Zhao Youcai's words made Old Man Su's face flush red, but thanks to his dark complexion, it wasn't too noticeable.
With a grim expression, Old Man Su said, "Village Chief, what happened today was just a misunderstanding. It really was."
"Misunderstanding or not, this sort of thing is never to happen again. Otherwise, I won't be as polite as I was today," Zhao Youcai said, narrowing his eyes.
Someone in the crowd heckled, "Uncle Su, instead of using your free time to bother Su Qing, why don't you figure out what's going on with Su Tao? After that whole scene yesterday, is she getting married or not? Are we going to get to drink at a wedding banquet?"
"Yeah, yeah, Uncle Su! Give us a straight answer!" someone else chimed in.
Old Man Su was so furious his chest ached. He glared and snapped, "My Su Tao was framed! All of you, stop your nonsense!"
As he spoke, Old Man Su shot Su Qing a resentful look. He had a gut feeling she was involved in this, but he had no proof.
Seeing Old Man Su's glare, Su Qing spoke up. "Grandpa, let me make things clear to you today. Since I've decided to live separately from you all, I won't let you bully me anymore. If you come looking for trouble again for no reason, I won't back down, even if I can't win the fight. After all these years, I finally understand: it doesn't matter how much I value family ties, because you've never once treated me like family."
"That's right! That's how it should be." Hearing Su Qing's words, Aunt Tao nodded. "Su Qing, dear, don't you worry. We'll all support you. We won't let your grandparents bully you whenever they please anymore."
"Thank you, Aunt Tao." Su Qing was never stingy with her gratitude toward those who genuinely helped her.
"You..." Old Man Su was so choked by Su Qing's words that he couldn't say anything else. He just gave a cold snort, shot her another vicious glare, and led Su Shengli back to the old family house. Su Shengli hadn't said a word from beginning to end, but Su Qing saw the look in his eyes. The malice in them was impossible to ignore.
But Su Qing wasn't afraid. In an open confrontation like this, the villagers would naturally help her. However, if the other side dared to play dirty, she wouldn't be polite either.
"Alright, alright, everyone break it up." Seeing that the villagers were still gathered in front of Su Qing's yard, Zhao Youcai waved his hand. "Go on, scatter. Get back to whatever you were doing."
Once everyone else had left, Zhao Youcai advised Su Qing, "Su Qing, from now on, try to keep your distance from your grandparents. As for the filial piety money written in the separation agreement, you can just give them the whole year's amount when you deliver New Year's gifts. When the time comes, call me and the village party secretary over. We can act as witnesses for you, to avoid any disputes later on."
Zhao Youcai had completely lost hope in the character of the Old Su Family.
"Thank you, Village Chief," Su Qing said gratefully. "If it weren't for you all yesterday, I wouldn't have been able to separate from the old house so smoothly."
"Hah, let's not talk about the past. Just focus on living your own life well. If you run into any trouble, tell the village. We'll definitely help if we can."
"Okay." Su Qing nodded. Thinking of the wild rabbit and mushrooms in the basket on her back, she said, "Village Chief, I'd like to ask for a day off tomorrow to go to the county town. I'm still missing a lot of things at home, and I want to see if I can buy some."
"Sure, go ahead. Be careful on the road." Zhao Youcai nodded. He knew that since Su Qing had just separated from the family, she'd be short on all sorts of things and need to stock up.
However, it was the start of the busy autumn harvest, so there were no ox-carts from the village heading to the county town. To get there, she would have to walk. Although Lihua Village wasn't too far from the county town, it was still a distance of over ten li. On foot, a one-way trip would take more than an hour.
"Okay."
After seeing Zhao Youcai off, Su Qing hurried into her yard. She put away the mushrooms and shepherd's purse from her basket, giving them a bit of green mist to keep them fresh. Then, she placed the rabbit in a corner of the kitchen before fixing herself a simple meal.
「Meanwhile, at the Old Su Family's house.」
Su Lihui was still groaning, "OW, OW," complaining that his whole body ached all over.
Tian Aixiang's heart ached for him, and the corners of her eyes grew red. "Dad, Mom, shouldn't we ask Uncle Sun to take a look at Lihui? It's not right for him to keep crying out in pain like this."
Sun Laogen was the doctor in Lihua Village, but he was a barefoot doctor. His family had passed down some folk remedies for treating bruises and sprains, and he could also handle minor colds and the like. He used medicinal herbs gathered from Baihua Mountain. For serious illnesses, however, one had to go to the hospital in the county town.
However, the villagers of Lihua Village usually went to Uncle Sun for minor ailments, mainly because he was cheap. It didn't cost much; sometimes, a couple of bundles of vegetables or two or three eggs would suffice.
"Shengli, go get your Uncle Sun to take a look at Lihui." Old Madam Su, heartbroken over her grandson, told Su Shengli to fetch Sun Laogen.
Su Shengli grunted in acknowledgment and went out. It wasn't long before he brought Sun Laogen back.
Sun Laogen examined Su Lihui carefully, then frowned and said, "The boy has no wounds. I can't see anything wrong with him."
"How can that be?" Tian Aixiang said anxiously. "Uncle Sun, please take another, closer look at our Lihui. Look, he's in so much pain his face has gone pale."
Sun Laogen shook his head. "Well, there's nothing to see on the outside. It might be an internal problem. If you're concerned, you should take him to the hospital in the county town."
Sun Laogen didn't know how to read pulses, so he couldn't diagnose if there was something wrong inside Su Lihui's body.
"Ouch! I knew it!" Old Madam Su exclaimed angrily upon hearing this. "That wretched girl Su Qing must have given our Lihui an internal injury."
Sun Laogen was a bit younger than Old Man Su, so he addressed Old Madam Su as Sister-in-law Su. "Sister-in-law Su, that's not right. If it were truly an internal injury from a blow, there would at least be some bruising on the skin. Look at Lihui—there's nothing on his skin at all. You should still take the boy to the hospital in the county town. Just in case it's a real illness, you don't want to delay treatment."
Sun Laogen had also heard about the incident where the Old Su Family blocked Su Qing's gate. He was very displeased with their conduct, and now hearing Old Madam Su baselessly shift the blame to Su Qing, he grew even more annoyed.
"That's enough. We'll take Lihui to the county town tomorrow." Old Man Su, afraid Old Madam Su would say something to displease Sun Laogen, quickly interjected, "Give Brother Sun two eggs."
Old Madam Su's expression darkened. He hadn't figured out a thing, and she still had to give away two eggs. She was truly unwilling.
Sun Laogen naturally noticed. He said to Old Man Su, "No, no, it's not necessary. I wasn't able to help. You should take the boy to the hospital tomorrow. I'll be heading back now."
After speaking, he turned and left the Old Su Family's house.
After Sun Laogen left, Su Lihui was still wailing in pain, enraging Old Madam Su so much that she started cursing in the direction of Su Qing's house again. This time, however, she didn't dare go over and cause trouble about it.