Chapter 10 Demands
The villagers' whispers reached Cheng Jiantong's ears, making his face turn pale and then red, and filling him with immense shame.
Only now does he realize how terribly wrong he was to blindly follow his parents' advice, ignore the grievances suffered by his wife and daughters, and focus solely on his job as a postman.
Even if he wanted to make it up to them, given his current physical condition, he couldn't do anything concrete. He could only look at Cheng Yiguo, Huang Cuizhi, Cheng Jianli, and the others with immense frustration.
With a disappointed look, he said, "Dad, Mom, for so many years, I have always listened to you. I have done whatever you asked me to do and have never disobeyed you. You told me not to go to work in the county government, but to stay in the commune as a postman and hand over half of my wages to you to help my brothers and sisters and be good to their children. I have done everything you asked."
But because I work as a mail carrier, I'm often away from home. I asked you to take care of my wife and daughter and to treat them well. Is this how you treat them?
"Shuhui used to tell me you were cruel and abusive towards her and her daughter, but I didn't believe it. I always thought you wouldn't treat them like that, because every time I came home after delivering mail, I always saw you being kind and gentle to them, preparing lots of good food. I thought Shuhui felt that I was away from home all year round and that she was having a hard time taking care of two children alone, so she deliberately said these things to try to get me to quit my job and come home to be with her. I never expected..."
Cheng Yiguo said with a dark face, "What nonsense are they spouting? Who bullied or abused them? They are the ones who don't know what's good for them. They're always arguing and they can't live like this."
Even now, he's still distorting the truth. Not only does Cheng Jiantong not believe it, but the villagers don't believe it either.
Huang Cuizhi angrily pulled Wan Shuhui and Cheng Xue, mother and daughter, away, "What are you doing, crying like this in broad daylight? Who are you trying to impress? Why are you being so dramatic!"
Turning to glare at Cheng Ying, he said, "Have you made enough of a scene? What good does this do you?! Don't forget, you're surnamed Cheng too! If we don't get away with this, you won't get away with it either!"
Cheng Ying scoffed, "If I could, I really wouldn't want to be surnamed Cheng. I'd rather take my mother's surname than yours. When you did all those things to bully my mother and me, and to bully our second branch of the family, you should have thought of this day! As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. It's not that retribution won't come, it's just that the time hasn't come yet!"
After she finished speaking, she turned to the villagers who had gathered outside the courtyard and said, "Fellow villagers, the Cheng family not only bullies my mother and me in every way, but they also took away my military allowances from the past four years, the money I sent to my mother, along with my mother's dowry money and savings from many years ago, using various excuses. They said it was a loan, but they've been borrowing from me for over ten years, totaling 150 yuan, and they still haven't paid it back!"
My mother developed a lot of health problems because of this, and we can't even afford to buy medicine. My father has now been paralyzed on one side because of Cheng Chunfu and needs a lot of money for treatment. But all they think about is killing our family and eating our leftovers.
If I hadn't come back today, my dad, my mom, and my sister would probably be eaten alive by them, not even bones left. My sister might have been sold by my heartless grandparents to raise money for their eldest grandson. These rotten-hearted Cheng family members—if I didn't seek help from the county, commune, and village leaders, should I go to the army, the military headquarters, or even the central government to get justice for me?!
Huang Cuizhi has indeed been secretly trying to find a husband for Cheng Xue, bypassing Cheng Jiantong and Wan Shuhui, and directly marrying off her second granddaughter to raise money for a dowry for her eldest grandson. Many people in the village have heard rumors about this.
Upon hearing Cheng Ying's words, the villagers, overflowing with a sense of justice, and those who had been bullied by the Cheng family, angrily surged into the Cheng family compound, raising their clenched fists and shouting, "This is outrageous! Leaders, the Cheng family must be severely punished to give us female soldiers an explanation, or we will join Comrade Cheng in reporting this to the army and the central government! The Cheng family dares to kill even their own family members. We are from the same village as them. If we don't bring them to justice, who knows what they will do to us and kill us in the future!"
Cheng Yiguo, Huang Cuizhi, and the others became frightened.
The villagers were filled with resentment, and a collective uprising by the villagers was no small matter. A few years ago, if the villagers had known what they had done, even though the Cheng family had served in the military for three generations and were military dependents, they would have been tormented to death by those young Red Guards, who had made their families wish they were dead. They wouldn't have the right to stand here and speak today.
Although the ten-year turmoil has passed, the domestic situation is still not ideal. If the villagers of an entire village were to protest against the higher authorities at this time, it would certainly attract their attention, hold the lower-level leaders accountable, and possibly even replace a group of leaders. It is imperative to ensure the personal safety of soldiers and their families and to curb this unhealthy trend.
The deputy county head and the head of the armed forces department exchanged glances. Cheng Ying, dressed in military uniform, had come to the county specifically to ask them to come to the countryside to uphold justice. What had happened to her was not just a family matter, but also involved the country and the military. They couldn't ignore it even if they wanted to.
Given Cheng Ying's decisive and efficient work style within her department, if they ignore this matter, she will escalate it to the military, the central government, and then hold them accountable. They might even lose their jobs.
Thinking this, the deputy county head spoke up: "Comrade Xiao Cheng, if you have grievances or injustices, the people in your village have all witnessed it. Our country and government will never ignore those who bully soldiers and their families, no matter when or where. Tell us what your demands are, and we will resolve them for you here."
"That's right, the soldiers our country raises are not to be bullied by just anyone! Anyone who dares to bully soldiers and their families, even if he is the Emperor of Heaven, will have to come down and face the law!" Minister Wu stood in front of Cheng Ying, his big, burly figure glaring fiercely at the Cheng family, as if he were standing up for Cheng Ying.
"Thank you for upholding justice for me, leader." Cheng Ying pushed away Huang Cuizhi, who was holding Wan Shuhui's hand, and protected her mother and sister, saying, "My first demand is that the Cheng family's third branch, Cheng Yiguo and his wife, and Cheng Jianli and his wife, who have borrowed a total of 150 yuan from my mother and father over the years, must repay it within three days. If they do not repay it, I will sell the entire Cheng family ancestral home to pay back the money."
My second demand is that the family property, livestock, and land belonging to our second branch be redistributed to us, with the village officials in charge.
My third request is that my father is now paralyzed on one side and unable to work or support his parents. He has given his parents a lot of money over the years, and they are still in good health. They should take care of his daily life.
My fourth demand is that Cheng Chunfu attempted to kill my father, leaving him paralyzed on one side. As Cheng Chunfu's parents and guardians, Cheng Jianli and his wife must compensate my father for medical expenses, lost wages, and emotional distress, totaling 300 yuan. This must be paid in full within three days. If they fail to do so, I request that you, the leaders, arrest them as accomplices in murder and harboring a criminal, sentence them severely, imprison them for ten years, and then release them to continue repaying the money!
Cheng Jianli was the first to jump up: "Cheng Ying, you worthless wretch! When did my son ever harm your father? You're just spouting nonsense and expect us to pay you three hundred yuan in compensation? What kind of pipe dream are you having? I'll beat you to death..."
Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Ying rushed in front of him, raised her hand, and slapped him hard across the face, then kicked him several times in the stomach. "Don't think that just because you're my elder, or because I call you 'Uncle,' you can spew nonsense at me like that. I'm still wearing my uniform, and your insults are an insult to soldiers and the country! Your son is no good, and you, as his father, are no good either. For so many years, you two have been instigating Grandpa and Grandma to bully our second branch of the family. Do you think I don't know? The slaps I gave you today were too lenient!"
"Cheng Ying, you unfilial daughter, how dare you hit your elders?" Cheng Jianli clutched his stomach, which was throbbing from the kick, and looked at her in disbelief.
"I'll hit you whenever I want, why would I pick a day to hit you? When I was little, how many times did you hit me?"
Cheng Ying looked at him with disdain and said, "I still remember when I was little, my sister was starving. Grandma gave Cheng Chunfu several big meat buns, but Cheng Chunfu couldn't eat anymore and wouldn't give us any. He wanted to feed the chickens the meat buns. In desperation, I snatched the leftover buns from his hand and gave them to my sister. You saw this and started punching and kicking me, beating me black and blue, leaving me lying on the ground unable to get up, my stomach hurting terribly. At that time, you even called us worthless, saying we didn't deserve to eat what your son had eaten, and you threatened us not to tell anyone that you hit me. I was young then and was terrified by your fierce appearance, so I never dared to tell my mother. But I remember things like that. In my eyes, you're a beast. And you dare to act like an elder to me? You don't deserve it!"
Wan Shuhui was stunned by these words. After a while, she reacted, let out a piercing cry, and rushed over to beat Cheng Jianli. As she hit him, she cried and shouted, "Cheng Jianli, you're a bastard! I respected you as Jiantong's older brother and always treated you with respect and courtesy. You often complained to me about how hard your eldest son's family was, and I even saved up to lend you money. But behind your back, you bullied and beat my daughter like this? I'll beat you to death, you bastard! I'll beat you to death!"
This was the first time Wan Shuhui had shown such a fierce side in front of everyone; her two daughters were truly her bottom line and her Achilles' heel.
She never imagined that her two daughters, who had already suffered from bullying and torment at the hands of the Cheng family and had been pitiful since childhood, would be so brutally beaten by their own uncle in a place she couldn't see. How could she, as their mother, bear this?
She now wishes she could beat Cheng Jianli to death with her own hands to avenge her daughter!
A note from the author:
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