Side Story 1: Junjun's New Life (Part 3)
Side Story 1: Junjun's New Life (Part 3)
Here we go again. The previous ten or so mediation attempts failed almost always because Grandma Fang would start throwing a tantrum and demanding that the person be handed over. Then, when Xiao Junjun was brought out, she would immediately start screaming in terror as soon as she saw the adults trying to push her to her grandmother. She would run and hide, and once she even tried to jump into the water. Luckily, Lin Guohui ran over and caught her. That's how the mediation failed.
This was only the beginning, and Old Zhou and Captain Wang's faces immediately darkened. Captain Wang, suppressing his anger, said, "Teacher Fang, your old woman is quite formidable. The village leaders and the women's director are here, trying to mediate with kind words, but she doesn't listen at all. What's wrong with her hitting the little guy?"
Teacher Fang pulled Grandma Fang, who had stood up, back down. "What's going on? Who are you trying to provoke by getting angry at? Sit down!"
Old Mrs. Fang's chest heaved as she said fiercely, "What, is there no law anymore? Did the village leaders help her family snatch someone away? I don't believe it..."
Seeing that she was about to throw another tantrum, Shi Lanlan, being young, immediately said, "We're mediating today, let's talk it out! Hongya's mom, the last few times you insisted on calling Xiaojun out, don't you know how she reacted when she saw you? Why bother? We've mediated so many times, everyone should be understanding and control their tempers. Who benefits from your constant outbursts? Let me make this clear: Xiaojun is perfectly fine today. If anything happens to her after you take her back, I will definitely report it to the town and the city's Women's Federation! You're so unreasonable! A perfectly good girl, and instead of sending her to school, you beat her up like this, and now you're throwing tantrums here. What's the point of your anger? This morning when she saw me, she secretly pulled me aside, tears welling up in her eyes, asking if I could not send her home. Even we outsiders felt bad seeing that, how can you, as her parents and grandparents, possibly bear it!"
His words were so powerful that they left Old Mrs. Fang speechless.
After being scolded so harshly, Wang Jing felt her face burning and her eyes reddened.
Seeing that the situation had been calmed down, Old Zhou coughed again and said in a good cop tone, "Our Lanlan is a young person, and she spoke a bit bluntly. Please don't take offense, seniors."
Uncle Cheng and the old man from the Fang family hurriedly said, "No, no, no, Director Shi is right. We live in a new society now, and we shouldn't hit the little guy."
Captain Wang said, "If you ask me, it's not difficult to handle. If Teacher Fang's family wants to go to Xiao Junjun's family, that's fine, as long as your family writes a guarantee, with everyone as witnesses, that you will not hit the little one anymore, and that you will take her to the hospital for a check-up immediately, and that you will send her to school as soon as possible this September, and make sure she is well. That's all. Secretary Zhou, Lanlan, is that right?"
Shi Lanlan said, "Then we need to make this clear. How should this guarantee be written? If it's not kept, and someone else gets hit and jumps into the water again, who will take responsibility? If anything really happens to you, who will be accountable?"
Old Zhou looked at the Fang family and smiled. "Today, our Teacher Fang and two elders of the Fang family are all here. Everyone has to sign and take responsibility. No matter what happens in the future, everyone will be involved. I have already written a report on Xiao Junjun's matter and plan to submit it to the town government after taking a couple of days off. In recent years, the town has been focusing on the issue of girls' education in rural areas, which also involves domestic violence. They can't possibly ignore it."
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the Fang family members turned rather unpleasant.
Grandma Fang still had some respect for the town government and didn't dare to cause a scene. She muttered, "Which family doesn't beat their little one? Little X's health was already poor. If something really happens to her, can you blame us?"
The words "little X girl" struck a nerve with several people. Shi Lanlan was so angry that she tore her notebook to shreds, and Cheng's mother-in-law and Cheng Qiuyan were trembling with rage. But before anyone could speak, Wang Jing suddenly stood up.
Her face turned pale and her voice trembled as she pointed at her mother-in-law and shouted, "You old bastard! How can you expect to have a good life with such a lovely little girl in your hands?! Xiao Niannian is unwell, and I can't take care of her myself. I was hoping you would take care of someone for me, but what kind of grandmother are you? You want someone else? What do you want her family for? To beat you up?"
Her voice was hoarse, which masked most of her sobs.
Grandma Fang was stunned by her shout.
Little Fang Yuenian fell out of her arms and stood timidly to the side, stunned with fright.
Xiao Chengbing, nestled in Cheng Qiuyan's arms, stared blankly at Wang Jing and Xiao Fangyuenian, completely stunned.
Captain Wang gave her a look signaling her to stay calm, so Shi Lanlan just gave a cold snort.
Seeing that the conversation had finally reached this point, Old Zhou took a deep breath, looked at Wang Jing, and asked seriously, "So, Wang Jing, you are Xiao Junjun's mother, what are your thoughts?"
Wang Jing sniffed, opened her mouth, and after making up her mind several times, she said, "Secretary, Captain, Director Shi, I won't talk nonsense anymore. If I take Xiao Junjun back... I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of her myself."
This was the first time she had shown weakness after being strong-willed for most of her life.
In front of the elders of the clan, his parents-in-law, and so many outsiders, it was almost like he was about to tear off his face.
She pulled Xiao Fangyuenian behind her, looked at her parents-in-law and husband beside her, and slowly said with a pale face, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, Fang Wu, tell me yourselves, what are your plans? Do you really want Xiao Junjun? I know you're afraid people will look down on you, that's okay. Go ahead and tell everyone that Xiao Junjun was given away by me, her mother, and it has nothing to do with you. It's all my fault."
Old Zhou had been waiting for these words. He glanced at the expressions on the faces of the Fang family members and said in a deep voice, "Teacher Fang, what do you say?"
Before her husband could answer, Old Mrs. Fang said to Wang Jing, "Have you thought this through? Your own little one..."
“Stop talking about this,” Wang Jing said coldly. “I know exactly what you’re thinking.”
Grandma Fang, having been hit where it hurt, coughed awkwardly and muttered, "It's your own fault for not wanting it, so it has nothing to do with me."
Shi Lanlan and Captain Wang both looked at Teacher Fang and Fang Wu.
Fang Wu hesitated and looked at his father, waiting for him to speak.
After considering it for a moment, Teacher Fang looked at the Cheng family members opposite her and said uncertainly, "Raising a little one is not a simple matter..."
Old Zhou immediately turned to Master Cheng and asked, "Master Cheng, Sister-in-law Cheng, Yanzi, Master Lin, do you want to say something?"
Master Cheng said calmly, "Do we need to write a guarantee? Do we need all of our family members to sign and put their fingerprints on it? It doesn't matter, we can do that. There's only one thing: once Xiao Junjun is given to our family, she has to be a member of our family."
Lin Guohui put his hand on Cheng Qiuyan's shoulder, looked at the village leaders, and said solemnly, "There's no point in saying anything else. Right here in the village, with the leaders watching, we can raise the little one well. Besides, Junjun and Xiaoxiao are inseparable now; they are sisters."
Cheng Qiuyan felt a lump in her throat and reached out to hold her husband's hand.
Xiao Chengbing didn't quite understand, but she keenly grasped the general meaning: Sister Junjun wouldn't leave. So she stayed contentedly behind her parents, but then she inadvertently glanced at Xiao Fang Yuenian across the way. Beside him, Wang Jing buried her face in her hands and sobbed.
This is not something that can be accomplished with just a verbal agreement; both families must go through many procedures.
However, Shi Lanlan and Lao Zhou were willing to go through all the trouble, writing letters of introduction, reports, commitments to relinquish guardianship, adoption agreements, and procedures for changing household registration and name. In short, everything had to be done properly, and each and every one of them was quite complicated.
Another month later, Xiao Junjun's household registration was officially completed. Lin Guohui immediately went to the village to register her for school, preparing to send her to school when the semester started. On the other hand, under the careful care of the Cheng family, Fang Junjun's physical and mental health improved a lot. Before she officially started school, Cheng Qiuyan and Lin Guohui took her to the hospital for a check-up. Fortunately, she was just a little malnourished and would recover after some time of recuperation.
The Cheng family's children grew from two to three, and the Fang and Cheng families became complete strangers.
—The grudges and grievances will remain intertwined from now on.
September has arrived, and school has started again. Junjun, the little girl, has finally gone to school. Her name on her student record is Cheng Junjun.
Life in the village is full of troubles.
Cheng Junjun had been asked many questions with ulterior motives. Those women who just wanted to gossip would ask her with a smile more than once: Whose little one are you? Is your father's surname Fang or Lin?
Or: Junjun, I saw your grandma playing cards over there, and she's asking you to come and take care of your little brother!
After a couple of times, Lin Guohui found out and personally went to the village entrance and had a big argument with several sharp-tongued and foul-mouthed women.
"My daughter is my daughter. If you have nothing better to do, then you should take a break! If anyone dares to say any more of that nonsense, don't blame me for being rude!"
No one knew what Lin Guohui was like when he didn't give people face. When the usually cheerful and gentle man pulled a long face and started arguing with someone, Cheng Xiaoxiao held Cheng Junjun's hand and watched from the side. Whether it was the hand that was being held tightly or Lin Guohui's resounding "my girl", it was all deeply imprinted in Cheng Junjun's heart.
She was no longer so easily startled, and the wildness in her nature quickly emerged.
Cheng Xiaoxiao has always been a top student, but Cheng Junjun is different.
She was the oldest student in the lower grades. Because she started school late and learned slowly, and because she was a wild girl that even the cats and dogs in the village disliked, she was bullied a lot when she first entered the school. Whenever someone provoked her, she would fight back without hesitation, and in less than a few months, she had beaten everyone from top to bottom, quickly making a name for herself.
The village primary school had limited teaching resources, and the teachers were too busy to keep up with the demand. When they encountered students who were not good at studying, they simply couldn't control them and had no choice but to let them be. Cheng Junjun was one of the most unruly and difficult students to manage, and basically no one wanted to discipline her until she caused the biggest trouble of all.
She buried the little leather shoes that the school's only music teacher cherished in the soil of the grove.
This music teacher was loved by all the children in the school. She was beautiful, kind, and most importantly, her arrival finally gave everyone a music class. As a result, she felt wronged and applied for a transfer.
That would be a huge loss.
Even though the rural primary school never calls parents, it was unusual for them to call Cheng Qiuyan and Lin Guohui. The homeroom teacher said earnestly, "Take care of your youngest daughter."
Cheng Xiaoxiao was about to enter junior high school at that time, and she also participated in this conversation. Her parents and older sister made a joint promise: they would take care of her.
It's unclear which entity plays a more significant role in this "management" process.
Everyone has their own way of doing things. At the time, her parents tried their best to persuade her, but her older sister pinned her down and beat her up, asking her, "What's the difference between you doing this and staying in the house across the street?"
Cheng Junjun was beaten, but she still slept with her sister that night. Her tears soaked her pillow, and she said, "I will learn to be good."
From then on, no matter how much outsiders provoked her, Cheng Junjun never did anything like fighting, climbing over walls, or skipping school again.
Over the course of a year or two, his grades and manner of dealing with people gradually began to resemble Cheng Xiaoxiao's. Eventually, even Cheng Xiaoxiao's homeroom teacher said, "This child has been properly raised."
She became a typical Cheng family child.
Healthy, of good character, happy, and outstanding. (Author's note:)
End of Extra Chapter 1. This book...
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