“Dad, let’s go to the hospital first,” Xu Duoduo whispered softly into Xu Ergen’s ear.
Xu Ergen carried Xu Duoduo on his back as they hurried toward the hospital. Zhou Rong walked beside them, helping support her. Xu Bu and Xu Ting followed closely behind.
Seeing them obediently leave for the hospital, Chen Hehua and Old Madam Xu turned back inside as well. After all this commotion, they were already about to be late for work.
“This head injury is extremely serious. The child is lucky to still be alive. What kind of parents are you?” the doctor scolded angrily. “It’s already been two days before you finally brought her in.”
Still, when he saw the family’s swollen red eyes, his tone softened a little.
“After we stitch the wound, she’ll need to be hospitalized. Go handle the admission procedures.”
“I’ll also write you a ticket for one jin of brown sugar and two bags of milk powder. Let the child nourish herself properly.” That was already the maximum authority he had.
After the nurse cleaned and stitched the wound, Xu Duoduo trembled from the pain, clenching her teeth without crying out.
Inside, however, she was cursing the entire Xu family from top to bottom.
That little beast Xu Sanyou wasn’t human at all.
She would definitely find a chance to get revenge.
“Doc… my injury was caused by someone pushing me. Can you write me a medical report proving how serious it is? I want to report it to the police.”
While the nurse turned around to put away the instruments, Xu Duoduo quickly took out a painkiller from her space and swallowed it dry.
“Mm, alright. I can issue that report for you.” The doctor looked at her sympathetically. “Such a severe head injury at such a young age… this scar will probably remain forever.”
“Do you have any other symptoms?”
“I feel nauseous, want to vomit, dizzy, and confused.”
As someone from the apocalypse trying to scam people after a head injury, Xu Duoduo knew every symptom by heart.
“The nurse will bring your medicine shortly for an IV drip. Stay in bed and don’t move around carelessly. Family members, come outside with me for a moment.”
There were some things he needed to explain privately.
“The child’s injury is very serious. She most likely has a severe concussion, and because treatment was delayed for two days, she needs to stay hospitalized for observation. The wound is deep and will definitely leave a scar. There may also be lasting complications.”
The doctor’s expression turned grave.
“How can there be lasting complications?” Xu Ergen panicked. “Doctor, use the best medicine for her. It doesn’t matter if it costs more. I have a job — I can ask the factory to advance me money.”
“It’s not about the money,” the doctor replied. “The patient already shows signs of a concussion. She needs quiet rest. Whether she recovers fully depends on later observation.”
“Excuse me, doctor. Is there a patient named Xu Duoduo here?”
A male voice interrupted their conversation.
Everyone turned to look.
Two policemen stood there.
“We received a report that Comrade Xu Duoduo was pushed and seriously injured. We’ve come to investigate the situation,” said one officer with thick eyebrows.
“Yes, yes, there is! I’m Duoduo’s father,” Xu Ergen quickly answered.
“Officer, hurry and arrest Sanyou!” Xu Ting cried softly. “He pushed my sister and made her bleed so much. The doctor said she might have permanent damage. It’s very serious.”
“That’s right, Officer,” Xu Bu added. “My younger sister was pushed by Eldest Uncle’s third son, Sanyou. His second brother, Eryou, was there too. After they hurt her, they ran away.”
“The patient has just undergone wound cleaning and stitches,” the doctor explained truthfully. “She’ll soon receive an IV. Her concussion symptoms are obvious, and she requires hospitalization for observation. The wound is severe and will leave permanent scarring.”
The little girl hadn’t cried even once during the stitching process.
It made people’s hearts ache for her.
“Oh, so this is just a family dispute?” said the policeman with dead fish eyes impatiently. “Then you should settle it yourselves.”
He had rushed over thinking there was a murderer involved.
What a waste of time.
“Why can’t we report this to the police? My daughter can’t suffer this injury for nothing!” Zhou Rong glared angrily at him.
“Please don’t misunderstand,” the thick-browed officer quickly said, glaring at Dead Fish Eyes. “You absolutely can report it. He just assumed that since you’re relatives, you wouldn’t press charges. He speaks rather bluntly.”
This Dead Fish Eyes officer was the cousin of a deputy director from the Revolutionary Committee. Completely uneducated, he had used connections to get into the police force.
All day long he only thought about earning merit and getting promoted.
He wore the uniform for nothing and knew nothing about serving the people.
“Since you’re reporting the case, where’s the victim? We need to take a statement,” Dead Fish Eyes muttered unhappily.
Inside the ward, Xu Duoduo heard the police arrive and secretly praised whoever had reported it.
It must’ve been Uncle Liu.
Uncle Liu was truly a god-tier assist.
“I was holding the egg my elder sister gave me. Sanyou burst into the room and tried to snatch it away. I refused, so he pushed me. My head hit the corner of the table. Eryou was there too. Once they saw blood coming from my head, they both ran away.”
Xu Duoduo calmly described the incident.
“Oh. That’s all?” Dead Fish Eyes asked impatiently.
“Officer, that’s enough. I want to report the case. Sanyou intentionally injured me — I almost died. He’s a murderer. Eryou is an accomplice. This isn’t some ordinary family argument. It’s a criminal case.”
Then Xu Duoduo deliberately began feeding him dreams.
“If you arrest two murderers at once, that’s amazing. You’ll definitely earn merit and get promoted.”
The moment he heard the words “earn merit,” Dead Fish Eyes instantly became energized.
That’s right!
A family injury dispute and attempted murder were completely different things.
He was going to make contributions!
He was going to get promoted!
“Then let me confirm once more,” he said excitedly. “You’re definitely pressing charges? Don’t change your mind later because they’re relatives.”
He didn’t want his merit slipping away after arresting them.
“I won’t change my mind. I suffered too much to let him off,” Xu Duoduo promised firmly.
“That’s right. None of us will change our minds. We’re absolutely suing him,” Xu Ergen and Zhou Rong said in unison.
“Good! Then we’ll go arrest Xu Eryou and Xu Sanyou immediately!”
Afraid of missing his chance at promotion, Dead Fish Eyes turned and rushed out at once.
“Besides your statement, do you have any witnesses or physical evidence proving Xu Sanyou pushed you?” the thick-browed officer asked helplessly while watching his partner disappear.
That idiot had already gone to arrest people.
But the evidence was still insufficient.
What if they denied everything after being arrested?
Wouldn’t it all be for nothing?
Though unwilling to clean up Dead Fish Eyes’ mess, the officer personally sympathized greatly with this little girl.
But law was law.
He needed evidence.
Otherwise, no matter how pitiful she was, he couldn’t help her seek justice.
“Yes, Officer. Don’t worry — I won’t drag you down,” Xu Duoduo said happily.
This policeman was a good man.
He still had a sense of fairness in his heart.
“Oh? What evidence?” the officer asked curiously.
“My little sister is the witness. As for physical evidence…” Xu Duoduo smiled slightly. “My eldest aunt is extremely stingy. She only made one pair of shoes for each of her four sons. When Sanyou pushed me and ran away in a panic, he lost one shoe in my room.”
“Officer,” Xu Bu added angrily, “each of their brothers only owns one pair of shoes. If Eryou wasn’t feeling guilty, how could they not notice a shoe missing for two whole days?”
“Then why didn’t you report this immediately?” the thick-browed officer asked Xu Ergen and Zhou Rong.
Their child had been injured for two days before coming to the hospital.
“Officer… we thought it was only a minor injury. We thought resting at home would be enough. We never imagined my daughter would stay unconscious for two days and nearly die.”
And during those two days, his sister-in-law had even secretly prevented Grandma from giving money for treatment.
Xu Ergen’s heart filled with regret.
It was his fault.
His daughter had been injured, yet he hadn’t even brought her to the hospital in time.
“Alright. There’s nothing missing from the statement now.” The thick-browed officer finished recording everything. “We’ll head to the Xu household and bring Xu Eryou and Xu Sanyou back to the station. If there are further developments, we’ll contact you again.”
With that, he turned and left the ward as well.