Back to 1978

Chapter 210: Song Tiesheng's "Sister-in-law"

At the end of the year, both farmers and workers have free time and want to spend the New Year well, but the railway police become busy during this period.

The reason is simple: the thief also wants to have a good year.

Everyone treats the railway as a fat sheep. As long as it can be exchanged for money, they dare to steal anything, no matter whether it is important national materials or not.

Song Tiesheng was busy all day yesterday. It was not until the late night that he set up a recliner in the office and took a nap wrapped in his coat.

The dream was quite scary. He dreamed that a gang he had captured escaped from prison, came back, tied him up, and took turns to beat him. At first, Song Tiesheng remained righteous and unyielding.

But suddenly, the criminal gang that tortured him turned out to be Dongzi, Han Hongbing, Chen Daxi, Ma Saner and others he was familiar with.

The leader of the criminal gang turned around and saw Xie Hushan's face.

Behind Xie Hushan was a crematorium with its mouth wide open. He placed his hand on the ignition switch, staring fiercely at Song Tiesheng, and instructed his men:
"Put him in the crematorium and light him, so that everyone can use him to keep warm."

These words woke Song Tiesheng up in shock.

When I opened my eyes, it was not yet seven o'clock in the morning and the sky was just getting light.

He sat up and stretched his aching body. Then he heard footsteps in the corridor outside. Then his colleague Xiao Yao pushed the door open and came in, yawning and looking for someone:

"Brother Dong, where's Brother Song? Those three thieves have been approved, we can send them away and report to the task!"

Dongzi, who was dozing on his desk outside, made a hushing sound to the person who came:

"Let Brother Song sleep a little longer. He was interrogating two people last night and then went out to pickpocket two people. He didn't fall asleep until almost three o'clock."

"Sleep your ass off! Your hissing sound is louder than Xiao Yao's voice." Song Tiesheng shook off his coat, rubbed his face, and then walked out of the inner office. He took the arrest warrant from his colleague and flipped through it:

"Let's go and send them off. The sooner we get through this, the less worries we'll have."

"I'll go." Dongzi yawned and said, "You should go home. You haven't been home for a few days. Today is the Little New Year. You have to go with Aunt and Xiaoyu..."

"Fuck! It's the Little New Year so soon! If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten. Okay, you and the car take the person to the detention center to go through the formalities, and come back to ask the boss for a day off for me. I really have to go home. Something important happened today, and Ertao is coming. We have already agreed that when she and her mother come to the county to buy New Year's goods today, I will accompany them." After Song Tiesheng finished speaking, he hurriedly turned back to the house, picked up the washbasin, scooped two buckets of cold water from the ice-covered water tank at the door, and began to wash his face. Halfway through, he looked at Dongzi:

"Forget it, why don't I go? Xiaonian, you have to go home too. It's been a long time since you went home."

"Why should I go home? My parents are reunited on the train every day and they have a good relationship. But this family treats me like a homeless orphan." Dongzi said with a smile:

"Just take good care of Xiaoyu for me. When Xiaoyu marries me, I'll have a family."

When Song Tiesheng heard that Dongzi was planning to take advantage of his sister, he curled his lips:
"Am I mentally ill? Marrying my sister to my police buddy? If we really get married, you won't have time to go home every day, and my sister will live like a widow, even having to fetch water by herself. I'm telling you, don't set your sights on Xiaoyu."

"Look, look, so you and Third Brother have different perspectives. Third Brother doesn't mind that you are a police officer and even introduces his sister-in-law to you. As for you, I am your sworn brother, and we have been playing together since childhood..." Dongzi smiled, hugging his arms.

Song Tiesheng wiped his face with a towel and said, "Don't talk about this. I can still tell the difference between sworn brothers and biological sisters. Besides, my third brother doesn't understand the work of the public security system. It's his bad luck. Even if he understood, he probably wouldn't agree."

"I will introduce the nature of our work to the third brother later and ruin your marriage with Ertao. If I am still single, you can forget about it. We are both single and will just get along together. When we have made a contribution, the organization will introduce us to a partner, and that's it." Dongzi took out a cigarette and handed it to Song Tiesheng who had just wiped his face.

Song Tiesheng took the cigarette and put it in his mouth. He suddenly stretched out his hand to strangle Dongzi's neck, then reached behind Dongzi and pinched Dongzi's chest hard, cursing with a smile:

"You bastard, not only do you miss my sister, but you also want to live with me! Boy, you are having fun!"

Song Tiesheng didn't let Dongzi go until he surrendered and begged for mercy. He personally watched over Dongzi, Xiao Yao and others as they drove the prisoner away. Then he changed into casual clothes and rode the picnic bicycle that Xie Hushan had given him to go home.

Other colleagues would wear uniforms 24 hours a day to save clothes, but Song Tiesheng is different. He changes into casual clothes after get off work because, in addition to a few colleagues, he also has a group of buddies on the railway who he used to have a good relationship with but are not doing their jobs properly.

Ever since he was transferred to a job by Xie Hushan with money, his buddies didn't dare to say hello to him when they saw him in uniform. They only came over to chat and joke with him when he was in casual clothes and knew he was not at work.

As for Ertao, he and Ertao had met several times under the arrangement of Xie Hushan, and they also wrote letters to each other from time to time.

The first time they met, Xie Hushan asked him to help drive to the junior high school in Xishan. Xie Hushan was giving some paper, pens and school bags to his sister-in-law, and the two took the opportunity to look at each other.

Both parties were quite satisfied with the meeting, which was similar to a dating meeting. Jin Mancang and his wife had no objection. Song Tiesheng had a city hukou and was a railway worker. Given these two points, not to mention that he was still an unmarried young man of marriageable age, even if he was a widowed middle-aged man, there were many people in the rural areas who would marry their daughters to him to change their family status.

Song Tiesheng also had no opinion on Ertao. Ertao was no longer the skinny girl with yellow hair. Whenever Xie Hushan made some money, he would spend it on the Xie family or the Jin family. Once the material life improved, the girl's appearance changed immediately. Ertao's appearance could not be said to be standard, but she was very beautiful. Her facial features were similar to Taozi's, but her personality was more lively than Taozi's, and not as steady as Taozi's.

The third brother Xie Hushan just treated Song Tiesheng as a brother who knew him inside and out. He did not mind that his family conditions were relatively poor compared to those in the city. Otherwise, based on the three names of Xie Hushan, Song Tiesheng thought it would not be difficult for Ertao to find a well-off young man in the city.

In other words, the pretty Ertao has a rural household registration. If she were a city girl, just based on her appearance, Song Tiesheng would not even be qualified to send a matchmaker to test the waters. She would have been picked out by the children of factory leaders or cadres long ago.

The only person who had concerns about their relationship was her mother. It was not that her mother disliked Ertao's family conditions. Just kidding. With the support of her son-in-law Xie Hushan, the Lao Jin family could not be any worse. The house they live in now is the best in Yakou. Xie Hushan sent various daily necessities from time to time, and soda was sent in boxes. City people might not have the same high quality of life as Ertao.

Besides, Xie Hushan had already made plans for Ertao and had arranged all the connections. After graduating from junior high school, he would go to a railway technical school and be assigned to the railway after graduation. They would get a job and then get married after they got a job. It would be a perfect railway dual-income family.

His mother felt that the age difference between herself and Ertao was too big. Ertao was seventeen years old this year, and she was already twenty-three.

People say that it is better for men to be older because they know how to care for others, but Song's mother felt that her son was rather dull and he didn't have the brains to care for girls.

He was afraid that the girl was too young and his son didn't know how to coax her, so the two of them would end up having a conflict. Their originally good relationship would turn into enmity, and it might even affect the relationship between his son and Xie Hushan.

"Are you cold, Ertao? Why are you here so early? How did you get here?" Song Tiesheng had just arrived at the intersection of the railway workshop and was thinking about having breakfast before going back. As a result, he saw Ertao at a glance. She was wearing a well-fitting cotton coat, gloves on her hands, and a scarf around her neck. She was standing on the side of the road like a big cotton bag, looking around. He hurriedly jumped out of the car and pushed over to say hello.

Er Tao walked side by side with Song Tiesheng who was pushing a bicycle towards his home: "Third brother drove to pick up my sister to his house to make dumplings, and dropped me and my mother off in the county town. After we finish shopping in the afternoon, third brother will drive us back."

"Why are you running out instead of staying in the house?" Song Tiesheng asked Ertao.

Er Tao smiled and said, "Auntie was talking to my mom. The room is small and Xiaoyu was busy boiling water. She didn't let me help. She said you must have been so busy that you forgot I was coming over today. After boiling the water, she would go to work to call you. I said you couldn't have forgotten."

"What does this have to do with you standing here?" Song Tiesheng asked in confusion.

Er Tao rolled her eyes at him, "If you really forgot, I'll secretly go to work to remind you. Even if you forget, you can't admit it, or my mother will know... I'm telling you, my mother's mood is different now, you have to pay attention. In her eyes, the only good man without any flaws is my third brother. She likes my third brother in every way. No matter who else, even my sister, they will be easily found fault with in her eyes. If you forget that she and I are coming today, she won't say it to my face, but she will nag me behind my back."

"Well, I will never admit that I forgot it, even if I die." Song Tiesheng nodded seriously.

"You haven't forgotten, so what are you afraid of? Here you go. Take it out after my mother and I leave, so that you don't have to be polite to me." Ertao took out a piece of paper from his pocket. Song Tiesheng took it and took a look. It was a receipt from the grain station: 300 kilograms of wheat and 500 kilograms of corn can be exchanged for the receipt.

Song Tiesheng looked at the official seal on the receipt. It was from Zhongping Grain Station: "From Zhongping? My third brother sent it to me? Is he afraid that my mother will be polite to him?" There was no need for anyone else to help him and Xie Hushan send things. His mother's politeness was of no use to Xie Hushan. Basically, when they sent things to each other, they didn't even need to notify each other.

Whenever he saw any fruits or vegetables on the railway, he would send someone to deliver a batch to Xie Hushan's home.

Every time Xie Hushan asked a doctor to go to his house to check up Sixth Grandma, he would also ask the doctor to come to his house to check up his mother as well. If there were any foreign goods sent by people from Hong Kong Island, his sister Song Jinyu would also receive a share.

That's why Song Tiesheng was a little surprised when he looked at the bill in his hand.

"What are you thinking about? This is the grain my sister got in Zhongping. Her household registration was moved to Zhongping, and she got a share of the grain distributed at the end of the year in Zhongping." Er Tao looked at the receipt and said:

"According to my sister, she has been spoiled by her third brother for three meals a day and is almost unable to eat proper food. She originally wanted to share the food rations with the Xie family's master and second uncle, but they refused and advised her to send it to her mother's family."

"My sister told me that we are not short of food at home now, but Tiesheng's family is short of food. His family is registered in the city and eats public meals, but he is the only one who earns a salary. Mother and sister have no income. That little salary is not much in terms of food. There is not much food for one person, but for the three months of next spring, you don't have to worry about Aunt and Xiaoyu at home when you go to work."

"There is one more thing. I was specifically told to tell you that this food was sent by her. This is so that you can be nicer to her sister, that is, me. Just think of it as sent by your third brother, so that you don't have to think too much."

"Oh." Song Tiesheng nodded with some emotion while holding the food coupons, feeling warm in his heart.

The food sent by Taozi could not compare with that of Xie Hushan, but it was very meticulous and heartwarming.

Xie Hushan is a man, he can handle outside affairs beautifully and generously, but it is only limited to outside affairs. In his opinion, if Song Tiesheng has difficulties, he will naturally tell him, and if the other party does not say anything, it means that there are no difficulties.

He would never think carefully about the fact that he was the only one in Song Tiesheng's family who earned a salary. When food prices tend to rise in spring, if all his salary was exchanged for food, it might not be enough to feed several people in his family. Moreover, Song Tiesheng was a grown man and it was impossible for him to complain about such a trivial matter.

But Taozi could think of it, and used the reason of being nicer to her sister, making it impossible for Song Tiesheng to refuse.

"You said that we have met so many times, and I have known my third brother for such a long time, but I have never seen my sister-in-law. Every time I went to Zhongping, she was either at the cliff mouth, or she accompanied Sixth Grandma to recuperation. Next time I see my sister-in-law, I will definitely make a promise to her in person." Song Tiesheng said to Ertao.

He accompanied Ertao and Li Qiaozhi around the county town for half a day, and the two families had lunch together at the railway restaurant. Not long after they finished their meal, a tractor from the Zhongping Steel Rolling Mill came to the railway freight yard to pull coal. The driver came to Song Tiesheng and said that Taozi asked him to help convey a message that Xie Hushan had temporarily driven to Yaoshan for a meeting and could not come back to pick up Ertao and Li Qiaozhi. There happened to be another tractor that was going to Yakou to pull bricks, so he asked the mother and daughter to go back with that tractor.

Song Tiesheng naturally couldn't let his future daughter-in-law and mother-in-law go back sitting in the dirty back of a tractor in the cold wind, but he also couldn't let them stay. First, his house was small, and second, today was the Little New Year, so there was no point in keeping guests there.

So he went to find a few buddies with whom he had a good relationship. One of his buddies found his brother-in-law who was a driver for the leader in the railway car team. The other party arranged a TJ-210 jeep and drove it personally to help Song Tiesheng send Ertao and her daughter back to the cliff.

Since Song Tiesheng had troubled his friend, he naturally couldn't just use the beer and leave, so he simply took two boxes of beer and played cards and chatted in the entertainment room of the Railway Workers Club, thinking that after waiting for the driver to come back, he would arrange for a meal for a few people to express his gratitude.

Just after three o'clock in the afternoon, the area around the Railway Workers' Club was full of people. Not to mention many city dwellers, there were also many people from the countryside who came into the city to buy New Year's goods, and there were also many people hanging around here.

Song Tiesheng played cards for a while and waited until the driver came back and said that Ertao and her daughter were safely sent back. Then he got up and walked out, ready to go home to tell his mother that Ertao had arrived home safely and that he would go home later in the evening to eat dumplings and have a drink with his buddies outside first.

As soon as he walked to the first floor lobby of the club, he heard a woman's voice:

"Who the hell is your date? Don't touch me! Get lost! This is Bingyang, not Yaoshan! Didn't you get hurt by my man's beating last time? Didn't he tell you that I have a boyfriend? His name is Zhongping Hu Saner?"

"Don't talk nonsense to me! If you have the guts, tell your lover named Hu Saner to come out. I'll shoot him!" a man cursed.

Song Tiesheng's head buzzed!
Damn it! My sister-in-law must be worried about Ertao, so she came to find me in person! And she met a gangster!

Judging from the swearing, she can't be someone else's wife. She must be the third brother's wife. They look like a couple even when they are swearing! It's just that a woman swearing is a bit uncultured...

Regardless of whether he has good manners or not, the grain station receipt in his pocket was specially given to him by his sister-in-law!
If my sister-in-law was wronged on the railway, how could I have the face to see my third brother again!

"Fuck it! Who the hell are you trying to destroy?" Song Tiesheng pushed away the crowd in front of him and rushed towards the direction of the quarrel, cursing at the same time.

A tall, fashionable girl was staring at a young man in a navy blue jacket in front of her. Song Tiesheng glanced at the woman and didn't think too much about it. He just felt that Ertao and Taozi didn't look alike. He squeezed in between the two of them, blocking "Taozi" behind him, and pointed at the young man:
"Say it again, who the hell are you going to destroy?"

"Who the hell are you? Get out! This is none of your business!" The young man looked at Song Tiesheng, whom he had never seen before, raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction and cursed.

"What the hell!" Song Tiesheng, who had drunk a few bottles of beer and had not slept well, was furious and slapped him in the face!

With a "pop" sound, the corner of the opponent's mouth was torn, and the whole person staggered out.

"Fuck! Dude, you..." "Taozi" behind Song Tiesheng saw this scene and was shocked and wanted to ask who Song Tiesheng was.

Song Tiesheng waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, I am Third Brother's brother Song Tiesheng. I have arranged a car to send Ertao and my aunt home. Don't worry."

"I……"

"Fuck you!" Seeing the young man being beaten, several young men suddenly appeared from nowhere, pounced on Song Tiesheng and started punching him!

The railway children behind Song Tiesheng naturally couldn't stand by and watch, so they rushed up and fought with the other party.

The entire hall was in chaos. Those who had nothing to do with the matter fled away one after another. Only two groups of young men were left in the hall, shouting and cursing, with fists and kicks flying.

In the middle stood a beautiful girl, her eyes wide open.

"Bang!" A gunshot rang out!
Everyone stopped moving!

Song Tiesheng let go of the young man who had been beaten to a bloody pulp by him and stood up. The young man whose mouth was broken by the slap he had just given him was holding a pistol in his hand and had just fired a shot at the roof of the hall. At this moment, he turned the gun and pointed it at Song Tiesheng, his face full of murderous intent:
"You dare to hit me? Try to hit me again and I'll fucking kill you!"

"You have a Der? You're here to cause trouble on the railway with a gun?" Song Tiesheng patted his chest and said, "Shoot here."

While patting his chest, he stomped hard on the fingers of the opponent's companion who was lying on the ground after being knocked down by him, causing him to scream and attract the attention of the gunman. Seeing that the opponent was looking down, Song Tiesheng seized the opportunity, stepped forward and snatched the gun!
After getting the pistol, he kicked the other person to the ground and fired four shots at his body!

Four shallow pits were created on the ground, and debris flew everywhere! It hurt when it hit people's faces!

The young man was so scared by the four bullets that he wet his pants!

Song Tiesheng threw away the empty pistol, turned around and told his companions: "Shoot them to death! Teach them a lesson!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, his companions picked up various weapons nearby and started beating the men without any distinction between heads and faces, with screams and wails filling the air.

Song Tiesheng looked at "Taozi" and secretly praised her in his heart, saying that she was his third brother's wife and was really not afraid of trouble. Other women would have been scared to tears, but this sister Taozi acted as if nothing had happened.

He spoke to Peach:
"Sister-in-law, I'll take you upstairs to rest for a while. It's okay. Wait until they're done fighting. If anyone reports a crime, I'll come down and deal with it."

(End of this chapter)