Upon hearing Xu Shengnan's words, Xu Dajun and his wife stopped in disbelief, staring at her with wide eyes as if they didn't recognize their daughter!
Xu Shengnan realized she had said the wrong thing, but thinking about it, it wasn't wrong. If they were really that good and filial, would they let the old man leave with nothing? It's easy to imagine what would happen to a decrepit old man who moves out with nothing; he would just starve to death.
Even if they bring the old man back later, he won't be able to hold his head high or act arrogantly anymore. Aren't they just undermining his dignity by doing this? Many children do this; does she think she doesn't understand?
So Xu Shengnan showed no intention of apologizing at all. She was still angry. Why did they have the right to scold her every day?
Xu Shengnan walked ahead without waiting for them. Xu Dajun and his wife looked at her back and opened their mouths, but couldn't say anything. They suddenly seemed to have aged ten years.
Xu Zifan had previously said that they wouldn't have any children to care for them when they got old, and they hadn't thought much of it. But these past few days, they'd been filled with anxiety and their minds were in turmoil because of the family division. But now, Xu Zifan's words seemed to suddenly echo in their ears, showing them their future. Was it because they hadn't stopped their father's decision that their daughter was becoming increasingly unreasonable and disregarding them?
The couple were completely bewildered. They couldn't understand why their perfectly good family had fallen apart so suddenly, or why their daughter had changed so much. When their daughter accused them of being unfilial, they were filled with anxiety. Did they really mean they were unfilial? No, they were filial and intended to support their father indefinitely. They were truly not unfilial.
But they couldn't tell anyone this. Looking at their daughter's expression, they lost the desire to explain to her. Thinking about how their father didn't want to talk to them, the couple felt exhausted and couldn't decide what to do. They could only drag their heavy legs and walk home with their heads down.
To get back to the Xu family from the village entrance, they had to pass a large field, and the villagers working in the field saw them and gathered around.
"Is Xu Shengnan alright?"
"Wasn't it supposed to be quite serious? How come you're all better so quickly?"
"He seems to be in good spirits, and he doesn't need anyone to help him walk. So the poisoning probably wasn't too severe to begin with."
"Oh dear, Liu Xia, you cried like that when you borrowed money yesterday. I was worried something had happened. You know, your daughter is perfectly fine, why are you crying? You look even worse than your daughter."
Liu Xia forced a stiff smile. "The doctor said..."
"The doctor said I was saved because I went to the hospital in time. Thank you all for your concern. I will recover after a while. The doctor originally didn't want me to be discharged, but hospitalization is too expensive. My family still owes my second uncle and the village so much money. I can't stay here in peace. I just want to come back as soon as possible to recover. Once I'm better, I'll work to pay back my second uncle's money."
Before Liu Xia could speak, Xu Shengnan interrupted her. Looking at her daughter, who spoke so eloquently, Liu Xia felt a pang of resentment. Her daughter was perfectly fine with others, so why was she so sharp-tongued with her own parents?
After exchanging a few more words with Xu Shengnan, everyone urged her to go back and rest. Someone casually remarked, "Your second uncle and aunt are true relatives, why are you in such a hurry to pay back the money? Go back and rest peacefully."
Xu Shengnan seized the opportunity, immediately pinched herself secretly, and said with tears in her eyes, "My second uncle and aunt are in dire straits. They gave all their money to my aunt's brother. Yesterday, my mother had to kneel down and beg them. They had no other choice but to borrow from their colleagues at school. How could I be so heartless as to owe them money? Once I get better, I will definitely work like a slave to pay them back."
Liu Xia's face turned pale. "Shengnan, what are you saying? Come home right now!"
As she pushed Xu Shengnan home, she felt the gazes of others and was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into the ground.
She did kneel down; she was frantic with worry. She'd even kowtow to anyone, but that was a family matter. Why bring it up in public? Now everyone knows she knelt before her brother-in-law and his wife! She's utterly ashamed!
Xu Shengnan was reluctant to leave. Before she could finish speaking, she pretended to trip and fall. Everyone rushed to help her up. She overheard someone saying that Xu Dawei and his wife were being unreasonable, and someone else saying that their own husband worked at the school and they had never heard of Xu Dawei and his wife borrowing money. Someone else asked what Zhang Wen's brother was up to, borrowing so much money from them.
Xu Shengnan was quite satisfied. Although she didn't intend to hold a grudge against the Xu family now, she could still easily trip up the second branch of the family. How could a teacher's reputation be ruined for long? Besides, this was just a village primary school, without even formal employment status. She was waiting for the day they would be laid off.
She stood up, and the others helped her brush the dirt off her clothes, advising her, "You're not feeling well, so don't think about it. Go home and rest. Don't go into the mountains again; it's very dangerous, it can be fatal."
Xu Shengnan seized the opportunity again and choked up, saying, "I didn't want to go either. I've never been to the mountains before, and I always thought it was scary. But my grandpa went in, and I'm worried about him, and my parents are worried about him too. I saw my parents were so worried that they couldn't sleep, so I wanted to go to the mountains to find my grandpa and persuade him not to take any more risks at his age. Who knew we would encounter snakes?"
I've learned my lesson from this snake bite and I won't go again. I hope my grandfather will understand; no matter how angry he is, he shouldn't risk his life and make us worry just out of spite. I was lucky this time nothing happened. What if it had been my parents or someone else who went to find them?
After she finished speaking, she waited smugly for everyone to mention the old man, since she had been injured while looking for him.
If it weren't for the old man's reckless actions, she wouldn't have almost died from snake venom. Everyone present was in their twenties or thirties, so they could understand the hardships their elders had endured and would have helped her to condemn the old man.
But she waited and waited, and didn't hear them mention the old man. The surroundings became much quieter. She looked up in confusion with tears in her eyes and saw everyone looking at her with strange expressions, their eyes filled with scrutiny and suspicion.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "By the way, did my grandfather come out of the mountains? Did he encounter any wild boars or snakes when he came out?"
The person in front of her looked at her and said, "Your grandfather is amazing. He killed a wild boar himself and even shared the meat with everyone yesterday."
The other person's expression was somewhat sarcastic. "You went into the mountains to find your grandfather? I heard from your mother that you went hunting to get something to take home. What does this have to do with your grandfather?"
Another person said, "I think Grandpa Xu is doing quite well on his own. He told you not to bother him, so you really shouldn't bother him, right? I don't think you've helped him at all, you've just caused him trouble."
"Yes, yes, there were a lot of women and children gathering pig feed on the hillside yesterday. If it weren't for Grandpa Xu, they would have been finished! Why didn't you run to the wasteland when you came down the mountain? How could you have lured the wild boar down there?"
"Don't upset your grandpa anymore. He hunted that wild boar all by himself, but he insisted on sharing it with everyone, saying that you had frightened them and that he was trying to calm them down. What a wonderful grandpa he is! You should be filial to him."
"Honestly, we still haven't found the venomous snake, so no one can go into the mountains or to that hillside to cut pig feed. We don't even know if the venomous snake will come into the village. I can't sleep at all. How did you manage to provoke that thing?"
The crowd had only offered a few words of concern out of politeness, since Xu Shengnan had just returned. But seeing that she hadn't left and had said so much, some of them couldn't help but voice their complaints.
Besides, they're not stupid. Women are used to making veiled accusations and are more sensitive to this kind of talk. When Xu Shengnan talked about her second uncle, they could just think she was being reckless and spilling all the family stuff. But when she said it was for her grandfather's sake, implying that he was being unreasonable, they realized she was using them as pawns to get them to criticize Xu Zifan and Xu Dawei.
The girl is young, but she's quite cunning. She's definitely not a good person; she's causing trouble as soon as she gets back.
Xu Shengnan listened to their conversation in a daze, unable to believe that she had missed so much news in just one day at the hospital. She understood that they were implying that she was unfilial, and her face flushed with shame and anger. She frowned at Liu Xia, pretended to be weak, swayed, and hurried home.
She lowered her head, gritted her teeth, and walked to a secluded spot, growling, "Why didn't you tell me what happened in the village!"
Liu Xia was startled. "What happened? Your grandfather hunting wild boar? I didn't know anything about it. I just came back to borrow some money. You were unconscious at the time, how could I have been paying attention to anything else?"
Xu Shengnan was furious. If she had known what was going on in the village beforehand, she would have thanked her grandfather and apologized to the villagers to let the matter drop. But she knew nothing, and her words had ruined her life. Now everyone knew she was malicious and had spoken ill of her grandfather!
She retorted angrily, "Why did you tell people why I brought things home? Why do you tell everyone everything?"
Xu Dajun couldn't stand it anymore and slapped her across the face. "How dare you talk to your mother like that? What's wrong? Can't your mother say anything? Didn't you say you were bringing things home? Did your mother lie? I'd like to ask you the same thing. Why did you tell people you were going into the mountains to find your grandfather? Huh? You said that when you asked the brigade leader for leave, and you said it again just now to everyone. What do you mean? Trying to pin it on your grandfather?"
Xu Shengnan had never been hit by her parents in either of her lives. She covered her face and trembled with anger. "Wasn't I just trying to protect our family's reputation? Can't you hear everyone saying we're unfilial? Only when Grandpa is in the wrong can our reputation be good. I've always thought of our family, and you actually hit me?"
Xu Dajun pointed at her nose and cursed, "That's your grandfather! You're trying to smear him, how could you do something like that?"
"He's an old man, and nobody says anything to him even if he's unreasonable. What can anyone do?" Xu Shengnan said righteously. "You don't know how to think about the family, so I'll do it! Fine, you're all so unreasonable. I might as well find a good husband and get married sooner rather than later, so I don't have to put up with your bullying at home. Why weren't you this arrogant when Grandpa was exploiting you? You only know how to bully your own family!"
Xu Zifan, hands behind his back, happened to walk nearby, frowned, and snorted coldly. Xu Dajun said in a panic, "Dad, Shengnan...she's being immature, I'll teach her..."
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "It's none of my business, just stay away from me."
He glanced at Xu Shengnan and shook his head. "A wicked heart will surely be punished. No wonder you got bitten by a snake. I advise you to be careful, or you never know what might happen next time."