Chapter 9: Getting Beaten_1

Li Jinhua snapped back to reality, covering her face and sobbing, "Dad had someone set me up with a match, and I didn't want to marry him, so they beat me."

The man was an employee at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. In her previous life, she had married him, and for a while, they had lived in glory, but when they reached middle age, the Supply and Marketing Cooperative dissolved, and the man was laid off.

Suddenly, their household lost their source of income. Their children were disappointments, and with young grandchildren to support, every corner needed money. She had no other choice but to head south with others to work, enduring hardship and exhaustion.

As she aged, riddled with illness and aches, she had no desire to relive such days.

Li Qiao thought to herself, could conditions be any worse than a loser like in my family? "I can't help you with this matter. I will talk to Grandma first, so you can stay with her for tonight and have a calm and peaceful talk with your parents tomorrow."

"Stay with Old Mrs. Qin?"

"Or should I go?"

Li Jinhua: "..."

Li Qiao went to look for Old Mrs. Qin.

In the room, there was only Qin Jin covered by the blanket on the bed and Li Jinhua at the desk.

Li Jinhua called out, "Brother-in-law," but got no response. Had he fallen asleep?

She looked left and right, her gaze eventually settling on the empty surface of the desk, but seeing nothing. When she noticed Li Qiao coming back, she said, "Sis, how come there's not even a comb in your room?"

"There is one. I put it in the box." Li Qiao had a slight obsessive-compulsive disorder; she needed to clear all the odds and ends on the desk before going to bed to feel at ease. "I've talked to Grandma. We don't have a spare toothbrush, so you can just wash your feet. There's water in the thermos in the kitchen alcove."

Li Qiao opened the chest and took a new quilt to the next room.

Old Mrs. Qin asked, "Where's your sister?"

Li Qiao looked back but didn't see Li Jinhua, "She's probably in my room getting ready to wash her feet."

A thought crossed Old Mrs. Qin's mind: with Jin still in the room, why couldn't Jinhua come here to wash her feet?

Suddenly, Li Qiao felt the urge to run to the toilet, maybe from not having oily food for a long time, and had a reaction after eating meat? Without time to think it over, she grabbed the toilet paper at the end of the bed and rushed out, calling, "Jinhua, I've taken care of everything. After you're done washing, go sleep over at Grandma's."

"Okay."

Old Mrs. Qin waited a long time for Li Jinhua. Unable to sleep steadily, she got dressed and got out of bed.

Quietly, she walked to the window of the neighboring room, only to see Li Jinhua sneaking peeks at the door, ensuring no one was around before she reached her hand under the blanket by the bed.

Before she could scold anyone, Qin Jin sat up with a dark expression, "What are you touching me for? Trying to molest me?"

"I, Jin, your sister, she's not a virgin anymore, right? She's been sneaking around with Cai Hechuan behind your back. Don't you feel cheated? Take me instead, I'm clean, and I don't mind your bad reputation or that you're poor."

Li Jinhua rushed out her confession, thinking Qin Jin would be touched and accept her, but his face darkened with anger, "I'm giving you two seconds to run."

Li Jinhua still wanted to explain, "Jin, ..."

Qin Jin threw off the covers, revealing his close-fitting long johns that accentuated his tall and slim frame.

His youthful and handsome face made Jinhua's heart flutter, who had been a widow for half her life, until a sharp slap across her face brought her back to reality.

Before she could react, her hair was yanked up, and a rough hand covered her mouth, forcing her face against the wall, and a few heavy thuds followed.

Her startled screams were muffled, and with pain shooting through her rear, she was kicked out the door.

Without time to think, she scampered away in a fluster, propelled by sheer momentum.

Old Mrs. Qin was shocked, yet she felt a sense of relief.

Qiaoqiao, although not her biological sister, was always bustling about for her, and Jinhua dared to repay kindness with ingratitude.

She returned to her room, seemingly unconcerned, while Qin Jin also lay back down as if nothing had happened.

After Li Qiao came back from the restroom, the room was already devoid of Li Jinhua's presence; she assumed the other was in Old Mrs. Qin's room.

As she poured water into the basin, a gloomy voice rose, "What are you fussing about instead of sleeping?"

Li Qiao bit her lip, feigning distress, "I just squatted in the filthy outhouse, need to wash up."

Qin Jin snorted, "You and your pretend cleanliness!"

Li Qiao pouted. What had she done to him?

After getting everything in order, she blew out the oil lamp and crawled into bed, mustering the courage to hold him tight. The rest was up to him.

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In the evening, Old Mrs. Qin specifically reminded herself that she should guide matters; after all, if she was living off someone else's generosity, she should contribute something in return.

Above her, a voice filled with the young man's dissatisfaction echoed faintly, "You're purposely siphoning off my warmth, you stupid and selfish woman." Yet, despite his lack of success in life, he couldn't find it in himself to push her away—after all, her waist was so slim, it could be encircled with one hand.

Li Qiao held his breath anxiously, but all he did was pinch her waist and then stayed still.

She tentatively called out, "Jin?"

Aside from her own voice in the room, there was the sound of his long, even breathing.

She eventually realized he had fallen asleep.

Even after she made such an effort to be forward, how could he remain indifferent?

She wasn't ugly.

Her conclusion was that he hadn't seen her as a woman at all, but rather like a brother sharing the same sleeping quarters.

...

The next morning, Li Qiao got up bright and early. While feeding the rabbits, Qin Jin squatted down, picked up a bunny by its ears, and mused, "It's bound to be delicious roasted."

Li Qiao looked at him, her eyes reddening.

Qin Jin couldn't stand it and cleared his throat, "I'm only joking."

Li Qiao pursed her lips, "I'm going to town with the sent-down youths to buy supplies today. Will you come with me?" If she went with him, she wouldn't have to ask for money.

"No."

Old Mrs. Qin commanded, "Jin, you should go with her. I don't feel safe with all the people and the chaos in the city."

"Good morning, Granny. Is Jinhua not up yet?" said Li Qiao.

Old Mrs. Qin feigned ignorance, "I waited for her last night until I fell asleep, and I haven't seen her this morning."

Li Qiao said, "She probably went home."

Qin Jin couldn't help but chuckle at her naivety. He still should accompany her to the city; he couldn't risk losing a wife so soon after getting married.

After breakfast, the two headed toward the village entrance and waited there for about five minutes before a group of young people appeared within sight.

Li Qiao waved at them. Du Xinxin approached with a teasing remark, "You're even bringing your sweetheart, huh?"

Li Qiao smiled in agreement, "Yeah."

The group of youths chatted and laughed all the way to the road intersection.

...

"Lil' Third."

Turning her head slightly, Li Qiao recognized Dong Lamei calling her from across the street, with Li Jinhua wrapped up tightly beside her. She asked in surprise, "Mom, Jinhua, where are you two off to this early in the morning?"

Dong Lamei's face visibly turned angry, "It's your sister's doing. She got in a huff with me and your father last night and ran off. When she came back, she was bruised up, saying she'd fallen into a ditch. This morning she said she can't hear out of one of her ears. The clinic doctor told us to go to the county hospital. Oh, if she becomes deaf, what are we going to do?"

Li Qiao was taken aback, "Jinhua, didn't you stay at Granny's place?"

She tried to get a look at Li Jinhua's face, but Li Jinhua stepped back two paces, hiding behind her scarf and avoiding her, all the while glancing towards Qin Jin.

He leaned lazily against a post by the roadside, his eyes directed toward her, a smirk playing across his face as he smoked idly, the very image of a hooligan.

She was stricken; he acted as if nothing was wrong, indicating just how cruel and heartless he could be. But then again, if she stuck with him, she'd be living in a villa, with a driver and a maid at her beck and call; so being beaten, she could accept that too.

"What happened?" Dong Lamei said in a state of alarm.

Li Qiao summed up the events succinctly.

Upon hearing the story, Dong Lamei scolded, "You didn't even look for your sister yesterday."

Li Qiao retorted with some anger, "Who would expect Jinhua to leave in the middle of the night without a word? And Granny even said she fell asleep waiting for her, making me feel particularly embarrassed."

What she meant was, your daughter lacks manners, making me lose face.

You don't teach your daughter better yet you come questioning me as though I'm to blame, is that reasonable?

Dong Lamei was at a loss for words. Although she was a stepmother, she had always managed to avoid giving people anything to criticize regarding how she treated Li Qiao. As there were many people around, it wasn't the time to quarrel, so she changed the subject, "Where are all of you headed?"

Li Qiao replied, "To the county town as well."

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