Song Nianchu looked up at the sound and saw Mu Shi'an already standing before her.
"I have enough clothes to wear; I don't need to buy new ones," Song Nianchu said, which wasn't untrue. More importantly, the fabric colors at the supply and marketing cooperative were all a bit too dull. They were fine for men's clothing, but she really didn't like them for herself.
"I saw there aren't many clothes in your wardrobe," Mu Shi'an frowned. "Don't worry about saving money. I can earn more after it's spent."
"I'm not afraid of spending money; I just genuinely don't see anything I like," Song Nianchu said, somewhat helplessly.
"Then next time there's a chance, you should go to the department store. They have a bit more variety there than the supply and marketing cooperative," Mu Shi'an thought for a moment.
In the past, Mu Jingmei always went to the department store to buy things, saying the stuff at the cooperative was hideous.
"Alright, next time we'll go to the department store," Song Nianchu nodded.
"Oh, right, I also bought you notebooks and pens." As she spoke, Song Nianchu rummaged in her basket again and pulled out notebooks and pens, handing them over.
The notebooks were blank, and she had bought a whole bundle of pencils.
Mu Shi'an still taught Mu Haoxuan and Mu Yongnian in the evenings, so they went through supplies quickly. A bundle was more economical.
"Thank you," Mu Shi'an said softly as he took them.
"No need for thanks between us. Just tell me when you run out, and I'll buy more for you," Song Nianchu smiled.
"Mm," Mu Shi'an nodded. "Go wash your hands first; we can eat now."
Song Nianchu had saved some of the fermented black bean smoked fish she made in the morning, so there was no need to cook another dish for lunch.
"Okay," Song Nianchu nodded, putting everything away in the room. Just after washing her hands, a sudden knocking came from outside the door.
"A-Chu, are you home?" An anxious voice called from outside the courtyard.
"It's Hua," Song Nianchu immediately turned to open the door.
Standing outside was indeed Hua, looking extremely agitated.
"Sister Hua, what's wrong?" Song Nianchu asked.
"It's the educated youth Meng..." Hua had run all the way and was still a bit out of breath.
"What about Meng Yingying?" Hearing the name, Song Nianchu couldn't help but frown.
"Her mother-in-law is about to beat her to death. You need to go over there quickly," Hua finally caught her breath.
Song Nianchu was the strongest in the village and the most suitable for breaking up fights.
More importantly, Song Nianchu was now the backbone of their village; no one dared act recklessly in front of her.
"Let's go!" Upon hearing this, Song Nianchu didn't hesitate for a second and left with Hua.
Mu Shi'an, worried something serious might happen, also followed along.
Mu Haoxuan and Mu Yongnian didn't understand what was happening, but with everyone gone, they locked the door and chased after them.
At Third Wu's house.
Wu's mother was pulling Meng Yingying's hair, hitting and cursing her nonstop.
"You jinx! I always knew you weren't from a decent family. It's bad enough you caught a filthy disease yourself, but you had to go and infect my son with it too. I'll beat you to death today!"
After saying that, she kept hitting Meng Yingying.
And Meng Yingying, unlike her usual self, neither fought back nor retorted. Though she remained silent, her hands were tightly gripping Wu's mother's hair, pinching only the most painful spots.
Wu's mother was covered in bruises from the pinching, but to others, it looked like she was the only one assaulting Meng Yingying.
When Song Nianchu arrived, she saw this exact scene. She stepped forward, pulled Third Wu's mother away, and firmly shielded Meng Yingying behind her.
"What's going on here? Can't you talk things out properly?" Song Nianchu's expression was cold and stern.
When Wu's mother saw Song Nianchu, her demeanor softened slightly.
Nearly the entire village now depended on Song Nianchu for their livelihood, so everyone had to show some respect in her presence.
"Nianchu, this is a family matter. You'd better not interfere," Wu's mother said, feeling intense pain in her waist and thigh, but with so many people around, she couldn't very well lift her clothes to check.
"You're about to beat someone to death. That's no longer just a family matter. Don't forget, Comrade Meng is an educated youth!" Song Nianchu emphasized each word.
"I'm not hitting her for no reason. It's this wretched woman who harmed my son!" Wu's mother pointed fiercely at Meng Yingying.
"What's wrong with Third Wu?" Song Nianchu's brow furrowed slightly.
"She gave him a filthy disease!" Wu's mother pointed accusingly at Meng Yingying.
"A filthy disease?" Song Nianchu's frown deepened.
Meng Yingying didn't seem like the type to fool around. If anyone was more likely to catch such a disease, it was Third Wu.
"Yes, my son's... down there... it's all rotten. It's this woman. Who knows who she's been fooling around with outside, but she's done this to my son. She's a real jinx. Our family never should have taken pity on her and married her into the family. We should have let her starve to death." Wu's mother wailed loudly.
Song Nianchu glanced back at Meng Yingying standing behind her. She remained completely silent, but her eyes held a gleam of triumphant vengeance.
At the same time, Wu Zhenggui hurried over.
After learning the details, he felt it was a case of the thief crying "stop thief." Meng Yingying worked under everyone's watchful eyes every day; how could she possibly fool around with anyone?
Only Third Wu was always slacking off.
"First, take me to see Third Wu's condition," Wu Zhenggui said, though he didn't voice his suspicion outright, since Third Wu was the one who was sick.
"He can't even get out of bed; he's just lying in the room," Wu's mother said, her eyes red, as she led Wu Zhenggui inside.
Song Nianchu followed them.
In the room, Third Wu lay on the bed, continuously moaning in pain.
"Mom... it hurts so much... please take me to the hospital..." Third Wu's voice was weak, but it was clear he was in genuine agony.
"You stay here; don't come closer," Wu Zhenggui glanced at Song Nianchu, telling her to wait by the door. He followed Wu's mother to Third Wu's bedside.
He lifted the blanket to look, took one glance, immediately covered it back up, and quickly stepped back several paces.
"Why haven't you taken him to the hospital?" Wu Zhenggui asked disapprovingly, looking at Wu's mother.
Third Wu's entire lower body had turned black and was rotting. One glance was enough to make one's scalp crawl.
"At first, I didn't think it was a big problem. My third son is always feeling unwell, and with how busy we've been lately, I thought he'd be fine after resting for a couple of days. But today he kept crying out in pain, so I came in to check. Who would have thought..."
"Village Head, it's all that bitch outside. She infected my son. You must make her pay for what she's done to my son!" Wu's mother's voice trembled with anger.
But Song Nianchu's gaze remained fixed on Third Wu's face and on his hand, which had emerged from under the blanket.
His fingernails had a blackish tint. If it were a typical venereal disease, fingernails usually wouldn't turn black.
Was he truly sick, or was it something else...
