Chapter Seventeen: Ingratitude and Betrayal

on was quite loud, or perhaps it was because someone had been curious about the hot springs here last night, a hundred or so villagers gradually gathered outside the valley.Their eyes were just as eag...A journey of two hundred miles is neither short nor long.

Li's family followed the鏢 team for six or seven days and finally arrived in Junyang County one afternoon.

When parting, Liu the鏢頭 insisted on not taking the ten taels of silver. He kept saying that he wanted to make a good relationship with the Li family and often visit in the future.

He hoped that Lao Si Li would join the鏢局 in the future and do business together.

The Li family had no choice but to accept the silver, thinking they would have a chance to return the favor in the future.

Having hired two carriages, the family arrived at their uncle Liu Gen'er's village in the foothills before sunset.

The small village was very quiet. At this hour, there wasn't a single smoke stack from a house, and the lights were scarce.

Li Laotai thought about what her younger brother had said when they used to write letters, and she found herself in front of the second house at the village entrance.

This house is surrounded by adobe walls and has a thatched roof.

The gate was only tied together with branches, and the house had only two or three rooms. It looked very poor and dilapidated.

Old Mrs. Li saw this and felt a twinge of worry in her heart. She patted the courtyard door and called out, “Liu Gen’er! Come open the door, it's your aunt!”

But for a while, no one answered. Tao Hongying and the others exchanged glances, all showing a trace of worry in their expressions.

"Here it comes! Who is it Don't let people sleep at this late hour!"

Finally, the door creaked open and a thin woman with her hair haphazardly pulled back came out.

Seeing so many people standing at the door, the woman's originally displeased expression immediately froze.

She took a few steps back, her face guarded. “Who are you looking for”

"I am Liu Gen'er's elder sister. I married into the frontier many years ago. A while back, there was a military conflict in our hometown, so I brought my family here to seek refuge..."

Grandma Li responded and spoke carefully.

The woman pondered for a moment before understanding, and quickly said, "Wait a moment."

Having said that, she turned and entered the house, soon emerging with an elderly woman supporting her arm.

Old Mrs. Li recognized that this was Liu Gen'er's daughter-in-law, her sister-in-law Guo.

Guo was younger than Li Laotai by several years, but now she looked much older.

His face was wrinkled like dried orange peel, and he didn't look very strong.

As Mrs. Guo walked to the entrance of the courtyard, she finally raised her triangular eyes to look at Old Madam Li standing in front of her.

"It's my elder sister! How did you travel so far to come to my house Come in and have a chat."

Tao recognized Old Mrs. Li, but his tone was rather cold, without any of the warmth one might expect from seeing a long-lost relative.

Li Laotai's enthusiasm suddenly cooled a bit.

She pondered for a moment, then went into the yard with her grandchildren.

At this moment, two men and a stout woman came out of the house.

They looked like they had just crawled out of bed, rubbing their eyes and yawning. They stared at the Li family with curious yet bored eyes.

"Sister, where is Liu Gen'er"

When Guo heard Li Lao mention her husband, her face took on a few complex expressions. "Liu Gen'er died last year."

"What How did he die" Li Laotai staggered, nearly falling. Luckily, Li Laosì stepped forward to help her up.

"Last year you wrote saying you were in good health. How..."

Li Laotai was completely taken aback by the news of her younger son's death. She fought back tears, trying to understand what had happened.

Guo Shi let out a cold snort, showing no sorrow whatsoever. Instead, she seemed to be filled with resentment.

Last summer, there was a heavy rainstorm and the dyke broke. The floodwaters wouldn't have reached us anyway. But that scoundrel, Liu Gen'er, had to go rescue a child who was swept away by the water. As a result, he drowned himself and left us, an orphaned mother and child, to suffer in this world.

And with that, she looked again at Old Lady Li.

Her sharp eyes, like a scraper, went over Old Mrs. Li and the rest of the Li family, up and down.

Old Li was careful. Before disembarking, she had her family change out of the clothes Mrs. Sun had given her and put on her old patched ones instead.

And after all that dust and travel, their clothes were filthy, making them look quite disheveled.

Thus, Tao's eyes were full of disdain and disappointment.

"My father has passed away, why are you still coming to seek refuge Our family is already struggling, we can't even support ourselves, let alone take you in!"

Liu Gen'er's eldest son, Liu Tiezhu, was suffering from exhaustion and seeing that the Li family didn't seem wealthy, he opened his mouth to drive them away.

Guò listened to her son's words, without a word, obviously agreeing.

"We just need a place to stay for a while, we don't need you to worry about food and clothing…"

Li Lao Er was unhappy with their attitude and stood up to explain.

But before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by another man.

"Who are you trying to fool With your shabby appearance, what would happen if you actually moved in and refused to leave"

Liu Jia's second son, Liu Lai-fu, was also dissatisfied, pursing his lips and glaring.

Instead, the Madam Guo, considering Liu Gen'er's death, waved her hand to stop her son and said.

"Alright, alright. If you have nowhere to live, you can stay in our yard for now, but don't even think about going inside a house. As soon as the sun rises tomorrow, leave quickly! Our family can't help you!"

Lao Li was so angry that her whole body was shaking. Jia Yin felt sorry for her and endured with great difficulty, not throwing the stones in the room outside to Liu's house!

Selfish and ungrateful!

Such a person would rather have the Li family sleep on the streets than want anything to do with them.

She reached out her tiny hand and pulled on grandma's sleeve, babbling a few words.

Seeing the commotion from near Liu Laifu Station, he peeked out of curiosity and became even more disgusted.

"They're all fleeing everywhere because they're so poor, and yet they keep having so many children!"

Li Lao Si heard this and became furious, lunging to grab Liu Lai Fu.

Liu Laifu was quick on his feet and immediately scurried behind Mrs. Guo for cover.

"What's the matter You won't let us in, so you want to fight Come on, hit me! If you have the guts, kill our whole family and take over our house!"

Li Laotai, who had been silent all along, reached out and grabbed her son's arm. "Laosi, don't cause trouble."

Having said that, she turned to Guo Shi, "Sister-in-law, it's my fault for not considering things through. Don't worry, now that Liu Gen is gone, our two families are effectively severed. Even if we starve to death, we won't trouble you."

Guo gave a cold snort. "Fine then, but don't go back on your word."

After finishing, she took her son and daughter-in-law back into the house.

The courtyard was silent.

“Mother, how could they do this A few years ago, your brother wrote saying his son needed a bride. Our family couldn't afford the dowry, so you sold your own wedding jewelry. Our family went hungry for half a year to give them money!”

Li Lao Er was so angry that he gasped for breath, "But now, they have turned against me just because their uncle passed away!"

Tao Hongying and Zhao Yuru, along with others, were filled with disappointment and anger. Only Wu Erdog stood behind the crowd, watching the commotion with unconcern.

Old Mrs. Li let out a long sigh, holding her granddaughter upright in her arms and pressing her soft, warm little face against her cheek. Only then did the chill in her heart begin to dissipate.

"Funiu'er, Grandma will take you to sleep outside. You don't have to stay here, okay" Li Laotai asked Jiayin softly.

Jiayin grinned, rubbing her face against Li Lao Tai's cheek.

"Fu Nier is such a good girl!" Li Laotai finally let out a faint smile and, turning her head, led her family out of the courtyard.

At the village entrance stood an ancient tree, so massive that several people couldn't encircle its trunk. Its branches were thick with leaves, and the Li family made a fire there, resting for the time being.

Fortunately, it was still late summer, and the night wasn't too cold.

But everyone's heart was inevitably filled with anxiety and confusion. They had traveled thousands of miles to get here, only to find such a result. We followed the carriage to an agricultural estate near Xindu. He went into the master's courtyard and when he came out, it turned out that Wu Gouzi's wife was waiting for him at the gate, and... the...