Chapter 54: Silly Zhu Feels Distressed

Sha Zhu had no heart to go to work at all after becoming a eunuch, and spent the entire day sleeping at home.

Hearing Mrs. Jia's brass-gong voice screeching and continuously cursing his Sister Qin, Sha Zhu marched straight over to the Jia household and blurted out, "Alright, Mrs. Jia, what kind of funeral are you wailing for here? Be careful or I'll slap you."

With Yi Zhonghai absent, Mrs. Jia felt somewhat intimidated facing Sha Zhu. Under his intimidation, she actually stopped casting her signature necromancy spell.

Sha Zhu walked up to Mrs. Jia, snatched stick-boy Banggen right out of her arms, and instantly transformed his angry expression into a sycophantic, dog-like smile as he fawned over Qin Min. "Sister Qin, you just get some good rest at home. I'll take Banggen to the hospital for treatment."

Seeing that Sha Zhu was about to take Banggen to the hospital, Qin Min wanted to offer a few words of gratitude.

Noticing her open her mouth and assuming she was worried about him taking the boy alone, Sha Zhu quickly offered a guarantee. "Don't worry, Sister Qin. With me here, Banggen will be fine."

A look of awkwardness crossed Qin Min's face, and she could only nod to show her consent.

Without further ado, Sha Zhu hoisted Banggen up and bolted toward the Red Star Affiliated Hospital.

This obsequious display left all the onlookers speechless. They knew Sha Zhu was completely ruined as a man—not because of Qin Min, but because of Mrs. Jia.

Watching Sha Zhu's receding figure, Mrs. Jia's mung-bean-sized triangular eyes glinted with a murky green light as they rolled around, her face twisting into a lecherous grin.

Seeing that the commotion was over, the Second Aunt waved her hand and said, "Alright, alright, disperse everyone!"

As the crowd cleared out from the Jia courtyard, Mrs. Jia stood there chuckling foolishly to herself. "Wonderful, saved some more money again. Hehehe."

Watching Mrs. Jia giggle away, Qin Min felt a chill run through her entire body. She entertained the thought of fleeing back to the countryside, but the moment she thought of Qin Huairu, that notion was instantly extinguished.

"No, I can't. I, Qin Min, am no worse than Qin Huairu. If she can live so well in the city, why can't I?"

Qin Min knew that Wang Lin looked down on her, but there were other people who could help her out—such as the childless First Uncle Yi Zhonghai, or that sycophantic fool Sha Zhu from just now.

With a look of disgust, Qin Min glanced sideways at Mrs. Jia, lowered her head, and prepared to go back to sleep.

However, the moment Mrs. Jia saw Qin Min trying to rest, and then caught sight of the messy pile of unwashed clothes in the house, her anger flared up instantly.

"Qin Min, you useless piece of trash, still lying in bed sleeping?! Can't you see what a mess this house is in? Why haven't you hurried up and washed these clothes yet?"

Qin Min forced herself to speak up, her tone heavy with reluctance and complaint. "Ma, I just gave birth. Won't you let me rest for a little while?"

And who was Mrs. Jia? In her eyes, Qin Min was nothing more than a draft ox for their family.

Now that Jia Dongxu wasn't coming back, Qin Min had lost her purpose for continuing the family line; her sole remaining function was to work herself to death like a beast of burden for the Jia family.

"Rest for what? Get up right now!"

With that, Mrs. Jia strode over to Qin Min and violently pinched her waist.

Yolking out a cry of pain, Qin Min knew there was no hope of further rest today. She had no choice but to drag herself out of bed, load the pile of dirty laundry into a basin, and carry it out into the courtyard to wash.

The neighborhood gossips chatting in the courtyard saw Qin Min lugging laundry to the water tap so soon after childbirth and immediately began to denounce Mrs. Jia while showering Qin Min with sympathy.

"That Mrs. Jia is truly not human. Qin Min literally just gave birth, and she's already forcing her to do housework."

"Indeed, poor little Qin is so pitiful."

Suddenly, someone noticed Mrs. Jia glaring in their direction with her sinister, triangular eyes, as if she knew they were gossiping about her.

Under the chilling threat of Mrs. Jia's gaze, one of the aunties quickly shushed the others who were still eager to run their mouths.

"Hush, stop talking. Careful lest Mrs. Jia latches onto you."

Meanwhile, Sha Zhu had rushed into the hospital with Banggen, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Doctor! Doctor! The child is sick, hurry up and treat him!"

A nurse quickly appeared, took Banggen from Sha Zhu's arms, and instructed Sha Zhu to go pay the medical fees.

As Sha Zhu was settling the bill, by a twist of fate, he bumped into Xu Damao, who had just finished his physical examination at the hospital.

Xu Damao's face was wreathed in a radiant smile. Spotting Sha Zhu, he swung his medical report right in front of Sha Zhu's face and gloated triumphantly, "Sha Zhu, look at that! The old man is back on his feet."

How could Sha Zhu possibly endure Xu Damao showing off in front of him—especially knowing full well that Xu Damao used to be a eunuch?

Glancing at Xu Damao's medical report, Sha Zhu's eyes bulged in utter disbelief.

"Aren't you supposed to be a eunuch? How on earth can you have children?"

Sha Zhu blurted out the question involuntarily.

It had to be said that Sha Zhu wasn't actually stupid.

The moment he saw that Xu Damao's precious asset had recovered, his mind immediately connected the dots back to himself.

Why had Xu Damao recovered right at the exact moment he himself became a eunuch?

The whole thing was far too coincidental, as if it had all been orchestrated by someone else—and the person being manipulated was none other than him, Sha Zhu.

"Damao, how did your precious asset recover?"

Before Xu Damao could fly into a rage, Sha Zhu rushed out with the question burning most in his mind.

How could Xu Damao possibly tell Sha Zhu that his treasure had been cured with Wang Lin's help? If Sha Zhu found that out, he would surely realize that it was Xu Damao who had orchestrated the cutting off of his own precious asset in the first place.

"The one who cured my treasure was a divine physician, but he's already wandering the world now, and I have no idea where he is."

Xu Damao laughed smugly, a laugh that made Sha Zhu's face turn crimson—not out of shyness, but from sheer boiling rage provoked by Xu Damao.

Sha Zhu wanted to throw punches, but this was a hospital. Moreover, his conversation with Xu Damao seemed to have piqued the interest of the hospital security guards; four of them were currently standing nearby, staring at the two men with curious, expectant eyes.

Their glowing gazes seemed to say: *Come on, Sha Zhu, why aren't you hitting Xu Damao yet?*

"Heh, Sha Zhu, you're nothing but a fool, and you deserve to die without an heir!"

As Xu Damao finished taunting him, he bolted toward the hospital exit. Knowing how reckless Sha Zhu could be, if he didn't run, he would undoubtedly end up on the receiving end of a brutal beating.

Just as Xu Damao anticipated, upon hearing those words, Sha Zhu immediately lunged forward to attack, only for Xu Damao to sprint away too quickly.

"Damn you, Damao! You just wait right there for your Pillar-爺! Let's see how I deal with you once we're back in the courtyard!"

With no other choice, Sha Zhu could only hurl empty threats after Xu Damao. There was nothing he could do; his goddess's son Banggen was still inside the hospital, and he had made strict promises to the goddess when he left. For her sake, Sha Zhu had to swallow his pride and endure Xu Damao's provocation, not daring to give chase.

Sha Zhu knew his own temperament well. If he actually chased after Xu Damao, given Xu Damao's silver tongue, he would likely forget all about Banggen and end up pursuing Xu Damao all the way back to the quadrangle instead.

"Heh, Banggen, oh Banggen, you'd better support me when I'm courting your mother later. I've sacrificed way too much for your sake."