Chapter 26 [26] I scared the dog after beating it once. From now on, when I see you...

The police gave Tang Aiguo a good lecture: "Leave it to the police. How could you act on your own and beat someone up like that? It's true they hit someone, but you don't have the power to enforce the law. Now these are two separate cases. The other party will also sue you for assault. First, pay the medical expenses and then the bail. Just sign here and you can go. If you hit someone again later, it will be an aggravated crime and your sentencing will be considered."

Tang Aiguo: "What!"

"I still have to pay for her medical bills?"

"She has her own money, so ask her to pay. I don't have any money."

"I won't protect her. That girl is very aggressive and might come out and attack someone again. Uncle police, just lock her up."

The police had never seen such a heartless parent: "If you don't post bail, your daughter will have to spend the night in the police station. She's a girl, how are you expecting her to endure this?"

Tang Aiguo rubbed his hands ingratiatingly, his face cautious. "Uncle Police, she's an unfilial daughter. She told me herself that she's severing the father-daughter relationship. She has money, so she can pay the bail herself."

Li Mu opened his eyes wide and asked innocently, "Uncle Police, Tang Yuanyuan is not yet an adult. Does this count as abandoning a minor? I wonder if abandoning a minor is illegal? Should he be taken to the police station?"

Police: "Tang Yuanyuan is under the age of sixteen this year, which means she is a minor under Chinese law."

"Abandoning a minor is indeed illegal."

Tang Aiguo: "Uncle Policeman"

The police officer said expressionlessly, "Mr. Tang, I'm two years younger than you. Please call me Comrade Police."

Uncle Tang: "Excuse me, comrade police officer, my eldest brother has never dealt with the police before."

Tang Aiguo hurriedly put on an apologetic smile.

Uncle Tang nudged Tang Aiguo and said, "Brother, look, the medical expenses are just for superficial injuries, only about thirty yuan, and the bail is only ten yuan."

"Brother, I know you're short on money right now, so I'll help you out first. The police have already said that Yuanyuan is investigating the cause of his sister-in-law's death. This is also thanks to the child. There's no such thing as an overnight grudge between father and daughter. Let's just bail him out."

Tang Aiguo swallowed hard, not even daring to look the police in the eye. "Hit."

"I'll pay you back when I get my salary."

Uncle Tang took out some money from his pants and said, "We are all brothers. If we are in trouble, shouldn't we lend a hand?"

After counting the money and handing it to the police, Uncle Tang asked again, "Comrade police, we paid the money for the beating, but what about the compensation for the other party who killed my sister-in-law?"

The police officer said, "It depends on your thoughts on this matter."

"The person involved has confessed and admitted his mistake. He did not intentionally hit and kill Zhang Lancao. They are willing to compensate you for your losses. The price is 2,000 yuan."

"If you accept their financial compensation and sign a letter of understanding, the criminals can have their sentences reduced."

Li Mu immediately grabbed Tang Aiguo's wrist, pressed his thumb against his heart pulse, looked him in the eyes and said, "Comrade police officer, we don't want this money."

"This is the money to buy your life. If you spend it, the wronged spirit will come to claim your life."

Tang Aiguo's heart skipped a beat.

He nodded and shook his head: "Yeah, Xiaomu is right."

"Big brother."

Uncle Tang said, "Brother, you're right. This money is indeed unscrupulous. But you're still struggling to pay back a thousand yuan. No one is well off. You can't just keep refusing to pay it back. Besides, Xiao An is going to high school soon. How are we going to pay for tuition and living expenses?"

"My sister-in-law's greatest wish before her death was that Xiaoan and Yuanyuan could go to school. I think we need to give this matter serious consideration."

"Sister-in-law's last wish is the most important."

"Comrade police officer, let's go back as a family and have a meeting to discuss this."

The policeman put the cap on the pen and said, "Okay, follow me first and take Tang Yuanyuan back."

Tang Yuanyuan sat in a corner, hugging her knees, expressionless. She heard the police call her name: "Tang Yuanyuan, your family is here to bail you out."

Tang Yuanyuan stood up and followed the police outside. She saw Tang Aiguo, slightly hunched over. Beside him, Uncle Tang smiled kindly and called out affectionately, "Yuanyuan, are you okay?"

Tang Aiguo was furious and cursed: "You damn girl, you don't do your job well, and now you beat people into the hospital and the police station. I think if you keep doing this, sooner or later you will be..."

"Big brother."

Second Uncle Tang nudged Tang Aiguo and said, "Yuanyuan is also trying to catch the murderer. Don't say that to her. Yuanyuan has made a contribution in this matter. She is a hero of our Tang family."

Tang Yuanyuan: "You don't need to be so kind."

Uncle Tang's kind smile remained unchanged. "I know about your fight with your dad, my dear. You've been wronged. I've already scolded your dad for you and paid your bail. As a family, it's inevitable that there will be some bumps and bruises. I'm in charge, and it's all over. Let's go to my house. You must be starving. I'll cook for you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "I am not from your family. I have nothing to do with your Tang family anymore."

Tang Aiguo cursed, "You damned girl, you've read so much that it's like a dog's stomach. It was your second uncle who paid for your release."

Uncle Tang said, "Brother, Yuanyuan is still a child. When he grows up in two years, he will be sensible."

"The baby has just been born, don't scold her."

Tang Yuanyuan's eyes were cold: "Don't try to bribe me with these few dozen dollars. My mother was killed because of you. I don't care about your kindness."

After saying this, he strode out of the Public Security Bureau.

Tang Aiguo cursed from behind: "Look."

"I said, no matter what she does, she should just sit inside."

Uncle Tang supported Tang Aiguo and said, "Brother, don't be angry. Let's go to my house."

"I'll have a couple of drinks with you."

Tang Yuanyuan's bicycle is still in the repair shop, so she needs to go ride it.

Li Mu pushed his bicycle over: "You ride the bike and take me with you."

Tang Yuanyuan lifted her legs and rode on the back of the bicycle: "I'm hungry and tired."

"Take me to dinner."

Li Mu: "Tang Yuanyuan, I don't owe you anything. Now you owe me."

"Your father wasn't willing to bail you out, so it was my eloquence that got him here. Do you understand?"

Tang Yuanyuan: "Who allowed you to meddle in other people's business? Even if I die, you are not allowed to inform the Tang family that they have polluted my reincarnation land."

Li Mu was very angry: "Why is it that no matter what I do, I never get a good response from you?"

"Don't forget, if it weren't for me, you would have died in that repair shop today."

"I won't bother with you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "I will go to the temple to burn incense and pray to the Buddha to bless you with a long life."

No matter how you look at it, Tang Yuanyuan is not the kind of person who burns incense and worships. Li Mu said unhappily: "You pay for it yourself. I don't have the money to treat you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "There's a sesame cake stand over there, just go and eat some."

Li Mu: "I'll scratch you to death."

Tang Yuanyuan spent three cents to buy two pancakes and finished them in a few bites.

She still sat on the back of the bicycle.

Li Mu: "Believe it or not, I'll kick you down!"

Tang Yuanyuan: "I have legs too. If I get hit, I will fight back."

Li Mu: "Tang Yuanyuan, you can't tell good from bad, right? I rescued you. If it weren't for me, you would have to stay in there tonight."

Tang Yuanyuan: "I know."

Li Mu: "Is this how you treat your benefactor?"

Tang Yuanyuan: "When I become rich, I will give it to you in cash, at least 20 yuan."

Li Mu: "You'd better cash it now."

Tang Yuanyuan: "I have no money now, so please pray that I will become rich soon."

Li Mu: "Tang Yuanyuan, I have never seen anyone more shameless than you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "I have seen it."

Li Mu: "I just don't believe it. There is anyone in the world more shameless than you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "What a coincidence, it's right in front of me."

Li Mu angrily parked his bicycle, got off, and strode forward: "You stay where you are."

Tang Yuanyuan climbed onto the back seat and rode away: "Goodbye."

Li Mu: "You bastard, are you really leaving? Wait for me!"

Tang Yuanyuan pedaled faster and actually wanted to leave him behind. Li Mu ran for a while before catching up and jumping onto the back seat.

"Tang Yuanyuan, you can do it. Treat your benefactor like this."

"I also took you in."

He didn't just take in a person in trouble, he actually took in an ancestor for himself.

"I just asked you to cook a meal. I'm a man and I can't cook. I hope I'm not putting too much pressure on you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "No!"

"Don't try to act like that. You're an orphan, and you're kidding me by saying you can't cook."

Li Mu gritted his teeth and said, "Then you'll be responsible for washing the dishes. Isn't that fair?"

Tang Yuanyuan: "You didn't wash the dishes before?"

"Each one washes his own line."

Well, at least he doesn't have to wash Tang Yuanyuan's dishes anymore.

Li Mu: "Then we'll each have a day to sweep the floor."

Tang Yuanyuan: "Everyone cleans their own room, each person cleans the living room for a day, and everyone washes their own clothes."

Li Mu: "Okay, I probably can't ask for much from a girl liar like you."

Tang Yuanyuan took her bicycle, bought a lot of paper money for the dead, and went to the cemetery to see Zhang Lancao by herself.

She could never believe that her mother was gone just like that. Just a few days ago, she had said with a smile that she would wait for her to come back and open a noodle shop.

She always felt that her mother was still by her side, and she could even smell her mother's fragrance at the tip of her nose.

Aunt Zhao didn't sleep well the whole night. Her son was spanked ten times by Zhao Dong yesterday and is still lying in bed, unable to turn over and sleep.

She was heartbroken.

Seeing Li Mu's figure flash past the gate, he immediately went back to the stove to cook the dumplings and brought them over.

Didn’t Zhao Dong scold her for being a heartless and mean benefactor? She asked him to bring the steaming dumplings over so that everyone along the way could see them. This time, she really brought dumplings to Li Mu.

Li Mu pushed his bicycle into the courtyard when he heard a knock on the door. Turning around, he saw Aunt Zhao standing at the door with a bowl of dumplings.

"Xiao Mu, I just made dumplings with leek and egg filling. The leek is fresh and the eggs are fried in oil. Shunzi hasn't eaten them yet, so I brought them to you first."

Li Muzhi got on his bicycle and gave a malicious smile: "Aunt Huang is so thoughtful. Where's Brother Shunzi? Come to my house and watch TV with me?"

Aunt Zhao couldn't keep the smile on her face. What a cruel guy, he knew Shunzi was beaten.

But she didn't want to keep going.

He walked into the yard, closed the gate, and placed the bowl on the table with a thud. His eyes fell on the black and white portrait on the table, and he smiled: "Eat quickly."

"This is the food your father gave his life for you. You must cherish it. Eat well and stay strong. Only then can your father rest in peace in the underworld."

"That's what my aunt said."

Li Mu dumped the dumplings into the trash can. "But I think what Uncle Zhao said is more correct. Your Zhao family owes our Li family a life, so you should serve me food and drink and raise me well. But Auntie, your cooking skills are terrible. Your dumplings are only good for feeding dogs. Uncle Zhao just scraped together 30 yuan for me yesterday. I'm going out to get some meat wontons."

Aunt Zhao's face turned green with anger: "You little beast, you are so shameless."

"My mother died when I was born, and my father died when I was ten. If I were an ordinary person, I would not have the face to live with both my mother and father dead."

"You're so good, you want to eat well, wear good clothes, and keep yourself fat and plump. You're such a heartless person, you just live a good life."

"If I were you, I would have jumped into the river or hanged myself to accompany my parents. You always bully other people's fathers, asking for food and drink, like a dog-skin plaster. How can you not have any sense of shame?"

Li Mu: "Aunt, what you said is not true. My father was killed by your husband. If it weren't for my father, you would have been a widow long ago. You are so mean to the child of your savior. Your old face is cheaper than a Shar Pei dog. You have the nerve to live, so of course I have the nerve to live too."

Aunt Zhao sneered, "I heard that the unfilial daughter of the Tang family is with you? She's such a traitor to her teachers and ancestors that she even abandons her own father. What a jerk, what a match."

Li Mu: "If Uncle Zhao ever beats you to death, I'll definitely tell Shunzi not to abandon his father and to be filial to his parents."

"Aunt, you don't like Tang Aiguo, do you?"

"That's right. After all, Uncle Zhao never treated you well. He only beat and scolded you. Anyway, Tang Aiguo is a widower now. Aunt, if you really want to do this, I'll go and talk to him. Shunzi can have another father, which is also a good thing."

Aunt Zhao was so angry that her face turned purple. She had originally wanted to quarrel to vent her anger, but now she was furious.

When I got to the door, I heard Li Mu's deliberate voice behind me: "Aunt, when will you come again? I'll call Tang An, maybe you can get the moon first."

Aunt Zhao was so angry that her head was buzzing, but she couldn't argue with Li Mu openly.

Li Mu went to the trash can, broke the dumplings apart, pulled out a few strands of hair and stuffed them inside, so that it looked like he had put them there on purpose.

Aunt Zhao just saw me throwing the dumplings into the trash can. She will definitely say something bad when she gets home. I threw away his dumplings and instigated Zhao Dong to come and see, which proves that it’s not that she doesn’t care, but that Li Mu wasted her kindness.

Sure enough, after a while, Zhao Dong brought over some eggplants, fresh cucumbers with flowers, and some bright red tomatoes.

Li Mu: "Thank you, uncle. Come in and sit down. I'll pour you some water."

Li Mu deliberately placed the trash can in a conspicuous position. Zhao Dong saw it at a glance. The dumpling was picked up in the middle by chopsticks, and a small bunch of hair was inside, which was very obvious from the broken part.

The chopsticks for picking up dumplings were still on the table.

This woman was playing tricks right under his nose, but Li Mu was honest and didn't tell him.

He needs to be taught a lesson.

Tang Yuanyuan came back at this time and saw the vegetables Zhao Dong brought, all of which were good. She said casually, "Uncle Zhao really takes good care of you."

Li Mu was washing rice when the smile on his face suddenly turned cold: "Tang Yuanyuan, in your eyes, do you think the whole world is good and I am the only bad person?"

Tang Yuanyuan: "Your logic is wrong. There are many evil people in prison who commit murder and arson."

"Putting aside his relatives, Uncle Zhao really has nothing to say about you."

Li Mu's eyes were filled with coldness: "Just because you send me some food and drink and money to spend makes me a good person?"

"Look at your eyes, you've been sold and are still counting money for others."

Tang Yuanyuan washed her face and hung the towel on the clothesline. "I have no intention of commenting on the affairs of your two families. It has nothing to do with me. How you want to deal with it is your own business."

After saying this, he raised his foot and prepared to go into the house to review his homework.

Li Mu threw the ladle into the vat, splashing water all over the floor. He raised his foot to block Tang Yuanyuan's path, and a tall shadow suddenly fell over him:

"Tang Yuanyuan, do you know how to make a dog afraid of you?"

Tang Yuanyuan: "What are you talking about?"

Li Mu: "There's no point in arguing. You have to be ruthless when beating a dog. Beat it once and it'll scare you so much that it'll avoid you next time."

Tang Yuanyuan took a detour to the room: "It's inexplicable."

Li Muxiejian took a step sideways and said, "I have some information for you."

Tang Yuanyuan: "I'm not interested in listening."

Li Mu: "About your mother."

"Let's cook, each of us has a turn. It's fair this way."

Tang Yuanyuan: "What's going on with my mom that I don't know, and I need to hear it from you?"

Li Mu: "The two perpetrators want your father to sign a letter of forgiveness for 2,000 yuan. In that way, they can get a lighter sentence, or even release him before he completes his full year. I'm afraid your second uncle is eyeing this money."

Tang Yuanyuan turned around suddenly.

The second branch of the Tang family.

Uncle Tang personally fried a plate of peanuts, a plate of stir-fried pork with green peppers, a mixed eggplant, and a portion of candied tomatoes.

Tang Aiguo was already half drunk. Recently, he first lost his father and now his wife. He was destitute and had no family. He was extremely depressed.

Uncle Tang patted his shoulder and said, "Brother, your sister-in-law is gone. I know you must be feeling bad."

"It's all that damn driver's fault. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have lost your home, brother."

"I've worked hard all day, and now when I get home, there's no one who cares about me. I can't even have a hot meal or a sip of hot tea. How can I live like this? Big brother, I really care about you."

Tang Aiguo's eyes turned red with discomfort.

It’s still my second brother who understands him.

Not to mention eating, no one washes his clothes now. All the wearable clothes in the house have been worn out, and the one he is wearing is from yesterday.

Without a woman, this house doesn't feel like a home.

How could he be so unlucky? His wife was fine, but suddenly she died.

Those two people really deserve to die. You hit someone, why didn't you just take them to the hospital? Why did you run away?

If he hadn't run away, he would still have a wife.

"Those two people deserve to die. How could they just leave my wife lying on the ground and run away?"

Uncle Tang said, "Brother, I also think that those two people deserve to die."

"But the police also said they won't execute him, they'll just give him a few more years in prison. In my opinion, whether they serve two years more or two years less, it won't make any difference to my sister-in-law; she won't be able to come back."

"Why don't you take the money and marry a sister-in-law? Then Xiao An will have someone to take care of him, and you can have a hot meal."

Tang Aiguo rubbed his trousers with his hands: "This won't do. Xiao An's mother must be blaming me in the underworld."

“No.”

“No.”

Uncle Tang said, "I feel a little sorry for my sister-in-law."

"But brother, I'm not just thinking about you, but also Xiaoan and Yuanyuan."

"Why did something happen to my sister-in-law? It's all because of money. I want the children to go to school. With this money, Yuanyuan can go back to school, and Xiaoan can go to college in the future. Also, if I marry a wife, the family will be lively again. With a wife and children, brother, this is what home feels like."

"My sister-in-law loves her two children the most in her life. If she could speak, she would definitely make the same choice."

"Brother, do you think this is true?"