CHAPTER 121: CHAPTER 120: PLEASE SAVE MY GRANDMA

Now Yu Changhe’s leg can move freely. Although his walking posture is not as graceful as normal people, his walking speed is not slow at all.

He grasped the short whip, sat on the front of the carriage, driving with a look of joy.

He had been wanting to try driving a carriage for a long time, and when he set off, he felt a bit excited.

This is a carriage after all, even the village head Ma Dashan’s family doesn’t have one. You could say that in their village, no family can afford a carriage.

Besides Jiang the Hunter’s family and Ma Dashan’s family, who have ox carts, most people in the village probably haven’t even seen a horse.

Driving the carriage, Yu Changhe felt a sense of pride rising in his heart.

The sky was grayish and carried a hint of early spring chill. The streets were quiet, with few pedestrians.

When they drove out of the city gates, the fog was still thick like ink, unwilling to disperse.

Yu Xiaolian and Mrs. Sun sat in the carriage cabin lined with soft blankets, chatting and laughing.

Mrs. Sun held her belly with a smile, "We are returning just in time. The day after tomorrow is your grandmother’s birthday. We’ll stay a few more days, and after your grandmother’s birthday, we will return."

Yu Xiaolian nodded, worriedly saying, "I don’t know if my uncle and aunt’s relationship has eased a bit."

If, when they arrive, Sun Fengshou quarrels with Mrs. Xu again and they cause a divorce, Mrs. Sun would be terribly upset. With Mrs. Sun’s current health, she can’t afford to be too emotional, as it would adversely affect the baby’s development.

Speaking of Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Sun sighed long and deeply.

This sister-in-law of hers, you can’t say she’s bad, as she hasn’t done anything unforgivable.

She’s honestly just a financial miser.

She uses people only when she benefits, ignores them otherwise.

Transactional and opportunistic describes someone like Mrs. Xu.

Anyone with a daughter-in-law like that would be terribly troubled.

Yet she hid it very well before marriage; her reputation was good. She said the right things to everyone, giving the impression that she was very clever.

Plus, her mother didn’t suppress her daughter-in-law, making Mrs. Xu even more uninhibited.

Her brother is an honest and dull character, most obedient to their mother.

However, if an honest person decides to divorce, it must mean he’s been pushed to the brink.

It’s unclear if Mrs. Xu has restrained herself recently. Mrs. Sun mused, if Mrs. Xu is still the same as before, this time she would definitely support Sun Fengshou in divorcing her.

Previously, she didn’t like Mrs. Xu but tolerated it. Now that she has money, she could easily spend it to bring in another wife for her brother, leaving Mrs. Xu with regrets.

By now, Sun Fengshou surely went to serve in the forced labor. It’s unclear which route he went and how long he’ll be gone.

If Mrs. Xu takes good care of her old mother, then fine. But if she sees her mother suffering, she won’t endure silently like before.

Yu Changhe drove the carriage steadily. When encountering bumpy places on the road, he always drove around them, so Mrs. Sun didn’t feel jolted at all.

At noon, Yu Changhe led the horse named Dahong to the river for a drink, while Yu Xiaolian and Mrs. Sun got off the carriage to stretch.

In past years, the grass would have grown tall and green by now. This year, due to drought, only the grass by the river was lush and high, while elsewhere it was yellow and withering, looking half-dead.

This was thanks to the heavy snowfall last winter; otherwise, even this dying grass probably wouldn’t exist.

This river for watering horses is the one leading to River Bay. Yu Changhe pointed at the water level, saying, "Every year the river water is at the middle of the dam; it has decreased a lot now."

It seems the news from the daughter saying there’ll be a big drought might be true.

After watering the horse, they set off again. Yu Xiaolian took out some sugar oranges, peeled them, and fed them to Yu Changhe, while asking if he was hungry.

Last night Yu Xiaolian cooked quite a bit of sticky corn and sweet potatoes, which are now kept in her space. Since the temperature in the space remains constant, the corn and sweet potatoes are still hot.

Yu Changhe shook his head, indicating he wasn’t hungry.

During the journey, his daughter occasionally fed him oranges and sometimes lychees, so how could he be hungry?

Now they eat dishes rich in flavors every day, which are quite filling, much better compared to the past when they only had two meals of porridge a day.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Sun leaned against the carriage wall and fell asleep. Due to the carriage being packed with things for Mrs. Sun’s grandmother, she couldn’t lie flat. Yu Xiaolian, afraid the carriage’s shaking might bump Mrs. Sun’s head, kept supporting her head.

Until they were close to River Bay Town, Mrs. Sun slowly woke up with a shake from the carriage.

Yu Xiaolian’s arm was sore, and seeing Mrs. Sun awake, she promptly asked if she wanted to drink water.

Mrs. Sun was parched, drinking half a bottle of mineral water in one go, she asked, "Where are we now?"

Yu Xiaolian leaned close to the carriage window for a look outside, "We’re almost at River Bay Town."

Fortunately, spring days are long, and they reached Upper River Bay Village before dark.

Yu Changhe drove the carriage into the village, drawing the villagers’ attention, sparking discussions.

Familiar with the way, Yu Changhe drove the carriage to the Sun family’s doorstep, only to realize many people had followed them to watch, including adults and children.

"The Sun Family must be welcoming distinguished guests..."

"What distinguished guests? The one driving the carriage is clearly Sun Fengshou’s lame brother-in-law. Probably Sun Chunfang knew about Sun Fengshou getting beaten by Mrs. Xu’s brothers, and brought her husband to stand up for her brother..."

Someone murmured softly, "Coming here is pointless, what kind of support can a lame brother-in-law provide? He’ll end up beaten, too."

Only after getting off the carriage did Mrs. Sun overhear about Sun Fengshou getting beaten. She immediately walked over, supporting her belly.

With a somber expression, she asked, "Uncle Wu, was Fengshou beaten? Who beat him? Why was he beaten?"

Uncle Wu, whom Mrs. Sun addressed, was an elderly man close to sixty. He was a neighbor to the Sun family and also Mrs. Sun’s first cousin once removed, and he was the Clan Leader of the Sun family.

Uncle Wu’s hair was white. His thin face had prominent cheekbones, and his deeply set eyes scrutinized Mrs. Sun intently.

At first glance, he noticed Mrs. Sun’s large belly, then he examined the clothes she was wearing.

Seeing Mrs. Sun enquiring, he promptly and vividly recounted what he knew.

It turned out during this period, Sun Fengshou and Mrs. Xu had frequent big arguments every three days, small ones every two. Uncle Wu unsuccessfully mediated between the couple multiple times.

Several days ago, Sun Fengshou and Mrs. Xu argued for unknown reasons. Angered, Sun Fengshou hit Mrs. Xu and threatened to divorce her.

Mrs. Xu, having been hit, cried while returning to her parent’s home, calling her two brothers there to give Sun Fengshou a beating.

Uncle Wu sighed, "Fengshou was severely beaten by them. Bearing injuries from the Xu family, he hadn’t recovered yet when the government officer took him for forced labor. The work is tough, and it’s uncertain whether he’ll endure."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Sun nearly fainted from anger, immediately storming into the yard, shouting, "Mrs. Xu, Mrs. Xu... Come out here!"

Little Tiger stormed out from inside the house, squinted his eyes and, after confirming the visitor was his aunt, rushed over to Mrs. Sun, crying, "Aunt, my grandma is sick. Three days ago, my grandma started getting feverish. Now she’s so feverish she’s talking nonsense. Aunt, please save my grandma!"