"You're making me take the blame for a murder case! When I was fifteen, I was almost sent to a labor camp. It was Uncle Xie who fought desperately to overturn my case. Do you remember? Do you remember standing outside the police station back then, not saying a word, just watching me go in handcuffed! You probably begged the Li family to let me go, saying that my presence would protect their whole family from misfortune, right?"
Liu Xiuqin's face froze, her lips trembled as she tried to speak, but no sound came out.
The room was deathly silent. The old bellows in the corner creaked, as if sighing in sympathy for the awkward situation.
"Du Jianshan!" A sharp shout suddenly came from the doorway.
Li Fuqiang stood outside the door, sickle in hand, his face ashen: "That's enough! You want to curse Mom? Fine, but don't drag me into it!"
"Hey, Li Fuqiang, you've arrived?" Du Jianshan walked over step by step, his eyes like tempered iron. "You're such a dutiful son, always pushing the good and bad things onto me. Now you're pretending to be a gentleman?"
"When...when did I push you?" Li Fuqiang retorted, "If you hadn't run off up the mountain on your own, none of this would have happened."
"Ha." Du Jianshan sneered, "That year, you led the men to hunt the wild boar. You saw it charging at me, and you ran away as fast as you could, saying 'Let him block me.' I heard it all clearly. You escaped the disaster, but I broke three ribs and was unconscious for three days. What did you say when you came back? 'Brother is tough,' and the whole village believed you. I was like a dog, lying on the kang (heated brick bed) gritting my teeth and getting by!"
“I was scared…” Li Fuqiang said in a low voice.
"You're scared? All you do is be scared!" Du Jianshan suddenly stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar. "Back then, you stole the village's old yellow hunting rifle behind your mother's back and killed the forest ranger on the mountain. Who took the blame for you?"
Li Fuqiang's expression changed drastically, and he suddenly broke free: "Don't talk nonsense! That was an accident! I, I didn't make you carry it, it was Mom—it was Mom who said you were worthless, that carrying a little bit of something wouldn't hurt you!"
“You didn’t refuse.” Du Jianshan gritted his teeth. “From that day on, my life was no longer my own.”
Liu Xiuqin burst into tears: "Fuqiang, just tell me the truth... I, I was really wrong... But I was afraid that if you went to jail, it would ruin our family. You are our family's hope!"
“Hope?” Du Jianshan’s voice was deep and thunderous. “Then what am I? Your livestock? Something to be used to pay with one’s life, to take the blame, to be sacrificed at any time?”
Li Fuqiang lowered his head, gripped the sickle handle in his hand, and his lips twitched.
“I don’t owe you anything,” Du Jianshan suddenly said. “I owe this village. It was Uncle Xie and the others who risked their lives to pull me back. I was lucky to escape with my life. I am standing here today because of myself.”
As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Liu Xiuqin panicked, scrambling to her feet. "Did you come back just to bring up all this filth? Do you want the whole village to know what your brother did back then?"
Du Jianshan didn't even turn his head: "Don't worry, I won't tell the village—"
Liu Xiuqin was taken aback.
“I will go directly to the county to report it,” Du Jianshan said coldly. “The forest ranger’s case is not closed yet. I carried the body back, and the gun was hidden behind the old corn stack. I will take people to dig it out right now.”
"No!" Liu Xiuqin rushed forward and grabbed his trouser leg tightly. "You're going to ruin your brother! He's a purchasing agent for the township supply and marketing cooperative now. If something happens to him, the whole family is finished!"
“My family is finished.” Du Jianshan shoved her away, his voice as cold as ice. “It’s been over ever since you sent me to the detention center when I was fifteen.”
He stepped out the doorway, facing the crisp winter wind, his face expressionless.
Li Fuqiang's hand, gripping the sickle, trembled uncontrollably. He rushed forward to stop him, shouting, "Jianshan! If you really report this, my family, Mom, we'll all be doomed!"
"Where were you all this time?" Du Jianshan glanced at him sideways. "Why didn't you think about this day back then?"
"You want money, don't you? If it's for revenge, then I'll give it to you, how much do you want!" Li Fuqiang's face turned red with anxiety. "I beg you, don't take that step!"
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