Finally, Liu Yuemin made a mistake and was shoved hard by Zhao Hong. She stumbled directly towards the pillar of the small pavilion behind her, her head hitting the pillar with a thud.
The impact was so severe that Liu Yuemin took a while to recover, her vision still blurry.
"Yuemin, are you alright?" Li Xiulan, seeing her motionless for a long time, quickly came over with the child to check.
"Mom, I'm fine." Liu Yuemin got up from the ground. Seeing Zhao Hong staring unhappily at Li Xiulan and Xiaochengzi in her arms, she took a step forward to shield them.
"Mom, who is this woman? She seems a bit off, like her mental state isn't quite right?"
Li Xiulan frowned, "Isn't this Zhao Hong, who used to be a sent-down youth in our village? She came straight for me and Xiaoyue without exchanging a few words. She does seem a bit unwell."
If it weren't for the timely arrival of the second daughter-in-law today, the two children would surely have been injured. Thinking about Zhao Hong's frantic attempt to choke the child just now, Li Xiulan felt a chill of fear.
"Zhao Hong?" Liu Yuemin heard her words and couldn't help but scrutinize the woman opposite her. It was indeed Zhao Hong, the sent-down youth from the village back then.
However, she looked more than ten years older, thin and gaunt, nowhere near her former plump appearance.
Hearing Xiaochengzi's whimpers, Liu Yuemin turned back, "Mom, you and Zhao Qiuyue take the children and leave first. I'm fine. Just don't scare the children. Your third daughter-in-law worked so hard to have these two children; she'd be heartbroken if she knew."
Liu Yuemin knew where she stood. Although she disliked Chen Lishu and felt she stole her thunder, that was an internal family matter. Outsiders were not allowed to bully them.
Li Xiulan was a bit worried, "Can you handle it alone?"
"Look at her dried-up appearance. I'll be fine. If I can't beat her, I can run."
Li Xiulan thought it made sense. After all, it wasn't far from home. She could take the children back first and then come back to help quickly.
So, she turned and called Zhao Qiuyue and the three Gu Lin brothers, preparing to go home.
Zhao Hong, seeing them about to leave, became anxious and hurried towards Li Xiulan.
How could Liu Yuemin let her succeed? She lunged towards Zhao Hong's body.
Just as the two were locked in a fierce struggle, two uniformed police officers ran over from not far away. Someone had seen the trouble earlier and quickly called the police.
After separating them, the police officer frowned and asked, "Why are you two fighting?"
"Officer, it's all a misunderstanding. It has nothing to do with my daughter-in-law." Li Xiulan quickly explained the whole situation.
After listening, the officer turned to Zhao Hong.
Even after being pulled apart, Zhao Hong's nostrils kept flaring as she looked in Li Xiulan's direction, her expression tinged with a hint of madness.
There was no need to ask further. The two police officers believed Li Xiulan and Liu Yuemin's accounts. Seeing Zhao Hong's condition, it was clear she was a danger to others if left outside, so they took her directly to the police station.
When Chen Lishu returned home, Liu Yuemin and Li Xiulan had just returned with the children. The two little ones had already calmed down, but Liu Yuemin was still angrily scolding.
"What did we ever do to deserve this? Why did we run into such a mad dog? She's sick and released. Didn't she marry that man surnamed Lu? Isn't her in-laws' family taking care of her?"
Liu Yuemin was unaware of Zhao Hong and Lu Chengming's affairs and thought they were living happily together.
Chen Lishu happened to catch the end of the conversation as she entered. Seeing Liu Yuemin with disheveled hair and several scratch marks on her face, she couldn't help but ask, "Second Sister-in-law, what happened to you? Did you get into a fight?"
Gu Lin said, "Third Aunt, someone was bullying Grandma and my younger brother and sister, so Mom went to help."
Chen Lishu's heart tightened upon hearing this and she quickly walked over to Li Xiulan and the two children.
Seeing that they were unharmed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The two little ones, upon seeing their mother, started whimpering and reaching out for hugs, their previously stable emotions giving way to distress.
Chen Lishu couldn't hold both at once, so she first took Xiaobai, who was closest to her, and then affectionately kissed Xiaochengzi's little cheek.
By this time, Li Xiulan had already explained the general situation to her.
"...From her condition, she seemed quite unstable, and in the end, the police had to take her away."
Chen Lishu felt a sense of relief mixed with lingering fear, thankful for Liu Yuemin's timely intervention.
"Second Sister-in-law, thank you for today."
Liu Yuemin waved her hand dismissively, "We're family, no need for thanks."
As soon as she finished speaking, she paused, feeling a bit indignant. Not only did she have a large bump on the back of her head, but her face had also been scratched several times. How could she not get some compensation?
Thinking of this, Liu Yuemin spoke, "Third Sister-in-law, you know my face has been scratched a few times, and it probably won't heal anytime soon. With the shop about to open, alas, it would be great if I could apply something to cover it up."
Chen Lishu understood and smiled, "Second Sister-in-law, your wounds haven't healed yet, so it's not suitable to apply anything. In a couple of days, I'll go to the mall and buy you a set of cosmetics, whitening and moisturizing, complete with a powder compact for concealing blemishes."
If not for Liu Yuemin today, not only the adults but also the two children would have suffered. Chen Lishu agreed without hesitation.
Unexpectedly, Chen Lishu was offering to buy her a whole set of cosmetics, complete with a powder compact. Liu Yuemin's heart was instantly filled with joy, and the ache in the back of her head and face seemed to lessen.
After feeding and lulling the two children to sleep, it was time to pick up Rui Rui from school. For convenience, Chen Lishu didn't ask Zhao Qiuyue and drove herself to pick him up.
On the way, she kept thinking about the cultural shirt issue.
Now, she was certain that Fu Hongxin was definitely involved in this matter.
If she sued, as Fu Hongxin had said, she didn't have conclusive evidence and might even be counter-sued.
Five thousand pieces in total. If sold at cost, they should still fetch a decent price. However, the moment she recalled Fu Hongxin's mocking and dismissive tone and expression, Chen Lishu felt she couldn't let it go.
In the evening, Gu Xingmin also returned from the shop, and the family sat down for dinner together.
Dinner was prepared by Zhao Qiuyue – handmade noodles with meat sauce.
After dinner, the family sat on the sofa and watched television.
Chen Lishu, preoccupied with her thoughts, got up to go upstairs after sitting for a while.
Just as she was about to stand up, her attention was drawn to a news report on television.
The news reported heavy rainfall in the southern mountainous regions for many days, causing widespread village disasters, numerous deaths, and thousands injured or left homeless.
"It seems our plain region is much safer. With consistent harvests, after all. It's spring plowing season now; a whole year's effort could be ruined. Alas." Li Xiulan, being older and having endured many hardships, couldn't bear to see people suffering anywhere and sighed with emotion.