, especially since she had a child and couldn’t afford to marry just anyone. She needed someone who would be good to both her and her son.

And the facts proved she had not been wrong about him. During these days in the county town, she felt more at ease than when she was staying with her brother and sister-in-law.

However, there was one issue: Zhou Jian was somewhat shallow. His lack of depth was likely influenced by his brother, Li Xiao.

Zhu Qiang had said a lot earlier, but he conveniently left out the part about visiting Li Xiao’s house.

He probably knew that if Zhou Jian found out he had been rejected by Li Xiao, he would never agree.

After listening to Wang Yan, Zhou Jian grasped the situation and couldn’t help but curse, “Zhu Qiang, that bastard, he set me up.”

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Zhu Qiang went home directly.

He didn’t go to find Wang Tao because he didn’t consider Wang Tao useful at all. He knew Wang Tao wouldn’t be able to help him.

At this moment, he realized that he had always regarded Li Xiao as a true friend.

But he didn’t know when his best brother stopped being open to him. 

(T/N: Bro, it’s your fault.)

When Zhu Qiang reached his doorstep, he hadn’t even entered the house when he heard his mother’s curses and his wife’s sobs from inside.

He stood still for a long time, took a deep breath, and slowly walked in.

After entering the house, he saw his usually smart and capable mother pointing at the woman in the corner with a ferocious look and cursing, “Bitxh, it’s all your fault, it’s all your fault. What kind of bad luck has our Qiang had to marry you, this bringer of misfortune? Why don’t you just die?”

The curses became louder and louder.

Chen Mei curled up in the corner, buried her face in her hands, and cried.

While Father Zhu sat silently in a chair, smoking his cigarette.

Zhu Qiang’s mother was so mad that when she saw Chen Mei’s appearance, she felt like tearing her apart. “You still have the face to cry? Is your heart made of stone? How has our family wronged you that you would harm us like this? So much money. That’s the life savings of Qiang’s father and me.”

The thought of losing all that money broke her heart. She had assumed that the Chen family, who loved their daughter, would bring all the betrothal gifts with them, and those would eventually belong to her grandchild, so she hadn’t made a fuss about it.

Who would have thought that her daughter-in-law would give everything to her brother?

If she and Qiang had to care for her brother in his old age, she wouldn’t have uttered a word of complaint. But how could she have the nerve to leave all their betrothal gifts to her brother?

Now it was all gone—the person and the money.

Her heart ached!

Zhu Qiang entered the room in silence.

Zhu’s mother was still scolding. Father Zhu saw him and asked, “How did it go?”

He knew his son had gone to find Li Xiao, and thinking of that kid, he couldn’t help but hold a bit of hope.

Zhu Qiang shook his head. “I’ll go to the police tomorrow.”

But since the money was now in the Chen family’s hands and it was them, who had been swindled, it was up to them to report it to the police.

Thinking of this, Zhu Qiang felt even more exhausted. He didn’t want to say another word.

Zhu Qiang’s mother had been looking at her son with hope, but seeing him like this, that hope shattered piece by piece. She suddenly rushed over and began hitting Zhu Qiang with her hands, crying hysterically, “What kind of friends did you make? None of them can be trusted at this critical moment. Aren’t you good friends with Li Xiao and his friends? When you were little, I didn’t let you play with them, but you insisted on playing with them. Where are your friends now? How come you ended up with such bad people around you?”

Zhu Qiang was already feeling down, and hearing this, he felt suffocated with anger. He couldn’t help but curse back, “Isn’t it because of you? When they were useless, you despised them, but when you needed something, you begged them for help. Did you really think Li Xiao and the others were so easy to bully? Who do you think brought me to this point?”

“When you deliberately kept them out during the wedding, why didn’t you think of this day?”

Zhu Qiang’s mother was also in a bad mood. “You’re blaming me now? Did I make you marry her? Did I? I was against this marriage from the start, but you insisted. You ungrateful bastard, now you’re blaming me. If it weren’t for you marrying this disaster, would the money be gone? Give me back my money! Give me back my money!”

Seeing that the quarrel was getting more and more fierce, Zhu Qiang’s father slammed the table and said, “Enough.”

Later that night, when they returned to their room, Chen Mei lay on the bed, crying. As Zhu Qiang got into bed, Chen Mei turned over and carefully reached out to him, sniffling, “Qiang…”

Zhu Qiang, who used to pamper her, pulled his arm away this time, turned over coldly, and said nothing.

Chen Mei looked at his back and bit her lip.

(T/N: I don’t want to sound mean, but you all deserve it.)

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The next day, the injury on Li Xiao’s ankle hadn’t improved much, so Jiang Rou, despite his objections, borrowed a wheelchair from Aunt Wang next door and pushed him to the county hospital.

It hadn’t snowed that morning, but the snow on the roadside was quite deep, reaching up to people’s calves.

The snow in the middle of the road seemed to have been swept earlier in the morning, leaving only a thin layer of white frost with many messy footprints on it.

Jiang Rou pushed the wheelchair from behind, while Li Xiao held An An in his arms. He wrapped An An in his coat, and when he slightly lifted the edge of his coat, he could see An An’s big, bright eyes.

She didn’t cry or fuss; she simply nestled into his clothes. 

No wonder Jiang Rou had said that this child came to repay her kindness.

Li Xiao gently adjusted her collar, worried that the wind might seep in and chill her.

They made their way to the county hospital.

Jiang Rou guided Li Xiao to a quiet corner before going to register herself.

There weren’t many people at the hospital, so Jiang Rou didn’t have to wait long before it was her turn. She registered for two appointments: one for Li Xiao and one for the little one, who needed to get vaccinated that day.

Jiang Rou returned with the registration slips and found Li Xiao. They headed to the orthopedics department on the second floor. Since there was no elevator, Li Xiao slowly made his way up, holding the child in one arm and using the handrail with the other, limping up the stairs.

Jiang Rou followed behind with a wheelchair.

When they reached the orthopedics department, they had to wait outside for a while since there were others ahead of them.

Perhaps because Li Xiao’s embrace was so warm, the little one remained asleep on his chest even when it was finally their turn.

Jiang Rou took the child from him.

The doctor examined Li Xiao and said, “There’s a slight fracture. I recommend putting on a cast or a splint.”

Li Xiao frowned, thinking it was unnecessary, but Jiang Rou made the final decision: “Then put on a cast.”

“…”

After waiting for about half an hour, the doctor also suggested that he buy a crutch if possible.

This time, Li Xiao ignored her and simply pushed the wheelchair away. Jiang Rou thanked the doctor from behind and agreed to come back in a month to have the cast removed.

The vaccination area for the child was on the first floor, so Jiang Rou and Li Xiao headed downstairs together. Li Xiao led the way, hopping down the stairs with one hand on the handrail while holding the wheelchair with the other.

Jiang Rou hurried after him, holding the child in her arms. “You should make yourself a crutch when we get home. It’s better than hopping around on your own.”

Li Xiao nodded in agreement.

Once they reached the first floor, they followed the sound of crying children to locate the vaccination room.

Li Xiao sat back in the wheelchair and took the little one from Jiang Rou’s arms. An, still unaware of what was happening, had just woken up. She rubbed her eyes with her small hands and buried her face in Li Xiao’s chest as if she were hungry and wanted to nurse.

Jiang Rou pushed the wheelchair to the back of the line. She glanced up at the clock in the hospital lobby; it was only ten in the morning. She then turned to Li Xiao and said, “Let’s go to the vegetable market later. We’re running low on vegetables at home.”

Li Xiao noticed the child in front of them crying loudly after getting their shots, and he felt a pang of sympathy as he covered his daughter’s ears, worried she might get scared.

After hearing this, he couldn’t help but look up and ask, “Does she really have to get the shot?”

It seemed he didn’t remember getting these injections when he was still a child.

Jiang Rou rolled her eyes at him. “Of course, the money’s already been paid.”

She picked up the list and studied it carefully, paying him no further attention.

When it was An An’s turn, the nurse looked up and called out, “Li Qingshu——”

Jiang Rou pushed Li Xiao forward, and Li Xiao opened the cotton jacket on his chest, revealing the round and chubby little dumpling hidden inside. An An, the little dumpling, looked so cute, with big, bright eyes, that the nurse’s heart melted, and her voice softened. “Roll up her sleeve.”

Li Xiao held his daughter while Jiang Rou bent down to help An An with her clothes.

An An was wearing quite a few layers, so it took a while before they could free her chubby, tender arms. An An, not sensing any danger, looked at Jiang Rou with her big, bright, shiny eyes.

She leaned towards her and was very dependent on her.

The nurse held the needle in one hand, squeezing out a bit of medicine into the air, and held an alcohol swab in the other.

Jiang Rou gently held An An’s arm in place.

Li Xiao’s lips were tightly pressed together, looking more nervous than An An. He was holding her with one arm and covering her eyes with the other.

Seeing him like this, the nurse couldn’t help but smile: “It’s very fast; it won’t hurt.”

The alcohol swab rubbed against the little arm, then the needle swiftly and steadily went into the flesh.

An An, unaware of what was happening, rubbed her face against her father’s large hand, which was so well-behaved and soft, but when the needle was pulled out, she seemed to feel the pain.

She blinked her eyes, dazed for a moment, then her little mouth quivered, and she began to cry.

“Woo woo woo,” she said, turning her head and burying it in Li Xiao’s chest, her eyes and nose instantly turning red, looking incredibly wronged.

Jiang Rou took an alcoholic cotton ball wiped the place where she had been injected, and then quickly put her clothes on.

She coaxed her softly, “Okay, okay, let’s go home; it’s okay. An An is so good.”

Li Xiao also patted her little body to coax her.

By the time they exited the hospital, An An had stopped crying, but her lips were still pouting, and there was a bean-sized tear hanging under her big red eyes, which seemed to be about to fall. She looked so aggrieved.

Li Xiao was heartbroken. He lowered his head and whispered in An An’s ear. Although the voice was very low, Jiang Rou still pricked up her ears to listen. “Does it hurt? Blame your mother if you want to blame someone; it has nothing to do with me.”

Was that even something a person should say?

Jiang Rou angrily twisted his back hard.

“…”

Here’s a corrected and rephrased version of your text:

—

On the way back, they stopped by the vegetable market to buy groceries. The New Year was approaching, and the county had been bustling with activity lately. People from the surrounding towns and villages had come to buy New Year’s goods.

Jiang Rou pushed her wheelchair to the entrance of the market. Seeing the crowds inside, she didn’t pay much attention to Li Xiao. She quickly pulled out the money from her pocket and rushed in to buy vegetables, afraid that they would be sold out if she was even a moment late.

Li Xiao watched her back as she struggled to push through the crowd. He sighed and silently pushed the wheelchair to a quieter corner, scanning the throng for Jiang Rou.

He saw her move through the crowd like a fish in water, so nimble and quick.

After a while, she finally managed to buy the vegetables. She looked relieved, a smile forming on her lips as she squeezed her way out. But then, as if suddenly remembering something, her smile froze, and she glanced around in a panic.

She started shouting anxiously, “Li Xiao, An An.”

Had she forgotten about them, the father and daughter?

Just as Jiang Rou was about to dive back into the crowd to search for him, Li Xiao called out helplessly, “Over here.”

“Jiang Rou—”

He called out twice, and Jiang Rou finally heard him. She turned around abruptly, saw him in the distance, and rushed over in a fluster. When she reached him, she angrily slapped his arm and asked, “Why did you run off?”

“…”

When did he run off? He had barely moved.