Chapter 347 - My Mouth is Swollen from Talking Too Much
Everyone was terribly shocked. How on earth could his leg break again in the middle of the night? Could it have been from falling off the bed? But everyone has fallen off a bed at some point, especially the younger kids who take a tumble now and then. But no one has ever heard of breaking a leg from falling off a bed.
The old lady of the Bai Family said it was the other leg, the good one, that had broken. What on earth was Bai Sanlang’s leg made of, that it was so fragile? Could it have been made of tofu? Many people instantly recalled the incident where Sanlang had wasted a cart-load of tofu.
Sanlang’s screams of agony began to rouse half the residents of Mountain Village. As his wailing persisted, quite a few people found it impossible to sleep and decided to go and ask if they ought to find a doctor.
Both the old woman and Bai Ruolan were indecisive. Without a figure of authority, they didn’t know what to do. They let in the neighbors who had come to help, suggesting that they fetch Doctor Li for them. However, either due to panic or stinginess, the old lady didn’t mention anything about payment.
A rather straightforward person among the crowd piped up, "Mrs. Bai, you need to give me some money. It’s the middle of the night. You ought to hand over the doctor’s fee in advance, you know?"
The old woman replied, shifting her gaze, "I really can’t leave at this moment. Why don’t you bring Dr. Li, and once Sanlang is taken care of, I’ll go fetch the silver for him."
"Hmph, if you don’t trust me, go fetch the doctor yourself." Feeling that the old woman didn’t trust him, and suspecting him of embezzling her money, the man was ready to leave.
Some tried to advise the old woman not to be so penny-pinching, warning her that it wasn’t wise to offend the villagers. But seeing the man leave the moment he didn’t get any money, the old woman became even more certain that he was trying to swindle her, and no matter who tried to intervene, she refused to give out any money.
In the end, it was Bai Ruolan who cried and gave out some coppers. She handed it to an elder man from the neighboring house and asked him to fetch Dr. Li.
The old woman glared fiercely at Bai Ruolan, demanding, "Where did you get the money? Did you steal from our own home?"
Despite Sanlang’s relentless screams, the old woman was still concerned about where the money had come from at such a time. Her priorities were so abnormal that the onlookers were left speechless. Even the meddling old woman from the Zhangs’ decided not to say anything. What’s the use in trying to reason with such a person?
Bai Ruolan, frightened, kept crying and didn’t answer the old woman. Infuriated, the latter lunged forward and grabbed Ruolan’s arm. "I’m speaking to you. Where did you learn such a habit, stealing from your own home, you wretched girl?"
The bystanders hurriedly intervened. Bai Ruolan finally composed herself, crying as she said, "I didn’t steal your money. Don’t you know how much money you have? This is my own personal money that my mother left for me."
At these words, the crowd bore strange expressions. A girl is using her own personal savings to pay for a doctor, while the old lady of the house can’t even spare a few pieces of silver for her grandson’s treatment?
The woman from the Zhangs couldn’t hold her tongue any longer. She began, "Sister, I’m going to say something you may not like. Your eldest son is in jail. You’re going to have to depend on your grandson to take care of you in the future. If something bad happens to Sanlang, who will take care of you then?"
The old woman’s expression flickered, then she abruptly countered, "Yes, how exactly did Sanlang’s leg suddenly cramp in the middle of the night? Why was the floor so slippery that he broke his other leg?"
Upon hearing this, someone went to inspect the floor. To get a clearer view, they lit a few more candles. They discovered some leftover vegetable leaves on the floor. Was it possible that he slipped on those?
"Isn’t this the leftover vegetables we ate for dinner tonight?" the old woman cried out. "I was still thinking about saving it for breakfast tomorrow. How did the vegetables from the kitchen end up on the floor in Sanlang’s room?"
All the while, as Sanlang wailed in pain, he split his attention to yell out, "I didn’t touch those vegetables! Who dumped them in my room?" As he spoke, his gaze sharply turned to Bai Ruolan. In front of everyone, he yelled, "Bai Ruolan, you vile woman! Are you seeking revenge against me? Did you do this on purpose?"
"Bai Sanlang, Ruolan is your sister. How could you talk to her like that?" The woman from the Zhangs could not sit by and said, her face cold.
Sanlang disregarded the woman from the Zhangs and continued to wail in pain while cursing at Bai Ruolan. Bai Ruolan had now been reduced to a tear-soaked mess. She kept mumbling, "It wasn’t me. I don’t know anything."
Seeing the shoddy character of Zhang’s third son, the village woman simply turned around and went back to her yard, deciding it’s better not to help such a person. The others also didn’t want to listen to his abuse, so they made up excuses and left.
Not long after, Dr. Li was brought over. His hair was messy, and he could barely open his eyes - being disturbed in the middle of the night was absolutely ruining his restful sleep.
"How did this leg get broken again?" Dr. Li frowned, "Reset the joint and keep nursing it, or else you won’t be able to walk in the future."
...
Bai Ruozhu only heard about these situations in the old mansion the next day after waking up. She feebly nursed Dengdeng, grumbling to herself, "Why didn’t you cry for a feeding in the middle of the night? Have your habits shifted? Look at how much pain I’m in now."
Not feeding the baby all night, she woke up in pain, with her clothing all soaked in the front.
"What a shame, didn’t even get to hear from the other side of the wall. I don’t even know how my elder brother’s bridal chamber went, whether anything happened," Bai Ruozhu grumbled to herself in a low voice.
In the yard outside, Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law was relaying the eerie happenings at the old mansion to Lin Ping’er. Hearing the story while nursing her baby, Bai Ruozhu knew immediately it must have been Jiang Yichun’s doing.
The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and she felt a sweet satisfaction in her heart. That guy was avenging her after all.
"Everyone in the village says that the third son offended the Mountain God by wasting food and this is his punishment," Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law said in a mysterious manner.
Lin Ping’er spit and said, "He deserved it, being fifteen years old but doing such outrageous things."
Having finished nursing Dengdeng and coming out of the room, Bai Ruozhu realized that it was already late. The women of Jin family and Wan Caiyue were tidying up the dishes from yesterday in the yard. When Lin Ping’er saw her get up, she quickly said: "Ruozhu, are you feeling better? I’ll go and get you some breakfast."
Bai Ruozhu quickly stopped her mother. "You stay and chat with Aunt Deshun. I can go get it myself since I’m perfectly capable." After she said this, she handed Dengdeng to Lin Ping’er. "You just watch Dengdeng for me."
Once she entered the kitchen, Bai Ruozhu felt a bit embarrassed. Jin’s wife had been busy all day yesterday and she was helping out again, and her sister-in-law must have been so tired from her wedding night and must still be in pain, yet she was up helping out too. Bai herself had slept in.
"Auntie, sister-in-law, I apologize for sleeping in," Bai Ruozhu said with an apologetic smile, picking up some porridge and steamed buns from the pot to eat.
Jin’s wife smiled at her. "You were the most tired yesterday, and you still have to nurse the baby. There’s nothing to apologize for. Make sure to rest and recover today, you don’t want to affect your milk production."
Wan Caiyue also said with a blush, "Auntie and Ruozhu, you both must have been exhausted yesterday. I was idle all day, so let me do more work today."
Just as Bai Ruozhu was about to say it wasn’t necessary, she heard Wan Caiyue say, "Ruozhu, you must be feeling burned out, right? You look a little swollen."
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Sixth update of the day, thanks to our Book Friends Meng, Notatall, Baby, !6", Dreamer, and those who are waiting for their rewards. Love you all, muah~