Xiao Mandong frowned slightly. “Li Fengmei and Cai Shufen?”
She gave a soft scoff, her tone careless. “Those two are six of one and half a dozen of the other.”
To be honest, she had no interest whatsoever in either of them. One was sharp-tongued and spiteful, while the other would betray anyone for personal gain. Neither was a decent person. But the Brigade Leader had gone out of his way to find her, so he clearly hadn’t come just to talk about that.
The Brigade Leader sighed and led Huzi over to sit on the bench nearby. Huzi kept his head down, clutching the Brigade Leader’s coat. His eyes were red, as if he had just been crying, and there were purplish bruises showing on his wrist. Xiao Mandong guessed that Cai Shufen had taken her anger out on Huzi again. That woman really was unhinged.
Xiao Mandong sat down beside them. “Uncle, did you need something?”
The Brigade Leader rubbed his hands together and sighed again. “Mandong, your uncle really does have something to ask of you.”
Xiao Mandong said nothing, waiting for him to continue.
The Brigade Leader wore a helpless expression. “Actually, the fight between those two started because of a misunderstanding…”
It turned out that Li Fengmei had had nowhere to stay the night before last. After wandering around the village several times, she eventually ended up at Tiezhu’s house. She had been cold and hungry, and thought she could pay to stay there for one night. When she knocked, she discovered that the door was unlocked, so she worked up the courage to go inside.
The house was pitch-black. She called out several times, but no one answered. That was when she realized no one was home. She even used Zhao Tiezhu’s kitchen to cook herself a meal, then spent the night at his house.
Who could have expected that Cai Shufen would return the next day with her older brother and sister-in-law? Knowing that Tiezhu was still in the hospital, Cai Shufen had thought she would take advantage of his absence to come back and search for that bankbook. But the moment she entered the house, she saw a strange woman wearing an apron and busying herself in the kitchen. Cai Shufen completely lost her mind.
She assumed Zhao Tiezhu wanted a divorce because he had another woman outside. Without a word, she attacked Li Fengmei. Cai Shufen’s brother and sister-in-law joined in, and the three of them pinned Li Fengmei down and kicked and punched her. If the neighbors had arrived even a little later, someone might have died.
After finishing his story, the Brigade Leader vigorously rubbed his face. In truth, he knew perfectly well that the Cai family members had gone too far, especially Cai Shufen’s brother. Why had he gotten involved in a fight between women? If he hadn’t joined in, Li Fengmei wouldn’t have been injured so badly.
Considering the way Cai Shufen abused her child and the viciousness with which her family members fought, he actually hadn’t wanted to help them.
But now the Wang family had reported the matter to the police and intended to press charges against the Cai family members. The leaders of Cai Village had come to the Brigade Leader, afraid that having someone from the village sentenced would damage the reputation of their brigade. They wanted to reconcile with the Wang family and hoped he could mediate.
The Brigade Leader was also worried. If Cai Shufen went to prison, Zhao Tiezhu would have to care for the two children by himself. How would they manage? Huzi was still so young, and Xi Ran’s situation had yet to be resolved.
After thinking it over, he had gone to the Wang family’s home, but they had refused to compromise no matter what he said. That was why he had come to Xiao Mandong—to see if she could help mediate.
“Uncle, you know what my relationship with the Wang family is like. If I get involved, they’ll only take advantage of it and become even more demanding. Things might end up being harder to resolve.”
The Brigade Leader nodded without saying anything.
After hearing the whole story, Xiao Mandong was speechless too. What kind of character did someone have to possess to move straight into another person’s home just because no one was there? Wasn’t that practically asking to be beaten?
But seeing how troubled the Brigade Leader looked, Xiao Mandong thought for a moment. In the end, she couldn’t help offering a few more words.
“Uncle, Cai Shufen isn’t divorced either. That house still belongs to her. From her perspective, she thought a thief had broken in, so it was only natural for her to hit the intruder. The Wang family doesn’t have the moral high ground here.”
“Also, have Cai Shufen search carefully to see whether anything was actually stolen. The Wang family’s son is one of the educated youths sent down here this time. For their son’s sake, the Wang family probably won’t push things too far.”
The Brigade Leader fell silent for several seconds before saying, “Your points had occurred to me too, and I just mentioned them to the police. But the police said that while Li Fengmei was wrong to trespass into someone’s home, the matter should be handled by the authorities. Cai Shufen injured her so severely that it constitutes a serious assault. Even though Li Fengmei was at fault first, Cai Shufen can’t escape criminal liability for intentionally causing injury. The main issue is that it was three against one.”
Xiao Mandong leaned back against the chair. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Actually, based on what I know of the Wang family over the years, the reason they refuse to compromise is probably that the terms you offered haven’t met their expectations.”
The Brigade Leader looked at her in confusion. “The compensation the Cai family offered isn’t a small amount.”
“What the Wang family wants most right now isn’t money.” Xiao Mandong paused. “They need somewhere to stay.”
“Somewhere to stay?” The Brigade Leader frowned. “Wang Fugui doesn’t have a house?”
Xiao Mandong shook her head.
“Actually, Wang Fugui has a house in the capital. He came here with his entire family because they could no longer get by in their hometown. These days, they can’t openly buy or sell property, and even renting a place can’t be done aboveboard. So to them, a house is more important than money.”
The Brigade Leader slapped his thigh. “Oh, right! If you hadn’t told me, I really wouldn’t have known about that!”
He hurriedly stood up and pulled Huzi to his feet.
“Mandong, your uncle will be going now. I’ll thank you properly another time!”
With that, he hurried off. He was thinking that if the Cai family could solve the housing problem for the Wang family, perhaps the Wang family wouldn’t keep coming to the village to trouble Xiao Mandong. Maybe the village would finally have some peace as well.
After seeing the Brigade Leader off, Xiao Mandong stood in the corridor for a while before turning back toward the clinic.
She had been busy all day. By the time she returned to the residential compound, it was completely dark.
As soon as she reached the alley, she saw Qi Yuqing waiting outside her home, rubbing her hands together to keep warm.
Xiao Mandong hurried over. “Sister Yuqing, it’s so cold out. Why are you waiting here for me?”
Only after saying that did she notice that Qi Yuqing had cut her hair.
It was now a neat, no-nonsense bob that brushed her ears, making her look like an entirely different person.
Qi Yuqing didn’t answer. She simply took Xiao Mandong by the wrist.
“Come on. I made dinner. You’re eating at my place tonight.”
Before Xiao Mandong could refuse, Qi Yuqing had already pulled her next door.
The moment the door opened, the fragrant smell of food wafted toward them. There were braised pork ribs, chicken stewed with mushrooms, stir-fried bean sprouts with pork, and tofu soup. It was obvious that Qi Yuqing had put a great deal of effort into the meal.
Qi Yuqing pressed her into a chair, then sat down across from her and ladled a bowl of soup for Xiao Mandong.
“Drink it while it’s hot. Tell me what you think of my cooking.”
Xiao Mandong accepted the bowl and took a small sip. The hot soup warmed her stomach, and she immediately felt much more comfortable.
“How have you been feeling these past few days? Any morning sickness?”
Qi Yuqing smiled and shook her head. “I don’t feel any different at all. I’ve actually been eating quite a lot.”
The two of them chatted as they ate, and Qi Yuqing brought up Wang Dani.
Her tone was extremely calm, and there wasn’t the slightest ripple of emotion on her face, as though she were talking about some trivial matter that had absolutely nothing to do with her.
