Daisy shivered outside, while Daisy's father shivered inside.
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he was doomed. He regretted it so badly he wanted to beat his chest and stomp his feet.
Why did I tell the truth?
No, no, I have to lie. I have to lie!
"Oh no, I mean, no, I was only describing it. I was merely using exaggeration to demonstrate my manly bearing. It wasn't really..."
Shi Tiexin asked again, "Not three beatings a day?"
"I swear to God, absolutely not!"
"Then how many times a day?"
"It varies. Sometimes more, sometimes less. When it's less, I beat her once every three days—uh... I mean..."
He suddenly woke up and tried to rein in the horse at the edge of the cliff.
Shi Tiexin asked calmly, "What about when it's more?"
"When it's more, eight times a day, from morning till night."—The horse could not be reined in and fell to its death.
Silence. Not a word was spoken.
Then, smack, smack, smack! Daisy's father began wildly slapping his own face.
"That's enough. Stop this self-harm. It won't redeem you. Your case will be investigated separately; there will be time enough for you to repent." Shi Tiexin said, "Daisy said your job was taken by Chinese people?"
Daisy's father answered with a mournful face, "Yes."
"What did you do?"
"Road paving."
"How did they take it?"
"There was a pothole in the road. We were originally hired to fix it. Four months passed, and we still hadn't repaired it. The Chinese people said they could fix it. A week later, it was fixed. After that, nobody ever hired us again."
"Heh heh!" Shi Tiexin could not help laughing. "You eat well, laze around, and refuse to work, yet you blame hardworking people