Chapter 11: Become a sworn brother to someone – Who do you think you are?

Qian Xiaolan didn’t tolerate Sun Honghua’s bad attitude, and retorted: “You’re calling yourself my father? If you hadn’t pulled out the seedlings thinking they were weeds, would I have to say this? You’re just an ordinary woman, don’t think you’re some big shot, always thinking that there are commoners who want to harm you.” After Qian Xiaolan finished speaking, she turned and left, leaving Sun Honghua with a face flushed with anger and her team members glaring at her. The fact that Qian Xiaolan had confronted Sun Honghua quickly spread throughout the fields, and everyone was more certain that she had truly stood up for herself, and not only that, she had a bit of a temper.

 To avoid Qian Xiaolan taking this opportunity to vent her anger on them, everyone worked diligently that morning, not causing any trouble. It wasn’t that they were cowardly, but there was a precedent in the village, and that person was Qian Xiaolan’s father, Qian Changfu. Qian Changfu was a capable man, but he was also honest, loyal, and tolerant of his wife. Before marriage, he was bullied by his mother and brothers, and after marriage, he was bullied by his wife. He was clearly very skilled, but he always endured. Even when his wife made his life miserable to the point where he could no longer have children, he didn’t retaliate. Until one day in 1970, for some unknown reason, the honest man snapped. When the silent, honest man exploded, the consequences were truly terrifying. Qian Changfu not only beat Wang Juhua at home, but also in the fields.

He would beat her whenever she said a word, and he wouldn’t let anyone stop him. If anyone tried to intervene, he would beat her even harder. Not only that, he also went into the mountains alone several times to hunt wild boars. He carried a wild boar weighing over 300 kilograms down the mountain by himself. During that time, the villagers could eat meat almost every few days, which was better than during the New Year. However, Qian Changfu made it clear that those who shirked their work and those who were close to Wang Juhua would not be given any wild boar meat. Those who disagreed went to confront him, and Qian Changfu, without a word, picked up a cleaver, gave them a sinister smile, and chopped it down hard on a wooden stake. Those people thought he had gone crazy, biting anyone he could, and even wanting to kill someone.

They dared not cause any more trouble. Therefore, the villagers all speculated in their hearts whether Qian Xiaolan was like her father, having been oppressed so much that she had finally rebounded and exploded. The things the villagers feared were all in the original owner’s memories, but she didn’t know what had triggered Qian Changfu’s change. His transformation began after that big fight with Wang Juhua. Qian Xiaolan recalled the past and caught a few words: “child,” “how to live,” “crazy woman,” “thief”… The original owner had been abused by Wang Juhua for a long time, and she didn’t even dare to listen too closely, only catching a few words. Qian Xiaolan understood. It was said that she was not the biological daughter of Qian Changfu and his wife. It seemed that he had discovered Wang Juhua’s theft of a child, and the two of them had a big fight. It was also after that fight that Qian Changfu became more affectionate towards the original owner.

Then, she received a ring from Wang Juhua, who was reluctant to give it to her. From then on, Qian Changfu kept telling her that one should be grateful and not be a white-eyed wolf. Thinking about this, Qian Xiaolan’s eyes flashed, and she had a guess. On her first day of work, besides arguing with Sun Honghua, everything went smoothly until the end of the day. Qian Xiaolan thought that the day would end smoothly, but a young woman with a delicate appearance but thin as a bamboo pole walked towards her. Qian Xiaolan knew this person, Wu Qiulan. She had earned nine work points today, the most among all the female intellectuals who had been sent down to the countryside. Wu Qiulan walked up to Qian Xiaolan and smiled kindly at her: “Qian Xiaolan, I heard you moved back to your own house. Your house is so far away, are you scared living alone?” Qian Xiaolan raised her eyebrows and didn’t answer. Wu Qiulan’s brows furrowed slightly, and she smiled again: “It’s like this, there are too many people in our intellectual youth point, and it’s too hot in the summer with everyone crammed together. Your house has two rooms, right? Can you spare one for us to live in? Don’t worry, we won’t live there for free, I’ll take care of all the housework in your house from now on.

” Qian Xiaolan looked at her with a half-smile: “Wu Zhiqing, if I remember correctly, there are only four female intellectuals left in the intellectual youth point, right? Four people in two rooms, is it still crowded?” Wu Qiulan suddenly covered her chest and coughed for a while, weakly saying: “Four people in two rooms isn’t really crowded. But there are still six male intellectuals, and two of them are married to female intellectuals. They have to live separately every day, and I feel so bad for them. I can’t sleep peacefully every night. I’m not afraid of anything else, I’m just afraid that they can’t control themselves and do something outside, which would be bad for us intellectuals, and even for the entire brigade. As long as you’re willing to give us a room, I and another female intellectual will move in, and the intellectual youth point will be less crowded.”

 Qian Xiaolan burst out laughing. Wu Qiulan looked at Qian Xiaolan in confusion. Qian Xiaolan’s smile disappeared, and she sneered: “If you didn’t know better, you’d think Wu Zhiqing was their mother. They’re married and don’t have a house to live in, and you’re worried about them.

 Do you also have to worry about whether they know how to get married?” Wu Qiulan’s face instantly turned red. Qian Xiaolan sneered and continued: “Wu Zhiqing is so concerned about them, why don’t you just build a new house for them? With a new house, Chen Yi Zhiqing and Ruan Feng Zhiqing will be grateful to you and treat you like an ancestor. Chen Yi will only respect you from now on and dare not have any other thoughts about you.

” Wu Qiulan immediately changed her expression and angrily growled: “Qian Xiaolan, what are you talking about? Chen Yi is a married man. You’re saying this, what are you going to do with us two?” Qian Xiaolan didn’t bother to argue with her and said directly: “Anyone in the village with eyes can see that Ruan Feng likes Chen Yi, Chen Yi likes you, and you like someone else. I don’t know how Chen Yi ended up marrying Ruan Feng, but there are a few possibilities. Things like drunken mistakes, schemes, being threatened by someone holding a handle on them.

 Actually, I’m quite curious how the two of them got together. Why don’t Wu Zhiqing tell me the details?” With each word Qian Xiaolan spoke, Wu Qiulan’s face became more and more ugly. In the end, she couldn’t bear it anymore, glared at her fiercely, and turned to run away. Qian Xiaolan curled her lips and shouted at her back: “By the way, don’t even think about going to the brigade leader again to plead your case. He didn’t agree to give you our house before, and now that I’m back, he won’t agree either. If you really can’t bear to see them separated, why don’t you and the other intellectual move to the mule shed?”