NOVPUB
Chapter 682: Chapter 672: The Trouble at Li Xianghe’s Home
Li Xianglian couldn’t understand her sister-in-law’s thoughts, but knowing that it was already a foregone conclusion, she didn’t dwell on it. She simply said that if there was anything they needed help with in the future, to make sure to speak up, and she and her husband would help as much as they could.
Shen Yunfang was very moved upon hearing this.
After the children finished eating, they all got down from the table and indicated they wanted to play in the inner room, with Shuanzi even taking the silly Niuniu with him as he left.
Watching the silhouettes of the children disappear, Li Xianglian sighed.
Seeing Yunfang with a puzzled expression, she thought for a moment, then decided to speak.
"Yunfang, have you noticed that there’s something wrong with Xianghe’s Niuniu?"
"Yes." She had of course noticed; even well-behaved children couldn’t be silent for such long periods of time, so there must definitely be an issue with the child. But as for what the problem was, she just couldn’t tell.
"Ah, the reason I let Xianghe cling on like this isn’t just for her sake, but mainly out of pity for the child," Li Xianglian began to recount Li Xianghe’s family matters.
Li Xianghe, too, had married a serviceman, and her son-in-law had already been a regimental commander at the time. However, since his post was in a remote and difficult living area, there were no conditions for her to follow her husband into military life. As a result, Li Xianghe lived with her in-laws instead.
A few days after the wedding, her son-in-law had to rejoin his unit, leaving Li Xianghe to face life living with her in-laws and many other relatives.
In her own home, Li Xianghe had been lazy and spoiled. If not for her mother Qiu Shuping scolding her, she would have avoided work as much as possible. Moreover, she wasn’t very sweet-mouthed, liked comparing herself to others, and was competitive. It wasn’t hard to imagine how tumultuous her life with her in-laws would have been.
Additionally, she had two meddlesome older sisters-in-law, which only led to more endless conflicts.
Back then, Qiu Shuping was still around, and although she didn’t think much of this daughter of hers, she was still her own flesh and blood; she couldn’t just watch her be bullied by others. Thus, the fierce conflicts between Li Xianghe and her in-laws owed something to Qiu Shuping’s interventions. From then on, Li Xianghe took every opportunity to run back to her parental home.
During this time, her son-in-law returned a few times, aiming to resolve these conflicts. However, first impressions are so important that even if they managed to make peace at the time, they would end up fighting again over some trivial matter later on.
Because Li Xianghe and her husband lived apart, and they only spent about ten days or so together each year, they did not have children for the first two or three years of their marriage. Consequently, her in-laws looked down on Li Xianghe. When she finally became pregnant, she instantly felt as if she’d grown a spine, and for a time, she indeed shone within her in-laws’ home.
However, after the child was born, she was demoted again because she had given birth to a girl.
At that time, family planning had already been implemented, and although it wasn’t very strict, her son-in-law being a military man meant it was practically impossible for them to have another child.
The conflicts between Li Xianghe and her in-laws escalated once again. During that time, Li Xianghe returned to her parents’ home even before she had completed her month of confinement, leaving the child with her in-laws who favored boys over girls.
By the time Li Xianghe had had her fill of staying with her parents, likely having been driven back to her in-laws by Qiu Shuping, her daughter Niuniu was already so emaciated she was practically skin and bones, which can only suggest the kind of treatment she received.
Later, life staggered on until Niuniu was two years old and still couldn’t speak, which finally caught everyone’s attention.
They took the child to the health clinic for examination, but nothing was discovered. However, everyone knew there was something wrong with this child. Li Xianghe’s family privately discussed abandoning the child, thinking they could have another one, and perhaps this time, they would get a grandson. At first, her in-laws didn’t dare let Li Xianghe hear these discussions, fearing her disagreement. But as it turned out, even the mother Li Xianghe agreed to abandon her child without saying a word, feeling ashamed to be seen with a child that had an illness.
And so, the barely two-year-old Niuniu was discarded by her heartless family on the mountain. When people saw Li Xianghe strolling around without her child, they would ask, and she would equivocate. But it didn’t take many days for people to realize something was off, and someone - who exactly, was eager enough to make it their business, no one knew - reported it to the village committee. Abandoning a child, a future pillar of the country, was considered a heinous crime even in the 1980s and was strictly forbidden.
Fearing the consequences, Li Xianghe’s family shakily confessed where the child had been left. A week had passed, and a child that small alone in the mountains would likely have been taken by wild animals if not starved to death.
With a try-and-see attitude, people searched the mountain, and as it happened, Niuniu, who was destined to survive, was indeed found. Still, her condition was dire, as she lay unconscious, and likely would have passed away if they had arrived just a day or half a day later.
Niuniu was tough, and she was surprisingly brought back from the brink.
The village committee leaders specifically sought out Li Xianghe’s family for a talk. They laid out the gravity of the situation, making sure to thoroughly explain it, and clearly warned them that should Niuniu encounter any mishap, they would definitely report them to the police.
With no other options and lacking the nerve for defiance, the in-laws claimed they wouldn’t care for the child, so in the end, Li Xianghe had to do it herself. It could hardly be called caring; she mostly neglected the child, feeding her only when there was food and letting her go hungry when there wasn’t.
That’s how Niuniu lived, sometimes starving, sometimes fed, until she was four years old.
"That child isn’t mine, but seeing her so skinny, I just feel so sorry for her." Li Xianglian had a natural sympathy for children, even those who were not her own blood. "Since Xianghe lives here, I can at least make sure Niuniu gets enough to eat. There’s not much else I can do given our circumstances, but at least there’s that."
Shen Yunfang felt extremely heavy-hearted upon hearing this. As a mother herself, she couldn’t bear to hear of such mistreatment of a child and couldn’t understand it. To a mother’s heart, what difference does it make whether it’s a boy or girl? They are flesh from her own body. Besides, for clearly ill children, shouldn’t a mother’s care and sacrifices be even greater? She thought mothers like Li Xianghe who didn’t regard their child as their own had to be rare.
"Does Dad know about all this, and he didn’t say anything?" Li Hongjun asked with a face full of coldness.
Li Xianglian kept quiet and took a while before squeezing out, "I don’t know."
She genuinely didn’t know, but given Li Xianghe’s notorious behavior, and with the old man home every day, how could he be unaware? Yet in the end, the child was still mistreated, which meant that, whether the old man spoke up or not, and whether he knew or not, ultimately nothing changed.
"I think Niuniu might have autism," Shen Yunfang said uncertainly.
In her previous life, she had never seen a child with autism, but the television frequently featured such cases. Then, children’s psyches were very delicate, and there were many with autism.
"What? What’s autism? Can this illness be cured?" Li Xianglian, upon hearing that there was a name for the child’s condition, asked eagerly and with some excitement.
"I’m not entirely sure myself, since I’m not a doctor and haven’t spent much time with the child. I’m not able to make a certain diagnosis. But generally, this condition is innate, and I haven’t heard of any cures for it," replied Shen Yunfang. Even in the future world, there was no specific medication for treating this condition worldwide, let alone now.
