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

The Lü family recognized Lin Lao Er as the leader, and then looked at Lin Er Ya lying on the door panel. They knew exactly what was going on. The Lin family had come knocking.

They dare to bully Lin Er Ya like this because Lin Lao Er is a coward. If Lin Lao Er had come to her door with a kitchen knife the first time they bullied her, they wouldn't have gone so far as to escalate their behavior later.

Carrying a kitchen knife doesn't necessarily kill, but it's scary enough; people are just bullies who prey on the weak and fear the strong.

A chaotic fight had already broken out in the courtyard. The woman grabbed Sister-in-law Lü and Granny Lü, pulled their hair, and slapped them.

The men surrounded the men of the Lü family and started beating them wildly.

In rural areas, fights are divided into men and women; men fight men, and women fight women.

Bao Ya pulled Wu Ya and Liu Ya aside to watch the fun, while also protecting Er Ya.

A head peeked over the wall to check what was happening in the yard.

Bao Ya also craned her neck to look outside, wondering why the brigade leader hadn't arrived yet, given how lively the scene was and Er Ya was still waiting to be taken to the hospital.

I asked Grandpa Niu to drive the cart to pick up Monkey and the others as soon as we got to the village entrance. I didn't expect Er Ya to be so badly injured. She was still waiting for the brigade leader to send a cart.

"Young lady, are you from Lu Lao Er's wife's family?"

The busybody aunt outside the courtyard asked Bao Ya about it, but she didn't say anything about telling her to stop.

"Auntie, why isn't your brigade leader here yet? Someone might get killed in a moment."

Bao Ya's words startled the meddlesome aunt, who then twitched her lips. Didn't she just say that she should be beaten? Why is she now worried that someone might die?

Looking back at the chaotic fight in the courtyard, the Lü family suffered a heavy loss this time. They were beaten so badly they were almost unrecognizable.

"Well, then let's stop them from fighting for now. Someone has already gone to find the team leader. The work site is a bit far away today, and it will probably take a lot of time to get there and back."

"Oh, I meant my second sister. Look at her, she's barely breathing. I'm afraid she's not going to make it. The Lu family members can hold on a little longer."

The aunt craned her neck to look at Er Ya lying on the door panel, her face showing pity. She whispered to Bao Ya.

"Oh dear, what a tragedy! This Lu Lao Er is always idle and lazy, and no family wants to marry their daughter to him. Even the matchmakers in our village ignore Lu Lao Pozi."

Who knew some relative from her village arranged this marriage? Apparently, it cost a lot of money. I bet your family has no idea what kind of person this Lu Lao Er is.

"Yes, we were also scammed. Our family didn't receive any dowry at all. We'll have to report this to the police; it involves human trafficking."

The aunt's eyes lit up when she heard this. The bride's family hadn't received much in betrothal gifts, so it must be that Granny Lü colluded with the matchmaker to cheat the girl. She would have to have a good talk with the villagers about this.

Seeing that all the members of the Lü family were lying down, everyone stopped fighting. It would be bad if they continued fighting and someone died.

"Go to their room and find some decent clothes and two blankets. We'll take your sister to the hospital later."

Bao Ya instructed Wu Ya and Liu Ya, and at that moment, Second Aunt gave Er Ya some water to drink, and she seemed to wake up.

Let the village head take a look, then send him to the hospital. If they don't see it for themselves, they probably won't admit it.

The village brigade leaders are all pretty much the same: they'll take advantage of any opportunity they can, and shirk responsibility whenever possible. They'll only shed tears when they're facing certain death, and they'll only turn back after hitting a brick wall. This applies to both their superiors and subordinates.

Preparations were almost complete when the battalion commander arrived. He looked quite old, as he was panting heavily from running all the way.

From finding Er Ya to now, only about twenty minutes have passed, and the fight with the Lü family only took a few minutes. Otherwise, if more than thirty people were fighting five people for half an hour, they would have been minced meat by now.

"Uncle, the Lü family is treating human life like dirt. He's about to die. Could you please tell me whether we should send him to the hospital now, or wait until he's dead and then carry his body to the police station?"

When the old man saw that it was Bao Ya, he was about to go up and try to get closer to her, but who knew that this girl would pull such a trick on him. Before he could even catch his breath, he almost choked.

The old man glanced into the yard and saw the Lu family members lying haphazardly on the ground, groaning, but they didn't seem to be about to die.

Finally, his gaze fell on Er Ya on the door panel, and he nearly fell to the ground.

Putting aside the bruises and welts on the exposed skin, the dried bloodstains on the pants alone were impossible to ignore.

He thought Lin Erya had been beaten and miscarried again, and that the Lü family wouldn't take her to the hospital and had locked her up. Now her family had come knocking on his door.

"Quickly, bring the tractor over here and take them to the hospital."

The old man, panting heavily, gave orders and even asked the accountant to go and check on him.

Bao Ya asked her second aunt and fifth and sixth daughters to go with her. She whispered a few words in sixth daughter's ear, instructing her to find a doctor to examine the second daughter's injuries.

The Lü family's house was smashed to pieces; there wasn't even a decent bench left. The brigade leader sighed and took Bao Ya and the others to the brigade headquarters.

The Lu family members lay on the ground groaning and pretending to be dead. Bao Ya found Lu Lao Er and stomped on his ankle, making him howl in pain.

"Can you walk by yourselves? Or should I give you a hand too?"

Seeing her so confident and fearless demeanor, the brigade leader watched silently from the side, and the Lü family members, enduring the pain all over their bodies, followed her to the brigade headquarters.

When Bao Ya saw that no one stopped them from beating the Lü family, and that the brigade leader didn't turn around and accuse them after seeing the Lü family's miserable state, she knew that the people in this village were still reasonable.

Unbeknownst to her, the people who went to see the captain knew her. The captain, knowing it was her, warned everyone not to lay a hand on anyone, or he wouldn't protect anyone if anything went wrong.

Bao Ya's uncle was in charge of production in the commune, and he was in charge of the distribution of grain seeds every year. If something happened to Bao Ya in their brigade, they were afraid that Su Sanqiang would cause trouble for them in the future.

When it comes to food, no one dares to take any risks. It's not that they're afraid he won't provide the seeds, but a delay of ten days or half a month would be enough to cause them serious trouble.

Bao Ya, along with Lin Lao San and Lin Lao Er, followed the brigade leader into the brigade's meeting room, which was actually a fairly large empty room where literacy classes were usually held.

The Lü family members also limped in and found seats. Each of them glared fiercely at Bao Ya.

Before the brigade leader could speak, several village officials entered, including an old man. Judging by his obsequious manner, he didn't seem like a village official.

"Captain, I came to see my brother and the others, look..."

"Captain, who is this guy? How can he be so rude? He came in without being told to. He clearly doesn't respect you at all."

Bao Ya didn't care about their relationship; she didn't hold back when it came to making things difficult for them.

The old man's face stiffened. He hadn't expected this little girl to talk so much; he hadn't even said anything yet.

"I am an elder in the Lü family; even your second sister has to call me 'Uncle'..."

"Oh, does the Lü family have any elders? They beat my second sister up like that and not a single elder stood up to say a word of justice. I thought all the elders in the Lü family were dead."

"Get out! Don't try to act like a big shot in front of me. If you don't have a mirror, take a piss and look at yourself. Who gives you the right to speak like that?"

At this point, an elder actually comes out to put on airs in front of me. Doesn't he even know his own worth?