A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Su Xiulan's smile was a little awkward, and Hongxia noticed it too. "Xiulan, don't tell me you actually have some."

Su Xiulan nodded hesitantly, "There's still a little bit left."

"And you still..."

Sister-in-law Hongxia didn't know what to say. This guy was really composed. In the past, when his family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat, he never took out the ginseng.

Even though it's just a little bit of skin, it can still be used to buy medicine and make money.

Could it be that we forgot about this before?

"He won't accuse you of speculation and profiteering, will he?"

Su Xiulan quickly replied, "Of course not, they even gave me a lot of thank-you gifts. Sister Hongxia, I'm sorry to have worried you. That leader is from the military region, and he's a very nice person. He even said that if I have any difficulties in the future, I can go to him for help."

Su Xiulan didn't take these words to heart at all. As an ordinary citizen, it was unlikely that she would get involved with people from the military region.

Sister-in-law Hongxia breathed a sigh of relief, her legs almost giving way. "Oh my god, I was so scared! As long as you're alright, that's all that matters. You should hurry back; Jianguo, Da'an, and Xiao'an must be worried sick."

After saying goodbye to Sister-in-law Hongxia, Su Xiulan quickened her pace to go home. The courtyard gate was already closed, and the two children excitedly came to open it when they heard their mother was coming back.

Su Xiulan locked the door and then placed a thick wooden stick on top of it before she felt relieved.

Before they even reached the house, they heard Gu Jianguo's anxious voice, "Xiulan, why are you and Nuannuan back? Are you alright?"

Nuannuan was still half asleep when she opened her eyes and saw Gu Jianguo. She softly called out, "Dad!"

Gu Jianguo's heart softened instantly. "Nuannuan, are you cold?"

Nuannuan shook her little head like a rattle drum, "No, Mommy is holding Nuannuan."

The little girl's face was red from the cold, but her eyes were bright and sparkling like the stars in the sky.

Su Xiulan carried her daughter out and placed her on the kang (a heated brick bed), then took off her shoes and climbed up herself to warm her hands and feet.

"How did it go? Did you run into them?"

Gu Jianguo was still a little worried, but more than that, he felt powerless. If his legs were better, this kind of thing should have been his responsibility as the father.

"It's alright, that leader didn't come to arrest anyone, he came to find ginseng to save his life."

Su Xiulan could barely suppress her smile. She glanced at Nuannuan, who obediently took out the money and tickets—a huge stack of ten-yuan notes, a red booklet, and countless bills, instantly filling the space.

Gu Jianguo's hand trembled, and the tobacco pouch in his hand almost fell onto his lap.

"Where...where did this come from?"

This was the first time Gu Jianguo had ever seen so much money and bills; his head was buzzing.

"That leader gave me over five hundred yuan."

Su Xiulan's voice trembled, "Honey, do you know how much money we have now?"

"The ginseng sold for 200 last time, the radio for 130, and with this 500-plus, after deducting what I've spent, I have over 800, not counting all the bills."

More than 800 yuan!

For this family, that's a huge sum of money.

In the village, a couple hundred yuan can build three large brick houses and help two sons find good wives.

"And that doesn't even include the tickets!"

"Oh, right, take a look at this..." Su Xiulan handed the red booklet to Gu Jianguo. "This was given to me by someone. They said it's from the military region. If we ever have any difficulties in the future, we can take this to them. As long as it's not illegal or disorderly, they can help us take care of it."

Gu Jianguo took the small notebook with trembling hands. When he saw the national emblem on it, his eyes immediately reddened.

Eight hundred yuan is their financial security, enough to guarantee their livelihood, and this little booklet is their talisman!

Ever since he broke his leg, he'd suffered enough scorn in the village; even his own mother called him a cripple. Now that he had this, who would dare bully his family?

"Thank God..." Gu Jianguo wiped his face, his voice choked with emotion.

Nuannuan rummaged through the pile of money, her little hands full, and she smiled like a little mouse that had stolen some fish.

"So much money! We can use it to treat Dad's leg and buy meat for my brother!"

The little girl held up a ten-yuan note in front of Da'an: "Big brother, let's buy parts! Let's make a singing box!"

Da'an's blank gaze fell on the money, then he looked at his sister's smiling face and nodded woodenly: "Buy...buy meat for my sister to eat."

"Yes! Meat!" Su Xiulan waved her hand, immediately taking on the air of the head of the household. "We'll make dumplings tonight! Pure meat filling! No more rotten cabbage scraps!"

The atmosphere in the room instantly became lively.

Su Xiulan quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and prepared to dig out the flour. After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped and looked at the corner of the wall.

From the moment she entered the room, Xiao An remained huddled there, silent and without turning her head.

This kid is usually the most mischievous; if he knew his family had become rich, he would have been jumping for joy long ago.

"Xiao An?" Su Xiulan walked over and asked softly, "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

The dark shadow in the corner stirred, and Xiao An replied listlessly, "Mom, I'm sleepy, I want to sleep for a while."

Su Xiulan frowned and walked over in a few steps: "You haven't eaten yet, why are you sleeping? Are you feeling unwell?"

She reached out and turned Xiao An's shoulder.

Xiao An shuddered and groaned in pain.

Su Xiulan's expression changed drastically. She turned Xiao An around and dragged him towards the light.

"Mom, I'm fine, I'm just tired..." Xiao An was still struggling, not wanting anyone to see.

"Don't move!" Su Xiulan shouted, tearing open Xiao An's tattered cotton-padded coat.

Once the cotton-padded coat was taken off, the inner shirt was already stuck to the skin and flesh, and the shoulders were covered with dark red scabs, still oozing blood.

In some places, the skin and flesh were torn open, which was horrifying to look at.

"My son!" Su Xiulan cried out, tears streaming down her face. "What happened? Huh? Who hit you?"

Gu Jianguo, leaning on his crutches, also moved over. Seeing his son's injuries, he trembled with anger: "This...was it from carrying wood? Or was he beaten?"

Xiao An lowered her head, biting her lip tightly, determined not to let her tears fall.

"It's okay, it was my own carelessness."

"Accidentally, I farted!"

Da'an, who had been silent all along, suddenly stood up.

He walked over to Xiao An, pointed at his younger brother's shoulder, and said that the man who usually couldn't utter a word for a long time was now talking like a torrent of beans. Although he stuttered, every word landed on the ground.

"Bad guys! That group leader and Gu Xiaoyong are bullying my younger brother!"

Something was off when his younger brother came back, so he secretly went out to find out.

As a result, he was so angry that he wanted to hit someone, but his mother and sister were still hiding outside, and his father was in poor health, so he couldn't act impulsively.

Da'an's eyes blazed with anger, and he rarely spoke so much, "My brother carried thirty logs! Gu Xiaoyong slept all day! Not only did they not pay him, but they also gave him back his job!"

"When the younger brother tried to reason with him, he hit him!"

Da'an grew increasingly agitated as he spoke, finally clenching his fist and slamming it hard against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). "They're bullying us!"

The room was deathly silent.

Su Xiulan still had tears on her face as she hugged Xiao An with heartache.

So that's how it is!

It turns out that her son's injuries were caused by being abused like this!

Thirty more logs! That's work that would exhaust even a strong laborer, but Xiao An, who's only fifteen and so thin, managed to do it all. In the end, his wages and the job were taken by that lazy Gu Xiaoyong.

They even resorted to physical violence?

"Gu Xiaoyong... Zhang Aidi..." Su Xiulan gritted her teeth and squeezed out the two names.