When the man saw Xu Daya trying to run away, he immediately gave chase. Niu Zhaodi, not to be outdone, felt that her motherly authority was threatened, so she grabbed a stick and chased after her as well.
Xu Daya was often beaten by Niu Zhaodi. Every time she was beaten, Xu Daya would not fight back. She knew that it would be useless to fight back, and the more she fought back, the more she would be beaten.
Niu Zhaodi would usually behave herself when Xu Yaoqiang was around, so Xu Daya would rather work a little longer than go home when Xu Yaoqiang wasn't there.
Xu Daya was also clever. She ran desperately towards the crowd. She knew that if the people in the brigade saw her being arrested, they wouldn't ignore her for the sake of Yang Chunqin and Grandpa Xu. At the very least, they would let Yang Chunqin and the others know what had happened. As long as Yang Chunqin came, she would be saved.
She knew that although the Xu family looked down on her because of what happened last time, they wouldn't let her marry a man like that.
Although Xu Daya ran fast, she was still no faster than that man.
The man reached out and grabbed Xu Daya's braid, then tried to drag her back.
Xu Daya screamed for help.
Although it was during working hours, many elderly people, or those who stayed behind to take care of children, were still at home. It was impossible for Xu Daya's commotion not to attract everyone's attention.
"Hey! Isn't this Yaoqiang's eldest daughter? What happened to her?"
Xu Daya: "Help! Help! These people are going to sell me!"
The man reached out and slapped Xu Daya across the face: "You stinking woman, what nonsense are you spouting? I did give you a bride price."
Some people couldn't stand it anymore. Even if you gave a bride price, you can't be so unreasonable, can you?
"You think you can just give me a bride price like that? Even if Daya really marries you, you can't treat her like a human being!"
"Get lost! Do I need your permission to hit my own wife?"
At this moment, Niu Zhaodi caught up and, without saying a word, started hitting Xu Daya with a stick.
Xu Daya screamed in agony as she was beaten, and the onlookers were stunned by Niu Zhaodi's attack.
Xu Daya clutched her head tightly, but still managed to plead for help from the onlookers: "Grandpa, aunties, please help me find my aunt, my Ada, and my grandparents, otherwise I'll die at their hands today."
Seeing that a large crowd was gathering, the man pulled Xu Daya back.
But Niu Zhaodi didn't care about any of that. She was Xu Daya's mother, and who could say anything if a mother beat her child?
Xu Daya's maternal grandmother and the man's mother also caught up. Seeing so many onlookers and Niu Zhaodi still hitting Xu Daya, Xu Daya's maternal grandmother frowned and thought Niu Zhaodi was really stupid.
The old woman snatched the stick from Niu Zhaodi's hand and said in a low voice, "You're good for nothing but causing trouble. Quickly take her home."
With a sudden pull, the man lifted Xu Daya and started walking back. Xu Daya didn't care about anything else anymore. She struggled desperately and kept begging the onlookers to find Yang Chunqin and Xu Yaoqiang.
Xu Daya's grandmother was afraid things would go wrong, so she had the man gag Xu Daya.
The people who went to fetch help were quick on their feet. They split up to notify Yang Chunqin and Xu Yaoqiang, and soon they all rushed to Xu Yaoqiang's house in a panic.
Xu Yaoqiang saw the closed courtyard gate, kicked it open, and then saw Xu Daya, whose face was beaten beyond recognition. Xu Yaoqiang was furious: "Who did this?"
The man's mother immediately stepped forward with a smile, "Are these our in-laws? We've already given the betrothal gifts, and we're here today to take her away. This girl is reluctant to leave home, and her mother is trying to reason with her!"
Although Xu Yaoqiang was an honest man, he could be quite intimidating when he got angry: "In-laws? Dowry? Niu Zhaodi, you're something else! You want to reason with me? Well then, I'll have a good talk with you today."
Xu Yaoqiang snatched the stick from Niu Zhaodi's hand and started hitting her.
Niu Zhaodi hadn't been beaten since marrying Xu Yaoqiang, and it seemed she had long forgotten what it felt like to be beaten. Suddenly, Xu Yaoqiang swung a stick at her, and she felt as if the top of her head was about to be blown off.
When Xu Daya's grandmother saw that Xu Yaoqiang was serious, she was so frightened that she shrank into a corner and hid.
For so many years, Niu Zhaodi always moved things back to her parents' home until there was nothing left to move. When it came time to distribute grain, she would secretly move the fine grain she received to her parents' home, but Xu Yaoqiang never got angry.
In Xu Daya's maternal grandmother's mind, Xu Yaoqiang was a useless person, so she never took him seriously.
But Xu Yaoqiang's face was contorted with rage, as if he wanted to devour someone. Xu Daya's grandmother finally realized that she had struck a nerve with Xu Yaoqiang.
Niu Zhaodi cried until her face was covered in snot and tears, but Xu Yaoqiang wouldn't stop. At this moment, he really thought he should just beat this woman to death, kill her, and then end his own life so that everyone could be free.
The onlookers were also frightened by Xu Yaoqiang's fierceness at this moment, and no one thought of breaking up the fight.
When Yang Chunqin and Xu Qiang arrived, they rushed forward without even catching their breath and snatched the stick from Xu Yaoqiang's hand.
Yang Chunqin: "Yaoqiang, wake up. It's not worth killing her and getting yourself killed."
Xu Yaoqiang covered his face and squatted down, tears welling up between his fingers.
Yang Chunqin looked coldly at Niu Zhaodi and said, "Niu Zhaodi, you're really something, now you're even willing to sell your daughter."
Niu Zhaodi retorted, "Sister-in-law, I am her mother. How can finding her a good husband be considered selling my daughter?"
Yang Chunqin: "Nowadays, freedom of marriage is advocated. If you had found a proper husband for Daya, let both parties meet and see if they like each other, and then arrange the marriage, no one would have said anything to you. But what did you do? You accepted the bride price without even meeting the person, and then disregarded Daya's wishes and had her taken away. When she disagreed, you all beat her up and forced her to go with them. Isn't that selling your daughter?"
Niu Zhaodi retorted, "I am her mother, and I have the final say on her marriage."
Yang Chunqin laughed in anger: "Niu Zhaodi, do you think our Xu family are all dead? You used to bring everything to your parents' home, making it impossible to raise the children. Yaoqiang didn't say anything, so we couldn't say anything, but Daya is our Xu family's child, not your Niu family's child that you can sell as you please."
Seeing that things were not going well, and having also heard that Yang Chunqin's husband was the county public security bureau chief, the man's mother was afraid that her daughter-in-law would not get married and that the bride price would be wasted. She immediately said, "Oh dear! What kind of situation is this? We gave eighty yuan as a bride price. Didn't we say that the girl herself agreed? Otherwise, we wouldn't have come all this way today. Since the girl does not agree, we will not force her. Just return the bride price."
"Eighty?" The onlookers gasped.
"This Niu Zhaodi is quite something, she actually took eighty yuan from someone."
"He's heartless. He beat his daughter to death for eighty yuan."
"Marrying a woman like this is a misfortune for the family!"
Yang Chunqin felt a throbbing in her forehead, and she really wanted to raise a stick and give Niu Zhaodi a good beating.
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