The goose's beady eyes flashed with a fierce light, and it flapped its wings to meet Li's mother who was rushing towards it.
This time, the hand was twisted on the soft flesh of her chest, and Li's mother cried out in pain and bent over.
Captain Li frowned, his expression already showing displeasure. "A thousand? You can't just rip people off like this."
He had someone help Li's mother up first.
It's hard to say whether the Li family can even scrape together a hundred. If they really have to lose money, they'll have to borrow from their clansmen or the brigade.
"You think you're so great?" Ruan Xianxian raised her eyelids. "If you can't understand human language, then speak in a way you can."
"The fault doesn't lie with me, Uncle Xiang. What's a man's problem if he doesn't have a wife? If it really escalates to the point of involving the Revolutionary Committee, even an adopted son is a member of the Li family. This sister and her adopted son..."
"Hehe, once this news gets out, I wonder if it will affect the marriage prospects of all the girls in Xinghua Village."
Upon hearing this, Captain Li's expression changed drastically. He abruptly stood up and glared angrily at Xiang Hongjun, who seemed lost in thought. "Are you mute? Let an outsider make the decisions?"
Xiang Hongjun's eyes still had some bloodshot streaks, and his finger bones had some minor abrasions. He gave a contemptuous laugh, but the laugh didn't reach his eyes.
"Did you think that Xiao Ruan asked you to block the news just for my sake? Most of the people in Xinghua Village are surnamed Li. If I lose one, you lose a whole bunch."
The child is too kind-hearted; asking for a thousand is too little. In my opinion, if it's less than two thousand, we should resolve it officially.
Ruan Xianxian stayed up late to accompany him to see this dirty business, always thinking of him and considering his needs. He was too busy repaying her kindness to undermine her.
Captain Li is getting more and more confused as he gets older.
Meeting his mocking eyes, devoid of any former affection, Captain Li hesitated for a long time before blurting out, "Don't you ever think about Xiao Nuan?"
"Two thousand two."
Xiao Nuan? When the quota for the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University came out this year, he sent his daughter to school. What is there to fear from rumors and gossip if his child is successful?
Besides, how could such trivial matters possibly reach the university?
"You, you, you, aren't you afraid that Xiao Bei won't be able to find a wife and people will gossip about him? Chunfen and Guangzong's visits back home once or twice are comparable to your honeymoon."
"It's probably your son, and you're not going to take care of him?"
Xiang Hongjun's expression shifted, and the goose chirped loudly at Ruan Xianxian.
Mom, Mom, that wicked auntie who's having an affair is taking her son to the village chief's house to plot against you.
Ruan Xianxian patted the goose's head, thinking it was getting smarter and smarter, and took out a grain of goose feed from her sling bag as a reward.
This kid must have learned something from the training camp; now he's learned to secretly follow and gather intelligence.
She whispered a few words in Xiang Hongjun's ear, telling him about Li Chunfen's conspiracy with Xiang Bei and the old village chief to report him and instigate her mother to divorce.
Xiang Hongjun closed his eyes briefly, then said, "Two thousand five."
Captain Li: ? ? ?
Seeing that he was about to speak again, the accountant was so frightened that she quickly pulled him out of the yard. His daughter was married, but they still had unmarried young women who were discussing marriage.
We can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch.
Li's father vowed to feign unconsciousness until he died, while Li's mother sat on the ground slapping her thighs and wailing, saying that she couldn't live anymore and might as well sell her by weight, and that she would die together with the man surnamed Xiang if she was driven to desperation.
Ruan Xianxian shut her up with one sentence.
"Your adopted son has an affair with one of your sisters. I wonder if your two remaining daughters have been harmed by your adopted son? Even if they haven't, do you think their in-laws would believe it?"
Oh dear, this is terrible! Your three daughters have been divorced and sent back to their parents' home, plus the girls in the village whose reputations have been ruined by your family...
I wonder if your Li family will still have a place in the brigade in the future. Will you be ambushed by some extreme group and end up dead as a whole?"
Just imagine, if word gets out, not only will the son and Chunfen have their heads shaved and be paraded through the streets, but the other two daughters will be divorced, and the reputation of all the girls in the village will be ruined...
The scene of ostracizing and retaliating against the Li family, which would bring them no peace, made Li's mother shudder. She forgot to cry, and her lips turned pale as she trembled uncontrollably.
With a howl, she pounced on Li Chunfen and slapped her, yelling, "Why did you have to crawl out of my crotch, you ungrateful wretch? There are so many men out there, why did you have to seduce my son?"
I'll beat you to death, you shameless, despicable, worthless piece of trash!
Li Chunfen, who had already been severely beaten, suffered an even worse fate, and her resentful gaze was fixed on Xiang Hongjun, who was sitting on the bench.
It's all that man's fault. Couldn't he just pretend he didn't know? Couldn't he have just avoided making a fuss?
"Slap!" Xiang Hongjun slapped her across the face. "If you glare at me again, I won't hesitate to gouge your eyes out."
Startled, Li Chunfen covered her face and endured her mother's scratching and clawing as she rode on top of her.
Finally, Captain Li, having reached a decision, returned with the accountant. The accountant, whose face was clearly smooth, dared not let the captain speak again.
He reached out and gave Xiang Hongjun a heavy squeeze on the shoulder. "Brother, it's the Li family's fault for not raising their children well, causing you to suffer. We'll give you a thousand yuan."
If the Li family hadn't sold the property, they wouldn't have been able to come up with any more money. I wouldn't have been willing to pay that amount. Can money buy back the effort and emotion invested?
The outcome is not what everyone wanted, and we have tried our best to make amends. Let's take a step back, bro.
I know you feel wronged. We're just village officials, not the Li family's parents. Otherwise, we would have beaten these two shameful bastards to death.
If you have any other requests, just tell us, and we'll do our best to fulfill them.
Ruan Xianxian felt that at least what she said was human.
Her stance is clear: she won't participate further.
"Who said you'd give me a thousand? I told you, no discussion unless it's two thousand five hundred." Xiang Hongjun said this to Captain Li.
The accountant hurriedly stood up with a smile on his face, "Hey old brother, you've already fought and made a scene, and Guangzong has lost his manhood and the rest of his life, so you've finally gotten your revenge."
"It's all Captain Li's fault for his foul mouth. Tomorrow, put a seal on his head. If that's still not enough, why don't you give him a beating too?"
Seeing that Xiang Hongjun's expression had finally softened, he wanted to continue his efforts, but the former raised his hand to stop him.
“We’ll do it your way, but I have one more condition.” He looked into the accountant’s eyes and said each word clearly.
“Give me the quota for the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University in Xinghua Village this year.”
The accountant's expression changed slightly, but he didn't deny it outright, forcing a smile as he said, "You see, university spots aren't something you can just get whenever you want!"
"If not this year, then next year. Does that mean Xinghua Village will never be awarded the title of Outstanding Brigade again?"
Seeing that Xiang Hongjun was determined, Captain Li and his companion went out to discuss the matter for a while, and when they returned, they reluctantly agreed.
After receiving the guarantee, Ruan Xianxian and Li Chunfen got up to leave, but Li Chunfen, who had been huddled in the corner taking the beating without moving, suddenly crawled over on all fours.
She grabbed Xiang Hongjun's leg and said, "Brother Xiang, I'll go home with you. Take me with you, and I promise I'll live a good life with you and never think about anything else."
His thighs were tightly embraced. He looked down at the Red Army soldier, whose wife was already crying with tears streaming down her face, staring at him with desperate, pleading eyes.
“You know, you know, they’ll kill me. You crippled Rongguang, they’ll definitely kill me. You can’t be so heartless.”
Xiang Hongjun sighed, bent down, and pried open Li Chunfen's fingers one by one...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
