Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

Zhao Dezhu moved his wrist, revealing five red and purplish finger marks.

He sized Chen Ping up and down. "Who the hell are you? Meddling in my business?"

Zhao Dezhu's voice rose again, as if he were trying to embolden himself.

"I'm a doctor at the health center. Your wife just jumped into the reservoir, and I rescued her," Chen Ping said coldly.

Zhao Dezhu paused for a moment, then glanced at Sun Xiuying on the ground. His expression changed; it wasn't pity, but impatience.

"Jump into the reservoir? Who are you trying to scare? If she really jumped, would she still be standing here?"

Chen Ping didn't reply, but squatted down and helped Sun Xiuying up.

Blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth, there was a slap mark on her face that was red and purple, and there were strangulation marks on her neck, one after another, as if she had been strangled by something.

"Sister Sun, please stand up."

Sun Xiuying stood up, her legs were shaking, and her whole body was trembling.

She didn't dare look at Zhao Dezhu, keeping her head down and shoulders hunched, as if she were ready to be slapped at any moment.

Cui Ying had followed them in at some point and stood next to Chen Ping. When she saw the injuries on Sun Xiuying's face, she trembled with anger.

She pointed at Zhao Dezhu, her voice trembling, "Are you even human? Did you know your wife jumped into the reservoir? If you hit her again, she really will die!"

Zhao Dezhu glanced at Cui Ying and sneered, "Dead? If she dared to die, she would have been dead long ago. Don't try to scare us. I'm disciplining my own wife, what business is it of yours?"

"You..." Cui Ying was so angry she couldn't speak.

Chen Ping helped Sun Xiuying sit down to the side, then turned around and looked at Zhao Dezhu.

He didn't speak, just stared at her calmly, but something beneath that calmness was chilling.

Zhao Dezhu felt uncomfortable under his gaze and took a step back: "You... what do you want to do?"

Chen Ping took a step forward.

Zhao Dezhu took another step back and bumped into the door frame, with nowhere left to retreat.

"You beat your wife, driving her to jump into the reservoir, and you forced your child to drop out of school and work."

Chen Ping's voice was flat, as if he were reading a medical record, "What other skills do you have?"

Zhao Dezhu's face flushed red, but he stubbornly insisted, "That's our family matter, it's none of your business..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ping's fist had already landed.

He punched Zhao Dezhu in the stomach.

Zhao Dezhu let out a "uh" sound, bent over like a shrimp, knelt on the ground clutching his stomach, and vomited sour water.

He opened his mouth as if to shout, but no sound came out; he could only make a "ho ho" sound, like a chicken being choked.

Cui Ying was startled and took a step back.

Sun Xiuying looked up and saw Zhao Dezhu kneeling on the ground. Her eyes widened, her lips trembled, and she seemed to want to say something but couldn't.

Chen Ping squatted down and looked at Zhao Dezhu's face.

Zhao Dezhu's face turned a deep purplish-red, his face streaked with tears and snot, and it took him a long time to catch his breath.

"This punch was from you hitting your wife."

"If you hit her again, I'll come back. And then it won't be just one punch," Chen Ping threatened.

Zhao Dezhu clutched his stomach, not daring to speak or look at Chen Ping.

Chen Ping stood up and looked at Sun Xiuying: "Sister Sun, don't be afraid of him anymore. If he hits you again, come to the health center to find me."

Sun Xiuying nodded, and tears welled up again, but this time it wasn't crying; it was the kind of grievance that comes from finally having someone to stand up for you after holding back for so long.

Cui Ying squatted down and took Sun Xiuying's hand: "Sister Sun, come with us, don't stay here."

Sun Xiuying shook her head: "I'm not leaving. If I leave, he'll go even crazier."

"and you……"

"It's okay." Sun Xiuying wiped away her tears. "I'm used to it."

Cui Ying wanted to say something more, but Chen Ping stopped her.

Chen Ping knew that Sun Xiuying wasn't staying because she was used to it, but because of her child who was working away from home.

She left, and if the child comes back and can't find his mother, she'll go crazy.

But that's not the problem.

The problem lies in gambling.

Chen Ping turned around and looked at Zhao Dezhu, who was still kneeling on the ground: "Where is your gambling den?"

Zhao Dezhu's body visibly trembled. He looked up, his face pale, and asked, "Why...why are you asking this?"

"Take me to see it."

"No!" Zhao Dezhu's voice suddenly shrieked, "You can't go to that place..."

Chen Ping took another step forward.

Zhao Dezhu's words caught in his throat. Looking into Chen Ping's eyes, his lips trembled twice, and he swallowed back what he was about to say.

He'd seen people get beaten up, but he'd never seen someone remain so calm after doing so.

It was frighteningly calm.

"What...what exactly do you want to do?" Zhao Dezhu's voice softened, not out of submission, but out of fear.

"I told you to lead the way, so stop talking nonsense." Chen Ping's eyes were icy.

Zhao Dezhu got up from the ground, clutching his stomach, and staggered out.

As he reached the door, he glanced back at Sun Xiuying, then at Chen Ping, opened his mouth as if to say something, but swallowed his words back.

Cui Ying tugged at Chen Ping's sleeve and whispered, "Are you really going? A place like that..."

"We have to go. If we take charge today, we have to see it through to the end. Otherwise, he'll keep hitting us after we leave, and Sister Sun will try to kill herself again. We have to dig out the root of the problem," Chen Ping said.

Chen Ping knew that if Zhao Dezhu didn't quit gambling, the final outcome would be the same.

Cui Ying looked at him, her lips moved, and she released her grip.

"You wait here and talk to Sister Sun. I'll go check on her and be right back," Chen Ping said.

"Be careful." Cui Ying nodded.

"Okay!" Chen Ping followed Zhao Dezhu out the door.

The two walked one after the other into the depths of the village.

Zhao Dezhu walked ahead, his steps becoming slower and slower, as if his feet were filled with lead.

He glanced back at Chen Ping every now and then, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.

Chen Ping didn't urge him, and just followed along. The two of them left the village one after the other and headed up the mountain.

The road is getting narrower and narrower, and more and more remote.

The trees on both sides were so dense that the sky was obscured, and the dirt road underfoot turned into a gravel road, which in turn became a path overgrown with weeds.

The sun was already setting in the west, and it was getting dark quickly in the woods. It was only a little past four o'clock, but it already felt like evening.

There were birds chirping in the distance, their calls eerie, one long and one short, like someone was crying.

"How much further?" Chen Ping asked.

"Almost there." Zhao Dezhu pointed ahead, "It's just over that slope."

The two walked for another ten minutes or so, passing through a bamboo forest, when suddenly an open space appeared before them.

Several sheds were set up on the ground, where chickens and ducks were kept, and there was a foul smell in the air.

There's a large duck shed at the very back, built with asbestos tiles and plastic sheeting. It looks dilapidated from the outside, but the door is newly replaced with a sheet metal door that's tightly shut.

Several motorcycles and a bread truck were parked outside the shed, their license plates covered with mud.

Zhao Dezhu stood outside the duck shed, turning back to look at Chen Ping, his face pale: "Brother, have you thought this through? You really can't go in here. Those people inside..."

"Stop talking nonsense," Chen Ping interrupted him.

Zhao Dezhu gritted his teeth and forced himself to move forward.

Just as the two approached the duck shed, two more people suddenly jumped out of the bamboo grove next to them.

A man with a buzz cut, a gold chain around his neck, and a cigarette between his fingers;

The other one had long hair, was as thin as a bamboo pole, and was clutching a steel pipe in his hand.