Chapter 50: The Deranged Liu Xiuying

On the way back, Lin You grew angrier the more he thought about it, threatening to confront Fatty Zhao as soon as they returned. Xia Yan managed to calm him down after much persuasion. She was angry too, but without direct evidence, how could Fatty Zhao possibly admit to anything?

“Big sister, you said you have a way to deal with Fatty Zhao? What is it?” Li Guoxiang, who had stayed silent during Lin You’s outburst, took the opportunity to voice his doubts now that Lin You was quiet.

Xia Yan’s eyes spun with calculation. “My method is simply to wait for the rabbit at the tree, like when I caught fish the other day. We don’t have evidence now, so why not catch him in the act?”

“That’s it?” Lin You raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had some clever trick. Do you know when Fatty Zhao will make his move?”

Xia Yan laughed and patted Lin You’s shoulder. “Uncle Lin, that depends on you.”

“Me?” he asked.

“Yes, tomorrow you’ll go up the mountain for me.”

“But I don’t have a task. Why would I go up the mountain?” Lin You was puzzled.

“How can you be so dense? I mean pretend to go up the mountain, and make sure the news reaches Old Zhao’s ears. That way, he’ll make his move.”

Xia Yan took a bite of an orange, speaking slowly and deliberately.

Lin You shook his head, not convinced by Xia Yan’s plan. “I don’t think he’ll be so foolish. After what happened with the poisoned pig, thanks to Liu Xiuying’s family causing a stir, everyone at the base knows about it. He must realize we’re on guard.”

“What worries me is if we keep watching every day but never catch him, we’ll wear ourselves out instead,” Lin You said.

Xia Yan had considered that too. “If he doesn’t act, then we’ll force his hand.”

...

Meanwhile, at the base.

Seizing the chance while Zhang Jun and the others weren’t at the hospital, Liu Xiuying sneaked out of the infirmary and headed straight to Lin You’s home.

She marched with a fierce air, and anyone passing by steered clear, afraid of getting dragged into trouble.

Lin Hongzhe and his brother were at home doing their homework when they heard a violent pounding at the door, followed by Lin Nuannuan’s loud crying.

Dropping his pen, Lin Hongzhe rushed outside, and in the yard, he saw his sister sitting on the ground and Liu Xiuying standing nearby with a stick in her hand.

He recognized Liu Xiuying; she used to be friends with that wicked woman.

“If you hit my sister, I’ll fight you!” The little guy grabbed a wooden stick propped nearby and charged.

Lin Hongzhuo snatched up a small stone from the ground and hurled it at Liu Xiuying.

“Ugh, you little bastard, how dare you throw things at me? I’ll beat the two of you to death!” Despite Lin Hongzhe’s quiet nature, he was fierce in a fight, swinging the stick right at Liu Xiuying’s head. But he was just a child; after a few rounds, Liu Xiuying kicked him to the ground.

“You little bastard, your mother’s dead, and your stepmother’s a shameless vixen—she got my whole family hospitalized, my son almost died! Today, I’ll teach you both a lesson.”

“Zhuo, take your sister to Grandma Wang’s next door! Hurry!” Lin Hongzhe scrambled up and clung to Liu Xiuying, shouting.

“Brother, I’ll help you!”

“Take your sister and run!”

Liu Xiuying slapped Lin Hongzhe hard across the face, leaving blood at the corner of his mouth, but he refused to let go.

“You little bastard, let go!” Seeing Lin Hongzhuo had reached the gate, Liu Xiuying kicked Lin Hongzhe several times, but still couldn’t shake him off.

“Brother, the gate’s locked!” Lin Hongzhuo cried.

“Climb... the wall!” Lin Hongzhe gritted his teeth, feeling himself growing weak.

Hearing this, Lin Hongzhuo climbed onto the water jar by the wall and jumped over. “Grandma Wang, Uncle Ruan, help!”

Next door, Wang Guilan was fixing dinner and hadn’t heard the commotion at Lin You’s home. When she saw Lin Hongzhuo rush in crying for help, she dropped what she was doing.

“What’s wrong, Zhuo?”

“Grandma Wang, hurry and save my brother—he’ll be killed by the bad woman!”

“What?” Wang Guilan exclaimed, rushing next door. At the gate, she found it locked from inside; peering through the crack, she saw Lin Hongzhe clinging to Liu Xiuying, blood on his lips.

“Liu Xiuying, you damned woman, what are you doing?!”

“Old hag, it’s none of your business! Get lost! Xia Yan hurt my son, so I’m beating her son—it’s only right!”

Wang Guilan tried to climb the wall, but her age made it impossible. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t get over. “Zhuo, go to the base and find Uncle Ruan, hurry!”

Wang Guilan stood at the gate and shouted, “Help! Liu Xiuying is going to kill someone—come out, quickly!”

But it was dinnertime, and most people were cooking in their kitchens, the noise from the stoves drowning out her cries.

“Liu Xiuying, I’ll tell you now—if you hurt the boy, Lin You won’t let you off, not even Zhao Ming can protect you,” Wang Guilan yelled, pushing the gate.

“Hmph, am I supposed to be afraid of Lin You? What can he do to me?” Liu Xiuying sneered.

Lin Hongzhuo ran toward the headquarters, crying loudly. Jiang Weiguo happened to walk by.

“Zhuo, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Uncle Jiang, help! The bad woman locked the gate and is beating my brother to death!”

Jiang Weiguo didn’t stop to ask which woman, but followed the child home. From afar, he heard Wang Guilan shouting, “Liu Xiuying is going to kill someone!”

Seeing Jiang Weiguo, Wang Guilan felt she’d found a savior. She rushed over. “Commander Jiang, hurry—Liu Xiuying is inside beating the child!”

Looking through the drafty gate, Jiang Weiguo saw Liu Xiuying kicking Lin Hongzhe. He immediately kicked the gate open, rushed in, and pinned Liu Xiuying to the ground.

“Liu Xiuying, are you out of your mind? Beating a child like that—you’re done! Zhao Ming can’t save you this time!”

Face pressed in the dirt, Liu Xiuying shouted, “Jiang Weiguo, let me go! Xia Yan hurt my son, so I have every right to beat hers!”

“Xia Yan hurt your son? Everyone at the base knows it was your greed that harmed Gou Sheng and the others!” Jiang Weiguo barked.

“Well, it was her pig,” Liu Xiuying retorted.

“Aunt Wang, how’s the child?” Jiang Weiguo asked.

“He’s fainted, but he’s still breathing…” Wang Guilan reached out to check Lin Hongzhe’s nostrils.

Jiang Weiguo released Liu Xiuying and hurried to pick up Lin Hongzhe. “Aunt Wang, look after Zhuo and Nuannuan. I’ll take Zhe to the infirmary. Lin You should be home soon—when they arrive, send them to the infirmary.”

“What about this woman?” Wang Guilan asked.

“Her?” Jiang Weiguo snorted coldly. “Let’s wait for Lin You! If it’s serious, send her straight to the station!”

Hearing this, Liu Xiuying sobered up. The station? That meant prison.

“No… I can’t go to prison—I have three kids at home…”

Wang Guilan snorted. “Did you consider that when you were beating someone else’s child?”

“It was that little bastard who hit me with a stick first…”