Jian Xiu let out a soft “hmm” but said nothing.

Only she knew that her nose was tingling with emotion.

This was the first time she had ever felt such a strange sensation.

Even in the apocalypse, no matter how badly she was injured, she had never shed a single tear.

By the time they had almost finished packing up, Jian Xiu noticed that Zhang Zixuan had also come out.

“You are…”

“I’ll go with you,” Zhang Zixuan said calmly.

Jian Xiu thought about it. Since they had an ox cart and didn’t have to walk, she simply lifted his wheelchair—along with him—onto the cart.

“Why did you suddenly decide to come with me?” Jian Xiu asked in the ox cart.

“If I let you go back alone, wouldn’t people start talking about you again?”

“What does it matter? You know I don’t care.”

“But I care. I don’t want to hear people talking about you—even just thinking about it is unacceptable to me. Besides, now that I have a wheelchair, it’s much easier for me to travel compared to before. Others won’t have much to say about me holding you back anymore,” Zhang Zixuan said indifferently.

Back at the old house, whenever he knew that Old Liu Shi had beaten and scolded her, only he knew how much his heart ached.

Now, when he touched his palm, he felt the thick layer of scars.

Those were left behind from when he couldn’t bear the pain in his heart, digging his nails into his own flesh.

Jian Xiu was surprised to hear Zhang Zixuan’s words, though her face remained as calm as ever.

No one knew that her heart had already softened.

She hadn’t expected Zhang Zixuan to think so far ahead, even considering what others might say about her.

Even more unexpected was that he minded people gossiping about her—but not himself.

Surely, he knew that even if he was in a wheelchair, people would still talk about him once he went out.

Yet, he seemed completely unconcerned about that and only cared about her.

“Dad, Mom, I haven’t seen Grandma in so long,” Liu Tou said with a bright smile.

“Me too! Me too!” Qi Tou and Er Ya chimed in excitedly.

With the children’s words, the atmosphere in the ox cart immediately lightened.

---

Jian Family Village

When Jian Fuyin saw his wife, Zhang Xuemei, being kicked to the ground, he hurried to help her up.

Then, stiffening his neck, he shouted at the scar-faced man, “What do you mean by this? You just attack people without reason! Do you even have a conscience?”

Jian Fuyin was tall and strong. As soon as he spoke, the villagers started to feel a little braver.

The gangsters beside the scar-faced man hesitated upon seeing this.

“Brother Dao, what should we do…”

“Am I supposed to be scared? If anyone dares to step forward, we’ll see if they can withstand the blade in my hand,” the scar-faced man said viciously.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, even though there were layers of people surrounding them, no one dared to make a sound.

Even Zhang Xuemei, who had been staring him down, did not dare to say another word.

It was obvious just from looking at him—this was a ruthless, desperate man.

People like him carried an innate cruelty.

Seeing this, the scar-faced man felt satisfied.

Turning to the people inside the house, he sneered, “I already told you—I’m giving you half a day. If you can’t pay up, then your eldest daughter will settle the debt. I’ll be back in the afternoon. If you still don’t have the money by then, I’ll take your second daughter, too. I must say, you people may be dirt poor, but your girls are quite the beauties, one more pleasing than the other. Hahaha…”

With that, the scar-faced man burst into laughter.

His underlings, however, looked startled.

One of them quickly spoke up, “Boss, aren’t these girls still too young? If we take them back, we’ll have to wait a couple of years…”

“Do you take me for a beast?” Before he could finish speaking, the scar-faced man kicked him aside.

Jian Ming, standing nearby, was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of blood and fainted on the spot.

“Jian Ming! Jian Ming!” Qian Hongmei cried out anxiously.

No matter how she shook him, he remained unresponsive, as if he had passed out completely.

“Sister-in-law Hongmei, don’t worry! I’ll go find a doctor for Brother Jian Ming right away!” Zhang Xuemei said urgently.

For the sake of her friendship with Jian Xiu, she couldn’t ignore this.

Hearing the scar-faced man’s words, Zhang Xuemei actually felt slightly relieved—at least Fen Jie’er was temporarily safe.

By the time they returned in the afternoon, there would still be a chance to negotiate.

Qian Hongmei had the same thought. Otherwise, she would have already chased after them.

Nearby, Jian’s mother saw her granddaughter being taken away. Ignoring the pain in her body, she rushed after the scar-faced man.

“Let my granddaughter go! Let her go!”

But she hadn’t eaten properly in days.

She was so weak that even speaking too much left her breathless.

After just a few steps, she collapsed.

“Aunt Jian fainted! Quick, help her inside!” Jian Fuyin shouted anxiously.

Without hesitation, he crouched down and carried her on his back into the house.

The house was in utter chaos.

The floor was already a mess, and everything inside had been smashed.

Not a single item remained intact.

“The doctor is here! The doctor is here…” Zhang Xuemei rushed in with Doctor Jian.

Doctor Jian was the village doctor. When he saw the unconscious people in the room, his heart sank.

He was well aware of the Jian family’s situation.

He had been visiting frequently—mainly because of the high-interest loans.

Previously, the Jian family could still make some payments, but recently, for some reason, the interest had suddenly increased several times over.

But debts had to be repaid—that was just how it was. No one could say otherwise.

With a helpless sigh, Doctor Jian moved to Jian Ming’s bedside and checked his pulse.

“How is he? How is he?” Qian Hongmei asked anxiously.

“It’s not looking good. His injuries are serious—there are signs of internal bleeding. I’ll prescribe a few doses of medicine to stop the bleeding for now, but you should take him to Renhetang in the county as soon as possible.”

Doctor Jian spoke with great reluctance.

To be honest, he wasn’t even sure if his medicine would stop the bleeding.

His medical skills had their limits, and he didn’t dare to delay proper treatment.

But he also knew that, given their current situation, they probably couldn’t even afford to travel to Quanyong County.