That day, Xichun was leading a group of people for a stroll in the county when they arrived at the dyeing workshop. They found everyone gathered together talking, and their conversation vaguely included talk of reporting to the authorities.
"What's going on? What happened?" Xichun hurriedly stepped forward.
"Madam, you've arrived. Perfect timing! We were just about to go to the county government to report to the authorities."
Yang Cuiniang's angry expression hadn't faded yet, but when she saw Xichun coming over, it was as if she had seen a savior.
"What happened? Has something happened at the dyeing workshop?" Hearing that the matter was to be reported to the authorities, Xichun knew the seriousness of the situation.
"No, it wasn't the dye shop that had an accident. It was Zhao Di. Zhao Di was beaten by her husband. Look how badly he beat her."
Yang Cuiniang pushed through the crowd, allowing Xichun to see Zhaodi, who was surrounded in the middle.
Zhao Di's face was covered in bruises and tear stains. She was holding a little girl in her arms. The little girl looked nervous, like a little deer, with a confused look in her eyes.
"Zhao Di, tell me what exactly happened. Men who hit women are no good people. Don't be afraid."
Xi Chun has been living a comfortable life these past few years and has rarely seen people committing domestic violence like this. She was shocked to see it today.
“Yesterday we received our wages, and I had just taken them home when my husband and mother-in-law came to ask me for money. But Xiao Ni is still sick, so I said I wanted to keep some for her medical treatment.”
Then my mother-in-law said, "Why bother treating a little girl? If she dies, we can just take her out and sell her, and we'll save some food."
I couldn't help but retort that Xiao Ni was also her own granddaughter, and she said I was unfilial, that my daughter-in-law was talking back to her mother-in-law. My husband heard this and ran in, and when he saw this, he said a few words to me.
My mother-in-law was unhappy, so she started sitting on the ground and throwing a tantrum, saying that if my husband didn't teach me a lesson, she didn't know how he would treat her in the future.
She even said that now that I've made money, I'm all grown up and I'm working hard every day. I wonder if I've hooked up with some random guy.
Upon hearing this, my husband immediately kicked me in the stomach, and seeing that I still wanted to say something, he slapped me a few more times.
Hearing the commotion, Xiao Ni ran out to beg her father, but he only became more violent, threatening to hit the child as well. I had no choice but to hold Xiao Ni, and he kicked me several times.
Zhao Di recounted the whole story, which immediately angered even Xi Chun.
“Who are these people? He’s kicking you to death! Madam, look at her, her whole body is swollen.”
Yang Cuiniang pulled up Zhao Di's sleeve, and Xi Chun saw the footprints on it, feeling sorry for Zhao Di.
In her memory, Zhao Di was a quiet and hardworking person. Since arriving at the dyeing workshop, she never complained about hardship or fatigue. She did whatever she was asked to do and was very down-to-earth.
"Yes, it's common for men to beat their wives, but never like this. Xiao Ni's father is really too cruel."
“That’s right, Zhao Di, I think his family is deliberately making things difficult for you because you didn’t give birth to a son.”
“If we don’t teach this kind of man a lesson, I think he’ll only get beaten worse in the future. Zhao Di, you’d better think of something.”
Xi Chun overheard some unusual things from other people's conversations. In her mind, only useless men would use beating women to vent their emotions.
But in their view, being beaten by men is a common occurrence.
"Do you often see people hitting women around you?" Xi Chun wanted to change their views.
"Yes, of course there are. There are plenty. My mother chose my husband's family because she heard that his father didn't hit people much, and she thought that my husband didn't hit people either, so she married me into the family."
"Yes, and the mother-in-law is also stirring things up. Even if the man doesn't hit you, the mother-in-law will make him hit you, saying that hitting you will make you behave."
"Oh dear, it's gotten so serious. Zhao Di, I'll have someone take the child to the clinic and buy her some medicine. She doesn't look well."
"Madam, but I have no money left. My husband took all my money."
“It’s alright, I’ll pay for it. If any of your children get sick and you don’t have the money for treatment, just come to Manager Yang and I will give her the money. You can withdraw it in advance.”
Xichun will just consider it as paying for their medical insurance.
"Thank you, Madam. Shall I go with you to take a look?"
"No need, Xiaoyue, you take the child with you. I need to talk to you about your matter later."
Xichun had Steward Yang take Zhaodi into the room, leaving only the three of them.
"Zhao Di, tell me, do you want to report this to the authorities? If you do, what kind of result do you hope to get?"
"I... I don't know either, and I don't understand." Zhao Di was a little scared when she saw how serious the lady was.
"So, do you still want to stay in their family, or do you want to divorce Xiaoni's father and raise the child alone, or find a reliable man to marry?"
Xichun knew that they had never been to school and had never even left the county town, so she could only patiently ask them questions.
"What does 'divorce' mean?" Zhao Di's eyes were full of questions.
"It means that the two of you broke up, went to the county government to write a divorce agreement, and said you would never have any contact with each other again."
“I understand, it’s like a letter of divorce, right? But my family won’t agree to me going back. My mother says that a married daughter is like water spilled from a cup. If I go back, my brother will be laughed at, and my sister-in-law won’t agree to me going back either.”
"If I get a divorce, my daughter and I will have nowhere to go. I've heard that some people bully divorced women, making them feel ashamed to walk down the street."
Zhao Di was filled with worry upon hearing this.
"But now you have a wage. As long as you work hard, it's not impossible to raise a child in the future. However, if you continue to live with him, I'm worried that if he accidentally kills you one day, what will you do, Xiao Ni?"
At that time, people did not have the concept of divorce. Even though there were provisions in the law regarding divorce for women, few people in this remote area knew about it, let alone dared to propose divorce.
"Waaah, I'm worried about this too, but I've come out and I don't even have a place to stay. I'm afraid my life will be even worse than before. I'm so sorry to my child."
Zhao Di thought about it for a while, but she didn't know what to do.
"Then you should think about it first. If you get a divorce, our yard is so big, and there are still unused areas. I can use it as your dormitory. All employees can come and stay, so there's no need to worry about that."
Xi Chun saw that she hadn't thought it through for a while. If the person involved in this kind of matter didn't bravely and proactively express their demands, they probably wouldn't dare to say it in court.
"Thank you, Madam. I'll go see Xiao Ni first and then carefully consider your words."
"Okay, go ahead and rest today. I just asked Xiaoyue to go to the clinic to buy you some medicine. Apply it to yourself and get well soon."
"Sigh, I think this is difficult. This isn't the first time Zhao Di has been beaten." Yang Cuiniang shook her head. Her family was relatively better off than others, so she hadn't encountered such a thing, but she still felt sorry for them.
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