Chapter 10
Cheng Hui brought Cheng Mingcheng home, made him take a bath, coaxed him to brush his teeth, told him stories, and worked himself into a sweat.
His energy was exhausted, and he lay down beside his son, quietly waiting for his strength to recover. He had never imagined that a three-year-old, seemingly so well-behaved, could drive him crazy at any moment. Only today did he realize how difficult it is for parents to raise children.
After waking up, he got up, washed his son, and took him to kindergarten. On the way back, he stopped by to buy some pho noodles and then made breakfast for the workers. After breakfast, he changed and started working. His skills weren't very good; he was still learning from the lathe master.
At noon, Cheng Mingcheng was in kindergarten, and Cheng Hui had finished his lunch and went back to his room to rest. There was no sound in the room, and his heart felt empty.
In the afternoon, he left work early to pick up his son and took Cheng Mingcheng out for dinner. Upon returning, he repeated the same routine from yesterday. After coaxing his son to sleep, Cheng Hui was so exhausted he fell asleep immediately, leaving no time for melancholy.
After a few days of this, Cheng Hui couldn't stand it anymore. He took advantage of his lunch break to go to his father-in-law's house and asked Qin Limin to take care of his son.
Qin Limin asked back, "My dad hasn't come out yet, and my mom is also sick. Can't you see with your own eyes?"
Cheng Hui hesitated, "Then what do you want?"
"Go to the police station and find someone. You have to spend money to get Dad out."
"But we have no money."
Qin Limin was furious: "Back then, we said we wanted to fight for it and ask your dad to give us some, but you refused no matter what. Now, all you can do is say we have no money. So, you should find a way to get some money."
"I gave you all my salary, not a cent left for myself."
Qin Limin screamed, "How can that little money be enough?"
"Have you been looking for anyone?"
"You've been hiding like a coward. If I don't show up, there's no way I'll be able to stop you."
"You just ran away for this matter and ignored your son?"
"Then what else can I do? Tell me! Your father-in-law is in the detention center. Have you ever visited him? Have you ever brought him a meal? Have you ever run around for him even once? No, nothing. You did nothing, and now you blame me?"
Cheng Hui was furious: "Don't tell me you don't know why your father was in prison?"
"Your mother sent him in!"
"Qin Limin, I'm warning you, don't put the blame on my mom. I don't believe you don't know anything about what your dad did. If you were truly innocent, you wouldn't have acquiesced to your dad's actions and come here to force my parents to give you money."
Qin Limin was as angry as a pufferfish. She scratched Cheng Hui with her claws, leaving scratches all over his face.
Cheng Hui pushed hard, and Qin Limin staggered a few steps. The floor, which had just been used to wash dishes, was slippery, and she lost her balance and fell.
Cheng Hui thought she was using a self-torture trick. He was already angry and it was almost time for work. He glanced at Qin Limin and left.
Qin Limin lay there and didn't get up for a long time.
It was when Old Mrs. Qin came out to the main room to drink water that she saw her daughter lying on the wet ground. She felt something was wrong and came over to take a look.
As a result, Qin Liming's face turned blue, and he lay there crying silently, not moving at all, which scared Old Lady Qin.
"Min'er, what's wrong with you?" Old Mrs. Qin pushed her.
Qin Limin turned around and saw her mother, and burst into tears: "Mom, Cheng Hui hit me."
Mrs. Qin quickly went to pull her back: "Even if he hits you, you can't just lie on the ground."
Qin Limin cried out "Ah" twice: "Mom, mom, let go quickly, I twisted my waist and can't get up."
Old Mrs. Qin had no strength left and could only shout over and over again: "Dabao, Dabao, are you home?"
"Mom, stop yelling. He went out early this morning and hasn't even come back for lunch."
Mrs. Qin was so anxious that she turned around and around: "What should I do? What should I do?"
Qin Limin said weakly: "Go ask Auntie next door for help."
"Hey, hey, I'll go right away." Third Aunt is tall and looks strong, so it's right to find her. Old Mrs. Qin walks very fast with her bound feet.
Sure enough, Third Auntie arrived, picked up Qin Limin, and carried her to her bed in the house. Old Mrs. Qin took out two handfuls of candies and asked Third Auntie to take them back to her grandson. Third Auntie took them, smiled, and said nothing before leaving and returning home.
Old Mrs. Qin took out the medicinal wine, lifted up the tail of Qin Liming's shirt, smeared it around a large area, and started using the scraping board.
Old Mrs. Qin used all her strength to suck, but Qin Liming screamed in pain, sounding very miserable.
Someone rushed into the yard and stood outside the door, shouting, "Sister-in-law, what happened at home? Was Li Min beaten by her husband?"
The gloating in his tone was not hidden at all. Moreover, there were more than one or two people in the village who saw Cheng Hui, so it was no wonder that others would think so.
Old Lady Qin paused, "Oops, I forgot to close the gate."
She put down the scraping board, walked out shakily, and faced the curious villagers: "No, she just accidentally fell."
"Can a fall really hurt this much?" The villagers didn't believe it.
"I just saw Auntie San come out. Was she beaten so badly that she couldn't get up?"
"I heard that Li Min is very powerful and often beats her sister-in-law until she cries. Why did she let her husband beat her?"
Someone said, "Pooh!" and said, "She only dares to bully women."
"Yes, the strength of men is not to be underestimated."
Some people also have questions: "If her husband is really so powerful, why didn't he deal with her earlier?"
Old Mrs. Qin couldn't stand it any longer and took the big broom she used to sweep the yard and said, "Get out, get out! You are not welcome in my house."
The villagers spat on the ground and said, "No one in the village wants to come to your house. If you enter your den, you won't be able to get out. Even if you want to cry, you won't have anywhere to cry."
Others clapped and cheered: "That's good now, God has mercy on us, the old pervert is finally in jail."
Some even added insult to injury: "So we just came here to watch the fun."
Old Mrs. Qin was so angry that she almost couldn't breathe. She held on to the door frame and gasped for breath.
She thought of her daughter still lying in bed, pounded her chest twice and went back into the house.
Qin Limin opened his eyes wide and stared blankly at the top of the mosquito net.
Old Mrs. Qin said, "Min'er, those people are just talking nonsense. They just can't stand our family doing well and are secretly envious of us. That's why they say these unpleasant things on purpose. You must not take it to heart."
Qin Limin looked at Old Lady Qin with his dark eyes, staring at her so intently that it made her feel uneasy.
Qin Limin spoke up: "Mom, I saw it with my own eyes."
Old Lady Qin's hands trembled: "What did you see?"
Qin Limin spoke out word by word: "I saw my dad dragging someone into the woodshed."
Old Mrs. Qin tried to cover up the past: "The villagers are disobedient, and your father is teaching her a lesson."
"Does teaching a lesson require stripping someone of their clothes?"
"Aren't you afraid she'll run out and call for help?"
"Then why tie him up?"
"I'm just afraid she'll run away."
"Mom, how do you explain that Dad also took off his clothes?"
Old Mrs. Qin couldn't bear it anymore and clapped her hands while crying: "How much did you see?"
Qin Limin coldly spat out two words: "All."
"This beast, this beast, why doesn't he know how to avoid people?" Old Mrs. Qin cried and shouted, tears streaming down her face.
"Mom, why didn't you stop him?"
Old Mrs. Qin seemed to have lost all her strength. She slowly stood up, unbuttoned her shirt, and exposed her entire back.
His back was covered with a tangle of scars.
Mrs. Qin: "Do you think I didn't stop him? Every time I dared to stop him, I was beaten up."
Qin Limin was trembling all over. She gently touched the scars and asked softly, "Mom, does it still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore. I've learned my lesson and I won't bother with it anymore."
"Mom, didn't you think about calling the police?"
Old Mrs. Qin smiled bitterly: "Not everyone can be like your mother-in-law, who has the courage, connections, and help. If I take a step out of the village, your father will catch me back in the next step."
Qin Limin muttered to himself, "So all this is retribution."
Mrs. Qin suddenly had a bad premonition: "Min'er, what are you talking about?"
Her daughter sat there and laughed: "I say, all this is retribution."
Mrs. Tan came over and touched her forehead: "Don't let your imagination run wild. If you want to take revenge, it should be on your father."
Qin Limin looked frantic. She said, "Mom, retribution has come. Can't you see it?"
A chill ran down Mrs. Qin's spine, and she sternly asked, "Where is it?"
Qin Limin's eyes were red as she stared at Old Lady Qin: "Mom, a few years ago, in the village office."
Old Mrs. Qin trembled. She didn't dare to think further, for she was afraid that the nightmare would come true.
Qin Limin said bitterly, "The village chief took me to his office, and the door was locked from the outside. That day, I kept calling out for my father, but no one answered me. Even after it got dark, no one came to rescue me."
She was shaking like a sieve, and continued, "I always thought my dad was sent away that day. Until, until, I saw his dirty deeds, saw him arm in arm with the village chief..."
Qin Limin choked up several times, and finally couldn't continue. She ignored the pain in her back and banged her head against the wall.
Old Mrs. Qin was furious. She desperately tried to hold onto Qin Limin, beating her and scolding her: "Why didn't you say so earlier? Ah, why didn't you say anything?"
"Mom, how many times have I told you to take care of him? I can't stand it anymore. I'm so tired of living. Have you ever listened to me?"
Old Mrs. Qin turned her face away in embarrassment: "I thought you were talking about him beating and scolding you."
"Don't kid yourself. He's never hit me since I grew up. On the contrary, whenever I don't do what he wants, he takes me to his office..."
The sound of her wailing continued to echo in the house.
After a long while, Mrs. Qin spoke up: "Then why did you redeem him?"
Qin Limin shuddered and looked at her mother with horror in her eyes.
"Don't save him, don't use any force, just let him stay in there." Old Mrs. Qin made the decision.
Although she wanted to eat him alive, in a society ruled by law, this was the best option at the moment. She decided to lobby more victims and strive to have Old Man Qin executed in prison.
It would be best if the village chief was sent in as well, thought Mrs. Qin viciously.
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