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

Li Qiang was a soldier. He and Xu Huiru had been married for eight years and had a six-year-old daughter. Two years ago, after Li Qiang was discharged from the military, he became a police officer at a local police station.

Because Xu Huiru gave birth to a daughter, her mother-in-law disliked her. However, Xu Huiru was gentle and dared not resist, which left her exhausted.

This year, the police station allocated a house, and Xu Huiru thought that things would get better for the family of three once they moved out.

Unexpectedly, Li Qiang's younger brother, Li Yong, is getting married this year, and his fiancée specifically requested the newly allocated house from them.

My husband's younger sister is also a handful. She found a well-off boyfriend, but she doesn't have a job, and his parents are not satisfied with her. So she started eyeing Xu Huiru's job.

As things piled up, Xu Huiru finally snapped and argued with her sister-in-law and brother-in-law.

Li Qiang not only didn't stand by her side, but he even slapped her. Xu Huiru was so angry that she went back to her parents' home.

This morning, Liu Damei went to check on her in her room and found that she had cut her wrists. In a panic, she asked her neighbors for help to take her to the hospital.

Liu Dali finished recounting the events, her voice choked with sobs. At this moment, Xu Huiru also woke up, but her eyes remained closed, her eyelids trembling, and tears streamed down her face.

Bao Ya couldn't help but sigh, women at this time are really good at enduring things. A problem that could be solved with a kitchen knife has been endured for so many years.

"Sister, do you still want to be with him?"

Bao Ya sat by the hospital bed, holding Xu Huiru's hand, and gently spoke to her. Upon hearing Bao Ya's question, Xu Huiru's hand visibly trembled.

Then she slowly opened her eyes, glanced at Bao Ya, and tears welled up in her eyes. She burst into tears and couldn't stop sobbing.

"Bao Ya, don't talk nonsense."

When Liu Erli heard Bao Ya say that, she quickly stopped her.

Even if things can't go on, it shouldn't be Bao Ya who says it. If they reconcile later, she'll be blamed.

Xu Huiru cried for a while, then slowly got up.

Bao Ya adjusted the IV tubing for her. She placed a pillow behind her so she could lean against it.

Xu Huiru held Bao Ya's hand, took a breath, and said:

"I thought that with him back, life would be easier, but..."

She fell silent at the end and started crying again.

My aunt and uncle also wiped away tears.

Xu Huiru looked haggard at this moment, and her once bright eyes were now swollen shut, barely visible.

"Sister, is there any difference between having him and not having him? If he weren't here, and his whole family wasn't here, wouldn't life be better?"

Bao Ya had heard her aunt talk about their family situation and always lamented that Xu Huiru was too soft-hearted, which is why her mother-in-law had her completely under her thumb.

Xu Huiru froze upon hearing Bao Ya's words. She stared blankly at Bao Ya, pondering her statement.

Li Qiang's salary is controlled by his mother. He and his child spend their own money, and his mother often tries to squeeze some out of them.

When there are conflicts at home, this man always sides with his mother and his sister. What can I expect from him?

Aunt and her eldest aunt were both shocked by Bao Ya's words. They had never heard anyone say such a thing before: what difference does it make whether or not a man is present?

While the group was still in a daze, the door was kicked open from the outside.

"Sis, how are you?"

It was Xu Huiru's younger brother, Xu Hao. He rushed over after hearing from the neighbors.

Seeing the gauze in Xu Huiru's hand, Xu Hao's eyes turned red with anger. He clenched his fists and was about to rush out.

"No, I have to settle the score with that bastard."

His aunt and uncle quickly stopped him, afraid that he would suffer if he went over there on his own.

Bao Ya reached out and grabbed the back of his collar, pulling him back a step with force.

"What are you going to do? Hitting the police is illegal. I'll go instead."

"You? Wouldn't you be breaking the law if you went?"

Xu Hao said unhappily that he was clearly not confident enough when talking to Lin Baoya about fighting.

"It's perfectly justified for a sister-in-law to hit her brother-in-law. Besides, I went to reason with him; I'll win him over with virtue."

"Okay, let's go together, I'll help you out."

"No need, you watch over my sister, I'll take my aunt and my other aunt with me."

We went to the police station to reason with the leaders. There's no need to fight to get to the leaders.

Bao Ya didn't want to listen to their crying and sobbing; she was about to burst from holding it in. If she listened any longer, her milk ducts would become blocked.

Go talk to the boss and reason with him? This idea appealed to everyone present. These days, the bosses in the workplace are very involved, even in their personal lives.

Since things have come to this point, it's definitely time to have a talk with the leadership.

The four people in the room believed her and decided that Bao Ya, her aunt, and her uncle would go to the police station to find Li Qiang's superior.

After leaving the hospital, the three of them headed towards the police station where Li Qiang worked.

Bao Ya stopped a villager driving a donkey cart and secretly slipped him two cents. The villager then took them directly to the police station.

Upon arriving at the police station, Bao Ya walked in without a second thought. The security guard chased after her and asked:

"What are you doing? Why did you barge in without saying a word?"

"The person who reported it said someone committed suicide, and we..."

She wanted to say that we were in a hurry, but before she could even utter the word "hurry," the old man waved his hand, telling them to hurry up and that someone had already died, and that they couldn't afford to delay.

The three people entered the room, where everyone was busy. Bao Ya walked up to a female comrade.

"Comrade, I'm looking for Li Qiang."

"You? What's the matter? Li Qiang is busy right now, why don't you wait a moment?"

The woman looked at the pretty young girl in front of her and wanted to ask who she was and what she wanted, but then thought it was inappropriate and told her to wait inside.

"Please go and tell him that his wife committed suicide."

"What?"

Upon hearing Bao Ya's words, the woman looked shocked. Then, glancing at the two women behind her with red and swollen eyes, she turned and ran inside.

Li Qiang rushed out of the office and ran to Bao Ya as soon as he saw her.

"Bao Ya, your sister..."

Before she could even finish speaking, Bao Ya mustered all her strength, swung her arm, and slapped him across the face.

With a "snap," the entire office fell silent instantly, and everyone turned to look at the two of them.

"You bastard, you beast who drove your wife to her death, I'll beat you to death today!"

Li Qiang hadn't noticed the slap he received. He was about to retaliate when he heard her say the words "forced his wife to death," and his head went blank. His mind was filled with the thought that Huiru was dead.

Taking advantage of this lull, Bao Ya didn't stop, and with her left hand, she slapped his face.

I scratched several bloody marks on his face. I was going to scratch his face raw; he wanted to save face, didn't he? I wasn't going to give him any face.

Bao Ya continued hitting with her hands while yelling and cursing, determined to make sure everyone in the room could hear and to escalate the situation.

"You family of beasts! You drove my sister to her death! I'm not done with you today!"

Everyone in the room was shocked by her words that had driven her sister to her death, and they thought Li Qiang's wife was really dead.

The woman who had just delivered the message suddenly realized what was happening and quickly hugged Bao Ya from behind, pulling her back.

When she was hugged from behind and couldn't reach him with her hands, Bao Ya used her strength to kick and stomp her legs, kicking Li Qiang several more times.

Liu Damei and Liu Erli behind them were dumbfounded. Weren't they supposed to be trying to reason with the leader? Weren't they supposed to win people over with virtue? Why did she strike first?

Bao Ya doesn't care about any of that. If she can take action, she'll take action first; if she can't, she'll talk about reason. What she does depends on the actual situation; she's not that rigid.

I was so angry after what I heard at the hospital. If I don't vent, she'll become depressed. For her own mental health, I'd better have a fight first.