His heart ached as he realized that it must be Wu Ju who was abusing Xiao Shuangning again.
"Ningning, did your grandma beat you again?"
Xiao Shuangning bit her lower lip and shook her head.
"No? What about your face, and the blood?"
"Yes...it's Auntie!"
After all, little Shuangning was so young that she didn't know how to lie, so she told Zhang Binglin the truth. She even opened her mouth and stuck out her injured tongue to show Zhang Binglin.
"Your aunt, is she back?"
Xiao Shuangning nodded again. Zhang Binglin looked at the pitiful little Shuangning and was in no mood to fish anymore. He hugged her tightly in his arms and tidied her messy hair.
He hated himself for being so cowardly, unable to stand up and protect his own granddaughter when she was being abused. The only thing he could do was to give Xiao Shuangning a hug, so that she could relax and have a good sleep.
Zhang Binglin comforted Xiao Shuangning and she soon fell asleep. Zhang Binglin held her and sat by the river, not caring about the fish biting his hook.
The river dam is covered with green grass, grasshoppers are jumping happily in the grass, and the willow trees on the river bank are swaying gently in the breeze. At this moment, it is so quiet that even the sound of the river flowing can be heard.
The grandparents and grandchildren, sitting in this picturesque place, added another unique scene to the already pleasant scenery.
Zhang Binglin wished that time would just stop and that little Shuangning could always sleep as soundly as she did now.
It was not until the afterglow of the setting sun fell on the lake that Zhang Binglin woke up Xiao Shuangning, put away his fishing rod, carried the fishing rod in one hand, and held Xiao Shuangning's hand in the other, and walked towards home.
As soon as I entered the courtyard, I was greeted by Wu Ju's harsh scolding.
"Great! I was wondering where you'd gone, you damned girl! Turns out you went to look for your useless grandfather! You've been worrying about everyone, young and old, and you've made me so anxious for you that I thought you'd died because you couldn't get over it. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you won't know what's right and what's wrong."
Xiao Shuangning was already frightened and turned pale. She hugged Zhang Binglin's thighs tightly and hid behind him.
"Mother, here."
Zhang Xiaoqin brought Wu Ju the "family stick". Wu Ju took it, raised the stick high, and was about to hit Xiao Shuangning.
"That's enough."
Zhang Binglin roared loudly with all his strength.
Wu Ju was caught off guard and stopped what she was doing out of fright.
"Are you drunk? Why are you so loud? Get out of the way. I'm disciplining my granddaughter. It's none of your business."
Wu Ju reacted, complained a few words, and pushed Zhang Binglin away. Xiao Shuangning also dodged to the side, leaving Wu Ju empty-handed.
"Okay, stop hitting him. What if he gets hurt?"
"Dad, don't be so soft-hearted. This child needs to be punished. Look, I just disciplined her this afternoon, and less than two minutes later, she actually dared to sneak out without telling the adults. If we don't take care of her, she might die one day."
Zhang Xiaoqin even added fuel to the fire and strongly supported Wu Ju's approach.
They didn't regard Xiao Shuangning as a relative, or even a human being. They just treated her as a punching bag for them to vent their anger, as a bargaining chip to cheat them out of money.
"If you don't leave, I'll beat you too."
Wu Ju pointed a stick at Zhang Binglin's nose and threatened him to get out of the way.
Zhang Binglin looked at the finger-thick stick in front of him. If it really hit Xiao Shuangning, she would suffer.
"Go ahead and hit me! If you're angry, come to me. I'll take the blame for her."
Zhang Binglin was forced to be tough for once. If it were in the past, he would definitely be a coward, hide in the room and turn a blind eye.
"Hey! You're still getting stronger even though you're old? Haha... Fine! You want to be in the spotlight, right? I'll let you have as much as you want."
As Wu Ju spoke, she raised her stick and started beating Zhang Binglin hard.
Zhang Binglin was beaten and hid everywhere. The pain in his body made him unable to concentrate on protecting Xiao Shuangning. Both of them were beaten and hid everywhere.
Wu Ju stopped beating him until she had had enough and her anger had subsided. Not to mention how painful it was for Zhang Binglin and Xiao Shuangning, even she herself was exhausted and out of breath.
She put her hands on her hips, gasped for air, and pointed at the grandparents and grandchildren hugging each other.
"You little bitch, you're not allowed to eat tonight. Go kneel in front of your father's statue."
Xiao Shuangning's arms and legs were covered with red marks as big as fingers, and her tears had soaked through her tattered clothes.
A long time had passed since Wu Ju finished speaking, but little Shuangning was still nestled in Zhang Binglin's arms, with no intention of leaving, which made Wu Ju angry.
"Haven't you had enough? Why don't you go?"
Little Shuangning broke free from Zhang Binglin's arms, limped into the house, and knelt obediently in front of Zhang Jizong's statue.
Wu Ju really did what she said. She made the already scarred Xiao Shuangning kneel down as punishment and didn't give her any food.
In the middle of the night, Zhang Binglin secretly got up from the bed while Wu Ju was asleep, and brought some leftovers to Xiao Shuangning.
Xiao Shuangning, who was already starving, saw the leftovers and started to eat them voraciously.
Zhang Binglin looked at the purple scars on Shuangning's hands and couldn't help but wipe away his tears. He was in pain all over, let alone such a small child. He stroked Shuangning's scars, his heart churning.
"Ningning, does it hurt?"
Xiao Shuangning looked at Zhang Binglin, who was crying, and told a white lie. She didn't know why she said that, she only knew that if she said it hurt, her grandfather would definitely feel worse.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
