"You really can’t be reasoned with." Seeing Xiu Jianlin didn’t believe her, Liu Mei glared at him angrily, turned around to straighten her quilt, and climbed onto the bed.
Xiu Jianlin looked at her, "Then you know it clearly, yet you still eat the meat he brings back?"
"I... I did that because... it’s all for the sake of you two! If you weren’t so useless, I could be living in a big house by now, Xiu Jianlin let me tell you, we can only live in this shabby thatch-roofed house for another year or so, you better start making money for me right away..."
Liu Mei rambled on, getting more agitated as she spoke.
Xiu Jianlin was too impatient to listen and covered his head with the quilt, turning over and starting to snore, which made Liu Mei so angry that she kicked him furiously a couple of times. But he didn’t react at all, leaving her to stew in silence.
Liu Mei had always felt that Xiu Xi was a bit weird, but she couldn’t let go of the meat, so when Xiu Xi came back with a rabbit the next day, she happily received it.
As usual, she shouted a few times at the Ruan Family’s front gate and, not seeing Ruanlin Family come out, still felt quite pleased with herself.
For three consecutive days, she ate different kinds of meat. On the fourth day, she waited in the yard at the same time, still fantasizing about whether a wild boar might show up today.
Suddenly, someone ran from the end of the village, a look of urgency in their eyes, and said to her, "Xiu Family’s, hurry up, your kid is in bad shape!"
"What?!" Liu Mei’s mind went blank, and she let herself be dragged by that person to the end of the village, where a large crowd had already gathered!
"Make way, make way." The person pulling her shouted, and everyone immediately cleared a path.
Confused the entire way, Liu Mei thought the person was talking about her son, Xiu Cheng, and with a wail, she threw herself forward, "Ah, my son... What happened to you..."
She stopped mid-sentence.
Because the person lying there with a bloodied forehead was not her Xiu Cheng, but Xiu Xi.
She took a step back, her previously sorrowful expression instantly vanishing. She turned and glared at the person who had dragged her, "Yao Family’s, what nonsense are you talking about? That’s not my Xiu Cheng, you’re scaring me to death. I almost had a heart attack."
"Xiu Family’s, you can’t talk like that. Even if this isn’t your Xiu Cheng, he’s still your family’s young one, your little guy!"
"Exactly, stepmothers will always be stepmothers, they can never compare to real mothers. Look at how quick she changes her face."
"Let’s not talk about this now; we should take him to the health clinic quickly. He’s lost so much blood; if it gets any later, I’m afraid..." Someone shook their head, seeing Xiu Xi lying on the ground, pale-faced, with his forehead smeared with blood, obviously in critical condition.
As soon as Liu Mei heard about going to the health clinic, she immediately winced at the cost and said irritably, "With just this little injury, why would we need to go to a health clinic? You think the money doesn’t matter if it’s not yours, and it can just be wasted?" With that, she stepped forward and kicked Xiu Xi’s body.
Someone who couldn’t stand it anymore pushed her away.
"Xiu Family’s, that’s not right of you. Even if he’s not your own, he’s still a seedling of the Xiu Family. Just the other days, you were praising him daily for being capable, so why have you changed your tune now?"
"Exactly, he’s just a kid, and you let him go hunting. Your heart is so black it’s edgeless."
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Liu Mei got defensive upon hearing this, glaring fiercely at the person, "His game was all scavenged! When did I let him go hunting?"