HCB Chapter 241 Fetching Water from Bamboo Basket
Chapter 241 Fetching Water from Bamboo Basket
The leader of the gangsters kicked him aside, and someone immediately pressed Li Dajiang to the ground, holding down one of his legs and lifting up the other leg. The gangster holding a wooden stick had been waiting on the side, and when the opportunity came, he hit his leg hard with the stick.
Suddenly, a shrill scream broke through the sky, startling the nearby residents so much that they all stood up to check, only to see that the street outside was completely silent, with nothing different at all.
Li Dajiang's left leg was hanging on his knee in an abnormal posture. He was sweating all over from the pain, especially the pain in his knee, which almost made him faint.
The leader of the gangsters looked at Li Dajiang rolling on the ground, and sneered, "Throw away all their belongings, don't dirty my place."
Soon, everyone, including Old Lady Li and Old Fourth Li, as well as their miscellaneous belongings were thrown out the door.
It was freezing cold outside and there were no carriages, and all the people in their group were old, weak and sick.
Old Mrs. Li has been paralyzed in bed, Li Dajiang broke his leg tonight, and Li Laosi was beaten with twenty sticks and still can't speak, and he has two children to take care of.
Old man Li felt so regretful. If he had known earlier, he would not have come to the capital. It would have been so much better to live a peaceful and stable life in Qinghe Village instead of dreaming about the imaginary wealth and glory.
Now, all the efforts to draw water in the bamboo basket are in vain, and there is nothing left. I have to take this whole family back to Qinghe Village.
Old man Li felt a headache when he thought about it. He had just been in court with Li Xiaoxiao during the day. If he went to beg her again at this time, Li Xiaoxiao probably wouldn't even open the door.
The weather was so cold that neither adults nor children could bear it. Our money had just been taken away, so if we wanted to stay in the hotel, we had to exchange our belongings for other things.
Fortunately, those gangsters threw out their beddings as well. If they didn't have money, they could use the beddings to pay for it. At least they could get through the night first.
I asked at several inns, and when they saw the whole family and Li Dajiang's bloody leg, they all said they were full.
The owner of the last inn they visited happened to be from Jiunu County. After hearing what they had to say, he felt sorry for them and asked the waiter to prepare a room for them for free, but he only gave them one room.
Originally Old Man Li thought he would have to sleep on the streets tonight, but when he heard the shop owner say this, he almost shed tears again and thanked the owner profusely.
Finally they had a place to stay. There was only one bed in the room, so Li Laosi and Li Dajiang slept on it, and the rest of the people slept on the floor. Although it was cold, it was better than sleeping outside.
The family tossed and turned until noon before finally falling asleep. The terrifying night was finally over.
Old man Li really couldn't fall asleep. He managed to cope with tonight, but how to get home tomorrow was still a very tricky matter.
He had already said that he had no money and there was no way he could get any more money, so he had to try his luck at Li Xiaoxiao's restaurant again.
He thought about it and tried to get some money for Li Xiaoxiao's travel expenses. Even if he promised not to come to the capital again, even if he kowtowed to her, Old Man Li couldn't bear it anymore as he kept thinking about things in his mind. He fell asleep in a daze.
When the day broke, the Li family woke up. Thinking about what happened last night, everyone was still frightened.
"Dad, please go get a doctor for me. I'm almost dying." Li Dajiang, lying on the bed, spoke in a daze. Seeing that he still had his eyes closed, Liu curiously put her hand on his forehead.
After touching it for a moment, he exclaimed in surprise: "Oh my! Why is my head so hot?"
Old man Li also came over. At this time, Li Dajiang's face was abnormally red, and it was obvious that he had a fever.
"Oh!" Old man Li sighed heavily. Why did he have a fever again at this critical moment? The family affairs had already made him anxious, and now it was even worse.
"Go find a hot towel and wipe his body to see if it can cool him down. I'll go find the second one."
Just as Old Man Li was about to go out, he looked around and suddenly saw the old woman sitting in the corner. She was bought with money and still had her indenture contract in her hand, so the old woman didn't dare to run away.
If all else fails, he will sell her first, at least to raise enough money for the trip back home. However, he still has to go to Li Xiaoxiao's shop, because he knows that Li Xiaoxiao is a doctor.
It would be best if she could come and see Dajiang. When she sees the miserable condition of the family, she might feel pity and give them some money to let them go back.
After a while, Old Man Li arrived outside Li Xiaoxiao Restaurant. He stood outside for a long time and only mustered up the courage to go in after he had thought of what to say.
It was only noon, and there were only two waiters who were cleaning the restaurant. They had been causing trouble for two days in a row. Everyone in the restaurant knew Old Man Li, and they spoke to him unhappily when they saw him.
"The prefect's verdict came down yesterday. You should just keep quiet. You are old enough to avoid going to jail."
"I'm here to see Li Dahai. I have something important to tell you. You're just a waiter, but I'm your boss's grandfather. How dare you talk to me like that? Be careful or my granddaughter will fire you!" Old man Li's face darkened and he said angrily.
"Hey, old man, I'm just giving you a kind reminder. If you think what I said is wrong, you can do whatever you want when the boss comes." The waiter sneered, really taking himself as an important person, and went back to his job.
The other waiter, who was a little older, didn't say anything and just focused on his own work.
"When will Li Dahai come?" Old man Li had to ask another waiter.
"It's about si hour, right?" the older waiter said while mopping the floor, without raising his head, obviously not wanting to pay attention to him.
Old man Li was not angry. He just found a stool and sat down. Yesterday, Li Dahai even brought a cloak to Old Lady Li, which shows that he still cares about his parents.
Since Li Xiaoxiao's approach didn't work, he would play the emotional card with Li Dahai. He would just give Li Dahai travel expenses and sell the woman as a reserve.
He hadn't eaten when he went out in the morning, so he was already starving. Looking at the waiter busying around, Old Man Li looked towards the kitchen.
He saw that it was full of all kinds of food. He swallowed hard the saliva that was secreted unconsciously, and thought of the taste of the hot pot that day. He really wanted to have another meal.
Finally it was the Si hour, and Old Man Li kept looking towards the door.
When I watched it for the Nth time, I finally saw Li Dahai and Li Xiaoxiao. They were walking side by side, as if they were talking about something. Li Dahai had a faint smile on his face, and he was obviously in a good mood.
This was a look that Old Man Li had never seen before. As far as he could remember, he had hardly ever seen Li Dahai smile, and he always had an indifferent expression on his face every day.
The two of them walked into the restaurant quickly. Old Man Li stood up from his seat and called softly. The voice was a gentle voice that Li Dahai had never heard before: "Dahai."