Tao Lengshuang saw Tao Dagou and the other children, their faces flushed with fever, and knew their cold had worsened.
It was their own fault for playing in the snow while suffering from a cold. Who else would get worse if not them?
"Is there a consultation fee?" she asked indifferently, leaning against the doorframe.
Tao Laoda and the others looked at her with shocked and angry eyes.
"Lengshuang, your nephews are all this sick, and you still want a consultation fee? Are you even human?"
"These are several living human lives, Lengshuang, how can you be so cold-blooded?"
Tao Lengshuang smiled thinly and said, "So you know they are human lives?"
"Back then, when you... including your precious son, beat up my son wantonly, what did you say?
And over the years, how have you schemed and harmed our family? Did you ever treat our lives as lives?"
Tao Laoda and the others showed no shame or embarrassment, nor did they think they had done anything wrong.
"That's different."
"Indeed, it is different."
Tao Lengshuang shrugged her shoulders, "To me, you are outsiders with grudges. Why should I help your sons for free?"
"Without three taels of silver, don't expect me to treat your sons."
As she spoke, she reminded them with a smile, "If not treated in time and the fever damages their brains, they will be fools for life."
As soon as the word "fools" was uttered, Tao Laoda and the others began to beg Tao Lengshuang to treat their sons for free.
From time to time, they would invoke kinship, speaking of familial obligations.
Tao Lengshuang didn't even bother to roll her eyes. She slammed the door shut with a 'bang' and went to the kitchen to heat up meat buns.
"Xiao Feng, wash your hands, you can eat meat buns soon."
Upon hearing that there would be meat buns, Xiao Feng ran over quickly and washed his hands as fast as he could.
"Mama, the meat dumplings before were so delicious, are we eating them today too?"
Recalling the previous meat dumplings and meat buns that were full of meat, the little child couldn't help but swallow.
Taking a bite, it was all incredibly delicious fatty meat, and it felt so happy to eat.
Tao Lengshuang ignored the pleas of Tao Laoda and the others and told Xiao Feng that they would have meat dumplings and meat buns again today.
Plenty to go around!
Fortunately, it was the dead of winter, and with the natural freezing environment, these meat buns and meat dumplings would not spoil for many days.
Xiao Feng clapped his hands in delight. Plenty of meat dumplings and meat buns were his absolute favorite.
Smelling the aroma of the meat buns, he kept licking his lips, gazing longingly at the stove.
How much longer until they were heated?
"Little glutton."
Tao Lengshuang gently pinched Xiao Feng's nose, and suddenly heard a young man's voice.
"Hey, why are you all gathered at my sister-in-law's house?"
Tao Lengshuang recognized the voice as Apo's and thought he had come quickly. She instructed Xiao Feng a few words and then went to the main entrance.
She happened to see Apo chatting with Tao Laoda and the others.
They seemed to be getting along quite well.
"Sister-in-law."
Apo noticed Tao Lengshuang and smiled kindly, "What's going on with these people?"
Tao Lengshuang quickly took out several packets of medicinal powder and looked coldly at Tao Laoda and the others, "Still not leaving?"
Upon seeing the medicinal powder, Tao Laoda and the others dared not say anything more and hurried away.
Tao Lengshuang glanced at Apo with a faint smile, "A bunch of troublemakers. What are you here for?"
Apo looked at the retreating figures of Tao Laoda and the others, then at the medicinal powder in Tao Lengshuang's hand. He said he came to see if there was anything he could help with.
Tao Lengshuang said no, and added that it was inconvenient to invite him in, so he shouldn't overthink it.
Apo could see Tao Lengshuang's wariness and knew he wouldn't get any information by staying longer.
He said he was going to the mountains to see if he could pick up some firewood, and asked Tao Lengshuang to find him at the village chief's house if she needed anything, then left.
Tao Lengshuang could guess what Apo was going to do and didn't interfere, because he would soon be asking for her help.
Instead of going directly to the mountains, Apo wandered around the village, using Tao Lengshuang's relatives as a pretext to inquire about Tao Lengshuang's family situation from the villagers.
Tao Lengshuang's family was a 'celebrity' in the village, and the villagers knew a bit about them.
And because Apo was a relative of Tao Lengshuang's family, they told him in detail everything they knew, had heard, gossiped about, and speculated about.
They spoke with great enthusiasm.
Having gathered a lot of useful information, Apo returned to the village chief's house and saw Tao Laoda and the others standing or squatting in the yard, discussing the treatment of the children.
Simply put, they wanted Tao老爷子 and his wife to pay for the children's treatment.
Tao老爷子 and his wife were reluctant to spend the money, so they told Tao Laoda and the others to go and pester Tao Lengshuang into treating the children for free.
The two sides were arguing fiercely, neither willing to back down.
After listening for a long time, Apo took a few more glances at the Tao family members and returned to his room to rest.
He pondered how to gather useful information in the shortest possible time.
The Tao family could be utilized, but how to do so was the question.
...
In the evening.
Mo Lingxi returned under the cover of night and snow.
Xiao Feng was overjoyed, looking at him with a bright smile, "Daddy, are you staying home tonight?"
Mo Lingxi shook the snow off his body and stood by the warm doorway, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Feng quickly went to make the bed, "I'll sleep in the middle, Daddy and Mama on the sides, we'll all sleep together as a family."
"Xiao Feng, you make the bed properly, Mama and Daddy need to talk about something."
Saying this, Tao Lengshuang gave Mo Lingxi a look and took him to her room.
"What's wrong with you?"
Her voice, lowered, was filled with anger and accusation, "Xiao Feng is just a child, how could you let him witness such bloody scenes? Aren't you afraid of traumatizing him?"
Mo Lingxi, who had witnessed even more brutal scenes since childhood, didn't think his actions were wrong, "I've been through this since I was little."
Tao Lengshuang was momentarily speechless, unsure whether to pity Mo Lingxi or to beat him.
"When you were a child, could you compare to Xiao Feng?"
"What's the difference? They are both little men, and they need to be educated well from a young age."
"...Where Xiao Feng grew up, and where you grew up, the living environments are different, how can they be the same?"
It was only at this moment that she understood. Mo Lingxi lacked a lot of social understanding, and his thoughts were always focused on the bigger picture.
Mo Lingxi frowned, not quite understanding her words, "Precisely because Xiao Feng's life is too comfortable, he needs to be trained to withstand more brutality and hardship."
Tao Lengshuang's fist hardened, and she actually slapped him, "You are simply a scoundrel!"
"How old is Xiao Feng? Have you ever considered what would happen if he was traumatized and became mentally unstable?"