Chapter 39: Chapter 37: Tell the Brigade Leader to Arrest Her

The old lady took a few steps forward and took Little Douzi’s hand. She beamed at Lin Lan. “You don’t need to come pick him up for lunch. Just eat by yourself.”

“I know.”

Lin Lan agreed with a smile and waved to the pair. As she turned to leave, she heard Little Douzi ask the old lady if his new clothes looked nice.

The old lady said they looked very nice. Lin Lan glanced back and saw the old woman and the little boy walking home hand in hand, a warm feeling spreading through her heart.

****

After breakfast, Zhang Yazhen watched grim-faced as Xiong Jianjun, two fresh scratch marks on his neck, shouldered his hoe and left. Only then did she stand up, rubbing her faintly aching upper arm.

She untied her apron, tossed it onto a bamboo chair, and walked out into the courtyard. She stood there for a moment, staring at the roof of Lin Lan’s house, before shouldering a large basket and heading out toward the brigade’s pig farm.

Sun Xiuhua, wearing a worn-out apron, was shuffling slowly toward the pig farm. As she drew near, she saw Zhang Yazhen up ahead and called out, “Yazhen! Where are you off to this morning?”

Zhang Yazhen turned and smiled. “Sister Sun, I’m going to cut some grass for the pigs.”

Sun Xiuhua glanced around, then lowered her voice. “Did your neighbor have family over from her maiden home?”

“She did! I heard they brought two pigs and more than ten chickens. But that’s nothing!” Zhang Yazhen looked around again, then leaned in close to her ear. “Yesterday, I heard someone say that the little widow is running a private business in the Eucalyptus Forest!”

“Really?” Sun Xiuhua’s eyes lit up as she stared at her.

Zhang Yazhen pursed her lips and shook her head. “I just overheard a couple of people talking as they passed by my courtyard, so who knows if it’s true! You told me before to let you know if I heard anything about the widow. If you hadn’t called out, I would’ve forgotten all about it.”

“That damn whore…” A vicious glint appeared in Sun Xiuhua’s eyes. “I’m going to the Eucalyptus Forest this afternoon. If I catch that little widow, I’ll drag her back here myself!”

Zhang Yazhen grabbed her arm. “Sister Sun, don’t go yourself! Get the brigade leader to take some men and arrest her.”

Sun Xiuhua nodded repeatedly. “Right! As soon as I’m done feeding the pigs, I’ll go find his uncle.”

Zhang Yazhen quickly grabbed her again, whispering urgently, “Sister Sun, whatever you do, don’t say I’m the one who told you! That damn widow lives right next to me. I’m afraid she might try to harm my children.”

Sun Xiuhua shot her a look. “I’m not a stupid fool like Zheng Sanmei.” The very thought of the beating she’d taken from Lin Lan made her hate both Lin Lan and Zheng Sanmei to the core.

“Heh heh!” Zhang Yazhen laughed drily. “I was just saying. Don’t take it the wrong way!”

Sun Xiuhua looked at Zhang Yazhen, feeling impatient. “Are you going to come in and sit for a bit?” ’She was desperate to feed the pigs and go find Liu Guozhi. She wanted to tell him about Lin Lan’s business, have her arrested, and get her revenge by having Lin Lan paraded through the streets with a basket of dog shit hanging around her neck.’

Zhang Yazhen shook her head. “No, I can’t. I still need to go to my private plot to cut grass.”

“Fine. It stinks to high heaven in the pigsty anyway, so I won’t keep you.” With that, Sun Xiuhua paid Zhang Yazhen no more mind. She pulled a key tied to a string from her waistband and headed for the pigsty.

Watching her hurry off, Zhang Yazhen thought of what had happened to Zheng Sanmei and suddenly felt a pang of regret. ’Maybe she should have listened to Xiong Jianjun and left Lin Lan alone.’

She rubbed her throbbing upper arm and cursed inwardly, ’That bastard… he fights like a damn woman, always going for cheap shots.’

Sun Xiuhua unlocked the pig farm’s storeroom, scooped out a ladleful of grain husks and grass chaff to mix into the slop, and carried it into the sty. She poured it all into the troughs, quickly filling the dozen or so troughs in a few swift movements. Without caring that the slop was spilling over the edges, she slammed the door shut and hurried back.

As she neared her house, she saw her son, Liu Jinbao, and a tall man standing by the courtyard gate, arguing heatedly about something.

Sun Xiuhua walked over. “Jinbao, who is this?”

Liu Jinbao turned to see her. “Mom, how are you back so fast?”

Zou Zhonggui ducked his head, pulling his hat down lower.

Sun Xiuhua nodded, then craned her neck to get a look at Zou Zhonggui. She immediately spotted the scratch marks all over his face and cried out in surprise, “Oh my! Just look at your face! Young man, what on earth did you do? Did your wife claw you up like that?”

With a dark expression, Zou Zhonggui stared at Liu Jinbao and said nothing.

“Mom—! Must you be so nosy!” Liu Jinbao hurriedly pushed her into the courtyard, pulled the gate shut, and left with Zou Zhonggui.

“What’s so wrong with asking?” Sun Xiuhua muttered. ’Something’s odd here.’ She turned, opened the gate, and went after them, but the two were already far down the road. She gave up and headed toward Liu Guozhi’s house instead.

Liu Jinbao and Zou Zhonggui walked one after the other to the edge of a rice paddy by the irrigation channel. Liu Jinbao turned and glared fiercely at Zou Zhonggui.

“Old Gui, are you trying to bleed me dry?”

Zou Zhonggui was just as aggressive, pointing at his own face. “You look at this face! I’ll give you a hundred yuan. You let those two biddies scratch your face up like this. Would you take that deal?”

Liu Jinbao sucked air through his teeth in frustration. “Damn it! I already gave you a hundred yuan! What more do you want?”

Zou Zhonggui stared at him coldly. “Considering we were once like brothers, give me another hundred, and we can put this matter to rest.”

“A hundred yuan?” Liu Jinbao’s face turned pale as he snarled, “Do you think money grows on trees? A strong laborer couldn’t even make that much after working his ass off for two years! Fifty is the most you’ll get. Take it or leave it!”

Zou Zhonggui gave him a sidelong glance. “Suit yourself. I’ll go find Captain He. I’m sure he’d be happy to pay a hundred yuan for the chance to become brigade leader.” With that, he turned to walk away.

“Wait!” Liu Jinbao hurriedly grabbed him.

Zou Zhonggui wiped the triumphant smirk from his face and turned back, his expression cold. “Mr. Liu, are there any other instructions?”

Liu Jinbao stared him down. “Old Gui, give me your word. This is the last time you’ll ask me for money?”

Zou Zhonggui looked him in the eye and thumped his chest. “I’m a man of my word!”

Liu Jinbao clenched his jaw. He threw his cigarette butt to the ground, crushed it under his foot, and looked up. “Fine! I’ll bring it to you after work this afternoon.”

Zou Zhonggui nodded. “I’ll wait for you at home.” ’He really ought to thank Lin Lan and her sister-in-law,’ he thought. ’Where else would he find such a reliable meal ticket?’

Liu Jinbao watched Zou Zhonggui strut away, then trudged home listlessly. He snuck a hundred yuan out of a chest and stuffed it into his pocket. The thought that the money would soon be someone else’s made his heart ache.

****

When Sun Xiuhua arrived at Liu Guozhi’s house, she found Xu Chunyan in the courtyard, pasting layers of cloth together to stiffen them. Sun Xiuhua approached with a wide grin. “Sister-in-law, is his uncle home?”

Xu Chunyan didn’t even bother to look up, continuing to spread her paste. “In the bamboo grove, weaving dustpans.”

Sun Xiuhua immediately headed for the bamboo grove in the backyard. ’She had never seen eye-to-eye with Xu Chunyan, not since the day she married into the Liu family. At first, she thought Xu Chunyan was just being phony. But later, she became convinced that Xu Chunyan was jealous—jealous that she had borne a son, and jealous that their parents-in-law and even her own husband, their son’s uncle, doted on the boy.’

Xu Chunyan glanced up at her retreating figure, then turned her head and spat on the ground.

’She despised how Sun Xiuhua had used her son to lord it over everyone in the Liu family. Back when the old man and old woman were still alive, they had always taken Sun Xiuhua’s side, leaving Xu Chunyan to do all the chores.’

’To skive off work and snag the best food, she was constantly using Liu Jinbao as an excuse. One day it was a headache, the next his little butt hurt. Wasn’t she afraid of cursing her own child with all that talk?’

’When the old couple passed away and the families split up, Xu Chunyan had thought her misery was finally at an end. She wouldn’t have to serve that mother-and-son pair like they were royalty anymore. But who would have guessed that her husband, Liu Guozhi, would carry on as if nothing had changed, still treating Liu Jinbao better than he treated his own three daughters.’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep