Li Yanzhong went to the mountains with his three older brothers to learn about setting traps and precautions.
On the way back, Li Yanzhong also found a roe deer in the trap, which made him quite excited.
He had just entered the village when a woman he didn't recognize called out to him, calling him Brother Siluzi.
Li Yanzhong, who was over thirty, was at a loss for words when addressed in this way by his peers. Finally, with a detached expression, he asked, "Comrade, what do you want with me?"
"Brother Silu, don't you remember me? I'm Yuexiang from across the street from you," Chen Yuexiang said with a hint of reproach.
Li Yanzhong turned to look at his older brother, and seeing him nod, Li Yanzhong gave a faint smile: "Oh, so you're neighbors. Well, you go ahead with your work, we'll be going now."
After saying that, he called to his three older brothers to walk together.
Chen Yuexiang immediately became anxious and stopped him, saying, "I came here to see you. Here's the thing, my mom went to your house at noon to chat with your wife, but she didn't see her. She did, however, have a few words with your sister-in-law. You know my mom has a sharp tongue but a soft heart; she doesn't mean any harm..."
“Comrade Chen Yuexiang, I’m sorry, I’m new to this village and I don’t know your mother’s personality. If you want to apologize, my older brother is here, you can talk to him.” Li Yanzong interrupted Chen Yuexiang directly and pushed the matter to his older brother.
Li Dashan, being the eldest brother, was used to protecting his younger brother. He was also fed up with Chen Yuexiang's nagging and spoke with a strong sense of male chauvinism: "Why are you women coming to us men with your women's business?"
Chen Yuexiang was dumbfounded. By the time she wanted to speak again, the four Li brothers had already strode away, making her stomp her feet in anger.
However, despite his outwardly chauvinistic attitude, Li Dashan immediately went to his wife when he got home and asked her if she had been bullied by the old woman across the street, as if he would clench his fists and beat up the man across the street if she said yes.
Sister-in-law Li laughed: "How could that be? The old woman across the street was so angry after I said a few words to her that her face turned purple, and she left in a huff."
In the side room, Li Yanzhong also asked Yu Jingqiu about this matter. Yu Jingqiu smiled and said, "With my sister-in-law here, I didn't even need to step in. The old lady across the street was so angry that she left."
The men in the family were relieved.
However, after dinner, Sister-in-law Li secretly approached the old lady and said, "Mom, I think Chen Yuexiang across the street has some ulterior motives and is eyeing our fourth son."
The old lady immediately flew into a rage: "Don't the Chen family ever learn their lesson? They still dare to plot against us!"
"Since they don't learn their lesson, let's give them another harsh lesson," the third daughter-in-law suggested as she came in.
There was a backstory to her words. She and Li Laosan had fallen for each other and were about to get married when Chen Yuexiang came up to her and said some irrelevant things. She got so angry that she beat Chen Yuexiang up and then went to Li's house to repeat what Chen Yuexiang had said.
Things like arranged marriages or the idea that the two people would get along well.
The Li family was furious when they heard this. They had never looked down on their neighbors before, so both men and women attacked each other. The men beat the men and the women tore at each other. In the end, the Li family, with their superior numbers, won a great victory and also ruined Chen Yuexiang's reputation.
After that, the Chen family married Chen Yuexiang off to a distant place, and it seems that she did not live a good life there.
As they were talking, the second daughter-in-law also crept in, and soon the four of them, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, started discussing things.
"Mom, Grandma and Auntie have closed the door, they seem to be discussing something."
Xiao Mingxue became a gossip, leaning close to Yu Jingqiu and saying something.
Yu Jingqiu smiled and tapped her little nose: "Closing the door means you don't want others to know about this. Don't eavesdrop."
Xiaomingxue shook her head: "Mom, I wasn't eavesdropping, it was Sister Yaya and the others who were listening."
Two days after this incident, Chen Yuexiang's husband suddenly came to the village and had a big fight with her. The two almost got divorced, but in the end they didn't. Chen Yuexiang was dragged away by her husband, who had a dark expression on his face.
Chen Yuexiang clung to the door, refusing to leave, crying her heart out. But none of the Chen family members showed up, clearly showing their guilty conscience. It was unclear what the man had caught them doing wrong.
Xiaomingxue wrote about these things in a letter she sent to her sister.
Of course, the little girl didn't understand the trick; she just said that the annoying aunt across the street was gone, and all the children were very happy.
The little girl's letter was very detailed, describing life in her new home in childlike language. She described the warm kang (heated brick bed), the happy times playing with rope with her sisters, the corn porridge for breakfast, the cabbage and vermicelli stew with pork for lunch, and the roe deer meat for dinner, etc., down to the smallest detail.
Li Mingyu wrote about the fun he had with his friends in the snow. He also mentioned that one day he and some of his cousins secretly followed their uncle and his family, wanting to learn how to hunt. However, they were quickly discovered, and his cousins were all beaten, but he was the only one who escaped.
Feeling guilty, he bent over in front of his stepfather. His stepfather hit him, and it really hurt, but he didn't wail like his older and younger cousins. He was proud.
Feng Mingshu chuckled when he saw this. Uncle Li was reluctant to use force; it was just for show, but it made his simple-minded younger brother proud.
My mother's letters were always gentle. She briefly described her life in the north, said everything was fine, then inquired about her life and gave her some instructions on daily life.
Feng Mingshu felt a warmth in her heart. She took out some stationery and began writing a second letter to her family, describing in detail her recent life, focusing on the positive aspects.
It is a Chinese tradition to only report good news and not bad news.
As I write these letters, I forget the passage of time.
Suddenly, she heard a noise outside.
At first she thought it was the sound of the wind, but then she realized the sound was wrong, so she immediately put on her coat and went to the kitchen to get a cleaver.
Unexpectedly, a dark figure appeared outside the kitchen window, trying to pry open the window. Seeing that the figure was about to break through, Feng Mingshu immediately shouted, "What do you think you're doing!"
The dark figure outside the window was startled and fell down.
Feng Mingshu immediately grabbed the longest knife from the cupboard, which was as long as her forearm. After only a moment's hesitation, she opened the door and rushed out, shouting, "Thief! Someone, come quick, catch the thief!"
The neighbors were all around, and they were quickly alerted by her voice, with many houses nearby turning on their lights.
Feng Mingshu saw the dark figure again; the person was frantically climbing over her iron gate to escape.
There were already voices outside, and Feng Mingshu rushed over. Just as the shadowy figure reached the top of the iron gate, he swung his long knife at the figure's legs.
when!
The long sword struck the iron gate, sending sparks flying. The dark figure, trying to avoid the sword, tumbled off the top of the gate with a short scream, seemingly injured somewhere.
Feng Mingshu did not open the door and go out; she simply turned on the lights in the yard and indicated the direction.
The neighbors who rushed over quickly pinned the fleeing figure to the ground. Only then did Feng Mingshu open the courtyard gate, and she heard someone exclaim in surprise.
"What, it's you, kid?"
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