rescue
The door to Zhi Meizi's house was tightly closed.
During the meal, Xu Tangmian was too embarrassed to ask Yu Chunsheng to go and check on Zhi Meizi's matter, since she had already temporarily lost her job because of it, and it would seem like she was meddling in other people's business.
Unexpectedly, even though she didn't mention it, Yu Chunsheng seemed to know what she was thinking and took the initiative to ask to see Zhi Meizi. His reason was: "Judging from what happened to you, Liu Peng is quite vengeful. I won't feel at ease if I don't go and see him."
He took leave again and went to the Liu family with Xu Tangmian, but the gate was now closed.
Looking at the large red iron gate, Xu Tangmian felt a little worried: "Did they move or what? I didn't see them keeping the gate closed during the day when I came last time?"
Yu Chunsheng also frowned. He stepped forward and looked down. The iron gate was not locked; it was closed from the inside, which meant that someone was home.
But isn't it a bit too quiet? Even if Liu Peng isn't at work, Zhi Meizi's mother should be cleaning the yard and preparing lunch at this time. How come we can't hear a sound at all?
Xu Tangmian pursed her lips, tugged at Yu Chunsheng's sleeve, and asked him, "What do we do now? Should we climb over the wall and see if he accuses us of burglary?"
"Wait!" Yu Chunsheng interrupted her, pointing intently to the snow piled up on the left side of the door, "Look!"
Those were piles of snow on both sides of the yard. The snow on the path directly opposite the gate had been swept clean and piled up at the edge, while that corner was right next to the road and the iron gate. Right now, it was as if hot water was flowing from inside the iron gate, melting a small hole at the bottom of the snow pile.
Yu Chunsheng pulled off his gloves, stretched out two fingers and scratched it; it turned red.
"It's blood!" Xu Tangmian quickly realized.
Just then, a crashing sound came from the courtyard, as if something had fallen to the ground.
"Here you go." Yu Chunsheng handed the gloves to Xu Tangmian, took a few steps back, took a running start, pushed off the wall, grabbed the courtyard wall in a few quick movements, and jumped. A few seconds later, the courtyard gate opened.
Xu Tangmian entered the courtyard and immediately saw Zhi Meizi's mother lying on the ground behind the door, barely alive. Her eyes were still open, but there was a cut on her head, and she was only wearing thin indoor clothes, so she was probably too cold to speak.
Without saying a word, Yu Chunsheng took off his coat and covered her with it, then carried her back into the house. During this time, Xu Tangmian followed behind them, looking around for Liu Peng.
Lying in bed with a stove burning beside her, Zhi Meizi's mother trembled as if she had regained some consciousness and said in a shaky voice, "Second, second floor."
"Second floor?" The two exchanged a glance, just as another loud bang came from upstairs.
Something must have happened upstairs! Time was of the essence, so the two of them quickly made their way up to the second floor.
The door to the room on the second floor was also closed. Remembering the two loud noises earlier, Xu Tangmian tacitly made way for them, and Yu Chunsheng didn't hesitate for a moment as he took two steps back and kicked the door down.
The scene that followed made Xu Tangmian have the thought of killing someone for the first time.
In this chilly indoor environment, where even a sweater would be cold, Zhi Meizi, sitting in the corner, was only wearing thermal underwear, her coat carelessly tossed on the floor. The person in front of her, her stepfather Liu Peng, was wearing only boxer briefs and was about to pull down her pants.
There were two broken vases on the ground. The girl in the corner had her hands tied behind her back and gloves stuffed in her mouth. When she saw them, she started making "woo-woo" noises again.
Liu Peng remained calm, showing no panic at being exposed. Instead, he grabbed a broom from behind the door and, with a ferocious expression, swung it at Xu Tangmian and the other person.
Yu Chunsheng gritted his teeth, grabbed his wrist, and hurriedly said, "Take Zhi and go first!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Xu Tangmian rushed inside, untied Zhi Meizi, stuffed her clothes into her pocket, and dashed downstairs to the second floor. Liu Peng wanted to chase after her, but Yu Chunsheng blocked his way, and he received another punch to the face.
"You beast!" Yu Chunsheng's mouth trembled with anger, but his words remained unusually calm.
Liu Peng was missing two fingers and was also clumsy, so he was naturally no match for the young man. Although he was holding a weapon, after Yu Chunsheng disarmed him, he struggled a few times before finally lying on the ground.
Looking at the pile of rotten meat on the ground, Yu Chunsheng felt it was even worse than a half-pig hanging on a pork stall; it was truly disgusting.
He pulled the sheet off the bed and threw it on his lap, then looked around for something.
Liu Peng was panting heavily. Seeing that Yu Chunsheng's face was red, he thought Yu Chunsheng was going to kill him. He didn't even bother to struggle anymore and lay on the ground begging for mercy: "Please let me go. I didn't really lay a hand on her."
Yu Chunsheng ignored him and squatted down again to look for something under the bed.
Under the bed were all sorts of household tools like screwdrivers, trowels, and hammers. Liu Peng's voice trembled as he said, "Killing people is illegal! You...you're still young, there's no need for you to waste your bright future on someone like me."
"You?" Yu Chunsheng glanced at him briefly, then turned his gaze back because it was too irritating to look at.
His gaze swept around the room, finally settling on a radio sitting on a low table. He pressed play, the cassette tape began to spin slowly, and melodious music drifted from the receiver.
Yu Chunsheng turned off the radio, picked up the hemp rope he had just found on the bed, and tied Liu Peng up tightly.
"Attempted rape, domestic violence, caught red-handed, that's enough to get you in jail for a few years."
"Please, please let me go!" Liu Peng recovered and knelt on the ground, pleading, "I have money, can I give you money? Please, have mercy and don't call the police."
"Fine, I'll give you a way out." Yu Chunsheng pulled up a chair from the side and sat down. He then bent down, picked up the radio, fiddled with the buttons a few times, and said firmly:
“Next, just answer whatever I ask honestly, don’t try anything funny. If you behave well from now on, this recording will be locked away forever; if you cause trouble for my wife again, or touch a single hair on my mother and daughter, I will immediately send it to the police station.”
"Okay! Okay!" Liu Peng said hurriedly, "I'll tell you everything!"
"Did you just drag Zhi into the room, tie her up, gag her, and take off her pants?"
"yes…"
"Did you inflict the head injury on your wife, Zhi Meizi's mother?"
"yes…"
Do you often hit them?
"yes…"
"Do you have any gambling debts? Were your two fingers chopped off because of gambling?"
"Yes... but I don't owe anything recently. I just gambled a couple of days ago and won a few thousand dollars. I can give you whatever you want!"
"Alright."
Yu Chunsheng pressed the button, and with a "click," the cassette tray popped open. He took out the cassette, put it in his pocket, and calmly walked downstairs.
——
Xu Tangmian couldn't ride a bike, and since this was Liu Peng's hometown, he was afraid that everyone around him would be familiar with him. So after helping Zhi Meizi get dressed, he ran all the way without daring to stop.
After running for an unknown amount of time, Zhi Meizi couldn't run anymore. She tripped and fell to the ground as she passed a ditch, and said shakily, "Teacher Xu, you go ahead and run... Don't worry about me. There's no one here, you should go back."
How could Xu Tangmian leave her behind? It was very close to the Fifth Team, they would be home soon. She helped Zhi Meizi up and supported her as they walked slowly, comforting her, "We'll be home soon, it's alright."
As she walked, she looked around and turned around to see a donkey cart slowly approaching them. Xu Tangmian was afraid that Liu Peng had caught up with them, so she quickly hid Zhi Meizi behind her and casually sized up the newcomer.
Sure enough, the donkey cart stopped in front of them. Zhi Meizi clung to her waist, trembling all over. Xu Tangmian couldn't help but feel scared, but she still managed to stand firm and silently looked at the person.
The man took off his hat and scarf, and said with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you out here in this cold weather instead of staying in bed at home?"
It's Song Weidong!
Although he was lame, he was still a respected man in the village, and Liu Peng probably couldn't do anything to him. Besides, although she didn't know him well, judging from his previous comforting words and his offer to write her a letter of introduction, he wasn't a bad person.
Xu Tangmian's anxiety subsided temporarily. She bent down to comfort Zhi Meizi behind her and whispered, "It's Dr. Song, right? You've met him before, haven't you?"
Zhi cautiously peeked out, but only glanced at the girl before shrinking back in.
Song Weidong asked, puzzled, "Isn't this the girl from Old Wang's family? What happened to her?"
This is something that's not convenient to talk about with outsiders, and it's probably a psychological trauma for Zhi Meizi. Xu Tangmian only vaguely said, "She just fell and is in a bad mood."
"You fell?" Song Weidong pointed at the donkey cart. "Then hurry up and go to the clinic. I just got a batch of medicine from town; it's really unbearable in this cold weather."
Xu Tangmian then asked Zhi Meizi, "How about we go to the clinic to get checked out?"
Zhi Meizi said timidly, "I don't want him to show it to me."
Xu Tangmian understood immediately. He was afraid that Zhi Meizi was traumatized by what had just happened and was not used to being around men.
She nodded. "Then we won't go. But you fell and are walking slowly, so let's take Dr. Song's car home first, and Teacher Xu can apply the medicine for you, okay?"
With Zhi Meizi's permission, Xu Tangmian carried the girl into the car.
Xu Tangmian held the girl in her arms and patiently stroked her gently. During this time, Song Weidong glanced back a few times but didn't ask anything.
After carrying Zhi Meizi back to bed and coaxing her to sleep, Yu Chunsheng still hadn't returned. Xu Tangmian was worried something had happened and was about to go to the village office to report it to the police. But when she went out, she found that Song Weidong was still there.
His deep gaze swept over Xu Tangmian, then he nodded towards the house, asking, "What happened?"
Xu Tangmian turned her head away, unwilling to say anything more.
Song Weidong didn't ask any more questions, but seeing her head down as she walked towards the river, he casually asked, "Are you going to the convenience store?"
The convenience store, the brigade headquarters, and the clinic were all in the same direction, so he naturally followed them.
Xu Tangmian was preoccupied with Yu Chunsheng's matter and had no interest in chatting, so she walked forward in silence. Song Weidong noticed her drastic change in attitude and her hesitant answers when asked earlier, and worried that something had happened, so he followed closely behind her.
The two walked one after the other, looking like a young couple who had just had a tiff.
Seeing that the convenience store was already past, Xu Tangmian was still walking forward when Song Weidong couldn't help but stop her, asking, "What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Xu Tangmian paused, her gaze lingering for a moment on the chattering crowd outside the convenience store, before turning around and asking, "Dr. Song, how are things between you and Xiao Tao lately? Hasn't she contacted you?"
At this point, Song Weidong indeed fell silent. He pursed his lips and walked to a seat next to Xu Tangmian, then said, "I heard her say that you and your partner got your marriage certificate in a hurry, and no one from the school notified you?"
The question was a bit strange. If Xiao Tao were here, she would probably overthink it, but Xu Tangmian was afraid that she was just being presumptuous, so she answered him directly: "That's how it is."
Xu Tangmian had nothing to hide about this, but then he suddenly remembered that Yu Chunsheng had been jealous of him before, and had even said that the village had arranged a marriage between the two of them, so he quickly added:
"But we have a very good relationship, and he is a good husband."
Song Weidong scoffed, then said with a complicated expression, "Are you really alright? There are indeed too many people and too much gossip in the village. If you want to leave here and find a job elsewhere, I can help you."
Xu Tangmian hadn't yet understood what he meant when he continued:
"Actually, there's no need to care too much about reputation. We don't live our lives for the opinions of others. What matters most is what you truly want and whether you're happy."
Xu Tangmian was completely confused, so she simply asked him, "What are you trying to say?"
Song Weidong stopped and looked around to make sure no one was there before asking her in a low voice, "Did he... you know... you did that to you before you married him? Actually, it's nothing. This isn't the feudal era anymore. Just because a man touches you doesn't mean you have to marry him."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Xu Tangmian couldn't help but scold, then she thought of what Xiao Tao had said before, "If I were to tell a little white lie to make him give up his celibacy without ruining your reputation, would you mind?"
Is this what you call not ruining her reputation?
"I'm busy right now and I can't argue with you. Wait until I'm done, then I'll have a serious talk with you." Xu Tangmian kicked his limp leg in anger and ran off to the brigade headquarters.
What kind of nonsense is this? Who talks like that to people?
After calling the police, she noticed Song Weidong looking over at her from the entrance of the nearby clinic. As soon as he saw her looking over, Song Weidong quickly turned his head and went inside.
"Pah!" Xu Tangmian still felt unlucky when he passed by the clinic. What did Xiao Tao say to him?
Xu Tangmian went home to check on things first. When she saw Yu Chunsheng return, she was relieved and ran over to hug him, saying aggrievedly, "You scared me to death! I thought you couldn't beat him."
The man gently patted the back of her head with his large hand. "I'm not that fragile."
"How is he now? I was worried something had happened to you, so I called the police."
"You called the police?" Yu Chunsheng glanced at Zhi Meizi, who was fast asleep on the bed, and said in a low voice, "That's fine. You stay home and watch over her. I'll go over there again."
"Wait!" Xu Tangmian stopped him, her face full of worry: "Are you still going? What if the police go and see that her mother has injuries on her head and that bastard man also has injuries, and they arrest you as a bad guy?"
“The innocent will clear themselves.” Yu Chunsheng did not hesitate and gently kissed her forehead to comfort her. “I’ll be fine. Besides, don’t you want to go back to work at the school as soon as possible? We have to handle this matter properly.”
Yu Chunsheng didn't give her any time to think; he said goodbye and rode away on his bicycle.
With police around, there shouldn't be any major problems. Besides, since Yu Chunsheng insisted on going, he must be confident. Xu Tangmian wasn't too worried about him.
With that matter resolved, all that remained was Zhi Meizi's and her own business. Xu Tangmian glanced at Zhi Meizi, who was sleeping soundly, and considered asking Song Weidong for clarification, but was also worried about leaving Zhi Meizi alone at home.
She picked up the key to lock the door, but then she thought, what if Zhi woke up and found her gone? Not only was she gone, but the door was also locked. Would she think of the scene at her stepfather's house?
After thinking it over, she put the lock down again, picked up a pen and wrote a few words, placing them on Zhi Meizi's bedside table. They were all words she had taught her before, which she shouldn't have forgotten, especially since there were pictures and pinyin included.
Xu Tangmian went to the clinic in a huff. It was lunchtime, so Li Yutao specially bought lunch and brought it from school to the clinic to eat with Song Weidong.
Seeing the two of them so affectionately together, Xu Tangmian felt a surge of anger. How did Li Yutao and Song Weidong's relationship progress so rapidly? Was it by spreading rumors about her?
She didn't understand what the rumors about her had to do with her being close to Song Weidong.
If you don't understand, you should ask. She stood at the door, beckoned with her hand, and said expressionlessly, "Xiao Tao, come out for a moment."
Li Yutao glanced at Song Weidong, and although she didn't understand what was going on, she still skipped out.
"What's wrong?"
"What did you say to him?" Xu Tangmian asked bluntly, "Why did he suddenly say some strange things to me, and even asked if we got married because my husband touched me?"
"Huh?" Li Yutao looked equally bewildered. "Is he sick in the head?"
She turned to go back to find Song Weidong, but Xu Tangmian grabbed her collar and pulled her back. "Tell me first, what did you say to him?"
"You don't doubt that I told him that, do you?" Li Yutao said with a helpless expression of "How could this be?" stamping her foot. "I, I did! Sigh! Didn't he say he was a bachelor? I told him that his thinking was too progressive and that he could try to slow down, like you and Brother Yu."
"I told you that you got married suddenly and are doing well now. If you meet the right person, there's no need to overthink it; just love bravely. Is that how he understands it?"
"This idiot." Li Yutao turned and left, this time so fast that Xu Tangmian didn't even have time to react before she got away.
She didn't know what the two talked about, but Xu Tangmian felt it was a communication problem between them. As long as her situation was explained clearly, she didn't want to get involved, especially since there was Zhi Meizi waiting at home.
Passing by a convenience store, she bought some fruit candy and hawthorn slices to take home.
The matter with Liu Peng has come to an end, but Zhi Meizi's mother has turned against him again, saying that it was just a quarrel between husband and wife and that the police station has no jurisdiction over family disputes. So in the end, he was sentenced to more than a year in prison for "gathering a group to gamble".
At least for the next year or so, they can have some peace and quiet.
Unexpectedly, the day after Liu Peng was arrested, Zhi Meizi's mother came to the house to take Zhi Meizi back, but Xu Tangmian refused.
If Liu Peng is arrested, there will also be Li Peng, Wang Peng, and Zhang Peng. As long as her mother is around, Zhi Meizi will not have an easy time.
She had to resort to Song Weidong's theory of "female chastity" to help her get a divorce. But she refused, saying that she had already caused the death of one husband and that her second husband was in prison, and that she did not want a divorce and insisted on waiting for her husband to be released from prison.
Xu Tangmian was speechless, and only muttered under her breath, "It's hard to persuade a damned ghost with kind words."
Unexpectedly, the next day, Zhi Meizi's mother really did drown herself. It is said that she ran into her former mother-in-law while buying groceries and was scolded by her.
Within a month, Zhi Meizi lost her biological father, was molested by her stepfather, and finally lost her biological mother. After all these blows, she became completely withdrawn.
Her grandmother didn't want her, much less her former daughter-in-law's ashes. The Liu family, on the other hand, refused to allow them to bury Zhi Meizi's mother's ashes there, citing her as a "jinx."
The small urn of ashes sat on the side table in Xu Tangmian's house for a few days.
Xu Tangmian stared blankly at the urn, feeling guilty: Had she really done something wrong? If she hadn't interfered with this matter from the beginning, would Zhi Meizi's mother have survived?
She took a deep breath and bowed three times to the urn containing her ashes.
Yu Chunsheng pointed to the urn and asked her, "Aren't you afraid of this?"
Xu Tangmian pursed her lips and thought for a moment, then cautiously asked him first, "What do you want to do?"
“We can’t just leave her here forever, can we?” Yu Chunsheng asked her tentatively, “How about burying her in the back? It’s hard to dig a hole in someone else’s land.”
“Bury her, and put up a tombstone.” Xu Tangmian didn’t say anything. “She’s Zhi’s mother after all. Maybe she’ll come to see her when she grows up.”
"Have you thought it through?"
"I've thought it through."
The story of Zhi Meizi spread like wildfire throughout the village. Even though Xu Tangmian and the others didn't say anything, there was still a lot of gossip coming from the fourth team after Liu Peng was arrested.
Meixiang Village is not suitable for Zhimeizi to live in.
Li Yutao made a phone call back to her hometown, and all the formalities were completed quickly. Li Yutao's nanny, Aunt Wang, took the silent Zhi Meizi to Beiping.
The medical standards and living conditions there are better than here, and besides, she's far away from the gossip of her hometown. Xu Tangmian believes that Zhi Meizi will get better and better.
Before completing the formalities, Li Yutao also asked Xu Tangmian, "Aren't you always going to Beiping? Should we also get your letter of introduction processed?"
Compared to Xu Tangmian, Yu Chunsheng's reaction was clearly more agitated. His gaze darkened, and he looked at Xu Tangmian with added worry.
What exactly is she going to Beiping for? If she was going to find her family before, now that their relationship is stable, is she still going? And if she goes, will she come back?
How could he subtly and tactfully ask to go with her?
Xu Tangmian wasn't as complicated as he thought. She first glanced at Yu Chunsheng, then looked at Li Yutao opposite her, and said jokingly, "Forget it, I don't rely on back channels to get a letter of introduction."
Li Yutao blushed immediately, "You, you still dare to say that! Didn't I apologize to you later?"
"I was just kidding." Xu Tangmian pinched her cheek. "The holiday is coming soon, I want to celebrate the New Year first."
"Will you spend time with me?" Yu Chunsheng interjected at the opportune moment.
"Who else could we go with?" Xu Tangmian rolled her eyes, then looked at Li Yutao and said with a mischievous smile, "You reminded me that we should invite Dr. Song to come along too. He's all alone and it's quite lonely."
This was just a joke about Li Yutao. Since the misunderstanding was cleared up, Song Weidong had formally come to apologize. Xu Tangmian wasn't one to hold grudges, so she invited him and Li Yutao to have a simple meal at her home.
At the table, Li Yutao formally raised Song Weidong's hand and openly announced that the two were dating. This made the "old" Song Weidong a little embarrassed, so he picked up a meatball and stuffed it into her mouth.
Hearing Xu Tangmian's teasing, Li Yutao was not annoyed, but said playfully, "Then your wish probably won't come true. I won't be going home this year either; I'm going to spend the New Year with him."
Xu Tangmian frowned. "You know you two have only confirmed your relationship but aren't married yet, right? You're not going home for the New Year because of him. Your family isn't going to come and cripple him, are they?"
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