Chapter 33: The Crowd is Incited by Uncle Jiang

Jiang An’an: “There are regulations that these six places must be reserved for female comrades from families in difficulty. Let’s not even mention that our family has one of the best conditions in the brigade; just look at our family’s reputation. Even if Brigade Leader Luo wanted to give it to us, the members wouldn’t agree.”

Jiang Shulan, quick-thinking, soon realized what her younger sister was planning and agreed, “Let An’an keep her position as a Women’s Federation official for now. We’ll talk about the work slots once we secure them.”

Lin Meiru clapped her hands: “No wonder you’re from the Jiang family; your mind is so sharp.”

Successfully fooling their mother, the two sisters exchanged smiles.

“Jiang An’an, get out here!”

At that moment, a loud voice suddenly echoed in the hallway.

The transition from autumn to winter is prone to illness, making the health clinic busier than ever. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, Uncle Jiang’s family stormed in angrily. His five sons, broad-shouldered and intimidating, were glaring fiercely, clearly not easy to provoke.

People quickly made way, craning their necks to see the commotion.

“This hospital is huge! Where can I find that little wretch, Jiang An’an?”

“We’ll search every ward! Your little brother is still waiting in jail. We have to find her, even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, to take her to the police station to clarify the misunderstanding.”

Uncle Jiang’s eyes were fierce; the word “please” was almost spat out through gritted teeth, and his expression looked more like he was seeking revenge than asking for help.

As passersby witnessed this, their curiosity grew.

Some bold individuals directly approached Aunt Wang Hehua, giving her a kind smile, “Sister, what exactly happened in your family?”

Uncle Jiang, having faced losses at Jiang An’an’s hands last time, was keenly aware of the importance of public opinion, especially after being criticized wherever he went.

He subtly signaled to his wife, suddenly starting to sigh dramatically. With his thick eyebrows drooping, his fierce expression transformed into one of worry: “It’s because last time my mother arranged a marriage for my niece, but my niece has a high opinion of herself and looks down on country folks, wanting to marry into the city. Because of this, she has grown to hate all her relatives.”

“Yesterday, my youngest son wanted to borrow her bicycle to take a look, but unexpectedly, the little girl, with her malicious heart, ran to the police station and falsely accused him of stealing. Now he’s stuck in the Public Security Bureau.”

Upon hearing this, the crowd became furious and began to express their outrage.

“What’s wrong with being a country person? My family has been poor farmers for eight generations, and I’m proud of it!”

“Nowadays, young girls have such lofty aspirations, dreaming of marrying into the city to eat commercial grain, without even considering their own worth!”

“Having my niece ruin my son’s future, my poor child…” Aunt Wang Hehua shook off the woman’s hand and sat down on the ground. Her thin, aged face crinkled, and before long, tears began to flow.

Her hair was disheveled, her expression sad and helpless, and her patched clothes were still stained with dirt from working in the fields, looking every bit like a simple rural person who had suffered great injustice.

“That little wretch… Jiang An’an has learned bad habits from her parents. Not only is she malicious, but she’s also greedy. Her older sister divorced her educated youth husband, threatening to ruin his job and demanding hundreds of dollars from him.”

With her nonsensical ramblings, the emotions of those around her were instantly heightened.

“I’ve heard about this.”

“Their family is from Nankxi Brigade. I heard that girl divorced her husband and extorted several hundred dollars from him. That whole family is just a bunch of lazy people, living off their three sons-in-law.”

“Hundreds of dollars?! My goodness, isn’t that selling your daughter? Another form of speculation?”

“With such a vicious niece and a lazy brother, their family must be suffering from terrible misfortune.”

“This kind of scum must be educated. We should report them to the commune and have the leaders criticize them.”

“Let’s report them…”

Seeing that things were about to spiral out of control, Uncle Jiang pretended to wipe away a tear, pleading for his useless brother’s family: “My mother is old; she was laid up for half a month last time she was upset. If she knew I had fallen out with my brother, it would surely take a toll on her health. There’s no need to report them; I appreciate everyone’s good intentions. I just want to find my niece and have her go to the police station to clarify things and resolve the misunderstanding.”

Everyone was moved by his words, and the more emotional women among them were already in tears. It seemed that they all wished they could capture Jiang An’an and her group to teach them a harsh lesson.

“We can’t let honest people be bullied; we’ll help you find Jiang An’an.”

“Yes, she must kneel and apologize.”

At that moment, Jiang An’an was seen as a class enemy, a villain everyone wanted to attack. In this atmosphere of excitement, the crowd’s anger was fully ignited, and the hospital echoed with cries of condemnation.

The uproar grew louder, clearly penetrating through the doors.

Jiang An’an’s gaze was as deep as water.

The villagers of this era were simple and kind-hearted, full of sympathy. It must be said that her uncle was indeed talented, successfully inciting everyone’s envy of the wealthy.

“Jiang Dezhuz is just talking nonsense; I’ll take them on myself,” Lin Meiru said, rolling up her sleeves, veins bulging on her temples, ready to charge out and fight.

Jiang An’an stopped her: “Mom, Uncle and the others have successfully used the people in the hospital; everyone is furious. If we dare to show our faces, we’ll be surrounded and beaten. They’ll find us here soon; let’s climb out the window and head to the police station first.”

“No, the police station is too far,” Jiang Degui disagreed.

Both daughters and the little grandson were fragile; they would probably be caught after just a short run, and the little girl had an injury to her head that made vigorous exercise unadvisable.

Thinking of this, Jiang Degui was utterly furious with his older brother.

“Let’s go to Old Yu’s place.” Lin Meiru bit her lip in frustration, but noises of banging on the door could be heard outside, and they would likely be found within five minutes.

Jiang Degui’s eyes lit up: “Right, Old Yu lives nearby.”

He quickly opened the window, helped his wife and daughters climb out, then carried his sleeping grandson on the bed as he left.

The area around the hospital was a family zone, and they walked along a small path deeper into an alley. Unsure how many turns they took, they finally stopped at a door with a green curtain hanging.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Jiang Degui looked around and raised his hand to knock on the door.

“Coming, coming! Who is it?”

The door opened a crack, and when the person inside recognized him, they opened the door wide with excitement: “What brings you here? Is your wife with you? These are your two daughters, right? It’s cold outside, come in and sit down.”

Jiang Degui smiled: “We came in a hurry and didn’t bring anything. Next time we come to the city, I’ll definitely bring you some fresh melons and vegetables from home.”

“My wife has been feeling nauseous lately and has been craving your pickled radishes,” Old Yu replied without any reservations, ushering them inside and securing the front door.

Lin Meiru cheerfully agreed, “Alright.”

The three of them seemed very familiar with each other, and it was the first time the sisters had seen their parents not taking advantage of someone else, but rather offering to bring vegetables and pickled radishes for their friend.

It was quite unusual.