Chapter 222 - 206: Resentment
Chapter 222: Chapter 206: Resentment
Grandpa also came out of the herb room, urging Xiao Man, "This is an acute illness, and he’s family. Don’t worry about formalities, just take a look at him quickly!"
Tang Haocheng had already brought over a half-height stool and placed Tang Qingyun’s hand on it. Xiao Man walked over, bent down to check his pulse, and then straightened up.
"Manman, you..." Grandma Tang looked down at her younger son’s face, steeled herself, and finished, "How is your uncle?"
"Don’t worry, Grandma. Uncle just has acute gastritis. He’ll be fine after some medicine."
Tang Qingyun heard the conversation between the grandmother and granddaughter. ’Xiao Man is certainly quick to call me ’Uncle’,’ he thought. He couldn’t help but close his eyes in despair, feeling his stomach hurt even more.
"Sis, should we brew the medicine now?" Tang Haocheng asked.
Xiao Zhang, standing to the side, hesitated for a moment before saying, "He’s in so much pain. Why not give him some emergency pills first? I have a small first-aid kit with medicine for stomach problems."
Tang Qingshan asked Tang Qingyun, "How about taking a few pills to ease the pain?"
"I won’t!" Tang Qingyun shook his head. ’I might as well just die from the pain,’ he thought.
Xiao Man went to the herb room and selected a few herbs. Grandpa took them, sniffed them, and looked at Xiao Man in surprise. "What is this one herb in here? Do we have this in our house?"
"It’s the centuries-old Tea Parasite we found in that wild tea forest on Qingniu Mountain. It’s very precious. I prepared it myself and stored it away."
Grandpa nodded and went into the kitchen to brew the medicinal soup himself.
Xiao Man came out and handed a small, thinly sliced piece of medicinal stalk to Tang Haocheng, telling him to have Tang Qingyun hold it in his mouth. "This will help relieve the pain."
As he held the slightly bitter slice in his mouth, Tang Qingyun felt a cool, refreshing fragrance. A moment later, a sweet aftertaste emerged, and his mouth began to water. As he swallowed, the burning sensation in his stomach quickly disappeared, and the pain instantly subsided! Tang Qingyun’s expression relaxed. His whole body felt at ease, as if the intense pain from before had never happened to him.
Seeing that Tang Qingyun was all right, Grandma Tang pulled Tang Haocheng inside to find Xiao Man. Tang Qingshan followed them. Tang Qingyun sat there alone, listening to the sounds from inside the house: Tang Haocheng’s cheers, Manman’s disdainful voice, the two of them chasing each other around playfully, Tang Qingshan’s loud laughter, his mother’s loving mediation... Tang Qingyun desperately wanted to stand up and go inside, but when he remembered what Manman had said earlier, his courage failed him. He closed his eyes, overcome with sadness.
After drinking a bowl of the medicinal soup, Grandpa took Tang Qingyun to lie down on Mo Chengfu’s bed. He unexpectedly fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already evening. He felt refreshed and clear-headed, with not the slightest trace of discomfort. He went to bid farewell to his mother, preparing to return to Wancheng. He explained that he would be busy all day tomorrow but would come back the day after.
Grandma Tang told him to focus on his work and not to rush back and forth, as it was a waste of time and would take a toll on his body.
Grandpa walked Tang Qingyun to the door and handed him a military-style water canteen. "I’ve brewed all the medicinal soup for you. It’s all in here. Finish it in two days, and your stomach problem will be cured."
Tang Qingyun said thank you, took the canteen, and asked with some doubt, "Will just one course of medicine really cure it completely? Manman, she..."
"Manman is just following a recipe from our ancestors. You’re very lucky. A while ago, Manman came across a seven or eight-hundred-year-old Tea Parasite in a wild tea forest deep in the mountains. It’s incredibly precious, a once-in-a-lifetime find. Manman couldn’t bear to sell it, but she used some for you. And a Purple Ganoderma, too. Last time I sold two of those, I got a thousand yuan. She just used a whole one... Your illness came on suddenly and it’s the first time, so she prescribed a thousand gold recipe. One course is all you need to get better!"
Tang Qingyun held the canteen, a flood of emotions washing over him. "That child... Where are they now?"
"The brother and sister took your older brother for a walk around the village. They’re also going to the fields, said they wanted to take some pictures."
Seeing Tang Qingyun’s bitter expression, Grandpa sighed. "I don’t mean to overstep, but during that investigative meeting at the village committee office last time, Manman had already come back to your side. It was you all who didn’t keep her, you were too busy fawning over Xuanxuan. Manman is just a child in her teens, no matter how mature she is, she can’t bear that! During this farming-season break, Shuixia, who studies at the commune’s middle school, came back and told Manman that several money orders had been sent to Xuanxuan from the provincial city. As soon as the break started, Xuanxuan took a bus to the city and didn’t come back to Gongdao Village! The way you’ve all acted shows a complete lack of sincerity. It’s no wonder Manman feels this way. Even her Grandma and I can’t feel at ease handing her over to you!"
Tang Qingyun was seething with anger. He sped all the way back to Wancheng. The moment he walked in the door, without even stopping for a sip of water, he grabbed the phone and dialed his home number in the provincial city.
The person who answered was none other than Tang Yaxuan. Her voice was soft, timid, and carried a hint of being wronged, yet she said with absolute certainty and without a shred of doubt, "Daddy!"
An inexplicable warmth spread through Tang Qingyun’s heart, softening it completely. This was the daughter he had raised for thirteen years. There was just this kind of unspoken understanding between father and daughter. Every time he called home, no matter when, Xuanxuan could always sense it was him and would call out "Daddy!" so sweetly and delicately.
’Daddy, come home soon! Daddy, you have to remember to eat! Daddy, it’s raining, you have to take an umbrella when you go out so you don’t get wet and catch a cold! Daddy... Daddy...’
His eyes stung and his throat felt tight. Tang Qingyun cleared his throat with a slight cough and said gently, "Xuanxuan, put your mother on the phone."
"Daddy, wait a moment. Mommy is changing her clothes. We just got back from the hospital."
Tang Qingyun was taken aback. "What were you doing at the hospital? Xuanxuan, are you not feeling well again?"
"Yeah, my stomach hurts. It’s been hurting for many days. The day before yesterday, after I got home, Mommy took me to the hospital. They couldn’t find out what’s wrong, but it just hurts a lot. The doctor told me to get a few days of IV drips. I finished today’s, and I have to go back for one more tomorrow."
Tang Qingyun frowned. "They’re putting you on an IV without even finding out what’s wrong? What are they giving you? Isn’t that a bit reckless?"
"I don’t know either. They said it’s an anti-inflammatory... Daddy, Mommy’s here."
Wu Xiaowen’s voice came through the receiver. "Qingyun? What have you been up to these past few days? Why can I never reach you when I call? The other day, Xuanxuan went to Wancheng to find you and waited for so long, but you never came back. Xuanxuan is sick. She’s in a pitiful state, do you even know that?"
"Alright, I know." Tang Qingyun rubbed his forehead. "You need to understand that I’m very busy right now. When you took Xuanxuan to the hospital, what did the doctor say?"
"Sigh, it’s just a common childhood illness, some kind of infection caused by parasites or something. The conditions in the countryside are just too terrible! Qingyun, can’t you think of a way..."
"I don’t have a way!" Tang Qingyun felt helpless and annoyed. He did feel sorry for Xuanxuan, but Manman... ’Am I just supposed to give up on her like this?’ He couldn’t accept it—’that’s my real daughter! By what right does my older brother just claim her for himself without any discussion?’
There was silence on the other end for a moment, followed by the sound of choked sobs. "Qingyun, you’re so heartless! To Xuanxuan, and to me, too!"
"Xiao Wen, what are you talking about? Xuanxuan has to go back to the Mo family. And you... what have I done to you?"
"Must! Must! It’s because you’re too obedient, too weak, that they can suppress and pressure us without any restraint! Tearing a perfectly good family apart by force—what kind of depraved person could even do such a thing? They go on and on about wanting their ’flesh and blood.’ They’ve lived long enough for their hair to turn white, but have they never heard the saying ’the bond of raising a child is stronger than the bond of birth’? Since it’s not happening to them, of course they don’t feel the pain! We’re the younger generation, so we’re in a weaker position and have no choice but to obey. But them? The moment our backs are turned, they break their promise! Is that how elders are supposed to act? It’s completely shameless for people their age! I can’t even face my own parents anymore! The plan was for me to get a work transfer and for you to go to Beijing for advanced studies, but that’s all off the table now! Why are they being so outrageous? What are they trying to do? Disown us? Is that it? If so, they need to make it clear! No one is born so thick-skinned that they’ll shamelessly beg and plead with anyone!"