Wen Yuzhen is a restless person.
That afternoon, she noticed that the soy sauce bottle at home was almost empty, so she took the empty bottle and prepared to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some more soy sauce.
The residential compound is small, with only one main road. Several public water taps are set up along the roadside, and it's bustling with activity right now as everyone is preparing dinner.
The women carried basins, some washing vegetables, others rinsing rice, chattering about this family and that family.
As soon as Wen Yuzhen approached, she heard her own name called.
"...If you ask me, the most pitiful one is the old lady from Commander Lu's family. She's so old, and she came from the countryside to live with her son, but what happened? She became a maid serving her daughter-in-law!"
The voice was high-pitched and carried a hint of schadenfreude. Wen Yuzhen knew immediately that it belonged to Li Hongxia, who lived diagonally across the hall.
She paused, instinctively shrinking behind a large tree to the side.
Another voice chimed in: "Who says otherwise! I saw it with my own eyes the other day. Su Wantang was sitting in the yard knitting like an old empress dowager, while her mother-in-law was squatting on the ground washing a huge basin of clothes for her, even her baby clothes! My God, this is only because she's an honest countrywoman. If it were someone more assertive, she would have turned the world upside down by now!"
"He's not just washing clothes, he's digging the ground too! He says he's going to grow fresh vegetables for his daughter-in-law. Su Wantang may be pregnant, but she's not so pregnant that she can't move, is she? This is just too pretentious!"
"They're from the city, they're cunning and know how to manipulate people. They look quiet and gentle, but they're very skilled. They can make an old lady spin like a top, turning her around in circles."
"Oh, what a terrible thing..."
Those words were more and more offensive than the last, each one more piercing than the last.
Like countless poisoned awls, they were densely packed into Wen Yuzhen's heart.
She cherished her daughter-in-law like her own precious jewel, but how did these gossipy women come to call it "torture" and "misdeeds"?
She did it willingly, so how did that make her "pitiful"? How did that make her a "mother hen"?
Wen Yuzhen's hand, gripping the soy sauce bottle, was so tight that her knuckles turned white. The kind smile that usually graced her face, weathered by years of hardship, had vanished completely, leaving only a cold, hard expression.
She didn't rush out to argue.
Having argued with people in the village her whole life, she knew all too well that in situations like this, words alone wouldn't suffice. The more you explained, the more excited they became.
To deal with these gossipy, foul-mouthed people, you have to use the most direct and ruthless method to scare them into submission in one fell swoop!
Wen Yuzhen turned around and went home instead of going to the supply and marketing cooperative.
Su Wantang was reading a book in the room when she saw her return. She smiled and asked, "Mom, you're back so soon?"
"Hmm, there are too many people at the supply and marketing cooperative, I'll go later." Wen Yuzhen's voice sounded normal. She put down the bottle, went into the kitchen, picked up a cleaver, and began chopping minced meat.
The force was heavier with each strike, as if the pieces on the chopping board weren't pork, but someone's bones.
Su Wantang felt a little strange hearing this unusual noise, but didn't think much of it.
Wen Yuzhen waited until evening, estimating that everyone in the residential compound had gone home from get off work, and that the compound was busiest, before she picked up the empty soy sauce bottle again and walked out with a sullen face.
Sure enough, Li Hongxia was standing at her own door, talking animatedly with several military wives, her face beaming with undisguised pride.
Wen Yuzhen didn't say a word and walked straight over.
When Li Hongxia saw her, she even greeted her insincerely, "Auntie, going out again?"
Wen Yuzhen walked up to her and stopped.
The next second, she raised her calloused hand, which had been used for countless farm chores, and with all her might, slapped him hard across the face!
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