Chapter 31
Tao Zhi woke up to the sound of retching.
Cheng Man hadn't eaten in two days, and now she had nothing left to vomit. Her throat burned with pain, and from her stomach came a flood of acid and yellow bile. She curled up in her hospital bed, her face pale as paper, her eyes reddened by the constant retching, sweat soaking them.
Cheng Jun quickly ran to find a doctor. After the doctor examined her, he gave Cheng Man an IV drip and continued to give her saline solution and glucose, as well as antiemetics and analgesics.
Tao Zhi stood by her side, wiping her sweat with a towel from time to time and moistening her lips with a cotton swab dipped in water.
Cheng Jun was standing beside him, clenching his fists.
After a while, the drug took effect, and Cheng Man fell asleep again. When the police came, they were stopped outside by the nurse and asked to come back in two days.
By mid-afternoon, Tao Zhi felt a little tired and decided to go out for a walk.
As she walked out the door, she found a round-faced female student who kept fiddling with the strap of her schoolbag, looking like she wanted to go in but didn't dare.
Tao Zhi asked, "Student, who are you looking for?"
Huang Xinyue raised her head, took a look, and then quickly lowered it again. She said timidly, "Is Cheng Man in here?"
Tao Zhi looked at her carefully. She looked like a cute little girl, but she looked like a frightened little rabbit. The image Cheng Man had described became more vivid in her mind. Tao Zhi asked her, "Are you Cheng Man's deskmate?"
Huang Xinyue nodded imperceptibly and whispered, "Hello, Auntie. Can I see Cheng Man?"
Tao Zhi smiled gently and said, "Of course, thank you for coming to see her."
Huang Xinyue followed Tao Zhi into the house. When they closed the door, Tao Zhi explained to her, "Cheng Man is a little afraid of light now. Don't mind me closing the door."
Huang Xinyue waved her hands hurriedly: "No, no."
Tao Zhi gently pulled aside the curtain, bent down and called out to Cheng Man, "Manman, Manman, classmate Xinyue is here to see you."
Huang Xinyue saw at a glance that Cheng Man had gauze wrapped around her head and her face was pale. She was lying there quietly, like a lifeless doll.
Bah, bah, bah, Huang Xinyue shook her head desperately to drive this ominous thought out of her mind.
Seeing that Cheng Man showed signs of waking up, Tao Zhi gave up her seat, and Huang Xinyue quickly moved over so that Cheng Man could see her when she raised her eyes.
Cheng Man slowly opened her eyes, and sure enough, the first person she saw was Huang Xinyue.
She smiled and asked in a whisper, "Why are you here?"
Huang Xinyue choked up: "I heard that something happened to you."
Cheng Man blinked frequently and vigorously.
"When the police came to the school and questioned me, he told me quietly."
Tao Zhi guessed it must be the plainclothes police officer.
"Cheng Man, it's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been beaten like this." Unexpectedly, in just a short while, Huang Xinyue had burst into tears.
Cheng Man grabbed her hand and shook it, "It's not because of you."
Huang Xinyue was immersed in sadness and did not hear Cheng Man's words, so Cheng Man had to pinch her hard.
"Ah——" The pain finally pulled her back.
Cheng Man made a big mouth shape and said, "No, it's you."
Huang Xinyue calmed down, then pointed at herself and said, "It's not me?"
Cheng Man tapped the back of her hand.
"Did they tell you that themselves?"
Cheng Man was still very tired, her strength not quite there, and she began to feel drowsy again. She finally said "yes" and fell into a deep sleep.
Huang Xinyue stood there in a daze, and it was only when Tao Zhi patted her shoulder that she came back to her senses.
She turned back into the timid little girl. She stood up, her face flushed, and said to Tao Zhi, "Auntie, I'm sorry, I have to go back first."
Tao Zhi sent her out the door and said, "Be careful when you go back."
"Okay, bye, Auntie."
Tao Zhi heard that Cheng Man knew the whole story, but everything would have to wait until she woke up.
Not only Tao Zhi was waiting, but the police comrades were also waiting.
Two days later, after Cheng Man regained consciousness, the doctor arranged for her to undergo a CT scan. The results confirmed that she was not bleeding, her vital signs were stable, and she could resume eating.
The hospital notified the police station, so they arrived soon.
The police officer came up and showed his ID. The plainclothes officer introduced himself, saying, "My last name is Yuan, and my name is Yuan Heng."
Another police officer said, "My name is Lin Quan."
Officer Yuan said, "We want to know what happened a few days ago and help you record a statement."
Officer Lin took out a pen and paper.
Cheng Man told the whole story of what happened that day, without exaggeration or concealment.
Officer Yuan asked, "What does the stick look like?"
Cheng Man frowned. "Because she was facing away from the light, I couldn't see the color clearly. But the size looked very similar to a golden hoop stick, only half the length of the toy sold in the store."
"Any idea where she got it?"
Cheng Man shook her head.
"Did they use any other weapons to beat you besides sticks?"
"there is none left."
"What else did they do after you were knocked down?"
"It must have hit me again."
"Are you sure?"
"I was a little confused at the time."
"Do you know why they beat you?"
"They mentioned someone and called me a vixen or something."
"What's the name of the person mentioned?"
"Zhong Sinan."
"who is he?"
"Our classmates."
"When you were beaten, were there other people nearby? Or were there any passersby?"
Cheng Man thought for a moment and said, "I didn't notice."
"Are you missing any property?"
"No."
"Anything else you want to add?"
"That's all I can remember for now."
Lin put away the paper and pen, read the notes again, and asked her, "Did you remember it correctly?"
Cheng Man confirmed, "No mistakes."
Officer Yuan said, "Thank you for your cooperation. If you think of anything later, please contact us immediately."
Tao Zhi escorted them out: "Thank you, officers, you've worked hard."
Tao Zhi wrote down every detail of today's events and waited for Wen Xu to return so she could verify them one by one.
Although she was so angry that she wanted to kill her enemy, nothing was more important than Cheng Man's health at the moment, so Tao Zhi calmed down.
After staying in the hospital for another two days, Cheng Man insisted on going home.
After an examination, the doctor said, "Young people have a good foundation and will recover well. If you can rest at home, I can discharge you."
Cheng Man agreed without hesitation and almost swore to the sky.
The doctor softened his heart and readily agreed to her request.
Back home, lying on her Simmons mattress, Cheng Man sighed, "I'm finally alive."
Tao Zhi pretended to slap her, but she immediately said, "Pfft, pfft, pfft," and said with a smile, "Children should not be restrained in their words, children should not be restrained in their words."
Tao Zhi glared at her and said, "Just lie still and don't play any tricks on me."
Cheng Man was serious for a second: "Yes, sir."
Tao Zhi didn’t know whether Cheng Man had a headache now, but she knew that her head was starting to hurt.
On this day, it was a rare occasion that the children were not at home, and Cheng Man did not make any trouble. She lay obediently on the bed, so Tao Zhi went to the garden to get some fresh air.
"Wu La Wu La", there was a boiling voice coming from the gate.
Tao Zhi went around to the front and saw the old man coming back with a group of people.
"Hey, Azhi, you're home."
Tao Zhi rolled her eyes at him and said, "Who will take care of your daughter if I'm not at home?"
Cheng Xiangqian chuckled and stepped aside: "Look, who's here?"
Tao Zhi took a look and saw that they were all old acquaintances.
Uncle Cheng and Aunt Cheng, Cheng Dachuan and his wife, the younger Cheng Yueshan and Cheng Yueyao, and Cheng Man's friends, whose names Tao Zhi couldn't recall at the moment.
Tao Zhi's face was full of smiles. "What a rare guest! What a rare guest! Come in and sit down."
After entering the living room, my second uncle and second aunt, Cheng Dachuan and Tan Yufen, who were more calm, sat down on the sofa.
The younger ones chattered, "Where's Cheng Man? I want to go see her."
Before Tao Zhi could go up to call for help, a small head popped out from the second floor: "Cheng Yueshan, Cheng Yueyao, Ji Wanqing, Liu Qingyue, Huang Tingting, Fang Lin, Zhang Yang. Why are you here?"
"Hi, Cheng Man, Cheng Man, we're here to see you."
Cheng Man waved from the second floor: "Come up quickly, upstairs is my territory."
This group of young people all opened their eyes wide and looked at Tao Zhi eagerly.
Tao Zhi waved his hand and said, "Go, go."
They ran upstairs with a bang.
Tao Zhi and the others were left feeling angry and amused.
Uncle Cheng said, "It's great to be young."
Tao Zhi asked, "Second Uncle, you and your sister-in-law, are you tired after sitting in the car all the way?"
Second Aunt shook her head. "Not tired, not tired. Xiang Qian hired a car, and the driver drove very steadily. We slept all the way here."
"How are you both?"
The second uncle and the second aunt both smiled and said, "Yes, we are fine. We have been taking the supplements you gave us. You see, I am over 80 years old, and climbing mountains is no problem at all."
Tao Zhi was startled. She looked at Cheng Dachuan and asked, "You let your grandparents go hiking?"
Cheng Dachuan looked helpless: "Aunt, please help me talk to them. They won't listen to anything I say."
Tao Zhi warmed the milk for the two elders and said, "Uncle and Aunt, if you really want to go up the mountain in the future, ask one of the children to accompany you. That way they can be at ease, and you can travel around. What do you think?"
Second uncle nodded: "Okay, that's fine."
Cheng Dachuan slapped his head. Why didn’t he think of such a simple truth?
Tan Yufen quietly pulled his hand: "Those involved are often confused."
Cheng Dachuan smiled innocently, and Qin Yufen turned her face away immediately. Really, even a normal person looked stupid after smiling.
Tao Zhi asked Cheng Dachuan, "Is there much work at home now?"
He shook his head: "Not much."
"Then do you want to come out to work?"
Cheng Dachuan was very surprised. He didn't expect that his aunt would speak out for him before he even opened his mouth.
"I think so, but after having a child, that little money won't be enough."
Cheng Xiangqian came over at this time and asked: "Have you ever been to a machinery factory?"
“I’ve been there and even helped deliver goods a few times.”
"Why don't you follow me?"
Cheng Dachuan scratched his head and said, "It's all right. I'll listen to you."
Tan Yufen seemed to be hesitant to speak.
When Tao Zhi saw them like this, she pushed the old man aside and asked, "Do you know about the factory opened by Cheng Hui and Cheng Xing?"
Tan Yufen nodded vigorously: "I know."
Okay, now I know what they mean.
Tao Zhi also smiled. It was a good thing for young people to be ambitious. She said directly, "After dinner, ask your uncle to take you there. After you see the environment, if you are willing, you can stay and work there."
Tan Yufen was overjoyed: "Aunt, there's still a share for me?"
"Yes, you can do it too." Tao Zhi affirmed her.
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