Chapter 21: They Are Not Human

Qin Huairu went home and gave Xiao Dang and Huai Hua a good hug; these past few days, letting them beg for food at First Elder's house had truly been hard on the two children.

"Brother, why did you shave your head?" Xiao Dang and Huai Hua asked with a giggle as they looked at the bald Bang Geng.

"Your brother is afraid of the heat! Alright, stop asking, I'm going to sleep for a bit." Saying this, Bang Geng impatiently flopped onto the kang, turned his back to the two of them, and squinted his eyes.

Xiao Dang pulled over a blanket and covered Bang Geng with it; the moment her small hand touched Bang Geng's back, Bang Geng let out an "Ah!" and jumped up from the kang.

One could see Bang Geng's face full of terror, his eyes flickering, his hands clutching his chest, while he kept muttering, "No, don't come over, don't touch me."

Speaking of those few days, Bang Geng was full of bitter tears, to the point that now, anyone touching his back would trigger immense fear in him.

It was simply too painful!

They are not human, boo-hoo-hoo!

"Brother, brother, what's wrong with you?!" Xiao Dang and Huai Hua were startled by Bang Geng and started crying along with him.

It took a good while for Bang Geng to calm down; he pulled his two younger sisters over, apologized, and went to sleep with his back against the wall.

Now, only the cold wall could give him a little bit of a sense of security.

Qin Huairu went door-to-door, following the amounts she had previously recorded, and returned the money; she also gave each family a little extra as interest.

After making her rounds, Qin Huairu looked at the sleeping Bang Geng, pulled the curtain shut, boiled some water, and scrubbed herself fiercely.

Come to think of it, these past few days, Bang Geng hadn't had it easy, and she hadn't had it any better.

That Deputy Director Li, they are not human!

Shedding tears, Qin Huairu scrubbed over and over again, as if only in this way could she be a little cleaner.

Finally, by noon, Qin Huairu walked out of the house with a plain face, finished cooking for the three children, and after the family ate, she went to the Hospital to pick up the stroke-stricken Jia Zhangshi.

Jia Zhangshi was drooling, her hands clenched together, her eyes wide as she kept glaring at Bang Geng, and she was pushed back home in a wheelchair.

She was mumbling Bang Geng's name unclearly, but Bang Geng was currently filled with fear, regret, and other negative emotions, so naturally, he had no heart to listen to Jia Zhangshi.

Only Xiao Dang and Huai Hua kept wiping the drool from her face.

At dinner, Qin Huairu gave a general explanation as to why Bang Geng had been released.

The family had just picked up their bowls and chopsticks when a clattering sound was heard.

Accompanied by the sound of flowing water, a foul, fishy stench wafted over; Qin Huairu took one look and saw that Jia Zhangshi had lost control of her bowels!

At the same time, Jia Zhangshi kept glaring at Qin Huairu, spat out the porridge in her mouth, and kept saying, "Dirty, ungh, dirty, ptooey, ptooey, dirty."

Suddenly, the grievances of so many days welled up in her heart, and Qin Huairu cried as she swung her arm.

"Smack!"

"You old hag, if you think it's dirty, then just starve." Qin Huairu pushed Jia Zhangshi into the Courtyard with disgust, then returned to the room and ate with the children.

"Oh my, sister, why are you sitting out here?" The Second Elder's wife walked out and caught sight of Jia Zhangshi, who was trembling with rage with a slap mark on her face.

"Uh, uh, uh-ah." The more anxious she got, the less Jia Zhangshi could speak, and she could only keep making "uh-uh-uh" sounds from her throat.

"Huairu, Huairu, look at what's wrong with your mother-in-law?" The Second Elder's wife saw Jia Zhangshi rolling her eyes and immediately called out in a panic.

Inside the house, the three children were eating their food cautiously, as Qin Huairu's state at this moment was too terrifying.

One could see a chilling smile on Qin Huairu's face, and the cackling laughter made the three of them feel their scalps tingle.

Qin Huairu slowly tore the steamed bun in her hand into strips and stuffed them into her reddened mouth; every chew felt as if she were biting into someone else's bones.

After drinking another bowl of porridge, Qin Huairu finally put down her bowl.

She walked out unhurriedly.

"Oh, Mom, why did you run out into the yard? Come, let's go home and eat, eat." As she spoke, she gave the Second Elder's wife a grateful look: "Second Elder's wife, thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn't have even known my mother-in-law was lost, hee-hee-hee."

The Second Elder's wife shivered and shook her head with an awkward smile: "No, it's nothing, but Huairu, I think your mother-in-law doesn't look right; should you send her to the Hospital to get checked out?"

"It's nothing, she's just hungry, she'll be fine in a moment, hee-hee-hee." Saying this, Qin Huairu pushed Jia Zhangshi back into the room.

The Second Elder's wife scratched her neck and arms, thinking to herself: What is wrong with this Qin Huairu? Why is that laughter so chilling? It even gave me the creeps.

She then walked quickly back home and told the Second Elder about the matter.

The Second Elder's eyes lit up after hearing it, and he slapped the table and said: "I know, this Qin Huairu must be abusing her mother-in-law. Let's go, hold a Full Courtyard Meeting!"

Before long, everyone who had finished eating came out, cracking melon seeds and watching the three Elders in the middle.

"This Full Courtyard Meeting will be presided over by the Second Elder." The First Elder stood up, looked at everyone, said one sentence, and sat back down.

The Second Elder stood up, glowing with health, and said: "Shocking, simply shocking! A major event has occurred in our courtyard! Qin Huairu, what a good daughter-in-law she was before! Now she is actually abusing her mother-in-law! Tell me, what should we do?!"

Qin Huairu sat where she was without moving, just looking around with some boredom.

"I suggest we send Qin Huairu to the Public Security Station for some education! You must know that respecting the old and cherishing the young is our traditional virtue. If she abuses her own mother-in-law, what about others? Tell me, right?" The Third Elder spoke up. Qin Huairu had borrowed his money and given him interest, but she hadn't shown him extra gratitude. He had heard that other families had been thanked with extra money, but she hadn't given him any extra. What was this? It was a typical case of looking down on the Third Elder! Calculating the accounts, he naturally felt he had lost quite a bit.

The people around looked at the nonchalant Qin Huairu and nodded in immoral agreement.

Qin Huairu smiled: "Fine, let's go then. It just so happens that my three children and mother-in-law have nowhere to eat, so we'll just go to the Third Elder's house. Since you respect the old and cherish the young, why don't you help me take care of my mother-in-law for a few years."

As soon as these words were out, the Third Elder's face turned green, and he waved his hands repeatedly: "What does that have to do with me, Qin Huairu? We're talking about you right now, why are you dragging me into this? You're being unreasonable."

Qin Huairu spat, swept a contemptuous glance over the crowd, and pushed the hungry, mumbling Jia Zhangshi back home just like that.

The crowd was left staring at each other, but no one dared to bring up disciplining Qin Huairu again; what if these three children and Jia Zhangshi starved to death? Who would be responsible?

Soon the crowd dispersed and everyone went back to their own homes, leaving only the Second Elder, who was left dumbfounded with an "Eh? Ah?". That wasn't right; the script wasn't supposed to go like this, why had everyone left?

Through the window, He Yuzhu chuckled; sure enough, evil people need other evil people to deal with them. For this bunch of animals, one cannot be kind-hearted.

Ever since Xu Damao had people arrest him last time, He Yuzhu had cut off all contact with the people in the courtyard.

When things came up, people didn't call him, and everyone went their own way. Especially after He Yuzhu got a promotion, people liked him even less, because his existence tended to challenge the authority of the three Elders.

Lying on the bed feeling a bit bored, He Yuzhu tidied up, walked out of the courtyard, and strolled away.

As it happened, he ran into Bang Geng's homeroom teacher fixing a bike at the street corner, and He Yuzhu's eyes lit up as he approached.