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Zuo Hao and Mingyuan had some inkling of what was happening. Despite the young age of the Wang siblings, they had been taught by knowledgeable individuals and were well-informed about such matters.
Zuo Hao was starting to dislike these public criticisms. His grandparents had also experienced such events, and he had developed a distaste for them at a young age.
“Mom, why don’t we go and take a look? Aunt Xiu Li has always been good to us. I’ll see if I can help. It’s not like it’s a serious crime. People can change. Brother Zuo Hao, let’s go?” Mingyuan suggested.
Mingyuan first sought the opinion of the Zuo brothers. If they were to help, he couldn’t do it alone.
The Zuo brothers nodded in agreement. At this point, Wang Qian also got up and requested to go along. Hao Lianchun, feeling uneasy, reminded them, “Be careful, and look out for yourselves.”
The five of them left together. Along the way, they encountered many people heading in the direction of the brigade, especially women who were indignant. It seemed as if Xiu Li had seduced their own husbands, with each one spewing angry words.
Mingyuan led them to bypass the front entrance of the brigade and instead approach from the rear. They didn’t enter the courtyard but instead peered over the wall. Xiu Li was tied up in the middle of the yard, and there was a pair of worn-out shoes hanging around her neck, seemingly picked up from somewhere. Wang Qian observed her appearance, noting that she looked dispirited but still had a strong spirit.
People from all directions gathered in the courtyard, and someone who seemed to be in charge began shouting slogans while holding a little red book, inciting the crowd to criticize the fallen woman and the landlords. The crowd below mindlessly echoed the slogans. The person on the stage then recounted the circumstances of Xiu Li’s arrest.
“Comrades, we must firmly oppose such ‘broken shoes.’ We must strike against anything that undermines our unity. We must resolutely fight against such shameless women, and strike at these ‘broken shoes.'”
As soon as this person’s slogan was heard, the emotions of the crowd were stirred. This kind of behavior is unacceptable, especially among rural people. A woman in the crowd tried to rush forward but was held back. Upon closer inspection, Wang Qian noticed that the man restraining the woman was none other than Liansheng, the man rumored to have had an affair with Xiu Li. Despite being held back, she managed to break free and ran onto the stage, where she began physically assaulting Xiu Li.
Wang Qian suspected that this woman had guessed that her man was involved with Xiu Li, so she took this opportunity to vent her anger. As one person took the stage, others followed suit, spitting, shouting, and even physically attacking.
To Wang Qian, some of the people in the crowd seemed like troublemakers, not respectable individuals. They were essentially ruffians, shouting, “This seductive woman dares to entice men. We should strip her clothes off and see if she still has the face to go out in public.”
Many others echoed these sentiments. Upon closer observation, Wang Qian noticed that Wang Zhenguo was among the crowd, and he was also joining in the chorus of agreement.
**. Trouble is never far from this scoundrel. One of them went up and was about to use force. Initially, Xiu Li could ignore the insults and abuse, but she could never tolerate such humiliation.
She could see the malice in their eyes, but being bound, she was unable to resist, and the people below acted as if they hadn’t seen anything.
“Brother, use your slingshot to hit that person’s head. His is nothing but a thug.”
Mingyuan and Zuo Hao couldn’t bear to watch any longer. They could see clearly what kind of people these were. Zuo Hao held the slingshot given to him by Mingcheng, and Mingyuan also took one. They aimed together and fired simultaneously. One shot hit the hand, and the other hit the head. There was a howl from inside, and the ruffian began to look around.
However, as Xiu Li knelt on the ground, she saw a few little heads peeking over the wall. She recognized those children. Besides gratitude, she felt despair. The man in the audience, though looking down, made no move to help her when she was being insulted. At that moment, she realized how foolish she had been to think that this man was the best in the world, the love she had been seeking. She had been blind. Compared to her deceased husband, this man was nothing but a coward. Her husband had made plans for her and the children before his death, but this man was a coward.
“Who the hell dared to hit me? Come out if you have the guts.”
Mingyuan and the others hid behind the wall, ignoring his shouting.
When the ruffian tried to continue using force, the women below were unwilling to let it happen. Although they disliked Xiu Li’s involvement with men, they couldn’t stand by and watch a woman being humiliated by a ruffian. Some things were just unacceptable. Besides, a woman exposing herself in broad daylight was a concern for them. They didn’t want their men to be lured away. This kind of thing couldn’t be allowed to happen.
“Wang Erlai, get down from there. If you want to take advantage of someone, go to your own wife. Taking advantage of a young widow is nothing to be proud of. If you continue like this, I’m telling you, you’re just being a thug. You’ll get what’s coming to you.”
Wang Erlai, a known ruffian, didn’t have the courage to respond to the accusations and walked off the stage in a huff.
The leader on the stage announced the next activity: parading the streets to see the fate of a “broken shoe.” Xiu Li, bound and pushed out into the courtyard, was made to walk from the east end to the west end for all to see.
There was nothing more that Wang Qian and the others could do. Today, the five of them had done what they could to help Xiu Li.
“Brother, did you see Wang Zhenguo? He was with those ruffians,” Wang Qian asked.
Mingyuan nodded. “Sister, that scoundrel has been hanging around with those ruffians a lot lately. Zuo Hao and I have seen it many times. I don’t know what he’s up to, but we need to be careful in the future.”
Mingyuan was the first to think that Wang Zhenguo might pose a threat to their family. It had almost become a reflex. Wang Qian didn’t know how Wang Zhenguo had gotten involved with those people, but if he ever tried to harm her family, she wouldn’t mind leaving a grave for him in her mind.
Zuo Yu said, “Mingyuan, if your little uncle causes trouble for your family again, I think it’s best to disable his legs. Such a person is better off lying on the kang for the rest of his life, to prevent him from causing harm.”
Mingyuan heard Zuo Yu’s words and nodded, “Zuo Yu, I will seriously consider your suggestion. I hope he doesn’t provoke us, or else we’ll disable him.”
Zuo He chimed in, “Mingyuan, in the future, we can team up in a fight. Don’t be fooled by his size; when it comes down to it, he won’t be able to handle all of us. We should really teach this scum a lesson.”
The five siblings arrived at Xiu Li’s house in the west. Zhang Lan was still with Xiaoping, who was sleeping. Upon seeing the children return, she quietly pulled them into the kitchen to ask about the situation. Upon hearing what had happened, even Zhang Lan couldn’t help but clench her fists in anger.
“Mom, don’t be angry. Zuo Hao and I dealt with that scoundrel, but Auntie was taken to parade the streets. There was nothing more we could do, so we came back to tell you. Should we take Xiaoping back with us? Otherwise, she might hear the commotion outside,” Mingyuan explained.
Zhang Lan nodded. Xiu Li’s house faced the main road, but at least their house was at the back, so they wouldn’t hear everything clearly.
They took Xiaoping, who was sound asleep, out of the crib and wrapped her in a small blanket. After locking the door and informing their neighbor, Grandma Hou, they headed home from the south, trying to avoid encountering Xiu Li and her group on the way. It would be best not to let Xiaoping witness such a humiliating scene.
Upon seeing Zhang Lan return with a child in her arms, Hao Lianchun quickly helped settle Xiaoping in their sleeping quarters.
“Lan, how did it go?” Hao Lianchun also wanted to know the outcome of Xiu Li’s situation. The woman’s plight was both angering and pitiful.
Sitting on the kang, Zhang Lan shook her head. “Not good. She’s already been paraded through the streets. I came from behind the main road, and I didn’t see anything on the way. I don’t know what’s happening now. It probably won’t end well. I’ll try to talk to her when I go to send the child later tonight.”
“Mom, I’m going fishing. Make some extra food for later. She must be injured, so she needs to rest,” Mingyuan said.
Xiu Li’s performance at the event truly impressed Wang Qian. The woman was boldly pursuing her own happiness, and she hadn’t revealed the man’s identity, even in such circumstances.
On the other hand, the man accompanying her was despicable. His beloved woman was in such a state on stage, yet he didn’t dare to say a word. Wang Qian could see the despair in Xiu Li’s eyes. This foolish woman must have given up hope.
“Alright, go with your brothers. Be careful, all of you, and don’t go near the water,” Zhang Lan cautioned.
Wang Qian and Zuo He carried their fishing rods to the reservoir. The area was teeming with tadpoles swimming around. Zuo Hao and the others curiously played with the tadpoles, while Wang Qian focused on fishing. They caught some tadpoles to take home and feed the chickens.
Normally, after school, Zuo Hao and the others would bring back some food for the poultry. Since then, Zhang Lan had been cooking eggs for the children, while preserving duck and goose eggs for later use. She didn’t plan to rely on selling eggs for household expenses. A trip to the city with her daughter would provide everything they needed. Therefore, when it came to food, she was generous and made sure to provide the family with delicious meals.