Chapter 70: Trouble

Three days later, Zhang Yuandong brought back a radio, becoming the biggest news in the village.

Zhang Yuandong had discussed buying the radio with Lin Yue beforehand.

He originally wanted to buy Lin Yue a bicycle, making it easier for her to go out.

But after the incident with the song, he thought that Lin Yue should learn more about current events and politics.

Lin Yue didn’t have any strong feelings about a bicycle. The only place she needed to ride a bicycle was to the county, and she only went there once or twice a month. She could borrow Wang Xiuxiang’s or take the village’s ox cart, so there was really no need to buy another bicycle.

And the key was, buying a radio didn’t require a ticket, but bicycle tickets were very difficult to obtain. Ordinary dual-income families had to save for a year and a half. If Zhang Yuandong wanted to buy one now, he would have to go through a lot of trouble to exchange industrial tickets with others.

Hearing that they wanted to buy a radio, Liu Fang became interested.

He encouraged Zhang Yuandong, “I can make it! Don’t buy a radio. Although it doesn’t require a ticket, it still costs over eighty yuan. We can buy the parts at the department store, and I’ll assemble it for you when we get back. It’ll only cost about thirty yuan at most.”

Zhang Yuandong didn’t know that Liu Fang was actually a radio enthusiast.

Seeing his eagerness, he knew that this guy was itching to do something and was encouraging him.

Unfortunately, this county was too small, and the department store didn’t have all the materials. Zhang Yuandong went around asking, but he couldn’t find a detector. He had no choice but to give up and finally bought a finished product, a brand-new semiconductor radio.

There weren’t many options in a small county, and the radio was about the size of Zhang Yuandong’s palm, small and exquisite. The shell was made of wood, somewhat similar to the cassette player used by students around the year 2000, but the design wasn’t as trendy.

Few families in the village could afford to buy a radio. So far, only the village head’s and the party secretary’s families had one. The brigade headquarters also had an old crystal radio, which was what Liu Fang initially wanted to assemble.

Although they didn’t go out and show it off, the family living to the east almost had their ears glued to the wall to listen to their house. Many people from the village came to Lin Yue’s house to visit, and within a day, the news of them buying a radio spread throughout the village.

People were embarrassed to go to the village head’s or the party secretary’s house to listen to the radio. They thought Lin Yue was easy to talk to, and they came to watch the excitement in an endless stream.

Within three days of buying the radio, the number of people coming to their house was increasing. It was even more lively than when they first moved in.

Wang Tiejun and Liu Aihua even came to join the fun. Their precious son, Wang Baodong, didn’t dare to come, probably because he was scared by Zhang Yuandong.

Lin Yue frowned when she saw the couple.

The other people were fine. Although they were curious, they knew their limits and wouldn’t touch other people’s things.

Liu Aihua was different. She took advantage of the fact that there were many people in Lin Yue’s family, and without anyone noticing, she started rummaging around. It was as if she wanted to find all the grain in the mouse holes.

Wang Tiejun was also a strange one. Not to mention that he was a man in his fifties, following a group of women to a young woman’s house to join the fun. But seeing his wife’s behavior, he not only didn’t stop her, but also covered for her. It was really annoying.

Moreover, he, a heavy smoker, not only smoked dry tobacco in Lin Yue’s house, but also spat everywhere. There was a bright stain on the cement floor, and Lin Yue almost stepped on it.

Lin Yue wasn’t a stingy person, but she couldn’t stand it when her normal life was disrupted.

She understood everyone’s curiosity about new things, but her patience had its limits, one day.

She originally planned to put the radio away the next day, but something happened that afternoon.

Children love excitement. Xiao Lingling and Xiao Wanli were actually quite happy to see so many people, and they ran around the house happily.

The radio was playing Yue Fei’s story, and there were many people in the room, many of them standing.

Lingling and Wanli didn’t understand what the adults were thinking. They reached out to play with the radio, wanting to find children’s songs and stories.

Zhang Xiaoxi had come at some point, hiding among the standing adults, very inconspicuous.

She saw the two little ones about to touch the radio and slapped Lingling’s hand hard.

The two children weren’t close to their aunt, and they had been bullied a few times before, so they didn’t like her very much.

Lingling had always been a very active child. After being hit, she shook her hand hard and pushed her back.

Zhang Xiaoxi didn’t know that because they had been drinking spring water since they were young, Xiao Wanli and Xiao Lingling were exceptionally strong. Not to mention Zhang Xiaoxi, even the twin brothers might not be as strong as these two children.

With that push, Lingling knocked Zhang Xiaoxi to the ground.

Lin Yue didn’t see this scene, but Liu Fang was in the room. However, the oldest of the three children, Zhang Xiaoxi, was only eleven years old, they were all still children, and he didn’t take it seriously. Seeing that she wasn’t hurt, he didn’t care.

Children’s squabbles rarely attracted adult attention. The other adults in the room at most glanced at them, then adjusted the radio station and continued listening.

Zhang Xiaoxi was angry. She bit her teeth tightly, glaring fiercely at the two little siblings.

Xiao Lingling and Xiao Wanli soon lost interest in playing in the house. They held hands and “toddled” outside.

Zhang Xiaoxi’s eyes rolled around, and she followed them out without making a sound.

Lin Yue was busy finishing up the last of the cleaning in the annex outside when she suddenly heard Lingling’s loud cries. She hurried out to check.

Lingling wasn’t a child who cried easily, and she rarely cried like this. When Lin Yue found her, she was standing at the front door, sobbing uncontrollably.

Lin Yue gently patted her back and asked, “What’s wrong? Tell Mother.”

Lingling sobbed, unable to speak clearly, “Mother, Wanli, find Wanli…”

Lin Yue was startled and realized that Wanli wasn’t around.

Lingling was too young, the more she asked, the less she could understand. Lin Yue saw from the direction she was pointing that Wanli must have gone out and wasn’t at home.

She didn’t dare to leave the child alone, so she shouted, “Liu Fang, come quickly!”

Liu Fang heard the urgency in her voice and rushed out of the house.

She handed Lingling to Liu Fang, “Wanli is missing. You watch Lingling, I’ll go look for him.”

She was about to leave, but Liu Fang grabbed her arm and said in a low voice, “You can’t find him by yourself. I’ll come with you.”

Hearing the commotion, several people who had come out followed and asked what happened. Lin Yue was feeling anxious and didn’t have the mood to answer them. She turned and hurried away.

Liu Fang picked up Lingling and chased after her.

As they stepped out of the door, they ran into Luo Er Niangzi, who was hurrying over. Seeing them, she asked from afar, “Wanli’s mother, where are you going? I saw your younger sister carrying Wanli towards the outhouse. I saw that Wanli wasn’t happy, so I asked him a few questions, and he threw stones at me.”

Lin Yue didn’t have time to thank her. She ran towards the outhouse.

The onlookers heard it clearly and exchanged glances. They followed her.

Lin Yue hadn’t reached the outhouse door yet when she heard a child’s cry from inside.

She rushed in and saw Zhang Xiaoxi pressing down on Xiao Wanli’s head, trying to shove him into the latrine.

Xiao Wanli was struggling desperately; his clothes were covered in dirt.

Although Xiao Wanli was very strong, Zhang Xiaoxi was like a madman at this moment, gritting her teeth, her expression contorted. She pressed Wanli down hard against the ground.

Hearing the sound, she suddenly raised her head, her eyes fierce, as if she wanted to eat someone.

Lin Yue entered and saw this scene.

Xiao Wanli saw his mother and his strength instantly dissipated. He cried out, “Wah!” his cry shook the heavens.

Zhang Xiaoxi had always shown a little bit of fear when she saw Lin Yue, but not this time. Instead, she took advantage of the situation and pressed Wanli towards the latrine.

Lin Yue’s heart sank. The outhouse was built to store manure. It wasn’t the season for digging manure pits yet, so it was dirty and smelly. The latrine was also large. If Xiao Wanli really fell in, the consequences would be unimaginable.

She didn’t care about anything else. She rushed forward, rescued Wanli, and pushed Zhang Xiaoxi to the ground.

Xiao Wanli must have been terrified. He buried his head in Lin Yue’s arms and sobbed, hiccuping.

At the outhouse door, Lingling hugged Liu Fang’s neck and cried uncontrollably.

Lin Yue’s eyes were red with anger.

If she hadn’t been holding the little one in her arms, she really wanted to kick Zhang Xiaoxi.

This small outhouse had never welcomed so many people before. Six or seven people were standing at the door, chattering and criticizing Zhang Xiaoxi. She sat on the ground, her head lowered, not saying a word.

Zhang Shourong and Zhang Shouyi came running over quickly. Lin Yue had just stood up with the child in her arms when the two of them came running in, panting.

The two families were now close. As soon as Lin Yue arrived, someone went to the old house to report the news.

The two brothers didn’t know the details, but they knew that Zhang Xiaoxi didn’t like her two nephews and nieces. They were afraid that she would hurt the children again, so they rushed over, but they didn’t expect to hear a group of people discussing how Zhang Xiaoxi was trying to push Xiao Wanli into the latrine.

Lin Yue glanced at the two brothers indifferently, without saying a word, she was about to leave with Xiao Wanli in her arms.

The two brothers felt very guilty that their sister had done such a thing. They looked at Lin Yue with a little bit of avoidance.

Hearing the commotion, Zhang Xiaoxi slowly raised her head. Her eyes were vacant and unfocused. When she saw that her two brothers had come, a fierce rage suddenly erupted in her eyes. She stood up abruptly and lunged at the child in Lin Yue’s arms.

Lin Yue was startled and quickly reached out to stop her.

Seeing that she couldn’t reach Xiao Wanli, Zhang Xiaoxi bit down on Lin Yue’s wrist. She made a fierce “woo woo” sound from her mouth, biting down so hard that her mouth was full of blood, and she wouldn’t let go.

Soon, blood dripped from Lin Yue’s fingertips to the ground. Lin Yue was in pain, so she didn’t hesitate. She swung her arm and threw her away.

Zhang Xiaoxi slammed into the old earthen wall of the outhouse, and the wall shook twice.