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

Before the brigade leader and the old Party Secretary could speak, Bao Ya quickly replied:

"Boss, their family are all bad elements. They have been abusing Lin Erya for a long time. Lin Erya was sent to the hospital, and her life is still in danger."

This family not only shows no remorse, but they're also shouting here that people should send Wuya to their family as a wife. This act of abducting a man and seizing a woman is even more vicious than that of bandits and thugs.

"Snapped!"

As soon as Bao Ya finished speaking, the monkey slammed his hand on the table and cursed:

"Damn it, what era are we living in? How can your brigade still have people like this? I think it's the dereliction of duty of you village cadres."

Since you can't manage it, we'll manage it for you. We refuse to believe we can't change the bad habits in your brigade.

As he spoke, the monkey stood up and was about to order people to tie up the Lü family members.

Seeing that things were about to go wrong, the old Party Secretary spoke up first:

"Hey, young comrade, young comrade, don't get agitated. We've almost finished discussing things. They've admitted their mistakes, and even the compensation issue has been settled. Why don't you listen to it again?"

As he spoke, the old Party Secretary winked at Bao Ya, signaling her to quickly say something in her defense.

Bao Ya didn't say anything, but looked at the monkey.

The monkey looked around the room with a resentful expression, momentarily bewildered. They had already made a deal so quickly; it seemed he was too late.

It's such a pity that such a good opportunity has slipped away. But he was unwilling to give up and felt that he could still try to win it back.

"You've already discussed it? I just heard you arguing in your room. You're not lying to me, are you?"

"How could that be? You can ask Bao Ya if you don't believe me. We're discussing how to implement the compensation, aren't we, Bao Ya?"

The old Party Secretary winked at Bao Ya desperately, his eyes filled with pleading. The brigade leader chimed in.

"Yes, yes, we were just discussing how to implement the compensation issue. You only heard half of it. Why don't you sit down and listen again?"

Normally, if this teenager came to the brigade headquarters and caused trouble, he would have been kicked out long ago.

But these people in front of me can't be hit or scolded; they have to be coaxed. They're harder to manage than donkeys that need to be driven across the fields.

For some reason, a brigade in the neighboring commune offended a group of red armband wearers, and as a result, they held large meetings for them every day. And it wasn't just that brigade; the entire commune was subjected to their scrutiny.

Later, several more groups of red armband wearers followed the same pattern, going around to each brigade several times, causing widespread resentment throughout the commune.

The commune leaders were so angry they were cursing. All the cadres in the brigade that caused the trouble were dismissed, not a single one was spared. The surrounding brigades almost hated them to death.

Looking at the five teenagers in front of them, the old Party Secretary and the brigade leader panicked, feeling that they were going to follow the same path as the old brigade.

"Why don't the leaders sit down and listen to the opinions of the brigade cadres, and see how they plan to implement the compensation issue for the victims?"

It's not too late to educate them after they've listened to everything."

Bao Ya persuaded the monkey to settle the compensation issue first, and then give the monkey a chance to have some fun. They shouldn't get their priorities mixed up.

"In that case, tell us what you have to say."

The monkey patiently sat down, intending to listen to what they had to say next.

Zhu Wang, Ding Xiaopang, and Cao Hui stood behind Monkey and Zhang Kangmei, staring intently at the Lü family.

The members of the Lü family knew something was wrong when Monkey and his group came in. Now they were all like quails, keeping their heads down and not saying a word, afraid of being noticed.

The captain didn't waste any time and gave solutions to each of the issues Bao Ya had mentioned.

"I'll issue the divorce certificate for Lu Lao Er and Lin Er Ya right now. They didn't get a marriage certificate. I'll write the certificate, you sign it and put your fingerprints on it, and that'll be considered a divorce."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of letter paper from the drawer, quickly wrote out the certificate, and then had Lin Lao Er and the Lü family confirm it by pressing their fingerprints.

After doing all that, he continued:

"As for Lin Erya's hospitalization expenses, they will be paid from the brigade's account first, and then deducted from the Lü family's public points later."

And there's the two hundred yuan compensation for Lin Erya...

At this point, the brigade leader paused, then turned to ask Granny Lü.

"Old Lady Lü, how much money can you come up with right now?"

When asked, Granny Lü, who had been getting restless since saying she would deduct medical expenses from her family's work points, was now asking for two hundred yuan. How could she possibly tolerate that?

"We have no money, my family has no money. They've smashed up my house, you might as well just take my old life..."

"Your life is worthless, you should keep it for yourself."

"Captain, look at her, she still shows no remorse. It's clear her usual ideological education was inadequate. We should ask these leaders to give your brigade more help later."

Bao Ya continued to sow discord between Granny Lü and Monkey, hoping to create an opportunity for him to make things better. Otherwise, Monkey would definitely be unwilling to accept defeat.

"Granny Lü, shut your mouth. You have no right to speak here."

"The two hundred yuan for Lin Erya will come from the brigade's account first. Later, we'll assign you more workers with higher work points to pay it back."

The jobs that earn high work points are always the dirtiest and most tiring, even strong laborers struggle with them. The brigade leader wanted to make an example of one to warn the others, to give those old women who liked to torment their daughters-in-law a warning, so they wouldn't be so lawless.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the women's director sitting idly to the side and felt a surge of anger.

Bao Ya is right, she should be replaced. This is something she should be in charge of. Look at her now, acting like nothing's wrong, she hasn't even realized the problem yet.

"That won't do. Lin Erya is Lu Lao Er's wife, and she was beaten like that by him. If anyone should pay compensation, it should be him. Why should we, the eldest son's wife, be dragged into it?"

"I don't care, I want to split up the family now. Boss, what's your opinion? If you don't agree to split up, we're getting a divorce right now."

The eldest daughter-in-law of the Lü family was frightened by the brigade leader's words. She couldn't possibly handle doing those high-work-point jobs every day.

The two hundred yuan, plus Lin Erya's medical expenses, will take forever to pay off.

Lu Lao Er is an idle man who doesn't work properly. He spends his days loafing around, and the family's work points are mainly earned by the two of them. Now they have to help him pay off his debts, and they can't live like this anymore.

"Whether you separate or not is your business, but you must pay back the two hundred yuan. Even if you divorce Boss Lü now, you still have to pay back your share."

"Now you're scared? Why didn't you ever think about this when you were bullying Lin Erya?"

The captain was also determined. They were no good family, and he was going to take this opportunity to teach them a lesson.

After that, no matter how much the Lü family cried and made a fuss, the brigade leader did not give in.

The brigade leader wrote a settlement agreement, both parties signed it and put their fingerprints on it, and the old Party Secretary handed two hundred yuan to Bao Ya, and that was the end of the matter.

Bao Ya didn't hand the money directly to Lin Lao Er, but instead gave it to Lin Lao San, telling him to keep it for now.

"Dad, go back and give this to my eldest uncle, and have him put this money in the brigade's account for Er Ya. When she gets married in the future, we'll give her the money."

If the money goes into Old Master Lin's hands, I'm afraid not a single penny will be spent on Er Ya. Whether she gets married or not in the future, it's always good to have some money to rely on.

As for Mr. and Mrs. Lin, having this money to keep them on their toes will make them treat Er Ya better.