The old man with gray hair and a sallow and sunken face, after a heart-wrenching cough, looked at the several palm-sized small fish and a fist-sized piece of ginger in the basket, and his turbid eyes instantly became misty.
Seeing the grandparents and grandchildren hugging each other and crying, a skinny couple with sunken cheeks in the cowshed couldn't help but wipe their tears and began to persuade them.
"Uncle Qin, Xiaoyi is still wet. Hurry up and take the child inside to change clothes. We'll go make ginger soup."
"Hey, sorry to bother you guys, Xiao He and Xiao Su."
......
"Second brother, you really have the heart to ignore your parents for that bitch from another family. We are a family."
It was a hot day, and after walking back and forth like this, Du Xiaoying's clothes were almost dry. Then she heard that familiar, sarcastic voice, and her face suddenly turned cold.
"Hey, old lady, what bad things are you saying about me while I'm away?"
"mom."
The fourth and fifth girls hurried out and repeated what Old Lady Song had said one by one.
Old Lady Song stamped her feet and glared, "You two debt collectors, why are you so talkative?"
Du Xiaoying protected her daughter who was cowering in fear. "Go, go into the house with your sisters and go to bed early."
"Second brother, look at this bitch. She doesn't even take me, her mother-in-law, seriously. You—"
"That's enough! Mom, there's a limit to your unreasonable behavior."
Song Guoliang interrupted in a deep voice and forcibly pulled my mother away with a tough attitude.
"Second brother, look at that bitch——"
Song Guoliang warned in a cold voice, "Mother! I married my wife to live with me, not for you to bully. Don't come here again."
Old Mrs. Song had a breath stuck in her throat, unable to breathe out or go out.
.....
Du Xiaoying was in a better mood and became gentler towards men. However, she was still frightened when she mentioned what happened in the evening.
"Thinking about it now, I still feel a chill. If I hadn't been by the river, if that child had died, his grandfather would have been... Those people in the cowshed were all pitiful people. If it hadn't been for—"
Song Guoliang remained expressionless and narrowed his eyes.
Why did he remember that his wife grew up in the mountains, and...it seemed like she couldn't swim.
Du Xiaoying froze in the middle of her words, turned over with her back to the man, and changed the subject, "From now on, you must remind our daughters to stay away from the river."
"Um."
Du Xiaoying slapped her lips in annoyance, but was secretly glad that the man didn't become suspicious, and breathed a sigh of relief.
mid-July
The weather is hot and dry, and even the wind is hot.
The sun is so strong that women have to wear long sleeves and long pants when working in the fields no matter how hot it is. Otherwise, their skin will be sunburned in half a day.
Du Xiaoying was wrapped up tightly all over, with beads of sweat running down her forehead, neck and back. She watered the last piece of land and then walked back carrying the shoulder pole.
"Da Ya's mother, please go to the village entrance and take a look."
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her sisters-in-law hesitating, Du Xiaoying was shocked and ran away.
There was a crowd of people under the big locust tree at the entrance of the village.
"The old hen that doesn't lay eggs has cut off the family line for my second son. In the past, those hens would have been divorced and beaten to death with sticks..." Old Mrs. Song cursed with a shrill voice.
"Old woman, what's your intention in openly promoting feudal superstition?" Du Xiaoying sneered and slowly walked out of the crowd.
"You, you bitch, stop talking nonsense. I don't have any of that. You're just throwing dirty water on me."
"Just because you said you wanted to divorce me, I'd be beaten to death... You're openly opposing the party that liberated the people. You deserve to be killed!"
"Bah, you are the pig. Look at this evil woman. She is calling me a pig in front of so many people." Old Mrs. Song jumped up and down excitedly and cursed as if she had caught something.
Du Xiaoying, “….”
"Captain, Old Lady Song is publicly promoting the evil feudal society that oppresses and exploits the working people. Do you mind?"
Captain Zhao Lei knew the seriousness of the matter and his expression immediately changed. He angrily shouted, "How dare you promote feudal superstition? I think you want to be sent to the cowshed for reform!"
Old Mrs. Song felt very aggrieved. "When did I say that?"
"Shut up! You still dare to quibble!" Captain Zhao Lei interrupted in a deep voice. This matter could be a big deal or a small one. Once it got out, he, the captain, would also be punished. He glared at Old Lady Song who was still cursing and making a fuss.
"Deduct ten work points from the Song family, and try to yell at me again!"
Old Mrs. Song was stunned, still grinning and crying with her mouth wide open.
Old Mrs. Song shrank her neck, got up from the ground dejectedly, and ran after the gloomy-faced Old Man Song.
Du Xiaoying smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Captain, for upholding justice for me. You are worthy of being the most just and strict captain in our commune."
Captain Zhao Lei's eyebrows twitched and he felt a headache. How come Song Lao Er's wife became so powerful?
He's a real talker, really good at talking.
Looking at the captain's back as he walked away quickly, it seemed like he was running away in a panic?
Du Xiaoying scratched her head in confusion.
"Da Ya Ma, this is what you are doing!" Liu Da Jiao gave a thumbs up. "This is how you treat your mother-in-law, that troublemaker."
Aunt He smiled and pricked up her ears, listening to the howling of ghosts and wolves next door.
"Old man, why did you hit me? It was all that bitch who framed me." Old Mrs. Song covered her head and shrank on the kang.
Old Man Song glared and banged on the kang with a feather duster, "Why did I marry a brainless thing like you? If you don't control your mouth, I'll sew you up!"
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