"Hey! What's this? You haven't seen how fierce the women in the village fight. They grab hair, tear clothes, and bite. The scene is much more brutal than what you saw today."
As she spoke, Gou Cuifen paused slightly, "That's right, I didn't expect that you city folks would fight just like us villagers."
Grandma Wu stared blankly at Gou Cuifen, knowing that she had been ruthless today. If it weren't for someone else being there, Qi Niuhua might have really ended up like Huang Mancang and been stabbed.
"Thanks."
A thousand words were on the tip of my tongue, but they all came out as just these two words.
This incident alone made Gou Cuifen and Old Lady Wu's relationship even better. They would visit each other whenever they had free time, and even the women who were close to Gou Cuifen gradually became familiar with Old Lady Wu.
"They're all straightforward and easygoing people, how could they not get along?"
A plump woman with two small red dots on her cheeks smiled, looking cheerful. "Before, we looked down on you because we only saw things from a distance. We all thought city people were hard to get along with."
He took Wu's hands and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to be different from them."
“It’s never the same. Didn’t you see how Mingxia beat Qi Niuhua to the ground that day? It was so satisfying. I finally got my revenge.”
Seeing Wu's confusion, he said directly, "You don't know, I was also transferred by the village secretary to raise pigs with Qi Niuhua before. When I arrived, I met him and was immediately beaten out with a stick."
"If I hadn't dodged quickly, it would have hit me right on the head. So, you were absolutely right to hit her. I was happy to see it."
Grandma Wu nodded. She had been in the village for quite some time and knew about these things, but she never expected that a victim would be sitting in front of her today.
Apart from the off-season, the women in the village would sit at the village entrance and gossip about this family and that family. If a young man passed by, they would say a few words to him.
Qi Niuhua disappeared from Old Lady Wu's sight, and life returned to normal.
She had only been living in her own home in the pigsty for less than two days when Tie Niu found her and dropped a bombshell.
"Aunt Wu, a group of people have come to the village and say they are your son and husband. You should go and see them."
Old Mrs. Wu dropped the winnowing basket from her hand and asked again, "Who did you say it was?"
"Your son's husband!"
Grandma Wu bent down, picked up the winnowing basket, and placed it on the shelf. "Where is it? Take me there."
Leading Old Lady Wu to the main street of the village, they passed through the crowd and saw Huang Mancang sitting on a large rock by the roadside, his face pale.
Huang Xiaoguo and Huang Xiaomin looked quite well and seemed to be in good spirits.
Wang Huijun and Li Jin'e stood behind their respective men with their mouths tightly shut, looking somewhat nervous.
Finally, Huang Xuewen saw her, his little mouth agape for a long time, and he called out, "Grandma, Grandma..."
The others perked up and immediately looked in the direction Huang Xuewen had called out, and there was indeed the long-lost Old Lady Wu.
Huang Xiaoguo and Huang Xiaomin, two grown men, one a father and the other married for quite some time, actually just stared at Old Lady Wu and cried?!
Old Mrs. Wu's lips twitched, and she subconsciously looked away, pretending not to see them.
"Huijun, are you two alright?"
With Grandma Wu around, Wang Huijun felt reassured and excitedly stepped forward, saying, "Mom, no, it's alright. Everything's fine."
After her initial excitement, Li Jin'e felt a little timid. "It's okay, Mom."
After her initial surprise at their arrival, Grandma Wu was somewhat prepared.
After pondering for a moment, he asked the village secretary, "What are they going to do? Are they going to have to live in the cowshed?"
Upon hearing that they would be living in a cowshed, Huang Xiaoguo and the others looked at the village secretary with tense expressions.
Even Huang Mancang, who had been silent the whole time, was staring at the village secretary.
After a long pause, the village secretary looked troubled and said, "They were all sent down to labor camps, so of course they have to live in cowsheds."
Old Mrs. Wu nodded, while the others looked ashen-faced. The cowshed?
Does it leak rain in spring and draft in winter?
Ventilated from all four sides?
Good heavens, is it even safe to stay here?
Huang Mancang glared at Huang Xiaoguo and the others who were rushing to the countryside.
Now look what's happened! They're eager to suffer. How could he have given birth to such a bunch of brain-dead idiots!
After a pause, the village secretary said, "However, the higher-ups said that because they took the initiative to admit their mistakes, behaved well, and had a high level of ideological awareness, they can be treated the same as normal villagers and don't have to live in the cowshed."
After taking a deep breath, Huang Xiaoguo and the others' faces instantly brightened, and they looked at Old Lady Wu with joy, "Mom."
"Wait, I haven't finished speaking yet."
Gou Cuifen glared at her old man speechlessly. What's wrong with him today? Why does he always seem to be breathing heavily?
The village party secretary cleared his throat. "People are different. They can live without the cowshed, but Huang Mancang cannot."
"That's no problem. If you make a mistake, you have to accept the punishment. If you should be executed, you should be flogged; if you should be forced to sleep in a cowshed, you should sleep in a cowshed."
One sentence left Huang Mancang speechless, staring blankly as he opened his mouth.
Out of fear of Old Lady Wu's tyranny, he angrily swallowed his words.
They've really come here to act like grandsons.
Gou Cuifen tried to speak up for Wu Laotai's husband, but Wu Laotai refused her firmly.
"We will follow the organization's arrangements. Although Xiaoguo and Xiaomin were implicated because of their fathers, the fact that they are treated leniently is already a sign of leniency. We cannot push our luck!"
Seeing this, Gou Cuifen didn't know what to say, but in her heart she still gave Old Lady Wu a thumbs up. After all, she was literate and had a high level of moral awareness.
The village secretary nodded to himself inwardly. Smart people speak in a pleasant way, and those who know when to advance and retreat speak even more pleasantly.
“Okay, your yard is quite big, they can stay with you if they want. Let them rest for a couple of days before starting work.”
Grandma Wu nodded and led Huang Xiaoguo and the others home, carrying their bags and packages.
Huang Mancang was left watching the people leave with a blank expression. Just as he took a step, the village secretary's son stood in front of him and said, "The cowshed isn't here. Come with me."
Huang Mancang gritted his teeth and had just picked up his small bundle when someone took it from him. "Xiaoqiang?"
"I built the cowshed with Tie Niu, so I'll take you there." Huang Xiaoqiang took the bundle with a serious expression.
Huang Mancang opened his mouth, pulled him away from the people in front, and whispered, "Can't you let me go live with your brother and the others in your mother's house? I don't want to sleep in the cowshed."
Huang Xiaoqiang also knew about Huang Mancang's affairs in Changping. Hearing him say this, he immediately scolded him, "Dad, you made a mistake and you still refuse to be punished. How can your ideological awareness be so low? No wonder you have to live in a cowshed."
Hey! This kid!
Huang Mancang pinched him hard, "You brat, I wasted my time kissing you!"
Huang Xiaoqiang rubbed his arm and said helplessly, "What does this have to do with anything?"
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