Li Chunhua dared not say anything more, what more could she dare say when these people before her eyes might send her to prison?
Liu Baoguo was obviously happy, having leaders from the school come to their village to help with construction was a display of good performance in governance, wasn't it said that local authorities were like one big family?
With An Zhiyuan by his side, chatting and laughing all the way, the atmosphere immediately became harmonious.
Bai Jianguo hung his head low, lost in thought.
The aunties in the village supported Bai Xiao, with hearts and eyes full of pity for the child without parents—how pitiable.
Liupan Village wasn't far from the reservoir, and after about ten minutes of walking, they arrived.
Liu Baoguo personally led An Zhiyuan and the others to Bai Xiao's former house. No one had lived there for four years, except for the occasional tidying up by Bai Song when he returned from the army. The interior was probably still tolerable, but from the outside, it already looked dilapidated.
After all, their house was made of mud bricks. One storm was enough to ruin its appearance. Didn't every family reapply a layer of mud on the outside every year? But with no one to maintain their house, of course, it looked desolate and miserable. The house was remote, at the foot of the hill at the end of the village, with the nearest neighbor a walk of a dozen meters away.
An Zhiyuan frowned as he looked at the large lock on the door. The door itself was still intact; Bai Song ensured its condition whenever he returned to clean up the place.
"Where's the key?"
An Zhiyuan looked at the door lock and asked Bai Jianguo.
Bai Jianguo suddenly looked up, meeting An Zhiyuan's seemingly knowing expression, and in a panic said, "Oh, I'll go look for it. I'm on it!" He turned and left.
Li Chunhua had already slipped away as soon as they had entered the village; now, there was no one from the Bai Family around.
Liu Baoguo was also embarrassed, facing such a troublesome Bai Family. It was truly helpless, a group of people standing at the doorstep of Bai Xiao's house.
Half an hour passed and there was still no sign of Bai Jianguo; Liu Baoguo's face was full of irritation.
Bai Xiao, seeing the expression on An Zhiyuan's face growing colder, knew that the Bai Family had thoroughly embarrassed themselves in front of the villagers this time.
She had no choice but to pull Liu Baoguo aside, "Uncle, let's just break the lock. We can't have everyone waiting here doing nothing; at the very least, let's go inside and find a way to offer them a drink of water." Counting on Bai Jianguo to actually bring her the key was unreliable; he could be plotting something with Liu Chunhua at home right now.
It was better to take matters into her own hands than wait for them to come up with various excuses.
Liu Baoguo was taken aback and hesitated, "Isn't that improper? After all, the door is locked. Breaking in would be considered unauthorized entry!" In the village, there was no such precedent—it would set a bad example.
If the village chief broke into a house, and Bai Jianguo reported it, he would surely be reprimanded.
Bai Xiao laughed, "Uncle, this is my house. How can it be considered unauthorized entry? How could it be unauthorized entry if I'm returning to my own home?"
Everyone by default had considered the house a part of Bai Jianguo's inheritance, look at how terrifying such an assumption was.
Liu Baoguo was startled and then realized, right, this was indeed Bai Xiao's home, and truly speaking, there was no need to consult Bai Jianguo.
An Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows; the girl was quite clever, how did she end up being bullied like this?
"Fine, since it's like that, and the house belongs to your family, then, of course, it's your call!" Liu Baoguo nodded. As Bai Xiao had said, with her parents gone, the house naturally belonged to their children. It wasn't like the Bai Family lacked a male heir, Bai Xiao's brother, Bai Song, returned here to stay every year.
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So they have the right to do anything.
Bai Xiao hadn't spoken yet when Bai Jianguo, gasping for breath, arrived. Seeing his empty hands, everyone frowned.
To have so many people, including comrades from the People's Liberation Army, waiting here, and yet not even bringing the key.
Bai Jianguo ran to Liu Baoguo, "Village chief, village chief! I'm so sorry, I can't find the key. How about this, let's call it off for today? I'll go back and search thoroughly. Once I find it, I'll come and tidy up the house. Everyone can rest assured, I will definitely clean up this place for Bai Xiao."
He thought he had come up with a good excuse, one that his family had agreed upon as being the most appropriate.
Surely they couldn't force him to break in just because the key was lost.
As long as they got past today, everything else would be negotiable.
But he suddenly realized that everyone was looking at him with disapproval, and that profound gaze made him feel utterly uncomfortable.
"Uncle village chief, just listen to me and smash it! I'm the boss of my own house!" Bai Xiao's resolute words came crashing down.
Bai Jianguo nearly jumped up.
"Xiao, what are you doing? How can you break the lock? It's such a pity to break a perfectly good lock. Can't you just wait a day or half so your uncle can look properly?" He hadn't expected Bai Xiao to be so headstrong.
An Zhiyuan signaled to the students and two of them went up with tools in hand.
Bai Jianguo panicked.
"Uncle Bai, since you can't find it, there's no need to look anymore. Anyway, I'm going to live in my house and would have to change the keys, so it's better to just break it and save trouble! Comrades, I am sorry to trouble you with this, and I thank you all here."
Bai Xiao was determined; nothing said today would prevent her from moving into her own house.
She could never go back to the Bai family in this lifetime.
Bai Jianguo looked at Bai Xiao with a gaze so fierce as if he wanted to devour her, not expecting her to be so resolute, not even giving him a sliver of time to maneuver.
This was not about leaving any opportunity or excuse for him.
"Xiao, are you doing this because you don't trust your uncle? Do you know how cold this makes me feel? After all the years I've raised you, don't you remember any of your uncle's kindness?" Bai Jianguo knew that once the door was smashed open, it wouldn't be easy to take back the house.
Bai Xiao remained silent, stepping back silently to stand next to village chief Liu Baoguo. "Uncle, whether I trust you is not important. The comrades are here and can help. I'm afraid grandma might have been unintentional this time, but next time, I don't know if she might kill me!" She moved her arm to show her wound to Bai Jianguo.
An Zhiyuan was at a loss for his forgetfulness, for the injury was still there.
He said to his student, "Get the medic over here to bandage Bai Xiao. Otherwise, it's easy to get an infection, which can be deadly."
Peng Dazhi immediately responded with an "Understood!" and ran to call someone. The medic was not far and was easy to get.
Liu Baoguo, impatient with Bai Jianguo, said, "Alright! This is Bai Xiao's parents' house. Since the key can't be found, let's just break it open. You don't need to worry about this anymore. Don't talk about feeling cold, this child is probably the one who should feel cold. Don't forget, the kid almost died today. If something happens back at your house, how will you explain yourself?" At this moment, Liu Baoguo hardly had the patience to argue with Bai Jianguo.
Bai Jianguo silently stepped aside; it was no longer up to him, with no one standing with him.
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