The man was taken aback by what he heard, then frowned, his lips moved so fast that it was impossible to see what he muttered.
"What are you saying?" Xu Qingzhu asked.
The man shook his head and began to usher the customer out: "It's nothing. Do you need anything else? If not, you can leave. I need to rest."
Xu Qingzhu paused for a moment and said, "I heard from the doctor that Xu Tong was a premature baby? He comes to the hospital often. Do you have enough money for his treatment? If not, we can help you pay. You don't need to be polite. Also, may I ask why you took Xu Tong to the supermarket yesterday?"
The man was taken aback. "What's it to you? Alright, go on, go on. I don't want to see your family."
...
Xu Qingzhu returned to Dr. Han's place to pick up the two children and inquired about Xu Tong's condition.
Xu Tong was born prematurely and was physically weak. He had to come to the hospital for injections and IV drips every few days. His parents were ordinary wage earners. Although they had medical insurance to cover their expenses, 80% of Xu Tong's medications were not covered, so it was like a bottomless pit for them.
They had already defaulted on medical bills once before.
Xu Tong is a pretty well-behaved kid, but his mother spoils him too much. Almost no nurse in the hospital dares to give him injections, not even the experienced head nurse. Every time Xu Tong gets an injection, his mother scolds him, making him feel ashamed.
It's fortunate that the doctors and nurses are good-tempered; in other professions, who would put up with her attitude?
Xu Qingzhu also learned from Dr. Han that Xu Tong has flat feet, walks unsteadily, and often falls on flat ground, but this is considered normal for a child this age. A definitive diagnosis would have to wait until he is older.
On the way back, Xu Qingzhu was preoccupied with worries.
The two children were initially worried about Liang Shi, but after Xu Qingzhu comforted them, they were relieved and soon fell asleep in the car.
When they got home, Xu Qingzhu couldn't carry them both, so she had to wake them up and let them go upstairs to sleep.
Lingdang and Shengyu rubbed their sleepy eyes, yawned, and followed Xu Qingzhu upstairs.
When I got home, Rainbow opened the door and the little girl frowned and asked how things went.
This was the first time Xu Qingzhu had experienced such a scene. There were people waiting for her at home, and she was holding her child's hand, which made her feel quite warm.
She asked Rainbow to open the door to the second bedroom, and Sheng Yu said in a sleepy voice, "Of course it's okay, I'm so capable."
Rainbow: "..."
As soon as Sheng Yu and Ling Dang touched the bed, they closed their eyes again. Only then did Xu Qingzhu help them take off their clothes, leaving them with only their vests and underwear.
The child's skin was tender and soft, and he was so small when I picked him up. When I was taking off Sheng Yu's clothes, Sheng Yu raised her arms and then put them down, and hugged Xu Qingzhu in the process, rubbing against her shoulder, which made her a little ticklish.
After Xu Qingzhu finished her work, she told Rainbow to go to bed as well.
Rainbow slept on the far side, Shengyu in the middle, and Lingdang on the other side.
When Xu Qingzhu was about to leave, Rainbow grabbed her and asked where Liang Shi had gone, acting like a little adult.
When asked about this, Xu Qingzhu said, "She went to do chivalrous deeds."
Rainbow: "?"
“She ran into some things and went to take care of them,” Xu Qingzhu coaxed her. “Go to sleep, you’ll see your sister Liang when you wake up tomorrow morning.”
Rainbow then obediently nodded and closed her eyes.
Looking at Rainbow's adorable little face, Xu Qingzhu's heart melted completely.
She couldn't resist leaning over and kissing Rainbow's forehead.
Rainbow opened her eyes again, her eyes sparkling, and her voice was softer than usual, "Sister Xu~"
Xu Qingzhu patted her back, "Go to sleep, goodnight."
Rainbow pursed her lips, blinked her eyes, and before closing her eyes, leaned close to Xu Qingzhu's cheek, kissed her, and said with a smile, "Goodnight, Sister Xu~"
Xu Qingzhu turned off the lights in the room.
The children's world is immersed in a colorful dream.
//
Xu Qingzhu didn't have the habit of not telling Su Yao anything because she was afraid Su Yao would worry.
On the contrary, when Su Yao asked, she told everything like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, but omitted many details. She finished speaking concisely and then guessed, "She should be released after the statement is taken."
Su Yao was stunned for a moment, then said in disbelief, "Ah Shi can hit people?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
“I hit him too,” Xu Qingzhu said. “That guy’s mouth was so rude.”
They called Lingdang a slut and Shengyu a little puppy.
So what did she become?
Even if someone directly insulted her entire family, Xu Qingzhu couldn't tolerate it.
She even regretted not kicking the woman a few more times when Liang Shi pinned her to the ground.
I missed it.
"You can hit people too?" Su Yao asked hesitantly, then added, "Were you hurt?"
Xu Qingzhu: "..."
"No." Xu Qingzhu felt a warmth in her heart. "Liang Shi is quite capable; we're all fine."
Su Yao nodded: "That's fine then."
Xu Qingzhu went to the kitchen to heat up two cups of milk, and returned to the master bedroom with Su Yao, handing one cup to Su Yao.
Then, leaning against the bed in the master bedroom, I glanced at the time and realized it was almost midnight.
I originally wanted to send a message to Sun Meirou to remind her, but then I thought that Sun Meirou probably couldn't make decisions at home, so I decided not to upset her.
We'll talk about this after we've investigated it thoroughly. Anyway, we'll meet again when we deliver the bell.
Liang Shi has now escalated the matter to the police station, and it's bound to get out of hand. He might as well take advantage of this situation to fish in troubled waters.
There's definitely something wrong with Xu Tong and his parents, and it's hard to say what Liang Xinran's connection is.
Why did Liang Xinran suddenly decide to take Lingdang to the supermarket?
After arriving, I bumped into Xu Tong, who then happened to be hospitalized again.
Xu Qingzhu looked exactly like a pig butchering scammer, someone who came specifically to extort money from people.
It's also possible that Liang Xinran was just unlucky; she went out with the bell in good intentions, but ended up encountering an extortionist.
But it's also possible that Liang Xinran and the other party have joined forces.
Subjectively speaking, Xu Qingzhu leans towards the second option, but in terms of probability, it should be the first option.
Liang Xinran has only been in Haizhou City for a week, how could she possibly be working with them to commit a "pig butchering scam"?
But what is certain is that Xu Tong's family was indeed extorting money.
//
Liang Shi and Shen Hui both spent the night at the police station, as did the victim.
After the three were taken in, Liang Shi gave a clear and reasonable account of his "crime," leaving the police officers completely bewildered.
Her words differed from those of the victim, who said she must have beaten him so badly he was bruised.
Shen Hui's bystander testimony was even simpler and clearer: Liang Shi definitely hit her, but she didn't know how hard he hit her. She tried to stop him, but before she could, Liang Shi had already finished the fight, and he did it very quickly.
Shen Hui said she felt helpless.
In the end, all that could be done was to get a medical examination. After waiting all night for the results, it turned out to be minor injury, which didn't even meet the criteria for detention, let alone the standards for sentencing.
In such civil disputes, both sides advocate for private settlements.
The police spent the whole night working on their mindset, and Liang Shi cooperated very well, willing to accept whatever the outcome might be.
The victim was in a daze for a long time, and after staying up all night, he finally couldn't take it anymore and agreed to settle.
So Liang Shi paid her three thousand yuan and signed a settlement agreement, but he still had to send someone to pick her up and pay a fine.
Liang Shiyi suspected that this rule was designed to kill her.
At six o'clock in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, the distant east began to lighten with the first hint of white.
Liang Shi flipped through his contacts, but instead of calling Xu Qingzhu, he called Liang Xinhe, who didn't answer.
Seeing Shen Hui still signing the papers, Liang Shi immediately called Zhao Xuning.
Zhao Xuning, who has a good sleep schedule, answered the call immediately, but still had a slight morning grumpiness in her voice, saying unfriendly, "You'd better have something to do."
"Come pick me up at the police station," Liang Shi said. "Your ex-girlfriend is here too."
Zhao Xuning jolted awake, becoming even more anxious: "What's going on?"
However, rustling sounds could be heard from the other end, like someone putting on clothes.
Liang Shi said, "I hit someone..."
"You fucking hit Chen Hui? Are you crazy?" Zhao Xuning gritted his teeth: "Just you wait..."
Liang Shi: "..."
She suspected that Zhao Xuning's next words were—"I'll come with my knife."
Liang Shi quickly explained, "No, no, how could I hit your beloved ex-girlfriend? Your ex-girlfriend is a witness and has been with me at the police station all night. I need to send someone to pay the fine and take me away."
Zhao Xuning: "...Where?"
After Liang Shi finished speaking, he stood there and waited. He only slept for two hours that night, and he wasn't sleepy at all.
It was probably because it was the first time I'd ever gotten into a fight and ended up in the police station—quite a novel experience.
All she could think about all night was—was she finally getting her comeuppance?
If Sister Wang and her assistant Xiaobai saw this, they would definitely be overjoyed to praise her for finally standing up for herself.
Actually, Liang Shi didn't think about the consequences at the time; he just didn't like that person.
No matter what, you should never speak rudely to a child.
Not long after, Liang Xinhe replied to her message: 【What's up?】
Liang Shi: [Everything's alright now. You woke up so early?]
Liang Xinhe: [I didn't sleep!]
A few seconds later, a voice message came through: "I'm at the hospital, I'm about to explode! That Liang Xinran, she... I... I'm so angry!"