Wang the Cripple’s lips curled into a lewd smile, "Alright, let’s do as you said and let them be comfortable for two days first."
Hearing the noise outside the door fade away, Xu Zhaodi’s terror only slightly dissipated.
Because of this incident, the Su Family remained vigilant for several days. Wang the Cripple did not bring his people to cause trouble, and only then did Liu Cuilan slowly feel relieved.
Poor Xu Zhaodi, such a diligent child. During this time together, she had already regarded her as half a daughter.
Seeing that Wang the Cripple hadn’t brought people over again, she was a bit more at ease.
But Su Xiaoxiao didn’t think so; she had a feeling that Wang the Cripple was planning something big.
The matter of electrifying the village was quickly finalized. Except for a few particularly difficult families, everyone else scraped together money to install electric wires.
The thought of soon getting electricity lifted Su Xiaoxiao’s spirits quite a bit.
She was contemplating that once they had electricity, she could finally use her big television.
Entertainment was scarce these days, with no cell phones; apart from working, it was just eating and sleeping, with no recreational activities at all, more tedious than the nine-to-five grind now.
That day, just after getting off work and heading home, she heard the sounds of a commotion from her yard from a distance.
Her heart couldn’t help but skip a beat, and she immediately quickened her pace, pushing her bike through the gate.
As soon as she entered, she saw an old man with a lame leg standing in the yard, crying tragically.
"Officer, you have to stand up for me. Our family went bankrupt trying to get me a wife, but the Su Family abducted her. This is human trafficking; you should arrest them all immediately."
"He’s lying. If the Su Family hadn’t taken me in, I’d have been beaten to death by them. And Wang the Cripple, to make me bear a child for the Wang Family, even..."
Xu Zhaodi couldn’t control her trembling at the sight of Wang the Cripple. But watching her lifesaving benefactors being slandered, she couldn’t stand by.
"Which man doesn’t hit his wife these days? And marrying a wife is for continuing the family line."
Wang the Cripple said confidently without justification.
Immediately, he looked ingratiatingly at the young officer, "Officer, you see, my wife is being held by the Su Family and is speaking for them. She must have been threatened."
Police Zhang was quite troubled. He had just been transferred from the military, and on his first day at work, he encountered such a mess, not knowing how to handle it for a moment.
At this moment, a sweet female voice came from behind.
"Wang the Cripple, fine, you say Sister Zhaodi was abducted by us. What evidence do you have?"
Police Zhang turned around in response, seeing a young girl pushing a bicycle, standing elegantly at the door.
The girl looked about seventeen or eighteen, with skin white as jade, two black braids hanging down the sides, and her bright eyes seemed to twinkle with stardust, dazzling.
Though she wore clothes that had been washed white, her face was so beautiful that one couldn’t look away for a moment.
Wang the Cripple’s eyes were instantly drawn to her. This little girl was indeed enticing, and from her curvaceous figure, one could tell she could bear children.
His eyes spun immediately, "My wife is at your house; what more evidence do I need?"
Su Xiaoxiao scoffed lightly, "According to you, being at someone else’s house means being abducted. Does that mean we women shouldn’t visit others?"
Speaking, Su Xiaoxiao parked her bicycle against the wall, smiling at Police Zhang, "Officer, here’s the situation: Wang the Cripple is an awful person. He forcibly married Sister Zhaodi and abused her in various ways. Sister Zhaodi had no choice but to escape. If there’s any abduction, it’s him abducting her. Otherwise, how could a young girl at eighteen or nineteen marry such an old rascal?"
Upon hearing this, Police Zhang immediately frowned, his gaze shifting between Wang the Cripple and Xu Zhaodi.
The young lady’s words made sense. Wang the Cripple’s age seemed close to that of Xu Zhaodi’s grandfather’s, making the marriage seem abnormal at a glance.
Seeing this, Su Xiaoxiao directly stepped forward to roll up Xu Zhaodi’s sleeves, pointing for Police Zhang to see, "Officer, look, Sister Zhaodi’s body is covered in old wounds. If she wasn’t trafficked, who would treat their wife so brutally?"
"You’re lying. If this damned woman didn’t want to run, would I have had to resort to violence?"
Wang the Cripple reflexively rebutted, only to realize he might have misspoken.
He quickly explained, "From ancient times, marriages are decided by parents. The Xu Family consented to this marriage; how can it be called trafficking? And what’s wrong with hitting my own wife?"
"Officer, shouldn’t you investigate the Xu Family properly? How many biological parents would be so heartless to marry off their daughter to an old geezer like him? They might be accomplices too."
Su Xiaoxiao spoke leisurely, and Police Zhang was immediately moved, "Alright, everyone rest assured, I’ll thoroughly investigate this matter and ensure no one is wronged."
After saying that, Police Zhang glanced at Wang the Cripple beside him, "Mr. Wang, please come with me to cooperate with the investigation."
Wang the Cripple was dumbfounded upon hearing this. He had planned to have the police arrest the Su Family and then use it to threaten the brat, but he didn’t expect the tide to turn with just a few words.
"No, Officer, don’t listen to this brat’s nonsense. We have a marriage certificate; we are legitimately married..."
Wang the Cripple hurriedly explained, but Police Zhang coldly looked at him, "Whether it’s true or not, we’ll know after the investigation." Follow current novels on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩✶𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚✶𝕟𝕖𝕥
The farce quickly ended. Su Xiaoxiao was somewhat speechless; was Wang the Cripple’s brain kicked by a donkey? How dare he try to pin the blame and call the police? Wasn’t this asking for trouble out of nothing?
She handed a packet of calcium milk biscuits to Liu Cuilan, "Mom, the department store has calcium milk biscuits today. I grabbed two packs, and you can make milk powder to feed to Little Shitou."
Calcium milk biscuits were a rarity these days, not only limited in quantity but also requiring money and tickets to purchase.
Only families with means would buy them to dissolve in milk for infants.
Xu Zhaodi was even more moved upon hearing this; she felt she could never repay the Su Family’s kindness even if she worked all her life.
With reddened eyes, she immediately wanted to kneel before Su Xiaoxiao and Liu Cuilan.
"Child, what are you doing? Get up quickly."
Liu Cuilan hurriedly held her up. Su Xiaoxiao looked around and noticed the absence of her two younger brothers, prompting her to ask, "Mom, where are the fourth and fifth? Aren’t they out of school early?"
She hadn’t seen her two younger brothers since she came in, which puzzled her a bit.
The two little brothers were always the most enthusiastic about eating, and it was almost mealtime, yet they were nowhere to be seen.
Just as she finished speaking, the courtyard door was pushed open.
The two little brothers entered, carrying their crooked old school bags and looking dejected.