The Extraordinarily Capable Woman Wow... So Many People

"Beep!"

"Green Bubble received 23.45 yuan!"

After Tang Yuyao finished paying, Tang's Mother happily carried the oranges they had just bought from the fruit shop and walked out, still holding half a peeled orange in her hand.

"It's so sweet, just a bit expensive. Prices are rising so fast nowadays. Back then, oranges were less than eighty cents..." Tang's Mother chewed as she lamented the changing times.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

This was already the fifth fruit shop they had visited. The previous ones were all rejected by Tang's Mother for being too expensive. This one was the cheapest. She originally wanted to keep looking, but worried about delaying their schedule, she let it go and made do.

The cost of living in Dahai City was just like this.

As the most economically developed place in the entire Dragon Kingdom, the prices here were naturally the most "developed" as well. Any random, inconspicuous little thing started in the four figures, equivalent to many days' wages for an ordinary person.

In the biggest shopping malls, there were pencils costing four figures everywhere, erasers costing five figures, six figures...

But having money meant you could buy almost anything you wanted. Being a bit expensive was, in a sense, reasonable.

Tang Shouye had always been the one replacing things for the Tang family, so Tang's Mother and Old Master Tang weren't particularly sensitive to outside prices. They knew about them, but didn't understand why things could be so expensive.

It seemed that after Dahai City completely took off, everything kept going higher and higher?

It should... be considered a good thing, right?

"Let's go, let's go, daughter. If we delay any longer, we won't make it in time. It's getting dark, and we still have to go home for dinner..." Tang's Mother carried the oranges in her hand, looked up at the completely darkened sky, and muttered to herself.

A nagging little old lady, the type who liked to mutter about nothing in particular. Quite cute.

Not long after walking into the school, the mother and daughter stopped. They watched a "screaming girl" charging toward them from a short distance away, letting out sharp shrieks while sprinting like she was in a hundred-meter dash, running incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, she ran past them.

Tang's Mother watched her retreating back, her eyes shining: "Great, this kid has energy! Her voice is loud, and her butt is perky, she'll definitely..."

Tang Yuyao: "???"

"Mom, what are you looking at?" Tang Yuyao looked helpless. What kind of decent person looks at that? Isn't that being a hooligan?

Good thing her mom was a woman, otherwise she'd be squatting in the police station right now.

"Ahem, sorry about that, daughter. I just couldn't help it, couldn't help it." Tang's Mother laughed it off, carrying her oranges and continuing forward, chatting casually with her daughter.

Ever since the "screaming girl" just now, Tang Yuyao had been frowning in silence, as if pondering something.

That person just now... looked so familiar?

And not just familiar-looking, her voice sounded familiar too, as if she had just heard it recently. Like... Bai Zhi?

Tang Yuyao: "???"

No way, Bai Zhi's health wasn't that good. She'd be panting after taking just a few steps, how could she run so fast? As for the voice... little girls' voices probably all sounded about the same, right?

Forget it, she was probably overthinking.

"Daughter, you should have a couple more kids in the future. Mom loves children the most, chubby and fair. Of course, don't let them be like your fourth brother, fat from childhood to adulthood. I was so worried back then about how he'd ever find a wife."

Tang's Mother kept muttering as she walked, still holding onto the classic mindset of the older generation: more children meant more blessings.

The limitations of history were there. Tang Yuyao wouldn't stand from a modern perspective to accuse or criticize her mother; that would be wrong. If she had been in her mother's era, she probably wouldn't have been much better.

In the past, it was popular to have sons. If you couldn't give birth to a son, you couldn't hold your head high in your in-laws' family. Fortunately, Tang's Mother didn't have such troublesome mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflicts... her mother-in-law had passed away long ago.

Old Master Tang had been all alone since he was very young, so there was no need to worry about holding heads high or not. Tang's Mother didn't have such worries, but she was still quite happy to be able to have sons.

The first one, a son. Happy.

The second one, a son. Still happy.

The third one, a son. Hmm... the next one should be a daughter, right?

The fourth one, a son. Unhappy.

If having a son meant holding your head high, Tang's Mother would have been looking at people through her nostrils by now. Boy after boy, she wanted a daughter!

The result was good. The last one was finally the daughter she had been longing for. She treasured her incredibly, the kind where others couldn't even touch her without washing their hands first. She grew up fair and tender, and her mother loved her to pieces!

"Mom, your ways aren't popular these days. Now they advocate having fewer children and better rearing..." Tang Yuyao said helplessly.

Tang's Mother blinked: "True, having fewer children does make it easy to get depressed."

Tang Yuyao: "???"

Was that the "better rearing" she meant?

Mom, what's wrong with your ears!

"We're here, we're here, this is the place, right!"

Tang's Mother excitedly started rubbing her hands together like a fly, dragging her daughter—who was still pondering the difference between "depressed" and "better rearing"—into the hospital.

"Daughter, which department are you in?" Tang's Mother looked curiously at the various departments in the hospital.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

Tang Yuyao's face flushed: "I'm in the comprehensive department, it's not here."

Comprehensive Department, also known as... the slacker department.

"Comprehensive department? Is there such a thing?" Tang's Mother frowned, looking confused.

"Well, the elevator is almost here. Let's hurry, Mom, or we'll have to wait again!" Tang Yuyao hastily interrupted the topic, pointing at the elevator that was about to arrive, and hurried over looking anxious.

Ding!

The elevator doors opened, but no one was there?

Hmm?

Oh, down there. Shifting their gaze down "a tiny bit," the youngest boy, who wasn't even as tall as the buttons, was pitifully clutching his butt, his eyes red as he prepared to run away from home.

"Boohoo, damn it, today I'm going to make you taste what it's like to lose a loved one, sniff, sniff... Grandma, Auntie?"

As soon as the elevator doors opened, the little boy was dumbfounded. Why were his grandma and auntie here?

"Xiaobao, what happened to you? Who bullied you?" Tang Yuyao raised her eyebrows.

"Boohoo, Auntie..." Hearing someone comfort him, Xiaobao looked pitiful and threw himself at Tang Yuyao with a runny nose.

Tang Yuyao: "!!!"

"Stop, Xiaobao. Auntie is wearing new clothes and has to meet people later. How about this, go hug your grandma." Tang Yuyao reached out a hand, blocking the pitiful, chubby little boy who was clutching his rear.

Xiaobao: "..."

Auntie, you really are a realistic woman!

Xiaobao sniffled, ready to throw himself into his grandmother's embrace: "Boohoo... Grandma, I..."

"Xiaobao, Grandma also just changed into a new outfit, so don't come over just yet. Have an orange to calm down first. Whoever bullied you, Grandma will settle the score for you later." Tang's Mother also rejected the little boy's hug, taking a step back. The mother and daughter were exactly the same.

The youngest son: "..."

The world isolates me, let them mock me~~~

For some reason, the youngest son suddenly didn't want to cry anymore. Perhaps this was the legendary feeling of true despair—there is no sorrow greater than a dead heart. He would never love again!

Ding!

The elevator doors opened. The youngest son sniffled, holding the tangerine his grandmother had given him and eating it. He had already completely forgotten about what had just happened. This tangerine was really delicious.

"Juan'er is really something, hitting without any sense of restraint. What if she hurt him?" Tang's Mother had just checked; his bottom was almost smoking from the spanking. It really was uncalled for.

Their chubby boy wasn't beaten like this when he was naughty as a child... automatically ignoring Old Master Tang's "hundred consecutive lashes."

"It's fine, Grandma, I'm already better. Later on, just help me ask for a bit more medical compensation, and that'll do." The youngest son ate the tangerine in his mouth, not holding a grudge at all. His only request was to get a little extra for emotional damage or something.

Any method to rake in a bit more money would work!

He was singing the exact same tune as Tang Shouye, practically falling into a money hole. Like father, like son!

Tang's Mother nodded: "Mm, alright. Later, Grandma will help you get a bit more medical compensation back!"

Tang Yuyao: "..."

"Mom, you're going to teach the kid bad habits like this," Tang Yuyao said, breaking her slight silence.

The sharp-eared youngest son got anxious upon hearing this: "I won't, I won't, Auntie! I won't learn bad habits!"

He was terrified that the medical compensation already at his lips would fly away.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

The three generations of grandmother, daughter, and grandson came out of the elevator. Led by the youngest son, they went to the hospital room where the Little Secretary was. Tang Yuyao had planned to slip away and check on Ye Cheng's situation first, but since the other two were heading this way, it wouldn't make sense for her not to go. She could only bite the bullet and follow along.

At the same time, she kept silently repeating in her heart: I'll just take one look and leave!

The door was open. Before even entering, they could hear Li Juan's soft sobbing, and see Li Erhe sitting at the head of the bed, looking in very poor spirits with his eyes full of red bloodshot veins.

Su Su had also returned and was talking about something with the guild leader on the side. Her expression wasn't looking too good either. The atmosphere in the room was exceptionally heavy. And right in the center was the Little Secretary, who hadn't closed her eyes for over ten hours.

Her eyes were blank. The dried tear tracks on her face had been wiped away, but while the tears were gone, that pitiful and heartbreaking appearance could never be erased.

She looked like a lifeless puppet.

"Mom, why are you here too!" Tang Shouye was the first to notice Tang's Mother standing at the door, followed by his sister, and... the youngest son hiding at the very back, calculating how to ask for medical compensation.

"Chubby boy, you really don't know how to speak. Can't your mom come over to take a look?" Tang's Mother rolled her eyes at her chubby son.

What kind of thing was that to say? It made it sound as if she were some very cold-hearted person.

Tang's Mother walked in and saw the Little Secretary sitting blankly on the hospital bed. She frowned: "How did this child end up like this?"

Tang's Mother was considered experienced and knowledgeable, so she wasn't too shocked by the Little Secretary's current state. She was just curious about how she got this way. It really looked exactly like the symptoms of "losing one's soul" that her neighbors used to boast about back in the day.

Tang Shouye eagerly trotted over and gave a brief explanation. Tang's Mother nodded.

"She's also a pitiful child. Erhe, don't be too sad. Our whole big family is here. I'll have the eldest and the others ask around to see if there's any solution. Cheer up, this child has a blessed face; nothing bad will happen to her."

Tang's Mother sat on the chair opposite and patted the decadent-looking Li Erhe twice. Only then did Li Erhe snap back to his senses, realizing that standing in front of him was a "woman of great capabilities."

Their Li family was quite well-off and ranked decently in Dahai City, but compared to the old woman in front of him, they were completely inadequate.

If even she couldn't solve it, then no matter how much effort their Li family put in, it would be in vain!

"Thump!"

"Old Madam, I beg you to help my daughter. I, Li Erhe, will work like a horse and a cow to repay you in this life!"

Like a person dying of thirst in the desert grasping at the final lifeline, Li Erhe dropped directly to his knees. His tone was agitated, and it looked as if he was about to kowtow twice to Tang's Mother!

The surrounding people were startled by this sudden scene. They hadn't expected Li Erhe to be so resolute. They say a man has gold under his knees, but he knelt just like that!

Tang Shouye was quick-eyed and deft-handed, holding Li Erhe down: "Brother-in-law, what are you doing? Get up first and let's talk properly. Don't be anxious, aren't we all trying to figure out a way here? Come on, get up..."

The hospital room devolved into a mess. Tang's Mother cast a somewhat pitying glance at the Little Secretary, who was sitting blankly on the bed without any movement, and sighed inwardly. She was also a pitiful child.

Since they were family, there was no reason to stand by and watch. She would help as much as her capabilities allowed.

Amidst Li Erhe's pleas and her own daughter-in-law's entreaties, Tang's Mother finally dialed her eldest son's phone. It didn't connect immediately; she waited for a while, seemingly being transferred?

After a good while, the call finally connected.

"Hello, Mom, what's wrong?" A very gentle and reassuring male voice came from the other end of the line. Like a magical stabilizing needle, it quieted down the somewhat noisy hospital room.

"Jianguo, Mom has something to trouble you with on this end. Is it convenient for you to talk over there?"

Tang's Mother spoke.

After Tang's Mother finished speaking, the other end of the phone went quiet. There had been some slight voices of discussion earlier—was he in a meeting?

Then came the sound of standing up. Tap, tap, tap, footsteps approached as Tang Jianguo walked outside to a spacious area.

"It's convenient now. What is it, Mom? I heard little sister came home? Is it about her?" Tang Jianguo said with a smile on the other end.

The so-called matter regarding the little sister, many people present knew full well what it meant... marriage.

Tang Yuyao: "..."

Tang Yuyao now wanted to find a hole in the ground to crawl into. Of all the things her eldest brother could say, he just had to say this at such a time. Damn it!!!

Tang Yuyao's toes started to curl in embarrassment, wishing she could dig out a three-bedroom apartment right there on the spot.

"No, it's something else..." Tang's Mother briefly explained the situation on their end. On the other side of the phone, Tang Jianguo frowned.

"Is there no way to handle it over in Dahai City?"

Involving his area of expertise, Tang Shouye jumped in: "Big brother, it's not that there's no way, but the hospital's methods are too conservative. It would take at least a few years, and even then it depends on luck. Isn't that nonsense? I've already invited a master on my end, preparing to try some metaphysical methods..."

"If the hospitals in Dahai City can't solve it, coming over here to Dajing City would be about the same... Let's do this: after I finish my meeting here, I'll go look for a solution, before twelve o'clock at the latest." Tang Jianguo gave a precise time.

The phone was quickly hung up. The somewhat despairing Li Erhe in the room finally felt his spirits ease a bit. There was hope...

After easing up, another wave of fear hit him, terrified that even Tang Jianguo wouldn't have a solution. If that happened, it would truly be over.

"Child, don't be too sad. There will be a way," Tang's Mother comforted him.

After chatting for quite a while, Tang's Mother and Tang Yuyao finally managed to excuse themselves and headed toward Ye Cheng's hospital room... The youngest son trailed behind them at the very back.

He wore a bitter expression.

How could he possibly bring it up in that situation just now? With his older cousin in that state, if he still asked for medical expenses... that would truly be blood money.

Sigh...

Following them all the way, the youngest son arrived at Ye Cheng's hospital room.

"Daughter, is this the place?" Tang's Mother blinked, pointing at the room in front of them.

Tang Yuyao nodded, "Yes... but... doesn't this door seem a little off?"

When she came over earlier, the doorknob was definitely on the inside. Why was it on the outside now?

"That's fine then, let's go in." Tang's Mother placed her hand on the doorknob and gave it a gentle pull.

Crash!

The door fell to the ground, shattering into two pieces!

Tang Yuyao: "???"

Tang's Mother: "..."

The youngest son: "..."

Ye Cheng, who was inside the room watching mindless short videos: "..."