Chapter 58: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 58: Cruelty of Hong Shi
"How could that old... second grandmother be so heartless?"
After listening to Mo Wu Shi's tearful complaint, Mo Yan angrily snapped the twig in her hand, "Si Ni'er is so well-behaved, how could she bear to sell her off? She's her own granddaughter!"
She never expected Hong Shi to be so ruthless. Just for a few pastries, she sold even her six-year-old granddaughter and claimed she died of illness. It was simply outrageous!
Thinking of her obedient and sensible little daughter, Wu Shi felt a sharp pain in her heart, and the tears she just stopped couldn't help but flow again, "The food she brought with her was stolen by other refugees on the way, and San Shu caused trouble again, losing all the family's properties, money, and land to Master Chen. Poor Si Ni'er, just for a few pastries, she was heartlessly sold by her own grandmother, sob!"
At the end, she almost gritted her teeth in anger. After marrying into the Mo family fifteen years ago and managing everything inside and outside the house, she dared not show the slightest disrespect to her in-laws. But in the end, she couldn't even protect her own flesh and blood. How could she not hate it?
Mo Yan was stunned. How could there be such a thing?
She always thought that Old Mo and Hong Shi schemed against their family in every possible way, tightly holding onto their house and land. How could they abandon such a lucrative opportunity and settle in Liu Yang Village? It turned out that the troublemaker Mo Yong Shou offended the wealthy and powerful Master Chen.
She really didn't know whether to rejoice or to say it's retribution, but it was enough if the retribution fell on the culprit's head, yet it also affected innocent children.
Seeing Wu Shi so distressed, Mo Yan dared not mention Si Ni'er again and quickly changed the subject, "Aunt, your niece always remembers your kindness. If you have any difficulties, just let your niece know, and I will definitely help if I can."
Wu Shi quickly wiped away her tears, looking at Mo Yan's complexion and demeanor, which had changed drastically in the past few months. She felt both guilty and grateful. Back in the Mo family village, she was in charge of managing the household. Even though she pitied her three nieces and nephews, she didn't dare to cross her mother-in-law's bottom line, so she didn't actually help them much. She didn't expect her eldest niece to still remember.
"Aunt knows you're a good girl. If it weren't for no other way, Aunt wouldn't have the face to come to you."
Mo Yan shook her head, "If it weren't for Aunt often taking care of us in the past, we three siblings might have starved to death long ago. If you have difficulties, just tell your niece. Don't be shy."
Wu Shi's eyes turned red again, nodding and choking, "Then Aunt won't be polite to you! Your little cousin Shi Tou fell ill the day before yesterday. The only bit of money in the family is held by mother. She refuses to spend it to call a doctor. Now the child's condition is getting worse, and he can't even drink rice soup. Aunt has no choice but to ask you to borrow some money to see a doctor for the child."
Mo Yan cursed inwardly at Hong Shi for being heartless. Even if she didn't care much about this grandchild, she couldn't just watch her own grandson die of illness! She suddenly felt lucky not to have been reincarnated as one of Hong Shi's granddaughters. Otherwise, she would either die again or kill this heartless woman!
Seeing Wu Shi so worried, Mo Yan suppressed her anger and immediately agreed without hesitation, "Aunt, Shi Tou's illness cannot be delayed. You hurry back home and bring him here. We'll see the doctor in the city right away!"
"Okay, okay, Aunt will go right away!"
Seeing Mo Yan's decisive agreement, Wu Shi's last bit of worry disappeared. She wiped her face and hurried back home.
When Wu Shi brought her child over, Mo Yan saw that the child's eyes were tightly closed, his face was purple, and his lips were chapped. She dared not delay any longer and hurriedly instructed Mo Qingze before taking the mother and son to the city in a donkey cart.
It took almost an hour to rush the forty miles to the doctor's clinic. After seeing the child's condition, the doctor scolded Wu Shi harshly, saying that if they had delayed for another night, the child would either die or become a vegetable. This frightened Wu Shi, and tears kept flowing uncontrollably!
Mo Yan also felt extremely scared. Shi Tou was only three years old and very fragile. In this backward era with limited medical capabilities, the likelihood of early death was too high. With such thoughts in mind, she grew even more resentful towards the heartless Hong Shi.
After leaving the clinic, Mo Yan directly brought Wu Shi and her son back home and let the little one sleep in her bed.
The child woke up briefly when he took the medicine at the clinic, but now he fell back into a deep sleep. Fortunately, the medicine worked, the purple on his face faded a bit, and his body wasn't as hot as before, which relieved everyone's worries a little.
Xin'er and Zhen'er both remembered Wu Shi, who had treated them well before. They also knew that she had helped the three siblings a lot, so they were very sad to know that their little cousin was sick. They shed quite a few tears of sadness.
"Aunt, you stay in the house to take care of Shi Tou. If you're tired, just lie down and rest."
After sending the two children away, Mo Yan took out a thinner cotton quilt from the cabinet and covered it over Shi Tou.
Feeling the soft and warm blanket, Wu Shi nodded with a red-eyed expression, feeling grateful and not knowing what to say.
Mo Yan smiled, turned and left the room, gently closing the door, and instructed the children not to speak loudly before carrying several packets of medicine into the kitchen.
Inside the room, the only sound was the cold wind blowing against the wall outside.
Wu Shi absentmindedly touched her son's face, lost in thought. Thinking of the helplessness and despair of guarding her child these past two days, her eyes were filled with a glimmer of hatred. She hated the heartless Hong Shi for her cruelty, hated her husband's weakness and filial piety, but she hated herself even more for being powerless. If she had dared to resist when her mother-in-law wanted to sell her daughter back then, maybe things wouldn't have come to this point!
She was grateful to have met her cousin's family; otherwise, she was afraid she wouldn't even be able to protect her youngest son. Comparing the two situations, she became even more dissatisfied with her in-laws and husband. If it weren't for the children, she really didn't want to stay in her in-laws' house any longer.
The thick cotton quilt was warm, and just by touching it, she knew it was brand new. Thinking of the situation in Liu Yang Village, Wu Shi knew that the cousin's family was now living much better than in the Mo family village. While she was happy for them, she also had endless worries about her future life in her in-laws' house.
Having not slept properly for several days, Wu Shi's eyelids grew heavy, and before long, she unknowingly lay down, holding her son in her arms, and fell into a deep sleep.
Both mother and son slept soundly. After an hour, Mo Yan brought the medicine over. Knocking on the door but hearing no response from inside, she quietly entered. Seeing them asleep, she had to wake them up.
Having Mo Yan brew the medicine, Wu Shi felt very embarrassed. She quickly woke her son up and held him in her arms to feed him the medicine.
Shi Tou was very obedient. After waking up, he didn't cry or fuss, and he quickly finished the bowl of medicine.
Seeing that it was already late, Wu Shi couldn't stay at Mo's house any longer, so she suggested leaving.
Mo Yan quickly stopped her, "Aunt, Shi Tou has just gotten a little better. How can you expose him to the wind now? You can stay here for the next few days until Shi Tou is completely recovered, and then you can go back!"
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