Chapter 10: Not Going

Bai Jianguo was speaking when he looked down again at the wound on Bai Xiao's arm. The sight of the bloodied, everted flesh made his heart skip a beat. Still, his eyes quickly reddened, his face filled with unbearable pain.

Mrs. Wang finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that she might have wronged Bai Jianguo earlier. After all, Bai Jianguo was renowned in the village for his righteousness. In theory, he wasn't the sort to commit such inhumane acts. Perhaps there really was more to the story.

The village chief, Liu Baoguo, and Li Guoqing had already come over. "What happened here? Bai Jianguo, I heard someone in your family might lose their life. What's going on?"

As the two men approached, they caught sight of Bai Xiao's bloody appearance and were profoundly shocked.

"Oh, Xiao, what happened? Tell your uncle, the village chief will take care of it for you."

Though it was common for families to have their squabbles and chaos on normal days, no one could afford a loss of life. If that happened, they couldn't just stand by. Both the village chief and the director were responsible for the safety of the entire village.

Bai Jianguo quickly put on a weak smile and said, "Village chief, Director, I'm sorry for causing a stir. It's just some children at home not listening to their elders. I'll take the child to get this hand treated first, and I'll explain the rest later. Ah, the kids are growing up and indeed, they aren't close to us anymore…"

"Right, right, you better get that checked quickly. In this sweltering heat, if it's not handled well, it could be serious. I wonder if Old Xu can handle this wound? If not, I'm afraid we might need to borrow a tractor to send him to the county. We can't delay looking after the kid!

You also need to be careful with how hard you are on the children. How could you beat the child like this? Bai Jianguo, let me tell you, even if this child wasn't yours by birth, even if it were your own child, you'd still be legally responsible if anything fatal happened. Don't think this child has no one to look after him." Liu Baoguo was warning Bai Jianguo and also admonishing him to keep an eye on Li Chunhua, who was Bai Jianguo's mother and the child's grandmother.

Bai Jianguo quickly nodded, sensing that the village chief's tone was not as harsh, and he relaxed a little. "I understand, village chief. Honestly, I've treated this child as my own all these years. I've never shortchanged her at all. Ah, let's not talk about that now... Xiao, let's go, your uncle will take you to the doctor! Don't worry, no matter how much it costs, I will make sure your hand is treated. You're going to kill your uncle with worry!"

Bai Xiao's eyes turned cold.

She had long suspected that Bai Jianguo would cover for his mother. The Bai family was always conscious of their image, presenting themselves well in public. It was absolutely impossible for them to expose such a shameful incident under broad daylight for everyone to see.

Furthermore, it was very easy for Bai Jianguo to dismiss the village chief and the director, which showed how well-regarded he was in the village; his reputation wasn't for nothing. People respected him and would believe in his character, making it easy for him to take her away, effectively sweeping the incident under the rug.

Late on, behind her back, Bai Jianguo and Li Chunhua might tell others that Bai Xiao was greedy and insensible, ruining the family's provisions. Despite times being better than before, not every family could afford to have wheat flour and eggs at every meal. They could easily pin this blame on her.

The entire village might then see her as a greedy, conscienceless glutton, ungrateful despite being well-fed.

Bai Jianguo had it all planned out, but now if he ever sought help from the village chief and the Director, they might not be willing to come forward. By then, if Grandmother Li Chunhua decided to deal with him, there would be no one to stand up for him because he wasn't indestructible. Li Chunhua could easily strike where no one could see and nobody would help him.

At that point, Li Chunhua would probably be fearless, and even if he sought help from the village chief and the Director, he wouldn't be able to intimidate her anymore.

She absolutely wouldn't let Li Chunhua get away with it, and continue to torment her.

Bai Xiao pushed Bai Jianguo away and shrank back, "Uncle, I won't go for treatment. Grandma said that the living allowance given by my brother and sister isn't for my meals, but for her retirement. I've been freeloading at your place already, and now I even have the audacity to spend your money on medical bills.

Uncle, I know you are kind-hearted, but I can't be a burden to you anymore. I know it was wrong of me to eat the plain noodles and eggs today. Normally, those are for Bai Mei, Bai Shan, and Bai Zhuang when they're sick. Yesterday, Grandmother beat me until I was unconscious all day, and today when there was no food left for me, I thought I, too, could eat because I was sick. It wasn't intentional, and had I known that the money from my brother and sister wasn't meant for my meals, I definitely wouldn't have eaten that bite of plain noodles and eggs.

I have been living in Uncle's house for four years; today was the first time I ate plain noodles and eggs. I thought being sick, I could eat plain noodles and eggs, also thinking the nineteen yuan from my brother and sister could afford me a meal of plain noodles and eggs. If I knew it was Uncle's ration, I wouldn't eat it even if it killed me."

Bai Jianguo's face turned pale.

He had just managed to placate the village chief and everyone in the village, thinking everything was finally settled. But he hadn't expected this fool of a girl to lay everything out in front of everyone. Now, every word, every sentence Bai Xiao said felt like a harsh slap across his face.

"Uncle, I'm sorry, even though I live in your house and my brother and sister give me living expenses, I shouldn't eat contentedly without doing any work. That would make me utterly heartless. I know that Grandma and you don't like me. Otherwise, why would I strive to do all the housework all year round—cooking, washing clothes, fetching water, feeding the pigs, feeding the chickens—I do everything earnestly to make you like me, but no matter how hard I work, I dare not even sit at the table to eat. Each time, I wait for everyone to finish eating and then add some water to the pot, making do with what's left. I thought by not eating and volunteering for more chores, you might like me.

But today I realized my mistake; I am freeloading in Uncle's house. No matter how much I do, it can't compare to Sister Bai Mei, who does nothing all day and yet is still loved when she dresses up prettily. Even if I don't eat a bite, I can't compare to Bai Zhuang, who can eat three large bowls and five buns a meal and you still wouldn't mind because I am not a part of this family. I am superfluous here.

So, Uncle, I won't let you take me to see a doctor. I cannot afford this favor. Since I am freeloading at Uncle's house, I will go back to my parents' house to live, whether I starve or work myself to death, I will definitely not beg for food from your house."

With these words, the rural folks' gazes fell on Bai Xiao, especially her clothing, which was highly conspicuous; the colors had faded so much that the original color was unrecognizable. The hems of the trousers and sleeves were much shorter and seemed to have been patched up with fabric from somewhere else.

With that said, everyone suddenly remembered that her clothes might also have been made by her parents when they were still around, and it seemed she wore the same outfit every summer.

With this realization, everyone's gaze at Bai Jianguo changed.

Because Bai Mei was standing boldly at the entrance of the yard.