Chapter 373 Lin Shitou 2
Zhang Honghua smiled at everyone, "Don't get me wrong, children just like to be startled. I was just too angry that the two children bullied their brother while I was away.
Look at my Yaozu, his face and body are covered with wounds, all from being beaten by Shitou and Niuniu.
Although they did not come out of my belly, I have raised them for such a long time that I treat them as my own children. Normally, Yaozu calls them brother or sister.
When the older brothers and sisters bully their younger brother, which mother wouldn’t be angry?
Lin Niuniu's eyes turned red with anxiety, "It was Lin Yaozu who tore up my brother's new book and scolded us first."
"Look at you, kid, you're already telling lies at such a young age. Your brother doesn't go to school, so where did he get the new books?"
"Of course there is one. It's the one that Teacher Shen gave to my brother." The books had been torn into pieces by Lin Yaozu. Only one good book was left. The others were no longer readable. Lin Shitou looked at his stepmother and Lin Yaozu.
"Yes, Aunt Zhang is very kind to us. My sister and I both got hurt by ourselves."
Lin Shitou slowly lifted up his clothes, revealing the striking scars. Lin Niuniu didn't understand why her brother did this, but she did whatever her brother did and also lifted up her clothes, revealing the same striking scars.
The people who came to the Lin family to watch the fun were all shocked, "Oh my god, why do these two children have so many scars?"
"Of course it's the stepmother's fault. What kind of child would fall down like that?"
Shen Shuyu and Wang Saozi were both in the crowd. Wang Saozi said it was a sin. "Zhang Honghua, you don't feel bad for the two children, right? What did they do wrong that you have to be so cruel to them?"
Afraid that others couldn't see clearly, Lin Shitou was no longer afraid of the cold and took off all his clothes. His body was covered with countless scars of varying sizes, and some of the new wounds were even bleeding.
"Zhang Honghua, can you tell me what happened to Shitou's injuries?"
"What else could it be? It must be that the stepmother abused the child. With so many wounds on his body, it's impossible that the child whipped himself."
"It must have been Zhang Honghua who did it. My children told me that they often saw her hitting rocks and Niuniu at home."
“My kids told me that, too.”
"What kind of hatred or grudge is this? Is it necessary to beat the child like this..." Most of the men in the family members who came to watch the fun were of higher rank than Lin Hai.
In the past, they didn’t know that Zhang Honghua was so excessive towards the child, but now that they know, they can’t just stand by and watch, so some of them went to report the situation.
Zhang Honghua panicked, "Their injuries are none of my business, I treat them better than Yaozu.
All the injuries they sustained were in the countryside. You know that life in the countryside is not easy. Their father is not at home, so it is normal for others to bully them because they are helpless.
The weather is cold now, I said I would make cotton clothes for them tomorrow..."
Zhang Honghua began to make up stories about how good she was to her step-son and step-daughter.
Everyone rolled their eyes. "On the day the children came to the army, Wang's wife took them to the bathhouse to take a bath. Many people saw it at the time. The two children don't have a single scar on their bodies. It's already this time, and you're just thinking about making cotton clothes for the children. What were you doing before?"
Shitou had just taken off his clothes and caught a cold, and now he was shivering all over. Shen Shuyu took off her military coat and put it on Shitou. The adult's military coat was big and could wrap up the two children like a quilt. Shen Shuyu asked Niuniu to get closer to her brother, and she helped the two children put on the coat.
Lin Niuniu didn't know who Shen Shuyu was, but Lin Shitou knew her. "Teacher Shen, I'm not cold." He wanted to take off his military coat and let Shen Shuyu wear it.
"I'm not cold, you guys put on some clothes so you don't catch a cold."
Lin Hai came back from training and saw a bunch of sisters-in-law standing outside his door. Lin Hai immediately felt something was wrong. "Honghua, what's going on?"
After her husband came back, Zhang Honghua was no longer so panicked. Lin Yaozu pointed at Lin Shitou and Lin Niuniu angrily, "It's all their fault. They beat me and said that mom treated them badly."
Lin Hai directly scolded them, "Shitou, Niuniu, how can you, as older brothers and sisters, hit your younger brother? What kind of talk is this? What did I usually teach you?
Why is your Aunt Zhang not treating you well? She cares about you every day and shows more concern for you than for your brother. You are too ignorant. "
"Deputy Battalion Commander Lin, are Shitou and Niuniu your children?"
Shen Shuyu's question stunned Lin Hai, "Of course they are my children."
"They are your children. How can you, as a father, speak so indiscriminately about your own children? You didn't even ask them, but you just said that they are ignorant. The two children are covered in scars.
Shitou is too old to go to school, and Niuniu is so young that she doesn't even have the strength to wring clothes, but you let her wash your clothes in cold water in the freezing weather, and her hands are covered with frostbite. How much do they have to do to be considered sensible?"
Zhang Honghua didn't know Shen Shuyu, and didn't know she was Gu Jiandong's wife, so she wanted to scold her right away. But Lin Hai knew his wife well, so he blocked her mouth before she could say anything.
"Haha, Mr. Shen, you must be joking. I am the biological father of these children. How can I not love them?"
Lin Shitou glanced at his father cautiously, "Yes, my father is very good to us. He always said that children should be diligent, work hard and eat less so that they can grow up well.
He said that children don’t need to wear such thick clothes. If they are exposed to the wind more and get used to the cold, they won’t catch a cold easily in the future.
He said it was not good for children to sleep on the kang, and that it was more comfortable for them to sleep in the woodshed, so that we could watch the stars at night... Everything my father did was for our own good, and my sister and I understood it."
Lin Shitou earnestly told everyone how good their father was to them. It was a cold day, but Lin Hai's forehead was sweating just listening to him. Especially when he saw the leaders in the crowd, the sweat on Lin Hai's forehead became even more intense.
Zhang Honghua even wants to tear her step-son and step-daughter apart. She knows that she can't raise the children because they are not her own. Look at what they say. Isn't this causing misunderstandings among others?
She and Lao Lin were usually pretty nice to them. They couldn't even get enough to eat in the countryside, but when they came here, she gave the two children two steamed buns every day, so what else did they expect?
"Oh, I won't live any longer. They say it's hard to be a stepmother, and it's absolutely true. If I do something a little bit wrong, the children will use it to blame me. If Lao Lin and I were not good to them, how could the two children grow up like this? They would have starved to death long ago."
Shitou, Niuniu, if you are not satisfied with Aunt Zhang, you can talk to her at home and she will change. There is no need to make up stories in front of everyone."