"They'll be back!" Lin Xia determinedly decided to teach them a lesson, confident they would return that night, "Xiaoqiu! Are you all right?" Her primary concern was whether her sister was injured.
Xiaoqiu showed Lin Xia her arm, "Sis! I'm all right! It's just that my arm hurts and I can't straighten it! Big Brother said he'd take me to Old Man Wang's place to have it looked at!"
There was an Old Man Wang on Front Street who knew how to treat bruises and sprains.
Lin Xia carefully pulled at Xiaoqiu's right arm to see it, but as soon as she touched her arm, Xiaoqiu winced in pain.
Lin Xia's expression immediately grew somber, "Then we really can't take this lightly! Let's hurry over and have it checked out!"
As an outsider to medical issues, she was certainly not going to spot the problem; it could only get worse.
"Sis, Big Brother going with me is enough, you go home and have dinner with Dongzi first!" Lin Dong was left at home to watch the house, and Xiaoqiu didn't want to keep Lin Xia from eating.
"What dinner are you talking about! Let's wait until after the visit and then go home to eat together!" Lin Xia quickly pushed her bicycle, following closely beside Xiaoqiu and Lin Chun.
Xiaoqiu walked beside Lin Xia, whispering into her ear, "Sis! You didn't leave anything at home, did you?"
The food and such being gone didn't matter much to Xiaoqiu; what she feared most was that Lin Xia might have had something valuable hidden in the house that Lin Qiang could have stolen.
Lin Xia saw that her sister was crying so heartbrokenly for more than just losing some food, and she quickly shook her head, "No!"
This response greatly relieved Xiaoqiu, "That's good! Sis! You don't know, I felt so guilty! I shouldn't have gone to help Gold Aunt with padding her trousers; then none of this would have happened..."
Lin Xia consoled her, "Xiaoqiu! Don't think like that, even if you hadn't gone to Gold Aunt's house, if they wanted to sneak into our house, they would have thought of another way to send you off!"
What she pondered now was whether Lin Yu and Lin Qiang had done this because they heard there was food in their house, or if they knew about her selling scarves.
"That's true!" Xiaoqiu continued, noting details as they walked, "Sis! You should have seen it, they turned our house upside down... when I came back from Gold Aunt's house, Lin Yu was still in the courtyard, blocking me from entering the house... Both of her pockets were stuffed with sugar pieces and other stuff stolen from our house, which I found out when I frisked her, and just as I entered the house, I caught Lin Qiang right at the door..."
Lin Xia was both angry and anxious but still managed to advise softly, "Xiaoqiu, if something like this happens again, don't confront them directly; remember, nothing is more important than you!"
If something had happened to Xiaoqiu because of this, she would have regretted it forever.
Xiaoqiu glanced around the empty street and whispered, "Sis! I know! But I was really scared at the time, you said you were making money, and I thought you might have hidden something at home. I was afraid they might find it..."
Guilty feelings rose in Lin Xia's heart; she should have told Xiaoqiu sooner about selling the scarves, but there were some things she couldn't tell them everything about.
Lin Xia whispered to her, "Xiaoqiu! I've been selling some scarves! But they were all sold out yesterday!"
"Sis! Really? You're amazing!" Xiaoqiu's eyes filled with admiration as she asked in a hushed voice, "Sis, are you going to sell them again?"
"Yes! I'll get some more in a few days!" Lin Xia quietly responded while glancing at Lin Chun, who was walking with a tense face beside them.
When they arrived at Old Man Wang's house, they caught him just after dinner; Mrs. Wang was washing dishes in the kitchen.
Old Man Wang was a kind man; he let the three siblings into the inner room and examined Xiaoqiu's arm, saying it was a dislocation, and fixed it with a couple of moves.
However, Xiaoqiu still grimaced in pain, and Lin Xia hurried to comfort her.
Lin Chun quickly asked, "Old Man Wang, what should we do after this?"
The Old Man, wiping his hands, instructed them, "Take care of it. Rest it for about ten days to half a month, don't strain it, and avoid heavy work.
"This is the first time, so you must take it seriously and heal it properly; otherwise, if the dislocation recurs, it won't be easy to deal with. If it hurts a lot, buy some painkillers to take..."
"Thank you, Old Man Wang!"
"What's there to thank! We are neighbors, after all!"
As Lin Xia left, she tried to give Old Wang one yuan for the consultation fee, but he pushed it back, "Lin Xia! What are you doing? I don't want it!"
The two argued their way outside, and Lin Xia forcefully stuffed the money into his hand, then turned to leave, "Old Wang! This is for you to buy a drink!"
Times were tough for everyone then, and she knew the old man enjoyed drinking.
Old Wang had no choice but to accept, as he waved goodbye, "Alright! I'll keep it then. If there's anything else, come over!"
Upon returning home, Lin Dong had just seen them walk through the gate from the front door, and he ran out from the house.
"How's my second sister? What did Old Wang say?"
Lin Qiu shook her head, "Nothing serious!" She didn't want to worry them because of her.
"Let's go! Everyone inside! We'll talk inside!" Lin Xia knew they all had things to discuss, but the yard was clearly not the place.
Once inside the Western House, none of them felt like touching the food laid out on the table.
"They have gone too far!" Lin Dong clenched his fists, "Stealing and even injuring my second sister, big brother, big sister, we can't just let this slide!"
If they let this go lightly this time, they would surely become more aggressive.
"Of course!" Lin Xia's eyes showed determination. She calmly looked at Lin Chun and said, "Big brother! After you finish your meal, go to Sister Hongmei's house and tell her on my behalf to ask for a leave; I'll stay home with Xiaoxia!"
"Sis! It's not necessary! I'll be fine at home by myself!" Lin Qiu quickly said.
"No need for 'it's not necessary'! Big brother! Just go later! If Sister Hongmei leaves for work again..."
Lin Chun was also worried about Lin Qiu staying at home alone, but he thought Lin Xia's decision was unwise, so he made a suggestion to her, "Xiaoxia! Why don't I take the leave instead? You just started work today!"
The big sister had already taken quite a few leaves this month, continuing this way, her supervisors at work would definitely have concerns.
Besides, what if Lin Qiang came back, and she impulsively got herself into trouble again?
"It's okay! Big brother! I'll stay home!" Lin Xia was unusually resolute, knowing her big brother's presence at home wouldn't help!
With the situation as it was, merely exchanging insults made no sense; she needed to make them suffer!
Lin Chun still disagreed, "Xiaoxia ah! Why are you so stubborn? Can't you just listen to me once? If Lin Qiang comes back, what can you and Xiaoxia, two women, do to him? If he starts acting tough again, who can match him?"
He felt more and more that he couldn't handle his big sister!
Lin Xia lied without changing her expression, "Big brother! You are mistaken! I'm not staying home to fight with Lin Qiang!
Xiaoqiu's arm got twisted but is fine now, although she still needs to heal properly! She can't do much; I'll help her with the chores, and later I'll go buy her some medicine!"
Lin Chun finally couldn't override Lin Xia, he hastily swallowed a bite of his meal, and rushed to Yu Hongmei's house.
After Lin Chun left, Lin Dong, who had been silent on the side, asked Lin Xia, "Big sister, will you and second sister be alright staying at home? Otherwise, I won't go to school this afternoon either."
He didn't know whether his big brother believed all that, but he certainly hadn't fully believed it.
If his big sister before the illness, he'd believe; but this big sister who had changed after being ill, he definitely didn't believe she would do nothing.
Just in case, if she really fought with Lin Qiang, after all, he was a man with quite a bit of strength!