Chapter Twenty: Trembling with Angry
It was almost August, and even though it was morning, the heat was still intense. The newly arrived educated youth were assigned to weed the fields, and the farm tools they were given were a few somewhat rusty hand shovels.
Because she was wearing work gloves and had done farm work in her previous life, Shen Yuzhu worked very skillfully. Qiao Wangshu was even more skilled, like a veteran. Shen Yuzhu felt that if she hadn't been assigned so many plots of land, she could have harvested two more acres.
Although the other newly arrived educated youth did not do very well, they persevered through gritted teeth, upholding a heart dedicated to building the country and not wanting to be looked down upon by their fellow villagers.
Even Lin Wanwan, who was usually quiet, persisted like an ant, showing no intention of asking for help.
Only Wang Yanhong, with her occasional "Ouch, ouch," was extremely irritating.
Wearing a straw hat, Lü Guangzhi looked at the newly arrived educated youth on the ridge of the field and nodded. It seemed that he had made up his mind too early. Although the new educated youth were a bit slow at working, they were all quite hardworking. He thought that it wouldn't be long before they would be able to support themselves like the commune members.
When his pleased eyes glanced at Wang Yanhong, the smile on his face froze.
Never mind, never mind.
There's always that one person who dawdles every year; there's just nothing you can do about it.
He was about to walk to another place when he heard a commotion.
"You brat, I told you to stay home and take care of your little brother. What are you doing out here? Who told you to work here? Get back home right now! If you don't take good care of your brother, I'll beat you to death today!"
Zhang Li glared at Yangyang with a sinister look on his face, raising his hand high, but before he could hit her, he was stopped by someone.
"Don't hit her, don't hit Yangyang. She came here because she was worried I'd get tired. She'll go back right away, she'll go back right away."
"Smack!"
Zhang Li slapped Ma Daya hard across the face, then rained down punches on her.
The villagers were not surprised, but Lü Guangzhi was furious. Even after spending a few days in the commune, he still couldn't change his old habit of beating his wife regardless of the occasion or whether it was day or night. Look how thin his wife is.
If this continues, something terrible is bound to happen!
"Zhang Li, you'd better move in right now..."
"What are you doing? How can you hit someone like that? Is there no law anymore?"
When Qiao Wangshu and Shen Yuzhu ran over, Ma Daya was already lying on the ground. Yangyang was so scared that he kept crying, but even so, he didn't forget to hug his mother tightly.
Shen Yuzhu looked at the person lying on the ground, shivered coldly for a moment, then glared angrily at Zhang Li with bloodshot eyes. Her rationality was burned away, and she disregarded everything else, and went up to beat Zhang Li severely.
Qiao Wangshu and the other commune members who were working were stunned by her actions. Lu Guangzhi was so startled that he jumped and quickly ran over.
I thought the educated youth who came this year were calm and composed, but I didn't expect them to cause trouble for him the next second.
This Zhang Li is not someone to be trifled with. If Shen Zhiqing, with her small frame, were to get punched by him, she would be half dead.
"Where the hell did you come from, you woman, and you dare to hit me?"
Shen Yuzhu was shoved hard, and Qiao Wangshu quickly caught her to prevent her from falling to the ground.
"Waaaaah..."
Zhang Li: "......."
Qiao Wangshu: "..."
Everyone: "........."
What kind of tactic is this? The person who got hit hasn't even cried yet, but the person who hit them is already crying!
"This is outrageous! How can you treat people like this? I'm going to find the women's director, the commune director, and the women's federation in the county. I refuse to believe no one will take action. Even if she's your wife, you can't beat her like this. If everyone learns to beat their wives like you, how will we women survive?"
Qiao Wangshu saw that she was crying so miserably and assumed that she was just spoiled and was frightened by the scene of beating her wife.
Although everyone felt that the little girl shouldn't meddle in other people's family affairs, they also realized that what she said wasn't entirely unreasonable.
If everyone were like Zhang Li, who could live like this?
"That's right. Although it's not right for that young girl to meddle in your family's affairs, Zhang Li, you've hit your wife so hard again. Do you want to go to the commune again and stay for a few days?"
"That's right. Ever since Da Ya married you, she's never had a good skin. Who in the village beats their wife like you? Da Ya has given you five children. For the sake of the children, you shouldn't beat her like this. Be careful that the children don't respect you in the future."
"Your future is still so young. No matter what, think about your son. If Daya dies, your son will be motherless."
......
The villagers tried to persuade Zhang Li, but instead of calming him down, they only fueled his anger. He thought, "That old hag will make me lose face."
"Get this good-for-nothing and get home right now. He's just embarrassing me."
He wanted to kick again after he finished speaking, but seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, he withdrew his leg.
Fearing that he might get angry again and hit Yangyang, Ma Daya staggered to her feet, picked up Yangyang, and ran home.
When Shen Yuzhu stood up, she instinctively wanted to help her up, but before she could go forward, Ma Daya had already run away.
She looked at her emaciated and sallow-faced sister, and was so angry that she trembled all over.
"I'm telling you, if you hit your wife again, I'm going to the Women's Federation. She's a human being, not livestock. Humph, that's terrifying, really terrifying."
As Shen Yuzhu spoke, she walked towards her assigned field. Qiao Wangshu glared at Zhang Li and quickened her pace to catch up with Shen Yuzhu.
After a long while, Lü Guangzhi walked over and patted Zhang Li on the shoulder, blocking Shen Yuzhu's back and causing Zhang Li to lower his fierce eyes.
"That young lady is a newly arrived educated youth. She's very generous. She renovated her own room as soon as she arrived. She was originally thinking of having you make a set of furniture for her. Look, she's quite frightened now. I guess she won't have you make the furniture for her."
"It's all that damned woman Ma Daya's fault, she made me lose a lot of money."
"Shut up your temper. You beat your wife in broad daylight. Look at the state of your wife. Can't you have some decency? Don't embarrass your father. If this gets out of hand, no one will benefit."
He sighed again after he finished speaking, and then comforted her, "That young lady is just a pampered city girl. I bet this is the first time she's ever seen someone beat their wife. Don't cause trouble for her, and don't make things difficult for me, the brigade leader, okay?"
Zhang Li grunted a few times and reluctantly gave an "uh-huh".
Lu Guangzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Li had a bad temper, but once he made a promise, he would keep his word. Even if he was angry, he would only take it out on his own people. As for who those people were, Lu Guangzhi knew in his heart.
In any case, if a newly arrived educated youth is beaten, it could really cause a big fuss, and if the county's educated youth office questions him, he won't know how to explain it.
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