Auntie Li was intimidated by Li Degui’s imposing manner. She stammered nervously, not daring to admit it, yet not daring to deny it either.
“Did you say it or not?!” Li Degui demanded again.
Auntie Li trembled. “I… I…”
“Secretary, I can testify—Auntie Li really did say those things.”
“That’s right, we all heard her. The things she said were awful.”
“She even called Brother Xiao Shan a… a useless cripple…”
…
The surrounding villagers all stepped forward one after another to testify.
With overwhelming evidence against them, Li Degui’s chest rose and fell with anger as he pointed at the Li family.
“Good. Very good indeed. Li Cuihua, Liu Guifen, and Li Tiedan—you’ve truly brought glory to Guhe Village, haven’t you? If people like you go unpunished, then Guhe Village is finished.”
Li Degui was a decisive man. He wasted no more words and immediately announced the punishment for the Li family in front of everyone.
“Li Tiedan—despite your young age, you bullied the weak, tried to steal someone else’s belongings, and physically assaulted others. Your behavior is extremely serious. You will immediately apologize to Luoluo. Starting tomorrow, you will clean the area around the village ancestral hall for half a month and copy the Standards for Being a Good Student and Child twenty times. Let your parents properly teach you some manners.”
“Li Cuihua—as an elder, you used vicious language, insulted soldiers and military families, insulted a hero who defended the country, and verbally abused an innocent child. Your behavior is especially disgraceful.
“You must publicly apologize to the Xiao family—especially Xiao Shan and Luoluo. You will also compensate Luoluo for medical expenses. We’ll set it at… five yuan. In addition, you will provide one old hen to help nourish the child.”
“Liu Guifen—you failed to discipline your son and couldn’t distinguish right from wrong. Go home and reflect on yourselves properly. If this happens again, the village committee will discuss whether your family should even remain in Guhe Village.”
Li Degui’s voice rang out forcefully.
Not only had he punished the Li family, but he had also warned every villager present.
“Five yuan?! And an old hen too?!” Auntie Li screamed. “Why should we pay that much? She’s just some wild girl from another vill—”
“Li Cuihua!”
Li Degui shot her a sharp glare, and the rest of her sentence lodged hard in her throat.
He no longer wasted words and said firmly:
“Will you pay or not? If you refuse, I’ll report this to the commune tomorrow and let them decide how to handle insulting a decorated war hero and bullying a young child!”
Auntie Li and Liu Guifen turned deathly pale.
They knew Li Degui meant what he said. If this truly reached the commune authorities, they would be finished.
Liu Guifen viciously pinched the still-sobbing Tiedan.
“What are you crying for? This whole disaster was caused by you! Hurry up and apologize!”
Pinched painfully by his mother and terrified by the furious stares surrounding him, Tiedan cried as he muttered vaguely toward Luoluo:
“…So… sorry…”
Auntie Li looked as though her spine had been ripped out. Under Li Degui’s stern gaze and the villagers’ contempt, she apologized first to Xiao Shan, then to Lu Suzhen and Xiao Lu, and finally—extremely unwillingly—to Luoluo.
“…S… sorry…”
“Louder. Didn’t you eat today?” Li Degui barked.
Auntie Li shuddered and squeezed her eyes shut as she raised her voice slightly.
“Sorry!”
Only then did Li Degui look toward Xiao Shan and Lu Suzhen.
“Dashan, sister-in-law… what do you think?”
Xiao Shan closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his gaze had calmed, though his voice remained hoarse.
“We don’t want to make things difficult for anyone. We’ll follow the secretary’s decision. Bring the medical fees and the hen, and we’ll accept the apology.”
After speaking, he gestured for Xiao He to put away the medal box.
Taking them out had never been about showing off.
It was simply that now, powerless as he was, the only thing he still possessed that could protect that tiny little girl was the glory he had earned in the past.
Holding Luoluo in her arms, Lu Suzhen looked at Auntie Li’s defeated appearance and no longer cared to argue further.
“Bring the money and the hen. And in the future, control your mouths and your hands.”
Trembling, Auntie Li pulled out a small cloth pouch from her clothes. With extreme reluctance, she counted out five yuan and handed it to Lu Suzhen.
Meanwhile, Liu Guifen hurried into the neighboring courtyard, caught an old hen, and hesitantly handed it over to Xiao Lu.
“Disperse, everyone. Go back to what you were doing.”
Li Degui waved the crowd away before turning to Lu Suzhen.
“Sister-in-law, hurry and take the child back inside to check her injuries. If you need the barefoot doctor, have Xiao He come let me know.”
After glaring fiercely one more time at the Li family women, he finally left with the village officials.
At last, the farce came to an end.
The Li family slunk back into their courtyard like defeated roosters and tightly shut their gate behind them.
Only the Xiao family remained at the entrance.
The tense atmosphere faded away, replaced by lingering fear and overwhelming heartache.
“Quick, quick, let’s get inside.”
Holding Luoluo, Lu Suzhen hurried toward the house. Xiao He quickly carried Xiao Shan back inside as well, while Xiao Lu followed closely behind.
Once inside, Lu Suzhen carefully held Luoluo and gently removed her mud-covered shirt, which even had a torn hole at the shoulder.
The moment they saw Luoluo’s tiny body, everyone sucked in a sharp breath, rage surging once more.
On her little shoulder was a distinct purple-blue footprint.
Near her ribs on her small stomach was another obvious bruise.
Her wrists and elbows had been scraped raw from falling, thin streaks of blood seeping out.
Her bottom was covered in mud too—it was obvious she had fallen hard there as well.
“That little beast! I should’ve beaten him harder earlier. I let him off too easily!”
Xiao Lu’s eyes instantly reddened with both fury and pain.
Earlier, he had only seen Luoluo fall and get stepped on. He hadn’t realized she was hurt this badly.
Thinking about Tiedan’s kicks landing solidly on such a tiny body made him want to drag the boy back out and beat him all over again.
Leaning against his chair, Xiao Shan stared at the bruises covering Luoluo’s body. His face was terrifyingly dark, though his eyes overflowed with heartache.
Xiao He was gritting his teeth so hard his eyes had gone red too.
“Oh, Grandma’s precious baby… it must hurt so much, doesn’t it?”
Tears streamed down Lu Suzhen’s face as her trembling hands used a clean cloth soaked in warm water to gently wipe the mud from Luoluo’s body, carefully avoiding her wounds.
As she cleaned her, she softly comforted her:
“Don’t be scared, precious. Once Grandma puts medicine on it, it won’t hurt anymore…”
Truthfully, once her family had surrounded her and protected her, Luoluo was no longer that frightened.
Though her body still hurt now, she could feel how cherished she was by her family.
Seeing everyone gathered around her, nervously watching over her, the pout on her little face slowly relaxed.
Although her eyes were still red from crying, she revealed an incredibly trusting, dependent smile.
She lifted her uninjured little hand and pointed at each person one by one.
“Luoluo’s not scared. Daddy beat the bad brother. Grandma scolded the fierce grandma. Big Uncle has pretty medals. Little Uncle carried Luoluo. And Little Wu Dui bit the bad brother too…
“Luoluo’s not scared. Luoluo protected Little Wu Dui… protected everybody…”
Her childish words swept away all the anger and hostility in the room, only making their hearts ache even more.
Xiao Lu looked at the trust and dependence in her eyes, then at the shocking injuries covering her body.
Alongside the rage and heartache, a deeper sense of guilt and responsibility welled up inside him.
Without a word, he turned and walked out. Soon, he returned carrying a fresh basin of warm water.
Taking the cloth from Lu Suzhen’s hands, he said quietly:
“Mom, let me do it. Go kill the chicken and stew some soup for Luoluo to help her recover…”