People wear new clothes during the New Year, especially children. Basically, they have new clothes, and some have new shoes and socks. But no matter whether the clothes are new or old, adults and children today are all clean and tidy, and everyone looks more decent and good-looking than usual.

At all ends of the village, children were running around and playing, adults were chatting and laughing in groups of three or five, young men and girls were chatting and laughing in groups of three or five, and some of them were riding on ox carts to go to the commune to play.

Meng Tao did not go to the commune. After breakfast, while Wang Tiegen and Jinniu played chess, she locked the main room and took Xiao Wangcai and Zhou Cuiling for a walk around the village.

I met Aunt Yu on the way and took her directly to her house. We had a bowl of sugar water tea, which was fried rice crackers brewed with boiling sugar water. It would be delicious if you were hungry. But Meng Tao and Zhou Cuiling had just had breakfast, and after drinking such a bowl of tea, they were so bloated that they didn't know what to do.

When they arrived at Zhou Cuiling's house, the whole family was drinking sugared tea there. The two of them declined Aunt Yang's offer to make a bowl for each of them, and went upstairs to sit for a while. Zhou Cuiling took out some gifts from Zhang Guoqing and showed them to Meng Tao, and told her where they had gone to play in the past few days. They laughed as they talked, and Meng Tao could feel the happiness and sweetness from the bottom of her heart.

Zhou Cuiling took out the photo of the two of them, and Meng Tao remembered that she had promised Grandpa Liu to send her the photo, but she forgot to take a photo when she went to Mengzhou this time.

While looking at the photo of the two of them, Aunt Yang called Zhou Cuiling from downstairs, asking her to come down quickly because her junior high school classmates had come to play with her.

Three classmates came from other villages, and Zhou Cuiling had to accompany them, so Meng Tao said goodbye first.

When I brought Xiao Wangcai back home, I found that there were many people in my own home, about ten men and women, all crowded in Jinniu's room, as if they were having a meeting, and some people were arguing.

The quarrel was between Meng Jinniu, Wang Tiegen and a young man from the village named Lin Sanmeng. Meng Tao knew him; he was Lin Erhu's younger brother.

Lin Erhu and Lin Sanmeng are well-known in the village. They are strong and good at fighting. The villagers are a little afraid of the two brothers and generally do not provoke them.

Jinniu is an injured person, and I don't know why he would join Tiegen in targeting Lin Sanmeng.

Lin Sanmeng slammed the bed frame and shouted, "Let's be merciful. Besides, he didn't do anything. He just came here to watch everyone play chess and cards. Why can't we let him go? Besides, it's the first day of the new year. Everyone wants to have fun. Don't go too far."

Meng Jinniu said: "My family has a grudge against his family, so we won't let him come. Tell him to leave!"

Wang Tiegen pushed a young man wearing a felt hat and a cotton-padded jacket with holes showing through it: "Go! You have no face to stay here."

Lin Sanmeng pointed at Wang Tiegen and said, "Let's see who dares to touch him! Today I will protect Tian Laoliu. If you move again, Wang Tiegen, I will make you pay for it!"

Meng Tao now saw clearly the young man wearing a felt hat and lowering his head. It turned out to be Tian Laoliu. She was so angry that without saying a word, she walked up and broke off Lin Sanmeng's finger, causing Lin Sanmeng to scream in pain and instinctively punch and kick her.

Meng Tao naturally would not let him succeed. She grabbed two of his fingers and twisted his entire arm behind his back. Lin Sanmeng bent like a cooked shrimp. Meng Tao kicked him to the ground, then quickly walked over, grabbed Tian Laoliu by the collar and dragged him out.

Tian Laoliu struggled and shouted, "Third sister-in-law... Third sister-in-law, don't..."

Meng Tao slapped them both in the face and said, "You've blinded your mother's eyes. How dare you scream again?"

Tian Laoliu was beaten so hard that tears and snot flowed down his face: "Sister Tao, Sister Taohua! I never hurt you, I have no grudge against you!"

"Haven't you ever hurt me? Who was it that hit my bundle of firewood from behind on the mountain, causing me to fall down the hillside? Tian Laoliu, I haven't found the opportunity yet, and you coming to me today is just the right time!"

"You can't call me Sister Taohua. Who gave you the face to come to my house? Are you looking for death? I'll help you!"

While dragging him out, Meng Tao slammed him against the door frame twice, and then stepped on the threshold a few times. Tian Laoliu howled like a ghost.

Everyone was shocked by Meng Tao's vigor. Then they remembered that this girl had hunted wild boars in the mountains. Even the strongman Lin Erhu admired her. Dare to provoke her? It's really looking for death.

The room was completely silent; even Lin Sanmeng, who was lying on the ground, stopped crying out in pain.

But someone couldn't bear to see this, so Zhou Cuimei stepped forward to persuade him: "Taohua, I think let it go. He's just a half-grown child, what does he know? He came in to take a look when he saw the excitement here, so pitiful. Please let him go for my sake, okay?"

Meng Tao stepped on Tian Laoliu and glanced at Zhou Cuimei coldly: "Who are you? How can you be so proud that you can give orders in my house and I have to watch you?"

"You!" Zhou Cuimei was embarrassed and angry. She turned around and looked at Meng Jinniu, saying coquettishly, "Jinniu, why don't you take care of your sister! How could she do this to me?"

Meng Jinniu was stunned for a moment, then he remembered something and turned to look at Wang Tiegen: "Where did you put that thing after you finished reading it that day?"

Wang Tiegen walked to an old wooden box in the corner and rummaged through it. He took out a cloth bag and threw it to Jinniu: "Here."

Zhou Cuimei's face turned red and white, and she stamped her feet: "Meng Jinniu, you are not a human! You showed the things I gave you to others!"

Meng Jinniu handed the cloth bag back to Zhou Cuimei: "I told you to take it away, but you ran away. I didn't look at it because you put it on the iron bed. He came over and opened it to look. It's not his fault. You can take it back. I don't want it. I have forgotten about it."

Zhou Cuimei was angry and embarrassed, and turned to run away, but she thought about the love letter she wrote to Meng Jinniu in the literacy class, and the two pairs of insoles she made by herself in the cloth bag. If some reckless person opened it and looked at it, she would really lose all her face! In the end, she took back the cloth bag, glared at Meng Jinniu, and ran away without looking back.

Someone in the room sneered.

Meng Tao continued to step on Tian Laoliu: "Tell me, who asked you to come to my house and poison me?"

Tian Laoliu: “…”

What? He couldn't bear this crime. Where did he get the poison? "I didn't. I'm innocent!"

"You won't tell me, right?" Meng Tao stepped on his spine: "If I use a little force, your spine will break. I can pay for your medical expenses, and you will be like Shi Datou in the future."

Tian Laoliu was horrified: "No! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"

(End of this chapter)