CHAPTER 28: CHAPTER 28 SUN CHAN’S REVENGE

Sun Lijuan dragged her cursing mother away, escorted by security.

The two went out and immediately called the village committee of the neighboring village, urging her uncle to come quickly. They waited in the hospital courtyard, refusing to believe she would leave without a confrontation.

The crowd comforted Sun Chan for a while before dispersing. Aunt Wang checked her injuries: "Are you okay?"

"Auntie, I’m fine, don’t worry." Sun Chan smiled at her.

At that moment, the family members of the person Sun Chan was taking care of came over and gave her several days’ worth of wages, even handed her an extra ten yuan.

"Young lady, we can’t employ you anymore, you should leave quickly, otherwise there will be trouble. You are able-bodied and hardworking, even if you go to another city, you can make a living there."

Sun Chan knew she meant well, thanked her while taking the money, and her eyes reddened.

Aunt Wang was also distressed, such a pitiful child, she escorted Sun Chan out of the hospital: "Don’t leave through the front gate, those two must be waiting there. Go through the fence at the back. There’s a missing piece, so you can go through there, don’t let them catch you."

Sun Chan wiped away her tears: "Thank you, Auntie!"

"No need for thanks, dear. You’re such a good kid, but life isn’t fair to you." Aunt Wang touched her hair.

Sun Chan smiled: "I’m okay, it’ll get better." She took a few steps away and said to Aunt Wang, "I want to ask you a favor. If you can, could you go to the First Department Store and tell a friend of mine that I’ve left? Her name is Wang Dan, she sells scarves on the second floor."

Aunt Wang sighed: "Alright. I understand, you go on."

Sun Chan originally thought she could earn more money here, but who would’ve thought they would find her so quickly. She couldn’t stay here and left through the back of the hospital.

Sun Lijuan and Zhao Xiuxia waited outside, scrutinizing everyone who came out.

Before long, Zhao Xiuxia’s family members arrived. Two brothers came but didn’t stay outside guarding; they went directly into the ward looking for her. Asking around, they found she had already escaped and immediately started cursing angrily.

Returning to Zhao Xiuxia, they told her, and she shouted furiously: "That wretched girl! She’s definitely gone to find Wang Dan again! Go find her!"

But this time, they miscalculated. Sun Chan wasn’t there at all. They even followed Wang Dan to her home but didn’t see any trace of Sun Chan. They asked Lin Hongmei, who betrayed them, but she hadn’t returned at all.

"What? You didn’t catch her?" Lin Hongmei was surprised.

"Don’t mention it! We had caught her, but she managed to escape!"

Lin Hongmei pursed her lips, what idiots. But since she had escaped, Han Dong wouldn’t succeed, which was good news.

Zhao Xiuxia was furious, and Sun Lijuan’s face twisted even more, it was infuriating. What to do now!

Although her brothers from her parental home had come, they could only bully Sun Chan; Wang Dan wasn’t someone easily bullied. Just thinking about her father’s axe - when it came to the land dispute, he dared to threaten even the village chief. They had to give up, returning to the village together.

Zhao Xiuxia’s older brother sat on the kang, puffing on his pipe: "Sister, I’m telling you, you handled this really foolishly. How could you let her leave? In a hospital this big, she just slipped away. Should’ve dragged her away at once, after all, it’s a family matter, who’s gonna intervene?"

Zhao Xiuxia burned with anxiety: "I was worried about the impact on Lijuan! Who knew that wretched girl would be so cunning now! Brother, what do we do now? Zhou Jinzhu won’t let our family off easily."

"We have no choice, we must compensate Zhou Jinzhu’s family with money."

Sun Lijuan protested first: "Uncle, no way! Why should we compensate him?"

"What else can we do? Zhou Jinzhu is a thug, you can’t mess with him. We can’t watch over you every day; what if he bullies you? Otherwise, we’ll help you find someone to marry, then you won’t have to worry anymore. There are a few good young men in our village."

Sun Lijuan didn’t want it; she wanted to marry into the city, preferably becoming an official’s wife. Why should she marry a villager? Zhao Xiuxia was both angry and regretful, they shouldn’t have left. She cried in frustration.

Zhao Xiuxia couldn’t bear her daughter marrying a villager either. After all, they had worked hard to get her through technical school; she could get a job in the future. Why marry a farmer?

But for now, they couldn’t find Sun Chan and had no other options. After discussion, they gave the Zhou Family fifty yuan in compensation and called in the village chief to mediate, settling the matter.

Zhao Xiuxia watched Zhou Jinzhu leave and said: "We’ve compensated you. Don’t harass my daughter again, or I’ll haunt you even in death!"

Zhou Jinzhu spat on the ground: "It was you who insisted on marrying into our family. I reluctantly agreed, with how ugly Sun Lijuan is, I’d be embarrassed to have her even as a footwash maid, ugh!"

The mother and daughter glared in outrage, furious with Sun Chan, waiting for the chance to teach her a lesson!

"Mom, when we find her, let’s sell her to an even worse family!"

"Right, didn’t the surrounding mountains have families with several bachelors? I’ll marry her off there without accepting money, just to ruin her life!"

The two women cursed Sun Chan through gritted teeth, but without seeing her, their venom was useless.

Meanwhile, Sun Chan had reached Sun Lijuan’s school.

She couldn’t let those two torment her for nothing. Why should they force her to leave her home while they lived so well?

The vocational school Sun Lijuan went to was quite mediocre. Her grades were too poor, she had repeated several years and barely scraped through. However, the school’s leadership had strong political awareness, and when they heard Sun Chan was there to report something, they immediately brought her in.

After entering the hospital, a patient’s family had given her a few sets of clothes, and she also went with Aunt Wang to the nearby morning market to buy some. Though not very stylish, she no longer attracted undue attention. But this time, she wore clothes she’d brought from the village, ones she wore while caring for patients, tattered with patches, her hair disheveled, and bruises from her mother’s beatings visible. Although she hadn’t looked in the mirror, she knew the impression she left.

Once inside, she began to cry and complain, starting with how Sun Lijuan and her mother Zhao Xiuxia exploited her at home like a servant, even wanting to sell her to local thugs for money. They would beat her if she didn’t comply, and hinder her employment opportunities.

The principal’s brow furrowed in shock.

Sun Chan continued to cry: "I fled from home, wanting to support myself by working as a nurse aide, but they chased me to the hospital, beating and cursing me, wanting to marry me off to hooligans for a bride price! Leader, please seek justice for me! My sister is an educated person; how could she do such things! Just for her to eat well and dress nicely, they’re sacrificing my entire future!"