Chapter 124 Guagua.
When Xiang Yao arrived at the brigade headquarters, he immediately saw Zhang Xiaoxia knitting outside again.
The director of the women's department, a brigade cadre of neither high nor low status, usually does not have many things to take care of, but when it comes to the affairs of the women and children, she is always the one who has to step in.
However, there are so many terrible things happening in the countryside, and many people believe that dirty laundry should not be made public, so they don't tell others what they've experienced.
This kind of thing is impossible to control, and sometimes I am too lazy to control it.
However, Zhang Xiaoxia will still take those who come to her very seriously.
For example, when she heard Xiang Yao greet her, she immediately stopped knitting with her knitting needle and asked, "What's going on?"
Just as she finished asking, she looked down and saw He Guoqiang, whose face was full of various colors. Her expression froze and she stood up. "How did you get like this? Did your father beat you again? Why was it so severe?"
He Guoqiang glanced at Xiang Yao and said nothing.
Xiang Yao took the initiative to say, "That's right, Aunt Xiaoxia. I found this child in the mountains! If I hadn't seen him, he might have been taken away by wild animals in the mountains."
Zhang Xiaoxia looked reluctant and waved to He Guoqiang, "Come, come here and let me take a look."
He Guoqiang stood there in a daze. Xiang Yao gently pushed him and said, "Go ahead and let Auntie take a look."
The child then walked over and let Zhang Xiaoxia lift him up and down and left and right to look at him.
Xiang Yao took the opportunity to say, "Auntie, look at this! What kind of adults would beat a child like this? He's been beaten to a pulp. If he'd been beaten any harder, he could have been killed. You work with women and children, so you must know that this kind of child abuse is truly atrocious."
Zhang Xiaoxia put down her hand and sighed. "Hey, I went to He Liuzhi once before and told him repeatedly not to hit anyone again. He promised me right in front of me that he would never hit a child again. But he ended up hitting me even harder than before."
Xiang Yao also sighed: "I think we must find a way to completely resolve this matter. Otherwise, if this child is really beaten to death one day and the news spreads outside, everyone will know that there is such a cruel person in our Xiangjiawan who would abuse and kill his own child..."
She didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but Zhang Xiaoxia naturally understood it.
To put it mildly, this will damage the reputation of Xiangjiawan and even the entire Shitang Brigade.
To put it in a broader sense, this was a serious dereliction of duty on the part of her, the director of women's affairs, and other brigade cadres.
She also felt very embarrassed. In this kind of matter, when she went to the family to advise, they would initially say that it was the family's responsibility to educate the child and outsiders should not meddle in other people's business.
If you try to persuade them a little harder, they will still act very serious and leave you speechless. But after you leave, they will continue to do what they want, without any remorse at all!
Zhang Xiaoxia looked at the silent child in front of her again and couldn't help feeling heartbroken.
She also has children, and seeing someone being beaten like this, how could she not feel sad.
If her child was beaten like this, as a mother, she would definitely resist to the end regardless of the consequences.
But the child's mother, Zhang Xiaoxi, although her name is only one character different from hers, has a completely different personality and doesn't care about this matter at all.
"I'm trying to come up with a comprehensive solution," Zhang Xiaoxia said, looking troubled. "But the adults won't listen, and the children are too young. For now, we can only rely on our family and parents."
Xiang Yao rolled her eyes and said, "Aunt, I have an idea. Would you like to hear it and see if it works for you?"
Zhang Xiaoxia's eyes lit up: "Just tell me what you can do. If you can really do it, I'll thank you very much!"
Xiang Yao stepped forward, pulled He Guoqiang to his side, and touched his head: "Guoqiang, this kid, don't look at his young age, he can actually do a lot of things. He usually does all the work in their family. If we argue about living, I'm afraid this little guy is more capable than his parents!"
Zhang Xiaoxia picked up the yarn that had just been dropped on the chair and carefully wound the loose yarn back into place. She nodded and said, "I know about this, too. Children are very capable. If my child could be as capable as him, I would be so happy that I would be beside myself."
Children from poor families have to grow up early. If their parents are useless, the children will be useful.
In her own family, she and her husband are both very capable, so they naturally don't want their children to do more work. They usually pamper and protect them, but the children are still clingy to them even when they grow up.
Xiang Yao said, "So I was thinking, since He Guoqiang can manage the whole family by himself, why not let him live alone..."
"Compared to being beaten by his father, not knowing when he might be beaten to death, it's better to live alone."
Zhang Xiaoxia was stunned. She didn't expect that the idea proposed by the girl would be like this. This was an angle she had never thought of before.
The main thing is, this child is only nine years old. Even if she counts three generations back, she has never heard of a nine-year-old child not living with his parents, but living separately...
Zhang Xiaoxia subconsciously wanted to shake her head: "I'm afraid this won't work. How can a child live alone? If he had relatives, it would be fine, but living alone is really not feasible."
He Guoqiang, who was standing by, listened carefully to what the two of them were saying from beginning to end. As he listened to Zhang Xiaoxia's words, his depressed little heart seemed to be covered by a layer of haze, and he could not see the light of day at all.
He raised his head and mustered up the courage to speak: "I can live on my own. I can do anything."
Zhang Xiaoxia looked at him and said helplessly, "It's not that easy to live alone. Besides, even if we agree, your parents won't agree."
It's okay for an adult to hit others, but if you ask him to completely separate from his own children, he will naturally refuse.
Especially someone like He Liuzhi. She has seen countless people, so how could she not know what such people are thinking? And she is waiting to raise the child and take care of him in his old age, and she will never let go no matter what.
Xiang Yao frowned and said, "But as long as they don't live apart, I don't think He Liuzhi will stop abusing the child."
"Letting He Guoqiang live separately from his parents is the best solution at the moment."
"I do have another idea, which is to report it to the police and have them arrest people like He Liuzhi and send them to labor camps."
But Xiang Yao sneered, and then said, "But when I think about it carefully, this kind of thing of beating one's own child will most likely not have any impact on He Liuzhi."
It can be said that in the countryside, many people grew up under the influence of corporal punishment. They believe that beating children is very common. If someone reports such a thing to the police, it will not only be useless, but will also lead to ridicule.
Zhang Xiaoxia also said: "It's probably useless."
You said that if someone did something sneaky or even hurt someone else, he could be sent to labor camp in minutes.
But if you say that he just beat his own child and hit him a little too hard, and then ask to have him arrested, most people will probably ignore you.
For a moment, the two fell silent.
Xiang Yao thought for a moment and said, "Aunt, I'm honest. I came here today just to get the support of your team leaders. Let's not talk about splitting up the family. After all, Guoqiang is still just a child. Let's just talk about living separately. As long as you agree, I'll handle whether his parents agree or not."
Zhang Xiaoxia remained silent, mechanically reeling in the yarn. She looked at He Guoqiang again, and finally asked, "He Guoqiang, what do you think?"
He Guoqiang looked up and bravely met her gaze, then said firmly, "I want to live separately."
Zhang Xiaoxia asked again: "If you really live apart from your parents, where will you live?"
He Guoqiang seemed to have thought about this problem a long time ago: "My great-uncle has no descendants. After he left, half of the house collapsed. There was still a main room that could be lived in, so I lived there."
Zhang Xiaoxia frowned. "The location of that house is quite good, and the neighbors around it are all friendly. But the mud house has been in disrepair for a long time, and it's probably uninhabitable."
Xiang Yao quickly said, "My family is going to build a new house, so I'll fix up that one while I'm at it. It's just a matter of adding some tiles and reinforcing it, it's not a big project."
Zhang Xiaoxia pondered for a moment, then averted her gaze and said in a deep voice, "The team leader and Party Secretary Huang are not here right now. Let's call He Liuzhi and his wife to discuss this matter together later."
Xiang Yao knew that Zhang Xiaoxia had a bias in her mind and half agreed with her opinion.
She smiled brightly, and her clear voice echoed: "Thank you, Aunt Xiaoxia. I knew that you, as our Women's Director, must be thinking about everyone's happiness."
Zhang Xiaoxia glared at her and said, "Don't flatter me. We'll have a debate later on whether this will work or not."
Xiang Yao said confidently: "Don't be afraid!"
She felt sad when she thought that if she failed, He Guoqiang would definitely be beaten again in the future.
Since she brought the child here today, she must get a result.
While waiting, He Guoqiang quietly approached Xiang Yao, pulled the corner of her clothes, and looked nervous.
For a child, this kind of waiting is extremely painful, because his future is still very uncertain. If he takes a step back, he doesn't know whether he will fall off the cliff again.
Xiang Yao patted his head and comforted him softly, "Don't be afraid, Aunt Xiaoxia and I will help you."
She had already thought of the worst outcome. If He Liuzhi and his wife refused to agree, she would secretly find someone to put He Liuzhi in a sack and beat him every few days until he dared not to fight back.
Of course, this kind of fight between adults is not encouraged and is risky. If things were going well, Xiang Yao would certainly not choose this method.
She blinked and repeated, "Don't worry. Just tell them whatever I tell you later. Tell them everything you told me on the way."
He Guoqiang nodded obediently to show that he understood.
Zhang Xiaoxia was now stroking her knitting needles again. Seeing that the two of them were getting along well, she smiled and teased, "Xiang Yao, when are you planning on having a baby?"
Xiang Yao was stunned for a moment, subconsciously touched her flat belly, and smiled awkwardly. She seemed to have never thought about this question before.
"Auntie, how would I know? If I get pregnant, I'll just give birth. But I'm not in a hurry now. It's still early."
Zhang Xiaoxia said, "Well, you and Xiao Nie are not that old, so it's still early."
Speak of the devil, and he appears. As soon as Xiao Nie is mentioned, Comrade Xiao Nie appears.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
