After this incident, the Ran family and the Su family were officially enemies.
Yan Yun always secretly tried to harm Zhuo Ni, but each time she ended up suffering. Lightly, she would be bruised and battered. One time, she pushed a baby's stroller, and not long after, she broke her leg. She spent several months recovering, and it left her with a permanent limp, walking with a slight gait even now.
Because of so much suffering, Su Lili had no energy to beat her daughter. She managed to have a relatively good period for a while. At least she could eat something and wasn't beaten every day.
However, being beaten every few days was still unavoidable.
This situation continued until Chong Yan was almost two years old.
When they first met, Su Lili was just over three years old. Now she was almost five. According to the timeline in the plot, she was supposed to be killed by her own mother at the age of five.
Seeing that time was approaching, the woman showed no signs of remorse. Zhuo Ni planned to find an opportunity to resolve this matter once and for all.
However, to her surprise, before she could act, the woman attacked the child first.
Over the past year or so, the Zhou couple would occasionally bring gifts to visit and brought their two daughters and one son. Their relationship grew stronger.
At the beginning of this year, a group of people came from above to inspect. After their inspection, they decided to open a primary school in the village. The village was very remote, and the small path leading out was often buried by landslides and mudslides. Shortly after, a new path was carved out. This path was on a slope, making it difficult to widen.
The village had no school, and leaving the village was extremely difficult. Therefore, in the past, few people in the village were literate.
Now that a primary school was to be established, most people agreed. Zhou Shugen had also earned some money over the past year. Not only did he renovate his own house, but he also sent both his daughters to primary school. For some reason, he thought of Zhuo Ni and sent someone to call her home.
The intention was to send her to primary school as well.
Zhuo Ni had no interest.
She had been to schools before, but they were at least high schools or universities, and the subjects were more interesting. Now, asking her to go to school was like watching a group of brats stare blankly. She wasn't that idle.
"I'm not going."
Zhou Shugen, who was enthusiastically telling her about this, was stunned by her refusal.
"Why not?" Mother Zhou was also very confused. "Sanya, although you were given to the Ran family, you are still our daughter. Few girls in the village can go to school. Your father and I have failed you. Do you still hate us? Going to school has benefits. Your father has been working in the coal mine for over a year, and someone who only went for a few months now earns more than your father just because they can read a few more words. How can you..."
"I don't want to go," Zhuo Ni said. "I don't blame you either. Don't overthink it. If I want to be literate, I'll learn myself. You should let my elder sister and second sister go. Be careful when you go to the coal mine and pay attention to safety."
"I know all that," Zhou Shugen said, sounding a bit dejected. "Are you really not going?"
His two elder daughters were overjoyed when they heard they could go to school.
Why didn't the little girl want to go?
"No."
After she refused repeatedly, Zhou Shugen and Mother Zhou didn't ask further. Zhuo Ni wanted to go back immediately, but Mother Zhou insisted she stay for dinner. After dinner, she said it was getting dark and asked Zhuo Ni to stay the night and return tomorrow.
Zhuo Ni had a bad feeling and insisted on returning.
Unable to persuade her, Zhou Shugen drove her back. There was little conversation on the way. As they neared the Ran family's house, Liu Cui ran over from the side, looking anxious.
Zhuo Ni's unease grew. She asked coldly, "What's wrong?"
Liu Cui was so flustered she could barely speak clearly: "Xiao Bao has been abducted."
Zhuo Ni's spiritual power suddenly erupted, almost knocking the two people near her over. She looked at Liu Cui with cold eyes and asked, "What happened?"
Liu Cui said, "I went to the fields this afternoon, and I asked his mother to watch him. His mother said she was called over by the aunt next door. She put him in that little cart. Just a few minutes later, when she came back, he was gone. No matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find him."
She was almost crying, her forehead covered in sweat. After anxiously explaining the cause and effect, she was in disarray.
"I heard people saying recently that there have been kidnappers lurking around the village. Was Xiao Bao kidnapped by them? Oh, my Xiao Bao! Where are you! You're going to kill your grandmother with worry!"
Zhou Shugen quickly said, "Maybe he crawled out himself. Let's look around again, let's look together."
Just as he finished speaking, Yan Yun walked over with another man. The man was tall and burly, with a scar on his face. He looked to be in his early thirties and had a very imposing presence.
"Auntie."
He and Yan Yun had recently started dating, and Liu Cui knew about it, so she didn't stop him. However, the reason Yan Yun was called over today was to discuss things with this man.
Now, Liu Cui couldn't help but shift the blame onto him, feeling a degree of resentment.
"We've searched all around here and couldn't find him. I asked the children in the village, and they said they saw Su family's daughter-in-law carrying something out." Su Dan Novel Network.
"When?"
Zhuo Ni stared intently at him. The man had never really noticed the little girl bought by the family of the woman he fancied. After all, her origins were not honorable. Usually, she was taking care of that child when he visited, and rarely had extensive conversations with others.
Now, meeting her gaze, he felt a chilling sensation all over.
It must be an illusion.
How could a little girl's eyes be so terrifying?
It was comparable to the countless murderers he had seen before.
"About an hour ago. Let's hurry and chase, we should be able to catch up."
Zhuo Ni turned and ran without a word.
The others looked at each other. Finally, Liu Cui pushed Yang Yun, "Hurry up and follow her! What kind of mother are you! Not even as good as... Oh, this is so frustrating!"
She slapped her thighs, wishing she could chase after them herself, but she was old, and her legs were not as good as the young people's. Going would only be a burden.
Yang Yun, realizing what was happening belatedly, turned and chased after her.
The man also followed.
However, after running nearly a kilometer, they still couldn't catch up to the little girl in front. As the sky darkened, they nervously walked through the path out of the village but still couldn't catch up.
Yang Yun said with lingering fear, "It's so dangerous over there. Will she fall down?"
"No," the little girl didn't seem simple at all.
"Don't worry, let's go to town first. I know people in the bureau, we'll ask them to help search. Those traffickers have been their targets lately. If Su family's daughter-in-law intends to sell him, there's a high chance they'll find them. Maybe we can get some clues from them."
"Then let's go quickly."
"Alright."