Hua Xiaomai looked at Sun Great Saint gratefully and then turned back to Pan Ping’an, forcing herself to shake her head as she said, "Uncle Ping’an, haven’t you noticed anything wrong yet? They just left like that, and didn’t even take back the silver note they gave you yesterday..."
Pan Ping’an suddenly froze. When he spoke again, his arrogance had diminished by half, "Maybe... maybe they were too angry and forgot about it. It won’t take long, they will naturally..."
"There’s nothing I can do if that’s what you want to think," Hua Xiaomai’s patience was completely worn out, and she said loudly, "You have the silver note, you can go to the bank right now and ask. If you can cash it in, I’ll imdiately take out seven hundred taels for everyone to share, how about that? If there isn’t enough, I’ll sell my house if I have to, but I won’t let you suffer any loss, alright?"
With that, she turned and walked towards the door.
Pan Ping’an watched her disappear without a trace, turned around, and saw everyone in the yard staring at him. He waved his hand embarrassedly and said, "Get back to work, don’t... don’t just stand there," and he dashed into the storeroom in a puff of smoke.
The short walk ho was incredibly difficult for Hua Xiaomai. She couldn’t muster any strength in her legs, feeling as if she were walking on cotton. The bright sun overhead was blinding, and she floated back to the east side of the village. As soon as she entered the yard, she bumped into ng Laoniang, who was about to take little Walnut out to sunbathe.
"How is it, were those two swindlers? You..." ng Laoniang grabbed her and started asking. She suddenly swallowed back her words in the middle of the sentence and started exclaiming in shock.
"What’s wrong with you, your face is as white as a ghost?" As she spoke, she touched Hua Xiaomai’s forehead, "Good heavens, it’s hotter than fire! I told you you were asking for trouble, and you talked back at . Now what? Hurry up, go and lie down in bed. I reckon we will need to call for a doctor. Tsk, I tell you..."
While complaining, she forcibly pushed her toward the backyard.
Since coming to Fire Knife Village, Hua Xiaomai had hardly fallen ill and knew her condition was serious this ti. She didn’t dare to neglect it and obediently moved towards the backyard, not forgetting to keep a distance from little Walnut, "Mother, don’t let him co too close to , at least don’t let him into my room today. If he gets hungry... Daoxiang Garden delivers fresh cow and sheep’s milk every day..."
"Aargh, stop worrying about it!" If it weren’t for seeing how weak she was, ng Laoniang would have felt like kicking her, "What cow and sheep’s milk? There are so many young mothers in the village who have recently given birth; having little Walnut take a few sips from them is no big deal! You go, cover yourself with a quilt and sleep, I can’t manage alone, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask your Aunt Feng to help out. Other than causing trouble, what else can you do?"
Before the words ended, she pushed Hua Xiaomai into the room, stuffed her onto the couch, grabbed an extra thick cotton quilt, covered her up tightly without any sense, and walked out, cursing and slamming the door.
Hua Xiaomai was truly feeling very weak and paid no attention to anything else. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
...
This sleep was not very restful. It seed like soone was constantly coming in and out of the room. She didn’t know if it was ng Laoniang, who brought wine to wipe her palms and soles thoroughly, and placed a cool cloth on her forehead. Every so often, soone would co in to check on her, and the noise of the door opening and closing creaked and groaned, disturbing the peace.
The strong sll of wine perated her body, the bedding, and even the entire room, making her even more drowsy. Hua Xiaomai turned over a few tis, and finally, the room quieted down, allowing her to sleep more soundly.
She had no idea how much ti had passed when it seed that soone entered again.
She was a bit impatient but didn’t have the energy to speak, only silently "tsked" in her mind, hoping the person would leave quickly.
Unexpectedly, the person sat down beside her bed, removed the cloth from her forehead, and gently caressed her face with their palm.
Hua Xiaomai groggily thought: Hmm, ng Laoniang’s hands are really big, and so calloused. I shouldn’t let her hold little Walnut anymore; it might scratch his tender little face... Wait a second, don’t kiss , that’s not appropriate, is it?
Suddenly realizing sothing, she opened her eyes wide.
The light was dim in the room, suggesting it was dusk. There was a blurred, towering shadow by the bed, bending over and pressing their lips to her forehead.
Hua Xiaomai jolted awake, the sickness almost scared out of her: "How co you’re back?"
She realized only after speaking that her throat was terribly hoarse.
ng Yuhuai’s brows were furrowed into a frown as he spoke softly, "After settling the matter, I ca back to check on you—it’s a good thing I thought to co back today. What in the world are you doing to yourself?"
"It’s not like I wanted to get sick," Hua Xiaomai’s mouth twitched, "Do you think I’m enjoying this? It’s awful!"
"Do you want to sit up?" ng Yuhuai helped her to sit up against the headboard and handed her a bowl of warm water, "Mother was thinking about calling the doctor, but she felt you’d better not take any dicine for now, so she decided to see how you are today. If you’re still like this tomorrow morning, no matter what, you’d have to see the doctor."
Hua Xiaomai nodded, pushed him aside, and said "Don’t get too close to . You might catch what I have, and it’s troubleso enough with just being sick. Also, before you go out later, change your clothes and wash your hands before holding little Walnut, just in case..."
"Look after yourself!" ng Yuhuai gave her a stern look, "Once you recover, you’re going back to practicing your martial arts with . You’re so frail and still have the nerve to brag to people that you’re an expert with a cudgel? Tell , mother said sothing happened at Zhenwei Garden, what exactly is going on?"
Hua Xiaomai wasn’t in the mood to discuss this with him at the mont and shook her head. She extended her arm out of the blanket and whined, "Hold !" (To be continued. If you like this work, please go to Qidian (qidian) to vote with a recomndation ticket or a monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian to read.)
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