Whoever provoked her would not have a peaceful time for the entire year. She would either stand at your door to curse you or wept at your door until you apologized.
Everyone just wanted peace and quiet. No one dared to provoke her. Otherwise, the whole place would definitely be thrown into chaos by her!
"Mother, let's go inside. It's cold outside," Zhao Hong whispered.
After Old Madam Li noted that there were no more scoldings, she snorted and returned to her room to rest. She was tired after walking for the whole day.
Zhao Hong suppressed the grievance in her heart and brought the two children to the side room. She noticed that the two children's shoes were already torn from all the walking. Her younger daughter's entire sole was covered in blood, while the older child had blisters all over her feet.
"Does it hurt… It's all my fault… I'm so useless…" Zhao Hong looked at her two daughters' feet with heartache. There was nothing at home that could be used to disinfect the wounds, so she could only wash their feet with water.
"Ah! Mommy, it hurts!" The younger daughter screamed as soon as she put her feet into the water.
Zhao Hong was so frightened that she quickly covered her younger daughter's mouth and cried as she said, "Be good. Mommy will be gentle. Bear with it. If you wake grandma up, she will hit you again, understand?"
The younger daughter nodded obediently. Zhao Hong brought a towel over and let her bite hard on it so that she would not be able to scream.
However, the sounds of pain that the child made still pierced her heart. The mud and blood in the basin were like knives that cut her heart ruthlessly.
The Zhang family came to cause trouble and took away all the valuable things in the house. Li Dong abandoned them and brought his two older sons to the county city. The three of them firmly believed that they could make a name for themselves in the county city.
From then on, Old Madam Li complained every day. She would hit and scold Zhao Hong whenever she was unhappy. Sometimes, she would even hit and scold Zhao Hong's two daughters.
After she heard the idle chit-chat between the old widow and Wang Yong, she actually wanted to sacrifice Zhao Hong's two daughters and make use of them to beg Li Gui.
Zhao Hong was helpless in the face of these things and could only let Old Madam Li make whatever arrangement she wanted. Even if she felt sorry for the children, she could not even protect herself. How could she protect these two children?
The children were in so much pain that they could not sleep. Zhao Hong gently waved the fan in her hand to keep the cold wind blowing on their feet. Only then did the two children feel more comfortable.
Old Madam Li was so tired after a long day and did not even managed to get up the next morning. Her snores sounded like thunder.
Zhao Hong did her usual chores, bringing in the clothes from the courtyard, cooking for the family, and doing all the things Old Madam Li wanted her to do.
She prepared the ingredients and was about to cook when she realized that there was not much firewood left. Her husband and sons were originally the ones who took care of this. Now that there was no one else at home, she had to do it herself.
As her posture was wrong when she tried to chop the firewood, she failed several times. Instead, the noise woke Old Madam Li, who was sleeping soundly in the room.
"What are you doing so early in the morning?! It's so rare that I'm sleeping so well! Then you wake me up! Do you want me to die early?!" Old Madam Li pushed open the door and shouted fiercely.
Zhao Hong threw aside the ax in a panic and said, "No, there's no more firewood at home. I was about to cook…"
"Hurry up and do it then! You're dragging your feet! Why did my son marry a jinx like you!" Old Madam Li muttered as she looked around for the two children.
"Where are your two children?" Old Madam Li asked Zhao Hong.
Zhao Hong's heart skipped a beat. Trouble was brewing.
"Mother, the children's feet are bleeding. They really can't walk that far," Zhao Hong said.
"What are you talking about! So what if there's blood! Just bandage it up! How can they be so delicate! When I was young, I was fine even if I walked more than 20 miles on the mountain path! Just walk more and it's fine!" Old Madam Li said stubbornly.
Zhao Hong knelt in front of Old Madam Li with a plop and begged, "Mother, these two children will get hurt if they walk again! They really can't walk! Why don't we rest for a while and go again in two days?"
The wounds on the soles of the two children's feet were not disinfected yet. If there was any serious infection, their limbs would need to be amputated! At that time, Old Madam Li definitely would not be willing to pay for the children's treatment. Then the children would definitely die!
Even if she would get beaten up today, she had to protect these two children!
"You dare to resist me? Who gave you the guts! How dare you talk back to me! Is it because my son isn't around and you think you can call the shots in this family!" Old Madam Li said angrily.