I'll Beat Her to Death Right Now

"Hey, isn't this Doggie Lee's daughter? What are you doing here?" Mrs. Barker, who was helping in the kitchen, recognized the little girl as Hannah Lee, Doggie Lee's ex-wife's daughter, only seven years old.

Hannah Lee shrank back, her sallow little face on the verge of tears. "My dad brought me. He told me to help in the kitchen."

Mrs. Barker smiled and took Hannah Lee's hand. "You're so little, how can you work? If you don't make trouble, that's good enough. Come on, I'll take you to find your dad."

Lily Evans watched Mrs. Barker lead Hannah Lee away. She didn't really agree with the idea of such a young girl helping out—she couldn't do the work anyway, and what if she got hurt by hot water or something?

Lily sat with Cynthia Wu, washing vegetables as they chatted about the Wu family's new house.

"If it weren't for Mark Hunter, my dad and I—an old man and a girl—wouldn't have known how to build a house at all," Cynthia Wu said softly, head down as she washed vegetables. "Mark Hunter is really amazing. He found a few of his friends, and in just three or four days, the house was built. It's even sturdier than our old one. Mark said if it leaks or anything, we should just find him."

"Exactly, Mark Hunter is really capable. There aren't many in the village who can match him," Lily said with a smile. She noticed Cynthia Wu now called him just "Mark" instead of "Brother Mark," which meant they'd gotten a lot closer.

The two girls were chatting when suddenly, shouts from a man and the cries of a little girl echoed from outside.

Lily and Cynthia quickly put down their work and went out to see Doggie Lee, looking furious, grabbing Hannah Lee and smacking her on the head over and over, cursing, "You useless thing! What's the point of having you? Clumsy and stupid, even helping in the kitchen gets you kicked out. One of these days I'll sell you to a brothel!"

Hannah Lee's face was streaked with tears as she cried, "Dad, I'm sorry! I'll work hard, please don't hit me anymore!"

Mrs. Barker couldn't stand it anymore and shielded Hannah Lee. "Doggie Lee, why are you taking it out on a child? Hannah's just a kid—how could she help in the kitchen? Every family sends adults to help, not kids this little. Aren't you afraid she'll get hurt?"

Doggie Lee spat, "She's my daughter. If her dad can work, why can't she? What's so special about her?"

Mrs. Barker glared at him. "If you want someone to help, do it yourself! She's just a child, and you treat her like this?"

Doggie Lee was about to retort when Margaret Evans, who'd been watching from the side, couldn't take it anymore. She rushed forward, snatched a broom, and swung it at Doggie Lee.

"You beast! I'll beat you to death right now!" Margaret Evans shouted, chasing Doggie Lee with the broom, her anger boiling over.

The commotion startled everyone in the courtyard. Doggie Lee ducked and dodged, yelling, "Crazy woman! Are you trying to kill me?"

Margaret Evans didn't stop, swinging the broom even harder. "If you ever lay a hand on Hannah again, I'll break your legs!"

The villagers watched, some secretly cheering Margaret Evans on, others shaking their heads at Doggie Lee's cruelty.

Hannah Lee clung to Mrs. Barker, sobbing uncontrollably as Margaret Evans chased Doggie Lee out of the courtyard.