By the time Su Cheng and her group arrived at Kaoshan Village, it was already afternoon.
Their cars stopped at the entrance of the village. Beneath a poplar tree with a trunk thick enough that two people would have to join hands to encircle it, several village women were sitting together, chatting and gossiping.
The village was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one narrow road leading in. The road farther ahead was rough and difficult to drive on.
Su Cheng had four bodyguards dressed in black with her, along with two cars.
Today, she was wearing a light-purple dress. Her long, softly curled hair fell over her shoulders, giving her an appearance that was both youthful and alluring.
The moment they arrived at the village entrance, the women immediately began whispering among themselves.
“My goodness, who is that?”
“I don’t recognize her.”
“Is she a relative of someone in the village? She certainly looks important.”
“She looks rich. Just look at what that woman is wearing. It’s so pretty. I’ve never even seen clothes like that in the county.”
A slightly plump woman gazed at Su Cheng enviously.
After parking the cars, Su Cheng led the way into the village.
The road was much wider than she remembered from the original owner’s memories. The village had changed quite a bit over the years.
The original Su Qianqian had practically been invisible in this village. She rarely interacted with anyone.
“Come on, let’s go take a look.”
“That’s the direction of Han Aimin’s house.”
“Could that be Su Qianqian?” one of the women asked uncertainly.
“She does look a little like her. But this woman seems fatter than Su Qianqian.”
“It definitely can’t be her. She looks like a city woman—so fashionable and fair.”
A group of villagers followed behind Su Cheng all the way to Han Aimin’s house.
Su Cheng stared at the home from her memories.
There was hardly any trace of the old house left.
The mud-brick house she remembered had been replaced by three red-brick rooms.
Suddenly, a woman’s shrill voice came from inside.
“You little bastard! You worthless piece of trash! I’ll beat you to death today!”
“Smack! Smack!”
The sound of a stick striking someone’s body rang out.
The moment Su Cheng stepped through the doorway, the sight before her made her eyes blaze with fury.
A little boy was curled up in the corner, desperately covering his head with both arms.
The woman beating him was Li Chunhua—the widow who had been caught having an affair with Han Aimin years ago.
She was wielding a bamboo switch as thick as a finger, striking the boy over and over.
Su Cheng didn’t need to ask who he was.
It had to be Han Zichen.
She rushed forward and kicked the widow hard.
Li Chunhua was sent flying several meters.
“Xiao Chen! Xiao Chen!”
“Mommy came back for you. I’m sorry, Mommy was late.”
Su Cheng pulled Han Zichen tightly into her arms, her heart aching at the sight of him.
She wasn’t sure whether it was the emotions left behind by the original owner affecting her, or something else entirely.
Looking at Han Zichen’s painfully thin, gaunt little face, Su Cheng’s heart clenched.
“Where does it hurt? Tell Mommy.”
“Mommy… am I dreaming?”
Han Zichen stared at her hopefully.
“You really came back?”
Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at her without blinking, as though he was terrified that the moment he looked away, she would disappear again.
The sight pierced Su Cheng’s heart.
She gently stroked his head.
“Mommy came back to take Xiao Chen with her. From now on, we’ll never be separated again.”
The moment Han Zichen heard those words, he burst into tears.
“Mommy didn’t abandon me! Mommy didn’t abandon me! You really came back for me! I finally waited for you!”
He clung tightly to Su Cheng.
Li Chunhua lay on the ground for quite some time before finally managing to move. Seeing so many villagers gathered around, she simply closed her eyes and pretended to faint.
Su Cheng’s eyes filled with tears as she gently stroked Han Zichen’s head.
She didn’t dare touch the rest of his body. The child had obviously been badly beaten.
She immediately ordered one of her bodyguards to carry Han Zichen to the village clinic.
After struggling to get back on her feet, Li Chunhua glared viciously at Su Cheng.
“That bitch Su Qianqian! How dare she hit me!”
She turned toward the villagers watching the scene.
“You’re all just going to stand there and watch me get beaten by an outsider? Are we people from Kaoshan Village just going to let outsiders bully us like this?”
One of the women frowned.
“Su Qianqian isn’t exactly an outsider. And who told you to beat the child so viciously?”
“Exactly. You were practically trying to beat him to death. How can you be so cruel?”
“Someone already went to the fields to call Han Aimin.”
At the mention of Han Aimin, the villagers’ expressions became somewhat contemptuous.
No matter what, that child was his biological son.
How could he stand by and watch a widow abuse him like that?
At the village clinic, the elderly doctor examined Han Zichen with a sympathetic expression.
“The injuries are mostly superficial. The bigger problem is his long-term malnutrition. This child has been starving.”
He sighed.
“He needs proper nourishment and careful care. If this continues, it could affect his lifespan. Give him plenty of milk and make sure he gets enough nutritious food.”
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Su Cheng nodded.
Afterward, Su Cheng and her group went to the village committee office.
The village chief stared at Su Cheng’s imposing appearance and the black-clad bodyguards standing behind her.
Su Qianqian really made something of herself.
Just look at the entourage she had brought.
He doubted even the county magistrate traveled with this much presence.
Su Cheng got straight to the point.
“Chief, look at what happened to my Xiao Chen. The old doctor just said that if this continues, his health could be damaged for life.”
The village chief had already heard what happened.
The village was small. Any incident could spread through it in no time.
He looked at Su Cheng.
“You want to take Zichen away?”
“I want Han Zichen to sever his relationship with Han Aimin.”
The village chief hesitated.
“That might not be appropriate. Zichen is still Han Aimin’s son, after all.”
“Chief, Han Aimin doesn’t deserve to be called a father.”
Su Cheng’s voice was cold.
“Even a tiger won’t eat its own cub.”
She looked at him.
“I heard the elementary school here is quite far from the village. The children have to walk seven kilometers just to attend school?”
The village chief nodded.
“I plan to build a Hope Primary School near our village so the children in this area can receive a proper education. They won’t have to walk ten or more kilometers every day just to attend school and waste so much time on the road.”
The village chief’s hands trembled with excitement.
“Is that true? You really intend to build a school near here? The children won’t have to travel such a long distance to school in winter?”
“I’ll have someone discuss the specific arrangements with the county officials and the village leadership.”
The village chief immediately called out loudly,
“Someone go and get Han Aimin! Bring him to the village committee office!”
He turned back to Su Cheng.
“I’ll do my best to persuade Han Aimin to give up custody and sever his relationship with Zichen.”
On his way there, Han Aimin heard from a villager that Su Qianqian had made it big and had returned with several intimidating men in black and that she had beaten his wife.
His face darkened.
Su Qianqian must have become some rich man’s mistress.
Otherwise, how could someone like her suddenly become so wealthy and glamorous?
Hmph.
She had beaten his wife.
She wouldn’t get away with it for less than three or five thousand yuan.
Wasn’t she acting all high and mighty now?
He’d make sure she paid.
Han Aimin stormed into the village committee office.
The moment he saw Su Qianqian standing there, he froze.
How did Su Qianqian change so much?
She looked like a completely different person.
People always said women changed dramatically as they grew older.
Could this be what they meant by eighteen changes at twenty-five?
Su Cheng saw Han Aimin standing stunned in the doorway.
So this is the original owner’s ex-husband.
He looked much older than he did in her memories.
After recovering from his shock, Han Aimin angrily pointed at Su Cheng.
“Su Qianqian, who gave you the right to hit people whenever you want? Don’t think you’re so great just because you’ve hooked up with some rich man!”
“Beating someone is against the law! Pay compensation! Pay up!”
“If you don’t hand over five thousand yuan, don’t even think about leaving Kaoshan Village!”
Su Cheng looked at him coldly and sneered.
“Han Aimin, you’re talking to me about the law?”
“You’ve been abusing a child. Do you know what kind of crime that is?”
“Child abuse.”
The moment Han Aimin heard those words, a flicker of unease crossed his eyes.
But he immediately stiffened his neck.
“The kid was disobedient. What’s wrong with giving him a few hits?”
“You brought all those people here to beat my wife, and she’s still lying in bed! You’re paying her medical expenses.”
Su Cheng looked him up and down and mocked him.
“Han Aimin, lacking an education can be fixed by studying. Being ugly can be fixed with plastic surgery.”
“But having a rotten heart?”
She gave him a cold smile.
“There’s no cure for that.”