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

Director Yang turned around in surprise and looked at Aunt Zhang. He hadn't expected her to be involved. No wonder she was making such a fuss, not even giving the neighborhood committee any face.

Aunt Zhang felt a little guilty when she saw Director Yang's gaze. She had only watched the commotion from afar, never expecting this brat to spot her. She felt uneasy meeting Director Yang's eyes.

Director Yang sighed and reorganized his words for the next round.

"Comrade Xiaolin, how about this? I'll have them apologize to you, and you can be magnanimous this time and let them off the hook."

After all, we live next door, we see each other all the time, it wouldn't look good if things got too tense. Uncle Lin, don't you think so?

Director Yang steered the conversation toward Lin Dahai, hoping he could say a few words to calm things down.

"What's wrong? I don't know. Just listen to my daughter. She's always right."

As they talked, Lin Laosan kept working without stopping, not even raising his head. He was aware of his role as a family member of a village cadre.

He never interferes when village officials handle problems. His daughter is considered a half-village official in the brigade, the kind who works without getting paid, which his brother-in-law has certified.

Director Yang nearly choked on his own saliva. What do you mean by saying your daughter is always right? You should at least pretend to discipline your daughter, why do you listen to her completely?

He had no idea what kind of person Lin Baoya was in the Nanshan Brigade.

Then Lin Laosan continued:

"You city people are so delicate. You can't even stand a pot being banged on, even though it doesn't make any noise."

"Baoya, I'll have Simao bring you the brigade's gong later; that's the one that really gets the punch."

Director Yang almost spat out blood. banging a gong in the middle of the night would probably attract the police.

Along with him, those outside who had been watching the spectacle, drawn by the smell of blood, were also vomiting blood; they were all victims. They hoped Director Yang would resolve the matter soon.

It's not that they don't want to beat up Lin Baoya, it's that they don't dare.

The meat processing plant area is similar to a modern-day urban village. Most of the people here haven't been city dwellers for many years, but they know how fierce rural fights can be. If things go wrong, dozens of people could come and smash up your house, and there would be no way to reason with them.

"Director Yang, stop telling me all this nonsense. Ultimately, this wasn't caused by my wife."

Our street has always been so chaotic and filthy. People with mud still on their legs look down on rural people. It's been so many years since liberation, yet they still divide people into different classes.

"If you didn't know better, you'd think someone was deliberately trying to create division, right, Aunt Zhang?"

Jiang Yuan couldn't help but chime in. He knew the people here best, especially this old woman surnamed Zhang. The Niu family wanted to exchange houses with him, and she was still stirring things up. Now she's bullying his wife. He definitely couldn't let her get away with it.

Hearing Jiang Yuan say this, Aunt Zhang tried to minimize her presence. She thought to herself that what she had done wasn't that serious. She just liked to watch the excitement and didn't really cause any trouble.

"That's right, Director Yang. I also feel that there's something wrong with the thinking of the people in this area. Why don't we have the police station come and investigate? Maybe some bad elements are deliberately causing trouble."

"Dad, go back and ask my uncle which unit is in charge of ideological reports. We need to report this problem. This area has serious issues."

Jiang Yuan and Bao Ya, working in unison, escalated the issue to a new level: "If we're going to cause trouble, let's go for something big."

Director Yang was at his wit's end after hearing what they said. How did a few serious problems end up involving bad elements again?

Dog Egg listened intently, forgetting even the smell of meat. Suddenly, he stood up and shouted at Bao Ya:

"Sis, did they bully you? Don't be afraid, I'll go back and get Niu Dan, Si Mao, Shuan Zi, Uncle Da Zhuang, Uncle Er Zhuang, Uncle San Wa, and Uncle Shan Zi to come and beat them up. I guarantee they'll cry for their parents."

After saying that, she clenched her little fists angrily, glaring at Director Yang and Aunt Zhang, as if she could rush up and beat them up at any moment.

This scene startled Director Yang. He thought, "They've called so many people here; they're here to start a brawl!"

"Good boy, you've grown up. You know how to protect your sister now. Your sister didn't spoil you for nothing."

Lin Laosan quickly interrupted him, afraid that if he continued, he would give himself away. He had a whole bunch of uncles and cousins, whose average age was no more than seven.

Director Yang's head is spinning. Her family is very protective of her, and judging from the tone, they have connections in the commune.

The people in the commune have no control over the city, but they might have someone with influence. If they continue to cause trouble, they might also suffer the consequences.

Finally, Lin Baoya promised to stop knocking after these few days, but Director Yang wanted Shi Zhenxiang, Granny Zhou, and Aunt Zhang to apologize to her.

Director Yang nodded in agreement. He felt it was necessary to teach those old women a lesson; they were too annoying. But who would deal with Lin Baoya? She was even more of a headache than the others.

Before leaving, Director Yang reassured everyone, asking them to be patient for three more days. From investigating bad elements to enduring three more days, everyone felt quite content.

Before leaving, he specifically instructed Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang to get up quickly when they heard the knocking on the door, so as not to disturb everyone.

At this moment, their hearts were filled with bitterness. At first, everyone cursed Lin Baoya, but they couldn't do anything about her. Then they turned around and cursed the two of them for being inhuman and for provoking her in the first place.

And the children at home have had bruises and swelling on their faces these past few days. When I asked them, I found out they had been beaten with sacks over their heads.

Lin Laosan and his son enjoyed a delicious meat meal at noon. When they left in the afternoon, Bao Ya gave them most of the offal to take back with them, and also packed the meat soup in a jar.

After cleaning up, Bao Ya gave one bowl of the remaining two bowls of meat to Sister Chen and one to Grandma Liu.

She's been through so much trouble these past few days, and they'd rather catch up on sleep during the day than say a word to her. She appreciates their kindness.

Old Liu next door's face immediately fell when he saw her, but when he saw the meat in her hand, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up.

The banging finally stopped after three days. Actually, Bao Ya had long since given up on it, and Jiang Yuan banged the pot for her for the last two days.

Granny Zhou and Shi Zhenxiang were quite clever; they didn't even take off their clothes to sleep at night, and they would come out immediately when Jiang Yuan knocked on the door.

Jiang Yuan swapped shifts with someone for two days, giving them a three-day holiday including the weekend. They planned to visit Kaoshan Village, which is Bao Ya's in-laws' home.

Early in the morning, Bao Ya started packing, rummaging through the closet for anything she could take with her.

Suddenly I pulled out a can of malted milk powder, looked at it, and wondered whether to bring it or not.

Never mind, the old man probably won't like it, I'll keep it for myself to avoid having to pass it around. Then I put the malted milk powder back in the cupboard and replaced it with a bottle of canned fruit.

Jiang Yuan returned with the purchased goods, hung the things Bao Ya had packed on the handlebars, and then carried Bao Ya on the back road to Kaoshan Village.

"Third Brother, is it still possible to go up the mountain now?"

Bao Ya suddenly remembered the big mountain behind Kaoshan Village, where hunters often traded their prey for grain with their brigade. Why not try her luck this time?

"We can go before it snows; I'll take you this afternoon."

"it is good."

When Bao Ya heard that he could take her up the mountain, she was overjoyed. Things that are free on the mountain are free, so why not take advantage of them?

When the car reached the village entrance, Bao Ya suddenly jumped out and ran towards a large tree on the other side.

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in so long."