At this time, Meng Tao was squatting in the bed of a hand tractor, wrapping his head and face with a large scarf, and heading towards the commune against the cold wind and snow particles falling from the sky.

The tractor belonged to the Linshui Village Brigade. There was not much work to do in the winter, and the machine would break down if left idle for a long time. Taohua applied to the brigade leader Bao, paid for the diesel herself, and provided the tractor driver with a day's food, and then drove the tractor out.

In addition to Taohua, there was also a young man in the car, Ma Liuzi, whom Taohua had met before and who was from the same village as Meng Laosan.

Ma Liuzi rushed to Linshui Village from Naliang Commune early in the morning and brought Taohua as a reinforcement to rescue his little friend Meng Laosan.

Speaking of it, Meng Laosan is really an unlucky guy. Like his other brothers and sisters, he was born in the Meng family and is also the grandson of Geng Liuju. However, he is the only one who is not liked by Geng Liuju. It would be fine if she didn't like him, but Geng Liuju just wanted to hold him tightly in her hands and control him since he was a child. He is just like a puppet, unable to turn east or west. If he dares to disobey, he will definitely not have a good end.

For example, this time Meng Laosan went straight to Linshui Village without Geng Liuju's consent. He just saw his grandfather nod, wanting to help his cousin. He stayed in Linshui Village for several days before going back. As a result, he angered Geng Liuju. As soon as he returned home, the old lady instructed her eldest son, Meng Laifu, Meng Laosan's father, to beat Meng Laosan severely with a bamboo whip. He also knelt in the mud in the yard all night. The next day, he was ordered to go to the mountain to dig sweet potatoes.

This was purely a challenge. In the middle of winter, the branches on the mountain had all withered and everything was yellow and dry. How could he tell them apart and how could he dig up wild yams? But Meng Laosan just accepted his fate. He dug here and there on the mountain with an empty stomach and actually dug up a few wild yams. When he came back in the evening, Geng Liuju allowed him to report and let him sit at the table for dinner.

But in the next few days, Meng Laosan fell into embarrassment.

His cousin Geng Caiyue, who had given birth to a child in the county town, was taken to the Meng family by his grandmother Geng Liuju to recuperate after the baby's birth. They lived in a side room. Geng Caiyue, her newborn baby, and two other girls aged three to five made a total of four people, mother and daughter. Geng Liuju asked Meng Laosan to take good care of them.

Meng Laosan was reluctant. He knew it was useless to ask his father Meng Laifu, so he went to ask his grandfather. Meng Changshou said, "That's your cousin. Your grandmother used to raise your father and your uncles and aunts. Your second aunt also took care of them. You can help her."

After hearing this, Meng Laosan had no choice but to bite the bullet and go in and out of the room every day, listening to Geng Liuju's instructions and Geng Caiyue's requests, and trying his best to satisfy them.

A young man who hasn't even married yet is already taking care of a confinement woman. This was known by Ma Liuzi and others. They first laughed at Meng Laosan, but seeing that he looked dull and didn't seem to care, they had to get serious and told Meng Laosan to be careful and not do such things. In their village, which man would take care of a woman during confinement? Besides, she's not his wife, there are so many women at home, and the cousin is not his biological sister. Now you are asked to take care of her during confinement, and in the future you are asked to marry your cousin. Are you really going to marry her? Meng Laosan waved his hands and said: Impossible! But less than two days after he said this, Ma Liuzi heard that Meng Laosan's legs were broken and his head was knocked unconscious by his father! Ma Liuzi hurriedly called two other friends and ran to the Meng family. Sure enough, they saw Meng Laosan curled up, unconscious in the thatched shed in the corner of the yard, with blood all over his head. Even in this cold weather, blood had clotted on his head. Ma Liuzi and others pushed him and shouted at Meng Laosan, but there was no response. When they checked his breath with their hands, it was weak, as if he was about to die.

Ma Liuzi wanted to look for the men of the Meng family, but he couldn't find any of them. There were only a few old and young women in the house. Geng Liuju said, "The cheap man won't die. Let him lie down for two days. When he wakes up, he will know how to be obedient!"

Someone quietly went to find the brigade cadres. Geng Liuju also looked calm and said that Meng Laosan was disobedient, talked back to his elders and beat the elderly, so his father taught him a lesson. This was a family affair and it was no big deal! The brigade cadres wanted to ask someone to carry Meng Laosan to the hospital for treatment. Geng Liuju said that the family had no money. The brigade cadres said that the team would advance the money and deduct it when the grain was distributed later. When Geng Liuju heard this, she immediately cried and threw a tantrum, and drove the brigade cadres out!

After a discussion, the few of them asked Ma Liuzi, who looked skinny but very fast, to rush to Linshui Village to see if Meng Taohua had any solution. After all, the girl Taohua they had met in the county town was dressed neatly and brightly, and was very pretty. She even chased them to bring them food, which showed that she had a good heart and lived a good life... Of course it would be great if she could save him, but if she couldn't save Meng Laosan, it would just be a message to her, and perhaps there would be no such person as Meng Laosan in the future.

Meng Tao adjusted the scarf on her face. The cold wind gave her a headache. She turned her head to look at Ma Liuzi, who was skinny and only wore two pieces of coarse cloth clothes. He was also so cold that his mouth and nose turned purple, and he was curled up into a ball.

The tractor arrived at Yanchong Commune and stopped for two minutes when passing by the commune restaurant. Meng Tao handed the money bill to the tractor driver Lin Dagang and asked him to run into the restaurant to buy ten meat buns. There was no other way. Meng Tao and Ma Liuzi were almost frozen. They had to move around before they could walk. It was very tiring and time-consuming to get up and down, so they simply troubled the tractor driver.

The hot meat buns were bought. Meng Tao urged Lin Dagang to stuff three of them into his stomach quickly, and then continued driving. She and Ma Liuzi could eat slowly in the truck bed.

Ma Liuzi was not slow. He finished the four meat buns that Meng Tao gave him in no time and finally recovered a little.

Meng Tao finished the three buns one bite at a time, then waved to Ma Liuzi to come closer. The two of them talked and shouted amid the roar of the tractor. Ma Liuzi listened to Meng Tao's suggestion and nodded repeatedly, thinking that Taohua was smart, as he had never thought of doing this.

The tractor moved forward quickly, and when it arrived at Naliang Commune, it went directly to the commune police station as Meng Tao wished. Ma Liuzi helped Meng Tao get off the vehicle and walked into the police station. Meng Tao reported the case in the identity of Meng Laosan's cousin.

As an eyewitness who saw the incident with his own eyes, Ma Liuzi also participated in the interrogation and recorded the story, and he was the main narrator. Meng Tao told him in advance that it was okay to exaggerate the situation of Meng Laosan.

Ma Liuzi knew that what he said was not an exaggeration. The situation was so serious that Meng Laosan was almost dead! After reporting the case, the police station was there. Seeing Meng Tao and his men driving a tractor from Yanchong Commune, they also sent a sidecar motorcycle with three policemen sitting on it. They drove along with the tractor for half an hour and finally arrived at Liuzhuang.

The car stopped in front of the Meng family's gate. Ma Liuzi got out and pushed the gate, but it was locked tightly. Ma Liuzi said that in the morning, there were people coming in and out to see Meng Laosan. Now, either Meng Laosan is dead, or the Meng family does not allow others to see him, or it is possible that they are preventing the team cadres from entering.

The police officer asked Ma Liuzi to help notify the brigade cadres to come over, while he knocked on the gate and shouted inside, asking the Meng family to open the door.

(End of this chapter)