"Ding Xiaoli getting crippled took everyone by surprise, my father included. With what he had done, most of us expected an immediate reaction from the store, after all, the whole commotion had happened just outside their door and the pillar Ding Xiaoli crashed through was theirs.
But no one came out.
At the time I couldn't understand why, and just naively assumed the reason they didn't react was that even they knew Ding Xiaoli's actions were unpardonable.
I thought they too had grown some conscience from the whole commotion. Xiaoli always behaved like a fiend, but never to the extent of what he did that day.
It was wishful thinking on my part that maybe the store had tacitly approved of my father's actions hence the lack of reaction on their part.
Because a few seconds later, one of the shop clerks of the store came out and picked up Ding Xiaoli's unconscious and crippled body and went back to the store.
