Chapter 477: Chapter 470: Revenge
Tian Xinhua’s busy period finally came to a pause, and as he settled into a regular work schedule, Sisi took the opportunity during dinner to tell him about the incident that had occurred at the hospital last time.
"Brother Xinhua, you don’t know, that child was still alive and was just thrown away by that Mrs. Wu, it’s really too cruel." Sisi still felt uncomfortable thinking about it to this day.
"Yes, I saw it myself, it’s really sinful! Xinhua, you need to keep a good eye on those Family Planning Station workers. Even if you are carrying out policy, you can’t behave like a white dog!" Granny Zhao murmured on the side.
Tian Xinhua nodded solemnly, perhaps because he was about to become a father, hearing about the child being thrown away alive made him very angry. He planned to send Zhu Xianren to the countryside for an investigation. If the situation was truly as Ah Nan described, it needed to be strictly managed.
Thinking of this, Tian Xinhua glanced at Sisi’s stomach. Five months pregnant, Sisi’s belly was still not very prominent, but it was more noticeable now that she was sitting down.
"Great Aunt, why is Ah Nan’s belly so small? Could it be she’s not eating enough? Has the doctor said if Ah Nan’s health is good?"
Although Tian Xinhua was about to be a father for the first time, he clearly remembered that Mo Xiaomi, when she was five months pregnant, had a belly that was already very big and frightening to look at, but Ah Nan looked almost the same as before she was pregnant. Could there be something abnormal?
Sisi glanced at him, swallowed the baozi in her mouth, and said in a sweet voice: "The doctor said that both the baby and I are very healthy, healthier than anyone else. A small belly is because of my natural beauty, understand?"
Is natural beauty used in this context?
Tian Xinhua found it amusing to hear that, and since the doctor said there was nothing to worry about, he was relieved. He gently touched Sisi’s belly with a tender look in his eyes, his whole body’s posture softened.
The Old Man and Granny Zhao watched the young couple with smiles on their faces, very proud of their wise decision. If Ah Nan had married into another family, she wouldn’t be living so comfortably.
Tian Xinhua first drove Sisi to work at the school, asked for her class schedule to ensure he could pick her up if he wasn’t busy, or else he’d arrange for Old Xu to come get her.
Ever since Sisi reached the four-month mark of her pregnancy, Tian Xinhua wouldn’t let her drive anymore. Either he would take her, Old Xu would, or she would take the bus.
When the car arrived at the school gate, Tian Xinhua parked the car, walked over, opened the door, and helped Sisi out, repeatedly reminding her to be careful when walking before driving away.
"Mr. He, Vice Secretary Tian is really considerate of you," teased some of the teachers nearby.
Over time, everyone became familiar with Sisi and knew that this Deputy Secretary’s Wife had no airs about her, so they joked with her as well.
Sisi said with a smile: "I’m having his baby now, how could he dare not to be considerate?"
As soon as Tian Xinhua arrived at the office, he had Old Xu summon Zhu Xianren over. Tian Xinhua mentioned the rough actions of the Family Planning Station staff and added, "Old Zhu, I want you to go to the countryside for an investigation, starting with Mijia Town. Take Li Neng with you. If such situations truly exist, we must eradicate them. We can’t let these people tarnish the reputation of our Party."
Zhu Xianren accepted the order and left. He was also someone who cared for efficiency in his work and quickly set out to visit the countryside.
Tian Xinhua originally thought that these matters wouldn’t be too serious, likely just isolated incidents, but the reality was dozens of times more severe than what he had anticipated, even reaching a disastrous level.
On the third day of Zhu Xianren’s visit to the countryside, Tian Xinhua finished his dinner and eagerly pulled Sisi to bed. It had been several months without meat since Sisi became pregnant; it was only since last month that he could occasionally indulge a little. But even that came with time restrictions, and today was undoubtedly the time for meat!
With her body extra sensitive during pregnancy, Tian Xinhua was exceedingly gentle, and Sisi felt a wave of heat sweeping over her, as if floating in the sky, her soul seemingly stolen away.
Tian Xinhua had taken his pleasure once, but still hadn’t had enough. Sisi slapped away his mischievous hand, chiding, "Do that again and your son might protest."
"It’s fine, just getting acquainted with our son, letting him get used to his dad."
Tian Xinhua joked with a grin, his hands still wandering restlessly. Sisi, too, indulged him, allowing him one more time.
Satisfied, the couple fell into a deep, cheerful sleep, soon drifting into the depths of sweet slumber.
In the early hours, a harsh ring of the telephone jolted them awake. Tian Xinhua hurriedly got up to answer the call, and it was from Zhu Xianren.
"Vice Secretary Tian, something terrible has happened. Last night, Mijia Town’s town government building was bombed, four are dead and five injured."
Zhu Xianren’s voice was extremely urgent, totally lacking his usual composure. Tian Xinhua was startled awake by the news, immediately alert.
"Has the culprit been caught?" Tian Xinhua asked calmly, once settled.
"The culprit charged in strapped with explosives and set them off, blowing himself into pieces. The other eight casualties were workers staying in the government building that night."
"I’ll be right over, alert the Police Station."
Tian Xinhua hung up and started getting dressed. The soundproofing of telephones was not very good, and Sisi heard everything, feeling a chill through her entire body.
Someone carrying a bundle of explosives to blow up a building was either a madman or driven by a deep vendetta. Sisi instinctively thought it was the latter, because if it had been a madman, he wouldn’t have chosen his target with such purpose.
The truth came to light soon enough. Tian Xinhua returned during dinner, not saying a word. He went straight to the bathroom for a shower, needing to wash off the stench of blood so as not to distress Ah Nan.
Remembering the grisly scene of flesh and bones strewn about the town government building, Tian Xinhua felt as if there was a fire burning in his chest.
"The culprit was a local villager named Zeng Tiesheng. He only had elderly parents and three daughters at home, with the eldest being 12 and the youngest only 3. Zeng Tiesheng was obsessed with having a son, but after having a third daughter, which resulted in an overbirth, his family was robbed and dismantled by Family Planning, leaving them penniless."
Tian Xinhua paused for a moment, then continued, "Furthermore, Zeng Tiesheng still owed the Family Planning Station two thousand yuan in fines. Nonetheless, he kept hoping for a son and secretly hid his pregnant wife at home, telling others she had returned to her parents’. They managed to keep it a secret for eight months, but unexpectedly someone in the village with a grudge reported them to Family Planning. Recently, their employees forcefully took his wife to the hospital and aborted a baby boy, which, they say, was born alive and then thrown away by the staff member."
The more Sisi listened, the more unsettled she felt, and she asked, "Was that staff member Wu Yun, formerly from the Disciplinary Committee?"
"Yes, that’s her," he confirmed. "Zeng Tiesheng, devastated by the loss of his son, had been acting strangely ever since. Soon after, his wife too passed away from hemorrhaging too much blood due to the forceful abortion, as the fetus was too large. That drove Zeng Tiesheng to complete despair."
Sisi thought of the maniacal man she had seen in the hospital and sighed. She hadn’t expected his wife to have passed as well. Granny Zhao and Old Man listened with somber expressions.
Tian Xinhua continued, "First, Zeng Tiesheng killed the family, six people, who had reported him, not sparing even the children. Then he strapped on the explosives and went to the town government building. He likely targeted Wu Yun, as he had been asking about her whereabouts before. But by chance, she wasn’t there that night. Because the staff had a late meeting, many of them didn’t go home and stayed at the building. Little did they know, disaster would strike them."
"Wicked people live forever, Wu Yun sure is lucky," Sisi said bitterly.
"But those who died innocently, and Zeng Tiesheng’s parents and three daughters, how will they survive from now on!"
Granny Zhao kept chanting Buddhist sutras, as if to dispel the stinginess of the world.