Madness of the Heart

Yuanhai County, Xiaben Village.

Li Hongmei was born in a family that was not accepted by the outside world—her mother, Sister Kang Xi, was abducted and sold to Xiaben Village.

And this kind of situation is not uncommon in Xiaben Village. Men buy women from traffickers, and parents buy little girls for their sons. These unfortunate women have all become reproductive tools in this backward fishing village, and almost no one is happy.

Sister Kang Xi can be regarded as an exception, a misfortune among misfortunes.

She is from a neighboring country, does not speak Chinese, and has serious mental problems. Li Hongmei's grandfather bought her to Li Guozhong because she was cheap.

Although his wife was bought, Li Guozhong treated each other like a husband and wife, and did not make Sister Kang Xi suffer. After confirming the relationship, he did not have any improper contacts with other women.

Many men in the village laughed at Li Guozhong, saying that women are commodities, and since they are bought, they should be enjoyed, and if they are tired of using them, they should be replaced. How can there be any reason to offer commodities?

Li Guozhong retorted, saying that since Sister Kang Xi came to his house, she was his wife and his family, and she was by no means a commodity.

Sister Kang Xi didn't understand, she just laughed.

Soon, their children Li Liangyou and Li Hongmei were born one after another, and the family of five enjoyed themselves happily.

When Li Hongmei was young, I don't know whether it was Li Guozhong who often fiddled with traditional Chinese medicine or the warm atmosphere at home. Sister Kang Xi seldom got sick, and most of the time she was a gentle and amiable mother.

Xiaben Village is close to the sea, and people make a living by fishing.Li Guozhong and Li Liangyou, one in the prime of life, and the other in their youth, are both energetic and diligent, and relying on fishing enables the whole family to live a relatively prosperous life.

Li Hongmei was born ugly, but she was smart and sensible. Before the tragedy happened, she had a happy childhood.

Li Guozhong has never read a book for a day, and is illiterate. The greatest pleasure in his spare time is to listen to the world in books explained by "learned" people.He is open-minded, simple and cheerful, and he can chat with everyone.

More than ten years ago, Xiaben Village was much backward than it is now, retaining the style of a primitive fishing village, and occasionally young "donkey friends" came to play.

Most of them are students, and there are also those who resign after working. They live in Xiaben Village for a while, and then leave after experiencing the local customs.

The villagers called them "outsiders".

For Li Guozhong, outsiders are all educated people.He likes to invite them to his yard, call out Li Hongmei and Li Liangyou, drink tea and chat with them.

There is a female white-collar worker named Ah Shen among the out-of-towners.Ashen said that knowledge can change fate, especially the fate of girls.

At that time, for girls born in Xiaben Village, their destiny was to marry and lose their identity.

Li Guozhong heard Ah Shen say that studying is more beneficial, so he asked Li Hongmei and Li Liangyou if they wanted to go to school outside.

Li Liangyou was born simple and honest, he had already passed the best age to go out to study, he didn't want to go to school, he just wanted to be a dutiful fisherman, and when he had a certain amount of savings, he would seriously ask for a wife—not like My father also relies on buying.

Li Guozhong agrees very much.

Li Hongmei is only a few years old, looking at the books brought by foreigners, her eyes are full of longing.

She said: "Abba, I want to study, I want to go to university outside, and become a doctor like sister Ah Shen!"

Li Guozhong was very happy, deliberately amused: "Then Hongmei is willing to let us?"

Li Hongmei thought for a while, "Reluctant."

"Then do you want to go out?"

"Didn't sister Ah Shen say that knowledge can change fate, I don't want to marry, and when I become a doctor, I will take you to live with me outside!"

Li Guozhong laughed loudly, and called Kang Ximei, "Look, how promising our daughter is."

Kang Ximei was not good at talking, she just smiled gently when she heard the words.

Li Guozhong said again, "Then my father and brother will be responsible for saving your tuition fees."

Li Hongmei cheered, "Good!"

The father and son kept their word and worked harder to go to sea for the only daughter in the family.Li Hongmei grew up day by day. Although she was indeed ugly, she read more and more books. Many foreigners praised her for being smart.

When Li Liangyou was 20 years old, he befriended the girl next door, Li Chunyan.

Unfortunately, Li Shuxian, the son of the village head, is also pursuing this beautiful girl.

In terms of appearance and family, Li Liangyou is not as good as Li Shuxian, but Li Chunyan finally chose Li Liangyou, the reason is that Li Liangyou is reliable, down-to-earth, and a beloved man who can give her life.

Bad luck came.

Li Shuxian has been rampant in Xiaben Village for many years, and his notoriety has even spread to other villages.He chased Li Chunyan not because he wanted to marry Li Chunyan, but because Li Chunyan was the most beautiful unmarried woman in Xiaben Village, and it was very honorable to chase Li Chunyan, and he just dumped him after playing like a yellow-faced woman.

Li Chunyan chose Li Liangyou, which made Li Shuxian feel ashamed and jealous.

At the end of summer 12 years ago, Li Shuxian kidnapped Li Chunyan and led Li Liangyou to a barren mountain.What was waiting for Li Liangyou was not Li Chunyan, but a group of thugs that Li Shuxian recruited from other villages.

Li Guozhong was afraid that something would happen to his son, so he followed him all the way.

Both the father and son never came back, and the corpses were horrific. After a forensic examination, it was confirmed that they were beaten to death with random sticks.

Li Liangyou was lured away by Li Shuxian, many villagers were witnesses, at least Li Chunyan knew about it.But no one said a word.

Li Hongmei was only nine years old at the time, and watched helplessly as her elderly grandfather died of anger, and her mother, who was mentally ill but never harmed anyone, was bitten to death by wild dogs.

In a childish voice, she kept saying to the police who came to investigate: "My father and elder brother were beaten to death by Li Shuxian! You believe me, it is really Li Shuxian! If you don't believe me, ask Sister Chunyan!"

Li Chunyan wept bitterly, not only did not identify Li Shuxian, but stood with Li Shuxian, "Shuxian was at my house at the time, playing cards with my brothers and sisters. We can all testify for him. It was a foreigner who killed a good friend."

The police came and went, and Li Hongmei only got a false answer——Li Liangyou and Li Guozhong were killed by foreigners because of a dispute with them, and the police will do their best to arrest the culprits.

This arrest lasted for 12 years.

Obviously the whole village knows who the real culprit is, but the real culprit is able to get away with it.

"In our place, even a small village head can cover the sky with one hand, do you believe it?" Li Hongmei's eyes were already red and swollen, "In just one month, I was the only one left in my family. There are so many witnesses But so what? My brother died saving Li Chunyan, and even she dared not stand up. Haha, the light can't shine on that small fishing village, let alone me. I have no relatives and no home since I was nine years old No matter how much I yell, those officials can't hear them, they cover each other, and my family will die with regret!"

Long before Li Hongmei opened his mouth, Mingshu had guessed the circumstances of the case back then. Similar incidents were not uncommon in many backward villages and towns, and the difference was only in the details.

But looking at Li Hongmei with my own eyes and listening to her talk about her ordinary life before the family broke up, I still feel an irreducible sense of embarrassment, which makes me suffocate for a moment.

From the moment her father and brother died, Li Hongmei's life was completely changed.

"They didn't do anything to me as a kid, do you know why?" Li Hongmei pulled back her loose hair, "It's not because they pity me as an orphan and want to give my family a living, it's because I'm ugly!"

Even Mingshu didn't understand the logic for a while.

The logic of the wicked.

"Looks are the original sin. If I was beautiful, maybe I would have died—either I was killed, or I was played to death by those dirty men. They think that I am so ugly, this life is doomed, and I will never get out of the quagmire." The opportunity to struggle out, I will be more painful to live than to die.” Li Hongmei said: “Mr. Police, do you understand? In their eyes, I can’t stand out and bring them to justice. Because of this face, I will be tortured in this world! My existence gives them pleasure and proves that they can really be lawless!"

Chill and anger suddenly arose, Mingshu stood up abruptly.

Even though he was used to a dark and gloomy heart, he couldn't resist such malice at this time.

"But me, but I still want to struggle..." Li Hongmei wiped her tears almost out of control, "I always remember that sentence, knowledge can change fate. I studied hard, and finally left Yuanhai County and passed the exam in Dongye City. This is a big city. The moment I came here, I felt that I was saved. As long as I keep working hard, I will surely succeed one day! When I have the ability and status, I will let Li Shuxian, and His father, the village chief, and the policemen who protected them back then, were all punished!"

The interrogation room is too small to create an echo.Mingshu felt that Li Hongmei's trembling voice was echoing over and over again.

"But I failed." Li Hongmei shook her head gently, over and over again.

"Li Shuxian's prediction was right. I didn't get ahead, and I suffered a lot. I finally climbed out of that backward and ignorant place, but fell into another abyss. Big cities are very good, but I lost at the starting line long ago How can I compare with those beautiful and rich girls? I was born to lose. How much better are people like Wen Jingjing, Lian Qiao, and Qin Manyue than Li Shuxian?"

"Later I figured it out. With my birth and appearance, I really have no chance to make a name for myself." Li Hongmei smiled miserably, "I can either endure it for the rest of my life and become everyone's joke, or I can become a villain and be worse than them. It is a thousand times evil! Only in this way, you will hear my voice! And my roommates, don’t they deserve to die? When they humiliated me, did they think that there would be retribution?"

After finishing speaking, Li Hongmei seemed to have exhausted her strength, lowered her head, and gasped for breath.

Mingshu couldn't help thinking, if Li Hongmei met a group of roommates who didn't dislike her and were willing to help her after entering university, how would things develop?

Will Li Hongmei follow her past plan, find a direction in life, and seek justice for her family when she is strong enough?

Or after years of obscurity, did he realize that he was really a failure, so he kept silent to the end, or broke out completely?

These are no longer answered.

Mingshu said, "I have one more question."

Li Hongmei raised her head slowly.

"You know that it was Li Shuxian who killed your father and elder brother." Mingshu said, "When you were desperate, didn't you think about taking revenge on him directly?"

Li Hongmei said: "Are you trying to say that I should not kill my roommate to attract attention? You think Wen Jingjing and the others are not guilty of death, do you?"

Mingshu said, "Answer my question."

"Hahaha, hahaha!" Li Hongmei smiled sadly, "I hope I can get fair treatment for my family, do you understand? They are clean, Li Shuxian should go to court, get a trial by law, and give them justice Plead guilty, not let me kill!"

Mingshu saw that she was crazy, paranoid, and gloomy.

"I don't care, I killed someone, I deserve my life, I accept all trials!" Li Hongmei was quiet, "You will catch Li Shuxian, right?"

Mingshu said: "The case in Xiaben Village will definitely come to light."

Li Hongmei trembled, "Thank you, thank you."

Mingshu said, "I don't accept it."

Li Hongmei was startled.

"It is the duty of the criminal police to solve the murder case. I don't need to accept the gratitude of a murderer." Ming Shu said: "The failure to bring the suspect to justice for 12 years is the negligence of the police in your hometown."