Liu Chunlan really wanted to hack Lin Wanyi to death with a single knife stroke.
If it weren't for the child in her belly, she would have had Liu Dabing sell her off long ago.
She told herself to hold her anger, just hold it in.
Her grandson was the most important thing, her eldest grandson was everything.
For the sake of her eldest grandson, she would endure this. She had to.
Lin Wanyi fetched some hot water and carefully wiped down Liu Siyue's body.
She was covered in dried blood.
There was especially a lot on her thighs. Lin Wanyi had to change basin after basin of bloody water.
Lin Jiajun watched from the living room, shocked and appalled, while Liu Renzhi clenched his fists tightly.
After a long while, Lin Wanyi finally wiped the sweat from her forehead and dressed Liu Siyue in some of her own clean clothes.
She told Liu Siyue,
"Sister, you've survived!"
Liu Siyue threw herself into her arms, trembling so much she couldn't say a single word.
Liu Renzhi clenched his fists, preparing to go find the Chen father and son.
He wanted to beat them to death.
But before he could leave, the two plainclothes officers who had come with him walked over. Following them were Chen Guanshan and his son, their hands tied, along with the head of the local police station and a few of his subordinates.
Seeing Liu Renzhi, Chen Guanshan shouted in agitation,
"Qiangzi, it's him! He's the one who snatched Da Niu's wife and beat me and Da Niu up like this.
"Hurry up and arrest him, lock him up immediately, and get Da Niu's wife back!"
Zhang Qiang looked Liu Renzhi up and down.
"So you're my cousin-in-law's older brother?"
"Cousin-in-law?"
Liu Renzhi narrowed his eyes. "On what grounds is she Chen Da Niu's wife?
"Did they register? Did they go through the legal procedures? Has Chen Da Niu even met my parents?
"My sister is a proper college student, how did she suddenly become his, Chen Da Niu's, wife?"
Zhang Qiang was momentarily intimidated by his imposing manner, but he refused to back down.
"This is the countryside. According to rural customs, as long as a ceremony is held and the marriage is consummated, they are husband and wife.
"Your sister is already pregnant with a child, how is she not Da Niu's wife?
"They were living their lives just fine, what gives you the right to just take her away?
"Brother, that doesn't make any sense, does it?"
Liu Renzhi asked him, enunciating every word, "Then what do you think makes sense?"
Zhang Qiang glanced at Chen Guanshan and turned back to say,
"Look, we are all civilized people. As the head of the police station, I try to be as fair as possible.
"Since the brother-in-law is here today, we certainly welcome you, and we should have a proper talk.
"Your sister is already a daughter-in-law of the Chen family, this is an undeniable fact, right?
"Even if she goes back with you now, no one else will want her. So here is what I'm thinking.
"Let's just go with the flow. Since you're here, we can hold a grand wedding for the young couple, allowing her to marry into the Chen family properly and legitimately.
"From now on, we'll be in-laws and can visit each other anytime. How about that?
"As the saying goes, it is better to resolve enmity than to keep it alive, right?"
After Zhang Qiang finished speaking, Chen Guanshan chimed in,
"She also needs to make up for the dowry she owes our family. When other families marry off their daughters, they bring hundreds of thousands.
"She came with nothing but the clothes on her back."
Liu Renzhi's fists clenched even tighter. He gritted his teeth and said,
"And if I don't agree?"
Zhang Qiang's face instantly darkened.
"Since you're not giving me any face, then I have no choice but to handle this strictly according to the law."
Lin Jiajun was absolutely furious. He yelled at Zhang Qiang,
"You call this handling things by the law? Do you even know what that means?
"You should be arresting that Chen father and son, that would be handling things by the law."
Zhang Qiang sneered. "Young man, don't be so impulsive.
"As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon struggles to crush a local snake. You are on my turf, so you'd better show me some respect.
"I'll put it plainly for you. The Chen family spent fifty thousand yuan to marry this wife.
"Now you want to take her away, you definitely have to return this money, right?
"Besides, if they lose their wife, won't they have to marry another one? Won't they have to spend money again?
"Shouldn't you be the ones to pay for that?
"Touch your conscience and tell me, isn't that right?"
"Conscience?"
Lin Jiajun almost laughed out of sheer anger.
"You have a conscience? You bunch of animals actually have the nerve to talk about conscience?"
He turned to look at Liu Renzhi. "Brother, I'll just call you brother. Don't listen to these people.
"They are animals. Even if you give them the money, they won't let you leave.
"I see that you and these two officers are pretty good fighters. At worst, we just fight them again.
"Brother, I'll help you!"
Zhang Qiang lit a cigarette. "Little brother, I told you not to rush.
"With such heavy snow and freezing weather, you won't be able to get out of here carrying a half-dead person.
"Even if you luckily make it out, so what? The whole town is full of my people.
"We even have relatives in the city's public security bureau.
"Where else can you go?
"Listen to me, a wise man submits to circumstances. Either leave the person here and you go, or leave two hundred thousand yuan and take the person with you.
"Think about it carefully."
"Two hundred thousand?" Lin Jiajun thought he had misheard.
"How can you be so shameless? It's bad enough you bullied someone and aren't paying compensation, but you actually want us to give you two hundred thousand?
"There is nothing this absurd in the whole world.
"Don't give it to them, brother, don't. We can't encourage their arrogance.
"Absolutely do not give it to them!"
Inside the room, Liu Siyue's heart was pounding. She held tightly onto Lin Wanyi's hand.
"He will give it, my brother will give it. He doesn't care about money at all.
"He will definitely pay the money for me.
"But I just can't accept it, sister. They are bad people, why should we give them our money?"
Lin Wanyi also felt it was incredibly tragic, outrageous, and even absurd.
What kind of living hell was this, for such ridiculous things to happen?
The victim ultimately has to spend her own money to buy her way out?
A wave of delayed fear washed over her again.
How could anyone marry into a place like this?
How could this happen?
Zhang Qiang, with the cigarette dangling from his mouth, asked Liu Renzhi,
"Have you thought it through?"
Liu Renzhi didn't even look at him. Instead, he turned to ask the two plainclothes officers,
"Comrades, you recorded the whole thing just now, right? Can it be used as evidence?"
The plainclothes officer nodded. "Yes, the entire process was recorded, and we have already transmitted the video back to the police station."
Zhang Qiang only then realized he had been tricked. He angrily threw away his cigarette butt.
"Damn it, you dare to go against me on my own turf."
He gestured to the subordinates behind him. "Arrest them all and take them back to the station. Use your special skills and interrogate them thoroughly."
Just as Lin Jiajun reached out his hand to help, Liu Renzhi and the two plainclothes officers had already swiftly taken down the men Zhang Qiang brought.
Zhang Qiang was terrified, his lips trembling. No longer arrogant, he pointed at Liu Renzhi.
"Don't come any closer! Don't come over here!
"I still have a lot of men in town. With just one phone call, they will come help me immediately.
"I'm telling you the truth, no matter what, you won't be able to escape."
"Is that so?"
Liu Renzhi unceremoniously smashed a fist right into his nose.
Instantly, blood gushed out.
Before Zhang Qiang could even react to fight back, Liu Renzhi threw another punch at him.
He swung his fists, mercilessly pounding Zhang Qiang blow after blow.
"Call them! Call all your people here right now!"
"You are nothing but a lowly police station chief, what gives you the right to be so arrogant?
"Since I dared to walk in here with only three people, it means I came fully prepared. Even ten more pieces of trash like you wouldn't be enough of a fight for me."
He grabbed Zhang Qiang by his limp neck and roared,
"Come on, keep fighting!
"Why did you stop?"
