Chapter 343

Xiang Yubao's face turned as red as a monkey's bottom.

Lin Zhao stifled a laugh. "Keep your bonus yourself. If you have nowhere to spend it, just put it in a piggy bank. I'm not short of little leather shoes."

"Mom, that pair of black leather shoes of yours broke, didn't it?" Xiang Yubao tried hard to suppress the secret joy of being praised; his little face was straight, obedient and serious, his brows furrowed, looking very concerned.

Lin Zhao hadn't expected that her eldest son had even noticed her shoe sole splitting; her heart warmed, and her eyes crinkled with a smile.

"One pair did break, but didn't your second uncle send me a new pair? They're even the popular items bought in Haicheng."

Reminded by her, Xiang Yubao finally remembered that such a thing had happened.

"Mom, you really don't want little leather shoes?" he asked seriously.

Lin Zhao affirmed, "I really don't!"

In half a month, it will be time for the temperature to drop; then she will have to wear cotton shoes, as leather shoes will make her feet cold.

"Then..." Xiang Yubao rubbed his two hands together in circles, hesitating, then gathered his courage and said, "Can I use my bonus to buy my grandma a pair of leather boots?"

Gu Hangbao also looked at Lin Zhao, wanting to know what Mom would say; this would determine how that money would be spent.

"You can." Lin Zhao's smile remained unchanged. "I said it already, your bonuses are for you to handle yourselves; saving them is fine, and spending them is also fine."

Adults who are not short of money don't have such a great desire to possess children's New Year money and bonuses.

Gu Hangbao said loudly, "Big brother will buy for Grandma, I'll buy for Grandpa!!"

"Your grandpa and grandma will be thrilled when they receive your gifts." Lin Zhao didn't discourage her sons and was very supportive of their ideas. "I can sponsor you two with shoe coupons."

Gu Hangbao's black-and-white eyes were bright.

"Thank you, Mom!" He also knew that buying shoes required shoe coupons, and he had originally planned to beg Mom for help; he hadn't expected Lin Zhao to offer them voluntarily.

"Why be so polite with me?" Lin Zhao lightly tapped the tip of his nose. Going to the Dongfeng Academy to study every week was still useful; at the very least, in terms of speech and politeness, the twins were doing very well.

She looked at Gu Lan. "A-Lan, the same goes for you. If you want to buy something and are short of coupons, tell me, and I'll give them to you. Your third uncle sends me coupons every month, and I have everything. Don't be polite with me."

Gu Lan smiled gratefully and said, "I want to buy vanishing cream for Grandma and Mom."

"You can. I'll take you to buy them tomorrow morning." Lin Zhao's eyes were appreciative.

This look relieved Gu Lan of her worries, and her brows and eyes relaxed.

At eight in the evening, Lin Zhao asked Gu Lan to watch the twins, and she herself went to the hospital with Song Yunjin.

Song Auntie hadn't slept last night and had traveled by car this morning, so she couldn't stay up late tonight; the ones keeping watch were Song Yuncheng and Song Yunjin, who had caught up on their sleep.

Lin Zhao went with them mainly to check on her uncle's condition.

By now, he should be awake.

In the hospital room, Uncle Song opened his eyes, looked at the whitewashed ceiling, and his consciousness returned, remembering his situation.

He turned his head and saw his younger sister and brother-in-law.

Before he could speak, Song Ximei walked quickly to the bedside, looking at him with a worried expression. "How are you? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable? If you feel uncomfortable, just say so, and I'll go call the doctor."

Uncle Song shook his head slightly. "I don't feel uncomfortable."

The wound hurt, hurting so much that he couldn't sleep soundly at all; it seemed he had even had a dream, and that dream made his heart feel blocked, as if a stone were pressing on his chest, making it hard even to breathe.

Zhao Zhao, how could she have passed away so early? And the Lin family, falling so quickly, as if they had offended the Grand Duke of Jupiter—what an unlucky dream.

Fortunately, it was a dream.

"Where is Zhao Zhao?" Uncle Song asked.

Song Ximei: "..." The relationship between the uncle and niece was good, closer than father and daughter; it wasn't strange, as Zhao Zhao had grown up on her uncle's shoulders, and the first piece of malt candy she ever ate was given to her by her uncle.

"I took Yuncheng and Yunjin back to the guesthouse; your wife went to get hot water and will be back in a moment."

Uncle Song hummed and said, "Before I was sent into the operating room, Zhao Zhao fed me medicine. She said it was life-saving medicine given to her by Meng Jiusi. Do you know about this?"

Song Ximei and Lin Heling looked at each other and nodded tacitly.

"We know." Lin Heling's tone was casual as he used a small knife to cut a mango for his wife; his bangs hung down over the corners of his eyes, making it impossible to see his expression. "Big brother also knows. Jiusi has followed his grandfather to study medicine since he was a child, and Zhao Zhao has also found many ancient prescriptions for him. His medical skills have progressed rapidly, and whenever he has good medicine, he sends a portion to Zhao Zhao. She has medicine in her hands."

Song Ximei moistened her brother's lips and continued, "She was terrified when she saw you injured like that; she was desperate and grabbed at any medicine, taking it out to feed you."

The couple's words rounded out Lin Zhao's story perfectly.

Hearing that Zhao Zhao had been terrified, Uncle Song's eyes revealed heartache. Just think, when a close relative has lost an arm and is covered in blood, how could a young girl who hasn't experienced many setbacks handle it? It was a miracle she hadn't been scared into having nightmares!

"Zhao Zhao wasn't scared out of her wits, was she?" Uncle Song moved his head anxiously.

Song Ximei pressed his head down. "She wasn't scared. Don't move; be careful not to bump your wound. The doctor said you can't move."

She couldn't help but glare at Uncle Song. "You really think this is just a small injury?"

Uncle Song hadn't been scolded by this sister of his for many years; looking at it now, his mood was truly a bit complicated.

"I won't move, I won't move." He lay down honestly. The wound hurt, hurting so much that he wanted to grit his teeth, but he could endure it and didn't show it, only occasionally letting out a few gasps of air through his lips.

"I was just worried that Zhao Zhao might have been scared into something bad," Uncle Song said. "It's good that she's fine. It's also Yunjin's fault; why did he go find Zhao Zhao? Old Fu was with me."

Song Ximei smiled and said nothing.

If your niece hadn't been there, whether your arm could have been saved is really not certain.

Lin Heling's tone was disapproving. "You are a close relative of Zhao Zhao; if things happen and she isn't told, she's the one who will make a scene. Does big brother know what Zhao Zhao said to us? She said she was afraid; she was afraid she wouldn't be able to save you, afraid that something would happen to you."

Hearing this, Uncle Song's eye sockets suddenly turned red; he turned his head away in embarrassment and sniffed heavily.

Just then, Auntie Song entered the hospital room.

Seeing her husband awake, her eyes lit up; she put down the thermos and stepped forward in two strides.

"... You're awake? Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?! Does the wound hurt? Are you hungry? Do you want to go to the bathroom...?"

Listening to this string of questions, Uncle Song went from being moved to feeling awkward and hurriedly interrupted his wife's words.

"I don't feel uncomfortable. Don't worry about me; you should sit down and rest."

He saw the fatigue on his wife's face, and his brows furrowed slightly.

Auntie Song sat down, her eyes landing on her husband's face, and she muttered, "You say you don't feel uncomfortable, but you're already gasping from the pain. Should I go ask the doctor if there's any painkiller? If there is, I'll get you some; this constant pain is no way to live. I'm worried you won't sleep well at night. You're already injured and lost half your blood; if you don't sleep well, when will you ever get better..."

Uncle Song didn't mind his wife's chatter; having stepped into the gates of hell once, he cherished his family even more.

"It's fine. Didn't I sleep quite soundly before? If I can't take it, I'll say so."

Auntie Song urged him worriedly, "Then you must say so. Yuncheng and Yunjin will be watching over you tonight; they aren't that attentive, so if you need anything, you must call them."

"I know."

Song Ximei felt that her sister-in-law's words were biased and spoke a fair word: "Yuncheng and Yunjin are quite attentive."

Just as they were talking, Lin Zhao and the others entered.

"What are you talking about? What's attentive or not?" Lin Zhao said with a smile. Seeing her uncle awake, the smile on her face grew even brighter. "Uncle is awake."

She quickly moved to the bedside and took a medicine bottle out of her bag. "Uncle, this is painkiller medicine made by my younger brother. If you feel pain, take one."

Yunjin interjected, "My sister asked Dr. Jiang, and Dr. Jiang said Dad can take it, and also said this medicine is quite good and is beneficial for Dad's physical recovery."

Could it be anything but beneficial? It was something she had taken out.

Lin Zhao's heart was full of satisfaction at being able to produce good things.

Auntie Song took the medicine bottle and held Lin Zhao's hand, feeling so touched she couldn't express it.

"Wife, hurry and feed me one. It really hurts quite a bit." Hearing that this medicine was beneficial for his recovery, Uncle Song didn't try to be tough anymore and voluntarily asked to take the medicine.

Auntie Song couldn't help but laugh out loud; laughing was one thing, but she didn't just stand there blankly and fed her husband the medicine.

"Your uncle was just saying he didn't feel anything uncomfortable and could endure it, but once you sent the medicine, he immediately became honest," she said with a smile to Lin Zhao and the others, who were confused.

Uncle Song: "..."

The medicine wasn't bitter, but his heart was bitter.

"If there's ready-made painkiller medicine, why not take it? Don't be the kind of person Zhao Zhao talks about who suffers needlessly."

Lin Zhao nodded.

Hmm, that's exactly how it should be.

That night, Uncle Song finally had a good night's sleep; his dreams were filled with scenes of chatting and laughing with his cherished family, and the nightmares no longer haunted him.

Knowing her husband was fine, Auntie Song finally let go of her high-hanging heart; her tense nerves relaxed, and the fatigue of her body came crashing down, so she slept very soundly.

Yuncheng and Yunjin were young after all; after catching up on a bit of sleep, they were fully recharged. Watching the bed at night, seeing Uncle Song sleeping quite steadily, they were happy in their hearts.

"I really wasn't a good person in the past," Yuncheng suddenly said.

The light on the ceiling was turned off, and the hospital room was left with only a small bedside lamp; the moonlight was very bright, shining in a large patch, so the room wasn't dark.

The light was both soft and weak, the most hypnotic kind.

Yunjin was propping up his head, dozing off, when he was so shocked by his brother's words that his eyes became much clearer.

"You were never a person to begin with..." This sentence slipped out.

The room was quiet, the atmosphere froze for a moment, and in an instant, it seemed as if killing intent was rising.

The sound of Yuncheng grinding his teeth rang out.

"... I didn't mean it like that." Yunjin tearfully tried to make amends. "A slip of the tongue, it really was a slip of the tongue."

"You might as well say you're just used to roasting me." Yuncheng felt that this younger brother was no longer worth keeping; the older he got, the more infuriating he became.

"There's a bit of that reason, too," Yunjin said honestly.

After he finished speaking, he felt he had stepped on a landmine again and didn't dare to provoke his brother anymore, hurriedly changing the subject. "Brother, what did you mean by what you just said? What about you in the past?! Why did you say you weren't a good person in the past?!"

"Before I was beaten into submission by our dad when I was a kid, I was jealous that Dad was better to our sister, so I said harsh words to her, telling her to go back to her own home and not to sponge off our family..." Yuncheng said, recounting this past event that he hadn't been able to forget even after more than ten years.

"What?!" Yunjin raised his voice; he stood up and rushed in front of his brother, his expression indignant.

"You actually said such excessive things to our sister! Then you really weren't a good person! How good our sister is to us! Song Yuncheng, I only see you clearly today; you're just a bully, you're excessive, you don't care about family affection at all, I'm really disappointed in you, you..."

He went on a rant, his voice gradually rising, making Song Yuncheng's ears buzz.

He stood up and gave his younger brother a big slap.

"So noisy!" Yuncheng said angrily. "I already said it was in the past! How old was I then? At the age of wearing split-crotch pants, isn't it normal to want to compete for favor?!"

"Besides, I was hungry every day back then, and seeing our sister have eggs to eat, I felt Dad and Mom were biased, so I said excessive things..."

Thinking of the scene at that time, he lowered his head, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Brother, you've regretted it for a long time, haven't you?" Yunjin leaned forward, bending his waist to get a closer look at his brother's expression.

Yuncheng pushed his face away but didn't deny it.

"I said ugly things and got beaten by Dad and Mom. I felt quite unconvinced at the time, but later, when I grew up, I felt my mouth really stank, and I wished I could go back to the past and slap myself twice."

Something strange flashed through Yunjin's heart; he had never heard of these things before, as his brother had always kept them buried in his heart.

His heart must have been hurting; every time he thought of it, he would be overwhelmed by a sense of guilt.

He could understand.

The teenager laughed playfully on purpose. "No wonder I sometimes feel your attitude toward our sister is weird."

It wasn't that it was bad, but it was a bit too cautious, as if he were considering something.

"Is it that obvious?" Yuncheng asked nervously.

"It's okay," Yunjin said.

No wonder his brother was so obedient to his sister; whatever his sister said, he listened to. At first, it was probably because of guilt that he couldn't say no.

"Sure enough, you can't just say whatever you want." Yunjin's eyes were sympathetic.

If his brother were a heartless person, he would probably have forgotten about this long ago! But he wasn't; he had been remembering it all along, and whenever he thought of it in his dreams at night, his heart felt bad.

"Sister didn't hold it against you," he comforted his brother thoughtfully.

Yuncheng glanced at him and didn't speak. It was precisely because his sister hadn't said anything that he felt even more detestable; how could he have said such cold-blooded and heartless words? It was too excessive!

"It's a good thing our sister didn't become estranged from our dad, otherwise I would be the sinner of our family."

Yunjin agreed with this. "If our sister became estranged from Dad, I wouldn't recognize this cousin sister either!" Just imagining it made him feel angry, and he glared at his brother huffily.

Yuncheng: "..."

My brain must have been caught in a door for me to have a heart-to-heart talk with Yunjin!

I should just squeeze my shoulders and treat my head like a pimple! I can't take it!!

"What I said tonight, you are not allowed to tell anyone else!" Yuncheng warned seriously.

Yunjin raised his four fingers high. "I swear!"

"..." Could you be any more perfunctory?

Yuncheng was half-believing and half-doubting, and didn't dare to threaten him, as this guy was immune to both soft and hard tactics.

Sigh, it's all the fault of the beautiful moonlight.

Yuncheng knew Yunjin had a loose tongue, but he hadn't expected it to be that loose; before the next day was over, everyone knew about his embarrassing incident.

Uncle Song suppressed his laughter, afraid of shaking his wound. "Yuncheng still remembers that? He was still wearing split-crotch pants back then. I still remember that because of this, he got a mixed-doubles beating from your mother and me, crying his lungs out."

Auntie Song continued, "Later, Ximei sent over a fat rabbit, and I made meat, but he made a fuss wanting to eat it, and I wouldn't let him. He learned those idle gossips and said ugly things to Zhao Zhao, saying she didn't deserve to eat the meat his aunt had brought. Because he didn't get any meat to eat, he realized he was wrong and obediently apologized to Zhao Zhao."

Lin Zhao had almost forgotten; once her uncle and aunt mentioned it, she finally remembered this past event.

"I remember now," she laughed out loud.

"Yuncheng was crying 'woo-woo' at the time, and his apology didn't go three sentences without mentioning the meat."

Yuncheng was numb.

Public execution is nothing more than this!