"Zhao Di, go quickly." The second sister turned around and asked Xu Jing. "What herbs do you want?"
"Whatever stops the bleeding will do."
After a while, Li Zhaodi brought over a plastic bag of herbal medicine, crushed it with a pestle, and applied it to the wound.
"The car is here. Ou Di, let's go to the county town to check."
"Okay."
Xu Jing was helped out of the house by his eldest sister. After getting on the tractor, Xu Jing said to his second sister, "Second sister, don't bring too many people. Let third sister and the others stay home."
"Okay, I'll listen to you. Zhaodi, Pandi, you guys just stay home. I'll go with my elder sister."
"Have a safe journey."
After getting in the car, Xu Jing leaned against the haystack, closed his eyes, and began to absorb the plot.
The original owner was named Li Heng, a small-time gangster from Lijia Village, xx County.
After the reform and opening up, the economy of other places has developed rapidly. Every day is different, but XX County is a well-known poor county in the country. Farmers living in the mountains still rely on the fields for their livelihood.
The mountain roads were difficult to navigate, so those with good fortune fled. Those without good fortune stayed in the villages and became farmers, relying on the weather for their livelihood.
In the agricultural era, men were the greatest productive force. XX County, and indeed the entire provincial capital, was extremely patriarchal.
This was the case with the original owner's family. Aunt Li gave birth to seven children, all of whom were girls.
Because Li's mother always gave birth to girls, Li's father could not hold his head up in front of relatives.
The more children she gave birth to, the poorer she became, and the poorer she became, the more children she gave birth to. When she gave birth to her eighth child, Mother Li suffered a severe hemorrhage and, after exerting all her strength, gave birth to a boy, who was the original owner, Li Heng.
Before Mr. Li could rejoice, his mother died of heavy bleeding and lack of medical treatment. The happy occasion turned into a tragedy in an instant.
Li's father borrowed money from his brothers and sisters, and after burying Li's mother, he went out to work to support the family. Most of the money he earned was sent home, part of it for family expenses, and part of it was given to Li Ou.
Li Heng is the youngest son and the lifeblood of the family, so he is loved and pampered.
He doesn't have to farm or feed the chickens, as his seven sisters take care of all the housework.
In order to support her younger brother, the eldest sister dropped out of school after one year and returned home to farm.
When she was less than fifteen years old, her father arranged for her to marry a lame man in the village and she became his child bride.
My second sister and her sisters did not receive any education. They either learned a skill to earn money to support the family, or followed my eldest sister to farm and live on a meager income.
His seven older sisters did their utmost to raise the youngest of the family, supporting his education and providing him with food and shelter. Li Heng lived a life that was envied by all the children in the village.
Because he grew up surrounded by honey, Li Heng became spoiled. He was the only plump and fair child in the family, and he was the only one who could act willfully and lawlessly.
As the overlord of the family, Li Heng has the final say and can get whatever he wants.
The older sisters, who had been taught from a young age to give in to their younger brother in everything, and brainwashed by the traditional preference for boys over girls, let Li Heng run wild. Whenever Li Heng got into trouble, the older sisters would pick up the pieces, a pattern that continued even after Li Heng started high school.
Although Li Heng was naughty, he was quite smart. He was the only one in Lijia Village who went to high school. Even though it was just a regular high school, it was enough to show off to his family for days.
In order to raise enough money for tuition, his family bought a cow. After entering the county town, Li Heng realized that he was living at the bottom of the food chain.
He was lawless at home, but now he has to behave himself in the county town.
The arrogant Li Heng couldn't handle the disparity. After a few compliments from his friends, he became flattered and lost his way. He stopped studying and started to live a life of idleness.
During another group fight, he was hit by several bricks by the gangsters, and was beaten to a bloody mess and lost consciousness.
The incident became a big deal, and the others fled in all directions. However, those who knew Li Heng returned with a letter to inform the Li family.
Li's sisters cried and took him home. Before they could go to the county town for medical treatment, he died the next day.
The Li sisters cried bitterly, and the younger ones followed Li Ou's friends to the county town to identify him and ask for an explanation.
The gang leader had an uncle who worked in the underworld and was willing to settle the matter privately for five thousand yuan.
The Li sisters refused to admit their guilt and went to the police station to file a complaint. However, the black and white factions colluded with each other, forcing them to swallow their anger.
The original compensation was gone. Qimei got into a fight with someone and was pushed to the ground. She hit the back of her head on a stone and died on the spot.
Seeing that the matter was getting bigger and bigger, the local tyrant was scolded by the white people and paid 10,000 yuan to settle the matter.
Bai Dao accepted the bribes from the local tyrants and arrested a small gangster to take the blame, as an explanation to the Li family.
Later, Bai Dao came to the Li sisters' house with money, and threatened them both openly and covertly, asking them to quit while they were ahead. Without an adult present, the Li sisters could only tearfully admit the crime.
A month later, Mr. Li, who was working in a fishing village, learned that his beloved son was beaten to death in a fight, and his seventh sister was also pushed to the ground and killed when she went to the house to argue.
Mr. Li was filled with grief and anger, and died that night of heart pain before he could even catch his breath.
The pillar of support has fallen. The umbrella of protection for the other sisters has also been lost. Some have left, some have dispersed, and when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter in an instant.
"Little brother, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" The elder sister shielded Xu Jing from the wind, her eyes filled with anxiety. "We're almost at the county town, wait a minute."
"Sister, I'm fine."
The eldest sister is named Li Yumei. When the first child was born, the family wanted her to bloom first and then bear fruit.
Unexpectedly, Li's mother gave birth to three daughters in a row. This worried Li's father, who consulted a village fortune teller. The fortune teller said that the child's name must contain the character "di" (brother) to ensure a son. Believing her, Li's father named the fourth daughter Pan Di, Zhao Di, and Xiang Di. After the seventh, he thought there was no hope, but unexpectedly, Li's mother gave birth to a son.
Old Li was overjoyed. He had spent all his family savings just to have a son. His family had already been fined for having more children than allowed, but the fines couldn't stop him from wanting a son. After waiting so long, he finally had his son.
In order to have a son, the future of seven girls in the family was delayed.
The eldest sister Li Yumei became a child bride of the Zhang family at the entrance of the village and got married when she reached the age.
Because she accepted money, Li Yumei had no status in the Zhang family. Her parents-in-law were bossy, her husband was a cripple and useless, and they had been together for two years without a child.
Naturally, the in-laws didn't think it was their son's fault; they believed it was Li Yumei's own inability to bear a son. The Zhang family went to the Li family's house and made a scene, going to great lengths to get back half of the money they had given them. Li Yumei was also driven back to her parents' home by the Zhang family.
After returning to her parents' home, Li Yumei became even more silent. The 28-year-old girl looked no different from the 40-year-old.
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