Chapter 245 Noise
While Lu Jianxi's death relieved Zhang Cui of a major worry, the fact that Lin Dahai, her son's father, was the killer was something Zhang Cui dared not face.
Niu Lili's words deeply hurt Zhang Cui's heart.
Two women were fighting, verbally attacking each other as they fought, saying the most hurtful things.
Some people tried to break up the fight, while others watched the spectacle from the sidelines; the stairwell was packed with people.
Song Lubai was brushing her teeth in the bathroom, listening to the noises in the hallway with a blank expression.
When she finished washing up and came out, her mother and Niu Lili had already been separated.
Niu Lili's head was a mess, and she had scratches on her neck and face. Zhang Cui was no less disheveled.
While the two were still arguing, she waited a little longer at the back of the crowd.
Finally, Niu Lili's son came out looking upset and said, "Aunt Zhang, everyone in the building is talking about your family every day. What did my mother say wrong? Lin Dahai is a murderer!"
Niu Lili straightened her chest, feeling that her son was backing her up. She glared at Zhang Cui with disgust and said smugly, "That's right, Lin Dahai is a murderer, and Lin Jianshe and Lin Heping are the sons of a murderer! No matter how much you deny it, you can't change this fact!"
Zhang Cui trembled with anger, "You're just taking advantage of the fact that there's no man in my family. Lin Dahai and I are divorced..."
Niu Lili spat and said, "Even if you're divorced, your two sons are still Lin Dahai's children!"
Song Lubai pushed through the crowd and walked up to Niu Lili, saying, "Then what kind of person are you? A born scoundrel! A coward! You're always talking about other people's problems and saying nasty things. You don't have any morals to say. If you have any guts, stand up straight in your own home. You're an unfilial son and an unkind husband. You get beaten up every day, and you don't even dare to make a sound. I feel sorry for you."
Niu Lili reached out to hit her, but Song Lubai, holding up the enamel basin, said, "If you dare to move, I'll come back with a hammer to argue with you."
Lu Jianxi was smashed into a pulp by a hammer, and everyone in the tenement building was terrified when they heard the mention of a hammer.
Looking at Song Lubai's expressionless face, and recalling how she had knocked Lu Jianxi unconscious with a hammer last night, Niu Lili was trying to regain face for her elders with her fierce words, when her son shouted: "Aren't you going home? You're just making a fool of yourself outside all day long."
Song Lubai had no good feelings towards Niu Lili's family.
Fathers beat their wives, sons boss their own mothers around every day, daughters are treated like slaves at home before marriage, and mothers have no status at home but seek validation outside...
Niu Lili went home, and soon everyone in the hallway dispersed.
Zhang Cui entered the house with a grim expression, and said with dissatisfaction, "What were you doing with a hammer in your hand when you went out in the middle of the night yesterday? Now look what's happened, Lin Dahai is a murderer, and your brother and the others will be called the sons of a murderer."
Zhang Cui was so angry that her chest ached and her face turned purple.
Song Lubai asked coldly, "If I don't use a hammer for defense, and he runs away and hurts someone again, will you take his place?"
Zhang Cui's eyes widened. "He's all tied up, how could he possibly escape?"
Song Lubai's voice grew even colder, "So you're saying it's all my fault? I shouldn't have come back, right?"
Her eyes were sharp and clear, as if they contained shards of ice. Zhang Cui was so frozen by those eyes that she was speechless for a moment.
Realizing she had said the wrong thing, Zhang Cui covered her head and said, "I'm not blaming you. Never mind, you can go to the county town to find your brother later. I have to go to work."
Song Lubai asked expressionlessly, "Aren't you going to bring them both back?"
She went to the county town today and didn't plan to come back. Living under the same roof as her mother, she felt suffocated.
If she hadn't already bought her train ticket back, she would have left today!
Zhang Cui shook her head: "Don't call them back. They're not in class anyway, so let them stay there."
As she spoke, Zhang Cui went inside, took out the money, and handed Song Lubai a ten-yuan note. "Take this money and go to the department store to see what they have. Buy it and give it to your aunt's family as a tip."
"Let me look for more tickets. When we get to the store, you can buy some things, and also buy some of whatever you want to eat."
Song Lubai took the money and stuffed it into her pocket.
If she hadn't been dreaming, she definitely wouldn't have taken the money, since she's not short of cash at all. But now, she has to take it!
After Zhang Cui left, Song Lubai slowly finished her meal and went to the post office.
She didn't know if Wei Yang had gone to the city to look for her recently, but she guessed that it had been so many days, he should have gone to see her.
Upon arriving at the post office, she sent a telegram to Wei Yang.
After sending the telegram, she went to the department store.
There weren't many people in the department store because the food supply was limited, and many items were in short supply.
Peach shortbread was out of stock, as were brown sugar sesame biscuits, so she bought half a pound of glutinous rice strips, half a pound of crispy pastries, a handful of orange-flavored candy, and two pretty hair ties.
She returned in such a hurry, preoccupied with her mother's safety, that Song Lubai didn't bring back any local specialties from Xinjiang.
Now that the matter was resolved, she was in the mood to visit her former teachers.
She went to Teacher Zhao Fang's house with her things, but all she met were Teacher Zhao Fang's two children and her mother-in-law.
She left the things she had brought behind, chatted with Huihui's grandmother for a while, and then went to the station to wait for the bus to the county town.
There are only two buses a day to the county town, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. By the time she arrived in the county town, it was almost dinner time.
The Lin brothers and their aunt's children were playing wildly in the alley. When they saw Song Lubai appear there, they both looked incredulous.
Lin Jianshe blinked and asked Lin Heping, "Isn't that our sister?"
Lin Heping, holding a basketball, stared wide-eyed as Song Lubai approached.
"It seems to be our sister."
The two brothers rushed to Song Lubai, shouting "Sister!"
As Song Lubai watched the two run closer and closer, a sense of disbelief began to spread through her.
Lin Dahai's son treated her even better than her own mother.
"Sis, why are you back?"
"Sis, look, this is the basketball your boyfriend bought for us. Why didn't he come with you?"
The two brothers peeked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Wei Yang.
Song Lubai handed the things in her hands to the two of them and said, "He's busy with work, so I came back by myself this time."
Upon entering the courtyard, Aunt Zhang Lan looked her over and said, "You've lost weight, and you seem to have grown a bit taller."
Song Lubai also felt that she had grown taller. Her old pants were too short, but the military pants she received last year were the perfect length this year.
"Why are you back? Why didn't you come back with your boyfriend last time?"
Song Lubai explained, "He had business in the capital last time, and stopped by my house to visit. I guess he's going to be transferred, but I don't know where he'll be going yet. I haven't been home for a year, so I wanted to come back and visit. I don't know when I'll be able to come back next time..."
My aunt said, "Your boyfriend is not bad. He's a capable person and also a cadre. When are you two planning to get married?"
Song Lubai said, "We've already gotten our marriage certificate. Once he's transferred, I'll go with him."
The aunt's hand holding the spatula stopped moving. "Why did you get your marriage certificate so early? You two didn't have any elders to help you with the arrangements over there."
Uncle held the opposite opinion: "Xiao Wei is a good comrade. It's better to get the marriage certificate as soon as possible. A good partner should be brought home as soon as possible."
Zhang Lan glared at him, "Our Lu Bai is an even better girl, she has no trouble getting married."
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