Chapter 80 Mountain Home Hearth 80

Chapter 80: The Liu Family's Culinary Delights 80

Noticing the suspicious glances from the onlookers, the woman inwardly cursed. The next moment, she sat down with the child in her arms and began to wail.

"Oh, you heartless wretch! Are you trying to kill us? What do you mean by that? Are you accusing me of using my own son to extort you? Whose son isn't a treasure? What mother would ever do such a thing?"

As mothers themselves, the women in the crowd couldn't bear to hear such words. Some frowned, nodding thoughtfully and murmuring:

"That does make sense."

"Indeed… who would use their own child to extort money?"

"Exactly! Look at that poor child, he's in such agony he's about to faint. What mother would allow that?"

Hearing this, Liu Guyu chuckled and immediately retorted, "Auntie, did you hear that? What kind of mother would do such a thing? I'm offering to pay for a physician, yet you refuse. Are you truly his birth mother?"

His words made the woman's face contort. She quickly clutched her child defensively and loudly protested, "Of course I am!"

The child whimpered in pain, his voice weak as he cried, "Mom… Mom…"

Some felt pity and urged:

"Sister, the child's health is paramount. Please, let a physician see him first!"

"Yes, yes! Seeing a physician is what matters most!"

"This child is still young, not as resilient as adults! If something serious happens from the pain, you'll be heartbroken!"

…

Even Qin Rongshi added, "What are you afraid of? It's just calling a physician. With so many of us here, it's not like we can run away."

Qin Banban, who had been hiding behind Liu Guyu, stepped forward. The young girl peeked at the child in the woman's arms and said softly, "He's in so much pain, and it came on so suddenly. He's clutching his stomach, his face is pale, and he's sweating. It looks a lot like intestinal colic. This illness is serious and requires immediate medical attention. If not treated carefully, it could…"

The girl had recently been studying medical books and had a rudimentary understanding. The child's condition closely matched the description of "intestinal colic" in her books.

She continued, "Contaminated food can cause intestinal colic, but this illness is acute and severe. If it were our stall's fault, it wouldn't affect only one customer."

Hearing the name of the illness, someone in the crowd exclaimed in alarm.

"Oh no! Intestinal colic is dangerous! There was a family in my neighborhood where someone died of it—they died from the pain."

"He really needs to see a physician! This can't be delayed!"

The woman, however, grew even angrier and more frantic. She glared daggers at Qin Banban and snapped, "You little wretch! How dare you curse my Bao Er! I'll tear your mouth apart!"

As she made a move to lunge forward while still holding the child, even if her hands were full, her large frame crashing into Qin Banban would surely cause harm!

Banban was startled and quickly hid behind her eldest brother. Qin Rongshi promptly pulled her behind him, while Liu Guyu stepped forward to block the way.

With a pout, Banban felt her good intentions had been unappreciated and said resentfully, "I was only telling the truth. You said he's your 'Bao Er,' right? Then why aren't you in a hurry to get Bao Er treated?"

The woman's words and actions were truly strange. The onlookers pointed and whispered, their eyes filled with distrust.

Liu Guyu added:

"You're a strange one, aren't you? You claim to be his mother, yet you refuse to let a physician see him and only demand money!"

"And another thing… I've been meaning to say this!"

"You're wearing new indigo fabric, but your son's clothes are too short? You're healthy and well-nourished, while your son is skinny and sickly pale… Is he really your own son?"

Liu Guyu's question hit the mark. The already suspicious crowd nodded in agreement, discussing the oddities among themselves.

Just then, someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise, "Well! Isn't that Guixian? What are you doing here?"

The speaker was a woman around the same age as the troublemaker. Hearing the commotion from afar, she had hurried over with her basket, pushing her way through the crowd to get a closer look.

To her surprise, the woman at the center of the scene was none other than Liu Guixian from their village!

Liu Guixian, the woman holding the child, turned pale at the familiar voice and tried turning to leave with the child in her arms.

But Liu Guyu wasn't about to let her go. He quickly exchanged a glance with Qin Rongshi, and the two blocked her path from the front and back.

"Trying to leave now? What do you think this place is? You come here, cause a scene, blame me for no reason, and then think you can just walk away?"

"Dream on!" Liu Guyu snorted coldly and said to Qin Rongshi, "Erlang, go fetch a physician!"

Qin Rongshi nodded and left.

It wasn't that Liu Guyu was generous enough to pay for a physician for a troublemaker, but if this matter wasn't resolved today, rumors could spread later, or competitors might seize the opportunity to slander his stall, causing even more trouble.

Liu Guixian panicked. Clutching her limp child, she desperately tried to leave, but the crowd surrounded her, leaving no escape.

The fellow villager, however, was filled with gleeful curiosity. Unaware of the backstory, she was purely there for the spectacle, her eyes gleaming with interest.

"What's going on? Oh, Guixian, what's wrong with Bao Er? His face is so pale!"

Before Liu Guyu could explain, someone in the crowd answered.

"She claims her son got sick from eating grilled sausages at the Liu Family Food Stall! But when we suggested calling a physician, she refused! She just wants compensation. Who knows what she's really up to!"

Clearly, the fellow villager had heard of the Liu Family Food Stall. She exclaimed in surprise, "Well now, Guixian, you're being so generous today? You bought Bao Er a sausage? Doesn't he usually eat leftover food at home?"

The woman kept calling her "Guixian" familiarly, but Liu Guyu could tell their relationship wasn't friendly. Her words had already exposed Liu Guixian's facade, showing no regard for saving face for a fellow villager.

Liu Guyu smirked and asked, "Oh? Isn't he your own son? Why does he only eat leftover food at home?"

The fellow villager chuckled with a sly smile, glancing at the seething Liu Guixian, and said, "She's his mother, but not his birth mother—she's his stepmother!"

She added, "Guixian and I are both from Qiao Family Village, and we live close by. Everyone knows each other's business! She married into the family seven years earlier, when Bao Er was just one year old. She's raised him since then!"

"Tell me, even if he's not her biological son, she still raised him. How could she be so cruel?"

Exposed, Liu Guixian turned angrily to the woman and shouted, "You can close your mouth! How am I cruel? Did I ever starve him or leave him without clothes? You people are all ganging up, bullying me and my son! Oh, my poor Bao Er, look how much you're suffering—all because of that worthless boy!"

Her repeated use of "worthless boy" was clearly directed at Liu Guyu. Qin Rongshi, hearing this, grew visibly angry, his expression cold and dark as he glared at Liu Guixian.

He suddenly said, "In that case, let's report this to the Market Inspector and the authorities."

The Market Inspector was the official responsible for managing the market.

Liu Guixian's cursing stopped abruptly. She stared blankly at Qin Rongshi, completely caught off guard by the sudden mention of involving the authorities.

Ordinary people feared dealing with officials. In the past, similar incidents in the Eastern Market were usually resolved by paying off the aggrieved party, never had anyone suggested reporting directly to the authorities over a simple dispute.

Firstly, people were afraid of officials, and secondly, they always felt that seeing the magistrate would require bribes, costing even more money.

Liu Guixian stammered in panic, "R-report to the authorities? Wh-why? Just pay me! Involving the authorities will only ruin your stall's reputation."

Now she's pretending to be considerate!

Liu Guyu nearly laughed aloud.

Hearing the woman mention "Qiao Village," he finally understood why Liu Guixian looked so familiar.

It wasn't that he had seen her before, but the original host had.

Liu Guixian was Qiao Huilan's former sister-in-law from her first marriage.

Qiao Huilan was from Qiao Village. She had first married a local man, but after her husband died, she took her son and remarried into Shanghe Village, gradually lost contact with her former husband's family.

Liu Guyu hadn't recalled initially because the original host had only seen her a few times in his youth, and after so many years, he had almost forgotten.

Not to mention, these were the original host's memories—Liu Guyu hadn't experienced them himself, so the memories were even hazier.

Now everything clicked into place.

He and Liu Guixian had no grudges between them, so why would she try to frame him?

It had to be that someone else had instructed her and promised her some reward to come to the stall and cause trouble.

Just then, Qin Rongshi hurried over with an old, white-bearded doctor.

Liu Guixian turned away with the child in her arms, unwilling to let the doctor examine him. If he did, the truth would come out!

But there were too many onlookers crowded around—their criticism alone could bury her. They all cursed her for being cruel and vicious.

She couldn't escape, so she had to endure it. In her frustration, she lost control and dug her fingers harshly into the child's arm, making the already weak boy whimper in pain again.

Lin Xingniang couldn't bear to watch any longer. As a mother herself, she couldn't bear to see a poor child being mistreated, so she rushed over and took the child from Liu Guixian's arms.

She scolded, "You wicked, vicious woman! What kind of cruel heart do you have? You must have a heart of stone!"

She was strong, and Liu Guixian couldn't compete with her strength. She could only watch helplessly as Lin Xingniang took the child away. By the time she came to her senses and tried to intervene, the woman from her village held her back.

The child, jostled during the tussle, felt even more discomfort and vomited again.

Lin Xingniang, feeling sorry for him, knelt to rub his back and called out to the doctor, "Doctor, please hurry! This child's breathing is weak!"

The old doctor hurried over with his medical kit, checked the pulse, and examined the child for a while before finally shaking his head and sighing, "It's intestinal colic."

The crowd gasped, followed immediately by discussion.

"It really is intestinal colic?"

"This young woman is quite sharp—she was right!"

"Intestinal colic can be life-threatening if serious! Oh, this poor child!"

Even the doctor became stern-faced. With a healer's compassion, he grew stern at the sight of the child in such pain that his breathing was weak, and his tone became sharp.

"He's in this much pain! How could you wait so long to see a doctor? Severe intestinal colic can be fatal! How can you, as his mother, not care? Do you want him to die in agony?"

The doctor didn't know the whole story. He had seen Lin Xingniang take the child from Liu Guixian, so he assumed Liu Guixian was the birth mother and blamed her.

Liu Guixian's face turned ashen, but she didn't dare retort loudly, only muttering under her breath, "Who hasn't had a stomachache before? Can it really kill you?"

The doctor was old and hard of hearing, so he didn't hear her muttering.

He patted the child's back and added, "This illness didn't just start now—he must have been having symptoms since this morning. He's still young, and waiting several hours has made it worse. We can't wait any longer. I need to take him to my clinic for treatment."

Hearing this, someone immediately asked, "He's been unwell since morning?"

The doctor thought this person was questioning his diagnosis and said displeased, "What do you mean? Do you doubt this old man's ability to diagnose?"

The person quickly shook their head, smiling nervously as they explained, "Of course not! It's just that the stepmother insisted it was because he ate the sausages from the stall, and it hasn't even been half an hour since he ate! If you say it started this morning, then it definitely wasn't the sausages!"

The doctor's expression softened slightly, and he stroked his beard as he said, "Half an hour is absolutely impossible."

With that one sentence, he ended the whole charade.

Liu Guyu then turned to look at Liu Guixian, whose face grew increasingly panicked. She was so flustered and desperate that she even thought of ditching the child and looking for a chance to flee.

He smiled and asked directly, "Was it Qiao Huilan who put you up to this?"