Zhu Chunhong had witnessed for many years how the Song family abused and bullied Song Zhaodi.
As a woman who had grown up in the same village, she understood Song Zhaodi's situation, empathized with her, and couldn't help but feel sympathy for her.
There are some things she simply cannot get involved in, and she really doesn't have the ability to bear the consequences of getting involved.
After all, it was just her and her mother, two women, at home most of the year. It was already difficult enough for them to protect their family from being bullied. Even if she felt sorry for Song Zhaodi, she could only watch helplessly.
At first, all she saw was the Song family treating Song Zhaodi like an animal, ordering her around to do this and that, and beating or scolding her for the slightest dissatisfaction, keeping her completely under their thumb.
It's not like treating a living, breathing person, but like treating a domestic animal that can be beaten and scolded at will.
However, the situation of women in this village is generally not good, and it is not uncommon for them to be ordered around by their families to do chores like cattle and horses.
In this village, there are many families where the men don't work and just stay at home like ancestors, waiting to be fed and drunk, while the heavy burden is placed on the women.
Grandma Liu at the village entrance, before she married into her husband's family, her husband was also lazy, but after all, he was a farmer who made a living by farming, and he knew the principle that if you don't work, you won't have food to eat.
Therefore, I would at least go down to the fields every day to check on things and do some work.
Although it was done perfunctorily, it didn't leave the fields barren, and at least some grain could be harvested each year, enough to eat for a while.
But ever since Granny Liu married him, her husband's lazy nature has been fully exposed. From the first day of their marriage, he has never picked up a hoe or gone to the fields again. Every day he makes various excuses to go to the village entrance to drink and play cards with people, and he never even glances at the fields.
To put it bluntly, he was taking advantage of the fact that there was another person in the family. He knew that Granny Liu wouldn't just watch him starve to death, and that if he didn't do any work, Granny Liu would naturally do it. So he was fearless.
Grandma Liu had no other choice but to carry a hoe to the fields every day.
Even in the dead of winter, when the weather is so cold that fingers and toes can freeze off, people are still forced to go out and dig up edible tree roots and mushrooms to make a living.
Even on the day she gave birth, Liu's husband didn't let her off the hook, forcing her to get out of bed by yelling and kicking her.
Grandma Liu kept doing this, and by the time she was over fifty, she had developed a host of illnesses, and her fingers and legs had become deformed.
Even so, I still have to find ways to get things done every day.
If she doesn't do it, her whole family will starve to death.
There are many more examples like this in the village.
Even Zhu Chunhong, whose parents were kind and not too harsh on her, still had endless work and tasks to do all day long.
Zhu Chunhong thought about it and realized that she really didn't have any right to say anything about this matter, and even if she did, it probably wouldn't make any difference.
After all, someone has to do the housework. He Caixia and Song Yongfu could say they were too old, and Song Yaozu, who had been spoiled by his parents since childhood, was also not capable of doing any work.
In the end, these tasks fell back on Song Zhaodi's shoulders.
She can say it once or twice, but can she say it every day for the rest of her life?
Moreover, she is of low status and her voice carries little weight. Even if she spoke up, He Caixia's family would not listen; instead, they might scold her for meddling.
Things hadn't reached the point of no return, so Zhu Chunhong could only protect herself and endure it for the time being, watching as Song Zhaodi was forced to jump from the Song family's fire pit into the Zhou family's fire pit.
She felt utterly powerless and could only sigh silently for Song Zhaodi, helpless.
Until that day, when Zhu Chunhong was carrying a hoe to go to the field to weed, she suddenly heard that Song Zhaodi had been locked in the pigsty by the Song family for two days without food or water.
Zhu Chunhong was startled.
It was summer then, and it was so hot that you would break out in a sweat with the slightest movement. If you didn't drink water all morning, your lips would crack.
In this season, if a person doesn't eat or drink for two days, wouldn't they starve or die of thirst?
Upon hearing the news, Zhu Chunhong became restless, constantly thinking about Song Zhaodi. While working, she was so preoccupied with the matter that she almost twisted her ankle.
She pondered it silently for a whole day, but no matter how she thought about it, she couldn't put her mind at ease.
It's a human life, no matter what, and besides, Song Zhaodi often helped her when she was working in the fields.
Sometimes they weed, sometimes they harvest grain. They help each other move things and watch over the drying yard together.
Once, she accidentally fell into a ditch, and Song Zhaodi was the first to notice and come to her rescue.
Song Zhaodi was already struggling so much, barely able to take care of herself, yet she still showed kindness and compassion by helping her. She remembered all of this.
Now that Song Zhaodi is in trouble, how can she just sit idly by?
Even if it's risky, she has to find a way to help her...
Zhu Chunhong made up her mind. When cooking dinner in the evening, she deliberately left two coarse flour buns and filled her bamboo water bottle with water. She waited until it got dark, then quietly slipped into the Zhou family's backyard and stuffed the food and drink into Song Zhaodi's hands.
Song Zhaodi was clearly starving; she had no strength left.
Even under these circumstances, when she saw the food and drinks, her first reaction was not to take them without hesitation, but to look around nervously, frowning and wanting Zhu Chunhong to leave quickly.
“The Zhou family are all scoundrels. If they find out you secretly helped me, you'll be in trouble too.”
"Chunhong, you shouldn't worry about me. You're in a better situation than me. Your parents and brother are taking good care of you. Live well and don't end up like me..."
In the dim light, Zhu Chunhong saw that Song Zhaodi was covered in injuries, her eyelids were swollen high like walnuts, blood was still oozing from the broken corner of her mouth, her lips were all cracked open, her cheekbones were a mixture of red and blue, and her whole face was extremely pale, as if she only had one breath left.
It was absolutely shocking.
Even so, Song Zhaodi continued to speak with all her might—
"Don't worry about me. I can't drag you down with me. I'm just a worthless person, and this is probably how my life will end. You should go now, Chunhong."
Zhu Chunhong's eyes instantly reddened, and she bit her lip tightly to keep herself from crying out loud.
"You...how did you get beaten up like this?"
"I have to save you, Zhao Di, I have to save you..."
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