When Song Baogen got home that evening, he told Song Yinhua about Han Zhiyuan being beaten.
"Sister, I did as you said. During lunchtime when there were many people, I told Li Er that Han Zhiyuan and Li Er's wife had been caught. After hearing this, Li Er was furious and rushed to the machinery factory where Han Zhiyuan worked, beating him so badly that he ended up in the clinic. Now everyone at Han Zhiyuan's workplace knows about his affair with Li Er's wife."
Song Baogen became more and more excited as he spoke.
"Big sister, how can you be so sure that Li Er will definitely go and beat up Han Zhiyuan?"
"What man can stand being cuckolded?"
Song Yinhua spoke as she worked, packing the dried wild vegetables into bags.
“Li Er is a butcher, and he’s a bit more aggressive than others. I’ve bought pork from his stall a few times, and he rarely lets his wife come with him. When he does bring her, some customers make fun of her, and he’s even gotten into arguments with them. If he suddenly heard that his wife was caught in the act with another man, how could he tolerate it?”
In her past life, she had heard Han Zhiyuan tell her about Xie Daguang and Li Er's wife. He said that Li Er learned about his wife's affair with Xie Daguang from someone else and immediately rushed over and beat Xie Daguang up.
Xie Daguang's mother called a group of her nephews to smash up Li Er's meat stall and beat Li Er up as well.
After that, his wife openly got together with Xie Daguang. Li Er was so angry that he often beat his wife, but no matter how much he beat her, she refused to break up with Xie Daguang.
When Han Zhiyuan went home and told her these gossips, he treated them as jokes.
"Big sister, Han Zhiyuan was beaten so badly by Li Er, and now everyone knows about him and Li Er's wife being caught. Will he stop trying to take advantage of you?" Song Baogen asked.
Song Yinhua shook her head. "I don't know."
Song Baogen clenched his fists. "Big sister, if he dares to make a move on you again, I'll personally beat him up. If one beating isn't enough, I'll beat him up twice. I'll beat him until he behaves himself!"
For Song Baogen, he and his father both only knew how to use their fists.
Song Yinhua said to her younger brother very seriously, "Baogen, remember this: no matter what happens in the future, never fight with anyone. Even if someone provokes you, don't act impulsively."
In his previous life, his younger brother Song Baogen impulsively fought to stand up for his family, which led to trouble, a prison sentence, a divorce from his wife, and the breakdown of his family.
"I'm not impulsive, how could I be impulsive!" Song Baogen felt his temper was very stable. "Big sister, I just wanted to protect her..."
"What are you two siblings talking about in there?" Qiao Guilan suddenly appeared. "Baogen, as soon as you get home, you're chattering away with your older sister. Your older sister has a lot on her plate. Don't always bother her. Spend more time with your boyfriend."
Song Baogen made a face at his mother and ran away.
Qiao Guilan looked at her son running away with doting eyes, her face full of undisguised joy. "Yinhua, seeing how good your relationship is, I'm relieved. Your father always scolds me in private, saying that I'm biased towards your brother and that it's affecting your relationship."
“Mom, I’m so happy that you’re good to Baogen, because I also want Baogen to have a good life.”
“Yinhua, you are so sensible. Your dad has said a lot of things behind my back, saying that I only care about your brother and not you daughters. He has scolded me so many times.”
Qiao Guilan poured out her grievances to Song Yinhua, complaining about her husband, Song Erzhuang.
"Your dad is never home. Mom has to take care of everything inside and outside the house, and she also has to look after you and your siblings. How can Mom manage? You're the eldest in the family, so I can only ask you to help take care of your younger siblings so that Mom can work properly. Your dad is just talking without any sense of responsibility!"
Song Yinhua listened quietly without responding.
"Yinhua, why aren't you saying anything?" Qiao Guilan asked.
“Dad’s never home because he’s out working to earn money.” Song Yinhua noticed that her mother, Qiao Guilan’s, words were inflammatory and suggestive.
In her past life, she hadn't noticed these things. Every time she heard her mother complain about her father, she felt sorry for how hard her mother had worked and how much she had worried about the family and its children.
Qiao Guilan was taken aback when she saw that her eldest daughter wasn't comforting her like before. She then turned to look at Song Caixing in the main room, "Little Fourth!"
Song Caixing was wiping the table in the main room, waiting for her father to come home so they could have dinner soon.
"Song Caixing!" Qiao Guilan called out again.
"Mom!" Song Caixing ran over. "You called me?"
Qiao Guilan repeated what she had just said to Song Yinhua to her, "Caixing, do you also think Mom is wrong? Your dad is never home, and the family relies entirely on Mom. It's only right that Mom suffers and works hard. Is it right for your dad to scold your mom?"
"Mom, you did nothing wrong. Dad shouldn't have said that to you. Dad was wrong in this matter."
"Caixing, you're still the most considerate," Qiao Guilan said with satisfaction. "Your dad is just all talk and no action; he never asks about anything at home and just blames Mom!"
Praised by her mother, Song Caixing sided with Qiao Guilan even more, "Mom, you're right. Dad is just talking without understanding the situation. He doesn't care about you at all. Dad is too much. He has a bad temper and even hits people..."
"That's your dad! How can you talk about your own father like that?" Qiao Guilan suddenly turned her attention to Song Caixing, "Caixing, how can you talk about your dad like that? He works himself to the bone outside just to support you and your siblings. You little selfish brat, how can you look down on your dad like that!"
Song Caixing was dumbfounded.
Wasn't it because her own mother said bad things about her father and asked her to judge the matter, that she spoke up for her mother out of concern for her?
How did it become that she's bad?
Qiao Guilan stormed off, and Song Caixing looked at Song Yinhua with a wronged expression, "Big sister, I didn't look down on Dad, I just... I felt sorry for Mom..."
"Caixing, from now on, no matter who Mom says bad things about, you can feel sorry for them, you can comfort them, but don't take their side," Song Yinhua instructed her fourth sister.
“You’ve said before that Dad was being unreasonable, but Mom never scolded you like that!” Song Caixing said, her voice trembling with grievance. “Just because you go to work and earn money, Mom can’t bear to say anything to you? If I don’t earn money, Mom will dislike me?”
Song Caixing ran back to her room and lay on the bed crying.
Song Yinhua recalled her fourth sister Song Caixing's words. In her previous life, when her mother complained to her, besides feeling sorry for her and comforting her, she would sometimes be just like Song Caixing, unable to distinguish right from wrong and agreeing with her mother's words to criticize her father. Indeed, her mother Qiao Guilan had never scolded her.
After finishing primary school, she went to work as an apprentice in a small workshop in town, and she would give her monthly wages to her family.
She worked there for ten years until Baogen graduated from high school last year but failed to get a job at the state-owned machinery factory in town, and then he took over her job.
The large factories in town are only accessible to graduates through job placement or by passing exams; other people generally cannot get in.
The place where she worked was a small workshop that had just opened and was short of staff. Her parents used their connections to get her a job as an apprentice.
Baogen failed the factory exam, so her parents wanted her to work in the small workshop where she worked. However, the workshop owner said they couldn't hire that many people, and they could only hire one of the siblings.
In the end, her parents let Baogen take her place, since she was of marriageable age, and the workshop owner was naturally happy to see it happen.
During the ten years she worked, her mother, Qiao Guilan, rarely scolded her.
She got married less than a year after Baogen took over her job.
After marrying Han Zhiyuan, she had no time to go back to her parents' home except to borrow money, so her contact with her mother, Qiao Guilan, naturally became very rare.
Her life after marriage was miserable. Her mother, Qiao Guilan, felt sorry for her and secretly helped her out. Later, her younger brother Baogen's wife found out and made a scene at their door.
"Yinhua, why are you still standing here? What are you thinking about?" Qiao Guilan rushed in. "Go quickly and pour some water. Matchmaker Wang and Han Zhiyuan's mother are here again."
"They're here again?"
Qiao Guilan glanced at her daughter and said, "They didn't come for you this time, they came for Caixing."
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