After hearing Xu Keke's explanation, Li Shaojie felt that there wasn't a single good person in his family. Sure enough, the neighbors standing next to him thought the same thing.
An older woman on the side didn't hold back, ignoring where Lu Cuihua was hiding. She pushed Li Shaojie aside and started criticizing him, "You're her mother-in-law, right? You can't do this. You can't just dote on your son. You have to dote on your daughter-in-law too. Only then can the family live in harmony."
Another older woman stepped forward and continued, "Your wife is so wonderful. The other day when her mother came over, I heard that you came from your hometown. Her daughter took your whole family to the mall and bought you clothes. She even gave you her big house on the south side to stay in. She's such a good wife. She has a good job, is good-looking, and has a good character. Where else can you find such a good wife?"
The first woman chimed in, "That's right. Mothers-in-law need to be more open-minded. Only when their sons and daughters-in-law are doing well can we, the older generation, feel at ease. We can't have those old-fashioned ideas and treat other people's children like they're not human. She's your own daughter, isn't she? You need to teach her properly. Don't let her pick up bad habits and cause trouble for her sister-in-law. Besides, let's talk things out. Even if it's your own child, how can you just hit her like that? We live in a society governed by law; we don't tolerate hitting people. Look how badly she's been beaten."
These neighbors, all talking at once, gave Lu Cuihua a lecture.
Lu Cuihua was a master of cursing in the village, but she really couldn't reason with these old ladies from the city. She couldn't utter a single word in response. She could only droop her eyelids, clutching the hem of her clothes, and listen to their tirade. Her face flushed red one moment and turned pale the next, her smile utterly unsightly.
While these people were talking about Lu Cuihua, they would glance at Li Guodong meaningfully, and then exchange a knowing look with each other.
Li Guodong shrank back, awkwardly pressing his thin felt hat down over his head again and again. He knew perfectly well what these people were thinking.
Da Zhu, a villager, was arrested by the police for voyeurism after peeping at women taking a bath. When he was released before the Lunar New Year, that's how the villagers viewed him.
Seeing that they had finished talking, the old man asked Xu Keke, "Where are you all going?"
Xu Keke said, "I'm afraid he'll get infected again if we go to the hospital. After all, it's his reputation. If it gets infected and festers, he'll lose his face."
The old man nodded, turned around and called upstairs, "San'er, come down with the car keys."
The old man was over seventy years old, but his voice was loud and clear. He called out twice, and a burly man ran out of the stairwell.
The old man pointed at Xu Keke and said, "This is your Grandpa Lin's younger sister. Drive them to the hospital."
Without looking at anyone else, San'er responded to his grandfather and strode towards the parking area in the courtyard.
Xu Keke didn't want to refuse their kindness, so she considered her options. If it was a car, she would let the elderly couple take Li Yumei on the bus.
To my surprise, San'er drove up in a brand-new yellow minivan. Now we can all go.
Xu Keke knew that although the car didn't have a taxi license plate, it was a regular vehicle used for picking up fares in the 1980s. Thinking it was fine, she figured she could just pay the fare afterward. So she didn't stand on ceremony, opened the car door, and, carrying her black briefcase, sat directly in the passenger seat.
Seeing her like this, after the Li family members all got into the car, the old man stood outside the car and said to San'er, "Today, you don't need to go out to pick up passengers. Stay with your sister Tingting and keep an eye on her. Don't rush back. Bring her back safely the same way you delivered her to me. Don't let anyone bully her."
While giving instructions to his third son, the old man glanced meaningfully at the Li family, making them feel uneasy.
This third guy was a stern-faced, tall, and imposing man, with a dark expression on his face the whole way. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, one hand on the steering wheel, and didn't say a word. He didn't seem much better than the old man from before.
Li Shaojie looked down on San'er's uneducated manner. But he thought that they lived in the same building after all. Although it wasn't difficult for him to borrow a car from his workplace now, it would be more convenient to use a car if he needed it in case of an emergency if they became more familiar with each other.
He took the initiative to exchange a few polite words with the man. Unexpectedly, the man completely ignored him and pretended not to hear him.
Xu Keke sat next to San'er, only looking at the scenery outside the car window, not saying a word. Li Shaojie was left standing there.
After a while, Li Yumei whispered from the side, "Brother, the older brother is driving, he needs to concentrate."
This somewhat eased Li Shaojie's embarrassment.
Xu Keke told San'er that they should go to the affiliated hospital of the medical school.
Li Shaojie couldn't possibly agree to that. He was currently a teaching assistant at the medical school. Not only did he know several doctors, but many of his classmates from his department were assigned to the affiliated hospital. He had married a professor's daughter and stayed on at the university. Many people around him envied him. If any bad news were to spread, who knew what those people would think? They'd all want to see him suffer.
The main point is that he saw it clearly downstairs just now. When Xu Keke tried to explain, she couldn't make sense of any of the details.
Li Shaojie insisted that it would be fine to just go to a small clinic or a nearby hospital for a checkup.
But Xu Keke said that the hospital would be reimbursable, and the doctors there would be more professional than those at small clinics. So the elderly couple ignored their son's advice and went with Xu Keke's suggestion to go to the affiliated hospital.
In truth, Li Shaojie's insistence was futile, because San'er simply wouldn't listen to him. He drove straight to the outpatient entrance of the affiliated hospital.
The four members of the Li family got out of the car and looked back to see that Xu Keke was still sitting in the car, motionless.
Lu Cuihua stared at her in surprise, "Huh? Why aren't you getting off the bus?"
Xu Keke glanced at the open doors of the hospital outpatient department. "It's not even eight o'clock yet. It's hard to register so early. I'll go buy some breakfast. You guys go in first."
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