Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Just Be More Generous
Mother knows her daughter best, Lin Chunju could actually guess what her daughter’s decision would be.
But to hear her say it out loud, she could not help but sigh.
“Xiaofang, although Mom respects your decision, I hope you think it through, raising a child isn’t that simple, especially with the Ma Family…”
As she was speaking, the people arrived, and a messy commotion came from outside the clinic.
Li Zhaozhi was really like a cockroach that couldn’t be killed—just moments ago she had been at death’s door, but upon hearing that Yue Xiaofang was pregnant, she got back up again. Not only that, she even brought the whole family over.
For fear of trouble, Ma Shulin and others stopped them outside, but they couldn’t stop their voices from coming through.
“Xiaofang, this child is the Ma Family’s seed, you must keep it, otherwise… otherwise I’ll go to Daye Village and smash my head to death at your mother’s house.”
The sharp voice grated on her eardrums, and Lin Chunju’s eyes suddenly flashed with murderous intent.
Seeing Lin Chunju charging to the doorway, Li Zhaozhi panicked, covering her mouth, fearful that even her remaining teeth might be destroyed.
Ma Jinbao’s face was a mix of blue and purple, swollen as if he had been stung by wasps.
“Wife, it was all my fault before. I shouldn’t have hit you; it was my mistake, please forgive me.”
He hurried forward a few steps into the room and dropped to his knees with a thud, lifting his arm to slap his own face.
The smacking sound echoed in the room, each slap louder than the last.
The female village doctor couldn’t help but intervene, “Xiaofang, what’s the dispute between you and Ma Jinbao? Between husband and wife, a fight at bed-head leads to a reconciliation at bed-foot. Now that you’re pregnant again, why not go home with him?”
Yue Jiannan curled his lip, “Go home? Do you know my sister was nearly beaten to death by him?”
Those who don’t know the bitterness one has endured should not urge them to kindness.
His sister had suffered for years, and now Ma Jinbao’s pretense was merely for the child in her womb, wasn’t it?
Yue Xiaofang said nothing, but the hand on her belly grew increasingly heavy.
She thought of many things all at once.
Yue Xiaofang had been very young when she lost her father, and it had been up to her mother and brother to raise her, yet there are roles that simply cannot be replaced.
When the children were in a conflict while playing, they could always point to her nose and curse her as a fatherless bastard.
The girls also disliked playing with her, as if she might infect them with some plague.
The village children liked to play with sandbags, and her mother had made one for her from scrap fabric.
Yue Xiaofang, excitedly holding the sandbag, thought she could now join everyone’s games, but from start to finish, no one paid any attention to her.
The sandbag her mother made, especially wrapped with a little flower, was clearly the prettiest, yet why would none of the other kids give it even a glance?
Li Zhaozhi always cursed her as a disaster star, wild and fatherless from birth. If… if her father were still alive, would everything be different?
Yue Xiaofang remained silent, but her expression grew more and more solemn.
Yue Qingqing quietly closed her eyes and turned her little head away.
It seemed Yue Xiaofang had made her decision, even though it was not a good one.
But people are like that; when obsessed, even knowing it’s a brick wall, they would still head straight for the collision.
“Mom…” Yue Xiaofang said with tears, looking at Lin Chunju. With just one glance, Lin Chunju understood her intentions.
Ma Jinbao had been husband and wife with Yue Xiaofang for a few years after all. Seeing the signs, he followed the lead and crawled on his knees a few steps toward Yue Xiaofang.
He began to knock his head down with a thudding sound.
“Xiaofang, I will definitely treat you and the child well in the future.”
Yue Xiaofang did not utter a word, when an unexpected person was dragged in by Li Zhaozhi.
It was Ma Jinbao’s father—Ma Zhuzi.
Ma Zhuzi still had his usual honest appearance, hunching his back, holding a smoking pipe in his hand.
“Xiaofang, I know you’ve been wronged, the Ma Family owes you an apology, but I’ve never laid a finger on you, you have to admit that.”
Ma Zhuzi took a breath, his honest-to-goodness demeanor unavoidably evoking a hint of sympathy.
“After all, you are spouses, and now Jinbao has realized his mistake, why don’t you be magnanimous and forgive him?”
Seeing Yue Xiaofang still silent, he slapped Li Zhaozhi without preamble.
“Apologize to Xiaofang!”
Li Zhaozhi, holding her face, did not dare to show any temper and bowed her head lower and lower.
“I was wrong, I deserve to die, I won’t dare again.”
She was in tears, but Yue Xiaofang still did not lift her head.
Finally, Ma Zhuzi could not hold back, “Alright, the fault of the son is the father’s failing. Since you still harbor resentment, I’ll kneel in Ma Jinbao’s place and apologize to you.”
As he spoke, his knees softened, and he was about to kneel down.