"Sigh."

She let out a sigh, then began to complain: "Kangkang, a few days ago, when your dad was working on the railroad, he accidentally got a big gash on his leg from a nail, and the bleeding wouldn’t stop. You have no idea what it was like at the time."

"When we finally got him to the hospital, the doctor said he needed a tetanus immune globulin shot, but that shot was really expensive, a full five hundred yuan!"

"When your dad heard this, he just had the doctor do a simple cleaning and dressing and left. For our family, five hundred yuan is really not a small amount. Your dad would have to work under the scorching sun for two days, drenched in sweat, just to earn that much."

"Even though he didn’t get the shot, your dad’s wound is almost healed, even faster than the incompetent doctor said the recovery would be after the injection..."

The plump woman rambled on, and Du Kangkang listened quietly. Only after she finished did he sarcastically ask, "So what?"

"Kangkang, I feel for you as your mother since you were bitten by a dog, but our family is really tight right now. Your dad can’t earn money, and there are still your two brothers who need money. Our family truly can’t even keep up with the expenses."

The plump woman cried a river while watching Du Kangkang’s reaction.

When she was informed by the counselor that Du Kangkang was bitten by a dog, she was full of disdain and even felt a bit disgusted.

After all, this situation meant spending money, and since Du Kangkang wasn’t her biological son, why should she spend money on him!

But when she saw the livestream and Du Kangkang’s figure, she immediately perked up.

She knew the incense at Changchun Temple was believed to be effective. Every month, she gave Du Kangkang only half the living expenses of a normal college student, which definitely wasn’t enough for him to pay for any rabies vaccine.

His coming here must be to seek money for the rabies vaccine, and that instantly excited her. She was already calculating how to spend this money in her heart.

After all, Du Kangkang wasn’t her son; she was only his stepmother. Whether he lived or died had nothing to do with her!

Her home wasn’t too far from here, so she took a cab and rushed over, eager to claim this money for herself first.

"So what?"

Du Kangkang repeated the question, with even more sarcasm in his eyes.

"You shouldn’t blame Mom for being harsh. When Mom was little, she was also bitten by a dog. At that time, many people in the village were bitten by dogs, but no one got the rabies vaccine, and everyone still lived well."

The plump woman wiped her tears and sniffles, sobbing: "Mom knows you’ve broadened your horizons since going to college and learned a lot more. But when we set our sights high, we also need to consider whether our family’s living conditions support it."

"If our family had the means, we’d sell everything to ensure you and your brothers have a good life. But now, it’s fair to say our family is so poor that we can’t even get by."

Wow!

The plump woman had only been on screen for a few minutes, and already she had filled the livestream chat with resentment.

Still unaware, the woman continued her sob story, finally revealing her motives: "Kangkang, as the saying goes, even a crow has the heart to repay its parents. Our family is really struggling now, and your dad’s wound is inflamed. Do you think maybe we shouldn’t get this shot?"

To increase her persuasiveness, she opened the photo gallery on her phone and clicked on an image. It was of a middle-aged man lying weakly in bed, his leg wrapped in thick white gauze, looking downright miserable.

Du Kangkang merely glanced at it and then chuckled: "A year ago, you two teamed up and said that the family’s money was cheated away, forcing me to drop out and work;

six months ago, you said the house was robbed, stealing everything valuable, again forcing me to drop out and work;

now, you’re playing this game again, aren’t you!"

The plump woman’s face turned red, but she quickly composed herself and explained: "Mom and Dad are doing this for your good, aren’t they? We didn’t make you drop out of school, just wanted you to work during the summer and winter breaks to experience how hard it is for parents to earn money, you know."

As if hearing the best joke, Du Kangkang smirked and let out a laugh: "Yeah, you definitely have it hard, so what you’re saying is?"

The plump woman shook her fat, putting on a display of maternal affection: "It was disinfected yesterday; it’s alright not to get the rabies vaccine. Mom and Dad wouldn’t deceive their children. What we’re saying is, you let the family use this money for now, and when we’re better off, we’ll repay you. How about that?"

Under the plump woman’s expectant gaze, Du Kangkang shook his head: "I don’t think that’s a good idea, stepmother."

Wow!

The livestream chat exploded once more.

"Does this woman have a poisonous vibe? She doesn’t even care if her husband refuses to get a tetanus shot to save money, then uses that to make this child skip the rabies vaccine?"

"It’s the old story: with a stepmother, even the biological father turns into a stepfather. Quite normal."

"This is just absurd, what kind of crappy family is this, telling the kid to drop out at the drop of a hat, if it were me, I’d leave!"

"I originally thought his family was just poor, but I truly didn’t expect a rundown home hiding a vicious wolf, what a betrayal!"

"..."

Ning An stood to the side, brow furrowed, pulling out a spare phone to send a text message, before speaking: "This parent, his wounds are pretty deep and not going to the hospital could pose a life threat."

The plump woman saw Du Kangkang unmoved and angrily let go, heading straight towards Ning An.

Without waiting for Ning An to react, she flipped out: "You’re good! Someone gets bitten by a dog, and you don’t send them to the hospital but rather have them pray instead. Believe it or not, I’ll accuse you of feudal superstition!"

She reached out her hand contemptuously: "Hand over the money my son gave you, even a poor student you’re willing to scam, don’t you have any shame!"

Ning An froze for a second, blurting out: "No, why should I..."

"Why should you? You still dare to ask!?"

Her eyebrows shot up, and she shouted: "Aren’t you folks always preaching universal love? Now there’s someone who needs your help, and not only don’t you volunteer, but you also take money in incense fees, where has your conscience gone, eaten by dogs?"

The righteous tone left the livestream chat stunned.

"Oh my god! Is she crazy? Why should people just help out, have they eaten your family’s rice?"

"Damn, where did this unruly person come from, was her dad blind at the time?"

"Can’t say if he was blind or not, but definitely brain-damaged, or else, even if blind, after all these years would be able to feel this shrew’s nature and have split already."

"Shameful, honestly dragging us rural folks down!"

"..."

Du Kangkang could no longer stand it, despite the pain in his legs, he ran over angrily, yelling at the plump woman: "Aren’t you ashamed? Stop embarrassing yourself, have some decency!"

"I’m embarrassing myself?"

The plump woman put her hands on her hips, fully displaying her shrewish stance: "I’m not your biological mom, it’s fine if you don’t connect with me, but your dad’s still your real dad, right?"

"He’s lying at home right now, with no income source for the family. We’ve been cutting down expenses to get by, but we considered you were in school and haven’t mentioned this."

"But you, you go directly and throw money away, doing charity, right? Think I’m disgraceful? Haven’t you been wasteful, think carefully!"

Du Kangkang got agitated, quickly explaining: "Don’t say nonsense, the incense is effective! If it weren’t for the founder, how could I have received royalties!"

The plump woman hearing this got even angrier, continuously poking his head with her finger.

"You, what’s the connection between earning money and these ghosts and gods? Did they help you write, or did they make your mind flow when you wrote, huh?"

"Looks like all the books you’ve read have gone into a dog’s stomach! How can you believe this gibberish?!"

Ning An stayed silent until here, but couldn’t hold back anymore.

"Excuse me, ma’am, I want to ask, if his dad got hurt and isn’t earning, why does your family instantly collapse, do you have some physical disability?"

Ning An looked her up and down, his face feigning shock.

"Disability my ass!"

The plump woman smirked disdainfully, showing a righteous expression:

"When he married me, he said I just had to be beautiful, and he’d be responsible for earning money to support the family."

"If the master of the house says that, I, a woman of both internal and external beauty, can only comply, right?"