Chapter 171 Seeking Justice
Agen came back from the commune, holding a certificate with a big red seal in his arms, and his heart finally settled down.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw that his door was crowded with people. Everyone seemed to have made an appointment and were waiting for him eagerly.
"Come inside, it's very cold outside!" Agen shouted to everyone.
His brother and sister-in-law, who usually ignored him, now smiled and followed him, enthusiastically helping to greet the villagers.
The room was as cold as an ice cellar. Agen added some dry firewood to the copper basin, lit a fire, and warmth gradually filled the room.
He first passed cigarettes to the men, then took out a few packets of candy and biscuits from the cupboard and distributed them to the women.
Seeing how generous he was, his sister-in-law felt so distressed that she quickly reached out and grabbed a handful for her boys, muttering, "Hurry and take it."
Looking at his sister-in-law like this, Agen couldn't help but think of what Ningning said to him before returning to the village.
Ning Ning warned him seriously, "It's not right for your own brother not to help, but your brother and sister-in-law are cunning and narrow-minded. We can't bring them with us. If they come with us and see that you and your wife are living a good life, they might cause trouble. Then your family will never have peace."
Ningning suggested sending her brother and sister-in-law to Beijing to work at the Lide Food Factory. In this way, they would be thousands of miles away from them and have nothing to do with each other, so they could live a quiet life.
Thinking of this, Agen stopped praising Pengcheng. Since everyone was longing for Beijing and Shanghai, he would talk more about Lide Food Factory.
"Lide is an old food company with businesses extending from Suzhou to Shanghai and then to Hong Kong City. Its joint ventures are all with large factories in Beijing and Shanghai." Agen said as he listed several well-known candies and biscuits. Everyone nodded their heads with longing in their eyes.
"Uncle, can't I go to Beijing?" Afa asked anxiously.
"No, Ningning told me to take you to Pengcheng. She said you're smart but always lazy, and she's worried about leaving you far away, so she plans to send you to Fuyunlou as an apprentice for two years, to learn to be a chef, or at least learn a skill..."
Before he could finish his words, an angry voice came from outside: "Where is that six-fingered cripple?"
Agen looked up and saw Mrs. Zhang pushing a bicycle, rushing towards his house in a hurry. She looked as if she was going to tear the house down.
"Ge Yueqin, you shameless bitch..." As soon as Mrs. Zhang opened her mouth, she started swearing at him, and her curses were so ugly.
Agen quickly waved his hand, called Afa over, whispered a few words to him, Afa nodded, turned around and ran out quickly.
Agen took off his thick woolen coat in a leisurely manner, revealing a navy blue half-high collared sweater underneath. Everyone looked at him taking off his clothes in the cold weather with a puzzled look on their faces. One auntie couldn't help but reach out and touch the coat, praising it: "This material is so thick! It's very smooth here."
Seeing this, his sister-in-law rushed forward to take the coat away and said unhappily, "You are so clumsy, be careful not to scratch your clothes."
Ah Gen strode out of the door, watching Mrs. Zhang jumping up and down and cursing like a shaman, and felt annoyed. He picked up the axe in the corner, put a piece of wood firmly on the block, and said coldly: "My wife is still in Pengcheng! It's useless for you to curse her."
When Mrs. Zhang heard that Ge Yueqin was not there, she immediately turned her anger towards Agen and cursed, "You beast..."
Before he finished speaking, Agen suddenly raised his knife, and with a "click", the large piece of wood was split in half. During these days in Pengcheng, Agen had meat every day and rushed to work. After half a year, his body became more and more sturdy, with bulging muscles and a strong spirit.
Agen noticed that Mrs. Zhang's scolding stopped abruptly. He straightened up, put the half piece of wood away, and said without turning his head: "Keep going, don't stop. I'm really not used to your scolding like this! Today I won't throw you away, but let you scold as much as you want. I want to hear what else you can say!"
Ah Ben was smart, that's why Yang Fugen recommended him to study veterinary medicine. He was a quick learner, willing to study, and good at dealing with people. He had a very good relationship with the supervisors and mechanics from Hong Kong. After staying in Pengcheng for a long time, his temperament changed dramatically, and he was no longer the rustic person he was when he first came out.
This look reminded Mrs. Zhang of the time when he picked her up and threw her away like an eagle catching a chick. She shuddered in her heart, and her momentum suddenly weakened a bit.
"Today I went to the health center and met Doctor Zhang. I told him that Yueqin is pregnant." Agen said slowly while chopping wood, "I heard that your daughter-in-law is taking medicine to recuperate?"
"Yes! Mrs. Zhang, what's the point of your daughter-in-law taking medicine if you can't give birth to a son?" A villager nearby couldn't help but join in.
"Can shriveled seeds sprout if planted in the ground? Mrs. Zhang, why do you only know how to blame your daughter-in-law?" Someone else followed suit.
"Yueqin has been scolded by you for so many years that she can't even lift her head. Your son is still having an affair with the young nurse behind her back. She always thought it was her own problem and could only cry secretly. She never thought it was your son who couldn't have children. How dare you come to your door and make a scene?"
Everyone was talking at once, and Mrs. Zhang's face turned pale and red.
Everyone in the room was hoping that Agen could take them out to make a lot of money. When they saw Mrs. Zhang causing trouble, they all ran out to watch the fun and talked about it.
At this time, Ah Fa's voice came from the brigade radio: "Uncle Agen's wife, Aunt Yueqin's previous mother-in-law is here to scold her. Those who want to watch the fun, hurry up! In the past, when Zhang's mother-in-law scolded Aunt Yueqin for not being able to have children, she liked to pick the animal husbandry station to put the feed, and people from various brigades went to haul the feed, and she scolded when there were the most people. Do you remember the day when Uncle Agen and Aunt Yueqin got married, she scolded all the way to the village entrance, cursing Uncle Agen for having no children or grandchildren? Now that Aunt Yueqin is pregnant, and her daughter-in-law is still not moving, she is here to scold again. Do you want to know what she is going to scold this time? If there are not enough people, she won't be able to scold to her heart's content, come quickly!"
On the day Agen married Ge Yueqin, Ge Yueqin left the animal husbandry station to get married.
Mrs. Zhang not only hated Ge Yueqin, but also hated Yang Yonggen. She went to the animal husbandry station to make trouble, and Yang Yonggen drove her away several times.
She had made a fuss countless times at the animal husbandry station, and the entire animal husbandry station and even the surrounding people knew that Ge Yueqin was rumored to be infertile. But the woman was still not satisfied, and she wanted everyone in Xiaoyanggou to know about it, so that Ge Yueqin and Yang Yonggen could not hold their heads up.
That day, she waited at the entrance of the village early in the morning, waiting for Agen to come back on his bicycle to pick up Ge Yueqin. She rushed forward, pointed her finger at the couple and cursed: "Yang Yonggen, you are a cripple, marrying a slut like Ge Yueqin, you will definitely have no children or grandchildren in the future..."
Fortunately, Secretary Fugen reacted quickly and asked the troublemaking old woman to leave the village.
Everyone remembers this.
There is little farm work during this extremely cold season, and farmers all seek warm places to spend the winter.
At this moment, Ah Fa's shouting was heard on the brigade radio. How could the men, women, and children who loved to watch the fun still sit still? They wrapped themselves tightly in cotton-padded clothes, called their friends, and hurried towards Ah Gen's house. Those who lived nearby and walked faster had already arrived and surrounded Ah Gen's yard.
Only now did Mrs. Zhang come to her senses. She was going to harm her son!
Mrs. Zhang's husband and son were both doctors at the health center, and the family lived in a dormitory provided by the health center. Someone had exaggerated the story of Agen going to the health center to get a stamp and having a conflict with her son, and she had heard about it.
When she heard this, she was instantly furious, like a gunpowder barrel that had been lit, and exploded with a "swoosh". She did not bother to ask in detail what had happened, and just pushed her bicycle and rushed towards Xiaoyanggou, thinking only of settling the score with Ge Yueqin and venting her anger on her son.
Over the years, it has become a habit for Mrs. Zhang to bully Ge Yueqin. Scolding her is as common as eating and drinking.
But when she got here, she found that she had come back empty-handed, as Ge Yueqin had not come back at all. What was even more unexpected to her was that this six-fingered cripple seemed to have become a different person after going out to explore the world.
The rustic look of the past was completely gone. Now standing in front of him was a tall, strong, and stern-looking man holding a machete in his hand. Mrs. Zhang looked at him, her heart pounding, and she was extremely flustered.
At the same time, the discussions around her came like a tide, and every word hit her heart, all talking about her son's infertility.
Crowds of people were constantly pushing into the yard of Yang Yonggen's house. A few young men and teenagers thought there were too many people at the door and they couldn't squeeze in, so they nimbly climbed over the earthen wall and sat on the top of the wall to watch the fun.
Seeing that Mrs. Zhang's hands were shaking with nervousness, Agen sneered and said sarcastically, "Keep scolding me! Why are you so silent when I mention that your son is infertile and a coward? You dare not say a word?"
At this moment, Zhang Xiang struggled to push aside the crowd blocking the door, squeezed in, and shouted loudly: "Mom!"
Agen threw the axe into the corner and pointed at Zhang Xiang: "Your son is precious, you treasure him very much. But Yueqin didn't jump out of a crack in the stone. She was born by a father and a mother. She is also a person of flesh and blood and dignity. You spread the word that she is infertile. Are you trampling on her face? On the day of our wedding, you blocked the entrance of the village and cursed her. She held back her tears and had to accompany me to toast the guests. Later, Ningning wrote to us and asked us to go to Pengcheng. She didn't even want her iron rice bowl in the government and resolutely went there. Do you know why? It's because in this commune, she can't take a step without the stigma of being unable to have children and can't raise her head!"
Zhang Xiang was extremely anxious when he learned that his mother had come to Xiaoyanggou to cause trouble. He hurriedly chased after her, but he did not expect the scene to be so lively. He hurried forward, grabbed his mother, and wanted to take her away.
Seeing this, Agen shouted loudly: "Don't leave yet! In this world, reason is everything. There are principles on a square table. I must seek justice for my wife today!"
As soon as Agen said this, Afa, who was riding on the wall, jumped down and ran to the door, shouting at the top of his voice: "Block them, don't let them go!"
The already crowded entrance was now blocked by the crowd. No one could get through and no one was willing to give way to anyone else.
"Yang Yonggen, what on earth do you want to do?" Zhang Xiang roared angrily, anxiously and angrily.
Agen strode up to him and said word by word, "Nothing else, today I just want to explain this to you clearly!"
Zhang Xiang's face turned pale and red, veins popped out on his forehead, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "What's there to argue about? Isn't it okay for me to admit it?"
"Do you admit it?" Agen took a step forward, "If you admit it, can it erase all the grievances Yueqin has suffered over the years?"
"So what do you want?"
"Be reasonable!" Agen took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "When a man marries a wife and a woman marries a man, they are all aiming to support each other and accompany each other until they grow old. After getting married, if something happens, the couple should be honest with each other, discuss things properly, and overcome them together. But if it really comes to a hurdle that cannot be overcome, they should also save each other's face and part ways amicably. Not for anything else, just because they once had a relationship as husband and wife. But what about you? You haven't even figured out who is infertile, but you've pushed all the blame onto Yueqin. You scolded her and forced her to adopt a child. You had an affair with another woman outside, and your mother went to her workplace and forced her to divorce. A man who can't have children is not the most cowardly. The most unmanly thing is to have no conscience and no responsibility!"
He turned suddenly and faced the men, women, old and young who were watching the excitement in Xiaoyanggou, and asked loudly: "Everyone, please judge for yourself. Is Zhang Xiang the most shameless person in the world?"
"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.
After hearing this neat reply, Agen strode to the door, raised his hand and waved, saying, "Let them go."
The crowd blocking the door dispersed to both sides, making way.
Ah Gen stood there, quietly looking at Zhang Xiang and his mother, whose faces were red as liver...
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