Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Xu Meng patted the little head of her second child. She knew the boy was smooth-talking and always hungry, but not the mischievous type. The kid was quick-thinking and would never provoke such a difficult old woman. As for setting off firecrackers, the children in the family were quite sensible about it.

She asked Feng Yanwen to give her a hand and try to help the old lady up first.

Old Lady Chen was cold sitting there too and didn’t refuse.

The eldest child quickly brought out a soft chair from the house and placed it at the entrance.

The ground was damp and chilly, and they couldn’t let the old lady sit there any longer. Xu Meng and Feng Yanwen both reached out to help, only to realize how heavy the old woman was. She wasn’t particularly tall, but lifting her felt like hoisting a sack of bricks. No amount of porridge and hardship could have built such a solid build.

By the time they got Old Lady Chen onto the soft chair, both were out of breath, and Xu Meng’s back was drenched in cold sweat.

Just then, someone pushed through the crowd: “I’m a doctor. Let me take a look.”

It was a young woman in her twenties, dressed neatly with a somewhat cool demeanor.

Helping people was what doctors did. She pulled out her work ID from her coat pocket, showed it quickly in front of Xu Meng and the others, then tucked it back in. Addressing Old Lady Chen, she said, “Granny, I’m a doctor from the orthopedic hospital. If you agree, I’ll give you a quick examination first. If it’s not too serious or if it’s very severe, there’s no need to go to the clinic.”

If it wasn’t serious, she could just rest at home.

If it was severe, the jack-of-all-trades doctors at the clinic wouldn’t be able to help her anyway.

The doctor felt around Old Lady Chen’s waist, and everyone’s eyes followed her movements. Though the doctor’s expression remained blank, Xu Meng felt a sigh of relief—if the situation were truly bad, the doctor wouldn’t look so composed.

After asking a few more questions casually, the doctor said coolly, “There doesn’t seem to be any issue with your waist.”

In those days, they didn’t rely on X-rays for every little thing, so doctors needed good hands-on skills. Her confidence suggested she had real expertise.

Old Lady Chen’s face immediately changed, and she clutched her leg, crying out in pain.

The eldest child pointed out, “Granny Zhao Xing, you weren’t holding that spot earlier.”

Xu Meng couldn’t help but chuckle. The kid was sharp-eyed and quick. She had seen it too—Old Lady Chen had been clutching her waist earlier. The old woman probably hadn’t even decided where she was supposed to be hurting, switching between her waist and her rear end.

Amid the commotion, Sister Liu from the neighborhood arrived.

After listening to the crowd’s chatter for a while without making sense of it, Sister Liu pushed her way in, intending to ask Xu Meng directly.

The moment Granny Chen spotted Sister Liu, she grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “Xiao Liu, they’ve wronged me! They pushed me for no reason—look at my poor old bones, nearly shattered! You must teach these brats a lesson. They’re always running around, up to no good.”

Others immediately chimed in, all criticizing the children.

No one gave the kids a chance to speak.

Sister Liu quickly pulled Xu Meng aside. “What’s really going on?”

With Granny Chen’s shouts and wails filling the air, Xu Meng’s face darkened. The old woman wasn’t leaving any room for explanations. She pulled Sister Liu further away and brought the second child over. Raising her voice, she said, “You saw what happened earlier. The old lady kept yelling, and the boy never got a chance to explain. Now, tell Auntie exactly what happened.”

The second child had been too shocked to speak earlier but had since snapped out of it. He said loudly, “I didn’t push her. She slipped on her own.”

Xu Meng pressed, “Then how did she end up at our doorstep?”

The second child replied, “She was snooping around our door. I called out to her, and then she fell…”

The rest didn’t need to be said—both of them understood. One of them was lying. But now the old lady was adamant that the boy had pushed her, milking her age and not even letting the child speak.

This had to be cleared up. Hurting an elderly person was no small matter.

But there were no surveillance cameras at this time, and no one around had noticed the two of them. Now it was a case of "he said, she said."

Sister Liu said, "Don’t rush. Let’s first see how Granny Chen is doing. Getting her treated comes first."

The doctor had already finished the examination. Granny Chen had sprained her foot, but it wasn’t as serious as she claimed. However, Granny Chen insisted that "a bone injury takes a hundred days to heal" and demanded that the second sibling’s family take responsibility for the entire hundred days.

Granny Chen raised her voice and shouted, "You little troublemaker, why did you have to provoke an old lady like me? My body is frail, and if I get hurt, can you take responsibility? No surprise you brats are always causing trouble. Adults need to teach you a lesson. With no parents to discipline you, the neighborhood committee should step in and manage you kids properly."

She never missed a chance to taunt the children about being parentless—what kind of decent person does that?

Feng Yanwen couldn’t stand it anymore. "Let me say something."

She was mild-mannered and was a teacher. Having lived here for a while, she got along well with the neighbors and was known for being reasonable. As an adult, she had more credibility than a young girl like Xu Meng. So when she spoke, the crowd fell silent out of respect.

Everyone turned to look at Feng Yanwen.

Her face flushed slightly as she cleared her throat and said, "I’m not related to these three children and I’m not here to take their side unconditionally. But to be fair, Granny Chen keeps bringing up the fact that they have no parents—that’s not their fault. Moreover, their fathers were martyrs, not criminals arrested by the government for reformation."

She paused, her tone turning stern. "I know these kids well. Even if they’re mischievous, they have a sense of boundaries—more so than most children. As for you, Granny Chen, even if we set everything else aside, is it their fault they have no parents? Is it right for you to keep dwelling on that? And before we settle this, I’d like to ask: What were you doing snooping around my doorstep just now?"

Feng Yanwen’s voice remained gentle as always, but there was a firmness in her tone.

Everyone present, including Granny Chen, probably felt emboldened precisely because these children had no parents to stand up for them.

But they had forgotten who these children’s fathers were.

They were martyrs!

Sister Liu immediately grew serious. "Let’s focus on the issue at hand. Since the injury isn’t severe and the doctor has already checked, there’s no need to rush to the hospital. Too much movement might make it worse, Granny Chen. Don’t you agree?"

Granny Chen snorted but didn’t object.

She wasn’t looking to make things worse—she knew it was best not to move recklessly in her condition.

But she’d be bedridden for at least a month for no reason, and with someone like Yang Sanshu’s temperament, she’d be lucky to get decent care. She needed someone to take the blame quickly, or she wouldn’t have targeted these children in the first place.

"Hmph, cut the crap. All I know is that I’m injured now. What are you going to do about it? First, there’s the medical expenses—you saw the prescription the doctor just wrote. That’s a good chunk of money right there. Second," Granny Chen sneered, "a bone injury requires rest. At my age, recovery will be slow, so I’ll need money for proper nourishment too."

Her eyes darted shrewdly between Feng Yanwen and the three children.

She had heard that Teacher Feng rented this place for fifty yuan a month.

With the New Year approaching, the children’s father’s former workplace and the government often sent them care packages. Lately, the kids had been eating so well their lips shone. Living next door, Granny Chen often caught whiffs of the delicious aromas, making her mouth water.

Back in her youth at the production brigade, Granny Chen had been known for her bottomless pit of a stomach—she could eat as much as a full-grown laborer.

There was a famous story about one New Year’s Eve when a seven- or eight-pound pork knuckle had been stewed in the morning. Granny Chen kept "tasting" it in the kitchen, bite after bite, until by dinnertime, the whole thing had vanished.

Over the years, that pork knuckle story had spun into endless variations, but this was the true one.

She hadn’t eaten it all in one meal—she had finished it over the course of an evening!

But it just went to show how insatiable her appetite was.

Sister Liu frowned at the greedy glint in Granny Chen’s eyes.

The female doctor had already written out the prescription. "Nothing’s broken—not even a sprain. Just buy some medicated oil to rub on it and rest well. Take it easy—no heavy lifting. And your back pain isn’t from a fall—it’s a strain."

No one quite understood what she meant, not even Feng Yanwen, who seemed briefly confused.

Xu Meng quickly reacted, "Are you sure it's a strain, not a fall injury?"

That doctor is really sharp!

The female doctor gave a steady look at Xu Meng, her lips curling slightly as she nodded. Then, her gaze turned somewhat complicated when she looked at the old lady.

Xu Meng, however, knew Granny Chen all too well—she was just like Granny Xue. Xu Meng was familiar with the tactics of such people: yelling even when they’re wrong, let alone when they thought they had the upper hand.

A thought suddenly hit her.

Granny Chen muttered, "I don’t get this strain-or-fall nonsense. All I know is that this child hurt me, and you have to take responsibility."

Xu Meng looked at her. "Are you really sure it was my second child who hurt you?"

Granny Chen tilted her head smugly. "Who else could it be?"

Xu Meng sneered. "If it really was my second child who hurt you, then of course he should take responsibility."

But if it wasn’t him, you’d just better watch your back, old lady.

Granny Chen grew even more defiant. "I know what you’re implying—you’re calling me a thief, saying I stole from your house. Go ahead, turn my place upside down. If you find even a single thing that belongs to you, I’ll apologize and sweep the streets for a month. But if you find nothing, you’ll be the one sweeping the streets for a month."

The punishment of sweeping the streets was just plain mean.

Xu Meng wasn’t like her—some idle person with nothing to do all day. She had school, and final exams were approaching. Every child was cramming for exams, and Xu Meng, with her better situation now, was working harder than ever, up at the crack of dawn. Sweeping the streets for a month would mean missing school entirely.

Xu Meng’s eyes narrowed, but she said with the same steel in her voice, "Fine, sweeping it is. Just remember, this was your idea. No take-backs. I hope the block leaders can bear witness."

Sister Liu was about to advise her not to waste energy arguing with someone like Granny Chen—winning against her was pointless anyway.

But Xu Meng’s quick retort made Sister Liu gain new respect for the girl.

"Deal."

This was going to be one heck of a show.

People naturally love a good show, and the commotion drew an even larger crowd.

Chang Xi squeezed her way in and whispered to Xu Meng, "Why gamble with her? Even if she loses, she won’t sweep the streets—she’ll just pull the ‘poor old me’ act, claiming her back hurts. But if you lose, you’ll have to do it. That old woman’s tongue is poisonous—she never lets go of an advantage."

Xu Meng replied, "But Lao Er is certain—she must have taken something from our house."

Chang Xi hesitated. "Kids say all sorts of things…" Not exactly reliable.

But Xu Meng had faith in Lao Er. Though he had plenty of flaws, he was clever and never lied.

Still, if Granny Chen was challenging everyone to search her place, she must be confident nothing would be found.

Either she’d already eaten it, leaving no trace, or it was something well-hidden. But crimes always leave traces.

If they didn’t seize this chance to look, they might never get another.

Xu Meng declared, "So what if it’s sweeping the streets for a month? Break’s almost here—I won’t back out. Not only will the neighbors bear witness, but the neighborhood committee leaders too. Whoever breaks their word will have to slink around here and keep their mouth shut."

She shot Granny Chen a fierce glare—the message was clear: I’m talking about you.

Granny Chen was so furious she almost fell over backwards.

Well, she was no match for passive-aggressive remarks.

Since Granny Chen's house wasn’t big, only a handful of people entered to search. Sister Liu picked a few from her own neighborhood to go in.

Granny Chen was also helped into the yard by others. Yang Sanshu, hearing about this, was shaking with rage. That mother-in-law of hers was nothing but trouble. Earlier, she had been busy with chores at home and heard her mother-in-law prowling around outside but couldn’t tell what she was scheming. The old man’s hacking cough from inside the house had her too rattled, she couldn’t make out anything clearly.

Fortunately, Xu Meng and the others didn’t enter her room but went straight to the old woman’s own quarters.

The room was small to begin with, and as soon as the door opened, a revolting stench assaulted them—a mix of salted fish and smoked meat, along with the old man’s violent, gut-wrenching coughs. It made everyone involuntarily wrinkle their noses.

The old man inside barked something in his thick country accent, coughing between words.

Xu Meng even caught a flicker of flame and smelled cigarette smoke.

The place was already suffocating, yet someone was smoking inside.

Xu Meng couldn’t help but lift the door curtain, her compulsive need to clear the air taking over.

But Granny Chen yelled loudly, "Close the door! Close the door! There’s a stove burning inside. It’s freezing out, and we finally got the room warm. Don’t go letting all the warmth out! You heartless people, are you deliberately picking a fight?"

Great. And here I was trying to be helpful.

Xu Meng pinched her nose. How did anyone tolerate living in this reeking dump? With just one glance, she decided that even if something was hidden here, she’d rather die than rummage through this. Searching this place would be more torturous than a month of street-sweeping.

Sister Liu couldn’t hold back. "Granny Chen, you might want to consider basic sanitation. I heard your husband has been sick for a long time. Why is he still smoking? Smoking’ll only make that cough worse. And even if he must smoke, he shouldn’t do it indoors. The smell lingers—doesn’t it bother you?"

She had long heard that Old Man Zhao was ill and hadn’t gone out for a stroll in months.

Granny Chen raised an eyebrow. "None of your business!"

Right. Who’d want to meddle in her affairs anyway?

Granny Chen had her own survival wisdom. The old man had a heavy smoking habit, and keeping the cigarette smoke trapped indoors meant he could keep inhaling it. That crafty hussy had just tried to ventilate my smoke!

The group searched Granny Chen’s house but found nothing.

Even Xu Meng began to doubt. She believed Granny Chen would steal from her house, but these days, people guarded their stuff like dragons hoarding gold. Even kitchens where food was stored during the day were locked, and fruits were kept in cabinets with double locks—otherwise, they’d vanish quicker than morning dew. Not long ago, someone in the alley lost a pair of leggings and turned the whole neighborhood upside down looking for the thief.

So what was Granny Chen sneaking around her house for? What in her sorry yard could possibly be worth stealing?

As she pondered this, Xu Meng’s gaze drifted to a corner of Granny Chen’s yard.

There, in an inconspicuous spot, was a pile of dirt.