“You shameless bitch! How dare you seduce my man, you slut! I’m going to beat you to death today!”
Only then did the man’s wife get a clear look at what was happening on the kang. She lunged forward like a madwoman, grabbed Pei Jiaojiao by the hair, and began clawing and scratching her.
Pei Jiaojiao was barely clothed. She curled into a ball, desperately covering her private parts, and had no way to fight back.
Yet she remained as arrogant and overbearing as ever. “You bitch, stop it! My father is a division commander. If you dare touch me again, my father will never let you get away with it!”
The brigade leader was so furious that the veins on his forehead throbbed. “Old Mrs. Zhao, take some people and pull this crazy woman away!”
Old Mrs. Zhao brought four women over to break up the fight. While they were at it, they did not forget to pinch Pei Jiaojiao a couple of times. Their husbands had been staring at her for quite a while—this little hussy was truly shameless.
As soon as the women were pulled apart, the Shen family arrived in a hurry. The moment Shen Hai saw what was happening on the kang, he lost all reason.
Ignoring everyone’s attempts to stop him, he charged forward with bloodshot eyes and slapped Pei Jiaojiao hard across the face.
“You shameless bitch! Every time I wanted to touch you, you acted like you were so pure and refused to let me lay a hand on you. We’ve been married until now, and you wouldn’t even let me touch your hand. But now you’re here committing adultery with another man! I’ll beat you to death today!”
Pei Jiaojiao was stunned for a moment by the blow, then went berserk and began clawing and striking at Shen Hai.
“Shen Hai, how dare you hit me! You should consider yourself blessed that I married you. My father is a division commander. I’ve never been hit in my entire life. Just wait—I won’t let you off!”
“Ah… Sob… Shen Hai, I’m going to fight you to the death! Do you think I wanted to marry you? You’re nothing but a useless good-for-nothing!”
She hated Shen Hai. He was the man who had ruined her chastity.
Before anyone could pull them apart, Shen’s mother rushed forward and began clawing and scratching at the other man.
“You blacklisted criminal! How dare you run wild in our village? Brigade leader, hurry up and take him away to face the firing squad!”
The man had initially endured Shen’s mother’s scolding out of fear. But the moment he heard that he would be executed, he completely lost control. He drove his fist hard into Shen’s mother’s nose.
“Your daughter-in-law came here on her own! Did I make her come? Someone drugged me! Brigade leader, I’ve been wronged. You have to give me justice!”
The man wept, his nose running, as he desperately tried to defend himself.
“I only said a few words to her. When I woke up, things had already become like this. Even now, I don’t know what happened.”
He would never dare admit that he and this woman had conspired to frame a soldier. If he confessed, there truly would be no chance of survival.
Shen’s mother was knocked to the ground, blood pouring steadily from her nostrils.
“Quick, take her to the clinic!” the brigade leader ordered. Shen’s father hurriedly carried her to the clinic.
The brigade leader glared darkly at the people on the kang and ordered sternly, “Go home and change your clothes. Everyone is to report to the brigade office.”
With that, he turned and began walking toward the brigade office. When he saw Shen Linzhou standing at the door, he called him along.
The man shakily put on his trousers. His face was covered in blood, and he followed behind the crowd, filled with regret and fear.
His wife secretly glanced at Shen Linzhou, immediately lowered her head, and quietly followed at the very back.
Seeing her son being taken away, the man’s mother was terribly worried. She told the children to stay inside, then hurried after them as well.
The Xiao family and Old Chen did not leave their house at all. Given their identities, it was best for them to avoid getting involved. They could only press themselves against the crack in the door and listen to what was happening outside.
At that moment, Xiao Mandong saw that the crowd had dispersed and decided that the timing was perfect.
She quickly went to the back window and took two large bundles of supplies out of her space, placing them beneath the window before quietly returning to the front courtyard.
The door was bolted from the inside, and she could hear people whispering.
Xiao Mandong gently knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” Xiao Jingping asked warily.
“It’s me.”
Hearing his daughter’s voice, Xiao Jingping hurriedly got off the kang and opened the door.
Grandma Xiao also excitedly climbed down from the kang, forgetting even to put on her shoes.
“My Mandong, why have you come again?”
She instinctively glanced outside.
“Grandma.” Xiao Mandong put an arm around her and helped her back onto the kang. “Everyone has left. It’s all right now.”
Her aunt, Feng Xiaoyan, hurried over. The last time Xiao Mandong had come, they had not known about it at all. They had only found out when her parents-in-law secretly gave them the boiled eggs she had brought. It was impossible not to be moved upon learning that this niece, who had been pampered since childhood, had risked so much to bring food to the family.
Feng Xiaoyan took Xiao Mandong’s hand and asked anxiously, “Did you see what was happening outside? Did anyone see you?”
In her previous life, Xiao Mandong had not liked this aunt very much. Feng Xiaoyan spoke loudly and quickly and was always rushing around like a whirlwind. Xiao Mandong had preferred her second aunt, Gao Shuqin, who had always spoken softly and gently.
Who could have imagined that Gao Shuqin would turn out to be just like her mother? The moment she learned that they were being sent down, she had immediately chosen to divorce.
In her previous life, it had been her elder aunt who cared for Grandma Xiao at her sickbed. Later, when Old Master Xiao fell ill, it was also her elder aunt who stayed by his side and looked after him.
Xiao Mandong held her aunt’s hand and felt the thick calluses covering it.
“No one saw me. I hid.”
Feng Xiaoyan patted her chest. “That’s good. You have no idea—those people living in the courtyard aren’t decent at all. A few days ago, your grandfather gave Old Chen two boiled eggs. One of the children from that household saw the eggshells, and that man actually went to Old Chen’s place to demand eggs. He said that if Old Chen didn’t give his family some, he would report him.”
Grandma Xiao sighed as well. “We never realized what kind of people they were before. Mandong, don’t bring us anything else. Don’t let us get you into trouble. We can endure this. You really don’t need to worry about us.”
Xiao Mandong felt even more at peace and became more certain that she had done the right thing.
“You won’t have to worry about that family anymore. The man who just got into trouble is from that household. He’ll probably be taken away soon.”
“Dad, open the window quickly and bring the things outside in.”
Xiao Jingping opened the window in confusion. The sight nearly made his jaw drop.
“Girl, where did you get so many things? How did you bring all this here?”
Xiao Jingping’s eyes reddened. Even for a grown man, carrying so many things would not have been easy. How had his daughter managed to bring them into the village? There was only one route she could have taken—over the mountains.
The thought made his chest tighten.
His elder sister-in-law was impatient by nature. “Jingping, hurry up and bring them in. You can explain later.”
Xiao Jingye said nothing more. He and his son climbed out through the window, opened the two large bundles, and tossed the items in one by one. The bundles were too large and the window too small, so there was no other way.
Xiao Jingping and Feng Xiaoyan caught everything from inside.
There were twelve quilts alone, along with padded jackets and trousers, rice, flour, cooking oil, and eggs. Feng Xiaoyan felt as though she were dreaming.
There was one padded mattress for each household and one quilt for each person.
“Grandpa, those two quilts and those two padded jackets are for Grandpa Chen. Of course, whether you give them to him is up to you. I don’t know what kind of person he really is.”
“These quilts and cotton-padded clothes are all stuffed with new cotton. To keep anyone from getting suspicious, we used old cloth bought from the villagers on the outside. They may not look nice, but they’ll definitely keep you warm.”
Old Master Xiao was gratified by his granddaughter’s thoughtfulness, but even more heartbroken for her.
He immediately told them to carry the quilts back to their room. Ever since his granddaughter’s last visit, he had dug several hiding pits in the room. Now they were coming in handy for concealing everything.
They had barely finished putting everything away when hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Xiao Mandong peered through the crack in the door and saw a large crowd approaching. It wasn’t just the brigade leader and the villagers—the commune’s Revolutionary Committee and the Public Security officers from the People’s Protection Group had come as well, a whole line of blue caps.
The brigade leader’s face was livid, and his voice trembled as he shouted, “Take everyone who was present today, as well as everyone living in this courtyard, to the brigade headquarters!”
