Chapter 7 Broken Leg Ruan Tao was stunned for a moment, then she bent her finger and flicked Ruan Xing's head, "You're so good, you knew at noon that Dad was in trouble, right? And you kept it a secret from me!" She didn't seem to blame Ruan Xing, she just looked angry on the surface. Ruan Xing rubbed his head with a cry of "ouch". It wasn't that painful, just a little unexpected. Ruan Tao's attitude was very different from her mother's. Her mother was panicked and scared, but Ruan Tao's face showed surprise and a little worry. She calmly and methodically dealt with the dirt and wounds on her father's body. Even though Ruan Tao had experienced a happy life as a family of three, she was still young at that time and her memory was probably already blurred. The hard work and suffering of the past few years had almost wiped out the little bit of affection she had. For those memories, Ruan Tao was left with only nostalgia and no desire. This meant that Ruan Tao was very likely to understand her and stand by her side. Ruan Xing was greatly encouraged. "Sister, just tell me, do you think it's good for Dad to just stay at home every day and not go out to cause trouble?" "Okay, you're still feeling smug after forcing me to do it, right? Daddy can't move around at home, so I have to take care of him every day." Ruan Tao rolled her eyes. Ruan Xing was stunned. She had actually forgotten to consider this matter. However, it was not a big problem. Once she had established her foothold with the Seventh Master, she would definitely be able to resolve this matter properly.
Oh, right, she had to give Ruan Tao a heads-up first. "Sister, do you know the gang leader that Dad used to be involved with, Master Qi? He said today that he has taken a liking to me and wants to train me to work for him." Ruan Tao's expression changed, "Did Dad sell you out?" "No, no!" Ruan Xing denied hastily, "If I had been sold, how could I have come back today? It was when I was in the gambling house, and I guessed a few bets. Master Qi thought I had a talent for gambling, so he didn't buy me from my father but asked me what I thought. I thought he really wanted to train me, so I agreed." "But..." Ruan Tao wanted to say something else, but paused for a moment and stopped herself. She naturally knew that there were basically few reasonable people in gangs. If Ruan Xing did not agree, it would be difficult for her to come back. Since the Seventh Master was willing to give Ruan Xing some face, he probably would not lie to her. "You are a girl, and if you follow others and join gangs, I am afraid that your future marriage...will not have a good outcome." Ruan Xing didn't care about these things. She wanted to cultivate immortality and didn't want to get married. Besides, even if she married a man who saved her from danger like her mother, would there be a good result? A woman couldn't gamble her life on a man's conscience. Maybe it was like this in this era, but she couldn't do that. "Sister, I don't care. When I learn skills and have a future, I won't let you suffer and serve dad here." "Okay, I'll find time to talk to Mom about this." Ruan's mother is a person with no opinion of her own, and she mostly listens to Ruan's father in family matters. Now that Ruan Tao can manage the household, she has some say, and even if Ruan's mother is a little unhappy, she can convince her mother. Ruan Tao looked a little gloomy. She felt that her sister had changed without her noticing. She was no longer as innocent and lively as before. She had tried her best to protect her sister over the years. Although her sister was a little afraid of her father, she still had a childlike nature in front of her. But she was unable to do so and didn't know where she had been negligent. But my sister cannot be blamed for all this, it’s all because of my father. The year my sister was born, she also grew up suddenly and shouldered responsibilities that did not belong to her. The two sisters did not continue chatting because Ruan's mother had returned with the doctor. The doctor's surname was Liu, and he was also an old acquaintance of the Ruan family. From time to time, he would sell them some medicated oil for injuries. There was no other way, as all four of them needed it, so the demand was huge. Doctor Liu took the pulse and checked the wounds again before coming to the conclusion, "They are all superficial injuries, and they are not life-threatening. Only the leg bones on both sides are more serious, and they must have been broken many times. I'm afraid that even after they recover, they won't be able to walk normally." After Doctor Liu wrapped the bandage and fixed the leg bone with a wooden board, he wrote a prescription and gave some precautions. Ruan Tao nodded repeatedly and sent Doctor Liu out. Mother Ruan sat quietly beside the bed and shed tears. Her eyes were full of complexities as she looked at her unconscious father. Ruan Tao waited for a while before she softly reminded him, "Mother, we haven't paid Doctor Liu for the consultation fee just now. We'll have to pay money to get the medicine tomorrow..." "Look, I forgot about this... Tao'er, take good care of your father and sister. You will have to take care of the housework." Mother Ruan wiped her tears and gave Ruan Tao the three taels of silver she had just prepared. She really wanted to take care of it herself, but as the only source of income for the family, she couldn't easily give up her job in the weaving workshop. Seeing the silver passing by, Ruan Xing just felt a little greedy, but she immediately suppressed it. She had extremely weak moral concepts, otherwise she would not have thought of stealing everywhere when she was collecting the ten cents before. But she never thought of stealing silver from Ruan Tao. Her biggest targets were still her scumbag father and those gamblers in the gambling house. "Don't worry, mother."
The mother and daughter turned off the lights and prepared to go to bed. Father and Mother Ruan slept in the large room on the left side of the main hall, while Ruan Tao and Ruan Xing slept in the small room next to the shed. However, it was unknown how many of them would be able to sleep tonight. The Seventh Master didn't let Ruan Xing wait too long and sent someone to pick her up the next day. The person who picked her up, Ruan Xing, looked very familiar to her. He was the man who stopped Ruan's father and punched him several times that day. Ruan Xing had a good impression of him. "My name is Hu San, just call me Brother Hu." The man was not wearing shorts that exposed his chest like the guy in the gambling house that day. Instead, he was wearing a black tight suit that tightly wrapped his muscles. "Hello, Brother Hu." Ruan Xing greeted him politely, took the small bag she had packed, said goodbye to Ruan Tao who was reluctant to leave, and followed Hu San. There weren't many things in the bag, just two sets of clothes for her, a flowery hairband that her sister had hurriedly made, two pieces of dry biscuits baked by Ruan Tao that were durable, and a few dozen coins left over to buy medicine for her father. Ruan Tao had warned her carefully that if she was not allowed to eat as punishment for not studying well, she could secretly eat the bread she brought with her; if someone deliberately made things difficult for her, most people in the gang would talk to her based on money, and a little girl like her could give them a few cents as a token of filial piety to help them. In fact, Ruan Tao didn't know what the gang was like. The street thugs that Ruan's father had come into contact with were at most peripheral members. She was just helping Ruan Xing prepare for the future based on her own imagination. Although it was a bit nagging, Ruan Xing was still a little happy that someone cared about her like this. Hu San and Ruan Xing naturally walked over. Ruan Xing didn't want to remain silent all the way, so he asked Hu San as soon as he got out of the alley, "Brother Hu, what is our gang like?" Perhaps because of the Seventh Master's instructions, Hu San also patiently explained a lot to her, and she had a general understanding of it along the way. (End of this chapter)