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

For the next period of time, the family was busy building a house. My eldest uncle, second uncle, and Simao all went to help. Even Jiang Yuan took two days off to come and help. Bao Ya felt bad about being idle, so she helped cook lunch.

After the foundation was laid, the bricks I bought arrived, and the rest was done quickly. In just half a month, even the roof was finished.

Now that construction has started on Lin Lao Er's house, she has nothing to do, so she comes out for a stroll. Just as she reached the edge of the field, she heard a commotion in the distance.

Bao Ya stood by the roadside, shading her eyes with her hand, watching people all walking in one direction. What was going on? Had something happened?

"Bao Ya, Bao Ya! Quick, come with your auntie!"

Bao Ya was startled by the loud-voiced aunt. When she saw that it was Xiao Shuanzi's grandmother, Wang Chunhua, she ran and called out to her.

"Auntie, what's wrong?"

Bao Ya was dragged by Wang Chunhua in the direction she came from. Bao Ya's body slumped back, and she was dragged away without saying a word. If she didn't know her, she would have thought she had encountered a human trafficker.

"Your eldest uncle... is over there, that old Rong family's... that bastard wife... quickly pull his pants down."

Wang Chunhua was out of breath from running, and she dragged her along while talking.

"What? Is she going crazy in broad daylight?"

Bao Ya's head was buzzing. Are rural women really this bluffing? Pulling down a man's pants in broad daylight? No way, she had to protect her uncle's innocence!

As Wang Chunhua ran, she called out to two women coming from other directions:

"Hey! Bao Ya's over here, quick!"

So they came specifically to find her. Could she handle this situation? Bao Ya was a little unsure; she'd only ever dealt with the Lin family, she'd never tried with anyone else.

The two women were Aunt Hua and Iron Head's Mother. The three of them, one speaking at a time, explained the general situation.

Rong's second daughter-in-law, heavily pregnant, was forced by her mother-in-law to work in the fields. She fainted in the field. Everyone wanted to take her home, but she had already passed out and was bleeding a lot.

The brigade leader hurriedly ordered a vehicle to be prepared to take her to the hospital, and also sent someone to notify her family. Now that the vehicle had arrived, Granny Rong, afraid of spending money, insisted on not going. The brigade leader had someone pull her away, put her in the vehicle, and then drove off.

Unexpectedly, the old woman pounced on the captain's pants and wouldn't let go. Su Daqiang was extremely embarrassed. What was going on? He didn't dare to shake her off forcefully, afraid that he would really tear her pants off and then how would he save face?

"Hey Granny Rong, what were you thinking? You can't go to the brigade leader just because you want to see birds."

"Exactly, the captain is so old, he's all withered, it's not interesting to watch him."

"Ha ha……"

"She's an old widow, she can't be picky. It's good enough if she can just take a look and have some fun."

"Hahaha……"

When Bao Ya arrived, a group of lewd old men started telling dirty jokes. They couldn't go up and pull Rong Pozi, so they could only vent their anger from the sidelines. Su Daqiang's old face turned ashen with rage.

A group of people were still facing off. A disheveled woman was lying on the ground in front of the cart, clutching Su Daqiang's pants. Su Daqiang was pulling on his own waistband. Grandpa Niu was pulling the harnessed mule cart, with two people blocking the sides of the cart. A man was squatting on the ground with his head in his hands. A large crowd had gathered around.

"Granny Rong, let go! If you delay any longer, someone will die!" Su Daqiang was furious. He couldn't reason with this old woman; she just wouldn't let go of his pants.

"No way! Take this jinx home with me! What woman doesn't give birth? Why go to the hospital? Where would we get that much money? Do you want my whole family to starve? Oh God, this is going to kill us all! If you want to take her away, you'll have to take her off me first!"

Bao Ya looked around at the main figures. The people blocking the car in front were Rong's eldest son and his wife, and there were two little girls next to them, sobbing. The woman squatting on the ground was Rong's second son, the husband of the pregnant woman.

This family is such a beast! The people around couldn't stand it anymore and urged them to make way.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to kill her by blocking the car?"

Rong's eldest daughter-in-law curled her lip. It's her again. Lin Baoya is always involved.

"Bao Ya, you're a young lady, it's not appropriate for you to interfere in women's childbirth matters."

Whether her second son's wife lives or dies is none of her business. They should also have a share of the hospital expenses; after all, their children are just money-losing offspring, so why should she pay for them?

"You know a lot, so you know how to kill her, right? If you dare to say another word, believe me, I'll slap your mouth shut."

Bao Ya imitated the original owner's way of speaking, speaking arrogantly to the eldest daughter-in-law of the Rong family.

Rong's eldest daughter-in-law opened her mouth but then closed it again. She didn't dare to provoke Bao Ya. If she got angry, she would really get beaten up and wouldn't even have a chance to reason with her.

There's no point in reasoning with this kind of person; just intimidate them and it'll save you a lot of trouble. Anyone who understands reason won't stand in their way. She's a woman too; she'll give birth someday, and she never imagined someone might treat her like this. She won't know pain until the knife is in her own flesh.

Su Daqiang's face turned bright red, and his temples throbbed. That damned old woman was still pulling hard on her pants, and the fabric was about to tear.

"Get out of my way, everyone. Anyone who blocks the car today will have ten centimeters deducted from their license."

"Why are they preventing my daughter-in-law from coming home to give birth and even deducting our work points? This is outrageous! The brigade cadres are bullying us! Oh God, they're not letting us survive!"

Granny Rong cried and wailed, but she kept clutching the brigade leader's trousers tightly in her hand.

Bao Ya was deeply impressed by their elaborate performance, from singing and acting to their dramatic gestures. She couldn't believe they could cry so convincingly about something so despicable.

"If you're not given a way to live, then die. You're a scourge, and your life is a waste of food."

Bao Ya said softly, which made Granny Rong, who was lying on the ground, turn her head to look at her. She wanted to scold her, but was a little afraid of Lin Bao Ya, so she turned her head to look at her useless son.

"Second brother, are you dead? You just let them take your wife away and let others bully your mother? What use are you? Look at this jinx you married, she gave birth to a bunch of girls, and now she's spent all the family's money just to have another girl. How are you going to feed this whole family?!"

"Mom, Xiuzhu is not doing well anymore, let's go to the hospital. I'll pay you back when I earn money, okay?"

The man squatting on the ground pleaded, and his pathetic state made one feel suffocated.

Su Daqiang was furious with her; she acted as if she couldn't understand human language and kept arguing unreasonably.

"Granny Rong, who are you trying to fool? We're not asking you to pay up right now. The brigade is already covering your medical expenses. You're still just watching your daughter-in-law die because of this. You're heartless."

"Exactly! With so many people in your family, you let a pregnant woman who's about to give birth get out of bed. How shameless! When her family comes looking for you, they'll skin you alive."

The women nearby chimed in, saying, "That old hag is too shrewish! She's already pulled us apart, but she's already lunged at us and grabbed the brigade leader's pants again. How are we supposed to pull her off? Who's going to take responsibility if she pulls the brigade leader's pants down?"

"Stop talking nonsense. This whole family has money for food, drink, and everything else. We don't have money to waste on this jinx. If you insist on going, then you'll have to take the fall on me."

As she spoke, she lay face down on the ground, still clutching Su Daqiang's trouser leg. Several women tried to pry her hands off, but she pulled Su Daqiang's trousers down even harder.

"Hey, hey, no..."

If his pants were really pulled down in public, he would be too ashamed to live.