NOVPUB
Chapter 683: Chapter 673 It’s All for the Sake of the Child
The illness can’t be determined in a short while, and even if it’s really diagnosed as autism, this bunch of people still won’t know where to take the child for treatment.
The atmosphere in the room once again became oppressive.
Liu Jianjun downed a glass of alcohol and then spoke slowly, "Back when our Jiajia was sick, the two of us went humbly and pleaded with Li Xianghe, but at that time, she looked down on us, simple farmers. She bluntly said she wouldn’t lend us money even if we had it to borrow. I’m not lying, am I?"
Li Xianglian didn’t expect him to bring this up in front of the couple. Her face turned a bit unpleasant, but she still nodded. Both of them had been there at the time and heard everything clearly. Plus, she had burst into tears the moment she left the house. That was her own sister, and it was a matter of life and death for her daughter. Not only could Jianjun never forget it, but she, as a mother, couldn’t either.
"Let me tell you, Xianglian, I’ll remember this for a lifetime. How Li Xianghe treated my daughter back then is exactly how I’ll treat her now."
"This isn’t about Xianghe right now. If it were just her, I wouldn’t care to interfere either, but now we are talking about Niuniu, aren’t we? The adults are at fault, but the child is innocent," Li Xianglian had always been soft-hearted. She found it hard to be ruthless to others normally, and now facing Niuniu, such a pitiful child, her heart softened even more.
"Indeed, the child is innocent. I have several children of my own, I can understand the feeling. That’s why Li Xianghe has been staying here for so many days, and I haven’t said a word. As for the child’s illness, we are helpless, but we can make sure the child is well taken care of for as long as she stays with us, and that she has enough to eat. But Li Xianghe absolutely cannot stay here any longer." Liu Jianjun said this very firmly. "Hongjun, I’m not afraid of your anger when I say this. I had Xianglian call you to come back just for this reason. The old man has no one to care for him, and as his daughter, Xianglian can’t just watch him be homeless; there’s no help for it. I’m willing to take care of the elderly, but it’s my duty to support the elderly, not my duty to support a sister-in-law. Who does she think she is to just stick around and not leave, acting as if our entire family were her servants? And yet, I’m still supposed to support her living here; she wishes."
It was clear that Liu Jianjun was deeply resentful when he expressed his thoughts so bluntly.
Shen Yunfang glanced at Li Hongjun, this mess belonged to the Li Family, and it was better for her, as the daughter-in-law, to keep out of it. Let Li Hongjun handle it.
Li Hongjun had a clear understanding in his heart as well. His brother-in-law hadn’t kicked them out until now and even called him back, all out of respect for him, considering Li Xianghe’s surname was Li.
"Brother-in-law, I understand, and I empathize with you. If I were you, I wouldn’t have let her enter my house either. Now that I’ve come back, it doesn’t make sense to let her keep squatting here. Let’s leave it at that for today. Tomorrow, I’ll take our dad back home. If she doesn’t follow, you can just kick her out, no need to worry," Li Hongjun immediately said.
The Li Family had three sons; it made no sense for the married-off daughter to be the one caring for the parents.
"What about Niuniu then? She can’t even get a full meal when she’s with Xianglian," Li Xianglian didn’t pity the adults but did pity the child. When Niuniu first arrived, she was as thin as a stick, but these past few days, she had started to put on a little weight with their care. If she went back with her irresponsible mother, what would become of the child?
The room fell silent again. No one really had a good solution for handling Niuniu’s situation.
"I will deal with this. I’ll go to the Sun Family and see. No matter how you look at it, Niuniu is still a child of the Sun Family," Li Hongjun felt that it was necessary first to see the attitude of the husband’s family before deciding on further actions.
Liu Jianjun and his wife felt relieved when they heard him say this; they both trusted their younger brother to handle the situation.
The subject was dropped, and as everyone had almost finished their meal, Li Xianglian, considering that her brother and his wife had been jostling on the road for several days, must be physically and mentally exhausted. She promptly told Liu Jianjun to stop drinking and let the couple rest early.
Shen Yunfang wasn’t tired and started helping Li Xianglian clear the table, along with the children who had heard the noise and came over to help.
After all the dishes in the kitchen were washed, it was then that the elder Li, together with Li Xianghe, stumbled back. Who knows what Li Xianghe told the elder Li, but they both returned much subdued and without causing any trouble.
Shen Yunfang was quite curious; on such a cold day, where had the two of them hidden for such a long time?
After tidying up the kitchen, she decided not to join the others and told Li Da Jie, then she went to check on the children.
Pangpang and Manman must have been truly exhausted, as there hadn’t been much noise from that room during dinner, and the two children were still sleeping soundly.
Shen Yunfang climbed onto the kang bed and reached out to touch the foreheads and bodies of the two children, who were normal, and she felt relieved. She then opened the cabinet and began to pull out the bedding.
Once she had made up the beds for the night, she got off the kang to mix some water for washing up.
Before she was finished, Li Hongjun pushed the door open and came in.
"How come you’re back so early?" She had thought old Li wouldn’t miss the chance to talk at length with Li Hongjun.
"It’s late, I haven’t had proper rest for several days on the road." After entering the room, Li Hongjun began to undress.
"Hmm, that’s true. Alright, hurry up and undress, I’ll mix some water for you, and you can wash too, loosen up." Shen Yunfang poured the warm water from the basin into another bucket, then picked up the hot water bottle and started to pour water into the basin. "How did they arrange accommodation for everyone tonight?"
The houses at Li Da Jie’s weren’t very roomy, with only three main rooms in total. Now that their family of four had taken up one, that left only two rooms for so many people, which was not easy to arrange.
"My dad and brother-in-law, along with Shitou and Shuanzi, will sleep in one room, and the rest of the people will take the other room." Li Hongjun washed his face quickly, and then he used the same basin of water to wash his feet. Yep, he was using the basin that his wife just used for washing her feet.
In the countryside, they weren’t so particular about using separate basins for washing faces, feet, or buttocks.
Being at someone else’s house, Shen Yunfang didn’t want to impose, so she took out another basin from her space, washed her face first, and then her feet, without feeling disgusted with herself.
Shen Yunfang nodded her head upon hearing this arrangement, which was a separation by gender. Under the current circumstances, it was the only option.
"It’s okay to make do for one day, but we can’t always keep doing this. I think we should head home early tomorrow and not bother Da Jie and her family anymore." Shen Yunfang finished tidying up and climbed onto the kang, crawling into the blankets.
"Yeah, I’ve already talked to Da Jie and my brother-in-law. We’ll leave after breakfast tomorrow morning. There will probably be a lot to take care of when we get back to the Li Family old house," Li Hongjun spoke of the Li Family’s ancestral home.
"Hmm, okay." Shen Yunfang had long understood that this time, with Qiu Shuping not at home, the two of them were likely to spend the New Year at the Li Family’s old house, and they could only make time to visit Gaijiatun occasionally.
Li Hongjun poured the water out and also climbed into the blankets, then he stretched out his hand and pulled his wife close.
Shen Yunfang rested her head in the crook of his arm and murmured drowsily before falling asleep, "Niuniu is really quite pitiable; let’s give her a hand if we can."
"Okay, I know. Let’s sleep now."
