The two elderly women held hands, both looking scared.
Mr. Qiao coughed.
"We are here today to express our gratitude. Last night, the two children Baozhu and Ruyi were kind and kind, but we also said unpleasant things. I'm sorry. I don't know how much the medicine cost. I brought 30 Wen here, and I don't know. Do you know enough?"
The old man began to take out money from his arms.
Mrs. Zhang didn’t know what to say, 30 yuan was not enough, she needed fifty yuan! But she almost killed her grandson, so she was embarrassed to say this. Just as she was hesitating, Su Ruyi smiled and said: "Uncle Qiao, if you want to say thank you, you should thank Hu Langzhong. They had prepared it when I went to find Hu Langzhong yesterday. Yes, it’s just a gift from me, and I didn’t even pay for the medicine!”
Aunt Qiao was stunned and even more embarrassed: "So that's it. Speaking of which, the Hu family advised us not to buy water last night..."
She insisted on buying it.
Mr. Qiao took the money back into his arms again and said unkindly: "After all, I still have to thank you. You are considerate, it is us... alas!"
Su Ruyi: "Have you finished what you bought last night? You can't eat what you haven't finished yet!"
Who knew that Aunt Qiao waved her hand: "It's okay. I won't give it to the children. It's okay for adults. I'll wash it twice more and cook it twice more next time! Besides, I didn't finish the medicine last night... Oh, how many flowers are there? We deserve to pay dozens of pennies for eating meat with pennies, and we deserve it!"
After the two of them finished talking, they headed towards Hu Langzhong's house.
Su Ruyi was stunned. People in ancient times were really not afraid of death just to have a bite!
Only then did Mrs. Zhang let out a long sigh and took a deep look at Su Ruyi. The other family hasn't come yet, so it should be fine, right?
Only then did she feel relieved, and she would never do this again.
Just after the Qiao family left, the family that refunded the money last night came and was sad to hear that there was really something wrong with the Qiao family.
"I also thought that other people's families were fine, so I was going to take those intestines back this morning!"
"Don't! I'll refund the money to you, but my intestines have already been burned away!"
Mrs. Zhang happily returned the money, and as soon as the courtyard door was closed, she walked briskly.
"When you eat, you have to work in the fields!"
Su Ruyi said: "Mom, you have to go to Hu Langzhong before going to the ground. There is still a payment for the medicine that has not been paid. We can't let others pay for it, right? I think it's our turn to pay for the Qiao family's medicine. , something we caused at home.”
Liu Cuier said hurriedly: "That won't work! Originally, my mother didn't sell it. They insist on buying it themselves. It's up to them to do this!"
"If they insist on buying it, we have to sell it? The thing is ours, how can others rob it if we don't sell it? If you can't stick to your principles, you will cause trouble for yourself. This time is a living lesson."
Mrs. Zhang's face became hot and she said with a straight face: "Okay, don't say anything. Everyone is at fault for what happened this time. I was more at fault. I will go to the Hu family later. Our Lu family can do it too." To be honest, you can't let people poke your spine and scold you. Well, I also paid for the Qiao family's medicine."
Liu Cuier couldn't bear to throw away the money in her hand, but in the end she didn't dare to disobey her mother-in-law and gave up with a sigh.
After Su Ruyi finished drinking the rice porridge, her stomach felt dull and she was picking at it, but there was nothing she could do.
"Mom, I'm going out these two days, and I'll leave the house to you. Don't skimp on two bowls of rice for every meal. You'll have to spend a lot of money if your health is bad."
"Ruyi, where are you going!"
Li Baozhu couldn't help but ask.
How can a woman go out for two days and not come home? !
Madam Zhang frowned: "You want to go back to your parents' home?"
Women can only stay at home for two days, and most of them go there very early in the morning and come back before sunset. For a married woman, there is no place for her to spend the night at home.
But Su Ruyi has been married to her for four years, and she hasn’t seen her return to her parents’ home. Why would she go back and stay for one night?
"No return."
When the topic of her natal family was brought up, Su Ruyi frowned. The Su family was not a good place, and the original owner treated her natal family no better than her husband's family.
The difference is that the Su family values boys over girls. They beat Su Ruyi often when he was a child. Later, when the original owner grew up, he only stopped when he couldn't beat him anymore.
The Lu family, except for the young man they gave as a betrothal agent, did not particularly feel sorry for Su Ruyi in other aspects. On the contrary, it was Su Ruyi who felt sorry for the Lu family.
"Not coming back?! Then where are you going?"
Zhang's eyes widened.
"Tongzhou, please don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing and I'll be right back after finishing my work."
Zhang's expression was ugly, she picked up Dan'er and put it on her lap: "If you run away, Dan'er will have no mother."
"Mom, what are you talking about? What am I going to say to you? I am now the head of the Lu family, and I have to find a way to make the Lu family's life go on."
Mrs. Zhang choked. At this moment, she felt that this daughter-in-law was different from everyone else.
Li Baozhu was a little nervous. She didn't want Su Ruyi to go to Tongzhou. For her, a woman who had been to the town as far away as possible, Tongzhou was too far and too dangerous. In just a few days, she had a strange feeling of closeness to Su Ruyi, and she was worried about her.
"Ruyi, it's better not to go to Tongzhou. What can you do there? You might get lost..."
"Yes, Mr. Hu's son went there to take the exam. I heard it's a expensive place. It costs ten cents just to get in!"
Liu Cuier said that she thought it was incredible to spend ten cents to enter the city gate. Ten cents separated Tongzhou into a place that she, a village woman, could not touch in her life.
Su Ruyi also knew that traveling far away was a big deal in this era of inconvenient transportation, especially for women, who were likely to spend decades of their lives within a radius of dozens of miles, and going out meant danger.
But she had to go out and see.
She had been to many places and countries in the modern era, and was not afraid of unfamiliar places. The dangers on the road could be avoided because there was space, so she did not think it was a big deal.
Seeing everyone's expressions, no matter how nervous they usually are, at this time they also showed rare family affection - of course, Su Ruyi's efforts these days also worked.
Everyone is worried.
Su Ruyi smiled and said: "What are you afraid of? I, Su Ruyi, was bullied when I was a child. When I grow up, no one can bully me. Even if it is a man, I am not afraid at all."
This is true, everyone thought, who can beat this woman?
But she is a woman after all...
If a woman goes out alone and encounters two men with ill intentions, she will suffer a loss no matter how hard she tries...
Zhang asked: "Did you really go to Tongzhou to find a way to survive?"
"Um."
"You're not allowed to go. If you want to go to town, you can do whatever you want, but Tongzhou won't let you go. It's not like we can't open the pot at home. Isn't there still something to eat?"
"You have to think in the long term, mother, just leave it alone."
After Su Ruyi finished eating, she went back to the house.
Mrs. Zhang sat at the table for a long time, frowning.
