Ba Yuejiao kept a cold face. "No need to trouble yourself."

Seeing Ba Yuejiao's attitude, Zhang Jianguo knew he had acted like a jerk, and feeling too ashamed to face anyone, he went into his room.

What he did was dishonorable, but he had already lost a child, so what else could he do?

As for the matter of divorce, he didn't even dare to think about it; if he got divorced, who would be willing to marry into their family?

Even if there were someone, he didn't want his child to have a stepmother.

Besides, his younger brother's leg would cost so much money; the doctor said the surgery alone would cost several hundred, and then there were the rehabilitation costs afterward.

With so much money needed, how could he fill this hole?

He had no choice, and he didn't know what to do, so he chose to remain silent.

Ba Yuejiao had thought these two brothers were truly so heartless that they wouldn't even care about their own brother in such a state.

She hadn't expected one of them to still have some conscience; Zhang Jianmin had run out as soon as he heard the noise from his room.

Upon learning that they were taking his younger brother to the Hospital, he even helped dress him and carried him out.

"I'm not going to the Hospital, I'm not!" Zhang Jianshe, who was being carried out, kept shouting that he wouldn't go to the Hospital.

He even struggled, trying to roll off the stretcher.

Ba Yuejiao was also shocked when she saw Zhang Jianshe; if she thought Aunt had changed a lot when she saw her earlier...

Then Zhang Jianshe had changed even more. If Ba Yuejiao hadn't seen Zhang Jianshe before, she probably wouldn't even recognize the person in front of her.

Before, although he didn't talk much, his eyes were bright and spirited.

And now? He had become so decadent, looking as if he had aged many years.

Seeing him like this, Ba Yuejiao realized it would be quite difficult to get him to the Hospital, so she went up and started scolding him.

"Zhang Jianshe, what is the meaning of this? Do you intend to lie in bed like this for the rest of your life and drag your parents down with you?"

"Look at your parents; how much has their hair turned white, how much weight have they lost, and how many nights have they spent crying, unable to sleep?"

"A leg that can be cured for a few hundred yuan—are you going to throw it away just because of that amount?"

"Is money more important than your leg? A few hundred yuan—once you're better, you can go work in the fields every day and earn full work points for me. If you can't pay it back in five years, then take ten! Is it worth sacrificing your whole life for this?"

The grown man, nearly 1.8 meters tall, listened to Ba Yuejiao's words and sobbed uncontrollably.

He knew exactly how much his parents had aged recently, how much their hair had turned white, and he heard their secret sobs.

Sometimes, he just wished he could die and be done with it.

"Once your leg is cured, you can pay back the money slowly."

They placed Zhang Jianshe onto a long sled, and Zhang Jianmin took responsibility for pulling it.

Eldest Brother Zhou and Second Brother Zhou were still responsible for pulling Ba Yuejiao and Aunt.

The uncle had originally intended to go as well, but since he had already taken care of Zhang Jianshe all night, Aunt told him to rest and not go.

Watching the group leave, Jianguos Wife curled her lips and walked into the room.

Foolish as she was, she didn't know that Zhang Jianguo was in a bad mood, and she said smugly, "It's a good thing we separated the family, otherwise, we would all have to help pay off the debt for the hundreds of yuan that Third Uncle borrowed to treat his leg."

"And with that leg of his, who knows if it can really be cured even after spending the money? Don't let it be a waste of money with no cure."

"Hundreds of yuan, how many years of work would it take to pay that off?"

Anyone could hear the gloating in Jianguos Wife's tone.

The more Zhang Jianguo listened, the angrier he became; after all, Zhang Jianshe was his younger brother.

Ever since he and the second brother got married, he knew how much Zhang Jianshe had contributed to the family.

He walked over and slapped his chattering wife across the face.

"Zhang Jianguo, have you lost your mind? Why did you hit me?"

"If you hadn't made a fuss about wanting to eat pheasant, would Jianshe have gotten into an accident? What kind of things are you saying now? The reason the family has become like this is because of you."

"If you hadn't taken the money, Jianshe might have already gone to the provincial capital for surgery."

"As the eldest sister-in-law, have you even gone over to express concern while Jianshe was lying in bed? Have you cooked him a meal or poured him a glass of water?"

"You clearly knew it was raining that day, yet you insisted on eating pheasant. Now that things have turned out this way, you're still gloating. Are you even human?"

Jianguos Wife, feeling like she had nothing left to lose, retorted, "What does it have to do with me? Did I hold a knife to his throat and force him up the mountain?"

"Did I push him off the cliff? Did I cause him to break his leg?"

"You say I didn't take care of him, but what about you? As the eldest brother, are you any better? When I suggested separating the family, you consented."

"Aren't you just as selfish? How many times have you even stepped into your brother's room? Aren't you just feeling guilty?"

"What, do you think you'll feel better if you pin the blame on me? Does that mean you're innocent?"

"You talk so high and mighty, so why didn't you insist on sending Jianshe to the Hospital? Why didn't you take the debt upon yourself?"

Every word from Jianguos Wife struck Zhang Jianguo right in the heart.

His ugliest side was completely exposed.

In shame and anger, Zhang Jianguo slapped his wife twice more.

Over there, the families of First Uncle and Second Uncle also received news that Zhang Jianshe had been sent to the Hospital.

"Tell me, isn't your brother a fool? Hundreds of yuan to treat a leg—will he ever be able to pay that money back?"

"It's a good thing we don't associate with them much, otherwise what would we do if they came to borrow money from us? All of you remember this: stay away from their family in the future."

"They were already poor, and now that they've borrowed hundreds of yuan, they'll probably be poor for the rest of their lives," First Aunt said to her son and daughter-in-law.

Arriving at The Town and seeing the doctor, Aunt felt a wave of lingering fear after hearing what the doctor had to say.

If they had arrived a few days later, his leg would likely have had to be amputated for him to survive.

He needed to stay at the Hospital to fight the infection, and his condition would have to be stable before he could be sent to the provincial capital.

Ba Yuejiao went to pay a deposit of one hundred yuan; since they didn't know how much it would cost, she paid it first just in case.

"Thank you, Zhou Rui's wife."

"Aunt, there's no need to be so formal, it's the right thing to do. Once Cousin Jianshe's condition stabilizes and Zhou Rui returns, we can have him sent to the Hospital in the provincial capital for surgery."

"It's a good thing you sent him today. You all should go back; we'll take care of things here," Aunt said.

"Alright, Aunt, take care of yourself. We'll go to the State-run Restaurant to eat something before heading back. Cousin Jianmin, come with us, and we can pack some food to bring back for Aunt."

Ba Yuejiao felt that if she didn't eat something, she wouldn't be able to make it back; she was too hungry.

To avoid embarrassment, she had suppressed her nausea all morning.

Now she had to eat something before going back.

"No, no, don't go to the expense." Having spent so much money, and with even more to spend later, Aunt didn't want to eat since the dishes at the State-run Restaurant were so expensive.

"It's fine, Cousin Jianmin, let's go." With that, Ba Yuejiao took Zhang Jianmin, Eldest Brother Zhou, and Second Brother Zhou to the State-run Restaurant.

"Third Sister-in-law, why don't you just pack some food for Jianshe and Aunt? The food here is too expensive, I won't eat." Second Brother Zhou also felt it was too extravagant.

"I'm hungry. I can't just eat by myself while you and Eldest Brother watch."

Ba Yuejiao went inside and looked at what was available on the menu today.