"No, no! I'm just thinking that if we visit them repeatedly and they get annoyed, then the more we won't be able to get the money?" Zhao Hong said cautiously.
Old Madam Li was about to retort, but then she felt that what Zhao Hong said made sense. After all, Qiao Mei's attitude yesterday was already very bad. Even if she went again today, nothing good was going to come out of it.
If Qiao Mei really cut ties with Li Gui, then Li Gui would be of no value at all. Perhaps her four children would be able to earn money when they grew up and she could still get some money then. However, she was not sure if she would still be alive by then!
She was already almost 70 years old. By the time those children grew up, she would be 90 years old! There was no way that she would have the strength to go and cause trouble for them.
"Then you tell me, what should we do about this matter?" Old Madam Li asked.
Zhao Hong had always been a person with no opinion. At this point in time, asking her to think of ways to harm and deceive others now was just making life difficult for her. All her life, she had only followed instructions and it was never her place to make decisions.
"Mother… You also know that I'm stupid, but I do know that if you travel such a long distance every day, what if you tire yourself out after a long time? Won't we be at a disadvantage then?" Zhao Hong said.
Although Old Madam Li was old, she used to be an expert climber in the village. When she was young, no one was as fast or as good as her.
No one would believe it if she got tired or became sick from walking more than 20 miles.
"I really feed you for nothing! It's better to feed livestock than to give food to you! What a waste! What good is your brain for!" Old Madam Li pointed at Zhao Hong and scolded her.
Zhao Hong knelt on the ground and did not dare to make a sound. It was fine to just get a scolding, but if she talked back and got beaten up, that would be really miserable!
"Why are you still kneeling here! Hurry up and cook! Are you going to starve me to death! Get lost, get lost!" Old Madam Li waved her hand sulkily to send Zhao Hong away.
Zhao Hong ran to the kitchen with tears in her eyes. She had no right to speak in this house.
Old Madam Li was right. She was indeed inferior to livestock. The livestock belonging to others could at least rest after they worked in the fields, but she did not get any rest all year round and still had to be beaten and scolded every day.
Back then, her father had owed Old Man Li 200 dollars and really could not repay the debt, so he gave her to the Li family to be their daughter-in-law. If not for that, her life would not have been so miserable.
It was so unfair!
"Cry, cry, cry! All you can do is to cry! If you're really capable! Find my son and my grandsons! I've worked so hard for most of my life and thought that I could enjoy life with my children and grandchildren for the next few decades. In the end, ever since a jinx like you married into the family, nothing had gone smoothly!" Old Madam Li cursed in the courtyard.
She often muttered to herself about how tough her life had been, and scolded Zhao Hong for being useless.
She could repeat all these more than a thousand times a day. Anyone who passed by the Li family's main door would see Old Madam Li beating and scolding Zhao Hong. In the past, there was a kind villager who secretly gave Zhao Hong some ointment to help her wounds recover quickly.
Unexpectedly, Old Madam Li saw what happened. Old Madam Li went to that person's house and caused a scene for a week. Later on, when everyone in the village saw Zhao Hong, they all avoided her, afraid that Old Madam Li would misunderstand them if they spoke to her.
For people like Old Madam Li, as long as one was a tiny bit related to her, one would get skinned alive by her. If one did not give her money, she would definitely cause a lot of trouble.
The second son of the Li family, Li Xiong, could not stand Old Madam Li's actions. That was why he left the village with his wife and children and settled down somewhere else. He did not even come back once during the new year and festive season.
If not for the fact that the eldest son, Li Dong, was useless, they would have long distanced themselves from Old Madam Li as well!
After mealtime, Zhao Hong went into the room to check on the two children's feet. She could not see clearly at night, but now that she could, she was flabbergasted.
A pair of originally fair little feet were covered in wounds and there were parts which had already started to fester and even bleed. The other child's blisters had also been burst from rubbing against the rough cotton blanket. There was not an unhurt spot on either child's feet.
If the wounds were not disinfected, the condition of the children's feet would only become more serious.
If infection set in and the flesh rotted to the bone, they would not be able to keep their feet!