Captain Wu isn't some naive idiot; you can't expect him to side with anyone just by throwing a tantrum. "Ji Dagang, step forward and explain what's going on. What should we do about this?"
Ji Dagang tried to pull his wife up from the ground, but Sun Lan refused to get up even after he tried twice.
Sun Lan: "I was blind to have chosen such a useless person like you. What's the point of living with you?"
Ji Dagang said hesitantly, "Captain, Xiaochun gave Sun Dabao her pen and notebook voluntarily. She was also willing to give up her opportunity to go to school to Sun Dabao."
Ji Xiaochun stared wide-eyed at her brother as if she didn't recognize him.
As soon as Ji Dagang said this, the surroundings suddenly fell silent.
Sun Lan stood up from the ground with a smug look on her face.
"Why should Xiaochun give up her learning opportunity to Sun Dabao?" If it weren't for the self-control he had cultivated over the years, Captain Wu would have wanted to kick Ji Dagang to death.
“It’s no use for a girl to study so much. She’ll get married sooner or later anyway,” Ji Dagang said.
Ji Xiaochun's tears fell in pairs.
“The girl has to get married, but Sun Dabao doesn’t have to. He can marry into the family. Sun Dabao is a son of your Ji family!” Captain Wu asked.
Ji Dagang was stunned for a moment.
Sun Lan became anxious: "Da Bao is my younger brother, and Xiao Chun is Da Gang's younger sister. They're all of equal distance. But Da Bao is a boy, and he'll definitely be more successful in the future. He'll be better to his brother-in-law. A girl is nothing, what use is she?"
Ji Dagang did not refute, which meant he agreed with Sun Lan's words.
The captain was also quite disappointed, not expecting Ji Dagang to be so clueless and ruthless.
Sun Lan's words successfully sparked discussion among everyone. No one expected Ji Dagang to be so muddle-headed.
Captain Wu gestured for everyone to be quiet. "I'm going to announce something now: as long as I'm the captain, this rule will remain in effect."
Our village's literacy class is only for children from our village; children from other villages aren't even allowed to audit. All of you, get back home!
Sun Dabao also used our literacy class's pens and notebooks. Ji Dagang, I'll deduct that directly from your work points.
“Captain… Da Bao…” Ji Dagang hadn’t expected this outcome.
Captain Wu can be quite intimidating when he gets angry. "Women hold up half the sky, that's been proven. Anyone who continues to promote feudal ideas of valuing sons over daughters, I won't let them off the hook."
"And you!" The brigade leader pointed at Ji Dagang. "No matter how much of a girl Ji Xiaochun is, she's still a girl from our Qingshan Brigade. And no matter how precious Sun Dabao is, he can go back to his Hexi Brigade and be treasured there; he's nothing to me."
Sun Lan: "..."
Because of the brigade leader's decision, several women began to hate Sun Lan. Before, they only thought she had gone too far. Now, because of her, their plans had fallen through.
Attending the commune's primary school required paying tuition. These women planned to bring their nephews over so they could learn to read and write for free. They had no intention of taking advantage of the brigade or using pens and notebooks for free like the other village children; that was simply out of the question.
Because everything Sun Lan did fell through.
As the brigade leader finished speaking and was about to leave, Sun Lan grabbed his sleeve, saying, "Putting everything else aside, my brother and I were beaten up, so you have to pay compensation."
Li Yuanzhao stepped forward: "Captain, look!" Li Yuanzhao rolled up Ji Xiaochun's sleeve, revealing several scars on her arm.
"Who did this?" the captain asked. "Ji Dagang, who beat your sister like this?"
Ji Dagang was so frightened that he dared not speak.
"It was his wife who beat him. She said Xiaochun was a freeloader and might as well be dead," Wei An's childish voice rang out.
At this point, Sun Lan dared not admit it! "It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"
"Ji Dagang! Who did this? Say something!" Captain Wu asked.
"Xiaochun. Xiaochun is disobedient, so I... I..." Ji Dagang knew that the scars on his sister's body couldn't be hidden, and someone had to admit it! So he decided to take the blame himself.
"What a beast! How could you do this to your own sister?" Chen Xiaodong's wife couldn't stand it anymore and cursed.
Actually, everyone knows who did it. The key point is Ji Dagang, how could you just stand by and watch?
Mothers are soft-hearted, and upon seeing this, they all condemned Ji Dagang.
"Ji Dagang, you'll be shoveling manure for a month!" Captain Wu said.
Shoveling manure was the job the team members least wanted to do, and it was usually done in rotation by the strong men of the brigade. If someone made a mistake, they would be punished by having to do it for a period of time.
"Ouch..."
Song Yan saw Wei An tug at the rope, and then Wei An went up and kicked Sun Dabao first.
Sun Dabao screamed in fright, and at the same time, he tried to fight back, but the rope was tied up from behind. Wei Ping went up and kicked him again…
“If your sister hits Aunt Xiaochun, we’ll hit you too. I’ll beat you to death!” Wei An shouted.
Hu Youguang's son raised his hand and slapped Sun Dabao across the face.
Adults shouldn't hit children, nor should they hit Sun Lan. Why does it feel so satisfying to see Sun Dabao getting beaten?
Sun Lan cherished her younger brother like the apple of her eye; how could she let him suffer? She tried to move forward, but was immediately pulled back by the women on both sides.
Many people were furious at Sun Dabao, but he was already terrified. Now he couldn't take it anymore and started sobbing. "You're bullying me! I'm not leaving here! I'm going home. Once I'm home, let's see who dares to hit me then!"
"Let me tell you. As long as Aunt Xiaochun is still being beaten, I'll take some men and chase your brigade away. I'm the squad leader, and they all listen to me," Wei An roared.
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