"Ah... someone's been murdered, someone's been murdered." The people in the yard, who had come to watch the spectacle, screamed and ran out with their hands on their heads when they saw the village chief collapse.
Sheng An was deathly pale with fear. "What do we do? What do we do? I killed someone, I killed someone." She clasped her head with both hands, crouching on the ground, her body curling up.
Xiao Hong and Gou Dan were also bawling in fright.
Sheng Ning smiled reassuringly at Sheng An. "He's fine, just fainted."
Sheng An lowered her hands and asked hopefully, "Really fine?"
"He's definitely fine. Your strength is too small to kill anyone." Sheng Ning said, touching the man's carotid artery, then nodded very surely.
"That blow you just dealt, An'an, was well done."
Hearing that the village chief wasn't dead, Gou Dan immediately stopped crying, sniffing and saying with starry eyes, "An'an, you're amazing!"
Hearing this from the two of them, Sheng An finally calmed down and let out a long sigh of relief. But thinking about Sheng Ning's previous actions, she immediately rebuked, "Why weren't you thinking? The village chief is such a strong man, and you dared to hit him with a stool? Aren't you afraid of getting our family into trouble?"
"I'm sorry, I was wrong," Sheng Ning apologized with a smile. She actually knew that An'an was just a softie hiding behind a tough exterior. She was clearly scared just moments ago but stepped in to help in a critical moment.
"Are you... are you crazy? Got water in your brain?" Sheng An had intended to scold a few more sentences but was caught off guard by her sincere apology, feeling unusually uncomfortable throughout her whole body.
After the village chief was knocked out, Sheng An quickly went to check on Qi Mei, who was lying on the ground and unable to get up.
"How do you feel? Where does it hurt?"
Qi Mei's eyes were slightly cloudy. She opened her mouth with difficulty, "All... all over."
"Don't move. Let me check if you've broken any bones." She skillfully checked a few critical spots on Qi Mei's body and only relaxed once she confirmed no bones were broken.
By this time, the whole village knew about the situation at the village chief's house. A large group of people, holding hoes and pitchforks, rushed in.
Sheng Laosan and Shen Luhua were among them.
Seeing that her daughter was being called a murderer by everyone, Shen Luhua almost fainted.
No one else dared to come closer, watching the yard warily.
Sheng Laosan, a retired soldier, immediately noticed the problem. He walked up without a word, harshly pinching the village chief's philtrum until he woke up.
"Who just hit me?" The village chief woke up ready to settle the score.
Sheng Laosan sternly said, "Do you still want to act up? You beat your wife like this; you must go to the police station."
"I won't go, I won't go." Hearing he had to go to the police station, the village chief's legs buckled in fear.
At that time, rural people still held old-fashioned beliefs. Unlike later on, when going to the police station was like peeking into their own backyard. Nobody wanted to go to the police station without reason, and even less so when something had gone wrong.
In the end, the village chief didn't go to the police station. Everyone was worried about Qi Mei's injuries and hurriedly took her to the hospital.
Sheng Ning and Sheng An took Xiao Hong back to their house, and Gou Dan followed like a little tail.
By the time they got home, it was completely dark. The rural night was pitch black, you couldn't see your hand in front of you. Sheng Ning lit a kerosene lamp and reheated the lunch leftovers.
Just as they were about to eat, Gou Dan's mother stormed in angrily and dragged him back home by his ear.
Sheng Ning looked at Xiao Hong and asked, "What about her? Does she have grandparents?" She figured the village chief managed to hold his position because he had many brothers and was powerful in the village.
The grandmother at home was notoriously wicked when she was younger.
"Xiao Hong is a girl. Her grandmother has never liked her since she was little." Sheng An mentioned while Xiao Hong looked at Sheng Ning with timid eyes.