Chapter 51
◎ Bei Bitang almost fainted in the bathhouse due to low blood sugar. In order not to make a fool of herself,
Bei Bitang nearly fainted in the bathhouse due to low blood sugar. In order not to make a fool of herself, she could only focus on washing the important parts and finished her bath quickly.
My heart was beating so fast that my eardrums were ringing with air.
Bei Bitang didn't care about anything else. She wet her hair, went into the kitchen, and lit the coal stove.
Put clean water, ginger slices and brown sugar into the aluminum pot all at once. Bei Bitang wiped her wet hair while stirring the brown sugar ginger water in the pot.
Lin Bilan walked in quietly, stood behind Bei Bitang, turned half her body around, and looked into the pot.
The color is not dark, it seems that Beibitang did not use much brown sugar.
Lin Bilan asked softly, "What are you cooking this for? Little sister, are you having your period?"
Bei Bitang didn't want to talk. She was just relying on one bone to support herself.
Bei Bitang ignored her, and Lin Bilan spoke even louder than usual. She asked in a concerned tone, "Little sister, why are you back so late tonight? Are you feeling unwell because of your period?"
Bei Bitang moved her eyelids weakly and whispered, "No, I was delayed because of something at the small vegetable market."
Li Daqiang asked her to wait for the cleaner to come and clean the public toilet in the small vegetable market before she could leave, and the same would apply in the future.
Bei Bitang thought for a moment and then said, "Big Sister, from now on I..."
I will be back later. Just tell mom and don’t worry.
Bei Bitang didn't have the chance to say this.
"Bitang, do you want to drink brown sugar water every day in the future?"
Lin Bilan's words collided with Bei Bitang's words, and Lin Bilan's speaking speed was not a little bit fast.
She finished what she wanted to say in one breath.
Bei Bitang's reaction was extremely slow at this moment. Bewilderment first flashed across her eyes, and then vigilance and ridicule.
Bei Bitang didn't want to beat around the bush with Lin Bilan, lest she didn't understand.
She said without any hesitation: "Big sister, as long as I don't tell you that I want to find a partner, even if the matchmaker comes, I will kick him out!"
After saying that, Bei Bitang closed the stove and left with the pot.
Huang Dashan first saw Bei Bitang come in with a cold face, and Lin Bilan followed her.
Huang Dashan opened his mouth and asked silently, how is it?
Lin Bilan shook her head dejectedly.
Huang Dashan curled his lips, thinking Lin Bilan was useless.
Bei Bitang felt much better after drinking the brown sugar ginger water, as if a warmth was injected into her body.
She cleaned the pot, made the bed, and went straight to sleep. Before falling asleep, Bei Bitang thought to herself that her patience and endurance were getting better and better. She actually didn't cry today.
As it gets closer to noon and the sun gets stronger, the smell in the small vegetable market becomes stronger and more unpleasant.
Bei Bitang's mouth was so dry that sweat was getting into her eyes. She stood under the eaves, drinking cold water that had been brewed overnight and some Huoxiang Zhengqi liquid.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and breathed a sigh of relief.
Before she could rest for long, Bei Bitang heard on the radio that she had to go to the management office immediately.
Bei Bitang couldn't help but bite her lip, thinking of Li Daqiang's greasy face, which looked like a villain who had succeeded. She really didn't want to go, but she had to go. Otherwise, she didn't know how Li Daqiang would deal with her.
When Bei Bitang entered the office, everyone sitting inside couldn't help but wrinkle their noses.
Bei Bitang calmly closed the door tightly with her backhand.
Li Daqiang held his chin high and said, "These are the management directors of other vegetable markets. They've come to our small market specifically to learn. This is Director Huang, this is Director He, and this is Director Xu. Comrade Bei Bitang, the other directors have heard about your deeds and are planning to have you do some publicity work and give a demonstration at their markets."
Bei Bitang lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Director Huang stroked his chin, looked at Bei Bitang, and said with a haughty tone, "I heard you gave Director Li a military order, saying you must win the title of Hygiene Model, and you're even daring to challenge for the title of Moral Model. Humph, you really don't know your place! If you don't do a good job of promoting our market, you won't get a single certificate this year. Then I'll hold a meeting to criticize you!"
Director Huang was a man who used chicken feathers as a token of authority. Like Li Daqiang, he loved to show off, but he acted in a completely different way.
Li Daqiang doesn't like to bother with small people unless there's a profit to be made. He's also sloppy at work, just getting by. As long as he's not the last one, being the second to last is fine. When he meets someone of a higher status than him, he'll bow and scrape, wishing he could be used as a stool for them.
Director Huang, on the other hand, is particularly finicky. He sees ordinary people as nitpicking. He wants to be associated with the rich and powerful, yet he's also particularly concerned about his reputation. He's cynical and believes he's exceptionally noble and different. He hopes others will actively appreciate him, and if they don't treat him specially, he'll act like he's underappreciated.
With his personality, if the opportunity arises, he will not stop until he has brought the sky down. If he meets someone he dislikes, he will not stop until he has killed them all.
He was still safe and sound until now. This was because his mother used to keep him under control. If she told him to go out and stir up trouble, do something unscrupulous, or not work properly, she would run into him and die.
Director Huang initially dismissed his mother's words. This was a golden opportunity. He had a clean record. His family came from a shantytown, and even his immediate relatives were impoverished. If someone wanted revenge, they couldn't do anything to him. He had no leverage to attack.
The old lady was an illiterate old woman with bound feet, who could recite Buddhist scriptures as thick as a brick by heart, and was a vegetarian all year round. Her character was far beyond that of ordinary people, and she would bump into people at will.
He was rushed to the hospital for a week before being saved. This earned Director Huang a peaceful life for the next ten years.
The old lady passed away with a smile on her face at the end of 1977. Director Huang started to get excited again, wanting to satisfy his urge to criticize and fight people.
Bei Bitang's heart was very calm. There was nothing she could do if she wasn't calm. She needed this job.
Li Daqiang smiled and said, "I reported this to Section Chief Zhang, and he asked me to fully cooperate with the directors. Don't worry, directors, even though Comrade Bei Bitang is one of us, if she can't do something, you can scold her if necessary. Don't be polite!"
There are many people who say such polite words, but most of them mean it in a sarcastic way.
Li Daqiang's ferocious tone let everyone know that he was serious. They could order Bei Bitang around, or use her as a punching bag. The more miserable she was, the happier he was.
Two of the more upright directors looked at each other, wondering how this young comrade had offended Li Daqiang.
They all worked in the same system, so everyone knew each other. Li Daqiang and the others had never looked down on him. But who told him to get close to Section Chief Zhang? Director sounds more important than Section Chief, but it depends on which place the director is from, or which department the section chief is from.
Bei Bitang accepted the arrangement. During breaks at work, she had to brave the scorching sun, squeeze on the bus, and go to another vegetable market to attend a meeting with others. She set an example by cleaning the toilet first.
Bei Bitang could tolerate all of this, but the fact that she had to go out every day and her transportation wasn't reimbursed made her worried. She had a feeling that she might not be able to keep this job for long.
Bei Bitang had just adapted to the intensity of the work of running back and forth when her superiors sent people to inspect the sanitation work.
The other party seemed to come with a magnifying glass. Bei Bitang had been nervous for several days. She finally understood what her mother meant by wearing white gloves to check the cleanliness, but she was not the one wearing the white gloves.
Bei Bitang hadn't had a chance to relax for more than half a month, and Zeng Linlin was afraid that Bei Bitang was living too easily.
One after another, the people in the small vegetable market understood Bei Bitang's situation. She had offended a big shot.
Bei Bitang's life at the small vegetable market was becoming increasingly difficult. Not only was Li Daqiang making things difficult for her at work, but everyone else was also watching her with indifference. Not speaking to her was a minor issue; a large number of people even avoided her, fearing she would be affected by her bad luck, or perhaps even by Bei Bitang's influence.
Only those customers who come to buy fish frequently and occasionally see Bei Bitang can get a smile and a greeting from her.
Bei Bitang was sitting in the sun, holding a broom and looking at the sky. She felt very sad and thought that if she didn't move back to the fish stall, even her regular customers would gradually forget her over time.
Life has taught Bei Bitang to gradually learn to read people's expressions and understand the thoughts behind their faces.
That morning, during lunch break, Bei Bitang went to the water room in the small vegetable market to get some water. She felt that the way her colleagues looked at her was not right.
She walked past them without changing her expression, and after taking a few steps, she heard whispers behind her.
When Bei Bitang turned around, everyone stared at her with wide eyes.
Those who have their mouths open should close their mouths, those who are looking at the sky should look at the sky, and those who are looking at the ground should look at the ground.
Bei Bitang felt something was wrong, but she couldn't ask directly about her current situation.
She seized the opportunity and stood directly in front of a soft-hearted old lady after she finished using the toilet.
Bei Bitang smiled and asked softly, "Aunt Yang, is there anything about me today? Can you tell me?"
The old lady's face was hard and she said indifferently, "No."
After saying that, he turned sideways and tried to bypass Bei Bitang.
Bei Bitang eagerly pulled the other person's arm and said pleadingly, "Aunt Yang, please tell me. Good deeds will be rewarded."
The old lady lowered her head and looked at Bei Bitang's hands. Her originally delicate hands were now peeling, pale, and swollen.
When Bei Bitang first came, the old ladies whispered to each other, saying that looking at this little girl's tender hands, she would die crying in a few days.
Unexpectedly, Bei Bitang not only did it, but her pair of breasts remained unchanged, still as white and slender as juicy scallions.
But now, the old lady softened her heart. She pulled Bei Bitang to a quiet place and said in a low voice, "Bitang, why are you so foolish and have no self-respect? You're not even married yet, and you're doing things that only husband and wife can do. If this happened two years ago, you would have been arrested and interrogated if people knew about it..."
Bei Bitang's ears were buzzing, and she could no longer understand what the old aunt said next.
She only remembered the old lady's advice. When she left, she forced a smile and mechanically thanked her.
This is a rumor! Zeng Linlin must have asked Li Daqiang to spread it in the small vegetable market!
Although Zeng Linlin kept biting her, she initially thought it was because of Xu Zeli, but later she realized that it was more because she had embarrassed Zeng Linlin that day.
This is probably the first time that a proud and arrogant young lady like Zeng Linlin has been so humiliated.
Zeng Linlin always had a reason for causing trouble for her, not just for no reason. She came to throw money at him because Xu Zeli was getting in the way, lying to her that she had been using money as an excuse to pester him.
This time, the slander against her innocence might have been fabricated by Zeng Linlin. It must have been the lingering ghost Xu Zeli who gave Zeng Linlin some connection!
Maybe Xu Zeli did it on purpose! Did they have sex? How could Xu Zeli not know?
Even though she knew Xu Zeli was full of lies and never told the truth in front of her and Zeng Linlin, she never thought Xu Zeli could still make up such a rumor.
What good would this do him? She racked her brains and couldn't figure it out. If he were innocent and a virgin, wouldn't he be able to sell himself for a better price?
All I can say is that she wanted Zeng Linlin to vent all her anger on her so that she could protect herself.
Thinking of this, Bei Bitang was so angry that her teeth were itching. If Xu Zeli appeared in front of her now, she would definitely dump the basket in the public toilet over his head.
She even felt that it would dirty her hands when she beat him.
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