This meal, they still ate the meat dishes they brought back, only, the joy and excitement from before were gone. Chiang Xiao ate her meal in utter silence, while Ge Liutao and Chiang Songhai didn’t know what to say.
At night, when Chiang Xiao came out for water, she overheard her grandparents talking in low voices.
"Little Xiao Xin is feeling uncomfortable."
Chiang Songhai let out a long sigh, "But what can I say? In a place like ours, if someone does something wrong, a spit from everyone can drown a person. In the end, Baoguo’s wife coming to our door was just to eat something. If Little Xiao Xin fights with them over such a small amount of meat and vegetables, how bad would it sound if it spread? The older generation passed down the importance of respecting elders and filial piety; our village takes this very seriously."
"She’s still young, she doesn’t understand these things." Ge Liutao’s voice was also hoarse.
Chiang Songhai sighed again, "I don’t blame her either. Baoguo’s wife has been overbearing these years, and Baohe, how has he become so violent? I need to have a serious talk with my elder brother someday, to get him to discipline Baohe."
"Indeed. If he really injures Little Xiao Xin, I wouldn’t be able to live on," Ge Liutao seemed to be crying again.
"Baohe also holds a grudge against Qingzhu."
Upon hearing this, Chiang Xiao was slightly startled. Chiang Baohe had been insulting her mother all along, and she thought it was only because he felt Chiang Qingzhu had disgraced the two families. Could there be other underlying reasons?
She moved a few steps closer and stood outside the door to listen.
Ge Liutao sniffled, "This is our fault, who knew that he was so infatuated with that girl? To ask for her hand in marriage, he knelt for her parents for a whole day and night, and in the end, it was all ruined because of Qingzhu’s issues."
"Sigh. At that time, we also pleaded, but the other party insisted that Qingzhu had tarnished her reputation and refused to let their daughter marry into a family like ours; there was nothing we could do."
Originally, Chiang Baohe had taken a liking to a girl from the neighboring village, but the girl’s family, upon hearing about Chiang Qingzhu, insisted that the Chiang family had poor morals and completely opposed the marriage. Since then, Chiang Baohe has harbored resentment towards Chiang Qingzhu, which later shifted to Chiang Xiao.
The more desperately he was hoping to find a wife, the harder it was for him to do so, the more he hated Chiang Xiao.
So, every time he saw Chiang Xiao, he felt like he wanted to kill her.
For a man yearning for a wife, longing to hold a woman in his sleep to the point of going mad, to the extent that his psyche had become somewhat twisted, anything that became an obstacle had to be cleared away.
Chiang Songhai and Ge Liutao began to discuss how to borrow money for the hospital, but Chiang Xiao didn’t listen any longer.
She returned to her room, took her art supplies, and slipped into the Space.
The abundance of medicinal herbs in the Space somewhat improved her mood.
The Lingzhi mushrooms had grown a lot, and the two larger ones had deepened in color. Chiang Xiao crouched down beside them, hesitating. Should she uproot these two Lingzhi mushrooms to slice them up and nourish her grandparents’ health?
Now that her grandfather was injured, going up the mountain was impossible in the short term, and she feared the injury might affect him afterwards. If these Lingzhi mushrooms could help him recover...
As for the hospital fees, she planned to ask the Old Chiang Family to bear the cost. But tomorrow would be too late to argue with them; it would be best to have some money on hand first. Should she sell one of the Lingzhi mushrooms in town?
These Lingzhi mushrooms would surely fetch a good price, as their quality had climbed several grades since being in the Space. Selling them could definitely ease their family’s financial distress for the time being.
Once Chiang Xiao had made up her mind, she dug up the two Lingzhi mushrooms.
But as soon as the Lingzhi mushrooms were unearthed, the Space suddenly shook, and then the other half of the Space that had appeared before swayed and disappeared.
The Space returned to its original state, surrounded by a blanket of white mist.