Soon, they arrived at the production team office.
Li Yan told the other brigade cadres to go ahead with their work, and he accompanied Ning Yuan into the office.
It's called an office, but it's actually just an old house in a rural courtyard, with a table and an old cabinet inside.
The walls were covered with posters of working people and slogans such as "Long live the people's commune".
There was only one middle-aged woman, slightly plump and tall, wearing a blue work shirt, sitting there, holding a ceramic teacup in her hand.
Plump women often appear endearing and approachable.
However, she had eyes with the whites of her eyes showing below the iris, prominent cheekbones, and a thin face, which gave her a serious and unapproachable appearance.
Ning Yuan looked at her without saying anything.
The woman frowned, her face growing even longer. Seeing Li Yan behind Ning Yuan, she stood up and forced a smile, saying, "Secretary Li Yan, I'm so sorry..."
"It's nothing, Aunt Bai. You chat with Ning Yuan for a while, I'll go take care of something." Li Yan nodded politely, tactfully leaving the two of them alone.
Ning Yuan looked at the woman in front of her and slowly began, "Auntie, my living expenses..."
"You still have the nerve to ask for money!" Before she could finish speaking, an enamel mug came crashing down on her head.
She instinctively turned to one side.
"Bang—glug!" The enamel mug slammed against the door, then fell to the ground and rolled twice.
Although Ning Yuan escaped the fate of having her head smashed, the hot water inside splashed all over her body.
Fortunately, the hot water inside wasn't too hot anymore, but it was still a bit scalding, causing Ning Yuan to gasp and shake her clothes: "Hiss—!"
"Why are you hiding? Weren't you so fierce this afternoon, splashing someone with stinky water? When did I teach you to behave like a spoiled rich girl?!"
Aunt Bai's cold, sharp voice rang out, filled with anger.
It's just that Ning Yuan arrived a little late, and the hot water wasn't hot enough, otherwise she would have burned a few lumps on this girl before she learned her lesson!
Ning Yuan coldly raised her eyes to look at her: "Are you my aunt or someone else's aunt? Did you ask about the cause and effect before you took action?"
It must be that Tang Zhenzhen and Huang Xuehong couldn't beat her, and knowing she was afraid of her aunt, they immediately complained. They were quick on their feet.
Aunt Bai was surprised to see that her niece, who had always been meek and submissive in front of her since childhood, dared to speak to her like that.
She froze for a moment, then slammed her hand on the table, her eyes blazing with anger: "You dare to talk back? Fine, then let me ask you, people say you stole something and you won't admit it, so where did you get the jade chili pepper? That's our family heirloom, you didn't steal it, so how did it end up in your hands!"
Ning Yuan paused, then looked up at Aunt Bai: "That was given to me by my maternal grandmother when I was three years old."
Aunt Bai's face darkened: "Shut up! Your grandmother gave it to you, and I didn't know? Did your mother not know either?! Still lying!"
Ning Yuan said straightforwardly, "That's because Grandma told me not to tell you and Mom that you would definitely take it."
Aunt Bai was taken aback, then her serious face turned as if a palette of colors had been turned on, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Your life was given to you by your mother and me, give me the jade chili pepper!"
Ning Yuan lowered her eyes, her voice somewhat ethereal: "Auntie, if you have any other requests, you might as well say them all at once."
Aunt Bai softened her tone slightly when she saw that she had "gone soft": "You haven't registered your marriage yet. Immediately report to the brigade that the Rong fellow, who was sent down for reform, had designs on you. Then kneel down and beg Li Yan for forgiveness, saying that you are still innocent!"
Ning Yuan looked at Aunt Bai: "You asked me to frame Rong Zhaonan. Do you know that he could be imprisoned for more than ten years at best, and executed at worst?"
Sentencing now is different from decades later. During the crackdown, even peeping at women bathing could result in the death penalty.
Aunt Bai narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "He was a reformed individual, so what if he's dead? What does it have to do with you?!"
Ning Yuan looked at her for a while, then said calmly, "I disagree. I can't do something so despicable."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Bai's face instantly turned cold, and she slammed her hand on the table, saying, "I think you really have fallen into depravity by sleeping in the same bed with bad guys, just like they said! How have I raised you since you were a child? Now you have no manners at all! Kneel down! Today, I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your mother!"
Ning Yuan looked into her eyes and said, word by word, "Auntie, you can't represent my mother. I wasn't born from your belly. I didn't eat a single grain of rice from your family for nothing. I did most of the housework in your family."
Aunt Bai's sturdy figure froze, and she looked at Ning Yuan, who stood there with an indifferent expression, with disbelief, as if she were looking at a stranger.
She gritted her teeth: "Will you kneel or not? Tell me, what did you do right? How dare you marry and have an affair with a former laborer without my or our family's consent?"
Aunt Bai approached Ning Yuan step by step, pointing her finger at her nose and yelling, "Don't you know this will implicate our family? What will outsiders think of us? How can you face us after raising you all these years?!"
Ning Yuan looked directly at Aunt Bai and sneered, "I've done right by myself, Aunt. Isn't your only wish for me to date Li Yan and then force him to find jobs and military service quotas for my older cousins?"
Her mocking tone struck Aunt Bai right in the heart.
Her stern and harsh face seemed to tremble even at the bone level, as if she suddenly realized something: "You did it on purpose?"
Ning Yuan shrugged: "Whatever you say, I have no interest in being a stepping stone for others. The jade chili pepper was given to me by my grandmother, and I won't give it to anyone."
Aunt Bai stood there, her face turning grim and cold, staring at Ning Yuan's face: "Ning Yuan, you've really grown up. I'll ask you one more time, will you kneel down and admit your mistake, or will you give me the things?"
Ning Yuan continued, enunciating each word clearly, her gaze unwavering as she looked at her: "I won't kneel, I won't give it to you. I'm all grown up now, you can't control me anymore."
I will never again fear her threats and shadows!
Aunt Bai suddenly twisted her face, grabbed a large solid wood stool from the side, and slammed it down hard on Ning Yuan: "Then you try it!"
Ning Yuan hadn't expected Aunt Bai to suddenly lose control like this, daring to hit her with a large wooden stool right there in the production office.
That stool was so heavy, if it hit her like that, she would at least break a bone!
Although she was somewhat on guard and managed to dodge, Aunt Bai's tall stature forced her to the doorway in an instant.
Aunt Bai, panting with excitement, twisted her face and reached back to pull her hair, then smashed a stool over her head: "Why are you running? Your aunt is punishing you for your own good!"
Ning Yuan realized what was happening, gritted her teeth, and bent down sharply, about to bump into her leg.
Even if it meant getting a bad blow to her back, she was determined to knock Aunt Bai down and then call for help!
But someone was faster than her. The door was kicked open with a bang, and a slender figure swept out with a long leg.
"Ah!!" Aunt Bai was kicked away and crashed into the wall before falling to the ground.
She screamed and curled up against the wall.
Ning Yuan was stunned. She looked at the tall, slender figure standing beside her and asked, "Rong Zhaonan, what brings you here?"
Rong Zhaonan looked down at Ning Yuan, who was half-squatting, and said calmly, "If I hadn't come, you would have had to go to the hospital today. How would we have gotten our marriage certificate then?"
Ning Yuan slowly exhaled and looked at the burly woman huddled against the wall: "Did she break her ribs?"
Rong Zhaonan pushed up his glasses: "Yeah, about two of them broke. Are you going to blame me?"
He has already shown great restraint.
Ning Yuan took a deep breath: "No, thank you."
Aunt Bai nearly fainted from the pain, trembling as she glared at Ning Yuan and Rong Zhaonan: "You treacherous dogs, how dare you let someone hit me... How could you... I treated you like a daughter..."
"Ning Yuan, you've gone mad...you've fallen...you're only fit to be lectured by your elders! How dare you defy them?!"
Seeing the hatred in Aunt Bai's eyes, Rong Zhaonan raised an eyebrow: "Is she your aunt, or your enemy?"
I've never seen anyone beat their child to the point of crippling them.
Ning Yuan shook her head and lowered her eyes: "I don't know either."
Even after her aunt passed away in her past life, she still didn't understand why her aunt treated her that way!
He seemed to have an extremely strong desire for control and sadism, and he was very ruthless in beating and scolding her. He didn't hesitate to betray her to pave the way for his cousin.
It's not quite like complete abuse and control.
Even when her mother didn't want to send her to school, her aunt insisted that her mother must send her to school, and even promised to pay the tuition.
As they were talking, the noise in the room drew everyone else in.
Everyone looked at each other, bewildered by the mess in the room and Aunt Bai lying on the floor groaning, wondering what had happened.
"What happened?" Li Yan rushed over after being notified.
As soon as Li Yan entered the room and saw Rong Zhaonan, he was furious: "What are you doing here again, you exiled person? Why aren't you staying in the cowshed? What are you doing here!"
Rong Zhaonan lowered his eyes, hiding his cool gaze behind his glasses, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Report, I'm here to pick up my girlfriend."
"You..." Li Yan hesitated, wanting to say something.
Ning Yuan squatted down next to Aunt Bai and interrupted him, saying, "I had a fight with my aunt. She tried to hit me, so I pushed her. I got splashed with hot water, and she got hurt."
Li Yan frowned, his gaze sweeping sternly over Rong Zhaonan: "Ning Yuan, was it you or him who did it?"
These days, when relatives fight, most people tacitly agree to minimize the damage and let it go.
However, when Rong, a reformed and demoted individual, took action against the masses, the outcome was different.
Despite the excruciating pain, Aunt Bai pointed at Rong Zhaonan, her fingers trembling, as if trying to say something: "He...is..."
Ning Yuan, however, used the act of helping her up to suddenly press down on Aunt Bai's broken ribs.
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