541 Hatred
“Xiao Zhao, you’re here! Thank you so much for your help in the past two days. Where’s your wife? Come into the house quickly. I’ve made chicken soup. Come in and have some food before you leave!” Qiao Qiang said warmly.
“No, Uncle Qiao. We still have some food at home. If we don’t go back and finish it, it’ll go bad soon. You and Xiao Wei can eat together,” Zhao Liang said.
“I’m old and my teeth aren’t good. I can’t really eat meat. Xiao Wei can’t eat so much meaty stuff on his own. Let him drink more soup for nourishment. Otherwise, this leftover chicken will go bad as well. Eat here together with your wife. Don’t say no to me.” Qiao Qiang turned around and yelled towards Zhang Wei, “Xiao Wei, go into the room and get chairs for your Uncle and Auntie Zhao so they can join us for dinner tonight!”
He was so hospitable that Zhao Liang and his wife had no choice but to stay behind. At the dining table, Zhang Wei appeared uneasy as he kept wondering how Zhang Miao was doing.
“Xiao Wei, why aren’t you eating?” Qiao Qiang asked.
Zhang Wei put down his bowl and chopsticks and said, “Grandpa, I miss Zhang Miao. I wonder how Miao Miao is doing, and if Zhang Chao and Zhang Qin are doing alright.”
Zhao Liang had given Qiao Mei a call early in the morning to tell her that Zhang Wei was already awake. He had also asked about Zhang Miao. The situation was not very optimistic, but she was still alive and well.
“What exactly happened at that time? Do you know who took Zhang Chao and Zhang Qin away?” the auntie asked.
“It’s my father and my eldest brother. The two of them took Zhang Chao and Zhang Qin away for some reason. Before they left, they even said that they were bringing them away to raise them. Zhang Miao could not bear to let Zhang Qin go, so she went chasing after them. Then my father kicked her.” Zhang Wei looked down and told her what happened that day.
The other three people in the room all gasped. They did not expect Zhang Qian to be so ruthless to Zhang Miao.
Even a vicious tiger would not eat its own cubs. This man was simply inhumane!
“Alright child, don’t think too much. Your elder sister Qiao Mei will take care of the matter regarding your younger siblings. The most important thing for you now is to take care of yourself,” Zhao Liang said with a sigh.
These children had such a tough life! With such a heartless father, even a deity could not help them.
Now, he could only place his hopes on Qiao Mei and pray that the heavens would take pity on these children and let them be safe and sound.
Zhao Liang and his wife returned home after dinner and called Qiao Mei to tell her about what they heard.
After Qiao Mei hung up the phone, she sat in front of Zhang Miao’s bed with a dark expression. Even after a day, Zhang Miao still showed no signs of consciousness. One bottle after another of medicine was being injected into Zhang Miao’s body through an IV drip.
For such a young child to be injected with so much medicine every day, no one knew if her body could withstand it.
“Qiao Mei, take a break. I’ll take care of Zhang Miao for a while,” Li Gui said.
Qiao Mei looked at Li Gui coldly and did not say anything. She did not understand why Li Gui insisted on not getting a divorce. If she had agreed to the divorce back then, Zhang Miao would not have been injured and sent to the hospital, and the other two children would not have been taken away and gone missing.
“Mei Mei? Why are you looking at me like that?” Li Gui asked Qiao Mei, feeling puzzled.
“Uncle Zhao called me just now to say that Zhang Wei is awake,” Qiao Mei said.
Li Gui was so agitated that she almost cried out. She quickly packed her things so that she could go home to see Zhang Wei, but then she remembered that Zhang Miao also needed someone to take care of her now. She silently put down the bag in her hand.
“It’s good that he’s fine. Is he at… Uncle Qiao’s place now?” Li Gui said embarrassedly.
She was really embarrassed to address Qiao Qiang as Uncle Qiao in front of Qiao Mei, but she was too ashamed to address him as father.
“Yes, grandfather is taking care of him. Uncle and Auntie Zhao will visit them often. There’s nothing much happening in the village now,” Qiao Mei said.
“That’s good, that’s good. Then… is there any news from Chen Hu about Zhang Chao and Zhang Qin?” Li Gui asked softly.
Qiao Mei fell silent again. At the thought of those two children, her heart ached as if it had been forcibly dug out of her chest, but she did not know who to blame.
Should she blame Li Gui for not getting a divorce earlier so that the children could live a stable life?
Or should she blame Zhang Qian for being a heartless bastard? He did not even let his own children off!
Or should she blame herself for being angry with Li Gui? If she did not go out that day, would the children still meet with such misfortune?
