CHAPTER 765: CHAPTER 740: SUBSIDIZING HOUSEHOLD EXPENSES

Fan Jianguo handed his daughter over to his mother.

He pushed the small cart out the door.

Thinking back to the year since his daughter was born, he felt as if it had all been just a dream.

Suddenly, the family business failed, and their store was in debt.

Because of his daughter and wife’s frequent illnesses, the family was deep in debt, and now he only had the means to run a small stall instead of the store.

Selling items like wontons and tea eggs.

The income was just barely enough to make ends meet.

But compared to the once-glorious Fan Jianguo, his current state was so degraded that even he couldn’t bear to look at himself.

Those friends who started out with him have long become big bosses, carrying briefcases, driving cars, and using mobile phones.

And he has fallen to this state.

Fortunately, Fan Jianguo didn’t blame anyone. Even though his wife and her family played a role in the matter, it was pointless to blame his wife or mother-in-law for such things.

He couldn’t divorce Liu Huili; the child was still so young, and the law wouldn’t permit it. As time went on, Fan Jianguo’s heart settled.

He decided to muddle through for the sake of the child; he didn’t want the child to be motherless at a young age.

Moreover, through this incident, his wife finally saw the true colors of her mother and siblings.

The couple was already in such dire straits, yet the mother-in-law took their money and refused to help, even severing ties with her own daughter.

After giving birth, Liu Huili’s health significantly declined and she frequently had to be hospitalized.

Her family feared she would depend on them and were afraid that the money-taking would lead to a divorce from Fan Jianguo, so they decisively cut ties with her.

When Fan Jianguo learned of this, he was furious and felt like storming their house with a knife.

But at that moment, Liu Huili coughed up blood and was hospitalized.

Fan Jianguo had no choice but to borrow some money from his sister; at that time, what mattered was how to care for his wife and child.

It wasn’t easy to start over, and he felt too ashamed to ask his sister, brother-in-law, or nieces for money.

So, with the money borrowed from his sister, he set up a small stall selling wontons and tea eggs.

To his surprise, business was quite good.

He could earn fifty dollars a day, totaling over a thousand a month, which was a decent income; but with two major expenses at home, it was not enough.

His wife and daughter got sick frequently.

Every illness involved hospitalization and medication.

But he had to care for them as a man.

Walking away would mean he was no longer a man.

Fan Jianguo left with his small cart, and Mrs. Fan took her granddaughter back inside, feeding her a steamed egg cake.

She tidied the child up neatly and handed her to her daughter-in-law.

The daughter-in-law was frail, bedridden for years.

She couldn’t do heavy work, but she could still watch the child.

"Xiao Hui, look after Xiao Nine! I’m heading out."

Liu Huili took the child and placed her on her bed.

"Mom! It’s me and the child who’ve burdened you and Jianguo."

Tears welled up in her eyes, full of regret.

In just over a year, Liu Huili had changed so much. The once arrogant Liu Huili, who stood proudly before Fan Jianguo, had lost her sense of superiority.

Now, she was truly a new person.

Perhaps adversity is the best teacher.

After this incident, Liu Huili genuinely regarded her husband’s family as her own.

She had made such a huge mistake, driving the family to such a state, yet her mother-in-law never uttered a word of blame.

Despite her illness, her mother-in-law took meticulous care of her.

Liu Huili was limited in what chores she could do, and her mother-in-law tackled all the heavy tasks.

In other families, considering the mistakes she had made, she would have been thrown out and divorced long ago.

But neither her mother-in-law nor her husband ever blamed her.

To pay for her and the child’s medical bills, the family was now destitute.

All the expensive household appliances had already been sold for cash and taken to the hospital.

Her husband, once a proud business owner, was now a small-time street vendor.

And who was to blame? It was all her fault.

Her mother-in-law, who should have been enjoying her retirement in comfort, was now busy with household chores, caring for a sick daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and even scavenging outside to help support her son.

For their shared medical expenses were too high, and Fan Jianguo alone couldn’t cover it all.

The old lady smiled, trying to comfort Liu Huili, "Don’t dwell on the past. It’s all over. Let it go for your health. You stay home and look after the child; I’m going out to help Jianguo, as much as I can. It’s not easy for him."

The old lady sighed deeply.

Liu Huili hugged her naïve and clueless daughter tightly, tears streaming down her face.

She had been so blinded before, always siding with her own family, daring to do anything. But in the end, she lost both her family and money, and it was her husband’s family and husband who finally took her and accepted her.

Did she really act as a human should have?

She thought about ending her life so her husband could be free, but she couldn’t bear to leave her young daughter.

She had to take care of herself and get healthy to help the family improve their living conditions; otherwise, who would she be letting down?

She wanted to spend the rest of her life repaying her mother-in-law and husband, to truly deserve this family and not let kind people down.

Jiang Xiaoxiao had just finished an operation and returned home from her shift.

Last night, she performed four surgeries; by the time she finished the last one, it was already early morning, and she rested in the office for just over an hour.

Now she was heading home after her shift.

Her tired body hadn’t recovered yet. As an intern, she had to rotate through all the hospital departments, and she was currently in surgery.

Exhausted and hungry, Jiang Xiaoxiao decided to get some food quickly before going home.

During her recent shift, she was on duty for three days straight and hadn’t been home.

She hadn’t seen her few treasures at home for days, which made her think of Wu Fei.

Wu Fei once complained about her parents being largely absent during her childhood and even her entire life.

Back then, Jiang Xiaoxiao felt sorry for Wu Fei, but now she was in a similar situation.

She realized that being a doctor with children was, in fact, the most unfair situation for the children.

Because they devote themselves wholeheartedly to their careers, treating patients as the most important people in their lives.

But ironically, they end up neglecting the most important people in their own lives.

Driving her car, Jiang Xiaoxiao suddenly saw a familiar figure outside the window.

With gray hair, a bent back, and carrying a sack filled with items.

The old lady was rummaging through a roadside garbage pile, pulling out things and stuffing them into the bag.

She hurriedly slammed on the brakes.

It was Grandma!