Cheng Baidong wasn't just making things up when he said he had something to deal with. He went to the village chief's house in the morning and arranged to meet with Director Li and the village chief at the cowshed at eight o'clock to handle the matter in front of everyone.
His medical retirement application has been submitted, and the job placement process is underway. To prevent anyone from using his case for personal attacks in the future, he cannot get involved in this matter; it would be best if the village chief and village officials handled it.
If you are within the rules, you must respect them.
The cowshed is on the south side of the village. To get there from her home, she has to cross three alleys. Fang Qiao is heavily pregnant, and for some reason today, she feels her belly harden as soon as she walks a little faster, so she has to stop and start.
Fang Qiao's face was slightly pale. Cheng Baidong held her small hand tenderly to comfort her: "Can you walk? If not, I'll carry you over."
"It's not far, you don't need to carry me. If people see us, we'll just make a fool of ourselves." Fang Qiao waved her hand. "I can walk by myself."
Cheng Baidong: "I'll help you."
"good."
Fang Qiao leaned her body against Cheng Baidong's shoulder, and the support helped her feel a little better.
The two walked side by side for ten minutes before finally arriving at their destination.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered at the entrance of the cowshed.
Through the courtyard wall, Fang Qiao could hear Huang Yan's cursing coming from inside. Her voice was sharp and piercing, with a strong penetrating quality. To exaggerate, it could be heard from two miles away.
"I'll beat you to death, you son of a bitch, you filthy scoundrel, how dare you take advantage of my daughter! Let me tell you, this isn't over. If you don't come up with a dowry of three hundred yuan to marry my daughter, I'll go to the commune and report you for indecent assault, and have the police arrest you and put you in jail!"
"Mom, Mom... please stop talking..."
"It'll be too late to say it now, you brat! What good is it of me to raise you? You're not even fully grown yet and you're already siding with outsiders. Of all people to choose, you had to pick a good-for-nothing. You're going to drive me crazy sooner or later!"
Cheng Baidong found a chair in the duty room for Fang Qiao to sit down, and together they watched the farce in the cowshed.
Li Jinlong, who was being beaten, saw Cheng Baidong and Fang Qiao. He was so frightened that he forgot to dodge and was slapped on the head by Huang Yan, his head covered in cow dung.
Huang Yan hit and cursed at him, while Cheng Hongmei cried and stood between the two.
Cheng Guihe and his son Cheng Yajun sat on the straw in the cowshed, watching this scene expressionlessly, their indifferent expressions as if the people in front of them were not their family.
"Stop hitting, Director Li is here."
At that moment, someone suddenly shouted something.
Huang Yan stopped hitting him immediately, and Li Jinlong took the opportunity to break free, covering his head and hiding in a corner.
Huang Yan straightened her disheveled cotton-padded coat and haphazardly tucked the stray hairs from her face behind her head.
Cheng Hongmei wiped away her tears and quietly took several steps back.
Director Li frowned as he looked at the messy cowshed. "What happened?"
"Huang Yan said that this good-for-nothing took advantage of Hongmei, beating and cursing her, and demanding a dowry of three hundred yuan to marry her," said Aunt Cheng, who had always disliked Huang Yan.
"So what if I asked him to give me the bride price? His hands were unruly. I was already being lenient by not chopping him up and sending him to jail. Asking him to give me the bride price is doing him a favor!" Huang Yan said confidently.
Director Li: "Hongmei, you speak."
Just as Cheng Hongmei was about to speak, Huang Yan blocked her way: "It's not up to her to decide this."
"I asked Hongmei, not you, so don't speak." Director Li's forehead throbbed with anger at Huang Yan: "Hongmei, I'm asking you, is it true that your mother said Li Jinlong took advantage of you?"
Cheng Hongmei sobbed, "No, nothing like that. It's too cold in the cowshed at night, so Jinlong and I just huddled together to keep warm. It's nothing like what my mother said. You can ask Jinlong if you don't believe me."
Director Li immediately summoned Li Jinlong.
Li Jinlong shouted his innocence: "No way! Yajun and I are good brothers, and I've always treated Hongmei like my own little sister. How could I take advantage of her?"
"You're talking nonsense!" Huang Yan immediately objected. "I saw it with my own eyes this morning. Your stinking mouth was practically glued to Hongmei's face, and you still dare to say you didn't take advantage of her! I've seen plenty of scoundrels like you. All you can think about is your crotch. Don't think I don't know. My daughter may be stupid, but I'm not!"
"Mom, you...you stop talking..." Cheng Hongmei felt so embarrassed and annoyed that she wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.
"You're feeling ashamed now? Why didn't you do this earlier?" Huang Yan poked Cheng Hongmei's forehead hard with her finger, leaving several red nail marks.
"You brat, you won't let me speak. If we don't get to the bottom of this now, are you just going to swallow this bitter pill?"
Director Li asked Li Jinlong, "Did Hongmei's mother say that?"
Li Jinlong's eyes darted around, and he changed the subject: "Yes...or no? I...I was asleep, so how would I know?"
That means it exists.
Director Li has dealt with disputes for half his life. He can tell if someone is lying or not just by looking at their expression.
She couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
Before the previous problems were even resolved, another mountain of debt was created!
What kind of mess is this?!
"So how do you plan to resolve this?"
Huang Yan immediately interrupted, "I only have one thing to say: either he pays three hundred yuan as a bride price to marry my Hongmei, or I will report him to the commune and have the police arrest him and put him in jail."
"Hongmei, what's your opinion?"
Cheng Hongmei bit her lip and mustered her courage to say, "I...I don't want Brother Jinlong to go to jail."
Director Li nodded to indicate that he understood, and then asked, "Li Jinlong, what about you? What are your thoughts?"
"My family can't afford a dowry of three hundred yuan. At most... at most fifty."
"The bride price outside is 66 or 88, you think you can fool me with fifty yuan! You've taken more than fifty yuan from my house!" Huang Yan was furious and reached out to hit Li Jinlong again.
Li Jinlong covered his head and hid behind him.
Cheng Baidong suddenly interjected, "Oh, your family is quite wealthy. You have no relatives or friends, yet you just give away fifty yuan like that?"
Huang Yan's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously glanced at Li Jinlong.
Li Jinlong felt even more guilty. No matter how distant the Cheng family and Cheng Bodong were, they were still relatives connected by blood. What did he amount to?
"No, stop hitting me. I'll pay the 300 yuan dowry, I'll pay it, I'll be your son-in-law."
"You're smart enough to know what's good for you."
The two exchanged a glance, forming a tacit united front, though both harbored the same deep-seated guilt.
Cheng Baidong took everything in and said coldly, "Li Jinlong, don't think you can rest easy just because you've become the son-in-law of the Cheng family. Breaking up a military marriage is illegal. Just for what you said to my wife yesterday, I can send you to jail for three years. Think carefully before you speak."
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