Even before she regained her memories, she knew that only by being tough could she live better here. A nice person couldn't survive here. At only four or five years old, she dared to take a sickle and fight back. Even the toughest person is afraid of someone who doesn't value their life.
"Sister-in-law, my child wasn't involved, can you please let him go?" An old woman knelt at the Qian family's gate, crying pitifully with snot and tears streaming down her face.
The old lady wasn't going to tolerate these people. Holding a kitchen knife, she said, "Pah! You didn't participate? Didn't you just watch my granddaughter with her head covered in blood at the bottom of the river? Why didn't you lend a hand and pull her out?"
“Let me tell you, this is called failing to save someone in distress. Even if he can’t be convicted, he will still have to undergo re-education.”
“Sister-in-law, my child was terrified at the time and didn’t think that much. You can’t blame him; he’s still young.”
"Little my foot! They're little, but my Erdan is even younger. My Erdan is only seven years old. If we hadn't discovered it in time, he could be eating at a banquet by now. Besides, kids may not know what's going on, but adults do too. I don't believe you don't know what your kids have done."
The families all lowered their heads, afraid that others would see the undisguised expressions on their faces. Of course they knew, but how could they keep this a secret and openly proclaim it?
"Pah! He's a grown man, yet he idles around all day. He steals a chicken from one neighbor today and a bunch of vegetables from another tomorrow. Don't tell me you didn't know. This is the consequence of your inaction. He dared to steal a needle when he was a child, and he's already daring to kill someone before he's even grown up."
“We’ll take care of it, we’ll take care of it. This time we’ll discipline the children properly. Please, sister-in-law, forgive the children this time, for the sake of us being from the same village.”
They might want to act like scoundrels, but the problem is they are all outsiders. Most of the residents here are members of the Qian family. When it comes to acting like scoundrels, they can't outmaneuver the Qian family. They might even offend the entire village.
"Sister-in-law, my child really didn't lay a hand on them. It was the Wang family's children who did it. At most, my child just didn't report it. It's really not a reason for my child to be sent to jail. Let my child come back, and we'll teach them properly from now on, okay?"
"Please, sister-in-law, please."
The women from several families cried their hearts out, as if their children had died.
It's not that they love their child that much, but parents who truly love their children wouldn't raise a child like that. The key issue is the shame. With someone in the family having been to prison, the whole family will be ashamed and unable to hold their heads high. And they don't only have one child.
Old Man Qian tapped his tobacco bowl, and Old Woman Qian seemed to receive some signal: "You guys, tell me, what's the key for us rural people? It's being reliable. The children are growing up day by day, can you support them for a lifetime?"
“If we don’t educate them properly now, what will we do when we’re old? Alright, I know those kids just stood by and watched someone die. Tomorrow I’ll have my third son go over there and talk to the police, give them a few words of advice, and that’ll be enough. I won’t let all five kids end up in jail.”
The five families, except for the Wang family, all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. As long as the child didn't squat on the fence, it wouldn't affect the other family members.
"Thank you, thank you, sister-in-law."
Grandma Qian waved her hand and said, "Alright, no need to thank me. You should be more careful. You need to educate the child properly this time. We've overcome so many hardships in the past few years. How come now that life is better, we can't even raise our child properly?"
"Yes, yes, yes, my sister-in-law is right. We'll give her a good beating when we get back this time."
This was all pre-arranged by Old Man Qian and Old Woman Qian – a show of force followed by diplomacy, to demonstrate their magnanimity and intimidate these people. Otherwise, these boys could have come out tomorrow, and they wouldn't have resorted to violence, at most giving them a verbal warning.
The Wang family was in deep trouble. They said there were five people, but there were six families coming. Only their child had actually done it. Did that mean their son, Wang Xuewen, was going to be imprisoned? That wouldn't do; it would be too shameful. Besides, Wang Xuewen was the only remaining member of their Wang family.
Old Mrs. Wang has always been domineering and has bullied many people, but she is the type who bullies only those honest people.
"Old sister-in-law, does that mean my son Xuewen can come back tomorrow too?" Old Mrs. Wang asked shamelessly.
Old Mrs. Qian glared at Old Mrs. Wang and said, "Pah, you wish! Your grandson is about to kill my child and you still want to get out? You're dreaming. You'd better just sentence him to eat peanuts. A bad seed is a bad seed."
"Old Mrs. Qian, what are you saying? How is my son Xuewen a bad seed? He was just playing around with your Erdan. Who knew your Erdan would be so fragile? Every child has their squabbles and fights. Why are you making it sound so serious?"
“A thirteen-year-old boy pushed my seven-year-old child into the river and called it playing around. I think you’re talking nonsense. Everyone in our village knows how fast the river is. He was trying to kill someone.”
"Everyone, please keep a close eye on your own children. The Wang family's antics are always dangerous and potentially deadly. How about I give you one of those kinds of antics?"
As the old lady watched, she spat at Old Lady Wang: "You shameless old hag, do you think we're all fools? Playing around like this? From now on, will all the Qian family's children play around with your family like this?"
“Our little child had a whole bowl of blood spilled from his head and is still lying on the kang (heated brick bed) unable to get up. How can you have the nerve to say it was just a joke? Do you think the Qian family is easy to bully?”
Old Mrs. Wang wanted to throw a tantrum, but she didn't dare when she saw the three old women standing at the gate, especially Old Mrs. Qian in the middle holding a big cleaver. That old woman was really daring to use a knife to kill people. And Xuewen, that child, of all people to provoke, he had to provoke the Qian family's child.
Seeing his wife's defeat, Old Man Wang rubbed his hands together and was about to speak when Old Woman Qian berated him.
“We women are talking, what are you doing out here, you old geezer? What? You think you can hit us women? Don’t you Wang family members have any shame?”
Old Man Wang is the worst kind of person. If he were really that kind of person, how could he have raised such a son and grandson?
Old Wang's face turned bright red. He then looked up and glanced around. Sure enough, there were only women in the middle and he was the only man. It made him look like he was being disrespectful. He quickly took a few steps back, as his own reputation was the most important thing.
Old Wang gave a wink to someone behind him, and Wang Xuewen's mother immediately knelt down in front of Old Lady Qian.
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