Chapter 25: Not Far From Death
After a flurry of activity, Liu Zhong, Liu Bo and Liu Fei carried Liu Ji into the house.
In front of so many people, Qin Yao couldn't ask Liu Ji to lie on the ground, so she reluctantly gave him her single bed.
Anyway, she had a straw mat and a quilt today, so she didn't care about the bed covered with straw at all.
Old man Liu sent his grandson Liu Jinbao to call the village barefoot doctor to come and see Liu Ji.
Liu Dalang and his two siblings heard the noise in the yard and dispersed. They opened the door and walked out, looking at Qin Yao first.
"It's okay, the debt has been paid off. Go see your father, I'll go unload the goods." After giving the instructions, Qin Yao hurried towards the ox cart that was still on the bridge.
The driver watched a drama of debt collection and repayment for free, and when he looked at Qin Yao again, he couldn't help feeling a little scared.
But he was not a talkative person, so when Qin Yao asked him to drive the ox cart up, he obediently did as she asked.
A cart full of stuff is really mouth-watering.
He and Qiu looked over again and again. Zhang snorted coldly, "What are you looking at? Can't you see it's getting so late? Go home and cook!"
"By the way, let's do that to the third brother's family as well." Zhang suddenly added.
Second sister-in-law, Mrs. Qiu, didn't say anything and just responded with an "oh".
The eldest sister-in-law, Mrs. He, asked in surprise: "Didn't the third brother's family separate? Are they still eating together? Our family's food didn't come from the wind."
All the mumblings afterwards were gouged out by Zhang's sharp eyes.
Mrs. Qiu ignored her sister-in-law and walked towards the old house. When Mrs. He saw her, she had to hurry up and follow her.
The main house was full of people. Qin Yao cleaned up the side room where Liu Dalang and his two siblings slept, and asked the driver to unload the things into this room first.
Six bags of grain were moved down first, followed by three thick quilts, three thin quilts, three palm mats, two and a half rolls of cotton cloth, and a pile of second-hand clothes and shoes.
There were also several large clay jars with lids, filled with oil, salt, sauce and vinegar, two wooden barrels, two large wooden basins, and some miscellaneous items such as needlework, pots and bowls.
Finally, there were two ten-pound pieces of pork.
As soon as they saw the meat, everyone couldn't take their eyes off it.
When Qin Yao turned around after paying the driver the money, she heard the sound of people swallowing saliva behind her.
"Da Lang!" Qin Yao shouted towards the main house.
Da Lang, who was watching Liu Ji worriedly in the room, heard this and ran out in a hurry, "Auntie?"
Qin Yao took out a ten-pound piece of pork and said, "Give it to your aunt. Tell her that this is the money for the straw and the money for her to take care of your meals these days."
The old house has not been divided yet, so no matter who it is given to, it belongs to the three Liu brothers.
But if this face is given to sister-in-law He, I think she will be happier.
Qin Yao didn't care what to do with the meat.
Dalang swallowed his saliva, thinking that this piece of meat was too much, but he knew that his stepmother had her own plans, so he looked at the main house with some concern, "What about my father?"
"I said he's fine, so I mean he's fine. Send the meat over first. The doctor is here."
As he was speaking, Liu Jinbao had already hurriedly brought the doctor over.
When he came closer and saw the pork in Dalang's hand, his whole body trembled, his eyes were instantly glued to the meat, and he almost fell flat on his face due to carelessness.
Fortunately, Qin Yao was quick to pull him up so that he didn't fall.
"Go." Qin Yao winked at Dalang. Seeing the doctor coming, Dalang felt relieved and took the pork to the old house.
"I'm going too!" Liu Jinbao smiled at Qin Yao to express his gratitude for her holding him, and immediately turned around to chase Dalang, shouting as he ran:
"Wait for me, Dalang. I'll go with you!"
"What are you doing here? I don't need you to come with me."
"No, I'll go with you. The meat is heavy. I'll help you carry it."
"I don't need your help!"
"Well, if you feel it's heavy, tell me."
Dalang quickened his pace.
Liu Jinbao also quickened his pace.
Qin Yao stood halfway up the slope and watched with amusement.
He turned around, suppressed his smile, and walked into the main house.
The room was not big to begin with, and with ten people standing in it, including the doctor, it felt difficult to turn around.
Old Man Liu drove Erlang and the twins out and told them to move to the old house where they wouldn't have to worry about anything.
Erlang immediately took the twins and left. He had just seen his eldest brother bring a big piece of meat over, so they would definitely have meat to eat tonight.
As for the bastard dad lying on the bed, he might as well be a piece of barbecued pork.
"How is he, Doc?"
As soon as Qin Yao entered the room, the others automatically made way for her.
The person who was lying motionless on the bed began to tremble gradually when he felt her approaching.
Qin Yao noticed it, glanced at the bed, and sneered with an ambiguous meaning. Liu Ji, who was lying on the bed pretending to be dead, couldn't control his inner fear and opened his eyes.
The doctor was about to lift his eyelids to check, but he suddenly opened his eyes, which scared the doctor.
After he came to his senses, he patted his chest and breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're awake. It looks like just some superficial injuries. It's nothing serious. Just apply some medicine to reduce the swelling and rest for a few days."
Old Man Liu and others asked Liu Ji how he felt and whether he felt unwell anywhere.
Liu Ji was gasping for breath and unable to speak. His face was covered with wounds and any movement was extremely painful. He felt uncomfortable all over.
The doctor was also surprised to see him like this. Normally, people don't just hit people in the face. What did Liu Laosan do to have his face beaten into a pig-like shape?
However, although it was strange, the doctor didn't ask anything and just asked the Liu family to send someone to go with him to get the medicine.
He happened to have some anti-inflammatory and analgesic herbal medicines at home, which he usually picked from the mountains. The price of the medicines was much cheaper than that in the pharmacy in town.
Old man Liu sent Liu Zhong and the doctor to get the medicine, and asked Zhang and Liu Fei to go home first. Then he asked Qin Yao for a basin of water and asked Liu Bo to wipe Liu Ji's body.
Qin Yao stepped out of the house and listened attentively to the conversation between the father and his two sons in the room.
Liu Ji took a deep breath and said with difficulty: "Brother, can my handsome face be healed?"
Old man Liu was just about to wipe him with a dry towel, but when he heard this, he almost couldn't help but slap him in the face.
"It's already this hour, and you still care about your face? Can you eat or drink with that face?"
Liu Ji knew that he was in the wrong, and his face was hurting from talking, so he didn't say anything.
However, he was still very persistent and asked Liu Bo to lift up the basin so that he could look at it.
But when he saw the pig's face reflected in the basin, he couldn't hold it in and screamed wildly: "Ah!!!"
Qin Yao said coldly: "Liu Ji, you are disturbing my ears."
The room suddenly became quiet.
Liu Ji didn't really faint just now. He had been in the business for so many years, and pretending to be faint was his secret weapon to avoid being beaten up.
Therefore, he heard everything about the confrontation between Qin Yao and Lin Erbao, as well as what happened between Qin Yao and Old Man Liu and Zhang behind the house.
Knowing that his father was going to sell him to the evil woman Qin Yao, Liu Ji felt dizzy and almost fainted.
Thinking about the cruel words Qin Yao said to Lin Erbao without caring about his life or death, Liu Ji felt that he would die at her hands sooner or later.
So, when Old Man Liu was about to turn around and leave, he grabbed his father's hand with all his strength and said with tears in his eyes:
"Dad, I want a divorce."
Old man Liu turned around in horror, unable to believe that Liu Ji would have such ungrateful thoughts. People just helped you pay off your debt, and you actually want a divorce?
Old Man Liu's eyes were red as he fiercely said word by word, "Liu Ji, if I hear you mention the word divorce again, I will beat you to death and then kill myself, lest my Liu family ancestors blame me for raising such a bastard like you!"
Liu Ji wiped the saliva that flew onto his face in a daze, and cold sweat broke out in pain.
It's over. This time I'm really close to death.
(End of this chapter)