Chapter 61 (First published on Jinjiang Literature City)
The autumn wind is chilly, and the ground is covered in golden hues.
Cheng Ying carried a mailbag on her back, accompanied by her dog, Da Huang. The water cup hanging on the mailbag made a clear, tinkling sound as she walked along the mountain road.
As autumn deepened, the trees in the mountains and fields changed color. In the southwest region, there are many ginkgo trees, and everywhere the ginkgo leaves are yellow, as bright as gold. Occasionally, large swathes of maple leaves turn as red as fire, while green pines, firs, and large bamboo forests are interspersed. Everywhere in the mountains, it is like a richly colored oil painting, incredibly beautiful.
Along the mountain path, autumn flowers bloom in abundance, such as the common osmanthus trees, with golden and red osmanthus blossoms dotting the trees like stars, filling the air with fragrance that is intoxicating.
Wild cotton flowers bloom sporadically in the roadside grass, as beautiful as roses, like pink and white mountain sprites swaying in the wind, a sight that soothes the soul.
Wild chrysanthemums bloom all over the mountains and fields, golden and bright, like small sunflowers. The hillsides are covered with wild chrysanthemums, and when the wind blows, the unique bitter fragrance of chrysanthemums wafts over, making people feel refreshed.
As Cheng Ying walked along the beautiful mountain path, she would stop from time to time to admire the scenery and pick wild chrysanthemums by the roadside, putting each little flower into her crossbody bag.
This was Cheng Jiantong's habit. When he used to run the mail route, he would pick mushrooms and medicinal herbs in the spring and summer and put them in his bag. In the autumn and winter, he would pick wild chrysanthemums, wild chestnuts, wild walnuts, wild dates and other wild fruits and put them in his bag. Every time he returned home, he would give the mushrooms, chestnuts and wild dates to the children, and after drying the wild chrysanthemums, he would take them to the grocery store in town to sell for money, and keep some for himself to make tea.
When Cheng Ying was little, she would often see Cheng Jiantong carrying a bulging mailbag to deliver mail. When he came back, the mailbag was still bulging. Inside, in addition to the parcels and letters mailed by the villagers, there were also piles of wild fruits, wild chrysanthemums and all kinds of wild vegetables.
At that time, the three of them, mother and daughters, lived a very hard life. But when they saw that Cheng Jiantong had walked such a long way through the mountains and remembered to bring back so many things for them to eat, they did not complain or grumble. They felt very happy eating wild vegetables and fruits.
The most precious thing is to be remembered and given something within one's means, which is a sign of care and consideration.
Now that Cheng Ying has taken over Cheng Jiantong's postman job, she instinctively picks wild chrysanthemums and wild chestnuts whenever she sees them by the roadside. She even wants to climb the wild jujube tree with sour jujubes on its branches and take them home for her family to eat.
It was only then that Cheng Ying realized how precious it was that her father, for twenty years, had been carrying wildflowers and other delicacies from the mountains to bring back to her and her two children every year.
Cheng Jiantong did care about the mother and her two children.
Cheng Ying muttered in a low voice, "So what if you care about us three? You turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to what your grandparents and uncles did, and let your brothers and sisters bully us, causing me to suffer so much. For that alone, I can never forgive you."
"Woof!" Da Huang brought a prickly chestnut ball from the grass and placed it in front of Cheng Ying. It scratched at the small thorns on its lips with its front paws and looked at her sideways.
Hey man, what are you babbling about? Help me pull out these thorns!
Cheng Ying chuckled as she cupped the dog's mouth, examined its lips closely, and pulled out the small thorns. She scolded it, "I told you, chestnuts have thorns. If you see wild chestnuts lying on the road, just call out and let me pick them up. What are you trying to pick up? Those thorns will prick you to death."
As if understanding her words, Da Huang barked unhappily.
It used to help Cheng Jiantong pick up chestnuts like this, and Cheng Jiantong always praised it for being smart, so it kept helping to pick them up. It became a habit, and now it also helps Cheng Ying pick them up.
Cheng Ying couldn't see the chestnut pods that had fallen deep into the grass, but Da Huang saw them and went to pick them up.
Cheng Ying could easily read its mind. Da Huang was as clever as a child, wearing its emotions on its face. It was hard not to know what it was thinking.
Cheng Ying held the chestnut ball in Da Huang's mouth, stepped on one side with her foot, and carefully pried open the other side of the chestnut ball with her hand. She took out two plump brown chestnuts, each only the size of a thumb, and put them into the mailbag.
She reached out and patted Big Yellow's head: "Good job, Big Yellow! The chestnuts you picked are big and plump. When we get home, I'll make you some sugar-roasted chestnuts, and I'll peel them for you!"
In the past, when Cheng Jiantong came home in the autumn, he would pick a lot of chestnuts and put them in his mailbag. After carrying them home, Wan Shuhui would use the white sugar she usually couldn't bear to eat to make roasted chestnuts.
Cheng Jiantong would peel some chestnuts and bring them back to the rented house in town for Dahuang to eat.
Dahuang loves to eat sweet food, but because it is a dog, eating sweet food is bad for its health. Therefore, Cheng Jiantong never gives it much, and always feeds it raw first, and then cooked. No matter which one it eats, it loves to eat it.
When Da Huang heard the words "roasted chestnuts," his eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but drool, circling around Cheng Ying.
Cheng Ying patted the dog's head. "Alright, stop turning around. We've been stopping and starting all the way, wasting too much time. Let's go."
Big Yellow barked and took the lead.
An hour later, they arrived at Aimen Village.
Cheng Ying went to the village committee as usual, handed out the few letters to the villagers, chatted with some familiar villagers for a few minutes, and then the villagers gradually dispersed.
Not seeing Xiang Zhaodi, she asked the village secretary of Aimen Village, "Secretary Ge, why did I see Xiang Zhaodi today? She asked me to get her some college entrance exam review materials last time, and I got them for her. Why didn't she come to the village committee to pick them up?"
"Xiang Zhaodi? Her father has arranged a marriage for her and won't let her go out. I'm afraid you won't need these review materials."
Secretary Ge said with a complicated expression, "After the news of the full resumption of the college entrance examination came out, more than a dozen educated youths in our village, as well as two teachers in the village and several young people who had finished high school, all rushed to the county to buy old college entrance examination books and materials to review, all wanting to take the college entrance examination. She went with them too."
As a result, when she returned from the county, her father beat her up, saying that she had grown up and dared to waste the family's money by taking a bus to the county to buy useless things, and that she had gone too far.
Then her father wouldn't let her go out anymore. He'd been busy arranging her marriage and introducing her to potential partners, so she couldn't come even if she wanted to.
Cheng Ying was shocked. "Not letting her go out? Did they lock her in the house? How could Xiang Zhaodi's father and the others illegally imprison her? That's against the law! You officials just stand by and watch a good female student being tormented by her parents, ruining her youth and freedom, and you don't step in to do anything about it?"
“What law did he break? She’s someone’s daughter, it’s their family matter, who can interfere?” Ge Shengli shook his head. “We want to interfere too, but that Boss Xiang is illiterate, a reckless illiterate. It’s useless to reason with him or talk about the law. Not only does he not listen, but he also kicked all of us cadres out of his house. If anyone tries to persuade him, he will argue with them. Unless he really does something illegal or disorderly, he can only lock up his daughter, introduce her to blind dates, and force her to get married. Even if the police come to his door, they can’t interfere with his family matters.”
Cheng Ying fell silent.
Indeed, a father locking up his daughter, introducing her to potential partners, and forcing her to get married falls under the legal category of family matters in that era. Even if she and the village officials wanted to intervene, they were powerless to do so and could only try to persuade Xiang Zhaodi's father to change his mind.
The eldest son is a sexist, only thinking about his sons. He believes that daughters are a financial burden and that no matter how well they study, they still have to get married to earn a large dowry to support their sons.
If he had listened to others' advice, he wouldn't have heard the news of the resumption of the national college entrance examination, and when he saw Xiang Zhaodi going to the county to buy study materials, he wouldn't have hurriedly locked her at home and introduced her to potential blind dates.
Ultimately, Xiang Laoda was afraid that if his daughter Xiang Zhaodi really got into university, went to study in the city, and became a city dweller, far away from the Xiang family, he, as her father, would no longer be able to control her, nor could he force her to get married and exchange the large dowry money for his son. Therefore, he was panicked and had to break Xiang Zhaodi's wings, make her get married, and never leave the mountains again!
Thinking of this, Cheng Ying asked Secretary Ge where Xiang Zhaodi lived, and without saying a word, she took Da Huang and headed towards Xiang's house.
The Xiang family lived behind a persimmon tree on the top of the mountain near Aimen Village. It was an earthen house built with yellow soil and stones, with several main rooms and livestock sheds, a large courtyard with chickens, and a bunch of children and grandchildren, all wearing patched clothes. From the outside, it exuded an air of poverty and backwardness.
In a woodshed near the livestock shed in the Xiang family home, Xiang Zhaodi clung to the iron bars of the window and shouted to her eldest son, who was sitting on a bench in the middle of the yard with his back to her, smoking a pipe: "Dad, I don't want to get married. I want to study. Please, let me out."
"Let you out? You're dreaming." Wearing a blue Lei Feng hat, with a bitter and resentful look, and a pipe dangling from his mouth, he sneered at the eldest brother. "You're going to school, so where's the money for your second brother's wedding? I've already found a family for you, and they've taken the money. In a week, it'll be the auspicious festival, and they'll come to our house to pick up the bride. You'd better stay in the house these next few days and don't go anywhere. If you dare to run away, I'll cut off your legs!"
Xiang Zhaodi's mind went blank, and she exploded. "Dad, I've said it before, I don't want to marry those uncultured, uncivilized, and uneducated barbaric men. I just want to study, find a good job, and earn money to take good care of you and Mom in the future. Why do you always ignore me? Why do you always force me to get married?! You've forced me once, and now you want to force me a second time? Do you want me to be driven to death like last time before you're satisfied?!"
"Shut up!" Xiang Laoda was furious when he remembered how she had threatened suicide when she refused to marry him, making him lose face.
He stood up abruptly and slapped his wife, who was breastfeeding their tenth child in the yard, across the face, cursing, "Look at the bastard you gave birth to! I've raised her for so many years, even paid for her education, and she's gone crazy from studying, always going against me! I told her to get married, and she threatened to kill herself. What kind of mother are you? How did you raise her to be like this?"
As he spoke, he began punching and kicking Zhao Di's mother.
Zhao Di's mother was a very thin woman in her forties. She had been having children ever since she married Xiang Laoda when she was eighteen.
She gives birth every one or two years, and so far, she has given birth to twelve children.
Among them, one child died young, and another was a disabled daughter who was drowned.
The remaining ten children were a girl, a boy, and girls numbered three through nine. Half of them were given away. The tenth child was a boy, who was still breastfeeding.
Years of childbirth have made Zhao Di's mother particularly weak. Her body has been worn down, and she looks older than her peers. Although she is only forty years old, she looks like she is fifty-five, and her hair has turned gray.
In her early years, because she gave birth to Xiang Zhaodi as her first child, Xiang Laoda and his parents believed that she could not give birth to a son, and they beat and kicked her from the moment Xiang Zhaodi was born.
Two years later, she gave birth to a son, but the son was disabled and had a limp.
How could Xiang Laoda be willing to let such a disabled son inherit his lineage? So he forced Zhao Di's mother to continue having sons.
Zhao Di's mother had given birth to seven or eight children, all of whom were daughters. In Xiang Laoda's eyes, she was an old hen that couldn't lay eggs and was going to cut off the Xiang family line. Over the years, whenever he was unhappy, he would beat and scold Zhao Di's mother.
Zhao Di's mother was used to being beaten by him. She dared not fight back or cry for help when he punched and kicked her. She just curled up on the ground and whimpered softly in pain.
Her nursing baby, along with two young girls nearby, were terrified and burst into tears.
Xiang raised his fist and punched Zhao Di's mother again and again without stopping.
When Xiang Zhaodi saw this, she cried out in anguish, "Dad, stop hitting her! Stop hitting her! Don't hit my mom, hit me instead."
Xiang the eldest brother kept hitting him: "Your mother didn't raise you well, she raised you to be so lawless and defiant, it's all your mother's fault, I'll beat her to death!"
Zhao Di's mother had been beaten until her face was bruised and blood was seeping from the corner of her mouth. She was wailing incessantly, but he still wouldn't stop.
Xiang Zhaodi wept uncontrollably. Her heart ached for her mother. She knew that Xiang Laoda was deliberately beating her mother to force her to submit, but she couldn't just stand by and watch him beat her to death.
Just as she was about to compromise with Boss Xiang, a clear, cold female voice rang out at the courtyard gate: "Uncle Xiang, killing someone is punishable by death!"
She was taken aback when she saw Cheng Ying, dressed in a postman's green uniform, carrying a mailbag, and leading Dahuang into her yard.
It was a very common postman's uniform, but at that moment, Xiang Zhaodi felt as if she had seen a ray of light, a savior, and couldn't help but burst into tears: "Comrade Cheng..."
Cheng Ying could hear the cries of Xiang Zhaodi and her daughter from afar, mixed with the sounds of Xiang Laoda hitting and cursing. She rushed to the Xiang family home as quickly as possible.
Now, we see Xiang Zhaodi locked in a woodshed that resembles a prison cell. Zhaodi's mother is beaten black and blue, lying on the ground with a dazed look in her eyes. Several children are crying loudly beside her. The eldest brother of the Xiang family is clenching his fists fiercely, pressing down on Zhaodi's mother's head with one hand and looking like he is about to hit her with the other.
Cheng Ying walked into the courtyard, her face darkening: "Uncle Xiang, what's got you so angry that you're going to beat your wife, who bore your children, to death?"
When Xiang Da saw her, he lowered his fist, straightened up, and said, "Comrade Cheng, this is my family matter and has nothing to do with you."
"Really? What I saw was a series of crimes, including attempted murder, illegal imprisonment of female comrades, and attempts to traffic women." Cheng Ying helped Zhao Di's mother, who was curled up on the ground and trembling all over, to her feet.
She stared intently at Xiang Laoda: "Your actions cannot be covered up by the words 'family matters'! Don't forget, this is a society governed by the rule of law, where men and women are equal. Women have human rights just like you, and you have no right to harm any woman! Based on your current behavior, I can go to the town's public security bureau right now and have them arrest you and put you in jail!"
"What right do they have to interfere in my family affairs?" Boss Xiang scoffed defiantly. "They are my wives, my daughters. I can beat them if I want, and nobody can stop me! If I want to marry off my daughters, even the Heavenly King himself would have to get out of my way!"
Such an arrogant attitude ignited Cheng Ying's anger.
Just as the village secretary said, this eldest brother was completely illiterate, ignorant of the law, and a chauvinistic man who abused his family. You couldn't reason with him using ordinary methods.
Dealing with this kind of person by reasoning with them, using normal methods, appealing to their emotions, or moving them with logic is completely ineffective.
To truly change Boss Xiang, we have to take a risky approach.
Cheng Ying thought for a moment, then deliberately said some harsh words to provoke the eldest brother, "You're nothing but a useless coward. You can't earn money, you can't provide a good life for your family. You're like a mud turtle, constantly struggling in a stinking swamp, never able to turn over in your life. You take out your anger on your wife and daughters who are weaker than you on the slightest thing. You're such a spineless coward, you only dare to hit and show off in front of your wife and daughters. You think you're great because you beat them up and they submit to you? Wrong! In their hearts, in everyone's hearts in the village, you're nothing but a piece of trash who only knows how to beat women to find a sense of existence! A piece of trash like you is just wasting air by living in this world!"
"What the hell are you saying?!" The boss clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury. "Say it again if you dare! Don't think I won't hit you just because you're a mailman!"
Cheng Ying sneered, "Go ahead and say it. You think I'm afraid of you? I'll call you a coward, a piece of trash, a spineless wimp who only knows how to bully his wife and daughters and seek attention..."
"Shut up!" Xiang Laoda, who has always regarded women as lowly beasts of burden who can be disposed of and beaten at will by men, has become addicted to beating his wife and daughters over the years. He believes that women are the property of men and that he can do whatever he wants with them. He cannot tolerate anyone saying a bad word about them.
The woman he now considered someone he could beat and scold at will was actually provoking him right in front of him. Unable to control his anger, the boss raised his hand and slapped Cheng Ying hard across the face!
Cheng Ying didn't dodge, and took the slap head-on. A clear handprint instantly appeared on her left cheek, and her cheek began to swell and turn red.
Seeing this, Xiang Zhaodi, who was in the woodshed, shouted, "Comrade Cheng, you'd better run! My dad's gone mad, he'll beat you to death!"
Cheng Ying had a faint smile on her lips. She covered her slapped left cheek with her hand, her eyes filled with tears, and looked at Boss Xiang in disbelief: "I'm a postman, a government official, how dare you hit me?! You just wait, I'm going to the post office in town to complain right now, and then I'll go to the police station to report you and have the police arrest you!"
Xiang the Elder had slapped Cheng Ying in a fit of anger, and now, upon hearing what Cheng Ying said, he panicked.
He was illiterate and had little legal knowledge, but he knew that postmen were state cadres. If Cheng Ying, an ordinary citizen, dared to assault a state cadre, and if she went to the town to complain to the post office or report the case to the police, the post office branch manager and the police would come knocking on his door. He would be in serious trouble, if not dead!
No, we can't let this woman go to town to complain! We have to shut her up forever!
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Xiang the Boss reached out to grab Cheng Ying, trying to cover her mouth so she could never tell on him again.
Seeing the murderous glint in his eyes, Cheng Ying knew he had taken the bait. Without hesitation, she ran towards the village committee, shouting as she ran, "Help! Murder! Boss Xiang has gone mad! He's going to kill the postman! He's going to kill the government officials!"
Aimen Village is surrounded by mountains on three sides, with the village located on the middle hilltop. It is surrounded by two high mountains on both sides, forming a "gate" shape. If people speak even slightly loudly, the echo can be heard.
Cheng Ying was running desperately along the village road, shouting for help. Her cries echoed throughout the village, and soon the whole village could hear her cries for help.
But Xiang the Elder got so angry that he lost his temper and chased after her. While chasing her, he grabbed a wood-chopping knife from the yard and pursued her menacingly. The louder she shouted, the closer he chased after her, and he even held up the wood-chopping knife and told her to stop.
This scene was witnessed by villagers and village officials who came after hearing the commotion. They were all startled and rushed forward to stop the eldest brother.
Some villagers said to the eldest brother, "Are you crazy! Comrade Xiao Cheng is a postman, a government cadre, how dare you kill her? You're tired of living!"
Some people said, "It takes two to tango. No matter how reckless Boss Xiang is, he's not the kind of person who would kill someone at the drop of a hat. I think Cheng Ying must have done something to anger him, which is why he did this."
Others said, "Xiang Laoda is no good. He has been beating his wife for years. Our village's women's director has gone to his house many times to mediate and warn him not to beat his wife, or else he would have to divorce her, but he just won't change! Recently, he even wanted to sell his eldest daughter, who is as good as a scholar, for money. A person who doesn't treat his wife and children like human beings is really capable of murder."
...
Village Party Secretary Ge Shengli, who was about to go home, saw Cheng Ying running towards him with a clear handprint on her face. He didn't bother to smooth things over and quickly grabbed Cheng Ying, asking, "Comrade Cheng, what happened to you? Why would Boss Xiang beat or kill you out of the blue?"
"Secretary Ge, you have to stand up for me!" Cheng Ying put on her best acting skills, deliberately showing Ge Shengli the left side of her face that had been beaten, and cried her heart out. "I was just delivering some documents to Xiang Zhaodi. When I got to his house, I saw him beating Zhaodi's mother half to death. Xiang Zhaodi was locked in the woodshed with iron bars, and she and her younger siblings were crying and begging their father not to beat their mother anymore, but he wouldn't listen."
I saw that the old lady was about to be beaten to death by him, so I went to help. But he accused me of meddling without even asking what happened and slapped me.
I told him that I was a state cadre and that hitting me was a crime, and that I was going to report it to the town. He was afraid that if I actually did report it, he would kill me to silence me.
Secretary Ge, you must stand up for me!
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