Ouyang Meihua and Le Xia arrived just in time.
Ouyang Meihua steadied her mother-in-law, "Why are you getting angry with her? She's brainless. Ignore her, just beat her. Come, I'll help you."
Ouyang Meihua took the rattan cane from her mother-in-law and lashed out at Li Min.
Ouyang Meihua was skillful, striking everywhere but the face, ensuring no visible injuries.
Being beaten by her mother, and now by her elder sister-in-law, Li Min was having none of it.
"Ouyang Meihua, are you crazy? If there are no villagers for you to beat, you beat me?"
Ouyang Meihua threw down the cane and grabbed Li Min by the collar, heedless of the water flowing down her sleeves.
"Li Min, three years ago, I gave you face and didn't argue. Now, Damai is eighteen, and you still dare to bring up three years ago?"
"Heh, believe it or not, I can crush your vocal cords and make you speechless forever?"
Li Min finally understood why her younger sister-in-law had kicked her into the river and why her mother had beaten her.
But she was defiant, "She's not going anymore, is she? Why can't I talk about it?"
Ouyang Meihua's eyes narrowed, her grip tightening, "Privately, have you said anything to others?"
Li Min quickly shook her head, "No, no, why would I bring it up? If my younger brother hadn't said anything to me, I wouldn't have mentioned it."
"Really not?"
"Really not."
Ouyang Meihua loosened her grip, "Good if not, otherwise, I have plenty of ways to turn you into a mute."
With that, she scornfully flung Li Min to the ground, "Le Xia, let's go, let's try out the new car. Some people clearly don't deserve it, yet they harbor foolish dreams."
Li Min, lying on the ground, watched as Ouyang Meihua drove her younger brother's new car with the same boldness as if driving a large truck.
She couldn't understand why this crude woman could drive, yet she was called undeserving.
Mother Li picked up the rattan cane and continued to whip her, "Get back and take a hot bath and change your clothes. If you catch a cold, I won't serve you. I'll just take care of Xiaofu and Anan."
"Mom~"
Li Min got up, "Mom, Sister-in-law said I don't deserve to drive, do I really not?"
"Yes, you don't. You are as detestable as Zhang Fangcao now. You have no self-awareness, yet you expect everyone to treat you well."
"If I weren't your mother, I wouldn't even want to look at you."
Like Zhang Fangcao?
That sounded like something her younger brother had also said.
"Mom, I don't even remember what Zhang Fangcao was like."
Mother Li told her youngest son about her daughter's words.
"I want her to go see Zhang Fangcao. I also want to save her. If we don't acknowledge her, others will see her as one of us."
Li Zhengguo looked at his wife, "Tiantian, what do you think?"
Tian Jing agreed, "First, find out the current situation of those four children. We'll go see her together. She was suicidal that time."
"Alright."
...
Two days later, Li Zhengguo sent Damai and Xiaomai to the train station and brought back photos of the four children.
Judging by the photos, the four children were well-fed, and their smiles were genuine.
Li Min hesitated when she heard they were taking her to see Zhang Fangcao.
Mother Li whipped her again with the rattan cane, "If you don't go, perhaps we'll be visiting you in prison later."
Li Min protested, "Mom? Why don't you wish me well?"
"After you've seen her, if you can still open your mouth and ask me that, I'll answer you."
"Fine, I'll go."
...
Upon seeing Zhang Fangcao, Li Min rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
Tian Jing was also shocked. How could Zhang Fangcao have aged so much in just over four years?
White hair, a face full of wrinkles, etched with vicissitudes, radiating melancholy.
Zhang Fangcao also hadn't expected Tian Jing to visit her.
"Tian Jing, I heard life outside has gotten much better, hasn't it?"
"Yes. Have you had your sentence reduced?"
"Yes, twice. It's now a fifteen-year sentence."
"Keep up the good work. During your sentence, weekends will be deducted, and you'll be released early. Life will be better when you get out."
"Oh, and here are the photos of those four children. Look, they all resemble you."
Zhang Fangcao leaned against the glass, looking closely at the four photos, tears streaming down her face, which she constantly wiped away.
"Can I have this one?"
"Yes. We'll give it to the prison guard in a moment."
Zhang Fangcao bowed her head in thanks, "Thank you, thank you, Tian Jing. I know you didn't want to send me in. You wanted to catch Li Weiguo behind me."
"But I refused to repent and made one mistake after another. It's a pity I didn't know how to seize the opportunity."
Tian Jing shook her head, "You're welcome. I'm here today to ask for your help with something."
"Tell me. As long as I can do it, I will help you."
Tian Jing pointed to her sister-in-law, "Li Min has changed. She's become like you were. We brought her to see you, and would like you to talk to her, is that okay?"
Zhang Fangcao then looked at Li Min, who exuded a restless aura, and agreed, "Yes."
Tian Jing and Li Zhengguo left, leaving Zhang Fangcao and Li Min to talk face-to-face through the microphones separated by glass.
The couple handed the photos to the prison guard and waited outside.
After more than twenty minutes, when the visiting time was up, Li Min walked out with heavy steps.
Once in the car, she asked, "Can we come again?"
Tian Jing looked back at her, "Yes, when do you want to come?"
"Next month. Zhang Fangcao said we can visit once a month. I want to bring her some food I made myself."
Tian Jing shook her head, "That's not allowed. Food is contraband. You can bring money and books, but they must be checked by the prison guard."
Li Min was dejected. Thinking of Zhang Fangcao's thin and aged appearance, her heart felt heavy.
Upon returning home, she found her mother and knelt before her.
"Mom, I was wrong. I shouldn't have said that. You were wishing me well."
"Zhang Fangcao's family has never visited her. Since she's been in, only my younger sister-in-law has visited her twice."
"She said I was ungrateful for my blessings, that I was gullible, that I relied on my younger sister-in-law's influence yet disrespected her."
"She said many, many things, so many that I felt completely worthless, not even as good as her."
"Mom, please don't give up on disciplining me. Suozhu brother is too soft-hearted and can't manage me."
"When I lose my way, I don't know north from south."
"I'd rather have a strict mother than end up as miserable as Zhang Fangcao."
Mother Li sighed, "How long can you maintain this change?"
Li Min thought for a moment and said, "I, I'll visit Zhang Fangcao regularly. She'll get a trace of warmth, and I'll get a warning."
Mother Li nodded, "Then it depends on your performance. Don't disappoint me, or your younger brother will care even less about you."
"I know, I know."
...
The villagers noticed Li Min had changed. She no longer came out to chat and was diligently taking care of her children and doing housework.
She would go out every two months, either with Li Zhengguo or Li Liguo.
This was not the Li family's major move.
The Li family's big move was to stop growing vegetables and focus solely on watermelons.
Regardless of the season, they grew watermelons in greenhouses.
The watermelons were planted densely, not trailing on the ground but hanging in mid-air, supported by woven straw nets.
It was heard that watermelons sold for sixteen cents a pound in the summer.
It was heard that watermelons could sell for twenty-five cents a pound in winter.
It was heard that early-ripening watermelons sold for twenty-two cents a pound in spring.
The Li family's three seasons of watermelon, plus the mountain's watermelons and apples, brought in at least thirty thousand yuan a year.
The villagers were green with envy, but their own seedlings were not performing well.
They approached the village chief, but he ignored them.
They could only watch the Li family prosper, watching the Li family members drive small cars back and forth to the capital.