Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

In the brigade headquarters' clinic, there was a lukewarm coal stove.

The room was filled with a pungent smell of mercurochrome and alcohol.

Zhao Xiaoyu struggled to open her eyes, feeling as if several steel awls were stabbing her head simultaneously, causing her to gasp in pain.

His forehead was wrapped in thick gauze, and half of his face was so swollen that he could barely open his eyes.

She stared blankly at the roof for several seconds before, as if she had just come to her senses, her throat tightening.

He didn't die on his own; he was carried into the brigade's clinic.

On the bedside table sat a chipped enamel mug, half-filled with warm water.

As Zhao Xiaoyu, her body aching, held the enamel mug in her hands, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

First came a hoarse cough, followed by a man's loud shouting, which slammed into the room like a broken gong.

"What's wrong with me?!"

"I can't even bring her some food?!"

"I'm standing right here at the door, I haven't gone in, what right do you have to stop me?!"

Zhao Xiaoyu's hand trembled, and the enamel mug slammed against the edge of the bed with a "clatter," spilling hot water everywhere.

Her face turned completely pale in an instant.

She recognized the voice.

Lai Zi.

She gripped the corner of the blanket tightly, her breathing became erratic, and her eyes were fixed on the window, as if someone would tear the window paper apart at any moment.

An older voice sounded from outside, clearly trying to stop them.

"Zhao Laizi, that's enough!"

"This is a clinic! What are you yelling about at the door for?!"

Then came the old barefoot doctor's anxious voice:

"Don't you dare barge in! You're carrying a stick, what are you trying to do?!"

Lai Zi immediately raised his voice:

"Who broke in?!"

"I just came to see my wife!"

"I made her some chicken soup, but they wouldn't let me in!"

Upon hearing the word "wife," Zhao Xiaoyu felt a sharp nausea in her stomach, and all the color drained from her face.

She didn't know where the strength came from, but she suddenly sat up, propped herself up on the edge of the bed, stumbled to the window, and pushed it open.

A cold wind suddenly rushed in.

Outside the courtyard gate, Lai Zi was being stopped by the old barefoot doctor and an old man from the brigade headquarters. There was a tattered cloth bag at his feet and a wooden stick in his hand. His cotton-padded coat was open, his neck was hunched, and his face was red and shiny from the cold.

As if sensing the movement, he looked up and bumped right into Zhao Xiaoyu.

Lai Zi was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up, and the fat on his face twitched as he forced out a disgusting smile.

"Honey, are you alright?"

"I've come to see you. I brought chicken soup with me; have a couple of sips while it's hot to help you recover."

As he spoke, he lifted the tattered cloth bag at his feet, as if he had brought something really good, and grinned as he peered through the window.

"You should focus on getting better first."

"Once you're fully recovered, I'll borrow that tractor at the edge of the village and bring you back to my yard."

"I've given the eighty yuan dowry to your mother. That's settled then, we're officially married! We'll pick a good day, invite all the relatives and neighbors, and have a big feast. Then you'll be my proper wife, Zhao Laizi's wife, through proper channels."

"Once you're at my house, you'll settle down and live a peaceful life with me. I'll slowly fatten you up, make you plump and healthy. You'll cook and do my laundry during the day, warm my bed at night, and give me a few big, healthy boys as soon as possible. I promise I won't mistreat you; that's better than anything else!"

Zhao Xiaoyu froze instantly.

The color drained from his face in an instant, and his stomach churned violently.

She gripped the window frame tightly, tears welling up in her eyes, but a fire also surged up in her chest.

"Who's your wife?!"

Her shout was sharp and hoarse, carrying a desperate edge, and even the old barefoot doctor who was trying to stop people in the courtyard was taken aback by it.

Zhao Xiaoyu stared at Lai Zi's face, her whole body trembling, her lips quivering, and tears streaming down her face.

"Zhao Laizi, let me tell you—"

"I'd rather die than marry you!"

"I feel disgusted just looking at you!"

Lai Zi's smile froze for a moment, then he grinned again.

"You're saying that again?"

"Zhao Xiaoyu, your mother has already taken the money. She's already taken the money, so what are you pretending to be so high and mighty for?"

"It's no use being stubborn now. You'll have to come with me sooner or later anyway."

Zhao Xiaoyu's knuckles turned white as she gripped the window frame, tears mingling with the blood seeping from her forehead as she screamed hysterically out the window with almost all her might:

"She accepted it! I didn't!"

"She took your money, so go marry her!!"

The shout silenced the courtyard for a moment.

The fake smile on Zhao Laizi's face vanished instantly.

He looked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, and his eyes twitched violently twice.

The pretense of "caring for his wife" was completely shattered, revealing his vicious, shameless, and disgusting true nature.

He suddenly spat a mouthful of phlegm into the snow, his eyes instantly turning cold and lewd.

"Marry her? I paid eighty bucks for a virgin to marry a wrinkled old widow?! Do you think I'm a sucker?!"

He took a step forward, holding the wooden stick in his hand, and stared intently at Zhao Xiaoyu through the window.

Stared at by those cloudy, yellowish eyes, Zhao Xiaoyu's barely maintained composure was instantly shattered by the fear of reality.

Her body went limp, and she slid down the window frame to her knees, tears streaming down her face.

Anger turned into desperate pleading; she looked out the window at the demon, crying until her voice was hoarse.

"Then I'll pay you back when I earn money... I'll pay you back!"

"I'll go out and work, I'll calculate the interest, I'll pay you back double! Please, have mercy on me..."

She clung to the windowsill, her shoulders convulsing violently, like a dying fish making its last struggle. "I'll kowtow to you, please don't force me, I beg you..."

Hearing the pitiful pleas for mercy, Zhao Laizi was not moved in the slightest; instead, he sneered.

He looked at Zhao Xiaoyu, who was crying without any dignity, as if he were watching a huge joke.

He slammed the wooden stick he was holding onto the ground, straightened his neck, and revealed his rotten, yellowed teeth, his tone full of disdain and cruelty.

"No, right?"

He stared intently at Zhao Xiaoyu's empty hands, his voice suddenly rising:

"I don't have any cash on hand right now, so what are you pretending for?!"

"I'm already this old, do you think I'm going to wait for you to make money later? If you keep dragging this out for ten or eight years, will I ever be able to have a son?!"

Zhao Laizi got more and more excited as he talked, poking the snow on the ground with his wooden stick, making loud thumping sounds, and spittle flying everywhere:

"Either you return the money to me right now, or you become my wife!"

"Don't give me that 'future' nonsense! I don't listen to that drivel!"

He suddenly stretched out his rough, dirty hand and pointed it fiercely at Zhao Xiaoyu's face through the window, uttering each word with a viciousness that seemed to have driven her to the brink of despair:

"I only care about today's money!"