The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Lin Lao Er's face turned pale and then red after Bao Ya's words, his anger stuck in his chest and unable to be vented.

"Second brother, you should bring Er Ya back. If they keep tormenting her, she probably won't live much longer."

Lin Laosan chimed in, saying that before the family split up, this second brother was unassuming and only seemed honest.

A year after the family separated, and with the two families living close by, he realized that his second brother was incredibly calculating.

"But she was divorced by her husband's family at such a young age. How will the villagers view her in the future? They'll drown her in their gossip."

Lin Lao Er stammered that he didn't even have a hundred yuan left, and he felt it wasn't worth it to spend it all on his married daughter.

"I can't speak for other brigades, but no one in our brigade dares to say a bad word about her. Why don't you go home and think it over, and then come back to me when you've made up your mind?"

Bao Ya spoke casually, as if she wouldn't go to save Er Ya until Lin Lao Er made a decision.

This matter must be decided by Lin Lao Er. Otherwise, what will we do if we bring the person back? His family doesn't have anyone to keep. Are we supposed to raise his daughter ourselves?

"Father, what are you still hesitating for? Are you really going to just stand by and watch my second sister get beaten to death?"

Liu Ya and Wu Ya stared at Lin Lao Er with grief and indignation. They hadn't felt it before because their grandparents were above them, but now they realized that their father wasn't much better.

"What are you doing here? Go work in the fields, you have no right to speak here."

Lin Lao Er didn't dare to speak harshly to Bao Ya, but he had no restraint when it came to his own daughter, glaring at her with eyes wide open, looking like he was about to hit her at any moment.

"We've earned enough work points to feed ourselves. Anyway, we'll end up like our second sister, so there's no point in earning more! We won't do any more work from now on."

Seeing his once obedient daughter retort to him like this, Lin Lao Er felt his blood rush to his head. Before he could even raise his clenched fist, he heard Bao Ya say coolly:

"Second Uncle, I never expected you to be so cold-blooded, not even caring about the life or death of your own daughter. As her niece, I dare not rely on you at all. Let's not have any contact with each other in the future."

"Second brother, how can you be even more ruthless than eldest brother? Er Ya is your own daughter, what are you hesitating for? If my daughter is bullied, I'll risk my life for him."

Lin Laosan had wanted to talk to his second brother for a long time. Before the family was divided, Wuya and Liuya could wear the eldest son's old clothes. But look at them now, the two young girls are covered in patches, looking like beggars. They're not even as good as before.

Last year's cloth coupons have all been distributed to us, and my wife and I can each make a new outfit. But their family hasn't made a single one, especially Wuya, who is already of marriageable age.

"Baoya, how did the discussion go? When are we going?"

Aunt Pang and Aunt Hua were already waiting outside. In the village, no matter which girl was bullied by her husband's family, everyone would help to seek justice. There were about twenty or thirty people waiting outside to help.

"Second Uncle, what do you think? If you don't want to go, I'll talk to the people outside and let them go to work so as not to waste time."

Lin Lao Er glanced at the people outside who were about to help, then at Lin Lao San, who looked furious, and his two daughters, who met his gaze without fear. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Alright, go and bring Er Ya back, and make her divorce that man surnamed Lü."

"Okay, then you can take out fifty yuan later. But let me make this clear first, once you bring Er Ya back home to raise her, you can't just marry her off so easily."

I already have an uncle who's a bad element, so I don't mind having another uncle who's a member of the "Five Black Categories."

The meaning is clear: if he dares to sell his daughter again, he'll be punished. Lin Lao Er saw clearly how Bao Ya punished Lin Lao Da; he'd better consider whether he could handle it if it happened to him.

Looking into Bao Ya's eyes, Lin Lao Er felt a chill run down his spine, as if she had seen through his thoughts.

"Liu Ya, go to the old house and ask your uncle and the others if they're going. Make it clear to them that if they don't go, we'll never see each other again."

Bao Ya turned to Liu Ya and said, "This little girl has a fiery temper. She's still young, so she needs more experience. Don't let her get away with being like Er Ya, who's so tough you can't even get a word out of her."

"Okay, I'll go right now."

Liu Ya agreed and ran out. She had long wanted to make a strong statement to the eldest son's family.

Bao Ya spoke a few words to the monkey, then went outside and said to everyone:

"Dear aunties, uncles, brothers and sisters-in-law, my second uncle said that because of Er Ya's matter, everyone was delayed from going to work today, so everyone who went today will receive one yuan, which will be given to them when they return."

"Auntie Pang, Auntie Hua, please count the number of people so you don't make a mistake later."

Everyone's spirits immediately lifted when they heard they could get extra money. The summer harvest was almost over, and people weren't that busy anymore, so naturally they were happy to earn a dollar for free.

The two aunties quickly agreed and turned around to count the heads one by one; there were thirty-two people in total.

After counting everyone, Bao Ya led a group of people, carrying their weapons, and headed towards Er Ya's in-laws' village. On the way, they encountered Liu Ya.

When Bao Ya saw that she was all alone, she knew that the eldest son's family did not intend to get involved in this mess.

Since that's the case, everyone has made up their minds that they won't interfere in their family's affairs unless it's a matter of life and death.

When they arrived at the village entrance, they saw Grandpa Niu already waiting there with his donkey cart, and Bao Ya plopped down on it.

It's only a dozen or so miles, not too far, not too close either. Walking there would be exhausting, so we need to conserve our strength for something important to do later.

Among their group, seven or eight women squeezed in to sit on the donkey cart, while the men followed behind, and soon they arrived at Er Ya's grandmother's house.

The work in the fields wasn't finished yet, and everyone was at work. They traveled smoothly through the village without any hindrance, and no one asked them a single question despite the large group entering.

"This is Er Ya's grandmother's house."

When they reached the door, Second Aunt finally stepped forward and said a few words to Bao Ya. She had been avoiding looking at Bao Ya the whole way, sensing that Bao Ya was increasingly looking down on the couple.

Bao Ya simply responded and pushed open the door to go inside. Like a typical farmhouse, it had three main rooms and side rooms on both sides.

A woman in her fifties was washing clothes in the courtyard. She looked up and saw Bao Ya enter without knocking. She paused for a moment, then asked:

Who are you looking for?

"Where's Er Ya?"

Upon hearing her ask Er Ya, the woman threw the clothes she was holding into the basin, glared at her, put her hands on her hips, and began to curse:

"That little slut is dead. You're from her family, aren't you? You were never a good person..."

"You've tortured her to death? Come in, all of you, and smash her house to pieces!"

Bao Ya shouted to the people behind her, and about thirty people rushed into the courtyard.

The woman who was cursing was frightened, and her cursing stopped abruptly. She could only point at them with a trembling finger, unable to speak.

"Bao Ya, why don't we try reasoning with them first?"

Aunt Hua came over and asked Bao Ya, "When they went to support the girl, the usual procedure was to reason with her first before fighting."

"What are you talking about? This old bastard can't speak human language. Let's smash it first."

"Okay, smash it now!"

Before Aunt Hua could say anything more, Liu Ya had already grabbed a stick and smashed his window.

Then the younger men joined in, while the slightly older ones looked at each other in bewilderment. They started, but thinking about the one yuan they'd earned that day, they closed their eyes and decided to just smash it.