Before they reached Chen Laoer's yard, a young girl with disheveled hair ran out of the yard, followed by an old woman with a broom in her hand. Behind them was a drunk man, who was holding his head, screaming in pain and cursing.
"Don't run, you troublemaker. You're just as bad as your mother." Old Mrs. Chen chased after him and cursed.
"Help, help, my grandma is going to beat me to death." Chen Xiaofang ran and cried towards the team leader's house.
Looking at the tightly closed doors around her, she felt a chill in her heart. She knew her grandmother was difficult to deal with, so after a few such incidents, no one would help her anymore. But why? Why should she be beaten, scolded, and not have enough to eat every day? God was really unfair. Thinking of what her grandmother said every time she was beaten, she hated her mother again. Why didn't she take her away with her? Why did she leave her here to suffer? Thinking about it, she couldn't help crying. Life was not easy when her mother was alive, so it was better that she was gone. She only hoped that if she had a good life, she would remember to pick her up.
As she was running along, she saw a large man and a small child walking towards her. She hurried over and knelt down with a plop. "Uncle Zhu Liu, please help me get the captain to come over. My grandma wants to beat me to death."
Her action scared Zhu Youliang, but Zhu Xingtong helped her up.
"Xiaofang, don't be afraid. We are here just to ask..." Before Zhu Youliang could finish his words, he was interrupted by Old Lady Chen, "Zhu Laoliu, are you also having an affair with Jiang Lianhua? You don't eat at home, but come out to meddle in my family's affairs. Tell me, which family doesn't beat their children? If there is nothing between you and Jiang Lianhua, it's worth your trip." Her voice was so loud that everyone around opened the door and came out to watch the fun.
Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaofang immediately looked at Zhu Youliang. It wasn't like no one had helped her before, but whenever her grandmother linked someone to her mother, no one would intervene.
Zhu Youliang didn't notice the look Chen Xiaofang was giving him. Instead, he looked at Old Lady Chen and said, "Auntie, please don't slander me. Don't think Jiang Lianhua is so precious, as if I haven't seen the world. Everyone in the village knows that my wife is prettier than Jiang Lianhua and has even graduated from high school. I really wouldn't do that. As for you saying that I'm bothering your family and beating your children, I can't do anything about it. But you coming here every few days is really annoying. My Tongtong was lucky enough not to fall off the stool today. If he had fallen, I would have blamed your family. You also know that I'm lazy. My family doesn't have money for medical treatment. And let me remind you, beating children is illegal..."
Before he could finish, Old Lady Chen angrily shouted, "How can it be illegal for me to beat my own child? Who hasn't beaten their child? If you're afraid of scaring your child, I'll cover this bastard's mouth and beat him next time. Don't even think about blaming me." She knew Old Lady Chen's temper. He was lazy and easily ignored things. She had never intervened in a fight before, but this time, she must have angered him. That was why she let him talk for so long, but he couldn't just accuse her of anything.
Chen Xiaofang suddenly asked, "Uncle Zhu, is beating children really illegal?"
Zhu Youliang nodded. "What I said just now was inaccurate. Beating a child isn't necessarily illegal, but abusing them is definitely illegal. Cases like yours are considered abuse. You can ask the Women's Federation or the brigade for help."
Chen Xiaofang said with some disappointment, "People from the Women's Federation came here before. They promised not to beat me anymore, but after a while, they started beating me again. The comrades from the Women's Federation couldn't do anything about it. If only they could arrest them, I wouldn't be beaten."
Old Lady Chen sat down on the ground, slapping her legs and saying, "You conscienceless bitch, you still want to arrest me and your father. Don't you think about what you will eat and drink without us? It's so unfair. I, an old woman, have worked hard all my life, but I was cursed and arrested for spanking a child twice. And you, Chen Laoliu, instigated a child to go against the family. What are you thinking? I'll ask Huang Mei tomorrow. This is how she teaches her children..."
Zhu Youliang wanted to say a few more words, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Old Lady Chen immediately started wailing and cursing even more vigorously. He had no choice but to let her curse him.
Seeing Old Lady Chen throwing a tantrum, everyone around her just laughed and said nothing. Even no one from the Chen family came out to persuade her. Instead, a few old ladies said that Chen Xiaofang was so cruel at such a young age, and would definitely be an ungrateful person in the future.
Chen Xiaofang was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Zhu Xingtong watched Old Lady Chen writhing on the ground, a flicker of disgust in her eyes. Hearing the croaking of frogs nearby, she suddenly became alert and decided to scare Old Lady Chen. She slowly closed her eyes and tried to use her mental power to control the ants in the surrounding dirt. When she opened her eyes again, Old Lady Chen was already surrounded by ants.
At first, because it was dark, no one noticed. But Old Lady Chen, feeling itchy, was about to get up from the ground when someone shouted, "Oh my! Look at all the ants!" She fell back down. Looking down, she saw ants crawling all over her body. She jumped up, slapped, and stomped, but the ants continued to crawl. Terrified, she dropped to her knees, clasped her hands together, and kowtowed to the four directions.
"Will you still beat your children in the future?" A voice suddenly sounded in her mind.
She was startled and looked around. Seeing that everyone around her was looking at her with horror, she subconsciously said, "No more fighting, no more fighting."
When the old lady saw this, she wanted to kneel down as well, but was held back by the person next to her.
No one else knew, and neither did Zhu Youliang. Turning back, I saw my daughter's face was pale. I felt anxious. I was about to ask her to stop, but I was afraid someone would notice her abnormality. Fortunately, someone soon shouted, "The ants are gone."
When Mrs. Chen saw the ants run away, she clasped her hands together and bowed to the four directions. She no longer cared about Chen Xiaofang and ran back to her yard in shame.
When Chen Xiaofang saw this, she wanted to follow him back, but she stopped after taking only a few steps.
An aunt who had a good relationship with her mother saw this and said, "Xiaofang, come to my house and sleep with Juhua for one night, and come back home tomorrow."
Chen Xiaofang quickly agreed, and before leaving, she turned around and said to Zhu Youliang, "Uncle Zhu, thank you today." After that, she bowed to her.
Zhu Youliang hurriedly helped her up and said, "Good girl, be strong. Your best days are still ahead."
Chen Xiaofang nodded heavily, forced a smile, and walked towards the aunt who had spoken earlier, holding back her tears.
Zhu Youliang no longer cared about the people chatting around him, and took Zhu Xingtong's hand and walked home.
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