Two bags each of rice and flour, two buckets of oil, and a variety of seasonings like salt, vinegar, and soy sauce, plus a kettle and two thermos flasks.
Lu Jiajie explained, "Things were rushed yesterday, and I didn't buy everything we needed. Today, I specially wrote down what we needed to buy, but there might still be omissions. Whatever we're missing, just write it down and give it to me later."
"Okay."
After everything was moved into the kitchen, Ma Lili dusted off her apron and said, "Xinxin, Xiao Feng will cry if she can't see me tonight, so I'd better head back now. I'll bring the two little brats over during the weekend."
Her reason for coming over this time was twofold: to check in on Jiaxin, and to familiarize herself with the place.
"Okay."
Before leaving, Lu Jiajie asked Lu Jiaxin about something, "You were almost harmed by human traffickers, big brother thinks you should go file a report."
He felt that reporting it would be useless, as there had been many abduction cases in recent years without any developments. He thought that Lu Jiaxin's case would likely lead nowhere as well.
Lu Jiaxin had been so busy these past couple of days that she'd completely forgotten about it, "I'll go first thing tomorrow morning."
"Then I'll take the day off tomorrow to go with you."
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to trouble him further, "Fifth Brother, you have to work, and it's not good to keep taking time off. Xue Mao will accompany me tomorrow, so you don't need to worry."
"Alright then, if anything comes up, call me or big brother's phone."
As the couple left, Ma Lili waved the bag of snacks in her hand that Jiaxin had insisted she take, "I used to hear that adversity makes a person grow up fast. Now it seems that the old saying is absolutely true."
Before, when she visited Third Uncle's house, the kid would just greet her and that was it. Today, not only was she warmly welcoming, but she also thoughtfully remembered the two children.
Lu Jiajie heaved a sigh, "I'd rather she stayed as she was before."
Ma Lili rolled her eyes at him, "Staying the same as before, she'd have been devoured alive by Ding Jing and her daughter eventually. Now she's become assertive and knows how to fight for her own interests, so those two won't be able to take advantage of her anymore."
Lu Jiajie thought about it and agreed.
The next day, the siblings went to the police station to file a report. After completing their statements, they headed home. Just as they were preparing to continue cleaning, they heard a loud knocking on the door from outside.
Just from the knocking, they knew the visitor had bad intentions.
Before Lu Jiaxin could guess who it was, a familiar voice from her memory rang out from outside, "Lu Jiaxin, get out here. You run away from home and get targeted by human traffickers, yet you accuse me of wronging you. Lu Jiaxin, how could you be so malicious?"
Lu Jiaxin laughed bitterly. She had been too busy to deal with anything else but now Zhao Siyi had brought herself to her doorstep. She grabbed a stick as thick as a baby's arm from by the door, and the moment Xue Mao opened it, she swung it hard at the person outside.
"Ahhh..."
After a scream, Zhao Siyi had intended to curse, but upon seeing the fierce and malevolent Lu Jiaxin, she got scared and turned to run.
Unfortunately for her, she was too slow and soon felt another blow to her back.
Lu Jiaxin hadn't quite decided how to deal with her, but now that she had come to her, she couldn't let her go. Murder was illegal, but giving someone a thrashing to collect some "interest" wasn't a problem.
As long as it didn't result in death, even if Zhao Siyi filed a complaint, it would just be treated as a domestic dispute by the police and ultimately amount to nothing.
After taking three blows, Zhao Siyi was scared out of her wits and ran while shouting loudly, "Murder, help, help…"
At that time, the young people were off to work and the elderly had gone to buy groceries, so there were no people in the alley. However, her cries for help still proved effective, and after she took another blow, several people came from the end of the alley.
Zhao Siyi sprinted over and then hid behind a sister with a vegetable basket, crying while pointing at Lu Jiaxin and saying, "Sister, she's trying to kill me, please save me."
A middle-aged man stopped Lu Jiaxin and kindly advised her, "Girl, whatever the issue is, sit down and talk it out. If you cause a death, you'll be arrested by the Public Security Bureau and end up eating peanuts."
Lu Jiaxin, holding a stick and with a grim expression, said, "She is my stepsister. Not long ago, she stole my fiancé and her mother drugged my food, causing me to fail my college entrance exam. They made my life miserable and didn't stop there; they found a trafficker to kidnap me. I was lucky to escape, or who knows where I would be right now, in which corner. I barely escaped with my life and returned home, but my father wouldn't stand up for me, so I had no choice but to move out. Even so, she hasn't stopped and has come to my door to provoke me…"
Sister Wang hated fox spirits the most. Without waiting for her to finish, she grabbed Zhao Siyi by the shoulder and pushed her forward, "Hit her, just do it hard, just don't kill her."
Zhao Siyi, terrified out of her wits, said, "Auntie, I didn't do these things, she's slandering me."
Lu Jiaxin wouldn't miss such a good opportunity and viciously struck Zhao Siyi with the stick again, making her wail like a banshee.
The uncle next to them was caught off guard by Sister Wang's actions and didn't react in time, but he quickly stepped forward to stop Lu Jiaxin as she was about to hit again.
Seeing that she couldn't reach her target, Lu Jiaxin, while crying, said, "You're all over Fan Yinuo, hugging and nibbling, barely stopping short of sharing a bed. Where do you get the face to say I'm slandering you?"
Sister Wang spat at Zhao Siyi, "Dressed up all seductive, just one look and you can tell she's no decent girl. So young and already seducing men; it seems to run in the family."
Zhao Siyi, spat upon, was a mix of shock and rage, then fainted on the spot.
The uncle, seeing her like this, said to Lu Jiaxin, "You beat her to this condition, come with me and let's take this girl to the hospital."
Sister Wang, whose surname was Wang, heard this and raised her voice, "Why take her to the hospital? A fox spirit like her deserves death even if she's beaten to it. Da Pan, I advise you not to get involved either."
Da Pan said with a sense of helplessness, "Sister Wang, if a life is lost here in the alley, would you still dare to go out at night?"
After saying that, he looked at Lu Jiaxin and said, "Even if she's done wrong, you can't be so ruthless. If something really bad happens, you'll have to pay with your life."
Lu Jiaxin sternly replied, "If she really dies, I'll pay with my life. When she wakes up, tell her I'll hit her if she dares to come again, so hard her own mother won't recognize her."
After saying that, she called Xue Mao and went home.
Da Pan shouted at her retreating figure, "If you don't take her to the hospital, when the police from the station come, your crime will be even greater."
Lu Jiaxin was not afraid in the least and shouted back, "Then go ahead and call the police! Let the police uncles decide if she deserves to be beaten."
Humming a tune, she then went home.
Da Pan wanted Sister Wang to help take her to the hospital but to his surprise, Sister Wang just snorted and went home with her vegetable basket. With no other choice, he took Zhao Siyi to the hospital on his own.
Back at home, Xue Mao worried that Ding Jing might come to cause trouble, "Sister, we should call big brother and Fifth Brother straight away. If she comes knocking, we'll have backup."
Lu Jiaxin wasn't the least bit afraid of Ding Jing, saying, "It would be better if she does come. I'll make sure her name gets spread around our alley,"
She had been practicing sanda since she was young and knew which areas to hit without causing serious harm. The beating she gave Zhao Siyi today would cause pain but no disability. Compared to what her original self endured, this was nothing but child's play.