Chapter 23: Unwillingness
Su Yaoguang shook her head, "No."
"Su Yaoguang, if you keep delaying, what if something happens to Mutou?" Grandma Su threatened viciously.
"You guys put down one hundred cents first, and after you’ve filled my family’s latrine, I’ll refund the money to you," Su Yaoguang said, negotiating without changing her expression.
"Father, Mother, save me and Mutou," Su Guilan cried, "I really can’t take it anymore, hurry and get us out!"
"We don’t have money on hand, this money is your second brother’s, remember to pay him back," Grandma Su reminded unwillingly as she handed over the money.
Grandma Su handed one hundred cents to Su Yaoguang, her eyes fierce as if she wanted to devour someone when she paid. She then handed over another hundred cents, and only then did that aunt lead the villagers to rescue them.
"Ugh..." Su Yaoguang covered her mouth and nose, stepping back a few steps.
Zhou Wangshu said, "You go out first, I’ll keep an eye on them here."
"Alright, I’ll leave it to you here. Once they leave, I’ll come to clean up."
Su Yaoguang still had no strength. The reason she seemed fine was completely because she had pierced needles into all ten fingers, forcing herself to hold on. In fact, if she stayed longer, her true condition would be exposed.
After returning to her room, Su Yaoguang fell into a fuzzy sleep. Not knowing how long it had been, she noticed someone touching her forehead and opened her eyes warily.
Seeing who it was, she relaxed, and said wearily, "Oh, it’s you, Wang Shu."
"What exactly happened earlier? You seem off, are you sick?" Zhou Wangshu asked.
"I was drugged, now I’m very weak," Su Yaoguang said, "Just now I..."
She roughly recounted how after drinking water, she felt weak, and when she returned to her room to rest, Mutou had barged in, taking off his clothes and lunging at her.
"Since you were so weak, how did you manage to throw Mutou into the latrine?" Zhou Wangshu asked, looking at Su Yaoguang with increasingly complicated eyes.
Though usually such a fiery girl, when being schemed against by her own kin, her expression was so calm, as if she had seen through everything. She didn’t cry or make a fuss but thought of how to turn the crisis into an opportunity, not only escaping danger but also getting a hefty return from the villains.
"Though Mutou is two hundred pounds, he’s got no brain. I just needed to coax him a bit, promising him good food, led him near the latrine, and kicked him in, just like you kicked Su Guilan into the latrine earlier."
"This time there was danger but no harm, what about next time?" Zhou Wangshu said, "Don’t take risks in the future. If you encounter such a situation again, leave as soon as you have the strength, go to a crowded place; no way would that mother and son drag you back?"
"Wang Shu, thank you for your concern," Su Yaoguang said, looking warmly at Zhou Wangshu.
Earlier, Zhou Wangshu had helped her, otherwise, in her then state, she wouldn’t have had the strength to kick Su Guilan away.
Zhou Wangshu’s willingness to help her meant so much. In her past life, when she fought against her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and Su Guilan’s family, Xiao Yanci merely said she was vulgar, acting like a shrew, and never stood up for her. Zhou Wangshu had just arrived and already did.
Zhou Wangshu felt uneasy under her gaze.
During her most perilous moment, he hadn’t been there, what exactly was she moved by?
This village girl seems bright, so why is she this silly? With just a bit of kindness from others, is she ready to entrust them with her heart?
Being like that, no wonder her own blood relatives would scheme against her. After all, she’s such a fool and seems easy to bully.
"I’ll go get Doctor Lin to have him check on you,"
"No need. This drug just makes one weak, over time its effects wear off," Su Yaoguang said, "I’ll be fine after a nap."
Zhou Wangshu knew she was right. He had witnessed many such situations. Especially during his trafficking ordeal, he was drugged numerous times; initially, the effects would last for days, but after many doses, they’d wear off in half an hour. However, he would still pretend to not yet awaken, looking for a chance to escape.
After escaping danger, Su Yaoguang fell into a deep sleep. While she was sleeping, Zhou Wangshu tidied up the latrine, lit some Mugwort, letting its scent disperse and drive away the strong sewage smell. By the time Su Yaoguang woke, the simple house was even cleaner and tidier than before; Zhou Wangshu had cleaned up the latrine nicely.
Elsewhere, Su Guilan and Mutou were filthy; Uncle Su and Second Aunt Su refused to let the mother and son step inside their home.
No one dared approach Su Guilan because of her stench.
Once Mutou was lifted out, someone pinched his philtrum, waking him up. Now he was sitting on the ground causing a scene, demanding to eat.
"Father, Mother, how can Mutou and I go home like this? What about our reputation if people ask?" Su Guilan complained.
"Do I care where you shove it?" Second Aunt Su retorted, "If you’re capable, go settle the score with the one who did this to you, why mess with us? Weren’t you confident before saying you could handle that girl? Now don’t even mention handling her, pay back the two hundred cents you owe first."
"I definitely will repay it. But let me first clean off this filth, get rid of the stench before Mutou and I discuss our next steps."
"Go, go, we don’t want to hear your plans today," Second Aunt Su said, covering her mouth and nose. "Even if we let you both bathe here, seeing you wash a dozen times over and scrub off your skin would still disgust us. Your stomachs are full of that nasty stuff. Ugh... Leave and bring us those two hundred cents another day."
Neither Grandma Su nor Grandpa Su said a word, but both stood even farther away than Second Aunt Su, their actions clearly showing their stance.
Su Guilan was infuriated, but there was no other way. Unable to return to her parents’ home and having lost so much face, she didn’t want to visit Anning Village for a long time.
However, the more Su Yaoguang offended her, the more she wanted to have her as a daughter-in-law. Once in Mutou’s hands, she would make sure she knew what a fate worse than death felt like.
Su Guilan stormed off angrily.
Before leaving, she told Mutou, "If you don’t leave now, don’t expect to eat for three days."
Upon hearing this, Mutou quickly got up, wearing his filthy, chubby face, and said, "Mother, I want some meat."
Never before had Su Guilan felt such disgust for this foolish son of hers.
If not for his stupidity, why would she have to struggle this much? She suffered all these humiliations for him, yet his mind was only on food and nothing else.
How wretched my life is, she thought.