Three thirty in the morning.
The second son, Zhao Jianjun, was fast asleep, holding his child.
Meanwhile, the third brother, Zhao Jianhua, was so excited about selling cloth the next day that he couldn't sleep.
Suddenly hearing a noise outside, Zhao Jianhua was so happy that he jumped up and darted out like a spring.
Before he could even speak, he saw Zhao Youcai carrying a bamboo basket in his arms and a long willow branch in his hand, herding two piglets into the yard.
The third brother, Zhao Jianhua, stood rooted to the spot like a wooden stake, his face full of confusion.
"Dad, didn't you say you were calling me out to do something important at night? Did you secretly finish something important and then call me up in the middle of the night to praise you?"
Zhao Youcai then remembered what he had said earlier: the brigade leader had told him to go pick piglets at night, and Lao San had insisted on going with him.
Without thinking too much about it, I casually told him to come along.
I didn't expect this kid to still remember this.
Judging from this, they've probably been waiting for me for quite a while.
However, seeing his third son's somewhat diode-like thinking, Zhao Youcai didn't think much of it.
Anyway, he's the boss, so whatever he says while standing here is considered the truth, and nobody dares to say a word against it.
"Seeing how exhausted I am, why don't you come and help? How can you be so clueless?"
"I definitely called you before I left, but you didn't say a word. I thought you had gone off to have some fun again."
Zhao Jianhua scratched his head, completely bewildered.
Aside from going to the outhouse at night, he stayed in his room waiting for news the rest of the time.
When did his father call him? Why didn't he hear him?
Zhao Youcai snorted and continued to complain, feigning dissatisfaction: "Sleeping so soundly at such a young age, what will you do when you get old?"
Zhao Jianhua dared not utter a sound, mainly because he didn't know what to say.
He obediently stepped forward and took the willow branch from his father's hand, and also took the basket containing the chicks, ducklings and goslings from his arms.
Just then, the eldest and fourth sons, who had helped the team leader bring the piglets home, returned and rushed over to help. The father and sons worked together to put the small animals into the pigpen and chicken, duck, and goose sheds prepared in the backyard.
Originally, Zhao Youcai was only supposed to be assigned one pig, but he stood out too much when catching the pig.
The sixty-year-old man was even faster than the village head who often helped catch pigs in various villages. So the village head's eyes lit up, and he thought Zhao Youcai was reliable, so he let Zhao Youcai catch an extra piglet to take home and raise.
The second day.
As soon as it was light, the second and third brothers carried their shoulder poles and bamboo baskets toward the neighboring Sunjia Village.
Having received the news early on, the villagers of Sunjia Village specially sent several clever young men to wait on the path outside the village entrance. As soon as the two Zhao brothers appeared, some of them quickly ran towards the village.
Almost as soon as the two Zhao brothers arrived at the entrance of the neighboring village, they were surrounded by enthusiastic aunties and grandmas.
"Oh dear, why are you so late? Have you eaten yet? Auntie has some stewed potatoes that are so soft and delicious!"
"Go cool off somewhere else. Everyone has a few broken potatoes. Come on, come to my house. My house is big and very clean. I promise it won't get your cloth dirty."
"You're so calculating, you're practically spitting out your own mouth. You just want to take her to your house so you can shamelessly ask her for a discount of a cent or two. The production team has set aside half a warehouse. Come on, let's all go to the brigade."
The two Zhao brothers looked at each other, both feeling a bit of a headache.
No wonder Dad specifically asked Fourth Sister-in-law to sell cloth at home; those old women are so annoying with their constant chatter.
But they came here not just to sell cloth, they had something more important to do.
Zhao Lao Er said in a deep voice, "We didn't bring much cloth, so we don't need to find such a nice place. Let's all go to my eldest sister's husband's house. We haven't seen our eldest sister in a long time."
The scene fell silent instantly, and after a long while, someone hissed.
"The girl from Zhao Family Village, oh my!"
The man slapped his thigh and looked at the captain's wife next to him with a pleading expression.
The third brother, Zhao Jianhua, immediately sensed something was amiss between the two. Then, recalling that he hadn't heard any news about his eldest sister in recent years, his brow furrowed instantly.
Then I thought of my sister-in-law, who was often beaten by my brother and screamed in agony, but no one from her family came to her aid. As a result, my brother became more and more unscrupulous in beating her.
If it weren't for my father repeatedly scolding my eldest brother for this matter, my sister-in-law would probably be covered in injuries again, just like before.
Then think about it, none of the brothers have ever come to visit their eldest sister. Could it be that their eldest sister, like their sister-in-law before her, was beaten so badly that she can't get out?
The more Zhao Laosan thought about it, the more likely it seemed, especially after observing the expressions of all the women around him, his heart pounded wildly.
Not only did my sister-in-law not come, but none of her husband's family members showed up either.
Zhao Jianhua didn't care about anything else. He gave his second brother a wink, and the two brothers quickened their pace, carrying their shoulder poles, and headed straight for their eldest sister's husband's house.
Even if the women wanted to go and inform Zhao Jianhua's brother-in-law's family, it would be too late. How could they outrun a strong and healthy young man?
A few minutes later.
As the two Zhao brothers arrived at their brother-in-law's house, following their memories, they heard a familiar voice.
However, the sound no longer had the warmth it used to have; instead, it was the terrifying cries of women and children.
"Honey, I'm going to the mountain to dig for wild vegetables right now. Please stop hitting him, or he'll be beaten to death!"
The woman's cries had no effect; the sounds of whipping and the man's angry curses continued to come from inside.
"How unlucky I am to have married such a good-for-nothing like you!"
"Other people's wives have their own families to support them, but what about you? You eat my food and use my things, and you can't even give birth to a son, only three girls in a row. You still dare to eat eggs? Do you bunch of good-for-nothings even deserve them?"
The second brother, Zhao Jianjun, suddenly lost his temper and kicked open the tightly closed courtyard gate.
The scene before them only fueled the anger of the two Zhao brothers.
The eldest sister they remembered as always smiling was now so thin that she looked as if she could be blown away by a gust of wind.
The older sister still had blood on her lips as she tightly protected the trembling, frail little girl beneath her.
Two heart-wrenching cries came from the inner room. The man, holding a whip, roared into the room. He turned around after hearing the door being kicked open.
When his eyes met Zhao Jianjun's icy gaze, the man was so frightened that his hands trembled uncontrollably.
He recognized this person; he was the second son of the Zhao family.
When he went to Zhao Jia Gou to get a wife, this kid warned him.
At the time, Zhao Lao Er said that if he dared to bully his older sister, he would make him regret it.
He was initially quite intimidated, but after years of experience beating his wife, he came to a conclusion.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
