Second Sister-in-law Lu followed Sister-in-law Lu home, angrily saying, "What’s going on with Qian Xiaoxiao? She threw out Tang Sufen’s things, so how come she let her stay in the house again?"
Seeing Qian Xiaoxiao’s actions, it would have been better if she hadn’t come at all, as it only made things worse.
Sister-in-law Lu thought about Lu Jiaxin’s temperament; she was not someone who would swallow her anger. If you didn’t provoke her, she wouldn’t bother with you, but if you did, she wouldn’t let it slide easily: "Don’t be mad, let’s wait and see."
Second Sister-in-law Lu nodded.
Sister-in-law Lu said, "Later, take the second brother and visit Third Uncle in the hospital, and make sure to apologize properly to him and Jiaxin."
Second Sister-in-law Lu agreed. But when she returned to the store to tell Lu Jiazong to go to the hospital, he didn’t dare to go and only grudgingly followed after being scolded.
At the hospital, the couple wanted to enter the room, but Yan Yijun stopped Lu Jiazong, saying, "Sorry, the boss instructed me not to let you in."
Since leaving the Supervisory Committee, Lu Jiazong had been feeling guilty and he slapped himself after hearing that Lu Hongjun had been hospitalized for emergency. When he heard the surgery was a success, he fell to his knees.
Second Sister-in-law Lu gave Lu Jiazong a fierce glare before entering the room. She was surprised upon entering; the hospital room was spacious and had a TV and a caregiver’s bed.
Lu Jiaxin turned her head, greeted her with "Second Sister-in-law," and then turned away.
Second Sister-in-law Lu walked to the bedside, seeing Lu Hongjun’s hands and feet tied, she was astonished: "Jiaxin, why are Third Uncle’s hands and feet tied up?"
"He kept trying to pull out the tubes from his head, so to prevent him from pulling them out, we had to tie him up. He was kicking his legs restlessly due to discomfort, so we had to tie his legs too."
Second Sister-in-law Lu felt a bit sorry seeing Lu Hongjun struggle continuously, but there wasn’t a better solution: "Jiaxin, you’ve been taking care of him all day, maybe let your second brother take care of your dad tonight!"
Lu Jiaxin said coldly, "No need, I’ve already hired a caregiver and have someone staying here to supervise the caregiver."
Second Sister-in-law Lu sighed and said, "Jiaxin, I know you’re angry with your second brother. But that place... your second brother is just an ordinary person; he said everything out of fear at that time."
Since she brought it up herself, Lu Jiaxin didn’t hold back, "Tang Sufen guessed my dad gave me something but didn’t know what it was; she found out from Lu Jiazong that it was a batch of old items. He’s definitely partly to blame for my dad’s current condition."
If he had only let it slip when being interrogated, then it wouldn’t be blamed on him. After all, in such a place, even those with good mental resilience wouldn’t withstand it, let alone Lu Jiazong.
Second Sister-in-law Lu felt her face burning with shame.
Lu Jiaxin didn’t say anything harsh; it wasn’t necessary: "Second Sister-in-law, I’m here to take care of things, so there’s no need for you to worry about it."
Second Sister-in-law Lu was silent for a while before saying, "Jiaxin, Qian Xiaoxiao threw out Tang Sufen’s things, but after causing a scene, she let her move back in."
Lu Jiaxin wasn’t aware of this, but she trusted Qian Xiaoxiao to handle it well: "I’m aware of this matter. Second Sister-in-law, your store also needs you, so go back!"
Seeing her speaking so kindly, Second Sister-in-law Lu’s heart felt even more stifled. Jiaxin used to be so close to them; it’s all Lu Jiazong’s fault, that stupid pig, really making her furious.
In the evening, after Huang Jianshe finished work and headed home, someone suddenly called his name on the street. As he replied, he was hit hard on the shoulder with a stick and kicked to the ground.
Tang Sufen, who was feeding her grandson, heard Sister Ju from the small store call out, she opened the door and forced a smile, "Sister-in-law, what’s the matter?"
Sister Ju said, "I just got off the phone with your daughter-in-law, saying your son got injured. She kept crying over the phone; it sounds serious."
Tang Sufen entrusted her grandson to an elderly woman she was close with and rushed to the hospital. When she arrived at the hospital and met her daughter-in-law, she learned that Huang Jianshe was not in mortal danger, but his left leg had been broken.
The doctor said it was a comminuted fracture and very severe; surgery was needed, or he would be permanently disabled.
Tang Sufen hurriedly said, "We’ll do it, we’ll do the surgery..."
Huang Jianshe’s wife cried, saying they had no money. It wasn’t that they had no money; she wanted Tang Sufen to pay, as they never used her money, always giving it to the second and third brothers instead.
Tang Sufen pulled out the one hundred plus yuan she had on her and said, "Dabao’s mother, this is all I have on hand. With Lu Hongjun now, we won’t be getting any more money in the future."
Huang Jianshe’s wife reluctantly took the money, crying, "Mom, I really don’t have any money on me. The ten thousand yuan we invested hasn’t returned anything yet. Mom, if it doesn’t work, then we won’t treat it."
Tang Sufen couldn’t bear to see her eldest son become disabled, so she suggested she would go borrow money: "Dabao’s mother, you must take good care of Jianshe, I’ll go back to raise some money."
On the way home, Tang Sufen realized she forgot to ask how Jianshe’s leg got hurt. But this wasn’t urgent; she’d find out later at the hospital.
Huang Jianshe’s wife was satisfied to hear that.
But what Tang Sufen didn’t expect was to find her own belongings, including her beddings and clothes moved out when she got home.
She knocked on the door, only for several large men to emerge. One of them, with a scarred face, menacingly said, "Old lady, if you break my door, I’ll chop off your hand."
Tang Sufen’s face turned pale instantly, "This is my house."
The scarred man pushed Tang Sufen, knocking her to the ground and said, "What do you mean your house? I bought this house today. Get out quickly; if you don’t, don’t blame me for being rude."
Tang Sufen quickly understood that Lu Jiaxin seeing she didn’t move out went and sold the house, to some ruffians, no less, so she wouldn’t dare cause trouble.
The scarred man pointed at the items at the door, "Hurry up and move these things away, or I’ll throw them straight to the dump."
Tang Sufen didn’t dare argue over the furniture and appliances, "I still have things in the room, let me grab them and I’ll leave."
The scarred man didn’t give her a hard time and let her in to grab her things. Actually, it was jewelry Lu Hongjun had bought for her and the money she had saved over the years.
After getting the box, Tang Sufen then wanted the kitchenware and food supplies.
The scarred man clenched his fist, menacingly saying, "If you keep nagging, I’ll beat you up."
One of his underlings said, "Boss, this old lady doesn’t look like she can take a beating; if she gets hurt and blames us, it’d be bad. I’ve heard she has a son working at the water plant, just go after that brat instead."
Huang Jianye worked at the water plant, and Tang Sufen was scared into silence.
With Huang Jianshe and his wife at the hospital and the kids at the grandma’s, there was no one at the house. Tang Sufen hired two tricycle drivers to help move the things to Huang Jianye’s place.
Unexpectedly, upon arriving at Huang Jianye’s, there was no one there; a neighbor informed her that Huang Jianye had been involved with a "fox spirit" in the alley, and the woman’s husband, upon discovering it, had gone to chop off Huang Jianye’s left arm. Huang Jianye was already sent to the hospital, and the man who did it fled.
Tang Sufen lost consciousness as her vision went dark, leaving only the cries of the child echoing in the air.