Chapter 110: Trouble Caused by a Pair of Pants

As soon as the woman finished speaking, a group of women by the bridge burst into laughter.

Li Xiulan felt embarrassed and retorted somewhat annoyedly, “Who said we didn’t send anything? These days, taking care of my husband at home has kept me busy. What’s the rush?”

Her words were overheard by the village secretary’s wife, who suddenly remembered that neither her own family nor her younger brother’s family had visited to express gratitude either.

Indeed, it was somewhat inappropriate. After all, if it weren’t for Miss Luo Qiao’s intervention, Gao Shunyi might not have survived. How could her younger brother’s family handle such a situation?

Considering Li Xiulan’s temperament, she might spare her younger brother’s family. Just thinking about it made her a bit apprehensive. So, she got up and left the small bridge, planning to go home and talk to her husband about this matter.

Back at home, Luo Qiao drank some water and prepared to lie down for a while before going back to work.

However, before Luo Qiao could lie down, she heard children’s cries of alarm from across the village. Initially, she thought of ignoring it and continuing to rest, but then she heard a woman’s questioning voice mentioning Shitou’s name.

She quickly got up, preparing to get off the kang. She wondered if that cry just now was from Shitou.

She put on her shoes and ran outside.

The sound was audible, but because crops blocked the view, Luo Qiao couldn’t see clearly what was happening on the other side of the river. She only heard children crying and adults shouting.

When Luo Qiao ran over, she learned that the cause was still about those pants. This month, Shitou was staying at his second uncle’s house. The eldest son of the second uncle, who was one year older than Shitou, had just fallen into the river while playing, making his pants too wet to wear.

When he ran home to change his pants, he found a pair of pants he hadn’t seen before on Shitou. Although they weren’t new, there were only one or two patches on the pants, so he wanted Shitou to take off his pants and wear them.

Shitou didn’t want to, so the two children started pushing each other, and their second aunt happened to see them.

She had just come out of the kitchen, holding a bowl of soup freshly scooped from the large pot where she had cooked sorghum noodles. Originally meant for mixing pig feed, in her anger, she forgot it had just been taken from the pot.

She splashed it directly onto Shitou. Fortunately, Shitou dodged slightly, turning his front to the side, causing the soup to spill onto his back. This incident was seen by people gossiping under the tree.

Everyone criticized Sun family’s second daughter-in-law, Kong Yuru, as being inhumane. Fortunately, Doctor Gao was nearby and immediately dragged Shitou into the river, laying him down in the water.

By the time Luo Qiao arrived, Shitou was already soaking in the water. Alongside him in the water was Sun’s second family’s Sun Shengyuan, Shitou’s cousin, whose little arm had also been affected.

Luo Qiao felt sorry for Shitou. Enduring contempt while living under others’ roofs was bad enough, but now he was being hit and abused. To dare to splash someone with freshly cooked noodle water—how malicious could one be?

This incident alarmed the village captain and the village secretary. After understanding the situation, the secretary scolded Sun’s second daughter-in-law severely. Doctor Gao mentioned that with such extensive burns, even he couldn’t do much. He had already seen blisters covering Shitou’s entire back and insisted he be taken to the commune health center immediately.

Upon hearing about the health center, Secretary Zhang Dezheng was troubled, especially since his brother had just donated over a hundred yuan there. But doctor Gao insisted he couldn’t handle such extensive burns himself. The secretary instructed Sun’s second daughter-in-law, Kong Yuru, to take the money and accompany them to the clinic. However, Kong Yuru adamantly claimed there was no money at home.

An onlooker nearby interjected, “What about compensation from Shitou’s mother? Hurry up and get the money to treat the child.”