The message Zhao Jiujiu conveyed in just a few words not only shocked Shen Wuqiu's family, but also came as a bolt from the blue for Shen Xianghua and his son.
Enraged, Shen Xianghua struck without restraint, leaving Shen Zhipeng with a bloody head wound. He immediately felt dizzy, and the blood gushing from the back of his head wouldn't stop, clearly indicating a serious injury.
Everyone present was terrified. The village only had a small clinic, and the town's health center was also ineffective. It would take at least an hour to get to a large hospital in the county.
Su Yunzhi was afraid that something bad might happen to the person and they might die in her home, so she asked Song Jue to back up the car while she went to find a first-aid kit.
Seeing the chaotic scene, Daiying initially intended to just watch the spectacle, but noticing that Shen Zhipeng's expression was a bit off, she couldn't ignore it any longer. She walked over to Shen Zhipeng and said, "Let me see..."
At this critical moment, Mr. Shen didn't ask any questions and quickly made room for her.
Dai Ying glanced at Shen Zhipeng's bleeding wound, intending to intervene immediately, but then noticed Su Yunzhi approaching with a first-aid kit. She asked Su Yunzhi to hand it over, took out a small bottle of Yunnan Baiyao from it, poured some powder into her palm, and then placed her hand on Shen Zhipeng's wound.
She held it for about ten seconds before letting go.
The bleeding has stopped temporarily.
Just then, Song Jue had already backed up the car. "Should we go directly to the People's Hospital or the health center?"
Mr. Shen glanced at Shen Zhipeng's wound, then at Daiying, and finally looked at Shen Xianghua. "A life is at stake. Let's take Pengzi to the hospital first."
"It's better if the good-for-nothing dies." Shen Xianghua cursed, but still helped Shen Zhipeng into the car outside.
Since the accident happened in their own home, Mr. Shen and Su Yunzhi both went after them.
Fearing that they might encounter some unexpected events along the way, Daiying asked Gu Junshan to come along as well.
Thus, the farce was temporarily brought to an end by sending Shen Zhipeng to the hospital.
After Mr. Shen and the others left, the hall was quiet for a while before Shen Wuqiu looked at Zhao Jiujiu, who seemed a little lost, and said, "Aunt."
"Huh?" Zhao Jiujiu hadn't recovered from what had just happened. Her expression was blank. She was still thinking about how Shen Zhipeng was bleeding profusely. She felt uneasy. Although what she said was true, if something really happened to him, not only would she not want him to take responsibility, but she herself would also feel guilty.
Shen Wuqiu walked to her side and said, "Don't worry, Brother Peng is fine."
As soon as she opened her mouth, Zhao Jiujiu broke down a bit, "I didn't expect things to develop like this..."
Daiying, who had just washed her hands in the kitchen, took an orange from the coffee table and tossed it to her. "Don't worry, she won't die. Besides, what do you have to worry about? You're not wrong."
Her nonchalant tone annoyed Zhao Jiujiu. "It has nothing to do with you. You're making it sound so easy."
Daiying shrugged: "You're talking about this as if it concerns you."
"..." Zhao Jiujiu stared at her.
Daiying peeled an orange for herself, broke off half and gave it to Shen Wuqiu, then turned to look at Zhao Jiujiu, saying, "You're just making trouble for yourself."
Zhao Jiujiu threw the orange she was holding onto the coffee table.
Seeing this, Shen Wuqiu quickly handed her the orange in her hand, saying, "Auntie, this orange is sweet, have this one."
Zhao Jiujiu glanced at it and said, "I'm not eating it."
Seeing that she was feeling a bit awkward with her outstretched hand, Gu Lingyu quickly took it from her, saying, "Sister, I'll eat it."
Daiying tapped her on the head. "Did I peel it for you? If you want to eat it, can't you peel it yourself?"
Shen Wuqiu: "It's alright, let Lingyu eat it."
Gu Lingyu scratched her head, broke off a piece of meat and fed it to Shen Wuqiu's lips, "Then sister eat it, I'll feed you."
Daiying raised an eyebrow. "Wuqiu, try it quickly, this orange is really sweet."
Shen Wuqiu: "...Hmm, I'll do it myself."
Gu Lingyu, however, refused and insisted on feeding her.
"..." Shen Wuqiu didn't know whether to accept it or not. After a few seconds of hesitation, she lowered her head slightly and put the orange from her lips into her mouth.
Zhao Jiujiu watched this scene without having any other thoughts in her mind, because she had a preconceived notion that Gu Lingyu was a spy sent by Daiying to infiltrate the Shen family, pretending to be a best friend and coaxing Qiuqiu to have a child for their Gu family.
Don't think she doesn't know; she just doesn't want to target a young girl.
Besides, you can't hit a smiling face. This little girl greeted her aunt with a sweet smile as soon as they met, she was so innocent and enthusiastic.
For example, right now, after feeding Qiuqiu, the little girl broke off a segment of orange and handed it to her: "Auntie, you should try it too, this orange is really sweet."
Someone who's been fed and then feels obligated to help, how dare she criticize others?
The enthusiasm of a pretty and charming young girl is truly irresistible.
After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Jiujiu took the orange from Gu Lingyu's hand.
Gu Lingyu watched as she put it in her mouth, then turned to look at Shen Wuqiu, as if waiting for her praise.
Looking at her childlike appearance, Shen Wuqiu wanted to laugh, and pursed her lips, "Do you want some?"
Gu Lingyu glanced at her mother furtively and complained softly, "The orange peel smells awful."
I want to eat it, but I don't want to peel it.
Shen Wuqiu understood, but didn't say anything. He glanced at Zhao Jiujiu and saw that her complexion had improved, then sat down next to her and started talking to her.
"Aunt, how do you know about Pengzi's affairs?"
“With your reservoir, such a big reservoir only produced so little cargo, there must be something wrong with it. Your dad always likes to play the good guy in front of relatives and friends, so I thought I'd check it out for you. Who knew that the investigation would uncover so many messy things.”
Speaking of this, Zhao Jiujiu still felt a bit unlucky, "How could your cousin's son be so stupid? The mistress he kept outside was no good at all. She seduced many men, and he was the only one kept in the dark."
Shen Wuqiu didn't know what to say. Although she knew from Su Yunzhi's occasional gossip that he had some opinions about his wife, she never expected that he would have a son outside, let alone that he would be so stupid as to become a father by accident.
Indeed, there is always a reason why someone is pitiful.
Shen Wuqiu lowered his head and pondered, then calmly took an orange and peeled it as he said, "So the money he falsely reported from my father was for that woman outside?"
"That's right. It was at the end of the year before last that the woman gave birth to a premature baby who needed to be kept in an incubator. She was short of money, so she set her sights on your father's fish fry money."
Shen Wuqiu peeled the orange and handed it to her, saying, "I guess your uncle and the others don't know about these things, right?"
"At first, I suspected that your uncle bringing people to apologize was just an act for you, but judging from his expression later, it seemed like he was also kept in the dark." Zhao Jiujiu took the orange, ate a segment, and continued:
“I didn’t intend to expose those dirty tricks, which is why I didn’t tell you right away. Today, I was so angry when I saw him lying and being so stubborn that I had to expose them. I mainly wanted your dad to see what kind of person he is, so that you wouldn’t have to let him continue to manage things for your dad’s sake.”
As Shen Wuqiu continued peeling an orange, she was touched. "My aunt always thinks so thoughtfully of me."
Zhao Jiujiu didn't like hearing her say such polite things, and pursed her lips. "Your dad is just a rough old man, and now his health isn't very good, so he can't think about so many things. Your stepmother isn't a bad person, but there's still a barrier between you and her. Plus, she's never really involved in these matters, so she definitely can't stand up for you. That's why I, your aunt, have to step in."
At this point, she glanced at Daiying again, "Look, your Aunt Dai has helped with the investigation quite a bit. If it weren't for her guidance, I wouldn't know where to start."
Daiying dared not take credit, saying, "I can't compare to how much effort you've put in."
Zhao Jiujiu snorted, "Of course, if Qiuqiu weren't pregnant, you would definitely have kept quiet and ignored it."
That's the truth.
Daiying didn't refute it, "As the saying goes, those destined to meet will meet even if they are thousands of miles apart, this is also fate."
Zhao Jiujiu: "More like a tragic fate."
While the two girls were bickering, Shen Wuqiu peeled another orange and was about to hand it to Gu Lingyu when Zhao Jiujiu saw it and assumed that she had peeled it for herself again: "Why did you peel another one? But this orange is strangely sweet."
Despite grumbling, she naturally took the orange.
"..." Shen Wuqiu paused for two seconds, then asked, "Aunt, do you want to eat more?"
Zhao Jiujiu shook her head, "I'm not eating it, don't peel it."
Shen Wuqiu had no choice but to withdraw her hand from the fruit plate.
After eating the orange, Zhao Jiujiu relaxed a lot and started talking about Shen Zhipeng again: "If I had known your uncle had such a bad temper, I should have been more careful with what I said. Now that all this has happened, your uncle's whole family is probably going to have a hard time. I hope it won't affect you."
"Aunt, don't think so much. If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. Even if you don't say it today, his family will definitely find out about what he's done sooner or later."
That makes sense, but if anything happens to Shen Zhipeng today, the Shen family will likely resent her for being too talkative.
Zhao Jiujiu sighed, "If the person is alright, then these things are easy to talk about."
Daiying: "Then I can assure you, the person will definitely be fine."
Zhao Jiujiu retorted irritably, "How can you guarantee that? You're not a doctor."
Dai Ying lowered her eyes. "I do know a little about medicine."
Zhao Jiujiu's eyes brightened slightly. "Is he really alright? I saw a huge hole in the back of his head, and the blood was terrifying. His face turned pale instantly..."
It was only when the situation became somewhat dangerous that Daiying went to stop the bleeding, but she said casually, "It's just a little more blood, it'll be fine in a few days."
"real?"
"Really." Daiying said, grabbing a handful of melon seeds from the plate and glancing outside. "Is it going to rain again? It feels so stuffy. I need to go out for some fresh air. Wuqiu, are you coming?"
Zhao Jiujiu loved to argue with her: "You said it was going to rain, what is Wuqiu going to do? If it rains, she won't be able to run, and she'll get wet and catch a cold."
Daiying glanced at Shen Wuqiu's large belly and thought she made a good point. "Oh, would you like to come out for some fresh air with me?"
Zhao Jiujiu glanced at her and said, "You're new here and don't know the village well. I'm worried you might get lost and have to be looked for."
The implication is that he/she agrees.
So, Daiying put another handful of melon seeds into her small handbag.
Looking at her elegant affectation, Zhao Jiujiu felt a little complicated. It was the kind of feeling that she couldn't stand but also felt a little envious because she thought she couldn't do it herself. "Why did you bring so many sunflower seeds when you went out for some fresh air? Aren't you thirsty if you eat too many in this weather?"
"Wouldn't it be nice to walk around and eat sunflower seeds? If you're worried about getting thirsty, I can bring you an orange too?"
Zhao Jiujiu scoffed, "You think this is a picnic?"
Daiying ignored her, put an orange into her small handbag, and then walked out with elegant steps.
"Unnecessarily fussy."
Zhao Jiujiu muttered something to herself, then got up. Before leaving, she said to Shen Wuqiu, "I'll go with her for a walk, so she doesn't get lost."
Shen Wuqiu nodded, and after the two left, she asked Gu Lingyu, "Why does it feel like their relationship has improved?"
Gu Lingyu didn't care about any of that and said absentmindedly, "It must be because of my sister, because they all dote on you."
A single sentence reveals the secret of heaven.
Shen Wuqiu felt that this silly and cute kitten had become a little smarter, so she decided to give it a reward. "Go and get me a glass of water."
Gu Lingyu was eating the few orange segments that Zhao Jiujiu had left over when she heard this and immediately put down what she was eating. "Do you want it cold or warm?"
"It's hot, drink something cold."
Gu Lingyu immediately got up and went to pour water.
As soon as she left, Shen Wuqiu picked an orange from the fruit plate and quickly started peeling it.