Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

The room was in chaos for a while before it finally quieted down again.

The fire in the coal stove was burning half-dead, and the room was filled with a mixture of red medicine, alcohol, and blood, making one's chest feel stuffy.

Zhao Xiaoyu was helped back to bed, and the gauze on her forehead was changed again. Her face was as white as a sheet of paper, and one side of her face was even more swollen.

Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was light and rapid, like a straw rope about to break in the wind.

Wang Xiulan sat on the edge of the bed, her chest still heaving, her eyes terribly red. The fierce energy she had just unleashed hadn't completely dissipated, but her hands had already started trembling.

The old barefoot doctor put down the medicine bottle, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and sighed heavily.

"He has recovered."

"If this continues, something really bad is going to happen."

No one inside the room responded.

Everyone knows this is the truth.

I've vented my anger by driving Zhao Laizi away, but the mess I left behind is still there.

Zhao Xiaoyu's eyelashes trembled slightly on the bed, and after a long while, she finally opened her eyes with difficulty.

She looked around blankly at first, as if her mind was still a little numb. But when her gaze fell on Wang Xiulan's face, her red and swollen eyes slowly regained some life.

Her lips moved, but her voice was hoarse, like sandpaper.

"Auntie..."

"Yes, Auntie is here."

Wang Xiulan quickly bent down, her voice softening instantly, "It's alright, don't speak yet, calm down."

Zhao Xiaoyu stubbornly opened her mouth again, tears streaming down her face.

"Thank you……"

"Thank you, sir... thank you, doctor..."

She spoke with difficulty, one sentence at a time, until her voice was almost gone by the end.

"If it weren't for you guys... I would be..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

I really didn't have the energy to say anything more.

But everyone inside understood.

Wang Xiulan felt a lump in her throat and quickly reached out to tuck the blanket around her, but she still stubbornly insisted on keeping quiet.

"No need to thank me."

"At a time like this, there's no point in saying such useless things."

But even as she said that, her eyes became even redder.

The group of old men squatted on the threshold by the door, took a couple of puffs of their cigarettes, and finally spoke in a low voice after a long while.

"This meal today drove them away."

"But what about tomorrow?"

The room fell silent again.

Wang Xiulan's anger, which she had just suppressed, suddenly flared up again.

"If he dares to come again tomorrow, I'll beat him up again!"

"One beating isn't enough, I'll beat him twice! I'll beat him until he's too scared to even step foot in the brigade headquarters!"

The old barefoot doctor shook his head.

"Sister-in-law Xiulan, hitting her won't work."

"You were able to protect her today because he didn't expect you to actually dare to do it. But that scoundrel is a tough nut to crack, and Li Cuihua is shameless. They suffered a loss today, so they'll only keep a closer eye on her later."

"We can't let this girl hide in the clinic forever, can we?"

These words were like a bucket of cold water being poured on me.

Wang Xiulan's lips moved, but she didn't utter a sound for a long time.

The old man from the village squatted at the doorway, tapping his pipe twice on the sole of his shoe. He frowned and remained silent for a long while before finally uttering a low voice:

"How about... we send this girl out to hide for a while?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room looked up.

Wang Xiulan was taken aback at first, then her eyes lit up.

"Go hide?"

"right."

The old man said in a low voice, "Don't stay in Kaoshantun for now. Lai Zi is keeping a close eye on things, and Li Cuihua is a money-grubber. As long as she's still in the village, those scoundrels won't stop causing trouble."

"Send the person away first, hide for a couple of days, and wait until things calm down before making any further moves."

Wang Xiulan sat up straight immediately.

"That method isn't entirely unworkable!"

"Move the people out of the village first. As long as Lai Zi can't find them, even if it takes ten days or half a month, it's better than the current situation!"

The old barefoot doctor thought for a moment and then slowly nodded.

"It's better to avoid it than to tough it out."

"Her current health can't withstand a second incident like this."

Wang Xiulan seemed to have suddenly grasped a rope, and her whole body came to life. She quickly turned her head to look at Zhao Xiaoyu.

"Xiaoyu, don't be afraid."

"Let's figure out a way to get you out of here."

"You should leave Kaoshantun first and get away from these heartless bastards. We can figure out a solution later."

Zhao Xiaoyu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), her eyes open, but didn't speak immediately.

A hint of confusion flashed in those eyes at first, and then a faint glimmer of light slowly appeared.

The old man by the door added in a low voice:

"Let's all chip in and help her with her travel expenses."

"I can still take out five more."

The old barefoot doctor chimed in:

"I still have two grain coupons."

"If you really have to leave, take it with you; it'll help you along the way."

Wang Xiulan immediately slapped her thigh.

"I'll get it too! I'll get it too!"

"My husband left me a lot of money when he left home, and I'll get it back when I get back!"

For a moment, the deathly atmosphere in the room seemed to finally ease a bit.

But this brightness didn't last long.

The old barefoot doctor was the first to frown.

"Can it be sent out? Where should it be sent?"

The room fell silent.

The smile on Wang Xiulan's face froze for a moment.

"Shouldn't we find somewhere in another village...?"

"Who should I look for?"

The old barefoot doctor looked at her. "She's a girl who's never left the house, never even stepping outside. Who does she know? Where can she find a place to stay?"

Wang Xiulan opened her mouth, but couldn't reply.

The old man by the door frowned and said in a low voice:

"Even if we find a place, it's uncertain whether they'll dare to take her in."

"A guy like Lai Zi can block the entrance to the clinic today, and tomorrow he can follow the scent to someone else's house."

"Besides, she still has a head injury and can barely walk. How will she make a living if she goes out?"

Wang Xiulan was also troubled for a moment.

"Then...how about sending it to the commune first?"

The old barefoot doctor shook his head.

"If they're sent to the commune, where will they stay? What will they eat? Who will take care of them?"

"She's a young woman, without any introductions, connections, or acquaintances, covered in injuries, with only a few dollars in her pocket, trying to go out and make a living. Isn't that just pushing her to the brink of despair?"

The room fell completely silent.

The old man at the door was smoking with his head down, so much so that his pipe had stopped making a sound.

The old barefoot doctor fell silent, staring intently at the dim lamp by the kang (a heated brick bed), his brows furrowed in worry.

Zhao Xiaoyu lay quietly the whole time.

She listened to every word he said.

The faint glimmer of light that had been there before gradually faded away in my eyes.

A long time passed.

So long that everyone in the room almost thought she had fainted again.

She barely moved her lips, her voice as soft as a breeze, as if it would dissipate at the slightest carelessness.

"Auntie..."

Wang Xiulan quickly lowered her head.

"Oh, Auntie's here."

Zhao Xiaoyu opened her reddened eyes.

She remained silent for a long time before slowly squeezing out those words.

"or……"

"I'll go find my older brother."