"Can you let me hug this kid?"

Ah Ziniang looked at the crying baby in her arms and was a little embarrassed.

"It doesn't matter, I'm also a mother. My eldest son is a few years older than your family. Thinking of Yin Yuan, who had not been seen for a long time, a smile appeared on the corner of Xing Ruyi's mouth: "I remember that when my family was born, I cried like this. Newborn children, in addition to being hungry and thirsty, will also cry because of physical discomfort. I'm a doctor, I can help him take a look. ”

"Madame misunderstood. Mrs. is willing to hug him, which is a blessing from his cultivation. It's just that right now, he's a little flustered, that's why he ......"

"It's out of the way, maybe give me a hug on him."

Xing Ruyi said and stretched out his hand. The woman hesitated for a moment, and handed the baby into the hands of Xing Ruyi.

The weak little body just fell into Xing Ruyi's arms, and then it spasmed. Xing Ruyi frowned, held it with his right hand, freed his left hand, and gently stroked it between the baby's eyebrows. The baby, who had been crying incessantly, instantly quieted down, only opened a pair of eyes, and looked at Xing Ruyi in a dripping manner.

"I really don't cry anymore." The woman rushed in surprise.

The boy was crying for a long time, and he should be tired of crying. Listen, this little voice is crying hoarsely. ”

"What can I do?" The woman looked at the crying little face with some reproach and some redness: "It's all because of my useless body, I don't even stutter." ”

"You haven't eaten or drunk yourself, and what are you going to give this child as rations?" Xing Ruyi said, glancing at the man who was still standing at the door: "There is warm water at home, pour some over first, and moisten the child's throat." ”

"Yes, yes, I'll burn it now."

"Let him go." Xing Ruyi pointed to the man at the door.

The man's lips moved, looking reluctant.

"The lady is yours, you don't know it's distressed. Could it be that he didn't even care about his own son? ”

"This boiling water for cooking, and having children is what she should do."

"What about you? What do you have to do as a husband? Xing Ruyi stared at the man's eyes: "Meritorious service? It seems that you have neither a record nor a reputation. Earning money to support your family? I don't look at your hands like people who can make money. These houses are your family's ancestral business, and none of the things placed here are earned by you. Even the food, drink and clothing of your two mothers have to rely on your own mother-in-law to work hard as a helper? Tell me, as a man, as a husband, as a father, what have you done for this family, for your mother, for your children? ”

"I-"

"What am I? If I were you, I wouldn't have the face to stand here at all. Xing Ruyi unceremoniously scolded the man: "Don't hurry up and boil water!" ”

"I'd better go. Husband, a man, how to do this kind of rough work. ”

"He can't do rough work as a man, so how can you do it as a woman who has just given birth?" Xing Ruyi shook his head: "Those words are not aimed at your father-in-law. Well, my husband is also here, you ask, if he does this to me, I will spare him. ”

The fox was closing his eyes and recuperating, and when he heard Xing Ruyi's words, he opened his eyes suddenly, followed the corners of his mouth slightly upward, and said: "Since ancient times, men and women have their own division of labor. As a man, I cannot bear the burden of giving birth in October on behalf of my wife, and once I give birth, I should share the hard work of raising children for my wife. Moreover, marrying a wife and having children is not only to pass on the lineage, but to stay with him for a lifetime and accompany him until he is old. If I can't treat my wife well, how can I ask her to treat me well? ”

The fox's words made Ah Zi's father and mother a little stunned. Xing Ruyi looked at them and sighed gloomily in his heart. The heart said, such a "rebellious" remark, only the fox can say it so easily, and only a lady like her will listen to it so calmly.

Although Ah Zi's father didn't agree, he was scolded by Ruyi so many times, and he was already a cowardly character, so he didn't have any temper at this time. Although the female doctor didn't like what she said, what she was holding in her arms was her own son, and the water still had to be boiled anyway.

"Ah Zi is going to help Daddy."

"Ah Zi is really a good boy."

"Yes! She has been more worry-free since she was a child. Ah Zi Niang looked at her daughter's petite back with some distress: "My mother-in-law doesn't like girls very much, and since Ah Zi was born, she hasn't given her much good look." Other people's grandmothers always love their granddaughters, but my mother-in-law is not willing to say even a soft word to Ah Zi. Fortunately, she is sensible and never cares about these, even if she is wronged, she still has to coax me to be happy as a mother. On the contrary, I always feel that I have treated this daughter badly and failed to give her a better life. ”

"Ah Zi, she won't care." Xing Ruyi patted the baby boy in her arms: "Can you tell me about changing flowers and plants?" ”

"Change the flowers?" Ah Ziniang was stunned for a moment, and her eyes dodged: "What is changing flowers and plants, I have never heard of it, is it a flower or a medicine?" ”

"Do you think this kid is crying just because he's hungry?"

"It's not because of something else for such a young child, right?"

"Naturally, it's because of something else. I know, your mother-in-law went out to find a nurse for the child. But believe it or not, even if your mother-in-law can bring the nurse back, this child will not eat a mouthful of milk. ”

"How...... How so? ”

"If it weren't for Ah Zi's well-behaved sake, I would never have taken care of your family's idle matter."

"Madam, this is a ...... for flowers and plants"

"If you say it, I can help you, if you don't say it, I will put this child down immediately. It's just that you know in your heart that your family will not be peaceful in the future. ”

Ah Ziniang clasped her hands, and was silent for a while, before she spoke: "I just said that my mother-in-law doesn't like girls." However, this also does not blame her. The family is poor, and his husband is spoiled by his mother-in-law, and he is somewhat unmotivated. The girl was raised in the same way as the boy, and the cost of rice and food was about the same. But when I grew up, it was very different. Sooner or later, girls will have to get married, but boys can add to the slaughter family. In addition, girls have limited strength and cannot go out to work, but if they are boys, they can help the family early. It's just that this kind of thing always depends on God's will. ”

"After talking for a long time, it's nothing more than your mother-in-law who is patriarchal and thinks that girls are a burden."

"Yes!"

Ah Ziniang lowered her head.

"Ever since I got pregnant, I've been upset. My mother-in-law found a doctor who knew the roots to come and check my pulse, saying that nine times out of ten I was still carrying a daughter. After my mother-in-law found out, our mother and daughter's life in the slaughterhouse became more and more sad.

One day, I was washing clothes at the door when I met a beggar begging for water. On that day, when my husband and mother-in-law were away, I gave the remaining rice soup to the beggar.

When the beggar was leaving, he said a word to me, saying that there was a village outside Dongshan, and there was a white mother-in-law in the village, and the white mother-in-law had a magical herb in her hand, called [Changing Flowers and Plants], which could reverse yin and yang and change the sex of the fetus. I hesitated for a long time before telling my husband and mother-in-law about it. ”

"Then, your husband took you to find this white mother-in-law?"

"It's not my husband, it's my mother-in-law who went with me." Ah Ziniang clasped her hands again: "At that time, I was more than a month pregnant. My mother-in-law was worried that if I went late, the herbs would not be effective, so she asked my husband to hire a donkey cart and take me to Dongshan early the next morning.

The further you go east, the sparser it becomes, and the fog in the mountains grows. We walked in the mountains for a long time, and we almost got lost. Unfortunately, we met the beggar again, and it was he who led us to the small village and the white mother-in-law who helped people change their babies. ”

"And after that?"

"When she knew what we were coming for, Granny Bai kicked me and my mother-in-law out directly. We stood guard at the door for many days, but Granny White never wanted to see us. Later, the mother-in-law did something to force the white mother-in-law to open the door. ”

"What did your mother-in-law do?"

"My mother-in-law found an awl and put it against my stomach. He said, "If Granny Bai refuses to open the door and help me change the sex of the fetus in my womb, she will stab the child in my womb to death with that awl." ”

"Your mother-in-law is ruthless enough."

"Mother-in-law, she can't help it." Ah Zi Niang turned her face to the side: "Since giving birth to Ah Zi, I have been unable to conceive for a long time. This child was also conceived with great difficulty. When I first learned that it was a daughter, my mother-in-law also had the idea of letting me have an abortion. But at first, the medicine is not cheap. Second, my mother-in-law was also worried that my body would be damaged, and I would no longer be able to add to the slaughter family in the future. finally found Granny Bai, how could she give up easily. ”

"What about you? You are the mother of the child, and when your mother-in-law holds an awl and points it at the child in your womb, don't you want to do something? ”

"What do I want to do? Of course I hope my children are well. But as the daughter-in-law of the Tu family, I should inherit the family for the Tu family. Ah Ziniang's voice was slightly louder: "As a daughter-in-law, I can't disobey my mother-in-law, but if my mother-in-law really stabbed the awl that day, the only thing I can do is to leave with the child in my womb." I'm her mother, I can't protect her, it's my fault, it's my sin. I only hope that on Huangquan Road, she will not be so lonely. ”

"It's true, it's not a family, it's not a family." Xing Ruyi suddenly thought of the words that Aunt Tu muttered to the ghost baby when she was in the alley.

As the saying goes, there is something hateful about the poor. Ah Ziniang is not entirely innocent.

"Then change flowers and plants, it's not just herbs, right?"

"Hmm!" Ah Ziniang nodded: "Granny Bai told us that it is not that she is unwilling to change the tire for us, but that this change of tire is not as simple as rumored by the outside world." In addition to the price of money, the person who changes the tire has to pay something else. These things are something that ordinary people can't afford. ”