The Old Chiang Family had no peace that night either.
Chiang Baoguo had returned home for a while at dusk.
The injury to Chiang Baohe’s foot turned out to be more severe than anyone had imagined. The object that smashed his ankle must have been quite heavy, and it was sharp, as well as being smashed down with great force, hitting right at the joint.
The worst affected area suffered a bone fracture.
The doctor recommended hospitalization.
Chiang Baoguo didn’t bring enough money, so he hurried back home to get some, and he also needed to bring some personal items to the hospital, as someone would have to stay there with him that night.
As soon as Ho Laidi heard how serious the injury was, she burst into tears in the courtyard.
She kept cursing the "witch" who had hurt Chiang Baohe and even said she wanted to make a fuss at the militia, blaming them for not keeping the village safe, allowing a woman from who knows where to come and injure her precious son.
Speaking of which, Chiang Baohe was far from being Ho Laidi’s most cherished son; her younger son, Chiang Yuequn, who had left the poverty-stricken village early and attended high school in the provincial city, was her true pride and joy.
Most of the Old Chiang Family’s money had been spent on Chiang Yuequn.
But with Chiang Yuequn not at home, Chiang Baohe naturally still had his rightful place in the family.
Besides, since Chiang Baohe had lost an eye and his search for a wife had been full of frustrations, Ho Laidi did feel somewhat guilty towards him. Her biggest wish was to find a wife for her second son, to feel as if she had accomplished a mission.
"Enough already, Mom. Hurry up and get me the money. I also need to cook. Once I’m done, I’ll take the food to Dad and Baohe. At this hour, only the Peace Restaurant has food, and it’s expensive there," Chiang Baoguo said, growing impatient with his mother’s loud weeping.
Upon hearing this, Ho Laidi’s crying ceased abruptly; she grabbed a broom beside her and swung it at Song Xiyun, all the while loudly berating, "You lazy wretch! I told you to cook earlier. Where did you skulk off to slack off again?"
"Mom, wasn’t I just chopping sweet potato vines? When did I slack off?" Song Xiyun pouted. In reality, she had only chopped the sweet potato vines for about five minutes before she went off to peek over at Chiang Xiao’s home.
Some visitors had arrived there in the afternoon and stayed for over two hours before leaving. Unfortunately, they came while she was napping, so she didn’t see whether they brought anything with them or not.
It was quite curious, actually. There had been no visitors to Chiang Xiao’s home for decades. Who could those two people be today?
"You dare to talk back? Go cook now! Fry two eggs for Baohe and your dad. Staying in the hospital is really tough," Ho Laidi grumbled and complained.
At that, Song Xiyun became unwilling.
There were only two eggs left in the house. If both were given to her father-in-law and Chiang Baohe, then she and Dongdong would have to wait until the hens laid more eggs.
Yet for some reason, their hens had not laid any eggs for the past two days!
"Mom, there are only two eggs left at home. Dongdong will make a fuss if he doesn’t get to eat fried eggs for a day. I can’t calm him down when he throws a tantrum," she protested.
Ho Laidi, infuriated, smacked her on the shoulder.
"He’s your son. If you can’t calm him down, who will?"
Song Xiyun shrugged with an expression like a pig not scared of scalding, stepping back two paces and keeping silent.
Of course, he was her son, but he was also the eldest grandson of the Old Chiang Family. Ho Laidi spoiled him rotten herself, and she didn’t believe for a second that if Dongdong really threw a tantrum, Ho Laidi could withstand it.
Just then, Chiang Caijiao, who was timidly collecting clothes hung on the bamboo pole, said softly, "Grandma, I saw Sister Xiao carrying a basket of eggs home yesterday."
Ho Laidi and Song Xiyun both snapped their heads to look at her sharply.
"What? You really saw that?"
Chiang Caijiao, looking a bit frightened, nodded her head.