Chapter 183: Oddity

Translator: Lonelytree

“Mom, who is it?” Xiao Lingyu asked in confusion.

“It’s Xiao Jun’s mother. Xiao Jun just got discharged from the hospital today, and Chen Guihua wants you to drive them back to the village. Hmph, why should we? Who are they?”

Xiao Lingyu, “…” These people are too conceited.

She was not their chauffeur. She had already sent them to the hospital! Xiao Lingyu nodded. “I’m not going to pick them up. Let them come back on their own. If they want me to pick them up, the gas and labor fees will be at least 80 RMB. They have to pay!

“That’s right!” Mother Xiao also agreed.

Their family did have a car. Xiao Lingyu already helped when she offered to drive them to the hospital. However, how could these people demand Xiao Lingyu drive them back after they were well?

Then, Mother Xiao made another call back to the woman.

…

After two days of hospitalization, the doctor confirmed that Xiao Jun was safe, and he could go home. As he went through the discharge procedure, his mother said she had to go look for someone and a ride home.

Soon, Chen Guihua ran back angrily. Her husband, Xiao Chengcai, asked in confusion, “What’s going on? Why are you so angry?”

Chen Guihua said angrily, “It’s Chen Qiuying. I asked her to have Xiao Lingyu come and pick us up, but she refused. She said that Xiao Lingyu is not feeling well.

“But then, she called back and said she could pick us up for 80 RMB! How can they be so stingy? How much petrol can a trip cost? She is clearly trying to scam us!” The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. “So what if her family has a car? What’s so great about that? If not for Jun ‘Er, we don’t even need her. We are giving her face to ask Xiao Lingyu to pick us up. After all, she is now a ruined woman. Who would befriend her anymore?”

However, there was a hint of jealousy in her tone.

Xiao Chengcai and Xiao Jun, “…”

Xiao Chengcai’s face darkened as he sternly shouted, “Shush! Do you think Xiao Lingyu owe you? How can you talk about her like this? Chen Guihua, I’m telling you now. You will never repeat this in Taoyuan Village. Do you think it’ll help us if Xiao Lingyu’s family heard about this?”

Xiao Jun also added, “Mom, Sister Lingyu is already kind enough to send us to the hospital. It’s not her duty to drive us around. She didn’t even charge us for gas and helped us with the hospitalization procedures. She has helped us a lot. We should be grateful and not hold a grudge. Otherwise, who is going to help us if something else happens to us in the future?”

“Shush, what is going to happen to us?” Chen Guihua immediately said.

“Good things can happen to us too!” Xiao Chengcai said with a dark face. “When Jun ‘Er gets married, don’t you need Chen Qiuying to help cook too?” Xiao Chengcai had a headache dealing with his shallow-minded wife. However, for his son, he couldn’t let her provoke Xiao Lingyu’s family.

So what if Xiao Lingyu was raped? Times had changed. People could cohabitate before marriage. Virginity was not that important for marriage anymore. People had pre-marital sex often. The difference was Xiao Lingyu didn’t know the man she slept with.

Even so, Xiao Lingyu was still a famous university graduate, she had worked in a big city, and she had powerful friends. Xiao Lingyu was important for the road to Taoyuan Village to get fixed. The person who fixed the road was Xiao Lingyu’s friend. Taoyuan Village needed the Xiao Family more than the other way round!

The time when the Xiao Family needed to beg others was in the past. In fact, those who helped the Xiao Zhengyang in the past had been given great rewards now that Xiao Lingyu was successful. It was clear that Xiao Zhengyang and his family only hired those few people to work for them.

Furthermore, once Xiao Jun was bitten by a poisonous snake, Xiao Lingyu immediately helped to drive him to the county hospital. If she refused to help, who knew what would have happened. This was a poisonous snake bite. If they didn’t reach the hospital in a hurry, Xiao Jun would be dead already.

Therefore, they should be grateful.

Xiao Chengcai warned her sternly, “Chen Guihua, don’t offend Xiao Zhengyang and his family, especially Xiao Lingyu.”

Chen Guihua was annoyed. She was reprimanded by her husband and she said indignantly, “Xiao Chengcai, when have I offended them? I am only telling the truth. Why did Jun ‘Er get bitten by a poisoned snake? This is all their fault!”

Xiao Chengcai frowned. “What do you mean by that? How is this their fault?” He really didn’t understand Chen Guihua’s thinking.

Chen Guihua said matter-of-factly, “If it weren’t for the few pots of valuable flowers found in their courtyard, would we have gone up the mountain? If our family didn’t go up the mountain, would Jun ‘Er have been bitten by a snake? So in the end, it’s all their fault! So they owe us!”

Xiao Caicheng and Xiao Jun were stunned when they heard Chen Guihua’s words. They looked at Chen Guihua in disbelief.

Xiao Jun sighed helplessly, “Mom, how can you think like that? You were the one who urged us to get up the mountain at night because you wanted the money. If you really want to find someone to blame, shouldn’t it be you? How is this Sister Lingyu’s fault?”

Chen Guihua, “…”

Xiao Caicheng was furious.

He said sternly and seriously, “Chen Guihua, is your brain full of shit? I can’t believe you’d say something like this. You were greedy. You heard about their flowers and wanted to find something similar, so you urged Jun ‘Er and me to get up the mountain. Yun ‘Er was bitten, and Xiao Lingyu was kind to drive us to the hospital. Instead of thanking her, you’re blaming her?”

Xiao Jun nodded. “Dad is right.”

Chen Guihua opened her mouth, but her husband stopped her. “Stop arguing. If I hear you talk bad about Xiao Lingyu again, I’ll sew up your mouth shut, or you’ll bring us more tragedies!”

Chen Guihua’s face paled. Then, the family went to the station, took the bus to Xing An Town, and then back to Taoyuan Village.

They left the hospital in the morning, so they returned around noon.

As soon as they entered the village, the villagers asked about Xiao Jun’s health. They were very happy to know that he was completely fine.

However, someone asked, “Guihui, I heard that you didn’t bring enough money that night, and it was Lingyu who borrowed 300 RMB to pay for the hospital bills. Is that true?”

Chen Guihua’s face froze.

When Xiao Chengcai heard that, he had a suspicious look on his face. ‘I have given Guihua enough money that night. Why would she need Xiao Lingyu to borrow her money?’ Then, it dawned on him, and he turned to glare at Chen Guihua. With people around, he didn’t question her.

Xiao Chengcai nodded and said, “Yes, we really have to thank Lingyu for her help. We don’t know anyone in the county town. Thankfully, Lingyu was there, or else, where were we supposed to find the money to pay the bill?”

The villagers laughed and said, “Lingyu is really capable. That’s why education is so important. She has friends all over the world!” These words were exaggerated now but not in the future…

“Yes, yes!” Xiao Chengcai said with a smile, “I really have to thank Lingyu! She helped send Jun ‘Er to the hospital and even paid for the hospital fees.”

Chen Guihua wanted to say something, but Xiao Chengcai gave her a sharp look. Chen Guihua was so scared that she swallowed her words.

“My Jun ‘Er has just been discharged from the hospital and needs rest. We will go home first!” Xiao Chengcai said.

“Yes, of course. Ah Jun, you just got out of the hospital. You need to rest well!”

“Yes, thank you for your concern, Auntie!”

Xiao Chengcai and his family of three returned home. Before they even put down their luggage, Xiao Chengcai began to question, “Chen Guihua, what exactly happened? I clearly gave you enough money, so why did you still ask Xiao Lingyu for a loan?” When Xiao Jun was bitten, Xiao Chengcai handed the cash to his wife. When he arrived, and the doctor told him that his son needed to stay for observation, he went to withdraw money from the bank because he was worried they didn’t have enough cash.

When he returned to the hospital, Chen Guihua told him that the procedures were done and she had paid the deposit. At the time, Xiao Chengcai didn’t think much of it. He didn’t see Xiao Lingyu, and so he asked, “Where is Lingyu?”

Chen Guihua said, “After she was done, she left. She said she had to meet a friend.” So, he trusted Chen Guihui. He had no idea it was Xiao Lingyu who paid for his son’s bills. He was annoyed that his wife didn’t tell him.

The whole thing was a coincidence or… maybe not. Chen Guihua only asked Xiao Lingyu to pay the bills when Xiao Chengcai was away at the bank. Then Chen Guihua urged Xiao Lingyu to leave after she got the money and before Xiao Chengcai returned.

Xiao Chengcai was not familiar with the county town, so he took a long time to find the bank.

When he returned to the hospital and planned to pay, his wife told him the bill was already settled. The biggest problem was since they had the money, why would they borrow them from Xiao Lingyu?

Chen Guihua was a little scared when she saw Xiao Chengcai’s angry face. Xiao Chengcai had already issued a warning at the hospital. Now that she saw him like this, she was even more scared and didn’t dare to tell the truth.

“Well? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xiao Chengcai shouted. “Have you become mute?”

“What’s going on?” Grandma Xiao ran out of the kitchen when she heard the commotion. She looked at Xiao Chengcai and asked in confusion, “Cai ‘Er, what are you shouting for? Don’t scare my precious grandson. He just got out of the hospital! My precious grandson, you’ve must have suffered a lot at the hospital. Look at how thin you are.”

Xiao Jun smiled and said, “Grandma, you are amazing. I only lost two taels, and you can tell?”

Grandma said with a smile, “You are my precious grandson. Even if you have only lost two Qian, I can tell, much less two taels!”

“Grandma, you’re awesome!” Xiao Jun gave her a thumbs up.

Grandma Jun was happy to receive her grandson’s praise. She suddenly thought of something and immediately asked Xiao Chengcai, “Cai ‘Er, did Jun ‘Er spend a lot of money in the hospital this time? We even had to borrow money from Lingyu?” She was worried when she asked that.

If they had to borrow money, it meant that the hospital bills were bigger than their family savings. That was why they say the poor couldn’t get sick! Once they did, they would go bankrupt.

“No, I didn’t borrow money from her!” Chen Guihua denied it immediately.

“So, you mean Xiao Lingyu was lying?” Xiao Chengcai stared sharply at Chen Guihua. “But why would she lie about this?”

“How… how would I know?” Chen Guihua said guiltily, “Go and ask Xiao Lungyu!” She would never admit that she borrowed money from Xiao Lingyu.

“Chen Guihua, if you don’t tell me the truth, you..” Xiao Chengcai said angrily, “Get out of this house!”

Chen Guihua’s anger also rose. She yelled, “Xiao Chengcai, I said I didn’t borrow money from Xiao Lingyu! Xiao Lingyu said I owe her money, then tell her to show us the evidence!”

“It’s not murder and arson. How do you expect her to produce the evidence?” Xiao Chengcai was really angry and disappointed. If this matter really reached Xiao Lingyu’s ears, they would have completely offended her family.

Xiao Jun said at this moment, “Mom, Sister Lingyu isn’t a bad person. She wouldn’t go around telling people she had loaned you money if she didn’t. In fact, I think she didn’t even borrow the money from a friend. She knew you wanted to renege on the debt, so she made this move to stop you.”

Xiao Chengcai, “…”

Chen Guihua, “….”