Zhang Wei still refused to say what he was really thinking and only said aggrievedly to Qiao Mei, "Elder sister… you're hurting me…"
Qiao Mei quickly let go of Zhang Wei's shoulder. She did not use much strength, so how could it hurt?
Could it be that what she meant by not using much strength was different from what ordinary people meant?
"Oh, oh, oh! I forgot! I'm sorry, Xiao Wei. But why are you crying?" Qiao Mei asked as she massaged Zhang Wei's shoulder.
"I'm not crying… Uncle Chen Hu said that a man can bleed or sweat but not cry," Zhang Wei said with his head lowered.
"Our Xiao Wei is such a capable boy. Then what's that on your face? Is it your sweat?" Qiao Mei teased.
Qiao Mei knew that Zhang Wei must have come around because of Li Gui. She was in the courtyard in the afternoon and Auntie Dong's voice was almost as loud as someone using the loudspeakers in the village.
If she still could not hear it, she must be deaf.
"Let's go. Elder sister will go back with you. I'll go and see how Zhang Miao is doing," Qiao Mei said with a smile.
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Zhang Wei grabbed Qiao Mei and said, "Elder sister, today… Zhang Miao has already gone to bed today. Why don't you visit Zhang Miao when she's awake?"
Qiao Mei reached out and flicked Zhang Wei's head. "Alright, don't try to find an excuse for mom. Elder sister is not angry about this. I'll go and see how that person is."
After saying that, Qiao Mei strode towards Li Gui's house, leaving Zhang Wei standing there in a daze. By the time Zhang Wei reacted, Qiao Mei was already almost at the door of his house.
"Sigh… looks like I can't hide anything from elder sister." Zhang Wei sighed and quickly ran to Qiao Mei's side to go back with her.
Li Gui was washing the children's clothes in the courtyard. When she saw Qiao Mei, she immediately felt happy and thought that Qiao Mei had forgiven her.
"Mei Mei, you're here. Come and sit down!" Li Gui brought over the most comfortable stool in the house as if she was trying to curry favor with Qiao Mei. She was worried that the stool was dirty, so she even wiped it with her sleeve and placed a soft cushion on it for Qiao Mei. It could be said that she did everything meticulously.
Qiao Mei did not want to argue with Li Gui about right and wrong. She just wanted Li Gui to think more for herself and the four young children in this family. She did not want them to be weak and being bullied, to the extent that as long as others threatened her, she would give them everything.
However, Li Gui was not to blame for what happened to Zhao Hong today. Even if Zhao Hong was scheming, it was still a life at stake. If it were her, she would have saved Zhao Hong too.
Qiao Mei had interacted with Zhao Hong before and knew that she was a timid person. It was impossible for her to do anything earth-shattering. If she was really a scheming person, she would not have been bullied by Old Madam Li to this extent. She was just doing Old Madam Li's bidding.
"How's Zhao Hong?" Qiao Mei asked.
Li Gui looked at Qiao Mei uneasily and said, "Oh, you already know about this… The doctor said that she's fine. She fainted because she's been malnourished for a long time and also due to her injuries. After she wakes up, she'll feel better after eating something."
"Auntie Dong's voice is so loud that it's difficult for me not to know about it even if I don't want to. Have you paid the clinic?" Qiao Mei looked at Li Gui expressionlessly. Li Gui nodded in embarrassment, then shook her head.
Qiao Mei sighed and took out some money from her pocket to give to Zhang Wei. "Go and pay the medical fees at the village clinic and also buy Zhang Miao's medicine for next month. Go and get the bicycle from grandfather. Be careful."
Zhang Wei looked at Li Gui and then at the money in Qiao Mei's hand. He muttered softly, "Why is our family paying for this…"
"Alright, we'll talk about it when you come back. We can't let the villagers laugh at us and say that we owe money," Qiao Mei said.
Zhang Wei silently took the money from Qiao Mei and did as she instructed.
"Mei Mei, there's actually no need to…" Li Gui said.
"No? If we don't pay, then who will? Zhao Hong? Do you think Zhao Hong looks like she has money? If the villagers find out that we owe the clinic money, what will they think of us? What will they think of these children?" Qiao Mei said.
The more she thought about it, the more she could not understand what Li Gui was thinking. Even Zhang Wei knew that Zhao Hong was not a good person, so how could Li Gui not understand it?
At this moment, Zhao Hong had woken up. Looking at the unfamiliar scene in front of her, she did not know if she was still alive or already in the netherworld.