Back to my 1980s

"Hurry, hurry! Your father is about to get into a fight with someone in the threshing ground! You have to come with me!"

The man shouted a few words, then noticed Song Zhiqiang standing in the yard. He quickly walked over, grabbed Song Zhiqiang's arm, and urged him on urgently.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hua was startled and quickly looked at Song Zhiqiang. Song Xueping, who was standing next to him, also looked over at the same time, her face changing color.

Upon hearing that his father had gotten into a conflict, Song Zhiqiang's dazed expression vanished instantly. He glared at his father, vigorously wiped the water droplets from his face, and shouted angrily, "Damn it! Let's see who dares to touch my dad!" After cursing, he hurriedly left with the woman.

Song Xueping was filled with anxiety. This was not her place to get involved. If she rushed over rashly, she would be sent back and might even be scolded.

She glanced at Zhao Hua instinctively, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.

Zhao Hua naturally couldn't stand idly by while Song's father got into a conflict with someone. He had been to the threshing ground of Hongguang Brigade and knew where Song's father was. He immediately whispered to Song Xueping, "You wait at home and don't wander around. I'll go see what's going on."

Song Xueping's panicked expression calmed down a little, and she nodded to Zhao Hua, saying, "Okay, then be careful and don't act rashly."

Zhao Hua responded and turned to run after Song Zhiqiang.

A crowd had already gathered in the threshing ground, and Zhao Hua could hear the shouting and cursing from a great distance.

Song Zhiqiang had already rushed in front of his father, who was red-faced and swollen-necked, pointing at the person opposite him and cursing loudly. His face was bulging with veins. If someone hadn't stopped him, he would have already started fighting.

Song's mother glared angrily from the side, talking indignantly to the person next to her.

Zhao Hua only vaguely understood when he got close to Song's mother that the family drying wheat in the neighboring threshing ground happened to be winnowing and bagging their wheat that morning. Since Song's threshing ground was downwind, when they winnowed their wheat, the chaff, straw, and dirt were all blown into Song's wheat pile by the wind.

When Song's father tried to remind them, the family thought he was being nosy and completely disregarded his words. They kept cursing and deliberately acted even more aggressively, which led to the conflict.

Zhao Hua, who was standing to the side, was speechless when he heard the reason. He was amazed that there were such awful people. He quickly rushed forward to stand in front of Song's father.

He's from another village and isn't married to Song Xueping. People from other villages are now ostracized. If he takes the initiative to stand up for them, he'll be in the wrong even if he's in the right. If people call on someone from another village to come and bully others, the Song family will be implicated.

But standing in front of Song's father is no problem. Not only can he protect his future father-in-law, but if anyone dares to mess with Zhao Hua, then Zhao Hua will have a reason to let them taste whether being 1.8 meters tall is for nothing.

Zhao Hua felt Song's father pulling and tugging at him from behind. He glanced back and carefully examined Song's father, seeing no signs of being beaten. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Uncle, just watch from the side. Let Brother Qiang talk to them."

Seeing that more and more people were gathering around them, and that Song Zhiqiang and the people opposite were being held back, so that nothing would happen for the time being, Song's father finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zhao Hua, asking, "Why are you here?"

"I heard from people at home that you had a fight with someone, so I came over to see if there was anything I could do to help."

Mr. Song nodded, then turned to the person next to him and said, "Damn it, I'm so angry. I didn't say anything when they first brought it over, thinking that we're all from the same village and would run into each other all the time, so I went and gave them a heads-up."

"I never expected that if I hadn't said anything, things would have been better. They got even more worked up and deliberately threw dirt into my wheat pile. How can anyone bully people like that?"

A villager nearby said, "Oh well, forget it, let it go. Everyone knows their family. They have a lot of brothers, so they act all high and mighty. Everyone in the village is annoyed by their family."

A moment later, Zhao Hua saw two old men approaching. The villagers automatically made way for them. After the two men came over and learned what had happened from Song's father, they scolded the family next door and gave them a few warnings. The family immediately quieted down, but they still seemed somewhat indignant.

After the two men left, the villagers gradually dispersed, leaving only a few villagers to talk to Song's father. Zhao Hua stood aside and watched silently.

"Whose child is this? He looks a little unfamiliar to me," one of the villagers asked, tilting his head and nodding at Zhao Hua.

Mr. Song put his arm around Zhao Hua's shoulder and laughed, "Our Qiangzi's friend, from Shuanghuai, always brings big bags and packages whenever he comes over—canned goods, cigarettes, alcohol, and all that stuff." He then turned to Zhao Hua and said, "Next time you come, you're not allowed to bring anything! I welcome you as a person, but if you bring anything again, I'll kick you out!"

Zhao Hua chuckled and casually pulled out a pack of cigarettes, scattering them around. He had bought the Daqianmen brand from the county bus station. When Song's father saw this, his smile deepened. Several old men even casually tucked the cigarettes behind their ears, reluctant to smoke them on the spot.

After chatting for a while, the group dispersed. Mr. Song patted Zhao Hua on the shoulder and went with Mrs. Song to winnow the wheat for bagging.

Zhao Hua and Song Zhiqiang helped out and waited for a while. The family next door hadn't left yet, and Zhao Hua was worried about leaving them now.

After packing a bag of wheat, Zhao Hua walked up to Song Zhiqiang, who had only finished half of the work and then hid away to slack off, and said with a smile, "Why don't you take this bag of wheat back with the cart? I wonder if your sister has received the news yet. She must be worried sick. We also need to deal with the pheasants. I'll keep an eye on things here for you."

Song Zhiqiang stood up, patted his bottom, and laughed, "Okay! I'll go back first and have Xiaoping bring the cart back later." After this incident, his tone was more intimate than before.

After saying goodbye to his mother, Song Zhiqiang pushed the cart home.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Xiao Zhao." Song's mother looked at Zhao Hua with a smile.

Zhao Hua smiled and nodded, helping Song's mother hold the sack open so she could fill it with wheat.

A moment later, Song Xueping slowly pushed a cart over from a distance, with a basket on it. She glanced at Zhao Hua as she got closer, then hurriedly looked away and said to her mother, "Mother! I brought the food."

Upon hearing this, Song's mother hurriedly called to Song's father and Zhao Hua, "The food has been brought over. Come and eat first! You can work after you finish eating." As she spoke, she walked to the cart, took down the basket, which contained cucumber salad and a few steamed buns, with a water bottle next to it.

Mr. Song put down the wooden shovel in his hand, called to Zhao Hua, and the two walked together toward the cart.

The four sat under the shade of a tree. Song Xueping handed Zhao Hua a cornbread, which Zhao Hua took and put in his mouth. He was indeed a little hungry after all the commotion he had done so early in the morning.

Mr. Song greeted Zhao Hua with a smile and urged him to eat. Worried that Zhao Hua would be embarrassed to eat if he didn't start eating, he first picked up a piece of cucumber and put it in his mouth.

The moment it entered his mouth, his face contorted in disgust. After chewing a few times and swallowing, he exclaimed, "Who made this cucumber salad? It's so salty!"