Chapter 43: Figured It Out

Chapter 43: Getting to the Bottom of It

Elder Sister Lu's need for long-term hospitalization was undoubtedly another crushing blow for the Lu family.

"Let's call Second Sister Lu first," Lu Xiang suggested. Such a serious matter at home couldn't be kept from her.

Mother Lu was completely overwhelmed, grateful that Lu Xiang was by her side.

Leaving Father Lu to care for the severely beaten Lu Ping at the hospital, Lu Xiang and Mother Lu went out to make the call.

The payphone charges outside were exorbitant—five mao a minute. Mother Lu dialed the number for their village's communal phone. Then, someone from the village would have to go fetch Second Sister Lu!

This back-and-forth consumed a significant amount of time. Watching the minutes tick by, Mother Lu grew increasingly anxious. The call felt like a bottomless pit, constantly devouring their money.

Three minutes passed, and Mother Lu was on the verge of hanging up. They still hadn't reached anyone, and already one kuai fifty had vanished. One kuai fifty! She stomped her feet in frustration, exclaiming, "Why isn't that girl answering the phone?"

Finally, Second Sister Lu's voice came through: "Hello?"

Mother Lu's words spilled out like a torrent: "Get to the county hospital quickly! Your eldest sister was beaten half to death!" She hung up immediately after speaking. She had aimed to disconnect at fifty-nine seconds, but was a moment too late. The call ended at four minutes and two seconds, and she was charged for a full five minutes!

The operator demanded two yuan and fifty cents. Heartbroken, Mother Lu pleaded, "Sister, can you give me a discount? Just charge me two yuan, please."

"No, there's no bargaining here. You pay the exact amount," the attendant stated sternly.

Lu Xiang paid the fee. Over two kuai was a considerable sum—equivalent to three days' wages for an ordinary worker.

Mother Lu kept lamenting, "I should have said more while I had the chance. That time was utterly wasted."

Lu Xiang added, "Mom, you spoke so fast. Do you think Second Sister even understood?"

Mother Lu stood there, stunned as if struck by lightning.

"Should we call Second Sister again?" Lu Xiang asked.

Mother Lu, reluctant to spend more money on the phone, refused.

They returned to the hospital together. Fu Qinhui had already come back. "How did it go?" Lu Xiang asked. He had a classmate in the same village as their eldest sister. Fu Qinhui had taken a bus there and back—the buses were always packed, no matter the time.

Fu Qinhui's clothes were wrinkled and creased from being squeezed. He said, "I got the story. It was a coincidence—my junior high classmate's wife is quite close with the eldest sister and knew more details."

The man Elder Sister Lu married, Xue Shengli, was an old bachelor. As the villagers put it, he was from "bad stock"—his father wasn't a decent man either. Even though he had some money, no respectable family would marry their daughter to him. He had no choice but to ask a matchmaker to find someone from another village.

Elder Sister Lu was renowned in Dayu Village for her virtue and capability. Xue Shengli set his sights on her and offered a substantial sum—even Mother Lu didn't know the exact amount, as it was given to the Lu family's old household. With that money, they renovated their house, so it must have been considerable.

Not long after Elder Sister Lu married him, she became pregnant. Xue Shengli was a heavy drinker, and when drunk, he had a terrible temper. Somehow, Elder Sister Lu provoked him, and a shove caused her to miscarry—it was said to have been a boy.

After this incident, Xue Shengli apologized profusely and things were better for a while. Elder Sister Lu, married into another village with no family support, had to endure it. Perhaps due to the physical trauma, she didn't get pregnant again.

As time passed, Xue Shengli grew impatient, finding fault with everything and cursing at every turn. When Elder Sister Lu finally became pregnant again and gave birth to a girl, Xue Shengli was furious. When registering the child’s hukou, he even gave her the name "Xue Jianhuo" (meaning "Xue the Trash").

The name was so offensive that villagers mocked it for years!

Recently, it was rumored that Xue Shengli had an affair and wanted to force her out. Though gentle-natured, Elder Sister Lu refused to simply make way for another woman. This was why Xue Shengli beat her mercilessly.

Only when she was barely breathing, with more air going out than coming in, did Xue Shengli panic. He quickly hired a car to send her back to her family, fearing that if Elder Sister Lu died, it would tarnish his reputation!

Fu Qinhui relayed everything he had learned to the family.

Father Lu was breathing heavily like a bull: "That bastard! I'll fight him to the death."

Mother Lu could no longer hold back her tears. "How heartless! My good daughter married into that family, and now she’s barely human. Silly girl, why didn’t you come home and tell me? No matter how useless I am, I wouldn’t have let you live with that beast!"

Tears are contagious. Lu Xiang's little niece also began to cry softly. It was unclear what the child had endured at home—she didn’t dare cry loudly, her cries as faint as a kitten's mewl, pitiful beyond words.

Lu Xiang said to Fu Qinhui, "I want to sue them for attempted murder and abuse."

Fu Qinhui replied, "Their village sticks together. If one person is wronged, the whole village bands together. My classmate warned me not to act impulsively, or we might suffer."

Everyone in that village sided with their own, even if the person was a despicable scoundrel. They circled the wagons.

Otherwise, Xue Shengli wouldn't have been so brazen.

Lu Xiang wanted to avenge her sister but encountered obstacles from the start. Although the police station had filed the case, Officer Chen explicitly stated they were shorthanded. If the village protected Xue Shengli, even the police wouldn’t be able to take him away, regardless of the justification.

The village was relatively conservative, with powerful clan influence. With just a few of them, going in alone would not only fail to capture Xue Shengli but might also put them in danger.

"They have their village backing them—we have ours too!" Lu Xiang declared.

Fu Qinhui paused, then said, "That could work." He left the rest unsaid.

But the difficulty was immense. Their village head wasn't one to seek trouble—he was focused on the fields, hoping to earn a "model village" title by delivering grain this year. Organizing a fight with another village could lead to getting in trouble with higher-ups.

Moreover, Lu Xiang's parents were nobodies in the village. They didn’t have the clout to mobilize the entire village.

Lu Xiang knew this, but as long as there was a sliver of hope, she was willing to put in a hundred times the effort. Such a scoundrel couldn’t be allowed to roam free.

Lu Xiang had already formulated a plan.

In the distance, someone shouted, "Mom! Little sister!" The loud voice drew disapproving looks from the hospital nurses.

Lu Xiang quickly waved—Second Sister Lu had arrived. Although she had married a lame man, her husband treated her well. Second Sister Lu had two children, and her lame husband was a tailor.

Second Sister Lu held a grudge against Grandma Lu and Aunt Lu, afraid that if others found out she was doing well, Grandma Lu would come sucking up to her.

She lived comfortably but rarely returned to the village.