"The child's body is very weak and needs to be nurtured well. Give me a tael of silver. I want to buy him a ewe."
"No, give me two taels of silver. My mother needs a doctor too."
With Bai Zhi's current situation, she couldn't breastfeed for the next few days, so she could only buy an ewe for milk.
"What did you say?" Elder Madam Xu exploded.
What was this good-for-nothing saying?
Two taels of silver?
She was robbing her!
"No." Elder Madam Xu rejected without thinking.
Then, her eyes were filled with disdain for the child.
She had thought that he was a lucky star, but she did not expect him to be a sickly person.
Now, a big jinx, a small jinx, and a sickly invalid. Wouldn't that drag down their family's good fortune?
Hua Jiujiu had long guessed that this old woman would not agree.
"It was because you didn't give my father money that he had no choice but to go hunting in the mountains. He wanted to catch a pheasant to nourish my mother's body, but in the end, he accidentally fell off a cliff. Even now, his corpse still isn't found."
Although Hua Jiujiu's voice was not loud, the villagers outside the courtyard who were watching the commotion heard it.
"Why should I give any money? It was him who insisted on going hunting in the mountains," Elder Madam Xu retorted.
"Why should you? Heh, my father gave you all the money he had earned over the years. In the end, he asked you for 50 copper coins. You cried and threw a tantrum, acting as if it'd kill you. What else could my father do?"
Hua Jiujiu didn't give Elder Madam Xu a chance to speak and continued to shout, "Aren't you afraid that my father's vengeful spirit will come looking for you in the middle of the night?!"
This shout successfully frightened Elder Madam Xu.
For some reason, she felt a chill down her spine.
Who would want a vengeful spirit to come knocking on their door!
"Why would he come looking for me? If anything, he should be looking for that jinx. If it weren't for the fact that she wants to eat meat, why would he go up the mountains in the first place?" Elder Madam Xu's aura instantly weakened, but her words were still as convincing as before.
"The silver!" Hua Jiujiu said coldly. She couldn't be bothered to say too much to this old woman.
Just as Elder Madam Xu was about to take out the silver, she suddenly thought of something and jumped up to curse. "Alright, you money-losing piece of trash. You actually dared to shout at your grandmother and even threatened me! Damn it, an unfilial granddaughter like you should be struck by lightning!"
Hua Jiujiu frowned. If this continued, their family would not have a good life.
Therefore, they had to split up from the main branch!
However, with their current situation, it would probably be even more difficult for them to split up. The old woman would probably be quite happy about that, too.
She might as well take advantage of the fact that there were many villagers outside to fight for some benefits for themselves. Then, she would wait for her mother's injuries to recover before splitting up.
With this thought in mind, Hua Jiujiu carried the child and walked out. She said to the villagers who were watching the commotion, "Uncles and aunties, my father died a few days ago. My mother gave birth prematurely because of her sorrow, and she gave birth to two thin children."
Suddenly, the baby in her arms moved. She lowered her eyes and looked at the little brother in her arms with pity. A strange emotion surged in her heart.
This was the child her mother gave birth to after Hua Jiujiu had come here. He was also her biological younger brother, her blood-related younger brother!
This feeling was really too strange.
She wanted to protect them!
A look of determination flashed across Hua Jiujiu's eyes.
"My mother risked her life to give birth to two children. At this moment, she's lying in the house, and I don't know if she'll live. I begged my grandmother to give me some money, to hire a doctor for my mother, and to buy an ewe for my younger siblings, but my grandmother refused. Wuu… I… I really don't know what to do. Please help me, uncles and aunties."
Hua Jiujiu squeezed out two drops of tears. Coupled with her sallow face, she looked even more pitiful.
The two sisters beside her were also crying their hearts out. It made people feel even more pity for them.