It was finally Friday afternoon. Song Qiao finished his day's work early and headed to a chain supermarket in the city to buy some gifts to take home.
"Well, Mr. Song, what a surprise to see you here. You didn't let me know beforehand," Sun Qing greeted him from afar, waving as he approached.
"Mr. Sun, I didn't want to disturb your work. I'm just buying a couple of gifts to visit the elderly and I'm a bit pressed for time," Song Qiao replied, glancing at his watch.
Sun Qing smiled and looked at his secretary. "I have some special milk from headquarters in my office. Guaranteed quality. Go get two boxes for Mr. Song."
"Mr. Sun, that's too kind..." Song Qiao politely waved his hand, intending to refuse.
"Hey, Mr. Song, why are you being so polite with me? We're friends," Mr. Sun interrupted, urging Song Qiao not to stand on ceremony.
Seeing this, Song Qiao could only accept, recognizing Sun Qing's gesture of goodwill.
After buying some other health supplements, Song Qiao hurried home.
Xia Yuqing had just picked up their daughter from school and arrived home almost at the same time as Song Qiao.
After a brief rest, the family of four drove directly to the grandmother's house.
...
"Who are you looking for?"
The door was opened by a woman in her fifties, slightly overweight. She looked at Song Qiao's family with a puzzled expression.
"You must be Aunt Zhou, right? We've come to visit Grandma," Xia Yuqing said politely.
Although the woman was a paid caregiver, the grandmother relied on her entirely for daily care. Therefore, Xia Yuqing treated her with great respect.
"Oh, so you're the old lady's granddaughter," Aunt Zhou immediately put on a kind smile and warmly welcomed Song Qiao's family of four inside.
"Please have a seat. I'll make you some tea," Aunt Zhou said with a smile after Song Qiao and the others had settled down.
"No need to trouble yourself, Aunt Zhou. Where is Grandma? We want to see her first," Song Qiao asked, looking around the room and not seeing his grandmother.
"Ah, you've come at an inconvenient time. She just fell asleep," Aunt Zhou said. "Why don't you sit here for a while, and you can visit her when she wakes up."
Aunt Zhou's eyes darted around, avoiding Song Qiao's gaze.
Song Qiao frowned. It was nine in the morning, and the elderly woman shouldn't be sleeping at this hour. Aunt Zhou seemed a bit unusual; her eyes had widened when she saw him carrying gifts, making him wonder what she was thinking.
"Let's not disturb Grandma's rest. We'll wait here for a bit," Xia Yuqing tugged at Song Qiao's sleeve, signaling him not to be impulsive.
Seeing his wife's gesture, Song Qiao didn't say anything further. He glanced at Aunt Zhou with a faint smile and said, "We'll wait here for a while. Please don't mind us and continue with your work."
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Aunt Zhou visibly relax. This small action immediately put him on guard. He suspected Aunt Zhou was hiding something from their family.
About an hour later, Aunt Zhou came downstairs and informed Song Qiao that Grandma had woken up. Hearing this, Xia Yuqing's heart leaped, and she rushed upstairs.
Song Qiao didn't hurry upstairs. He looked Aunt Zhou up and down and then said with a light chuckle, "Aunt Zhou, can we chat?"
Zhou Hongyu visibly stiffened at Song Qiao's words and nodded mechanically. "Sure, what do you want to talk about?"
"How much is your salary from my maternal uncle per month?" Song Qiao asked, casually sitting back on the sofa and gesturing for Aunt Zhou to sit down.
"Twelve hundred yuan," Zhou Hongyu replied, not sitting down but tidying up the coffee table.
Song Qiao nodded gently, considering the salary reasonable for the time. He then asked a few more questions about his grandmother's health. Zhou Hongyu stammered through most of them, almost failing to answer how many times a day his grandmother took her medication.
"We younger ones are not always around, so we'll have to trouble you to take care of Grandma," Song Qiao said. Without waiting for Aunt Zhou's reply, he walked upstairs. He was now extremely suspicious of Aunt Zhou. How could a normal caregiver hesitate to answer how many times a day an elderly person took their medication?
"Grandma, it's Song Qiao," he said, pushing open the door to the room. Xia Yuqing was already by their grandmother's side, talking to her.
Seeing Song Qiao, Grandma nodded with difficulty, a faint smile on her face. She then motioned for him to sit beside her.
"Grandma, what happened to the injuries on your arm?" Xia Yuqing suddenly noticed bruises and contusions on her grandmother's slender arm, which had been hidden by her sleeve.
At this, Song Qiao rushed over to examine his grandmother's arm closely. "What's going on?"
Grandma shook her head agitatedly, her lips parted as if to speak, but no words came out for a long time. After a moment of struggle, she burst into tears. Her cries attracted Aunt Zhou from downstairs. Strangely, as soon as she appeared, Grandma immediately stopped crying, looking at Zhou Hongyu with fear in her eyes.
"Aunt Zhou? What happened to my Grandma's arm?" Xia Yuqing asked, frowning.
"What injuries? She probably fell last time," Aunt Zhou replied, clearly distracted, her gaze avoiding Xia Yuqing's.
At this point, Song Qiao seemed to understand something. He waved to Aunt Zhou and said, "Aunt Zhou, go and start preparing dinner. We want to talk with Grandma." He implied that Zhou Hongyu should leave them alone.
"Okay, you all talk. Talk freely," Zhou Hongyu gritted her teeth and turned to go downstairs. As she left, she cast a threatening glance at Grandma. Song Qiao observed her expression and a wave of anger surged within him.
"Grandma, tell us anything you need to. If this Aunt Zhou is treating you badly, we'll take care of it," Song Qiao whispered into his grandmother's ear after Aunt Zhou had left.
Grandma shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. She clutched Xia Yuqing's hands tightly, her gaze still filled with fear. Song Qiao sat by the bedside for a moment, took a deep breath, and said to his wife, "There's definitely something wrong with this Zhou Hongyu. I suspect she's abusing Grandma."