At the construction site, Yang Laosan was surrounded by several men.
Xiaoman's wrinkled face was full of anger: "You divorced your wife, so it has nothing to do with you or with Village Chief Jiang buying people!"
"You can't just say you've been scammed; you need to provide concrete evidence!"
Yang Laosan insisted that he had been deceived.
Knowing there were many people in the village, he dared not use force. He just acted like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water, repeating the same thing over and over: he and his wife had been deceived by Jiang, and since they couldn't take Tan and the child away, he would die here. He wanted his family to go to the county government to file a lawsuit and bring death to Xujia Village.
Xiaomanye's face was not good, but that was all; he showed no other emotion.
Xu Changming, standing nearby, couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire: "Jiang talks about how capable she is, but she's useless at getting things done! Last time she said I was tricked into becoming a fool when I went to the city. Look at her... she doesn't even know how to wipe her butt clean after she's done pooping, and we old folks have to pick up her feet."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiaoman turned around and sprayed him in the face: "You still bring up your own pig-like behavior? Aren't you ashamed? Take a bunch of juniors and squat on the side of the street for a few days."
Xu Changming, still unconvinced by the criticism, glared at the critic and said angrily, "That wasn't just my fault, yet you're blaming me. Now, we can't criticize the Jiang family just because they made a mistake. I've never seen such biased behavior from you."
When two elders from the clan got into a fight, Xu Gen and the others, who rushed over upon hearing the news, couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Ma Guan, who was in charge of security, knew what he should and shouldn't hear, so he stood far away, pretending not to hear, and no one was allowed to approach unless summoned.
After scolding Xu Changming, Xiaoman turned to Li Laoshi and said, "Laoshi, where's Laoshi! Get me a thorn branch, I need to teach this traitor a lesson!"
Xu Changming jumped up and down: "You dare? You're only half a year older than me, and you can barely hold your pee in. It's not certain who will beat whom!"
Several craftsmen and their helpers burst into laughter.
The woman from the Huang family said, "Old Li went to town to buy salt and hasn't come back yet!"
Grandpa Xiaoman looked around but didn't see anyone. He sighed and said, "Honesty and thoughtfulness are still the best!"
With Old Li here, there's no need for me to call anyone; he'll have already brought me tea and a stick.
Xu Genyou and the others didn't have any sense of propriety and just watched the show from the sidelines.
Xiaoman felt that Xu Gen and the others were watching the show, but Yang Laosan felt that the scene was too cold.
He knelt on the ground, somewhat dumbfounded.
She had already cried and complained that the Jiang family had lied to her, so why was no one paying attention to her?
Contrary to expectations, the villagers of Xujia Village were not angry or irritable after he arrived. There were only two old men arguing back and forth.
They were arguing about the same trivial things from their childhood, as if they were deliberately stalling for time!
Where are the people in this village?
Where are the onlookers?
The houses in this village are brand new, so why is it even more deserted than the main road outside?
Is there any justice or law left here?
Where has people's kindness gone? Why are they so calm when they hear that their own village chief has committed evil?
I shouldn't have gone into the village. If I had made such a scene at the post station, maybe a few people would have spoken up for me!
I ran into that old man who picks up dog poop outside before, and I thought he would speak up for me, but now I realize he just uses me as a punching bag and doesn't pay any attention to me at all.
There's also the Tan family and those two money-losing individuals; he hasn't met any of the people he was supposed to see, and he doesn't know how to proceed.
Yang Laosan was furious!
Getting angry was useless... shouting until the sky was clear, but no one paid any attention.
Even the Huang family's daughter-in-law, who had just been excited, went back to the kitchen to cook.
The aroma of food wafted over, and Yang Laosan felt a surge of hunger in his stomach. A sense of malice rose within him... He decided to lift the lid of the rice pot first.
But Ma Guan wouldn't give him a chance to cause trouble: "Yang Laosan, you can leave if you want, but don't provoke me!"
As fellow refugees from the same village, Maguan gave Yang Laosan a way out, so he should leave now.
But Yang Laosan didn't understand.
Having been in Xujia Village for so long, although these people ignored him, they also showed no intention of making a move, which gave him a glimmer of hope.
If he were to see Ms. Tan and her child, the woman would surely obey and follow him.
Yang Laosan didn't have to wait long before the villagers he was looking forward to arrived.
A large group of men and women arrived from the mosquito coil workshop, shouting and cursing, their emotions running high.
The women at the front rolled up their sleeves and tightened their waists, looking quite imposing.
Behind them were several men, all of them grinning, lazy, and relaxed.
Between the two groups of people, Madam Tan held her two children tightly in her arms, murmuring, "Da Ya, you must protect Xiao Ya in a moment, and don't talk back to your father."
"Don't speak, Mother will protect you."
In the past, Da Xiangxiang would have started trembling and only felt safe when she hid in her mother's arms.
But today, despite hearing her mother tell her a thousand times to "endure" it, her gaze fell upon the backs of the aunts and sisters-in-law in front of her.
She knew in her heart that her mother's words about protecting her meant she couldn't actually protect her.
The mother was afraid of the father and grandmother. Every time they were beaten or scolded, all three of them would be beaten. The mother could only hug herself and Er Ya and cry.
All I can say is that you have to be obedient and work hard now, so that you won't be beaten when you grow up and get married.
Those aunties in front aren't afraid of Dad!
Qin, who was walking at the front of the group, didn't care what the little girl was thinking; she was only feeling excited.
Jiang's wife isn't in the village today, so I'm the boss here.
Recalling the heroic figure of Sister Jiang leading her and others through the streets and alleys, smashing open the Du family's gate, she couldn't help but puff out her chest even more...
The group walked across several paddy field ridges and soon arrived at the construction site for building the house.
When Yang Laosan saw a group of people approaching, he immediately perked up and shouted that Jiang had deceived him into separating from his wife and children, completely unaware of the ill intent in the expressions of the women.
Qin Shi, Wang Xiaoju, and the others stood directly in front of Yang Laosan: "So you're Yang Laosan, here to see Tan Shi?"
Yang Laosan finally got someone to pay attention to him, even if it was a useless woman!
He tilted his head and said, "I'm here to see my wife!"
Qin grabbed Tan, who was cowering beside her, and said, "Tan, you tell him that you're not his wife, you're nothing to him, and tell him to get out!"
Mrs. Tan was already afraid, and being suddenly pushed out made her even more frightened. She pulled the child back, shouting, "Hide! Hide quickly!"
Yang Laosan spotted Tan Shi and the two children at a glance and immediately cursed, "You shameless woman, you conspired with outsiders to kidnap the children, you want to die!"
Tan shook her head frantically, trembling: "No, no, I was sold to Village Chief Jiang after you divorced me!"
"You're talking nonsense! You're unfilial to your mother-in-law and disrespectful to your husband. You deserve to be divorced. Give me back my Yang family's children and come back with me!"
Yang Laosan stepped forward, intending to grab Tan Shi and the two children.
Standing with her hands on her hips, Qin was so angry her nose was practically crooked.
Yang Laosan has two eggs hanging under his eyebrows. He can't even see several grown men standing right there, yet he still wants to pull Tan Shi away.
If he says another word, when Sister Jiang comes back, we'll probably get a scolding and won't be able to hold our heads high anymore.
Tan was useless; a single sentence from her was enough to terrify him.
Unable to bear it any longer, Qin stepped forward and shoved Yang Laosan aside, shouting, "Give this shameless bastard an awl!"
Wang Xiaoju pulled a bamboo skewer from her clothes and waved to the people behind her: "Everyone, skewer!"
Upon hearing this, Xiaomanye, Xu Changming, Ma Guan, and the others, who had been standing to the side, tacitly took a step back and turned around to chat.
"Brother Chang Geng, the rain still hasn't come. What will we do if it gets dry?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Every year we've worked for ten days or half a month at a time!"
Piercing with an awl was a form of lynching used in the Bavarian region to deal with domestic matters.
If a daughter encounters a wicked mother-in-law after marriage, she may suffer unwarranted beatings and abuse in her husband's family.
After the bride's family learned the truth, they decided to collectively confront the wicked mother-in-law and punish her with "piercing with awls."
It is usually led by the maternal elders, with aunts, sisters-in-law, and other women taking the lead.
They would poke holes in the fleshy parts of the wicked mother-in-law's buttocks and thighs with an awl used for sewing shoe soles, causing her to suffer for a long time without dying.
Finally, the husband's family needs to hold a banquet to apologize and promise not to mistreat the wife again before the wife's family will leave.
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