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

"I won't waste any more time. Your brigade must reimburse Er Ya for all medical expenses incurred this time. Er Ya has been abused for so long, and you, as village officials, have remained indifferent, which shows that there are huge problems in your usual work."

Er Ya and Lu Lao Er's divorce is finalized. The Lu family's compensation to Er Ya is tentatively set at two hundred yuan. Further compensation will be added later, depending on the doctor's diagnosis. If long-term treatment is needed, or if there are any incurable health issues, the amount will be adjusted accordingly.

Bao Ya also wanted to ask Er Ya for more, but the Lü family was so poor that even if they tried their best to scrape together the money, they might be able to manage. But if they asked for more, they were afraid that they would end up with nothing.

Neither the brigade leader nor the old Party Secretary said a word. They had originally planned to leave her hanging for a while, but now they decided to leave her hanging for even longer.

They did make mistakes in their work, but what couple doesn't fight? The brigade has so many things to do every day, why would they keep an eye on who beats their wife?

Moreover, they didn't think beating their wives was a big deal. The Lü family just went a bit too far.

When the Lü family heard Bao Ya say she would give Er Ya 200 yuan in compensation, they were instantly thrown into turmoil. Lü's sister-in-law, enduring the pain on her face, gritted her teeth and said:

"Two hundred yuan? Why don't you just rob someone?"

"I'm not as despicable as you."

Bao Ya casually tossed out a sentence, completely unconcerned about the expressions on the faces of the Lü family members that were about to crack.

The women's director, who had long since lost patience, spoke up:

"Comrade Xiaolin, in this family, how can there be no mishaps?"

"If couples get divorced over every little argument, then everyone in the world gets divorced!"

Bao Ya glanced at her sideways, too lazy to comment on the person's appearance; judging from her attire, she looked like someone who was drawing a salary without working.

"You're the women's director, right? As the women's director, why would you condone men hitting women?"

In your opinion, women in the village can be beaten and verbally abused by men at will, right?

If that's the case, what's the point of having you as the women's director?

The problem started with you, which is why the Lü family treated Er Ya this way.

Do you think you are capable of serving as the Women's Director? If not, you should step down and make way for someone more capable as soon as possible.

I'll speak to Secretary Yan of the commune later and have him closely observe your work abilities.

The women's director was left speechless and even gained the attention of the leaders. She wanted to argue, but fearing that the girl would go to the commune leaders and cause trouble for her, she reluctantly shut her mouth.

Granny Lü gritted her teeth and said fiercely to Bao Ya.

"Lin Baoya, don't be so arrogant. Our Li family will not let you get away with this."

"What's so great about your Lü family?"

Bao Ya looked at her and found it amusing. Who did this old hag think she was?

"Hmph! Our Li family has high-ranking officials in the military, don't be so arrogant! We'll get the higher-ups to deal with you later."

This time, Bao Ya heard her clearly; she was referring to the Li family. Could it be the Li family from Beishan Brigade?

Someone in the military? A high-ranking leader at that? Could it be Li Changsheng?

Thinking of this, Bao Ya turned her head and asked the brigade leader in a low voice.

"Captain, she's not talking about the Li family from Beishan Brigade, is she? Her family is from Beishan Brigade, isn't it?"

Seeing that she was asking questions, the battalion commander stopped being coy. After all, he was an officer, and it would be good to curb her arrogance. Thinking this, the battalion commander nodded.

"Yes, her family is from Beishan Brigade, and she and that leader are cousins ​​within five degrees of kinship."

No wonder he was able to hang out with Li Jinxiang; they're from the same village, and maybe even related.

Bao Ya's expression was strange; she found it particularly funny. Judging by the timeline, Li Changsheng should have already been sentenced by now, right?

"You're talking about Li Changsheng, right? If you want to see him again, you'll probably have to go down to the underworld. He'll be eating peanuts in a few days."

"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? You just can't stand to see the Li family doing well."

"Return it to your Li family? Who do you think your Li family is? Not only Li Changsheng, but his father-in-law is finished too. At the very least, he'll be sent to a farm."

After hearing her words, the old Party Secretary and the brigade leader looked at Bao Ya in unison, their minds filled with questions, unsure whether they should ask them.

Bao Ya noticed their confusion, so she leaned closer to the captain and whispered a few words.

The two suddenly realized, as if from a dream, that the Beishan brigade had been secretly arresting people these past few days, keeping the news tightly under wraps, and no one in the brigade was allowed to leave. It was rumored that the brigade leader and the village party secretary had even been specially parachuted in from above.

Is this true?

The captain still couldn't quite believe that something like this could happen to someone he knew.

"I just returned from the army at the end of last month, the same unit where Li Changsheng was. This is no secret."

The captain looked at Bao Ya and nodded. Yes, that's the only way it can be.

If it were village officials from Beishan Brigade who were embezzling, they wouldn't be able to cover it up so tightly; they would have been brought out as negative examples long ago. Only when it involves spies would they be so cautious.

"Uncle, does this old woman Lü have close ties with those people from Beishan Brigade? Should we report this and have someone from higher up come and investigate?"

The brigade leader and the old Party Secretary were dumbfounded. This was trying to pin the crime on Granny Lü as a spy.

Thinking about this made his lips tremble. If a spy came out of the brigade, it would be all over. It was either a problem with their ideology or poor management. At most, they would just be called in and scolded.

If there were spies among them, their brigade might be taken over by the higher-ups, and then what? Would the two of them be sent to a farm for re-education? Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

Just as the old Party Secretary was about to say a few kind words to smooth things over, he heard someone else coming in from outside.

Are all your village officials here? We heard there was a serious incident in your brigade, so we came to find out what happened.

The monkey was going through puberty, so its voice was hoarse and shrill, and in short, it sounded terrible.

The captain, judging from the voice of the newcomer, thought it was a teenager. He stood up and peered outside, thinking to himself, "Go find somewhere to play by yourselves, and don't cause trouble."

But seeing their olive green uniforms and red armbands made me dizzy. I swayed a couple of times and then sat back down weakly.

They are most afraid of these young, impetuous people who dare to think and act without considering the consequences.

Who did they mess with? Looks like they're not getting through this today. He turned to look at the Lü family members who had just been beaten up again, and glared at them with exasperation.

He made up his mind: Fine, I'll just let them go. They're not innocent anyway.

"Oh, comrade, you've finally arrived. Come in and have a seat."

When Bao Ya saw that Monkey and the other four had arrived, she hurriedly went up to greet them.

Lin Lao Er and Lin Lao San paused slightly upon seeing the five people's attire, but said nothing and silently gave up their seats.

Monkey and Zhang Kangmei, with their chins held high and looking down their noses at people, walked over and sat directly in the seats of Lin Lao Er and Lin Lao San, looking like they had never been beaten.

He glanced at the disheveled Lu family members and said:

"What's going on here? Why are you abusing your power? Don't you know this is illegal?"