Chapter 218 Chapter 217: Mind Your Own Business
Yang Chunyan looked at Zou Cuifen and the onlookers and said loudly, "Xiaoping, I have already testified for you. Your money was not stolen. It was earned by selling herbs. Go back with your husband. He won't beat you again."
Li Xiaoping grabbed her hand in panic, "You have to beat me! Every time Xue Jihong stole money, my stepmother would say it was me who stole it, saying I was a thief. People like me will end up in jail when I grow up. The old man beat me and I went to work, and my stepmother would stab me with an awl."
He took off his pants and pointed at his thigh, "Look, this is where she pierced it."
The onlookers came closer and gasped. They saw that his matchstick-thick thighs had several bruises, and in some places you could still see the holes of the awl needles. Some were black and red, and some had already formed scabs.
The onlookers exclaimed, "Oh my God, if Xiaoping's mother knew about this, how could she close her eyes?"
"That's right! Li Wu, you are Xiaoping's father, Xiaoping is your own son, how can you stand watching him?"
"It's not like I don't have a son now. The one born to my previous dead wife is not as close as the one born to my current wife!"
Li Wu's face flushed as he moved forward to take a look. He looked up at Zou Cuifen in disbelief, "Cuifen, what are these needle holes on Xiaoping's legs?"
"I don't know. It's none of my business!" Zou Cuifen pushed the issue aside. "I have to take care of the kids and do farm work every day. How would I know where he went?"
"It's none of her business? The stepmother has a dark heart!"
"That's right. If a kid doesn't obey, just use a thin stick to whip him a few times to make him remember not to do it again. Why would you use an awl to prick him?"
Yang Chunyan put down her backpack and helped Li Xiaoping pull up his pants. "Let's find Secretary Xu and ask him to call the police to investigate. Who is the evil-minded person who did this?"
Zou Cuifen's face changed when she heard this. She stepped forward and pushed Yang Chunyan rudely, "Mr. Yang, are you born in the year of the dog? You've even stretched your dog's paws into my house."
Yang Chunyan was caught off guard and was saved from falling by Zhao Huifang's support. After she stood firm, she stepped forward and pushed Zou Cuifen, shouting:
"You didn't stab me, so why are you so scared? You must be guilty, right? How could you be so cruel to a child of such age? I will take care of this matter today."
Zhao Huifang also put down her backpack and stood beside Yang Chunyan. "You black-hearted woman, you stabbed me with an awl even though I wasn't your child. Are you still a human being?"
"That's right, report it to the police and let them take a look. In this new society, there are still people using awls to prick children."
Seeing that she had offended everyone, Zou Cuifen was so angry that her face turned red. She turned around and kicked Li Wu, "Are you still a man? You watched others wrongly bully your wife and you didn't say a word!"
Li Wu looked at her in embarrassment, "If Xiaoping doesn't listen, just hit him twice. You're just..."
"Bullshit!" Zou Cuifen spit at Li Wu, "Which eye of yours saw me stab him?"
"You're the one who stabbed me, and you didn't allow me to sue my old man." Li Xiaoping sobbed, "You even said that if I dared to sue, you would tell my old man to throw me into the mountains to feed the bears."
Li Wu looked at Li Xiaoping and then at Zou Cuifen, his face flushed and blue, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, "Then where did the injury on his leg come from?"
Zou Cuifen looked at him without changing her expression and said, "You ask me, who should I ask? I can't afford to serve your eldest young master, so I won't serve you anymore." After saying that, she turned around and left.
The onlookers sneered, "Oh~ you're still serving me? You might as well use an awl to serve me!"
"That's right. Look at how thin Xiaoping has become after having her serve him for two years! I remember that girl from her family was as thin as a monkey when she came. But in just two years, she has become plump and white."
"I'm afraid he gave all of Xiaoping's food to his own children!"
"I'd rather be with a beggar mother than a father who is an official. Look, this is what a stepmother does."
"What are you saying? Look at Zhou Daqing. Mrs. Ding has been gone for more than ten years, but he is living well with his two kids, isn't he?"
Li Wu's face was burning. He scratched his hair and looked at Li Xiaoping, "Let's go home with me!"
Li Xiaoping shrank back, "If you want to hit me, I won't go back!"
Li Wu looked at him and said, "I said I wouldn't hit you, but why are you so stubborn?"
Li Xiaoping looked at him crying, "When you went to carry coal, she stopped giving me food and beat me!"
The onlookers gave him some advice, "Xiaoping, if your stepmother dares to hit you again, run to the brigade headquarters and call the brigade cadres."
"That's right. If she hits you again, go find your Secretary Xu and see if that black-hearted woman dares to hit you again!"
"We live under the same roof, and Zou Cuifen is such a shameless woman. It's only a matter of time before she gets beaten!"
A lady came over and said, "Li Wu, I think you should give some rice and money to your mother and send Xiaoping to live with her. Xiaoping can also help you take care of her!"
Li Wu's mother may have cataracts, and her eyes can only see a little blurrily.
Yang Chunyan thought this was a solution and looked at Li Xiaoping, "Are you willing to live with your grandma?"
Li Xiaoping nodded and said, "I am willing to help grandma find firewood, fetch water, and cook for her."
After hearing this, Li Wu gritted his teeth and reached out to Li Xiaoping, "Okay, I'll take you to live with your grandma."
Li Xiaoping looked at him and asked, "Why don't I go home and go directly to my grandma's place?"
Li Wu nodded, "Okay, let's go directly to grandma's place!"
Li Xiaoping hesitated for a moment, then reached out his hand, held his hand, and looked back at Yang Chunyan, "Aunt Yang, I'll go to grandma's house to dig herbs and sell them to your family."
Yang Chunyan nodded, "Okay, your grandmother Chen is at home collecting herbs, you just need to deliver them to her."
Seeing the father and son leaving together, the onlookers also dispersed, and two or three people who came to watch the fun followed the father and son.
Yang Chunyan and the other person also picked up their backpacks and walked back.
Zhao Huifang hesitated for a moment and said, "Chunyan, let me tell you, Zou Cuifen is a shameless shrew. She married into the family and gave birth to Li Hui just one month ago, but she can't tolerate my blind mother.
She quarreled with the old lady every day, and finally made her move out to live alone. Fortunately, Li Wu felt sorry for Xiao Ping today and did not completely side with Zou Cuifen, otherwise we would have been in a difficult situation. "
Yang Chunyan understood that she had good intentions, "I just felt that Xiaoping was too pitiful, and I couldn't help it."
Zhao Huifang sighed, "Yes! When Xiaoping's mother was alive, she raised him to be plump and white. Now he is as thin as a stray dog in the village. He looks so pitiful."
Over there, Li Wu really took Li Xiaoping to the old house where his mother lived.
He handed Xiaoping over to the old lady, took out five yuan from his pocket and gave it to her, promising to give her five yuan every month in the future, and also delivered Xiaoping's food rations to her.
The old lady didn't respond, nor did she object to Li Xiaoping living with her. She just took the five dollars and took her grandson into the house.
Thanks to my friend Street Lights for your support! Thank you!
(End of this chapter)
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