Chapter 3

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Old Master Su’s face darkened as he glared at Su Sanmei, scaring her.

Su Sanlang swallowed and hid the bitterness in his heart. He asked Su Sanmei gently, “Sanmei, how is your mother? How about your little sister?”

Su Sanmei thought of the weak Madam Zhao. She looked up and shook her head with tears in her eyes. She whispered, “My little sister had been crying. Mother doesn’t have any strength, and she hasn’t eaten anything…”

Su Sanlang’s heart ached as he heard that. He gritted his teeth and turned to face Old Master Su’s dark expression. “Father, I’ll go back first. Chong and Hua will stay behind to replace me.”

Old Master Su’s face darkened. “Madam Zhao has already given birth to so many children. What’s there to see? No matter how you look at the girl, she won’t be a boy.”

Su Sanlang pretended not to hear. Somehow, he also felt vaguely uneasy, so he quickly filled the gold and jade stick, then tied a shoulder pole and picked it up, before he rushed home with Su Sanmei.

Before he returned home, he heard his mother, Madam Wang, scolding him from afar.

Many neighbors were sitting outside the house listening. When they saw Su Sanlang, they greeted him with a smile, “Congratulations, Sanlang. You’re a father again. There’s nothing wrong with having a daughter, they are considerate.”

Su Sanlang did not have the time to joke around. He only felt bitterness in his heart. How could he not tell that these people were mocking him?

Four children, two of them mentally disabled and the other two are girls.He would have no one to take after him.

After picking up the two baskets of golden jade sticks and putting them down in the central room, Su Sanlang eagerly went to the back room.

As he pushed open the door, Su Sanlang could smell the thick scent of blood.

This smell of blood was even heavier than the previous three times.

Madam Zhao lay motionless on the bed. Su Sanlang’s eyes instantly turned red. He stood rooted to the ground, unable to take another step.

“My dear wife…”

Su Sanmei had already run to the bed. She shook Madam Zhao and shouted, “Mother, Mother!”

Madam Zhao woke up and said weakly, “Sanmei, you’re back. Where’s your father?”

When Su Sanlang heard Madam Zhao’s voice, he felt extremely excited. He quickly wiped his face and walked over with a smile. “I’m here. You’ve worked hard.”

After adapting to the dimness of the house, Su Sanlang saw his little daughter sleeping obediently. His heart softened.

He turned to Su Sanmei and said, “Sanmei, go to the kitchen and boil some hot water. Let’s clean up your mother.”

“Sanlang…”

Madam Zhao teared. She did not want Su Sanlang to be stained with blood, but she could not move. She wanted to say no to Su Sanlang and let her slowly clean up by herself.

However, Su Sanlang held Madam Zhao’s hand and said gently, “I’m useless and made you suffer. Let me do this small favor for you. I can’t do anything else.”

Su Sanlang was filled with self-reproach. He didn’t have a single healthy son. He couldn’t stand up at home. Madam Zhao had just given birth, and he couldn’t even give her a mouthful of hot rice. Cleaning her up was the only thing he could do.

Madam Zhao swallowed her sobs.

Su Sanmei soon brought over some hot water.

Su Sanlang lifted the blanket and cleaned up Madam Zhao’s bed.

But gradually, he felt that something was wrong. He said with a trembling voice, “My wife, why can’t I stop the bleeding?”

He knew that giving birth resulted in blood loss, but she couldn’t keep bleeding like this.

Madam Zhao’s body was already frail and weak to begin with. If she kept bleeding, how could she withstand it?

“No, we have to get a doctor for this. I’ll go and beg Mother.”

Su Sanlang immediately put down his handkerchief and got up to leave.

In the main room.

Madam Wang was still cursing. She even took off one of her shoes and hit the edge of the bed after each of her curses.

When Su Sanlang arrived outside the house, he pushed open the door and entered. He knelt down before Madam Wang, who was sitting on the bed, and shouted anxiously, “Mother, Mother, my wife is still bleeding. Please get a doctor to take a look at her.”

When Madam Wang heard this, she was so angry that she almost jumped up. She pointed at Su Sanlang and scolded fiercely, “What doctor? Is someone like her, who can only give birth to useless things, worthy of hiring a doctor? Why aren’t you working in the fields? Do you want to freeload? Look at the bunch of useless trash in your family. Do you want me to raise all of you for nothing?!”

Madam Wang’s tone was vicious and filled with disgust.

She didn’t like her third son, nor did she like her two stupid grandsons, and she despised her two worthless granddaughters even more.

Get a doctor. What doctor? Don’t even think about it. If she dies, she dies.

Madam Wang’s cold words were like knives stabbing into Su Sanlang’s heart, making him unable to breathe.

Thinking of Madam Zhao, Su Sanlang gritted his teeth and said, “Mother, Madam Zhao is my wife and the mother of my children. Nothing can happen to her no matter what. If you don’t get a doctor for her, if she dies, my children won’t be able to live either. Then I wouldn’t want to live anymore. If I can’t live, I might go crazy. When the time comes, don’t blame me if I do something insane.”

Su Sanlang clenched his fists. He was always obedient, but when he got angry, he was also ruthless.

Madam Wang looked at Su Sanlang and was stunned by him. She seemed to have recalled something bad.

Then, she took out a string of copper coins and threw them at Su Sanlang. She wailed loudly, “You unfilial son, unfilial son. Eldest daughter-in-law, go to the fields and call your father-in-law back. This unfilial son is going to rebel. He’s going to kill his own mother.”

Su Sanlang did not care about Madam Wang’s cries at all. He did not feel any pain when the copper coins hit him. He quickly picked them up and ran out.

When Madam Li heard the commotion and came out to check, she saw Su Sanlang leaving the house quickly. She could sense the unusual tension, and she immediately concealed the smile in her eyes. Then, she pretended to panic and ran into the main room. She exclaimed, “Mother, what’s going on? What did Third Brother do…”

Madam Wang gritted her teeth and said, “Quickly go to the fields and get the entire family to come back. I want to split the third branch1.”

Madam Li pretended to be shocked and terrified. “Alright, alright.”

Madam Li turned around and walked out of the main room. When she saw the timid Su Sanmei not far away, she glared at her fiercely before quickly leaving.

She had three sons. Madam Wang and Old Master Su were already old, so this family would have to be split up sooner or later. The second branch had two sons and a daughter, so they would definitely want to compete with her.

The third branch was much simpler to handle. It was undoubtedly a good thing to be able to kick this useless family out as soon as possible.

When Madam Zhao went into labor yesterday morning, she was really afraid that she would give birth to a son. Fortunately, she did not. Now that Su Sanlang had disobeyed Madam Wang for Madam Zhao, this was really a good opportunity.

Madam Li was overjoyed, but she showed a fearful look on her face. Along the way, she even messed up her hair and cried. She ran into the fields and cried loudly from a distance, “Father, Dalang, Second Brother, come back and take a look. Third Brother hit Mother—”