Li Zhengguo hurriedly chopped a bundle of firewood and carried it down the mountain. He was worried about Tiantian. Tiantian was pretty and short, and he figured even a child could bully her. He couldn't feel at ease.
At the foot of the mountain, he resumed his limp, hobbling around searching for Tian Jing, "Tiantian? Tiantian?"
Tian Jing was hiding behind the thickest tree at the foot of the mountain. She was bored waiting and had thought about using her powers to monitor the surroundings from this tree.
However, controlling such a large tree was too difficult. She had channeled a lot of her powers into it, but before she could try again, she heard Li Zhengguo calling out. She could only come out from behind the tree.
"Hey!" Tian Jing responded to Li Zhengguo's call, "I'm here."
Seeing Tian Jing safe and sound, Li Zhengguo's tension finally eased. He reached out and took the basket from her hands. Seeing the wild vegetables in the basket, he asked in surprise, "You found so much?"
"Yes," Tian Jing said happily and pointed, "I found it over there under the bushes, covered by dead grass."
Li Zhengguo looked in the direction she was pointing. There was a patch of bushes. He shifted the basket to his other shoulder and extended his hand to Tian Jing, "Let's go home."
Tian Jing put her hands behind her back, "Let's go."
Li Zhengguo sheepishly withdrew his hand, "You walk ahead."
Tian Jing felt it didn't matter whether she walked in front or behind, so she ran a few steps ahead.
At this time, in the east room of the Li family, Zhang Fangcao sat by Li Mu's kàng, holding her sobbing daughter.
"Fangcao, take Da Niu back. I'm sleepy," said Li Mu, her voice full of fatigue.
"It's fine, you sleep. I'll stay here and leave after Minmin comes back."
"You child," Li Mu sighed, "Don't come anymore. Now that Tiantian has moved in, she'll have someone to talk to. If you come every day, won't your mother-in-law have opinions?"
"No need to worry," Zhang Fangcao said with certainty, "My mother-in-law's words are just idle talk. I don't care. As long as I can keep Elder Cousin company, that's enough."
"What about your sister-in-law? Does she have any objections?"
Li Mu was tired. She didn't want company; she needed rest. Talking was too much effort.
"My sister-in-law listens to my parents. My father-in-law told me to come and take care of you more."
Since there was no one else in the Li family, Zhang Fangcao took the opportunity to talk to Li Mu about Tian Jing, describing her as a flirtatious woman who looked like she couldn't stay put, and therefore unsuitable for Brother Zhengguo. However, no matter how she spoke, the old woman kept changing the subject, not engaging with her.
"I don't need you to take care of me. Minmin can handle it alone. Take Da Niu and leave. She's giving me a headache with her noise."
Li Mu couldn't get rid of her, so she had to speak harshly.
"Slap!" Zhang Fangcao slapped Da Niu. Da Niu, who had just stopped crying and was only whimpering, let out a loud cry of grievance.
The sound assaulted their ears and drilled into their minds, causing Li Mu's head to throb. She felt dizzy and disoriented. She gripped the quilt tightly, trying not to faint.
Li Zhengguo and Tian Jing had just rounded the kitchen when they saw another figure quickly rush out from the east wall and into the house, "Mom!"
Inside the room, Li Mu was already vomiting, and Da Niu was still crying. Su Dan Novels.
Li Zhengguo immediately put down the firewood and the basket and rushed into the east room. Seeing the scene inside, he reached out to pull Zhang Fangcao out.
Tian Jing, who entered the room half a step behind him, was faster and took Da Niu from Zhang Fangcao's arms.
Carrying Da Niu out of the main room, she saw a woman standing at the door. Da Niu, in her arms, saw this woman and her crying subsided, "Grandma."
Hu Hongju? Zhang Fangcao's mother-in-law, the wife of Accountant Li who owed a favor to Li Fu?
Tian Jing pushed Da Niu into her arms, "Your family is really playing a good game, using such a young and ignorant child to wear down my mother-in-law's life. You don't need to help out here anymore, right?"
"Pah! Get lost! You chased people away yesterday, and you're back today. Will this never end?"
Hu Hongju hugged her granddaughter. Hearing these words that twisted the truth, she opened her mouth but couldn't argue.
Although it was Li Min who asked Fangcao to come, Li Min asked Fangcao to help take care of the sick.
Not only did her daughter-in-law fail to do so, but she also hit her child in front of the patient. Wasn't this clearly intentional?
She had pulled Li Min to listen under the east wall and heard it all clearly. Elder Cousin had repeatedly said she was tired and wanted to rest, and that Da Niu was giving her a headache. She had also heard Da Niu's whimpering. She should have cried once already.
Although Da Niu was a girl, because Fangcao said Elder Cousin liked Da Niu, her own family treated Da Niu well too.
Fangcao not only failed to empathize with the patient's suffering but also made Da Niu cry, which was true.
She had pulled Li Min and stopped her from entering the room immediately, which was also true.
Just as Hu Hongju was feeling ashamed, Li Zhengguo had already pulled Zhang Fangcao out and pushed her beside her, "Elder Aunt, do I need to come to your house and say in person that we're severing ties between our families for you and your daughter-in-law to stop bothering my mother and my sister?"
Mortified and angry at being lectured by two juniors, Hu Hongju was unwilling to take all the blame directly.
She turned to her younger daughter-in-law, who was hanging her head, "Is this what you call 'working hard' here every day, so hard you don't even have the strength to wash dishes?"
"Heh heh." Tian Jing scoffed, "No wonder my mother-in-law's health never improves. So it's you, this white lotus, deliberately wearing her down? And using her to find excuses for your laziness. Truly a virtuous woman."
"Hurry up and leave. My mother-in-law has already vomited from this child's noise. You've achieved your goal, so we won't see you out."
Tian Jing turned and walked back into the house. Li Mu's body was too frail. She needed to find a way. Based on Li Mu's dizziness and vomiting stimulated by sound, it looked like Meniere's disease, an inner ear problem, which was difficult to treat, especially in this era.
The only way was to improve Li Mu's physical condition. The main reasons were poor diet and excessive worry. Alas, having a mother-in-law like Lin Daiyu, it's no wonder the original owner in her past life had no patience. She seemed so delicate, unlike a peasant woman.
Inside the room, Li Min was sweeping by the kàng, crying softly as she swept. It was all her fault. She had naively trusted Zhang Fangcao and left her mother in Zhang Fangcao's care. It had only been an hour. If it had been longer, would her mother have been harmed to death by Zhang Fangcao and her daughter?
Meanwhile, Li Zhengguo was by the kàng, bending over and asking Li Mu how she felt and if she wanted him to find a doctor.
Tian Jing frowned, "Li Min, go cry outside. That child doesn't know your mother can't stand this buzzing, and you don't know either?"
"Li Zhengguo, you be quiet too. Your mother needs rest. Don't you understand what rest means? First, it's quiet, and second, her body needs nutritional supplements. You two are making noise constantly, stimulating her ears and brain."
Li Min looked at her mother and saw her frowning, looking uncomfortable. She didn't argue with Tian Jing anymore. She took the dustpan and broom and obediently walked out.
Li Zhengguo also fell silent. He tucked in the quilt around his mother, glanced at Tian Jing, pursed his lips, and walked out.