The police car drove off with the Zhou family. Tian Jing took her own seven-seater car, along with Siji and Sisi who had run over in their swim trunks, to the police station, as the eight children claimed to know something.
The villagers dispersed in disbelief, not expecting the two children from the Zhou family to be so ruthless, not only disfiguring Xuanxuan but also attempting to kill Mother Li.
Damai ran to the village entrance, only seeing the tail lights of the police car and her uncle's car.
She returned to the clinic in a daze, only to find her parents and aunt and uncle looking for her.
“Damai, are your grandmother and Xuanxuan alright?”
“I don’t know.”
Damai shook her head, tears falling from her eyes: “I didn’t see. Yuan Man isn’t answering my calls. They should be getting treatment.”
Ouyang Meihua hurried to run home: “We’ll drive to the health center.”
Damai stopped her: “I heard they were sent to the county hospital for emergency treatment. I’ll go with you.”
“No!”
Ouyang Meihua refused: “Doctor Yang can’t leave the clinic. Fangfang has to go to school, you stay.”
Doctor Yang had fallen and broken his hip bone last winter, a bone that couldn’t be operated on and required bed rest.
Ouyang Meihua and Li Liguo were both trembling from the news and unable to drive.
Only Chen Suozhu remained calm. He took the car keys: “Don’t be nervous, your younger aunt and uncle have gone with them.”
Li Min took a deep breath: “That’s right, younger aunt is fully recovered. My mother should be fine.”
…
Sister-in-law Niu went to the courtyard house, to Li Liguo’s home, and to Chen Suozhu’s home, but couldn’t find any of the Li family. She then went to the clinic:
“Damai, your grandmother she…”
Damai shook her head: “I don’t know, I didn’t see.”
“Sigh!”
Sister-in-law Niu sighed: “I always felt Yu Fei’s temperament was very strange. I didn’t expect her to be so vicious.”
“Auntie Niu.”
Damai clutched her chest in pain: “I regret it so much. I shouldn’t have asked Xiaomai to come back to Kushan with me, nor should I have agreed to Xiaomai being with Cheng Bin.”
“The family environments they grew up in are different. When children learn about their parents’ background, they naturally develop a sense of disdain.”
“Xiaomai told me that she felt Yu Lin and Yu Fei looked down on her, but the two children didn’t say it, so naturally she couldn’t say it or teach them.”
“That’s not right.”
Sister-in-law Niu gently chided Damai: “This is a matter of character. Even if Cheng Bin’s parents lived in Kushan for years, that sense of superiority they often inadvertently reveal in front of us is called being taught by example.”
“Don’t blame yourself either. Xiaomai and Cheng Bin bear the greatest responsibility. They never taught the two children properly.”
…
Li Weixin, upon receiving his father’s call, immediately asked the captain for leave and left the specialty team to find Xiaosong.
Zeng Jingrong, upon hearing that Xuanxuan was in trouble, sent a message to Han Lushi, giving him leave to go see Xuanxuan.
Han Lushi only then learned that something had happened to the Li family. As he left the specialty team, he dialed his mother-in-law’s number.
Tian Jing spoke concisely: “Go to the county hospital. I’m at the police station.”
Hanging up the phone, Tian Jing followed the police into the interrogation room.
She recounted everything she had seen, heard, and done, and then said:
“There should be another key person involved with Zhou Yu Fei, it’s Song Yinyu of Sheng Song Group. This is the biggest reason Zhou Yu Fei resents my granddaughter. You can investigate through Song Yinyu.”
Sheng Song Group?
The police hesitated. This was the conglomerate that had been developing and building Ling County for years. Could they afford to offend them?
Tian Jing grinned: “Don’t worry, they won’t be untouchable for long.”
She believed that Mai Xingyang and Jiang Junhu must have received the news…
It was just that she didn’t anticipate that after her call, Han Lushi would contact someone he thought he would never contact in his life.
Just as Tian Jing could think of Song Yinyu as a key figure, Han Lushi could also realize it. Every time Song Yinyu visited the Li family, Zhou Yu Fei would follow him around. Han Lushi couldn’t have been unaware of this.
Song Yinyu’s indecisiveness towards Zhou Yu Fei also displeased him.
Zhou Yu Fei disfiguring Xuanxuan’s face had no other purpose than jealousy.
As for Zhou Yu Lin, it was definitely because of a promise he had made when Yu Lin was just a few years old. He hit his head in frustration, vowing never to make casual promises to children.
Since Zhou Yu Lin couldn’t fulfill the conditions of his promise, he colluded with Yu Fei to ruin Xuanxuan. How detestable!
Therefore, without hesitation, he dialed the number of someone he had long found out about but thought he would never contact in his life:
“I am Han Lushi. Zeng Jingrong said he picked me up by the roadside.”
“Lushi?”
The person on the other end sounded excited: “Are you planning to forgive me?”
“Impossible!”
Han Lushi said coldly, “I want you to tell Ling County to stop accepting development investments from Sheng Song Group.”
“More than half of Ling County’s development and construction is already complete. For the remaining half, after Sheng Song Group falls, someone else will invest.”
“You want to deal with Sheng Song Group?”
The voice on the other end was very old. After the initial excitement, a natural authority could be heard.
“It’s not me.”
Han Lushi said, “It’s someone else who wants to deal with Sheng Song Group. Because of the Song family, Xuanxuan was disfigured by a jealous girl. I won’t ruin that girl, I want to ruin the culprit.”
“Xuanxuan is in trouble?”
The voice on the other end became tense: “How is she? How did you bring her? No, how did your wife bring her? How did the Li family bring her?”
“It’s none of your business!”
Han Lushi said angrily, “You just need to answer me, can you do what I ask?”
“Yes!”
The person on the other end answered without hesitation: “Such a small matter, you and Captain Tian could manage it.”
“Impossible!”
Han Lushi retorted, “We don’t have understanding secretaries, nor do we have subordinates with shrewd methods of handling affairs. We are also not in a convenient position to get involved in politics.”
The person on the other end, after being retorted, paused before saying, “Xuanxuan is still young and her recovery ability is strong. It would be best to undergo plastic surgery and repair it early.”
“Heh heh.”
Han Lushi let out two cold laughs: “You care so much, isn’t it because Xuanxuan resembles someone? If plastic surgery is necessary, I’ll have her altered to look like the Li family.”
With that, he hung up the phone.
He immediately regretted it. Why did he make that call?
He was over forty years old now, no longer at an age where he needed his parents. He could have long since dealt with any grievances with equanimity.
How, after consecutive incidents, could he have contacted the man he hated most in this world?
…
When Han Lushi arrived at the county hospital, Mother Li was still in surgery.
Li Liguo and Ouyang Meihua were waiting outside the operating room.
The couple saw Han Lushi and pointed upstairs: “Xuanxuan is in the surgery department.”
Han Lushi nodded: “How is Grandma’s condition?”
Ouyang Meihua shook her head: “Yuan Man went in with her. I heard it’s not optimistic.”
Han Lushi’s heart tightened. The kind and amiable grandmother was the spiritual symbol of the entire Li family. If she were gone, the Li family might fall apart. “I’ll go upstairs and see.”
“Go ahead.”
Ouyang Meihua nodded, then asked, “Did you inform Lili? Your father asked you to inform Lili.”
“Not yet.”
Han Lushi took out his phone: “I’ll inform her now.”
Both Grandmother and Daughter being in trouble simultaneously was a bolt from the blue for Li Weili. She ordered Li Weiyu to take charge of the general company in the capital, and she would return first to assess the situation.
Li Weiyu, upon hearing that something major had happened at home, was also very worried. However, he couldn't abandon his post and could only temporarily take over the general company in the capital.