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

She doesn't have that much sympathy. People never live off the pity of others. In any environment and when interacting with people, you have to show your strength. Once people see your weakness, they will keep challenging your bottom line.

Through the gaps in the crowd, she saw that Rong's eldest daughter-in-law had been beaten into a pig's head. Retribution came so quickly. It seems that it's better to do fewer immoral things.

"Seventh Grandpa is here!"

Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly fell silent and automatically made way for them.

An old man with gray hair and a goatee was being helped into the yard by someone, leaning on a cane.

Her seventh great-uncle, who was also her seventh maternal uncle, was the patriarch of the Su family. He was nearly eighty years old and was one of the few scholars of his generation.

If the village couldn't resolve a problem, they would turn to him for help. Once he made a decision, the Su family would listen to him; if someone from another family didn't listen, they would be considered to be going against the entire Su family in the village.

It was quite a coincidence today. Su Daqiang, the brigade leader and village head, took someone to the hospital, the secretary went to a meeting at the commune, and the other village cadres lacked authority. They had no choice but to ask him to step in.

Inside, those who deserved to be beaten have been beaten, and most of the things that needed to be smashed have been smashed. Granny Rong and her eldest daughter-in-law both had bruises and swelling on their faces, and Rong the eldest was limping.

Seeing that her seventh uncle had arrived, Bao Ya pushed her way through the crowd. The onlookers, recognizing her, stepped aside to let her in, and she followed the old man into the courtyard.

Tsk tsk tsk, this yard is a mess, pots and pans are all smashed to pieces, pots in the kitchen are broken, and shards of bowls and plates are scattered all over the ground.

As soon as the old man entered the door, everyone in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and split into two groups: one group consisted of Rong Lao Er's wife's family, and the other group consisted of Rong Po Zi and Rong Lao Da and his wife.

Seeing an opportunity, Granny Rong plopped down on the ground and started wailing.

"Ouch, this is so unfair! I can't take it anymore..."

"Shut up! Do you think everyone else is an idiot? Go away."

Before she could continue wailing, Bao Ya directly reprimanded her, knowing that once she finished wailing, the argument would become irrelevant. It wouldn't be appropriate for people from two villages to get into a fight over such a trivial matter.

The Liu family, who were also Rong Lao Er's wife's family, saw Bao Ya scolding Rong's mother-in-law who was about to throw a tantrum, and the women who were about to argue with her shut their mouths. This at least showed that the villagers were reasonable. Since they could reason with each other, everything was negotiable. But when they encountered a united front against them, things couldn't be resolved today.

Uncle Qi glared at Bao Ya, as if to say, "Why are you here again?" Bao Ya wasn't afraid. She went forward, found a long bench in a pile of junk, placed it in front of Uncle Qi, and helped him sit down.

Several young men stood behind Uncle Qi. These men could both make a show of force and protect the old man. In the countryside, it was common for the people who tried to break up a fight to be beaten up.

The old man sat down, coughed lightly, and then asked Bao Ya, "What happened?"

Bao Ya honestly replied, "I arrived late and didn't see the first half. I'll find someone who knows to tell you."

After saying that, she called out to the edge of the crowd, "Aunt Chunhua, come here and say something!"

Wang Chunhua had been squeezing in from the outside for ages, but the people in front of her hadn't even left her a gap. Now the courtyard gate and the top of the wall were packed with people, all there to watch the excitement, and nobody wanted to stand on the very edge.

Hearing Bao Ya calling her from inside, Wang Chunhua responded crisply and squeezed to the front.

Wang Chunhua witnessed the entire event and was the one who delivered the message to the Rong family. She recounted everything that had happened that day to everyone present. As she listened, the faces of Seventh Uncle and the Liu family grew increasingly dark.

At this moment, the Rong family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, along with Rong the eldest son, remained silent like quails.

The seventh great-uncle was so angry that his beard stood on end, and he pounded the ground with his cane.

"You're a grown man, how can you do nothing like this? Those were two lives, and they were children of the Rong family. What grudge did the second son's family have against you? How could you put people to death? You heartless bastards."

"You've already had two daughters, how are you going to raise another one? It's easy for you to say that when you're not in my shoes."

Granny Rong muttered softly, but everyone present could hear her.

"You're not a little girl. The baby hasn't even been born yet. How do you know it's a girl? Uncle, she even pulled down my uncle's pants in public."

The old man was even more displeased upon hearing this. A man from the Su family had actually been sexually assaulted! If word got out, their reputation would be ruined, especially since it was Su Daqiang, the brigade leader! His eyes widened, and he began to berate Granny Rong:

"What? You shameless old woman! Your husband's only been dead a few days, and you can't even stay faithful? You unfaithful thing, if you want to get married, no one's stopping you, just stop doing such disgraceful things!"

"Oh dear, you're really going to frame me like this, I can't live like this anymore."

Upon hearing this, Granny Rong quickly defended herself, saying that she couldn't admit to this. Her seventh uncle said that she was not a virtuous woman, which was tantamount to labeling her as such, and everyone would think that she was not a virtuous woman from now on.

"Who's wronging you? A bunch of guys were surrounding you telling dirty jokes, and you wouldn't let go, you were listening and having a good time, we all saw it."

Bao Ya continued to add insult to injury, saying, "What a piece of trash! People like her need to be taught a lesson."

The old man got angry again. If no one was around, he would have definitely hit Bao Ya with his cane. What was a young girl doing, joining a bunch of old women in making a fuss, and even hearing a dirty joke?

"Yes, we saw it. It was gripping so tightly that even several of us couldn't pry it open."

The aunt who came along also chimed in with disapproval.

"You're bullying me, you're not letting me live at all, I might as well find a rope and hang myself."

"Then they shouldn't live. Those with backbone have already died somewhere where no one is around. Those who shout in front of others are just cowards who don't have the guts to die."

"That's right, that's right."

The old man, puffing out his beard and glaring, pointed at Granny Rong and continued to curse:

"You have the nerve to pull down a man's pants, why are you pretending to be pitiful? Do you think I'm senile? In today's terms, you have questionable morals."

As he finished speaking, Bao Ya tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop talking about it. She suddenly remembered that the other person involved in the incident was her uncle. Rumors in the village can easily become distorted over time, and it might end up being said that her uncle was being a pervert.

The old man glared at her. "Why are you pulling him? Didn't you start this?" He then turned to the Liu family and said.

"Brother Liu, don't worry, we will definitely give you justice. We will absolutely not protect them. What are your plans? Tell us all at once."

The Liu family felt relieved after hearing the old man's words, as his attitude was quite proper. As for the plan, they didn't actually have one. The messenger had run into them in the fields, heard about their sister's accident, and rushed over without thinking much about it.

Since his sister and brother-in-law are not home, he can't very well speak up for them about dividing the family property.

"Well... sir, we came in a hurry and we don't know my sister's condition yet. Perhaps we should wait a little longer? I just sent my son to the clinic."

"Yeah, that's true. Then let's wait."