Chapter 40 (Two Updates in One)
The so-called "La Bang Tao" (拉帮套) involves a woman living with two men. The second man is usually young and strong, unable to marry. Being someone's "trap" is certainly not easy, but it's better than a lifetime of singlehood. While the man has to work to support the family, at least he can take care of food and drink, and if the woman is healthy, she can even bear a child. Later, when the family splits up, the "trap" can also have a child to support him in his old age.
But don't assume that the woman in a Labangtao household lives a life of luxury, like the landlords of the old world who kept concubines. The woman in a Labangtao household has the hardest job. She has to care for the sick and disabled husband, take care of the children, the elderly, and do household chores, then devote more energy to caring for the new laborer... It's not just her body that's exhausted, but her heart and soul are torn in two. Unable to ignore the one in front while still relying on the one behind, conflicts are inevitable over time, and the woman is the one who's left feeling the most vulnerable. When the children grow up and can work, and this life becomes unnecessary, the two men split up, and they stab the woman in the heart: her child is forcibly taken away, and she has no connection to him from then on. The saying "splitting the calf" refers to splitting the mother's heart.
But these customs are from thirty or forty years ago. Back then, there was no other way. In the vast, sparsely populated, cold lands beyond the Great Wall, finding a wife was incredibly difficult for a villager. Even after finally spending all their money to secure one, the entire family wouldn't let them leave. This distorted custom was thus born. Since liberation, such incidents have become less common, especially in recent years. It's almost unheard of in any village.
Now this incident has actually happened in a public institution like the forest farm, and the persecution is against the children of martyrs. Who is Wei Layue? The Wei family is full of loyal martyrs. When she got married, the director of the forest farm headquarter even came to host the wedding tea party!
There's only an old grandmother left on her family's side, but why don't you think about the fact that when Wei Layue got married, half a village of people from the brigade came to see her off—that's how they supported her! The forestry leader was pulled over by the Zhou family and cried about how fierce and ruthless Wei Layue was, and how she dared to put a knife to her mother-in-law's neck. She was so angry that she saw stars. The security guard pushed the Zhou family away and sneered, "Who is her mother-in-law? They're divorced now, aren't they?"
"You forced someone to use a knife," He Xiaohu from the Security Department looked at Zhou's mother with disdain. "You, young and old, are really capable!"
That's quite capable——
The old Party Secretary of Buxian Village personally invited Director Zhou of the commune to the forest farm to resolve the situation. Lin Xinghuo, carrying the caracal on her back, followed behind to provide some support. She had come at Grandma Wei's request, and it was her presence that calmed the agitated villagers, allowing them to remain in the village to harvest. As the villagers put it, "Our aunt can beat ten men by herself. If she goes along, she'll be safe, and it won't make us look like we're bullying the Zhou family."
The old couple of the Zhou family felt aggrieved. They pointed at the old branch secretary and asked him to compensate them for their family property and their son.
Director Zhou stepped forward and waved away Zhou's mother's hand. He glanced around and calmed down the noisy Zhou family members. Then he turned around and shook hands with the head of the security department: "Our commune caught two criminals who hid in the cornfield and attempted to insult the martyr's family. Now Director Yan of our commune police station has handed them over to your unit's police station." They came to settle accounts with the Zhou family after watching the forest farm police station take away the talents.
The security chief was startled and quickly looked at the forestry farm leader. After a careful search among the crowd, he realized Zhou Gangzi, the cheerful and energetic man who had just taken over Zhou Liang's shift, was missing. He knew what was going on. The leader rubbed his face. "What the hell is going on? This is so embarrassing! If this gets out, it's going to be even harder for the forestry farm workers to find wives!"
Aren't girls marrying into the forest farm to find a man who earns a living? But logging is dangerous, and parents already have to worry about it. Now, one bad apple spoils the whole pot. People will definitely ask what the hell your forest farm is doing, and how can you bully people like this? Is your forest farm so arrogant that it relies on its public status to treat its daughters-in-law as human beings? Who would dare introduce a good girl to a young man from the forest farm in the future?
The leader felt as if he had swallowed a piece of bitter herb, but he still had to put on a smile to ease the relationship with the director of Fangmaji Commune. He had to put on a smile, because Fangmaji was the commune closest to the forest farm: "The last time we met was in spring. Director Zhou passed by us on his way to the city..." Let's first mention the help the forest farm had given to Director Zhou before.
Then he made his position clear: "Don't worry, you and the families of our forestry farm will deal with this issue seriously!"
Zhou's mother only then remembered her paralyzed son and rushed over, yelling, "Didn't you kill my son Liangzi? I told you he was paralyzed and couldn't move, but that bitch from the Wei family insisted on taking him away and even dared to threaten me with a knife... No! You have to pay for my son's life!"
Lin Xinghuo stepped forward and stood in front of the old branch secretary, using his toes to stop Zhou Liangniang from throwing a tantrum.
Everyone watched as a pretty young lady raised her foot, and the shrew from the Zhou family was stuck in the air, her chin forced high up, and all the dirty words in her mouth were swallowed back along with her saliva. She choked and fell backwards, like a turtle that had turned over its shell.
"Hey, I never realized Zhou Liang's mom was such a bitch before! She's really good at pretending. I've only heard that Zhou Liang is smart and capable, but why are his parents like this?"
"Otherwise, how could you marry a daughter-in-law like that?" Someone in the know said, "You also said that Zhou Liang is capable. This guy knows a lot. He can handle everything, such as electricity and wires. In addition to his salary, he also receives a good monthly allowance. He gives his salary to his wife to manage and uses the allowance to honor his parents. The life these two old people lived before was really good. They didn't have anything to make a fuss about, right? Besides, the other members of the Zhou family still depend on them. The nephews and nieces only favor them. That's how they got their good reputation. We didn't expect that these two old fools were coaxed into favoring their son over relatives, and forced their son to give his job to his cousin - otherwise, it would be right for Layue to take over her husband's job, right?" Layue's wife is reliable and can support the family after taking over. The old couple can just stay at home and take care of their son peacefully. Their life can't be too bad. Who knows what these two idiots were thinking? They almost forced their son to death and made their daughter-in-law pick up a machete to speak.
"What are you doing?" Seeing this, two daughters-in-law from the Zhou family came up to tease Lin Xinghuo.
Lin Xinghuo shook her wrist, and the golden-ringed bee that was decorating the end of her braid flew up with a buzz. The bee, which was half the size of a thumb, landed on the outstretched claws of the two daughters-in-law in the blink of an eye. Everyone could see their hairy bellies drooping down, and the two of them jumped high as if their fingernails had been lifted off, covering the backs of their hands and howling.
"..." He Xiaohu, the security officer who wanted to be a hero and save the beautiful girl, choked for a moment, then shouted again: "You are the ones, what do you want to do! Back off!"
"That's how Zhou Gangzi and the other man got the injuries on their faces." Lin Xinghuo raised his chin and pointed towards the two women who were jumping in pain, and said to Lin, a uniformed police officer at the back.
The forest guard opened his mouth and said after a while: "Tell them to stop jumping. Let me see where the sting is."
In just a few minutes, large blisters had formed on the backs of the two daughters-in-law's hands, identical to the ones on Zhou Gangzi's face. Officer Lin was shocked. He looked at Lin Xinghuo, who still had the tip of his shoe pressed against Zhou's mother, and the words of admonition on his lips were swallowed back.
There was no way around it. It was their unit that first suspected the other brigade of secretly manufacturing and using poison. The station chief also suspected that these were poisonous bombs left behind by the Japanese and dug up by the Buxian Village. Fearing that these villagers would not understand the seriousness of the matter, they sent him along to investigate.
The two women from the Zhou family had asked for it. They'd reached out to scratch her first, and yet Officer Lin couldn't criticize Lin Xinghuo for using bees to sting. Lin Xinghuo pouted and hissed twice, and the golden ring bees that were circling the Zhou family, their stingers flashing, threateningly flew back and perched on the end of her braid, acting like flowers. So nice!
He Xiaohu turned his head and saw two stingers as big as bees and as long as theirs. He immediately felt stung all over.
This girl is a tough one! He Xiaohu quietly took two steps away, removing his eight-foot-tall body that was blocking people's sight, completely unaware that this was his second meeting with Lin Xinghuo. The last time, Lin Xinghuo gave him thirteen ice sculptures.
With the testimony of the comrades from the police station, the forest farm leader confirmed that Zhou Gangzi had committed a crime without a doubt. He immediately did not want to stay in Zhou's house and asked the old branch secretary and three others to come to his office to talk.
Seeing this, Zhou Liang's father rushed over and said, "Liangzi's aunt, you can't just ignore him! Whether Liangzi is dead or alive, you have to give me and his mother an explanation, right?"
He wanted to grab the leader's hand again: "The general just said that the families of our forestry workers can rest assured and that this matter will be dealt with seriously!" Why is he so polite to these two outsiders, especially this young girl, who hasn't let go of his old wife yet.
Director Zhou glanced at his confused cousin and smiled. "I came to the forest farm to take care of Liangzi's affairs. Liangzi is fine. He voluntarily moved out of the forest farm, and Buxiantun is willing to accept his household registration. He will be settled in Buxiantun Brigade from now on. Do you and sister-in-law have any objections to this? By the way, if you two don't agree, then first return Liangzi's job and compensation. Liangzi said that if he can return it, he will come back to live with you."
Old Zhou got angry: "He is paralyzed, what's the point of working and having money? The work belongs to Zhou, and the money is his mother's and my retirement money, it's useless for anyone to say anything! He doesn't need to provoke us, it's up to him whether he wants to marry into the family or settle down. This kid has never been caring since he was a child, it's better for him to die outside!" A paralyzed man would be a burden if he came back.
Director Zhou's smile remained unchanged: "Look at what you're saying. He's the only one you have. You'll take care of him in your old age..."
"Who can support him in his old age with him like that? Let's not talk nonsense. The girl from the Wei family loves him. Let her bring a hundred yuan and let us have him. We don't need children. We don't want such a shameful child! Big sister, you are the head of our Zhou family now. In my opinion, just let him change his nature!"
Old Zhou had no other reason but to be selfish. He was afraid that Zhou Liang would have Director Zhou's support and come back to ask his family to pay for his medical treatment, which would use up his pension money, so he simply said no.
"One hundred yuan?" Director Zhou looked at the old Party Secretary, who nodded. Director Zhou immediately agreed, "Okay! Are you two sure you want to sever your ties with Zhou Liang?"
Old Zhou nodded hurriedly. Seeing this, Lin Xinghuo lowered his foot. Mother Zhou, oblivious to everything else, immediately shouted, "One hundred yuan! Consider this a repayment for my life!" He didn't mention the upbringing, because Director Zhou knew the inside story. Zhou Liang had grown up here with his grandmother; his parents had only moved from Fangmaji after he started working at the forest farm. These two had been picking peaches since they were young, and now they were used to getting the best deal.
"We have the forestry farm leaders, the police station, and the Zhou family head here. Let's get this done while everyone's here." The old branch secretary suggested, "Sever ties and transfer the household registration. I have an application with Zhou Liang's fingerprints here. Someone can just write a severance certificate."
Director Zhou nodded and said, "Write it here, in front of everyone. Neighbors, colleagues, and coworkers, let's all bear witness."
The onlookers shouted, "One hundred yuan! Marrying a virgin girl only costs twenty yuan at most. These two bastards from the Zhou family have no conscience."
"Not only was Wei Layue's father a martyr, but so were her two uncles! Back in the 1950s, the government gave a pension of 180 yuan to each person. I heard her father was a company commander, so it must be a bit higher. After deducting the expenses of the old man and the child over the years, at least 100 yuan can still be taken out. Do the math. I'm afraid these two have been eyeing the money, right?"
The old Party Secretary and Lin Xinghuo both felt a pang of sadness after hearing this. Lin Xinghuo touched the end of his braid and let it go. Just a light sting from a golden ring wasp was a bit too much, especially since it wasn't the intended target.
He Xiaohu, who was peeking over from the side, breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid this tough guy would sting someone. He would have loved to just watch, but he was afraid his boss wouldn't let him. Besides, if the situation got out of hand, it wouldn't be good for the girl. She's so pretty, how could she have such a fiery temper?
"Xiao Lin," the old branch secretary read the severance letter but did not sign it himself. He handed the pen to Lin Xinghuo first.
Lin Xinghuo looked at him, and the old Party secretary nudged her arm. The old man felt that he didn't have many years left, and that the affairs of the village would have to rely on Lin Xinghuo to take care of them, so he took a step back.
Lin Xinghuo did not delay any longer. With a wave of her hand, the three words "Dragon and Phoenix Dancing" appeared on her pen.
Such beautiful handwriting. I don’t know which one is more handsome, the handwriting or the person.
At this time, not only the leaders of the forest farm, but also the onlookers were asking who this girl was. Not only could she read and write, but why did the old branch secretary still respect her so much?
"I said the brigade can't be so soft. The branch secretary has already come forward, but they just brought a useless girl. It seems that this girl can represent the brigade!"
"What's so soft? Look at those two big bees on her braids before you speak."
The old couple of the Zhou family insisted that Director Zhou read the severance letter twice, for fear that the hundred yuan was not written in it.
Director Zhou did as she was told with good temper. After the two of them had their fingerprints pressed, she gave three copies of the severance agreement: one to Lin Xinghuo and one to the forest farm. Finally, she took the copy that should be left to Zhou Liang's parents. "I'll leave it with the clan later. Make sure to remember this."
The Zhou family's elderly couple didn't care about this. They poked their hands together and stared at the old Party Secretary, waiting for him to give them money: "You can only leave if you pay! If you don't pay, tell her to go back to your team and ask Wei Layue for money to buy you!"
Old Zhou even called Director Zhou: "Big sister, you are a witness, you have to make the decision for us!"
"Call the shots?" Director Zhou smiled. "Of course!"
She turned around and asked the forestry leader, "Besides the compensation, there's also a monthly disability allowance, right?"
The leader nodded and said, "Three yuan a month for ten kilograms of food."
"Okay! Could you please calculate how much one more dollar will add? This one hundred dollars will be paid from the subsidy. When it reaches one hundred dollars, the forest farm will no longer need to pay this subsidy." Director Zhou said with a smile, "This is also what Zhou Liang meant. Now that he has recovered, he doesn't want to add any more burden to the forest farm." But after all, it was a work-related injury, and the forest farm should pay him the one hundred dollars.
"What?" The forestry leader was really shocked this time.
Director Zhou patted Lin Xinghuo on the shoulder and said, "Dr. Lin cured him. Zhou Liang can now sit up on his own. He needs to rest for another winter and he will be a healthy young man next spring!"
Lin Xinghuo nodded, and the caracal in the basket behind her fished out a ball pot as big as a quail egg, climbed out of the basket, and obediently held the pot in her mouth and put it in her hand.
"..." Lin Xinghuo, who had thought he had to fight, had not thought about promoting his ointment pills in such an occasion. He could only hand the wooden jar to the forestry leader. The old branch secretary said to him enthusiastically, "This is the ointment made by our brigade's pharmacy. It's perfect for treating bruises and sprains. You should try it. If it works for you, come and talk to our brigade again."
The forestry leader looked at the tiny medicine jar in his hand with a puzzled look on his face. He wanted to say no, but this young doctor cured Zhou Liang!
“Okay…okay!”
Zhou's parents finally realized what was happening. They didn't care about Zhou Liang's recovery and started to argue that it wasn't okay to use the subsidy for 100 yuan! The subsidy was originally collected by Old Zhou, so it belonged to him. Knowing that Director Zhou was no longer on their side, the two cowards, who bullied the weak and feared the strong, didn't dare to do anything to her. They just grabbed the leader and asked him to make a decision for the forestry family.
The forestry farm leader said sullenly, "What do you mean by 'family of the forestry farm?' Zhou Gangzi has been arrested for a crime. Not only will he go to jail, but our forestry farm will also punish him. I hereby announce that Zhou Gangzi is fired! He cannot take over the job he has been fired from!" What does it mean that someone with the surname Zhou is a member of the work family? If it gets out, it will seem as if the Zhou family is favored by the forestry farm.
Director Zhou smiled and reminded, "If you're not a family member of the forest farm, you can't be approved to live in the family welfare housing compound, right?"
The leader said quickly, "That's right! Xiao He, take two comrades from the security department to look after this place. The house must be vacated within three days. It just so happens that the new doctor has been interning for six months, so it's time to assign him a place to live."
Turning around, he complimented Director Zhou: "These medical workers trained in Fangmaji Commune are really good. In fact, we should thank your commune for providing our forest farm with such talented people." He turned the conversation to Lin Xinghuo: "Doctor Lin is a family heirloom?"
Lin Xinghuo smiled and said, "I was also a student trained by the last batch of barefoot doctors."
"Oh, great, great!" The leaders of the forestry farm didn't know what to say. How could a student in the training class cure Zhou Liang, who even the municipal hospital couldn't treat, while the one assigned by their own side was so scared that he screamed when he was just trying to treat an external injury?
Wei Layue has to come in person to transfer the household registration of Police Lin. After all, it is not just a household registration issue, but also involves the two convictions of Zhou Gangzi, so she needs to make a record.
The head of the security department reassured in a resounding voice: "Just let Comrade Wei come. We will make sure no one can find any trouble with her in the forest farm!"
The old branch secretary looked at the little fairy, smiled and said nothing.
Lin Xinghuo stroked the end of her braid and said gently, "Our brigade has quite a few bees, enough for everyone in Buxian Village to share a few. Whenever we go out, everyone is used to taking this little fellow with them."
"Cough!" The old branch secretary pretended to cough and touched the brim of his hat. Everyone then discovered that there was also a virus hidden under the brim of his work hat.
Director Zhou secretly sighed in his heart, wow, how much have these two accomplished during their visit to the forest farm today?
Zhou Liang's divorce letter and household registration are obvious. Doctor Kobayashi's skills and the Cheng Pharmacy are second only to each other. Unexpectedly, they came up with this in the end - who would dare to provoke or bully the people from Buxiantun in the future?
Not to mention the girls were immediately much safer, even the men who traveled so far to deliver and sell Buxianshansong Liquor felt much more at ease! Buxianshansong Liquor's reputation was growing, and it wasn't uncommon for people to block the road and rob the liquor, but neither side dared to make a big deal out of it.
As long as the offender wasn't too excessive, Buxian Village couldn't take him to the police station because he was a local tyrant. Otherwise, they would make enemies and offend the entire village. But once the news about the forest farm spread like wildfire, it went without saying that fewer people would dare to rob him. If someone got stung, the blister would be clear evidence, and the people of Buxian Village would just sit back and make sure the person couldn't hold his head up in the village.
This way, I won’t offend anyone to death…
How could they have only accomplished these few things? Director Zhou didn't understand Lin Xinghuo's abilities. Before leaving, a small, gray, long, strip-shaped animal fell out of Lin Xinghuo's basket and disappeared without attracting anyone's attention.
Monk Lin and the caracal, who saw the sable's movements clearly, said: Even if Wei Layue did not bring the golden-ringed bee, they guaranteed that the Zhou family would find time to cause trouble.
On the way, Director Zhou took the initiative to order medicine from Lin Xinghuo: "Many of my old comrades have old injuries. They can't stand the pain in their bones even if it's windy or rainy."
Back at the village, the old Party Secretary was still happy. The amount Director Zhou had requested would take up half of the pharmacy's inventory. He even talked to Lin Xinghuo into refining more medicine, figuring people from the forest farm would be coming to buy medicine later.
But before the forest farm could prove its effectiveness, Wei Layue, having only returned to transfer her household registration, had already secured a frighteningly large order for Buxiantun. This young woman visited every doctor who had treated Zhou Liang, from the veteran doctor stationed at the forest farm, to doctors at the nearby military corps, to those in the county and city… She distributed Lin Xinghuo's ointment, and when these knowledgeable individuals heard that Lin Xinghuo had cured Zhou Liang, they were all eager to try it. There was no shortage of patients where they lived. As a result, not a single one left empty-handed; each paid a deposit, and each requested larger quantities than the last.
"It's mainly because your medicine is good." Wei Layue smiled shyly: "Zhou Liang was seriously injured, and the doctors who treated him were all trustworthy doctors in the hospital. Once they saw this medicine, the problem became easier."
"There are a few more places that need pine wine," Wei Layue said. "They're too far away for us to deliver it ourselves. I've arranged with the forestry railway station to help carry it, and we'll pay them monthly based on the volume we bring. The station means they'll use pine wine to offset the cost, and their night patrol officers also need a drink to warm themselves up—and it just so happens that pine wine doesn't make you drunk easily, so a sip can soothe you for a long time."
This is an excellent salesperson who dares to act and make decisions!
Not only Lin Xinghuo, but also the old branch secretary, Wang Huzi and others had their eyes lit up, especially Wang Huzi and Cen Dazhu who had experience in business, because they knew how difficult it was to get the order at once.
They, relying on the goodness of pine wine, endured the hardships they faced. The salespeople in other collective workshops had it really hard: many supply and marketing cooperatives and government agencies, upon hearing that the products were from small rural workshops, would kick them out without even a glance. It's no wonder farmers struggled to make money.
But when Wei Xiaomei did it so effortlessly, everyone wondered if it was really that difficult, or if our skills were just not good enough?
Wei Layue looked at Lin Xinghuo again: "Aunt, I heard from my grandmother that you planted persimmons in your private plot, and the harvest was very good. If you can't eat them all yourself, I can help you sell them. You don't have to go far, several factories in the county are willing to buy them." In order to provide nectar for the golden ring bees, Lin Xinghuo planted the persimmon seedlings grown in the process of cultivating spiritual persimmons in the private plot in front of the mountain residence. Although these persimmon seedlings failed to become spiritual seeds, they grew more vigorously than the spiritual seedlings, and the fruits they produced were indeed indigestible - the people in the village would not take Lin Xinghuo's fruits for nothing. Besides, there are wild persimmons on the west slope of the mountain, and a lot can be picked during the autumn harvest in a while.
Lin Xinghuo... Lin Xinghuo, who was about to go to the black market to sell goods, was stunned. This girl was really extraordinary!
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The author has something to say: Lin Xinghuo's makeshift team is complete: Human Resources Manager Wei Chunfeng, apprentice and laborer Wei Chunxing, and sales boss Wei Layue, three "Weis" in one!
With the three Weis in charge of external affairs, Lin Xinghuo can now expand his business in Buxiantun:
The real base is no longer just a concept.
My dear little angels, please click on the "Author's Column" and collect the fish. Once the column reaches 5,800, we will add more!
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