Chapter 155 Can't You Help Out?

While Chen Ju and Huang Yaxin were still plotting their next move, Lin Xiaodou had already taken the IOU and gone straight to find Xiao Jingyao.

She simply did not have that much time to waste on someone like Chen Ju. If it were not for the fact that Chen Ju was Xiao Jingyao's mother, she would have dealt with her privately on the spot.

In the hospital ward, upon learning of his mother's recent outrageous behavior, Xiao Jingyao was beside himself with anger. First, he apologized profusely to Lin Xiaodou, and then he used the hospital's landline to make a phone call to his father stationed in the capital.

No one knew exactly what he said, but the very next day, Chen Ju received an urgent telegram at the guesthouse. It contained only a few chilling words: [Return immediately! Otherwise, divorce!]

These few short words laid bare Xiao's father's fury and indifference. In fact, there was a telephone at the guesthouse, and Xiao's father could easily have called to deliver the message. Yet he preferred to use a cold, heartless telegram to state his position rather than waste a single extra word speaking to Chen Ju. This made it abundantly clear just how deeply dissatisfied he was with her as a wife.

Upon receiving the telegram, Chen Ju panicked completely. The only reason she had been able to act so arrogantly outside was because she relied on the powerful backing of the Xiao family. Furthermore, her maiden family depended entirely on the Xiao family's patronage to maintain their footing in the capital. Once divorced, she would lose her entire support system. Not only would she be left with nothing, but her own family would certainly refuse to take her in.

No! She could not get a divorce! She would rather die than get a divorce!

There was no need to guess; this was undoubtedly the doing of that scheming little hussy Lin Xiaodou, who must have whispered poison into her son's ear. Chen Ju initially wanted to storm over to the hospital to interrogate her son and find out exactly what he had told his father, but in the end, she managed to hold herself back. She could not ruin her entire marriage over some worthless little wench. It simply wasn't worth it!

Weighing her options, Chen Ju ultimately compromised. She decided to drop her vendetta against Lin Xiaodou. That very noon, Chen Ju went to the railway station and purchased a train ticket for a departure that very night.

Just as she returned to the guesthouse after buying her ticket, she happened to run into Huang Yaxin, who had come looking for her. Upon learning that Chen Ju was leaving, Huang Yaxin panicked:

"Auntie, if you just leave like this, after we've suffered so much humiliation, are you seriously giving up on revenge?"

Her matters with Xiao Jingyao were far from settled yet; how could Chen Ju just pack up and leave? It was infuriating.

Chen Ju gritted her teeth and said, "I want revenge too, but there are urgent matters at home, and I must return as soon as possible."

Naturally, she couldn't tell this girl that she had been threatened with divorce by her husband. Out of regard for her pride and family privacy, she could never utter such a thing aloud.

"But Auntie, what about Brother Xiao?" Huang Yaxin asked with a worried expression. "If you aren't here, that vixen Lin Xiaodou will definitely seduce him. It will be disastrous if he falls for her tricks."

Hearing this, Chen Ju's face darkened: "I can't manage that anymore. He can do whatever he pleases!"

This son of hers had already grown estranged from her; she simply lacked the energy to manage him any longer. It was one thing while they were in the capital, where she could still leverage a bit of influence to suppress Lin Xiaodou. But in this backward, impoverished little county, she was truly powerless to retaliate. Most importantly, with her husband threatening divorce, she had zero mental bandwidth left to worry about her son's affairs. Right now, all she wanted was to hurry back to the capital, smooth things over with her husband, and comfortably resume her life as Madam Xiao. As for Lin Xiaodou, as long as she refused to give her consent, that dead girl would never be allowed to cross the threshold of the Xiao family.

"Auntie Chen..." Huang Yaxin bit her lip, attempting to persuade her further. "Please don't give up on Brother Xiao just like this. After all, he is your son."

Chen Ju raised an eyebrow, shooting her a sharp, piercing glance. "You make it sound as though my son has committed some unforgivable heinous crime. If you have designs on Jingyao, put in the effort yourself instead of trying to manipulate me."

She could see right through the thoughts of a young, scheming girl like her. She had only humored her previously because she needed her help. Now that she was leaving, why bother putting on a pleasant face?

Hearing this, Huang Yaxin's expression stiffened, and she said rather awkwardly, "Auntie, you've misunderstood..."

Chen Ju waved a hand dismissively. "Alright, alright, there's no need to explain yourself to me. My train is tonight, and I need to rest now."

With no other choice, Huang Yaxin stood up awkwardly. "Very well then, get some rest, Auntie. I won't disturb you any further."

Stepping out of the guesthouse, Huang Yaxin's face instantly darkened. *That stubborn old hag, acting all high and mighty just because she's Brother Xiao's mother!*

Huang Yaxin had no intention of letting Lin Xiaodou off so easily. Since this avenue with Chen Ju was blocked, she would simply find another way; after all, she knew plenty of people.

However, before Huang Yaxin could even put her new plans into action, disaster struck her instead.

On the second night after Chen Ju's departure, while Huang Yaxin was walking through a narrow alley, she was suddenly tripped by a dark shadow. Her entire body plunged face-first into the ground, taking a brutal fall. As luck would have it, the ground was littered with sharp stones, and Huang Yaxin's face was instantly battered to a bloody pulp.

"Aah! Aah! Aah!"

Her piercing, heart-rending screams echoed through the alley. Soon, neighbors drawn by the noise rushed over and sent the heavily injured Huang Yaxin to the hospital.

When she finally regained consciousness, the doctor delivered the devastating news that her face was completely disfigured and could never be restored to its original appearance. Unable to accept this cruel reality, Huang Yaxin covered her face and wailed in despair.

Just when she thought things couldn't possibly get any worse, two days later, the county art troupe dismissed her on the grounds of questionable moral character! This final blow completely shattered Huang Yaxin's sanity, and she even began showing signs of mental instability. Her family from the capital eventually came to fetch her, directly committing her to a lunatic asylum.

Thus, Chen Ju and Huang Yaxin, the two major troublemakers, were completely eliminated by Lin Xiaodou.

As for the four-thousand-yuan debt, Xiao's father had remitted the funds from the capital post office, and Lin Xiaodou received the postal money order a week later.

Upon receiving the money, Lin Xiaodou originally intended to split it evenly with Zhu Damei, but the latter stubbornly refused. After much discussion, they finally agreed that Lin Xiaodou would take three thousand, and Zhu Damei would keep one thousand. Even if it was only one thousand yuan, it was still a vast fortune. Zhu Damei was so excited she spun around every day, constantly hovering around Lin Xiaodou.

"Xiaodou, you are my deity! I want to latch onto your coattails, and wherever you go from now on, I'm going too!"

Lin Xiaodou didn't know whether to laugh or cry; this girl was simply too passionate.

Half a month later, Liu Yan'er finished high school and rushed over to the pig farm to visit her, bringing along a piece of good news.

"Xiaodou, my dad recommended me to be a veterinary apprentice here at the pig farm! From now on, we can work together!" She beamed happily (*^▽^*)~.

Lin Xiaodou: ......

With two clingy girls coming together, her head was already buzzing with endless chatter.

The next afternoon, Zhu Damei, who had come to see Lin Xiaodou, ran right into Liu Yan'er. The moment the two met, they let out synchronized gasps of shock:

"Xiaodou! You actually went behind my back and took in other sisters?!"

"Hello, my name is Liu Yan'er. I'm Xiaodou's sworn younger sister. You look... rather towering."

"Oh, oh! My name is Zhu Damei, I'm Xiaodou's sworn older sister. You look... awfully tiny."

Standing at 155 centimeters, Liu Yan'er puffed out her chest, locking eyes with the 180-centimeter Zhu Damei without showing a shred of timidity.

Seeing the aggressive aura radiating from both of them, Lin Xiaodou half-expected them to erupt into a physical brawl. To her surprise, the two of them shook hands and made peace in the blink of an eye:

"We're both Xiaodou's sisters, and we both want to latch onto her coattails, so we are not allowed to fight!"

Immediately after, they each grabbed one of Lin Xiaodou's arms, clinging to her sides as they began coquettishly vying for her attention.

"Xiaodou, my mother had me bring a box of pastries for you to eat!"

"Xiaodou, my father had me chop half a catty of pork for you to eat."

"Eat mine first! The pastries are so fragrant and sweet!"

"Eat mine! I cook really fast, it'll be ready in a second!"

Lin Xiaodou: ......

"Eat, eat, I'll eat both of them!"

Just as she had anticipated: what a headache!

......

Earlier, Director Hu had decided to promote Lin Xiaodou, but had never found the right timing. Now that Liu Yan'er had arrived and he learned of their relationship, he immediately promoted Lin Xiaodou to the position of Veterinary Consultant and assigned Liu Yan'er as her very first trainee.

"Lass Lin, focus on training Liu Yan'er. Once you produce results, I'll recruit a second veterinary apprentice under your name."

Lin Xiaodou nodded. "Thank you, Director Hu."

Having joined the veterinary station only a few months ago, Lin Xiaodou was already promoted to Veterinary Consultant, making all the other veterinary apprentices intensely envious. Naturally, there was jealousy mixed in, such as from Zhang Guihua. However, she didn't dare show it on the surface and could only vent her grievances behind closed doors.

The target of her complaints was quite a choice one: Doctor Zhang, who had always held a grudge against Lin Xiaodou. Previously, Doctor Zhang had been misled by Zhu Qingqing into thinking Lin Xiaodou was speaking ill of her behind her back, and when she went to confront Lin Xiaodou, she had received a severe beating, leaving her with a deep-seated resentment. Seeing Director Hu openly favor Lin Xiaodou this time only made her feel even more disgruntled.

Bullies always picked on the softest targets. Not daring to provoke Lin Xiaodou directly, Doctor Zhang turned her malice toward Doctor He, who had previously acted as Lin Xiaodou's mentor.

Lately, Doctor He had been going through a bitter conflict with her family. The root cause was that her husband wanted a divorce, which she stubbornly refused. Having been married for nearly ten years without conceiving a child, Doctor He's mother-in-law harbored immense dissatisfaction toward her, constantly shouting and cursing at her day in and day out. This time, Doctor He's husband was dead set on a divorce, and naturally, his mother supported him wholeheartedly. Seeing that her daughter-in-law refused to agree to the divorce, the mother-in-law grew furious and had marched down to the veterinary station to cause a scene on several occasions, which everyone had witnessed.

Doctor He was already overwhelmed with stress because of these family matters when Doctor Zhang purposefully sauntered over to mock her:

"Doctor He, your mother-in-law makes quite a racket. I suggest you take a break and go home for a while to sort out your domestic affairs."

Hearing this, Doctor He frowned deeply. "Doctor Zhang, what is that supposed to mean? I'm doing my job perfectly fine, why on earth would I take a break?"

Doctor Zhang let out a huff through her nose. "Anyway, your former trainee Lin Xiaodou is fully capable of stepping into your shoes! The veterinary station won't fall apart without you, so you don't need to worry your head over it!"

Doctor He was no fool and quickly caught the hidden meaning behind her words. "Are you dissatisfied with Comrade Lin Xiaodou's promotion? If you have complaints, I suggest you take them up with Director Hu instead of spouting nonsense to me."

Doctor Zhang rolled her eyes. "Since you refuse to take good advice, just pretend I said nothing."

With that, she spun on her heel and went straight to lodge a complaint with Doctor Hu.

Doctor Hu was the cousin of Director Hu and currently managed the day-to-day operations of the veterinary station. Although Elder Wang was the overall director of the station, he constantly buried himself in the laboratory researching various intractable diseases and paid no attention to administrative trivialities.

Doctor Zhang and Doctor Hu were having a secret affair behind closed doors, though they tried to keep it discreet. If not for the door failing to latch properly last time, allowing Zhang Guihua to overhear their private conversation, no rumors would have ever leaked out.

Doctor Zhang deliberately twisted the facts in front of Doctor Hu, painting Doctor He in a terrible light and even falsely claiming that Doctor He was the one who had spread the previous gossip.

Ordinarily, Doctor Hu cared little for petty squabbles between women, and even with their clandestine relationship, he wouldn't usually interfere. However, upon hearing that Doctor He was responsible for the rumors damaging his reputation, Doctor Hu grew furious. He refused to tolerate the slightest blemish on his public image.

Using Doctor He's family troubles disrupting the work of the veterinary station as a pretext, he immediately suspended her pending an investigation.

"You may return to work whenever you have settled your domestic affairs. If you can't sort it out, don't ever come back!"

Doctor Hu had already made up his mind never to let Doctor He return, especially since she refused to grant a divorce.

Lin Xiaodou heard about this development from Zhang Guihua that very afternoon. Zhang Guihua wore a gloating, schadenfreude expression as she said, "If you hadn't beaten up Doctor Zhang last time, she wouldn't be holding a grudge to this day and dragging Doctor He down with her."

Lin Xiaodou's gaze darkened. Ever since she joined the veterinary station, Doctor He had always treated her with great kindness, and the two shared a genuinely good relationship. Naturally, she didn't want the other woman to suffer because of her.

"Sister Chen, please keep an eye on Yan'er for a moment. I'm stepping out!"

Entrusting Liu Yan'er to Sister Chen's care, Lin Xiaodou headed straight to Director Hu's office. Originally, she had hoped Director Hu would step in to resolve the matter, but he flatly refused.

"Lass Lin, while I am the overall head of the pig farm, Doctor Hu is the one who understands the veterinary station best. Besides, Doctor He's family is indeed causing quite a massive uproar."

Seeing Director Hu's indifferent attitude, Lin Xiaodou realized it was pointless to argue further.

That very evening, she prepared a box of pastries and paid a visit to Doctor He's home. Before she even reached the house, she could hear Doctor He's mother-in-law screaming curses from afar.

"You barren old hen! Are you trying to cut off the Wu family's bloodline? We're telling you to get a divorce, so just do it! Why do you have so many useless objections?!"

Accompanying the shrill curses came the sharp sound of several loud slaps.

Frowning deeply, Lin Xiaodou quickened her pace and strode inside. In the courtyard, Doctor He stood with disheveled hair, her eye sockets red and swollen, and a striking, distinct handprint visible across her cheek.

Seeing Lin Xiaodou arrive, Doctor He forced a pathetic smile and invited her inside. "Have a seat, I'll go pour you a cup of tea."

Before she could fetch the warm tea, however, her mother-in-law violently knocked the cup out of her hand, shattering it against the floor.

"Drink what tea?! Anyone who hangs around friends like you is bound to be no good! Get out of the Wu family home right now!"

The boiling water instantly scalded the back of Doctor He's hand, turning it a brilliant, angry red.

Having seen enough, Lin Xiaodou marched forward without hesitation and delivered a resounding slap straight across the old woman's face.

"You vicious old hag! How dare you ruin my reputation! I'll fight you to the death!"

Lin Xiaodou was doing it on purpose. The old woman possessed a thoroughly vicious and mean-spirited face, clearly revealing her wretched character. Combined with her abusive treatment of Doctor He, Lin Xiaodou detested her to the core. Since she despised her, a beating was in order!

"You old witch! I am still an unmarried maiden! If your slander ruins my marriage prospects, I will hold you solely responsible!"

Capitalizing on the excuse, Lin Xiaodou unleashed a flurry of punches that sent the old woman howling and crying for mercy.

Hearing the commotion, Doctor He's husband rushed out of the house. He was rumored to be a schoolteacher, possessing a scholarly appearance and wearing a delicate pair of wire-rimmed glasses. Upon witnessing the scene before him, he instantly flew into a rage:

"He Ying, are you dead?! Someone is beating my mother, and you're just standing there instead of helping?!"