Chapter 23: Xia Xiaoxue Is Fine

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“Chen Dabao, you still dare to hit someone?”

Liu Dafu shouted furiously, though his harsh voice betrayed the fear beneath it.

He spun around and rushed into the kitchen, then came back out with a cleaver in hand, glaring viciously at Chen Dabao.

But Liu Dafu was only putting on a show. He knew Chen Dabao was no longer the same simpleton he had once been, and he did not dare make the first move.

“Chen Dabao, I’ll kill you!”

Liu Qiang grabbed a shovel and stood beside his father, glaring menacingly at Chen Dabao. But for all his thunderous shouting, he did not dare attack either.

“Go ahead and try to kill me.”

Chen Dabao looked at him with utter disdain. He took one step forward, frightening Liu Dafu and Liu Qiang into hurriedly retreating.

“What’s going on?”

“Why is Chen Dabao here again?”

“Didn’t you hear? Liu Qiang was beating Xia Xiaoxue!”

“What a tragedy. Xia Xiaoxue is such a beautiful woman, and she even got into college. How did she end up marrying a piece of trash like Liu Qiang? What a waste of a good woman!”

“Exactly. Liu’s wife has such wide hips—she must be fertile. If she can’t have children, the problem must be Liu Qiang!”

The commotion drew nearby villagers over, each carrying a bowl as they came to watch.

The villagers’ murmurs made Liu Qiang and Liu Dafu’s expressions turn ugly. They were left humiliated and unable to save face.

“What evil did our Liu family commit to marry a barren hen? This shameless woman seduces men everywhere, and now her lover has come right to our door! Heaven above, open your eyes and see this! Hurry up and strike these two shameless adulterers dead!”

Zhang Guihua sat sprawled on the ground, her hair disheveled, suddenly throwing a tantrum and screaming.

“Mother, you can’t falsely accuse me like this! Dabao and I are completely innocent. We’ve never done anything improper!” Xia Xiaoxue sobbed. “I even went to the hospital for an examination. My inability to have children isn’t my fault!”

At that, Liu Qiang flew into a rage.

“You slut! If it isn’t your problem, then whose is it—mine?” he roared, cursing loudly. “Let me tell you, you took my family’s bride price. If you can’t bear children, you’d better return every penny of it to me, or I won’t let you off!”

Liu Qiang had long since made up his mind about Xia Xiaoxue’s infertility. He intended to divorce her and break off the marriage.

But Xia Xiaoxue would certainly have to return the bride price.

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Only then would he have money to gamble and to marry another wife.

“Liu Qiang, that’s quite an elaborate scheme you’ve cooked up. I’m afraid people ten miles away can hear it rattling!” Chen Dabao said scornfully. “Xia Xiaoxue has been married into your family for years, working like an ox and a horse for all of you. You want a divorce and still expect to reclaim the bride price? Keep dreaming!”

“Look at you—crooked eyes, a crooked nose, a gaunt face, and no vitality at all. You’re panting like a dog after walking a few steps. If someone can’t have children, the problem is obviously yours, yet you still want to frame Sister Xiaoxue?”

Liu Qiang looked as though he had smoked far too much opium. His whole face was drawn and sickly. He had never been any good from childhood onward, and years of eating, drinking, womanizing, and gambling had already ruined his health.

He was the one who was incapable of fathering a child. It had nothing to do with Xia Xiaoxue.

“Hahaha, Dabao is right. Xiaoxue clearly looks like she’d be very fertile!”

The villagers burst into laughter. With Liu Qiang looking so decrepit, the thing between his legs was probably only good for urinating. If Xia Xiaoxue could conceive with him, that would be the real miracle.

“Chen Dabao, I’ll fight you to the death!”

Liu Qiang was so enraged that smoke seemed to pour from his ears. His eyes reddened, and he suddenly swung the shovel, bringing it down viciously toward Chen Dabao’s head.

Several villagers cried out in alarm.

That good-for-nothing Liu Qiang had actually dared to attack!

Crack!

Chen Dabao’s expression turned cold. He punched the shovel handle, snapping the thick, wrist-sized shaft in two. Liu Qiang staggered backward several steps, shuddering violently before wetting himself in terror.

“Chen Dabao, if you dare hit someone, I’ll call the police and have you arrested!”

Liu Dafu brandished the cleaver in his hand. He desperately wanted this scourge to leave, but he did not dare attack and could only shout threats.

Chen Dabao swept him a disdainful glance, then helped Xia Xiaoxue to her feet.

“Sister Xiaoxue, go stay with your parents for a few days. Call your family. I’ll take you to the clinic first so we can clean and treat your wounds.”

Blood was already seeping from the injuries across Xia Xiaoxue’s back. They definitely needed attention.

Chen Dabao could not simply take Xia Xiaoxue back to his own home. Otherwise, people would twist their relationship into all sorts of stories, giving Liu Qiang an even better excuse to make trouble with the Xia family.

And when Xia Xiaoxue returned, the beating she received would only become worse.

“All right. I’ll call my mother.”

Xia Xiaoxue’s face was twisted with pain, but she endured it and called her mother. Then, supported by Chen Dabao, she walked out of the courtyard.

“You slut! You wait and see!”

Liu Qiang was terrified out of his wits. He could only curse from where he stood, not daring to stop them.

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Liu Dafu was red in the face and neck with fury. He began scheming about how to drive Chen Dabao, this scourge, out of Peach Blossom Village as quickly as possible.

With no more spectacle to watch, most of the villagers dispersed. A few busybodies followed Chen Dabao and Xia Xiaoxue, curious to see whether they were heading to Chen Dabao’s home or the clinic.

When the two actually entered the clinic, the villagers found there was no gossip left to witness and drifted away in disappointment.

“Sister Xiaoxue, let me take a look at the wounds on your back.”

At the clinic, Chen Dabao took out alcohol and iodine solution and gestured for Xia Xiaoxue to lie facedown on the bed in the inner room.

“Dabao, turn around first.”

Embarrassed, Xia Xiaoxue asked Chen Dabao to face away. Only then did she untie her floral blouse and obediently lie down on the bed.

When Chen Dabao turned back, his eyes immediately grew hot.

Then his face filled with fury.

Xia Xiaoxue’s back had once been as flawless as a piece of beautiful jade. Now that jade had been beaten until the skin was split and torn. That vile bastard Liu Qiang had struck her with truly vicious force.

Chen Dabao disinfected the wounds first, then wrapped them with bandages left behind by An Nuan. Only after that was the treatment complete.

Xia Xiaoxue looked dispirited. After finishing, Chen Dabao stayed with her and chatted for a while. More than an hour later, Xia Xiaoxue’s father finally arrived on a motorcycle to take her home.

“Dabao, thank you.”

Xia Xiaoxue was deeply depressed, but as she left, she still forced a smile and thanked Chen Dabao before riding away on the motorcycle.

“They’re all unfortunate people.”

Chen Dabao sighed and shook his head. He closed the clinic door and turned to leave.

With An Nuan gone, the clinic would probably fall into disuse. In these times, it was already difficult to find teachers willing to volunteer in the countryside, let alone doctors prepared to remain in a rural village.

Fortunately, during the year An Nuan had been there, she had stocked the clinic with a full supply of medicines and equipment. If necessary, Chen Dabao would simply have to take over the clinic and do what he could for the villagers.

Chen Dabao had only just left the clinic when he realized that night had already fallen deep. Every household in the village had shut its doors and settled in to watch television.

“Huh? Deng Hongyan?”

Chen Dabao had just emerged from a narrow path in the village when he suddenly spotted a furtive figure in the distance.

It was none other than Deng Hongyan, the village chief’s wife.

Why was that old woman sneaking out in the middle of the night? Could she be going to meet Li Youcai for an affair?

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