I've always thought that farmers have it the hardest, but I've overlooked the fact that in this day and age, cities don't have everything either.
Everything was rationed, and demand often exceeded supply.
As I was thinking, my mind wandered, and suddenly a sentence popped into my head.
"Why not eat meat porridge?"
She couldn't help but laugh at herself; if she were truly detached from worldly affairs, she might actually have asked that question.
Lin He waved her hand in front of her eyes.
"What are you dreaming about? Why are you so happy?"
Just then, a commotion arose outside. Lin He and several saleswomen from the supply and marketing cooperative immediately changed their expressions. Jian Dan sensed something was wrong and realized it wasn't a good time to rush out. He gently tugged at Lin He and whispered, "..."
"Sis, what's wrong? What happened?"
Lin He took a deep breath, suppressing the anger that welled up inside her.
"Don't let your child get involved in this. If this happens again, just hide. Do you hear me? These beasts have no sense of reason."
There was something else on his mind that he hadn't said: although this girl was petite, he had to admit that her face was getting prettier and prettier. If those beasts saw her, they might start another fight.
Seeing that it was simple and couldn't be answered, he reached out and rummaged around a couple more times.
"Did you hear me? Don't come to the county town lately. If you encounter something like this, hide immediately. Don't get involved, don't be curious, understand?"
After being rebuked several times, Jian Dan naturally came to her senses and realized what was going on.
"I know, sister. I'm definitely not curious. I'll stay far away."
The words were so clear; they meant well, and she should be grateful. However, how she acts on them is up to her.
Li Yan and the others were also startled. Their joy at exchanging money was quickly dispelled, and their faces were filled with fear.
Just then, they finished selling everything and came running over with empty baskets on their backs, surrounding Jian Dan.
They all went to the countryside for various reasons, but they had never actually faced this situation directly.
A group of teenagers, around fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen years old, passed by the door, shouting and making a ruckus. The person in front of them was pulling a rope, which was tied to two people. To be precise, they were being dragged along by the rope. The two people were staggering and their rough straw sandals were soaked in glaring red.
With each step, two pairs of bloody footprints were left, one large and one small, as the man tried his best to protect the child beside him. The surrounding teenagers played pranks, tightening the rope abruptly just as the man was about to approach the child. The little child, unable to keep up, would fall to the ground, which amused the teenagers. The man clenched his fists again and again, his eyes filled with anger, resentment, heartache, and finally despair.
The little child was expressionless, his clothes were torn or maliciously cut, riddled with holes.
Although the sun was still out, the whistling autumn wind relentlessly blew in, causing the little body to shiver from time to time, yet the child mechanically continued walking forward.
Presumably, the two children were too boring. They weren't crying or complaining, and their feet weren't hurting. These people felt no sense of accomplishment. The two children at the front huddled together and chatted for a few words. Then, with wicked smiles, they walked towards the children, and the man's hands clenched tightly again.
"Brother Feng, look at this kid, isn't he quite fair-skinned?"
The man's gaze shot like an arrow to the backs of the two people, but he stumbled two steps as the rope pulled him back.
"Now that you mention it, it's true. I just wonder if your skin is this fair too?"
"Ha ha!"
Two teenagers grinned wickedly and reached out their evil hands to the unsuspecting child.
The man in front was frantic, his eyes reddening, when he was tripped up by several teenagers. The despair in his eyes deepened, and he was already scanning the roadside, probably looking for some tools.
Although the child had no expression, the malice was palpable, and they immediately moved away.
"Hey, this kid, he even knows how to hide?"
"Haha, Brother Feng, this is more fun! What's the point of standing there like a dead log?"
The two were chatting and laughing, and didn't notice the moment the child suddenly stood up.
"ah?"
The boy screamed and forcefully threw the child away, clutching his bloodied hand and screaming. The child's small body could not withstand this. Even though it was tied by a rope, it was thrown directly to the side of the road and its small body crashed heavily against the wall. Two seconds later, it slid down, its eyes closed, its condition unknown.
The people on the roadside had already been frightened and hid, so this was the only group of people on the road this time.
The man's eyes reddened.
"Xiao Shi!"
The boy covered his hand and shouted fiercely.
"Fine, you guys are impressive. Sheng Zhiyuan, I'll remember you, and your capitalist son of a bitch."
Feeling sorry for his hands and not wanting to lose face, he ordered his subordinates around.
"Bring that brat here. You didn't want me to see him, did you? I'll do the opposite."
"Strip me naked now! I want to see just how these capitalist bastards are superior to us!"
The men brought over the child, whose fate was unknown, still feeling uneasy.
"Brother Feng, the higher-ups haven't said how to handle this yet. If this brat dies like this, it'll be hard to explain."
They can act recklessly, they can vandalize, but if someone dies, the situation changes. This boy clearly knew this, and he did so unwillingly.
"That kid got off easy."
Turning around, she met the man's wolfish eyes, and her anger flared up again.
"What are you glaring at me for? Sheng Zhiyuan, do you think it's so easy to be a capitalist's live-in son-in-law? Humph, spineless coward! Brothers, the brat hurt me, so the old man will pay for it. Brothers, strip him naked! You said you wouldn't let us strip your son? Then we'll strip you!"
He glanced at the lifeless child lying to the side, and a glimmer of life returned to the man's eyes. He let the teenagers tear his coat to shreds and scatter the pieces everywhere, laughing as he did so.
The injured boy finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as they were about to remove the last item, an unexpected incident occurred.
Several people who were involved were hit in the palm by stones that flew from nowhere, and blood gushed out.
The pebble pierced right through the palm, flew out from the other side, and landed on the ground not far away.
"Ah, my hand?"
"Who is it? Stop playing tricks! Come out now!"
After calling out and looking around, they realized they were the only group of people on the street. The boy at the head of the group started to feel intimidated, but his underlings didn't believe him and angrily went up on their own.
"Brother Feng, I think they're just trying to slack off!"
Before I could even reach out, there was the same spot, the same hole, and the same gushing blood.
He didn't say anything then, clutching his hand, crying out in pain, and scurried back home.
"Brother Feng, Brother Feng, someone's attacking!"
They were all minors or just turned 18, inexperienced, and this move had terrified them.
At this point, they didn't care about capitalists anymore. They threw down the rope and slunk away at the other end of the street.
One of the restless ones quietly put the pebbles away.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
