Chapter 53 Zhang Cui's Shock
It was already late afternoon when Song Lubai returned to the city.
Zhang Cui is still on the night shift today.
There was no one to cook lunch for them, so the twins had to make their own steamed buns and porridge.
The bruises on the twins' faces were even more striking than the night before, and the neighbors were all asking Lin Dahai why he had hit them last night.
The twins had no idea why their father had come into the house and started hitting people; they only said that he had been drinking.
The neighbors understood.
Lin Dahai was still upset about his son and daughter-in-law's situation and the death of his grandson, which is why he drank and went berserk, hitting people.
The noise outside was quite loud, and Zhang Cui, who had slept for about seven hours, woke up.
Zhang Cui listened for a while while lying in bed. After getting up, she saw the injuries on the twins' heads and asked them what happened at the door.
Aunt Niu next door: "Oh my, your daughter was really something yesterday. She slapped Lin Dahai several times. I've never seen a daughter hit her father before. It really opened the eyes of everyone in our building."
As Song Lubai climbed the stairs, being pointed at and whispered about, she overheard Aunt Niu gossiping about her. She immediately retorted, "What kind of world have you been living in? Aunt Niu, your worldview is probably only the size of a swallow, so you make a big fuss about everything."
The neighbors wanted to laugh but felt it was inappropriate; they all thought Zhang Cui had gone mad and was not someone to be trifled with.
Aunt Niu glared, ready to curse, but Song Lubai spoke up before she could: "The most important thing is to know your own limitations. Just because you live nearby doesn't mean you can interfere in other people's business. If you say too much, don't blame me for revealing more of your family's good deeds."
Aunt Niu swallowed her words, gritted her teeth, went back into the house, and closed the door.
Aunt Niu was furious; this brat could drive anyone crazy with just a few words.
Song Lubai speaks without restraint, not caring about anything, even the most vulgar things. Her family still needs to establish themselves here, and her son still needs to get married.
Normally, if Song Lubai opened her mouth and spat out poison, Zhang Cui would definitely teach her a lesson, but the injuries on Song Lubai's face looked quite frightening.
Song Lubai's right eye was so swollen it was almost closed, her mouth was also swollen, her face was covered in bruises, and there were congealed bloodstains on the back of her hand.
Lin Dahai really went all out.
While Zhang Cui was still in a daze, Song Lubai entered the room.
"Mom, I've already got my household registration certificate. Going to Xinjiang is a must. I've already told Auntie, and she said she'd help me prepare some warm clothes. Before I leave, I want to ask my dad if he wants to come with us?"
Zhang Cui looked at the injuries on her face and asked, "What happened yesterday?"
Song Lubai didn't want to bring it up anymore.
“Yesterday he was drunk, came into the house and hit me. I fought back and kicked him out. I told him that if he dared to come back before I left, I would go to his workplace and make a scene, expose his family's dirty laundry, and make him lose face.”
Looking at her daughter's nonchalant attitude, Zhang Cui felt it was all too absurd.
Although they are not biological father and daughter, they are still family. The daughter hit her father, just as Niu Lili said, it was the first time she had ever seen it.
Zhang Cui: "No matter what, you can't hit him back. Otherwise, everyone will laugh at you. Just run away. No matter what, you can't hit him back."
Zhang Cui hated that damned night shift yesterday. If she had been there, Lin Dahai definitely wouldn't have dared to hit someone while drunk, and Song Lubai wouldn't have gone crazy and fought back.
Song Lubai raised her chin and said to the twins, "You two take the steamed buns and go out to eat. Come back later. I need to talk to Mom about something."
The twins could sense the unusual atmosphere and obediently went outside.
Song Lubai crossed her arms. "We've already hit each other, I'd still fight back if it happened again. Mom, don't you want to know why I fought back?"
Zhang Cui felt that Song Lubai only fought back because Lin Dahai had hurt her, and that alone was enough to ignite her anger.
“When I took the college entrance exam last year, he gave me diarrhea medicine. I had diarrhea for two days in a row, and I even had to get an IV drip after the exam. He said to me that it was useless for a girl to study so much, because once she got married, she would belong to someone else’s family. So, the fact that I could study, go to school, eat, and have clothes to wear was all thanks to him. He felt that he could control everything about me.”
Zhang Cui's eyes were filled with astonishment.
She truly hadn't expected Lin Dahai to have secretly done something so significant.
Zhang Cui was speechless for a long time.
She regretted marrying Lin Dahai. After having twins, all she could think about was raising them together with Lin Dahai, because the family couldn't fall apart.
Looking at her daughter's face, Zhang Cui felt bitter but couldn't say a word.
Song Lubai turned her head to the side. "You probably think that high school is enough for me, but if I were a boy, would you make me repeat a year?"
Tears welled in Zhang Cui's eyes. "It's all in the past now. Bringing it up again will only make me angry."
Song Lubai pointed to her heart, "I have no past here! Anyway, I'm leaving soon and won't be living in this house anymore. I don't care how bad my relationship with him is. I'm just afraid that you will be bullied by him in the future."
Zhang Cui: "What else can he do to me?"
Song Lubai: "Mom, you'd better switch to another workshop. I dreamt that your hand got caught in a machine, and then Lin Dahai thought you were a burden and beat and scolded you every day, making you suffer. Don't think I'm exaggerating to scare you. Li Guangming's death was what I dreamt about. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived. You'd better take it seriously."
"Whether you get a divorce or not is not up to you. If you still want your hands in the future, you should find a way to change jobs and workshops. If you are unhappy with your life in the future and feel that you really can't go on, then come and find me."
Song Lubai's expression was very serious, which made Zhang Cui take her words to heart.
Seeing that her mother was about to say something, Song Lubai interrupted her, saying, "Don't say those things, they're meaningless. I've said everything I needed to say. I don't think I'm wrong. If you try to educate me because of Lin Dahai, I'll hate you too."
That's too blunt.
The bluntness made Zhang Cui flinch.
Looking at her daughter's still very young face, she actually felt that the soul inside her daughter was that of a sensible adult.
While Zhang Cui remained silent, there was a knock on the door, and Lin Heping poked his head in. "Sister, there's a man downstairs looking for you. He says he's here to thank you and he's carrying a gift. He says his name is Li Guangming."
Song Lubai went out the door and downstairs, and saw Li Guangming, who had lost a lot of weight and looked like a bamboo pole.
When Li Guangming saw her like this, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets in astonishment.
"Comrade Song, what's wrong with you?"
Is this Song Lubai?
Song Lubai explained the cause and effect in a calm and concise tone: "Lin Shuhong's wife Liu Mei and her family harmed you. Not long after Liu Mei was taken away, her youngest son died. Now Lin Shuhong and his father Lin Dahai are blaming me for meddling and for not pleading with your family for them. The injury on my face was caused by Lin Dahai. Oh, Lin Dahai is my stepfather."
It took Li Guangming a while to fully process all the relationships between the people. He blurted out, "I'm sorry."
Song Lubai shook her head, "It has nothing to do with you. Even if you weren't the one Liu Mei harmed, I would still help. As for my stepfather hitting me, I retaliated."
Li Guangming's mind went blank again.
Song Lubai reached out her hand: "Aren't you here to thank me? Give me the things. I can accept this gift, after all, I did help you. This cashmere scarf and leather shoes are good things. I will definitely be able to use them when I go to Xinjiang for winter."
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