After growing up, Li Ziqiang neither did farm work nor looked for work. He idled away his days, but dreamed of getting rich and unknowingly became addicted to gambling.
Moreover, he had terrible luck and always lost when gambling. Before, when Li Chunyan got married, it was because Li Ziqiang lost money. Zhou Hongmei wanted to collect the bride price quickly, so she sent Li Chunyan to Zhangjiapo.
The last time Li Chunyan returned home seeking help, Li Ziqiang tied her up, intending to sell her to an old man.
Fortunately, Li Chunyan survived and managed to escape by breaking free of the ropes.
Zhou Hongmei, tears streaming down her face, sat on the ground, slapping her thighs and wailing. She spoke until her throat was dry, but Li Chunyan wouldn't budge. Her chest heaved with anger as she pointed towards the door: "You ungrateful wretch! I'll call the police and have you arrested!"
Li Ziqiang ran to the nearest police station to report the crime, and by sheer coincidence, it was Gu Qing, a close acquaintance, who showed up.
Dressed in her police uniform, Gu Qing spoke with a stern expression. Seeing that they were there to report Li Chunyan, she was somewhat taken aback: "Are you sure this is the place?"
Li Ziqiang: "That's right, I'm going to sue my sister Li Chunyan for failing to support our elderly parents. I'm going to call the police and have her arrested."
"Bullshit!" Upon hearing Gu Qing's voice, Li Chunyan pushed the person away and said calmly, "Officer Gu, they want to sell me."
Gu Qing frowned slightly and looked at Li Ziqiang: "What exactly is going on?"
Hearing this, Li Ziqiang didn't take it seriously: "Officer, don't listen to her nonsense. I meant well. I saw that she was having a hard time as a widow, so I introduced her to an honest man."
Zhou Hongmei: "Don't talk about selling or not. Zhou Laosan has never been married. He's honest and hardworking. He definitely won't bully you after you get married."
Li Chunyan sneered: "Is that Zhou Laosan, the one with the limp, crooked face, and stuttering speech?"
Not far away, a man limped over: "Don't talk like that! Your family owes me... 200,000 yuan. Come on, come with me right now! I've been on the bus for so long, I'm exhausted!"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Li Chunyan's hand: "You're the wife I bought... come with me... or I'll... beat you to death!"
Li Ziqiang quickly stopped him: "You can only take the person away after you receive the child support payment."
"Don't even think about it!" Zhou Laosan punched Li Ziqiang in the face.
Zhou Hongmei screamed and started scratching and biting Zhou Laosan, leaving him defenseless and forced to retreat. He yelled, "Li Ziqiang, you son of a bitch... pay me back the money right now!"
Upon hearing this, Li Ziqiang hugged Zhou Hongmei and cried out, "Stop hitting her!"
Zhou Hongmei was furious, still cursing, "Zhou the Cripple, you dare to hit a man in my family, I'll kill you!"
In the struggle, she kicked Li Ziqiang's knee, and Li Ziqiang fell to his knees in pain, while Zhou Hongmei rolled on the ground.
Ignoring her own pain, she stood up abruptly, supported Li Ziqiang, and cried with heartache: "My son, are you hurt?"
Li Ziqiang felt a dull pain in his knee. He quickly sat down on the ground, lifted up his trouser leg to check, and found nothing unusual except for the red marks from the impact.
Perhaps it's because I caught a chill from sleeping in a damp room these past two days, just like Zhou Hongmei's chronic leg pain.
Without thinking too much, Li Ziqiang suddenly stood up and reached out to pull Li Chunyan: "Zhou Laosan is the man Mom has chosen. Actually, the doctor said that Mom's health is not good and she may not live for many more days. You don't want her to leave with regrets, do you?"
Zhang Fan slapped Li Ziqiang's hand away: "Get lost!"
Zhou Laosan also tried to pull Li Chunyan away, but Gu Qing stopped him as soon as he reached out: "I understand, you are buying and selling people, which is illegal. Come with me!"
"I don't want people anymore... I just want my... money!" Zhou Laosan stammered, afraid of being arrested.
Li Ziqiang's face turned ashen. He had no money to repay the debt. The money he lost gambling was a huge sum for his family. If he couldn't pay it back, they would chop off his hand.
Last time he tried to sell Li Chunyan, but she escaped and he got beaten up. He didn't dare to go looking for Li Chunyan again, so he could only promise her a high-interest IOU.
Anyway, he can pay it back when he makes money someday.
Unexpectedly, he not only failed to make money, but also accumulated more and more debt.
The one who owed the most was Zhou Laosan. When Zhou Laosan pressed for repayment again, Li Ziqiang had the idea of marrying Li Chunyan off.
Although Zhou Laosan was rich, he had a leg disability and his facial features were not regular, so he couldn't find a wife. He met Li Chunyan and thought she was good-looking, so he agreed to marry her.
Li Ziqiang then went to Zhangjiapo to find Li Chunyan, only to learn that Li Chunyan had already moved to Taohua County and was even running a business there.
This shows that Li Chunyan must have money. Li Ziqiang wanted the money in Li Chunyan's hands, but he was afraid that it would be inconvenient for Li Chunyan to ask for it after she married Zhou Laosan. So he took his elderly mother, who had rheumatism, and walked to Taohua County overnight.
Seeing the house where Li Chunyan lived, Li Ziqiang was furious.
They live in a house with a leaky roof. The last heavy rain flooded everything in their house, the furniture got moldy, and the whole family caught colds and fevers.
He originally intended to extort money from her, but Li Chunyan wouldn't even let them in the door, so he could only call the police to scare her.
Surprisingly, Li Chunyan wasn't frightened, but Li Ziqiang and Zhou Laosan went to the police station first.
Seeing her son being taken away, Zhou Hongmei stretched out her fingernails and scratched at Gu Qing's face: "You bitch, how dare you lay a hand on my son, I'll beat you to death!"
Gu Qing was pushing Li Ziqiang into the police car and didn't notice Zhou Hongmei behind her. Just as she was about to scratch Zhou Hongmei's fair face, Zhang Fan kicked her in the lower back. Zhou Hongmei fell forward and landed face-first in the dirt.
"Thank you." Hearing the noise, Gu Qing turned around and knew that it was Zhang Fan who had helped her.
"Mom, save me!" Li Ziqiang cried out in fear.
Zhou Hongmei, enduring the pain, sprang to her feet and rushed to the police car, spreading her arms to block it: "If you want to leave, run over your forehead!"
Gu Qing: "Auntie, you'll get arrested for obstructing official business too."
Zhou Hongmei plopped down on the ground, slapping her thighs with both hands: "Help! The police are beating people!"
Her shameless behavior drew criticism from the onlookers: "Your son is actually trying to sell his own sister to an old man, and you're still protecting him. You'll regret this later!"
"What a shameless bunch! I even spoke up for them just now, ugh!"
"You've misunderstood Mr. Li. Having family like this is truly a tragedy!"
The neighbors who had just spoken up for Zhou Hongmei and her son now all criticized them.
Zhou Hongmei didn't care at all; all she wanted was to save her son.
Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Gu Qing's two colleagues took out handcuffs and cuffed Zhou Hongmei.
Gambling, usury, and human trafficking—Li Ziqiang doesn't know when he'll see the sky again.
Zhou Hongmei obstructed official business and could be detained for a few days, but not being able to see her beloved son made every minute and every second feel like torture.
Li Chunyan watched the police car drive away, closed the courtyard gate, and lowered her eyes, like a statue.
Zhang Fan: "Sister-in-law, they won't bother you anymore, don't worry."
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