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Chapter 709: Chapter 699: Heart Chilled
After going out for a stroll, Li Lao tou returned to find only his granddaughter playing by herself on the kang; the little girl was nowhere in sight.
He didn’t ask; instead, he pondered where the little girl could have gone off to chat with someone.
When Shen Yunfang had lain down for a while, she got up and began to prepare a meal.
While she was halfway through cooking, Li Hongjun and Li Hongxing came back.
"Did it work out?" Shen Yunfang asked as they entered.
"Can’t say for sure yet, Xue Da niang wasn’t at home," Li Hongjun replied. "You keep cooking, and I’ll go in with Big Brother to speak to Dad first."
"Okay, go ahead," Shen Yunfang turned back to her work, surprised that after all their preparation, the person in question wasn’t even home—truly unexpected.
Inside, Li Lao tou saw his sons return. He tapped out his smoking pipe and placed it on the table, then sat on the edge of the kang to wait for them to speak.
Li Hongxing, who never bothered with anything, knew he wouldn’t need to speak up since his younger brother was there, so he just found a place to sit down after entering.
Seeing that his elder brother didn’t seem keen on talking, Li Hongjun had no choice but to start the conversation himself.
"That Xue Da niang wasn’t home, but her eldest son Gousheng was, so I mentioned the matter to him." That eldest son was the son of Xue Da niang’s late husband from another mother, already married and having separated to live on his own after his stepfather died. The eldest son got one house, and Xue Da niang took the remaining house with her younger son.
The two households lived next door to each other, and to this day, no major friction had occurred. Today, when the brothers went looking, it was Gousheng from across the way who received them.
"Gousheng said it probably wouldn’t work out, mainly because Xue Da niang is a widow, and taking on this job means she would be coming to our house often. He’s afraid people will gossip," Li Hongjun knew Gousheng from before but never really spent much time with him.
This time, Li Hongjun indirectly inquired about Xue Da niang’s character through Gousheng. Gousheng didn’t say much, but his wife, who was there, made a few acidic comments. Essentially, she said Xue Da niang was a hypocrite, appearing kind and benevolent to outsiders, while being dark-hearted on the inside.
Li Hongjun didn’t completely believe this; after all, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relations have always been difficult, and even more so for step-relations. However, he couldn’t entirely dismiss it either, because if they really hired someone two-faced, his family’s life might become troubled again. Therefore, after talking to Gousheng for a while, he came back. He thought he’d discuss it further with his father, believing that even without Xue Da niang, there were certainly others in the village who could be trusted to do the job.
"I’m just an old man; what idle gossip is there to talk about? Besides, your big brother’s family lives next door, and your mother will be back soon." Li Lao tou frowned upon hearing this, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome.
Li Hongjun, as the son, couldn’t pursue the matter any further, "Since her son disagrees, I figured it’s best not to force it. If Xue Da niang isn’t suitable, there has to be someone in the village who is. I have about ten more days before I return, and I can help you out until then."
This time Li Lao tou didn’t say anything; it was unclear whether he agreed or not.
In any case, Li Hongjun took his father’s silence as consent.
After dinner, Li Hongjun went back to his room and discussed it with his wife. Shen Yunfang nodded in acknowledgment, "Don’t make any decisions on your own. Once you’ve got someone in mind, go together with your big brother." This was to prevent any complications, as she always felt that whatever tasks were done for the old family home could end up causing trouble for themselves. But sometimes, as a son, even knowing the potential troubles, he couldn’t help but attend to such matters. It’s quite a dilemma.
"Fine, I got it," Li Hongjun felt helpless too, as his father could be reasoned with, but his mother was a different story.
Now with Qiu Shuping not at home, it was Li’s father who called the shots, but when Qiu Shuping came back and found the money gone, or anything else amiss, she would surely make a fuss.
"Oh right, your sister came today and knew you guys went to Aunt Xue’s place, so she talked some nonsense with me. I meant well and brought up Niuniu’s issue, thinking that even though we’re not closely related, we should still care for the child as a little one. So, I advised her to take the child to the hospital and get a proper check-up, not to neglect the child’s wellbeing," Shen Yunfang recalled this morning’s events and decided to share them with Li Hongjun anyway.
Li Hongjun didn’t say a word, waiting to hear more, knowing there must be something else.
"Then your sister just told me straight away she didn’t have the money, asking for us to pay for the medical expenses. She even brought up the matter of how we helped Jiajia from our eldest sister’s family before, saying that just as we looked after Jiajia, we can’t just ignore her own Niuniu."
"Don’t bother with her, she can either take her to the hospital or not. The child is hers; if she can be so heartless, we don’t need to intervene," Li Hongjun had had enough of this sister.
"Yeah, that’s what I thought too. Although I feel sorry for the kid, I can’t indulge her bad behavior. As soon as I said I wouldn’t lend her the money, she flew into a rage and even tried to get physical with me."
"Well, are you okay?" Li Hongjun, although aware of his wife’s fighting skills, couldn’t help but lean in and give her a thorough look-over from head to toe.
"I’m fine, of course. But I didn’t let your sister off easy either; I kicked her straight from the heated brick bed to our doorstep. She must’ve felt the kick because she ran off crying and cursing, not even caring about her child. She didn’t come back at midday either," Shen Yunfang couldn’t help but feel frustrated with her sister-in-law, wondering why she didn’t take her child with her when she ran off and instead left her behind.
"Just leave her. She won’t die," Li Hongjun put an end to the discussion with a single sentence.
That evening, Li Xianghe didn’t come back home at all.
Before going to sleep, Li’s father started grumbling under his breath, feeling responsible for Niuniu as a grandfather since his daughter wasn’t coming home.
Shen Yunfang already had two kids of her own, and the bed was only so big. She couldn’t just send her own children out to sleep elsewhere to accommodate someone else’s child; she wasn’t that magnanimous.
The next day, there was still no sign of Li Xianghe, and Niuniu acted as though unaffected, sitting on the bed and playing by herself. Sometimes she would giggle or call out, and if it weren’t for Shen Yunfang feeding her, she probably wouldn’t even remember to eat.
Li Hongjun went back to consulting with his older brother Li Hongxing to see if there was someone else in the village suited to care for their elderly father.
Three days later, it was Li’s father who couldn’t take it anymore. Early in the morning, he sought out Li Hongjun and asked him to send Niuniu back to the Sun Family. His exact words were, "Niuniu is Sun’s seed after all, she can’t be growing up in our Li Family all the time. If your mother finds out, she’d be unhappy. You better hurry and ride your bike to send your sister’s child back."
Hearing this, Shen Yunfang felt chilled by her father-in-law’s attitude, recognizing that these were just excuses, and he simply found taking care of a child bothersome. He was trying to throw the burden back to the Sun Family.
That morning, Li Hongjun rode his bike with Niuniu to the Sun Family, returning with a face blackened with anger, obviously very upset.
Without Li Hongjun saying a word, Shen Yunfang didn’t ask. It was clear enough that Li Xianghe hadn’t said anything nice.
