Chapter 22: A Farce

Lin Wumei chuckled, completely unfazed by the sarcastic remarks from others, and managed to get some wood ash from someone’s hands.

Using a loofah scrubber dipped in the wood ash, she scrubbed her grandson from head to toe, rinsed him with well water, and he was clean in no time.

What to do if there were no clothes to wear? That was easy too. She took the clothes he had just taken off, scrubbed them with wood ash, washed them, and then put them back on the child, still damp.

Gao Xiaohu ran off to play, still wearing his wet clothes.

Then it was his sister Gao Xiaoyu’s turn, and the bathing process was exactly the same.

It should be noted that both children were around eight or nine years old, and bathing them in the open like this made Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu feel quite uncomfortable.

But since everyone around them seemed to take it in stride, they had no choice but to follow local customs and didn’t show any signs of discomfort.

Just as Lin Wumei was washing her granddaughter’s clothes, the sound of a child crying came from nearby.

Everyone turned to look and saw Gao Xiaohu sitting on top of another child, trying to snatch his dried sweet potato.

The child was crying loudly, and the onlookers couldn’t stand it anymore. “Lin Wumei, can you control your child? How can he just snatch someone else’s dried sweet potato?”

Lin Wumei glanced over and actually laughed. “They’re just kids playing around. What child doesn’t fight?”

“Gao Xiaohu, get up now, don’t dirty your clothes, or I’ll spank you!”

With a casual remark, Lin Wumei tried to brush off the incident.

Judging by her expression, she even seemed proud of her grandson’s behavior!

Hearing his grandmother, Gao Xiaohu indeed got up from the child, but not before he had already grabbed the dried sweet potato. Without a second thought, he stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it up, and swallowed it.

Yes, children do fight, but the problem was that Gao Xiaohu had outright stolen something. In these times, food was precious.

Dried sweet potato was a rare treat, something only eaten during festivals. Now that it had been snatched away, the child cried his heart out.

The crowd clearly disapproved of Lin Wumei’s way of raising her child, but since it wasn’t their own, they didn’t intervene further.

The child’s crying soon attracted a little girl, who, judging by her features, was probably the boy’s sister.

As soon as the girl saw her brother lying on the ground crying, she ran over, picked him up, and asked what had happened.

The boy, still struggling to speak clearly, kept pointing at Gao Xiaohu, shouting, “Gua, gua, gua!”

The girl glanced at Gao Xiaohu and noticed the white residue of the dried sweet potato around his mouth. Instantly enraged, she put her brother down and, without a word, started fighting with Gao Xiaohu.

Despite her small size, the girl was surprisingly strong, and soon Gao Xiaohu was howling in pain.

Hearing her grandson’s cries, Lin Wumei turned around and immediately exploded.

She threw down the half-washed clothes, rushed over in a few strides, and yanked the girl off Gao Xiaohu.

Lin Wumei cursed, “You little brat, how dare you hit my grandson? You ill-bred, low-class wench!”

The girl struggled free from Lin Wumei’s grip, completely unafraid of her menacing demeanor. She stood there with her hands on her hips, ready to trade insults with Lin Wumei.

“Bah! You’re the old hag! Your grandson bullied my brother, and you turned a blind eye. Isn’t your son a doctor? What, can’t he cure your blindness?

If he can’t cure it, why be a doctor? Go back and farm!”

“You little brat, how dare you talk to me like that! If I don’t teach you a lesson today, I won’t be surnamed Lin!”

The little girl glared, her face full of disdain, and even leaned her face closer to Lin Wumei. “Go ahead, hit me if you dare. I’ll tell you this: for every hit you give me, I’ll hit your grandchildren ten times.

Lin, you better keep a close eye on your grandchildren, or don’t blame me if something happens to them one day.”

Lin Wumei actually dared to strike, slapping the little girl across the face.

The little girl immediately fell to the ground, clutching Lin Wumei’s legs tightly, and began wailing, “Help! Someone’s killing me! Lin Wumei is beating me to death!

Go tell my parents! My face hurts, my head hurts!

I need to go to the hospital for treatment. Lin Wumei, you’re done for! I’ll make sure you’re ruined!”

Seeing this, the little girl’s brother immediately ran home, crying as he went.

The scene by the well was as lively as a theater stage, with more and more onlookers pointing fingers at Lin Wumei.

Lin Wumei was dumbfounded. The little girl, who had been so fierce and dared to argue with her moments ago, was now clinging to her legs, vowing to ruin her.

Lin Wumei grabbed the little girl’s hair, trying to pull her away, but the girl had used all her strength, her hands and feet tightly wrapped around Lin Wumei’s legs, refusing to let go.

The more Lin Wumei pulled her hair, the louder the girl wailed, shouting for help and accusing Lin Wumei of hitting her.

Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu witnessed firsthand how a shrew is made—apparently, it’s cultivated from a young age.

The little girl was not only fierce but also dared to provoke Lin Wumei. This time, Lin Wumei was in trouble.

Before long, the little girl’s parents arrived, and so did the brigade leader.

As soon as the little girl saw her parents, tears streamed down her face. She kept saying her head hurt, that Lin Wumei had hit her, and that she needed to go to the hospital for treatment.

She also took the opportunity to complain to the brigade leader, saying that Gao Xiaohu had bullied her brother, stolen his dried sweet potatoes, and that Lin Wumei had scolded her, pouring out all her grievances at once.

The brigade leader was embarrassed for Lin Wumei. What kind of mess was this? Arguing with a child and even hitting her—was that something to be proud of?

Lin Wumei inevitably got a scolding from the brigade leader. By then, she had lost her earlier arrogance and muttered a few words but didn’t dare say more.

The brigade leader tried to coax the little girl into letting go, but she refused.

Why should she let it go after being hit and her brother being bullied? Just because Lin Wumei got scolded by the brigade leader? Not a chance!

After mediation, Lin Wumei was made to compensate the little girl with ten eggs, and only then was the matter settled.

The little girl finally let go and was carried away by her parents.

As the commotion died down, everyone noticed that Lin Wumei’s granddaughter, Gao Xiaoyu, was still standing naked by the well.

Just now, Lin Wumei saw her grandson being bullied and immediately threw the half-washed clothes aside, rushing to rescue her precious grandson.

As a result, her little granddaughter was left standing naked for quite a while. Although it was July, the nights in the northern province were still quite chilly.

The little girl had just taken a cold bath earlier and was now shivering from the cold. Lin Wumei hurriedly washed the clothes, wrung them dry, and quickly dressed the little girl before picking her up and leaving.

Only then did Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu pack the cleaned cabbage back into the basket and carry it back to the Educated Youth residence.