Chapter 24: Fine, Then I’ll Do It Myself

The scene in the story had been summarized in just a single sentence: it mentioned that Li Yuetang saw the local thug mercilessly beating two young children and a woman, and, unable to bear it, stepped forward—thus bringing trouble upon herself.

The cold, detached text did not stir any emotion in Lin Wanjun.

After all, they were just NPCs in a book. What was there to feel pity or sympathy for?

Yet at this moment, as that sentence materialized into reality, as the bloody scene unfolded right before her eyes, Lin Wanjun—raised in the warmth of spring but under the banner of the red flag, a new youth of the era—could not stand idly by.

If today she watched coldly, and tomorrow misfortune fell upon her own head, then no one would be there to cheer her on!

The girl who had seemed fragile and helpless moments ago now resembled an enraged little beast. She let out a fierce cry, snatched up a wooden stick, and swung it at the thug’s nape.

The stick broke in two. The thug, dizzy and dazed from the blow, still had the strength to fight back.

He turned to look at the half-stick in Lin Wanjun’s hands and shouted, “You little bitch! How dare you hit me? Do you want me to teach you a lesson?”

Hearing this, Song Zhanjin naturally could not remain passive.

He rolled up his sleeves, ready to step in and deal with the thug, but Lin Wanjun pushed him back.

“What are you doing? Have you forgotten who you are?”

Song Zhanjin was still a soldier; if he struck someone at this critical moment, the consequences afterward could be severe.

“This no-name punk? I can handle him myself. Don’t worry!”

Lin Wanjun sneered, picking up a green brick and weighing it in her hand.

“Such skill, huh? So good at fighting? If you’re so amazing, why not go fight on the southern front? Why not guard the northern border?”

“Cowardly, life-loving, worthless wretch—who ultimately found his taste of power on the bodies of children and the elderly. What the hell kind of man are you?”

The thug was barely over 1.6 meters tall, with crooked eyebrows, slanted eyes, a repulsively ugly face, and outwardly turned feet—he seemed to embody every flaw of humanity, even more disgusting than Luo Jinping.

He scanned Lin Wanjun’s exquisite figure and gazed at her face, more beautiful than the spring mountains or autumn moon, and smiled lecherously and crudely.

“Well, well, a little beauty with a fiery temper, huh?”

He swung the whip in his hand, his grin both sleazy and revolting.

“Do you like the whip in brother’s hand? Brother can play something fun and exciting with you. How about it?”

Lin Wanjun toyed with the green brick in her hand, her smile trembling with suppressed excitement.

“What’s so fun about a whip? I prefer bricks. And coincidentally, I like fun and excitement too. But more importantly—I like to take the initiative!”

The thug spread his arms.

“Seeing how pretty little sister is, brother will make a concession and let you move yourself!”

Lin Wanjun’s smile grew even brighter.

“Fine, then I’ll do it myself!”

The next moment, Lin Wanjun leapt into the air, swinging the green brick in her hand and smashing it straight onto the thug’s head.

A medical doctor may not know everything, but they absolutely understand the human body.

For example, knowing exactly which part of the head to hit with a brick to immediately take someone out of combat.

Brick after brick, the thug went down like a lump of rotten meat, rolling his eyes and collapsing to the ground.

This fierce, murderous move stunned everyone present. Even Shi Kai’s eyes widened and his mouth gaped in shock—gone was the refined, gentle demeanor he had shown before.

This girl… she was just too… too…

He could no longer find the right words to describe Lin Wanjun. Only admiration remained in his eyes.

Song Zhanjin watched Lin Wanjun’s heroic back, a proud smile curling on his lips. Truly, she was his wife!

Meng Shuangou, who had been trailing behind, witnessed the entire scene.

He had never thought highly of men who beat children and the elderly. In the past, when encountering such people, he had scolded them repeatedly and even punished thugs for it.

But now, Lin Wanjun, an outsider, had hit someone from their own commune. How was that any different from slapping him, the director, in the face?

What made it worse was that Lin Wanjun had made his precious daughter upset.

Thinking of this, Meng Shuangou hurried forward and shouted harshly, “What are you doing?!”

The thug opened his eyes, holding his bleeding head as he swayed to his feet.

“Uncle Shuanggou, these outsiders hit me!”

He pointed at the bloodied hole in his head as if proving his claim.

“I was just standing by the roadside, and this woman came at me with a stick. I didn’t make a fuss because she was a woman, but she wouldn’t stop and even smashed me with a brick!”

“Uncle, someone from outside our commune bullied our people! What should we do?”

Song Mingcheng stepped forward to explain, recounting in detail how the thug had beaten the elderly and children.

“Director Meng, your commune members are abusing the elderly and children, and as the director, you can’t just stand by and do nothing!”

Meng Shuangou’s face wore a smile, but it no longer carried the warmth and sincerity it had before.

“Comrade Song, how can you say it’s abuse? Ask around—every child in our commune has been beaten at some point.”

“If you don’t beat people, they won’t become capable; if you don’t prune a tree, it won’t grow strong. Adults hitting children—it’s all for their own good!”

Meng Shuangou’s grin was hollow, almost grimacing. “Comrade Song, are you telling me you’ve never hit little Comrade Song yourself?”

Lin Wanjun hated, more than anything, the idiotic excuse “hitting children is for their own good.”

Clearly, it was just incompetent adults deriving pleasure from power and violence over weaker children, hiding behind the guise of “education,” and even enabling cruelty.

Damn it all!

“Director Meng, by your logic, shouldn’t your own daughter get a proper lesson too?”

Lin Wanjun sneered. “She’s eyeing other people’s husbands so shamelessly, even calling other women fox spirits. How can someone like you, who clings to such outdated rules, allow your daughter to become someone else’s mistress?”

“If you don’t beat her, she won’t learn! You have to beat her half to death, so she remembers this lesson!”

Meng Shuangou trembled with anger, pointing at Lin Wanjun as he shouted, “You… you’re talking nonsense!”

“Oh? Getting angry?”

Lin Wanjun widened her eyes, feigning innocence. “How can you not tell right from wrong? I’m only doing this for you and your daughter’s own good. After all, if you don’t prune a tree, it won’t grow strong!”

Meng Shuangou raised his hand, ready to slap Lin Wanjun, but Song Zhanjin and Shi Kai rushed forward at the same time.

The clever Lin Wanjun was already prepared; she quickly ducked behind Song Zhanjin and even made a mocking face.

“Gonna make you furious, old man!”

“Director Meng, your daughter is your treasure, and my daughter-in-law is ours. Anyone who lays a hand on her, our whole family won’t let it slide!”

Song Mingcheng spoke sternly, his brow and expression radiating the commanding presence of someone in a high position.

Meng Shuangou and the thug stepped back, startled. Even Shi Kai felt the intense pressure in the air.

Knowing Song Mingcheng’s identity and connections, Meng Shuangou did not dare to resist directly. Instead, he had someone summon the principal of the Military School to mediate.

The principal, Wei Yifu, was a former soldier, a few years older than Song Mingcheng. Though he was not from the same military district, they had met a few times before.

Wei Yifu hurried over, and after learning what had happened, he furrowed his brows tightly.

“Nonsense! Absolute nonsense!”

He scolded Lin Wanjun sharply. “You’ve just arrived and already caused a conflict with the commune members. Even if they were at fault, you can’t just hit people like this!”

“Let’s go! Back to the Military School immediately. Write a thousand-word self-criticism and reflect properly on your mistakes!”

This was the classic high-handed approach: raise the hammer, then let it fall gently. It was obvious that Wei Yifu was subtly protecting Lin Wanjun. Not only did the Song family notice, but even Meng Shuangou realized it.

“No way! She beat our commune members like this, and a thousand-word essay is all it takes?”

Seeing Meng Shuangou’s relentless stance, Wei Yifu paused and thought for a moment.

“Then make it two thousand words. Any more isn’t necessary—she only has an elementary school education, two thousand words will be more than enough for her.”

Pausing for a moment, Wei Yifu added, “And are you really planning to have your commune members fight back? Forget her status—she’s just a woman. How could you bring yourselves to lay a hand on her?”

This effectively blocked any thoughts the thug had of retaliating. He felt as if he had been force-fed something revolting—utterly hard to swallow.

Meng Shuangou thought for a moment.

“I never said we’d hit her. But we can’t let her get away with just a self-criticism! Confinement! Put her in solitary! Three days in solitary confinement!”