Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

Under the pitch-black night sky, a tractor chugs along the bumpy dirt road leading from Xiangyang Commune to the neighboring county.

The tractor's headlights were on, illuminating the way for the cyclists behind.

Of course, the cyclists didn't rely entirely on the tractor's headlights for illumination; they also wore a miner's lamp.

"Mother, don't worry, Yunlan will be alright. We'll travel through the night and see Yunlan before dawn."

The tractor bumped along the dirt road, the cold wind whistling past, making a "whooshing" sound in my ears.

Huang Zhifang sat in the tractor's back, wrapped in a quilt, and couldn't help but shed tears again.

Li Yunmei sat next to Huang Zhifang. She knew that her mother was worried about her fourth sister who had married far away, so she quickly comforted her.

It's about a hundred miles from their home to the neighboring county. They set off around nine o'clock in the evening. Although it's freezing cold and the dirt road is bumpy, they're sure they can reach their fourth sister, Li Yunlan, before dawn tomorrow.

"How can I not worry? I forbade her to marry so far away, but Yunlan is disobedient, sigh..."

As Huang Zhifang spoke, he couldn't help but sigh again.

Thinking back, she was adamant about not allowing Li Yunlan to marry far away, and even threatened to drink pesticide or hang herself if Li Yunlan did, intending to force her to commit suicide. But who knew that Li Yunlan would become pregnant before marriage...

Now, even if Huang Zhifang disagreed in his heart, he could only agree to the marriage with tears in his eyes.

Although Li Yunlan said she was doing well every time she returned to her parents' home after marrying Wang Yuanchao and moving to a neighboring county, Huang Zhifang could tell that Li Yunlan was not necessarily happy.

Because Li Yunlan had been married for several years, she usually returned to her parents' home alone with her granddaughter Qianqian, while Wang Yuanchao accompanied her only a handful of times.

Moreover, every time Li Yunlan returned to her parents' home, she could sense that Li Yunlan often had a sorrowful look between her brows.

Would she do this if she were doing well over there?

Another point is what the eldest brother, Li Yunshi, and the third brother, Li Yunshan, said to Li Yunlan after they returned home from visiting her in a neighboring county.

The eldest son said that his mother-in-law was cold towards them, and the third son said that Wang Yuanchao vaguely regarded them as poor relatives who came to ask for favors, and was dissatisfied with their visit to Li Yunlan.

So, given how the Wang family mother and son treat the eldest and third sons, how could Li Yunlan possibly fare well over there?

But by then, Li Yunlan and Wang Yuanchao had already consummated their relationship. As a mother, even though she was worried, there was nothing she could do.

But who would have thought that Li Yunlan would now be beaten so badly by Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan that she ended up in the hospital.

Thinking about how her daughter, whom she had raised with great care, had been married into the Wang family for several years, serving her husband, caring for the elderly, and raising Qianqian, only to receive such an outcome, Huang Zhifang felt a pang of heartache in her chest.

"My poor Yunlan..."

Finally, Huang Zhifang couldn't help but burst into tears.

Cai Er and the others, who were riding their bikes, were stunned for a moment upon seeing this.

But after a short while, the bicycle he was pedaling gradually picked up speed.

By the time they arrived at Xinghuo Commune in the neighboring county from Guapigou Village, braving the darkness and bitter cold, the eastern sky was just beginning to lighten.

Although the distance from Guapigou Village to Xinghuo Commune in the neighboring county is only a hundred miles, the transportation conditions now are far from what they would be like twenty or thirty years later. The road was full of potholes, and the means of transportation were tractors and bicycles. It was quite an achievement that they were able to reach Xinghuo Commune before dawn.

Even more surprisingly, Cai Er tripped over a protruding rock halfway down the road while riding his bicycle and fell.

When they arrived at Xinghuo Commune Health Center, Li Yunshan went to inquire which ward Li Yunlan was in.

A nurse on night shift at Xinghuo Commune Health Center was dozing off at the nurses' station desk when she was suddenly woken up by Li Yunshan. She was about to slam her fist on the table and yell at him when she saw several burly men in cotton coats and hats standing behind Li Yunshan. She was especially frightened to see that Li Yunshan and Li Yunshi were carrying hunting rifles. She lowered her hand that she had raised to slam the table.

"Comrade, what's going on here...?"

The nurse's voice even trembled as she spoke.

"Nurse, we came from Xiangyang Commune in Qinghe County overnight. We were worried about encountering wild animals at night, so we brought two hunting rifles for self-defense. Don't worry, we are hunters from the village and we all have gun licenses. We are not highway robbers."

Seeing the nurse's nervousness, Li Yunshan quickly explained in a soft voice.

"oh!"

The nurse responded with a surprised and doubtful sound.

"Excuse me, is there a woman named Li Yunlan who has been admitted to your Xinghuo Commune Health Center? We are her family members. We learned about her hospitalization at home, so we rushed over to visit her overnight."

"Oh, so you're Li Yunlan's family. She's in the ward at the very end of the corridor. Please come over. However, we still have patients in the hospital, and since there are so many of you, you can't make a lot of noise in the hospital."

The nurse pointed to a ward at the end of the corridor.

"Thanks."

Li Yunshan thanked him and then led the way, and the group rushed towards the ward at the end of the corridor.

"Oh my god, this is going to be interesting."

Seeing Li Yunshan and his group rushing towards the ward at the end of the corridor, the nurse couldn't help but say something.

"What's the show?"

At this moment, another nurse came out of the break room. After hearing what the first nurse had said, she rubbed her eyes, which were not fully open yet, and asked.

"At the end of the corridor, there's the female patient who was admitted to our health center yesterday afternoon. She's Li Yunlan, who was beaten black and blue and had several stitches in her head. Her family members traveled over a hundred miles overnight from Xiangyang Commune in Qinghe County. There were eight or nine strong men, two of whom were carrying hunting rifles. Do you think the people who beat her will have a good ending?"

"Wow, she got beaten up and now so many of her family members are backing her up. Maybe, like you said, there's going to be a good show."

The nurse, whose eyes were not yet fully open, suddenly brightened up upon hearing this shocking news, and all sleepiness vanished.

"We'll just have to wait and see. I said yesterday that this wouldn't end well, but nobody believed me."

……

When Li Yunshan and his group arrived at the ward at the very end of the corridor, the door was ajar, and the light from the electric light shone through the crack.

Li Yunshan pushed open the door and went in, followed by Huang Zhifang, Li Yunmei and others.

In the large ward, there were three beds. Li Yunlan was lying on the middle bed, while the other two beds were empty.

The sudden noise inside the room startled Li Yunlan awake. She opened her eyes and looked around in disbelief, thinking she was dreaming.

Before Li Yunlan could react, Huang Zhifang saw that Li Yunlan had a bruised and swollen face, bruises on her lips, and a bandage wrapped around her head with a faint bloodstain on it. She immediately disregarded her fatigue from the long journey and hugged Li Yunlan tightly.

"Yunlan, my poor, unfortunate daughter!"

Huang Zhifang's cries echoed in the ward.

Only then did Li Yunlan realize that she was not dreaming at all; her family members—her mother, her eldest and third brothers, and her second sister—had really come.

She glanced at the people behind her eldest brother, Li Yunshi: Zhang Sange, Cai Er, Zhao Shuanzhu, Peng Youlian, and Wu Shenghong. These were all hunters from the village, her family members who had watched her grow up.

These were the same people who saw her off when she got married.

And now, they've all come.

"Mother, sob sob sob..."

Upon seeing her family members appear in the ward, Li Yunlan couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears while hugging Huang Zhifang.

"Silly child, why are you crying? Your mother is here. Your eldest brother, third brother, eldest sister, and so many brothers who watched you grow up are here too. If you have any grievances, just tell me. Your mother will stand up for you. Your eldest brother, second sister, third brother, and so many brothers will stand up for you."

Although Huang Zhifang was shedding tears, he was also comforting Li Yunlan.

"Fourth Sister, tell me, how did that bastard Wang Yuanchao and his mother Feng Cuilan bully you? I'm going to make them pay ten times... no, a hundred times over. If I don't beat them up, I'm not your big brother."

Seeing Li Yunlan's bruised and swollen face, with gauze wrapped around her head and blood seeping through it, Li Yunshi's eyes widened in fury, and he said through gritted teeth.

"Don't worry, Third Brother will definitely get revenge for you. Our Li family's daughter isn't someone to be bullied."

"Fourth sister, don't be afraid, your second sister is here."

Li Yunshan and Li Yunmei also said angrily.

"Yunlan, tell us what's wrong. We'll back you up. We guarantee Wang Yuanchao won't be able to turn the tables."

"Brother Zhang is right. We were the ones who escorted you to your wedding. Now that Wang Yuanchao dares to lay a hand on you, it's a slap in the face to us, his older brothers."

Zhang Sange, Cai Er, and others also spoke up.

Back then, Li Yunlan's wedding was a grand affair. Because she was marrying far away, her family was worried that she would be bullied in her husband's family, so they, as her family, escorted her to the wedding.

Now that Li Yunlan is being bullied in her husband's family, they feel ashamed and as if they have been slapped in the face from afar.

Hearing the angry words of her mother, her eldest brother, her third brother, her second sister, and several other older brothers from the village, Li Yunlan felt a warmth in her heart, but she cried even louder.

Huang Zhifang gripped her hand tightly, watching Li Yunlan burst into tears. She wiped away her tears, her eyes red, and said, "Yunlan, tell me, how did Wang Yuanchao and Feng Cuilan bully you?"

Li Yunlan's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at the familiar faces surrounding her. Among them were her mother, her brothers and sisters, and several villagers who had watched her grow up and treated her like a younger sister. They had even seen her off when she got married. She felt everyone's concern for her and suddenly realized how foolish she had been to marry so far away.