Chapter 5

I saw this and struggled to get up to stop him, but Mrs. Smith pressed me down, saying, "Lily, lie still and don't move. Take good care of your leg!"

She pursed her lips and said, "That's between your father and mother. Stay out of it."

I moved my right leg slightly. Based on my experience, this leg injury could indeed heal in three months.

After three months when my leg healed, I needed to get out of here quickly.

While secretly making this resolution, I also worried about Lily's mother and pricked up my ears to carefully listen to what was happening outside.

I heard John Smith drag Lily's mother all the way to the next room.

The door slammed shut with a bang.

Sounds of punching and kicking came from next door, occasionally mixed with Lily's mother's cries and screams.

Then came the sound of clothes tearing and a belt whipping.

When John Smith's heavy breathing gradually intensified and Lily's mother's screams turned into soft whimpers, Mrs. Smith clicked her tongue twice, spat, and left with a red face.

I gradually clenched my fists. John Smith not only committed domestic violence, he was also a sexual abuser!

Over the following days, John Smith would beat Lily's mother every few days.

And no matter how brutally Lily's mother had been tortured the night before, she would unfailingly come bring me food the next day.

I begged her to get me some protein to help with my recovery, and she brought me some roasted bird eggs.

I asked, "Doesn't the family raise chickens? Why do we need to get wild bird eggs?"

Lily's mother sighed: "Your grandmother counts every chicken egg. She saves them to sell at the market."

This Mrs. Smith was really cruel and stingy.

Lily's mother watched me happily eating the roasted bird eggs and said, "Thank goodness for Tommy, bringing you bird eggs. Next month Tommy is going to town, so you won't have these good things to eat anymore."

After saying this, she seemed to have misspoken and looked regretful.

"Tommy?" I asked.

Lily's mother quickly comforted me: "I know you also want to go to town with Tommy to study middle school. But which girl in our village doesn't stop studying after elementary school? Look at Emily—she also stayed home to work after elementary school graduation."

By this calculation, Lily had only graduated from elementary school, probably around 13 or 14 years old.

At this age, her father and grandmother were already planning to marry her off. What bastards!