Chapter 16: Serves You Right
Aren’t you afraid I’ll "jinx" you?
Then I’ll let you see with your own eyes just how I "jinx" people!
With a thought, she silently raised the right hand hidden in her sleeve and pointed a finger toward Cao Daqiang’s feet.
Immediately after, a bloodcurdling scream erupted.
"BANG! THUD!"
Without any warning, Cao Daqiang suddenly pitched forward.
He had no time to react as his body lunged down, landing him flat on the ground.
Everyone was stunned.
Liu Yingzi stood frozen for a few seconds, her pupils contracting, before she violently snapped back to reality and realized what had happened.
She shrieked and rushed over to help him up, her voice trembling.
"Old Cao! Old Cao, are you alright?! Oh my god! What happened?!"
"Daqiang! How are you? Heavens! Why is there so much blood?"
Yang Dapeng hurriedly took a step forward, his expression changing in alarm.
He reached out to help him but didn’t dare to move him recklessly, afraid of causing a secondary injury.
"Ugh... My nose!"
Cao Daqiang’s features twisted in pain as he cried out miserably.
He felt as if his entire nose had been smashed by a heavy hammer. It throbbed with a fiery pain, and a warm liquid continuously poured from his nostrils.
Cao Daqiang clutched his face tightly with one hand while the other trembled on the ground, trying to prop himself up.
Shanshan buried her face behind Zhang Yunhua’s warm, solid neck, but a pair of big, dark eyes peeked out, staring at Cao Daqiang on the ground.
Her little lips pursed for a moment, but in the end, she couldn’t hold back a secret smile from tugging at the corners of her mouth.
’Serves him right!’
’It was just a light trip near the threshold, not even a hard fall.’
’But this guy had to have poor balance and forget to protect his own face.’
’Who could he blame for that?’
Shanshan looked up at the eaves above and patted her chest with a clear conscience.
’Heaven is my witness, I even went easy on him.’
’Who told him to speak so nastily and threaten to send me away?’
Staring at his blood-covered hands, a single thought ran through Cao Daqiang’s mind.
’That girl, Cao Shanshan, really is my nemesis!’
Quick-witted and quick-handed, Liu Yingzi immediately pulled a neatly folded, light-blue handkerchief from her pocket, squatting down to carefully wipe the blood from his face.
But his nose had been broken, damaging blood vessels, and blood was gushing out. No amount of pressure could stop it.
"Hey, Captain Cao, head up! Tilting your head back will reduce the bleeding."
Old Liu, a neighbor, came over and offered the advice.
He was a veteran and knew a little first aid.
Although many people nearby were just watching the spectacle, seeing a comrade fall at their own doorstep, some still stepped forward to lend a hand.
A few neighbors who were on good terms with them immediately ran to get a basin of water and towels, while another ran to find a first-aid kit.
Zhang Yunhua also hurried back into the house.
She rummaged through drawers and cupboards, finally pulling out a small porcelain bottle from the very back of a cabinet. The words "Golden Healing Hemostatic Powder" were written on the bottle.
This kind of medicine was very common and an essential emergency item in almost every household.
Zhang Yunhua used a cotton swab to carefully apply the powder to the edges of Cao Daqiang’s nostrils, then had Yang Dapeng help him sit up straight.
With everyone pitching in haphazardly, the scene was chaotic for a while.
Finally, after ten or so minutes, Cao Daqiang’s nosebleed gradually stopped.
But his earlier arrogant and smug demeanor had vanished without a trace.
The glare he fixed on Shanshan, however, was even more terrifying.
"Dapeng, I wasn’t joking earlier. I’m sending the child away in a few days."
Cao Daqiang said, grinding out each word through clenched teeth.
"If you’re willing to take her, then she can stay with you for a few days."
Cao Daqiang’s tone might have sounded softer, but the attitude behind his words was even more rigid than before.
After speaking, he looked at no one else, his gaze remaining fixed on Shanshan.
Before Yang Dapeng could respond, he had already grabbed his wife and daughter, turned, and left.
The family of three departed in a rush.
"This..."
Zhang Yunhua was flustered. She looked at her husband, her eyes filled with helplessness.
"What are we going to do?"
"Don’t worry, I have a plan,"
Yang Dapeng said in a deep voice.
He reached out a broad hand, gently wrapping it around his wife’s shoulder to comfort her.
Shanshan also stood on her tiptoes, her small body straining upward as she gently patted Zhang Yunhua’s back.
"Auntie, don’t be afraid. I will cure Uncle."
She looked up, her dark eyes shining, as serious as an adult.
"In the future, you can have your own little baby too."
"SHH!"
Zhang Yunhua immediately clamped her hand firmly over Shanshan’s small mouth, terrified she would make another sound.
Fortunately, Cao Daqiang’s family hadn’t been gone long—their footsteps could still be faintly heard—but they had already turned the corner of the alley.
The other neighbors who had come to watch the commotion also dispersed in twos and threes.
The courtyard gate was finally quiet, and no one had noticed the child’s innocent but artless words.
Only then did she let out a sigh of relief, the rising and falling of her chest gradually slowing as she reached out and gently poked Shanshan on the forehead.
"Good girl, you can’t say things like ’having a baby’ in front of outsiders from now on, understand?"
"Why not?"
Shanshan blinked her big eyes.
She was young and didn’t understand the roundabout taboos of adults; she was simply curious.
’But Zhang Yunhua was just talking about this with Uncle Dapeng. Why isn’t she allowed to talk about it?’
"Because..."
Zhang Yunhua’s face instantly turned bright red, and even the tips of her ears felt hot.
She had no idea how to explain this sort of thing and was so anxious that sweat beaded on her forehead. She quickly turned to her husband standing in the middle of the courtyard, her eyes pleading for help. "Dapeng! Quick, say something!"
Yang Dapeng was squatting on a stone stool, drinking water from an enamel mug.
He nearly choked when he heard this. He coughed twice, his face flushing red as well.
He was even more embarrassed. He quickly waved his hands and took half a step back, stammering, "I’ll go close the gate! Right, the courtyard gate isn’t closed yet! It’s cold with the wind blowing in!"
Seeing her reinforcement flee, Zhang Yunhua could only bite the bullet and force a smile.
"Well... Shanshan, you’re still young, so there are some things you wouldn’t understand. When you’re a little older, you’ll naturally get it."
She spoke vaguely, hoping to change the subject as quickly as possible.
As expected, Shanshan tilted her head, thought for a moment, and mumbled.
"’I’ll understand when I’m older’... When will that be?"
But she didn’t press the issue, her attention quickly shifting elsewhere.
Seeing her chance, Zhang Yunhua immediately seized the opportunity, hastily pulling out the pastries she had bought earlier from deep within her cloth bag.
They were osmanthus cakes and jujube paste crisps from the old shop on the corner.
She stuffed them all into Shanshan’s arms, piling them so high the little girl could barely hold on.
"Here, here, you must be hungry, right? Have some of these to tide you over. Later, Auntie will stew some ribs for you, stir-fry some vegetables, and make a bowl of hot, hand-pulled noodles, how does that sound?"
"Mmph, mmph, so yummy."
Shanshan’s mouth was stuffed full.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Yunhua couldn’t help but smile too.
But then she remembered the embarrassing scene from a moment ago, quickly patted her apron, and pretended to be busy.
"Alright, alright, eat slowly, don’t choke. Auntie’s going to the kitchen to get busy!"
After speaking, she practically fled into the kitchen as if her feet were greased, pulling the door shut behind her.
Meanwhile, Ling Anxun finally finished the examination that, in his opinion, was a complete waste of time.