After the police investigated the members around Old Gui one by one and had the villagers of Yangjia Village identify them, none of them were the people who committed the home invasion.
Furthermore, Wu Laizi himself was lying in the hospital, lacking the time and ability to commit the crime, so the police released him from their control.
Under Yu Feng's operation, Wu Laizi signed a letter of understanding for Yang Jian.
After being detained for twenty-eight days in the detention center, Yang Jian was finally released.
The moment he walked out the door, Yang Jian felt as if he had lived through another lifetime. Freedom was too precious, and he vowed never to return to this place again.
"Brother, come here quickly."
Yang Rui, who had specifically taken leave to come back, was with her older sister to pick up their second brother. Also accompanying them were Song Jianmin, Biao Biao, Liang Liang, and Lu Feng.
Yang Jian waved his hand with a smile, "Sister, Rui Rui, Jianmin, Lu Feng, Biao Biao, Liang Liang, you all came."
Song Jianmin and the others smiled at him, but Yang Hui was ice-cold. She glanced at him before getting into the driver's seat and starting the Volkswagen.
This action greatly puzzled Yang Jian; he couldn't understand why his sister was so angry.
Song Jianmin and the others looked a bit awkward, standing aside and not daring to speak.
"Brother, get in the car."
Yang Rui pulled Yang Jian into the back seat and then waved to Song Jianmin and the others, "You can all go back. We understand the rules."
Before Song Jianmin and the others could react, Yang Hui stepped on the accelerator and quickly drove away from the detention center.
Without stopping in the county town, Yang Hui drove the car to Xinqiao Town, found a bathhouse, and had Yang Jian take a bath and change his clothes before returning to Yangli Village.
As soon as he got out of the car, Yang Jian felt that the atmosphere was wrong. Many neighbors were standing at the entrance, their expressions strange. The gate of his own yard was broken, clearly having been forcibly removed.
"Uncle Dalin, Aunt Guihua."
Just as Yang Jian was about to greet the neighbors, his sister pushed him inside.
"Brother, you're going to get beaten later, so be mentally prepared. No one will speak up for you this time."
Yang Rui whispered a reminder beside him.
Yang Jian nodded. He had long been mentally prepared for a beating. Usually, when he got into fights outside, his father would beat him soundly. This time, he had been locked up for so long; being beaten was inevitable.
As soon as he entered the main hall, he realized it was filled with people. Besides his parents, his grandmother, uncle and aunt, cousins, and aunt and uncle were all there.
What was going on? Yang Jian was completely bewildered. Getting arrested for fighting wasn't a major offense; there was no need for all his relatives to come.
Wait, why didn't he see his grandfather? Yang Jian's heart sank, and he had a premonition that something major had happened at home.
Before he could greet his relatives, Yang Shuanglin stood up, "Come in with me."
With his mind full of questions, Yang Jian followed his father into the storage room behind the main hall. His expression immediately changed, as a paper-made spirit house was conspicuously placed inside.
According to local customs, when an elder in the family dies, a mourning hall is usually set up at home to offer sacrifices for a year. The spirit house is generally purchased by the married daughters. If there are no daughters, it is provided by married granddaughters or daughters of relatives.
Yang Jian's aunt had married far away and lost contact, so this spirit house was purchased by Yang Hui.
"Kneel down and kowtow to your grandfather."
Yang Shuanglin roared, and Yang Jian knelt down with a thud.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, why are you gone?"
"Grandpa, I didn't even get to see you one last time."
Yang Jian couldn't accept this reality. Tears gushed out, and he cried heartbrokenly.
From childhood to adulthood, his grandfather had doted on him the most, saving all the best food for him. It was precisely because of his grandfather's protection that his father never beat him too severely when he made mistakes.
A man doesn't shed tears easily, only when his heart is broken.
Losing a loved one was the most painful experience Yang Jian had endured in his twenty-plus years.
Yang Shuanglin also shed tears beside him.
After crying for a full half hour, Yang Jian's voice was hoarse.
Yang Shuanglin grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him to the center of the main hall. Then, he picked up the leather whip that had been prepared on the table and began to whip his back fiercely.
Yang Jian was like a walking corpse, neither dodging nor making a sound.
Not a single family member or relative in the room stepped forward to intervene.
"I'm going to beat you to death today, you unfilial son! You don't learn anything good, you just learn to fight, causing people to come to our door and anger your grandfather to death. Do you deserve to be beaten?"
Yang Shuanglin stopped after he got tired and began to lecture.
Yang Jian's body trembled, "What? Someone came to our door and beat us, and Grandpa was angered to death?"
Yang Hui snatched the whip from her father and hit him hard, "You don't know, do you? After you were taken away, someone drove a car into my shop, and my family of four was almost killed. You're so powerful, aren't you? You can beat anyone in the county town and be undefeated, so why aren't others afraid of you? They even came to our door!"
"Who? Who came to our door and beat us? I'll tear them to shreds!"
Yang Jian jumped up abruptly, about to rush outside.
"Kneel down for me."
Yang Shuanglin kicked him in the back of the knee, and Yang Jian stumbled and knelt on the ground again.
"Dad, you can kill me, but I must get revenge."
Yang Jian was extremely agitated, his eyes bloodshot, looking terrifying.
"Who are you going to get revenge on? Do you want to cause the death of the entire family? Look at your mother, she just got out of the hospital the day before yesterday and has already lost half her life. Do you want our family to hold another funeral?"
"Mom, what's wrong with you?"
Yang Jian finally noticed that his mother had been silent and her eyes were vacant. He quickly crawled in front of her.
"Jian'er, you're back."
Liu Xingzhi finally reacted. She had been mentally unstable for a long time. She had been indifferent when Yang Jian was crying hysterically just now. Now, she held her son's face, tears streaming down.
This scene moved everyone, knowing that Liu Xingzhi had finally opened her heart upon seeing her son.
"Mom, it's me, your Jian'er is back. I'm sorry, I caused you harm."
Yang Jian had no more tears to cry. He buried his head in his mother's lap, holding her hands, unwilling to let go for a long time.
"Good child, it's good that you're back. It's better than being in jail. Oh, why are you all here?"
Liu Xingzhi's consciousness gradually cleared. Her memory at this moment was that her son had been arrested and jailed. She didn't remember what happened afterward, so she was very curious about the relatives filling the room.
Yang Rui walked over and pulled Yang Jian up, "Brother, let Mom rest in the room. She just recovered and needs quiet recuperation."
Yang Jian stood up, understanding his sister's intention. He couldn't let his mother know about his grandfather's death for now, lest she be further stimulated. Accepting reality required a process.
The sisters Yang Hui and Yang Rui helped their mother into the adjacent room, closing the door behind them.
Yang Jian knew that the entire family's judgment of him was about to continue.