Chapter 59: Ate a Poisonous Mushroom
Cao Daqiang also rushed over.
He was panting, sweat beading on his temples, his face a mask of anxiety.
But to everyone else, it looked incredibly fake.
"Well, well. He’s finally getting what he deserves, isn’t he?"
"Exactly. His daughter gets one little scrape, and he’ll raise hell for three days and nights. Now she’s actually gone missing, and he finally remembers to act worried? Where was he earlier?"
"He coddles her like she’s a little goddess. He has to blow on her food until it’s cool before he’ll feed it to her, and the slightest bump is a life-or-death emergency! And he still dares to let his kid play with others? Does he really think other people’s children are such pushovers? That you can just pinch them and they’ll break, without even fighting back?"
More and more people gathered, drawn by the news, forming a thick, multi-layered circle.
The spit flying from their mouths nearly drowned Cao Daqiang in a sea of words.
"You’re right, you’re right, it’s our fault! We didn’t look after her properly! She’s our only daughter, and we’ve spoiled her since she was born. She’s more precious to us than our own lives, so it’s only natural we keep a close eye on her. Who doesn’t dote on their own kid?"
"If any of you saw where my daughter went, I’m begging you, please, just tell me! If something really happened to her, Yingzi and I... we really couldn’t go on living!"
His voice choked with sobs as he raised a hand to wipe his tears.
At his words, the furious crowd began to waver.
Seeing this, Cao Daqiang hurried to press his advantage.
But just then, a loud smack echoed from the crowd as someone slapped their thigh.
"Cao Daqiang, that’s rich coming from you!"
Zhang Yunhua stood with one hand on her hip, the other slapping her thigh for emphasis.
"A whole group of us just went to your house and told you, clear as day, that your daughter went up the mountain to pick poisonous mushrooms! Is that something to be taken lightly? And what did you do? You just waved your hand and told us to get lost! Now you’re out here playing the part of the devoted father? Who cares about your little sob story?"
Cao Daqiang froze on the spot.
Liu Yingzi, who had been kneeling on the ground, whipped her head around and stared daggers at Cao Daqiang.
"Poisonous mushrooms? What are you talking about? Jiajia... Where did Jiajia really go? Don’t play dumb with me! What have you been hiding? You knew where she was all along, didn’t you? Didn’t you?!"
"I... I really don’t know!"
Cao Daqiang waved his hands frantically, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
"I got home from work, and you told me she was gone. I ran right out without even having a sip of water! If I had known she was on the mountain, wouldn’t I have gone to look for her?"
He desperately tried to play the part of the wrongly accused, innocent man.
But his eyes kept darting away.
But Liu Yingzi was in no state to argue with him about who was right or wrong.
Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, tears streaming down her face.
She began kowtowing to everyone in the crowd, one person after another.
"Please, help me! Help me find my daughter! She’s on the mountain all by herself, and there are poisonous mushrooms there! She doesn’t know any better; she can’t tell which ones are safe to eat! Please... I’m begging you all!"
Even though the villagers couldn’t stand the Cao family on a normal day...
...seeing a mother on her knees, begging like this, who could just stand by and watch?
In the silence that followed, someone took off their jacket and draped it over Liu Yingzi’s shoulders. Others turned and headed home to grab flashlights and hatchets.
Then, one by one, people set off toward the mountain behind the village.
The sun was about to set, and the light was slowly fading.
Liu Yingzi ran, stumbling through the mountain woods.
She screamed "Jiajia!" over and over, but there was never a reply.
Everyone was on edge, frantic with worry.
If something really happened, a life would be lost.
Suddenly, someone high up on the slope shouted.
"Found her! In the bushes over there! Behind the patch of thorns!"
"Quick! Go get Cao Daqiang and his wife! Don’t waste any time! We found the kid! She’s alive!"
The news spread like wildfire through the search party.
Seven or eight strong men pushed aside the bushes and carried out the unconscious Cao Jiajia.
Her clothes were torn, and her face and arms were covered in scratches.
Her eyes were shut tight, her breathing so faint it was barely perceptible.
The moment Liu Yingzi saw her daughter’s pale little face, her heart plummeted.
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground.
Cao Daqiang, on the other hand, was quick to react.
Seeing that Jiajia had been found, he scrambled over, wailing.
"Jiajia! Jiajia! Daddy’s here! Don’t you scare me!"
"Wake up! Open your eyes and look at Daddy! Don’t sleep! Please, don’t sleep!"
He knelt in the dirt, reaching out to touch his daughter’s face.
"Oh, heavens, have mercy! What did my daughter ever do to you? Why are you torturing her like this? She’s just a child!"
A neighbor shook him by the shoulder, exasperated.
"What good is crying going to do? This isn’t the time for tears! We have to get her to a hospital, now! There’s no time to waste!"
"That’s right! We managed to ask her, and she said she ate mushrooms from the woods! They must have been poisonous! She needs to get her stomach pumped right away! Any longer and she won’t make it!" another villager chimed in anxiously.
But Cao Daqiang just seemed dazed, doing nothing but wiping away his tears.
It took several people urging him repeatedly before he shakily reached out to take the child.
He’d only taken two steps when his foot slipped, and he went down, taking the child with him.
The crowd gasped in horror and rushed to separate them.
Liu Yingzi, who had just been helped to her feet, saw this, and her heart clenched.
’Her daughter was just rescued, and her own father dropped her?’
Rage and terror surged through her. She lunged forward and snatched the child away.
Clutching Cao Jiajia tightly, she turned and ran out of the woods.
A group of people hurried after her.
Cao Daqiang was still sitting on the ground in a daze. It took several shouts for him to snap out of it.
Limping, he fell further and further behind.
When no one was looking, he stopped in the shadow of a tree, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
By the time Liu Yingzi burst out of the forest carrying her daughter, someone had already pulled a motorized tricycle to the side of the road and was waiting.
The moment she arrived, they bundled her and the child inside.
"Go! Let’s go! To the town hospital!"
The driver slammed on the accelerator, and the vehicle lurched and bounced down the dirt road.
They got her there quickly, but too much time had already passed since she was found.
Cao Jiajia not only needed her stomach pumped, but also had to get X-rays, have blood drawn, and undergo a whole battery of tests.
Even after the doctor said she would be okay, Cao Daqiang remained squatting in the hallway, his head bowed, not saying a word.
Everyone assumed he was in shock, and they would occasionally come over to pat his shoulder.
"Don’t blame yourself. The important thing is that she’s okay."
"You’re a man; you just have to be strong. Don’t keep it all bottled up inside."
"You need to hold it together. Your wife and daughter are both counting on you."
Cao Daqiang nodded, scrubbing his face roughly with his hands.
Images flashed through his mind.
’Liu Yingzi’s panicked eyes, Cao Jiajia’s pale, weak face... And the real thought that had surfaced in that instant.’
’If they both died, would I finally be free of the Liu Family’s control?’
But he immediately dismissed the thought.
’The Liu Family’s influence is too deep and tangled.’
’As long as I carry the title of "Liu Yingzi’s husband," I have resources, a way to climb higher.’
’But without that status, I’ll have nothing.’
He had to keep playing the part.
Play the part of the loyal husband, the loving father, the grateful son-in-law.
Even if he was sick to death of it all.
With that thought, Cao Daqiang immediately stood up, a gentle expression settling on his face.