Sure enough, not far down the alley, by the small river, they found Zhu Zhilin, too weak to run due to his deep leg wound and excessive blood loss. Xia Liang pointed at him and said, "Officer, it's him." The police officers immediately grabbed Zhu Zhilin. The moment he looked up, two young officers recognized him and exclaimed, "It's you! We've been searching high and low, and now you've found him without any effort! You killed your wife Zhou Xue and have been on the run ever since. You dare to commit another crime! Come with us to the police station immediately!" Zhu Zhilin was escorted to the police station. His gaze towards Xia Liang seemed venomous, but Xia Liang ignored him and followed him to the station.
After giving her statement, Xia Liang realized her arm was in excruciating pain. She hadn't felt it much before because she was so tense, but now it was unbearable. She planned to go home to let everyone know she was safe and then go to the hospital for treatment. However, before she even reached the gate of the compound, she ran into Han Yulan and Gu Weiguo, who had come looking for her. Xia Liang quickly called out, "Mom and Dad, why are you out here?" Han Yulan replied, "Well, it's been two hours since you got off work, and we were worried because you hadn't come home. We went to your factory to look for you, but the security guard said you left right after get off work. We then followed the route you usually take, but we couldn't find you. We thought you might have gone the wrong way, so we went back to check. Aunt Wu also said you hadn't returned, so your dad and I came out to check." Gu Weiguo saw that Xia Liang's arm was stained with blood. "What happened?" asked Han Yulan, touching Xia Liang's sleeve. Xia Liang then told her in-laws the whole story. Han Yulan was shocked and pulled Xia Liang forward to examine her. "Are you injured anywhere else? Quick, let's go to the hospital to get it bandaged. Don't delay. Lao Gu, you go home and take care of the children. I'll go to the hospital with A-Liang." Gu Weiguo asked, "Are you two okay? Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Han Yulan waved her hand. "Go back. I'll go with A-Liang, no problem." She then went back, got on her bicycle, and took Xia Liang to the hospital. After the doctor bandaged Xia Liang, he said, "Don't worry, it's not a big problem. It's just excessive blood loss. Just eat more blood-nourishing foods when you get home." The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to the department store after leaving the hospital, spent all their money on a large bag of red dates, and then rode their bicycles home.
Upon arriving home, little Yunxi rushed to her mother for a hug, but Han Yulan stopped her, hugging her granddaughter and saying, "Sweetie, your mother's arm is injured, so I can't hug you now. Wait until it's better, okay?" Little Yunxi immediately looked at her mother's arm with concern and asked, "Mommy, does it hurt? I'll blow on it and it won't hurt anymore." She even blew on Xia Liang's wound twice. Xia Liang stroked her daughter's head with her uninjured hand and said, "Thank you, sweetie. Mommy doesn't hurt as much anymore. You're great!" The little one was overjoyed and said she wanted to blow on her mother's arm again. Han Yulan asked Wu Ma to buy some pig liver for the next few days, as Xia Liang needed to replenish her blood. She also told Xia Liang to take the red dates she bought today to the factory to eat.
The news of a murderer lying in ambush and injuring people in the alley caused a huge uproar. Many workers lived there, and some women who left early and returned late felt uneasy, fearing they too would encounter criminals. Suddenly, few people went out for evening strolls; the young couples who used to secretly date disappeared, and fewer elderly people took walks. Those who had to go to work went in groups. This created widespread anxiety. The municipal party committee held a meeting and issued a notice to increase patrols. Since the police station's officers were insufficient, the street offices were tasked with assisting. People were assigned to each courtyard to patrol every street, especially the dimly lit, unlit alleys. They actually caught several petty thieves, and the city's security improved significantly. The single women felt much safer, and those hooligans no longer followed them. Gradually, the city returned to its former bustling state.
Xia Liang was originally scheduled to go to work the next day, but the factory leader came to visit her at home and told her that she could rest for a few days and go back to work after her injury had healed. Xia Liang was happy to accept and treated the leader politely.
When Xia Liang returned to work, she learned that Zhu Zhilin had been sentenced to death. The police station even came to the factory to present Xia Liang with a banner, explaining that Zhu Zhilin had been on the run after killing his wife, and his son had been sent to live with relatives. There were no leads on him, and the police had been searching for him. They hadn't expected him to target Xia Liang; if Xia Liang hadn't stopped him, they didn't know when they would have caught him. Therefore, they presented the garment factory with the banner to thank Comrade Xia Liang. The factory also held a special meeting to publicly praise Xia Liang, recounting her inspiring story of bravely fighting against a criminal, and awarding her 200 yuan and a porcelain mug from the police station inscribed with "Serving the People."
Xia Liang recently started learning to knit with Zhao Weiting. Watching her knit so skillfully, she struggled to get it right herself. Her knitting was either too tight or too loose, or she'd manage to finish a few rows only to have them unravel, requiring her to slowly piece them back together – it was incredibly difficult. After more than a week of persistent effort, Xia Liang finally mastered the stockinette stitch. Overjoyed, she immediately bought a wool towel and knitted a simple, plain scarf for her eldest daughter. When Xiao Yunxi received the scarf, she was initially a little disappointed because everyone else's scarves had various patterns, while hers was completely plain. However, when her mother told her that this was the first scarf she had ever knitted, and it was a gift only for her, no one else received one, she instantly became happy. She didn't want to take the scarf off her neck and even wanted to wear it to bed. Xia Liang had to coax her into putting it away in the closet after promising to knit more for her later. Keep in mind, it was summer! Didn't the little one feel hot?
The next day, the little one was acting mysteriously in her room, doing something unknown. Han Yulan called her several times before she slowly emerged from her room to eat. Han Yulan asked, "What's wrong? Sweetie, come out and eat quickly, you'll be late for school." Little Yunxi smiled and said, "Coming, Grandma." Sitting in her chair, she drank the pumpkin and millet porridge that Grandma Wu had cooked that morning and ate the oily steamed buns, thoroughly enjoying herself. After eating, Han Yulan said, "Take out your schoolbag, Grandma will take you to school." The little one ran to her room, put on her schoolbag, and said, "Let's go, Grandma." Han Yulan looked at her granddaughter's bulging schoolbag and asked, "What are you carrying, sweetie?" Little Yunxi mysteriously replied, "That's my secret, Grandma can't ask." Han Yulan sighed and shrugged, "Alright, Grandma won't ask, let's go."
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