Chapter 41

Pei Shengcai was also frustrated but didn’t overreact. Instead of celebrating extravagantly, he just recorded a message with the loudspeaker and played it from Zhoujia Village to Peijia Village.

Li Quan, who was resting at the clinic at the entrance of Zhoujia Village, heard this announcement and realized he had lost his place in the training program. He ran to the brigade headquarters: “Cousin!!!”

It was better if he hadn’t shown up. Zhou Xin slapped him without waiting for an explanation.

“What’s the use of you? The spot you got has been taken by someone else!” Zhou Xin scolded angrily. He had initially wanted to choose someone from his family for the position but, due to the lack of medical professionals, he had to follow Lin Tao’s suggestion. Now, Jiang Xi was better suited for the position.

Zhou Xin called the Ministry of Health to find out why Li Quan was replaced. They informed him that due to recent issues, they thought Li Quan was less qualified than Jiang Xi, so they gave the spot to her.

Zhou Xin, a deputy captain, felt his pride and respect were damaged.

Lin Tao, seeing Zhou Xin’s anger, didn’t stop him but scolded him: “How can you be so useless? You can’t even outperform a woman!”

Li Quan felt very wronged: “I’ve only studied for a few months?”

“That’s your fault too. If you don’t know how to do it, be nicer. Look at your reputation among the villagers!” Lin Tao was also upset, feeling it was a waste to give Li Quan a good opportunity only for him to mess it up.

Feeling even more wronged, Li Quan said, “I don’t want to be the team doctor anyway!” He threw the team doctor badge on the ground and ran away to talk to his mother.

Zhou Xin and Lin Tao: “…Damn!”

Lin Tao wanted to chase him but Zhou Xin stopped him: “Forget it, let him go. If he has the nerve to be a team doctor after this, I don’t want him to be one!”

The priority now was to salvage the situation to avoid losing more respect.

_

Pei Shengcai happened to pass by a large rice field where people were threshing rice, and everyone heard the announcement.

“Did you hear that? Doctor Jiang was selected to go to the county hospital for further studies!”

“I heard it! She beat the other candidates. Who was it?”

“It must be Doctor Li. The Ministry of Health made a good choice!”

“Hahaha, Lin Rong, I told you Doctor Jiang is better!” One person laughed and said this loudly.

The person being talked about was unusually quiet.

Zhou Baoquan, who was shocked, felt worried. He was thinking about his own health and future and didn’t want to die yet.

The news spread through the village, and Aunt Lanhua commented, “Xisheng’s mother, you always liked Doctor Li and said Doctor Jiang wasn’t good enough. Why don’t you go to the Ministry of Health to protest now?”

Xisheng’s mother, who had been silent, turned red and stubbornly replied, “Who knows if the captain likes her and promoted her on purpose?”

“Mom!” Li Aimei shouted, “Stop talking nonsense. Doctor Jiang is truly amazing. The captain has high hopes for her. If it were a backdoor deal, there wouldn’t have been a spot for Doctor Li in the first place.”

Xisheng’s mother was already feeling ashamed and angry. Her daughter-in-law challenging her in front of so many people made her even angrier. Forgetting their recent argument, she slapped Li Aimei: “Be quiet! Stop gossiping!”

“Pa!” Li Aimei hit back, saying sternly, “Mom, I told you not to hit me again!”

Unfortunately, this strike landed directly on Xisheng’s mother’s face.

The slap was very loud.

Both women were stunned, and the onlookers were shocked.

Xisheng’s mother was the first to react. While she had fought with her daughter-in-law before, those fights were usually private. Now, with everyone from Zhoujia Village, Peijia Village, and Linjia Village around, she felt that she was not being respected.

Angry with old and new grudges, she shouted, “I’ll beat you to death, you little bitch…”

Li Aimei hesitated but then fought back. She grabbed Xisheng’s mother’s hair and said, “Mom, I told you not to hit me!”

Her mother-in-law used to be her authority figure, and she was afraid to resist. But now, she was determined to fight back, believing in Jiang Xi’s advice that resisting was the only way to avoid further beating.

As a result, Li Aimei fought fiercely.

“Ouch!” Xisheng’s mother screamed in pain, her face twisted with agony. 

_

The two women fought until they fell to the ground. Li Aimei, being younger and healthier, had an advantage over Xisheng’s mother, who was weaker.

Xisheng was away delivering rice and had not yet returned.

The crowd, interested in the spectacle, didn’t intervene.

In the past, Xisheng’s mother had always been the dominant one in fights, but now it was different. The fight continued until Xisheng came back.

Seeing the chaotic scene, Xisheng was shocked and rushed to separate them. After a struggle, he managed to pull them apart. Both women were still angry, hitting each other and even hitting Xisheng in the process.

When Xisheng’s mother came to her senses, she looked at her son and cried, “Look at the wife you married! She even beats your mother!”

Li Aimei also cried, “Look at your mother. She’s always beating people. She acts like it’s the old days when the wife could be beaten and killed!”

Jiang Xi had advised Li Aimei to use this tactic if she couldn’t win the argument.

Xisheng was caught in the middle, embarrassed. He said, “Stop fighting. Let’s forget it.”

Li Aimei, realizing relying on her husband was useless, got up and coldly said, “If you want a divorce, go to the brigade now and get a divorce certificate!”

“Okay! Let’s get divorced now!” Xisheng’s mother was taken aback by Li Aimei’s coldness and quickly took her son to find the team leader.

In rural areas, a formal marriage certificate isn’t always needed; a wedding banquet is often enough. To divorce, a certificate from the captain is usually sufficient.

Divorce is rare in this area but not unheard of, and everyone knew the process.

Both women were determined, with Xisheng reluctantly going along.

_

Meanwhile, Jiang Xi had just greeted the captain. She was surprised that the decision about the further studies came so quickly. She had expected it to take longer, as there was no prior announcement.

Pei Shengcai, feeling proud, walked with his head held high, enjoying a cigarette offered by Pei’s father. He boasted, “I used the loudspeaker on purpose to get back at Li Quan. Now I’ve turned the tables on him.”

Mother Pei shared his anger: “Exactly. I’m also upset. Our Xiaoxi is so capable. It’s a shame how we’ve been treated!”

Father Pei laughed and said, “Yes, people with real ability don’t need to show off, that’s how it should be!”

Afterward, Pei Shengcai went to see Pei Hejun. 

He had watched Pei Hejun grow up and wanted to build a good relationship with him for the future. 

When he entered the room, Pei Shengcai said, “He Jun, your wife is truly outstanding. I heard from the Ministry of Health that they sent people to check on her, and everyone praised her.”

Pei Hejun coughed lightly and replied, “It’s fine.”

Pei Shengcai was happy and said, “I heard that the Ministry of Health pretended to be patients to get treated, and they took a lot of medicine with them when they left.”

Pei Hejun was pleased but worried about studying alone, wondering where he would eat and live.

Pei Shengcai scratched his head and said, “I don’t know. This is my first time with this kind of opportunity.”

Pei Hejun was disappointed and stopped talking.

Pei Shengcai soon left.

The brigade was busy with tasks like counting rice bags and handling other duties.

Only Zhou Xin and Lin Tao were slacking off.

Before they could leave, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pulled a cart and a man over, arguing. Li Aimei said, “Captain, I want a divorce!”

Though this was the first time she officially asked for a divorce, she had thought about it before. Now that she had fought her mother-in-law, divorce seemed manageable.

Xisheng’s mother angrily added, “Captain, hurry up and get this woman out of my house!”

Xisheng was stuck in the middle, distressed. He said, “Mom, I don’t want a divorce.”

The Captain replied, “…”

He looked at the three of them and said, “Divorce is a serious matter. You should calm down.”

Xisheng agreed, and Xisheng’s mother hesitated.

The mother and son looked at Li Aimei. 

Even though they were angry, a divorce would disadvantage the woman, and Xisheng would also face challenges. His reputation was poor, and it would be harder for him to find a wife in the future.

Xisheng’s mother didn’t want to agree because it would make her lose face. She wanted Li Aimei to admit her mistake first.

Li Aimei remained silent. She wanted the divorce but didn’t dare hope for it. Now that it was happening, she decided not to give in.

“Wife, should we go back?” Xisheng pleaded.

He was honest and hardworking, but he never took sides. After their fight, he acted as if nothing happened.

Li Aimei suddenly felt she couldn’t agree. If she compromised, her mother-in-law would become even more arrogant.

The two sides were at a standstill. Xisheng’s mother, realizing the situation, sneered and said, “Divorce! You’ll become an abandoned woman. Who would want you?”

Li Aimei’s eyelids twitched as she looked nervously at Jiang Xi, who gave her a supportive look, reminding her of the feeling she had when she first resisted her mother-in-law.

Li Aimei felt overwhelmed and decided, “Okay! Let’s get divorced!”

Xisheng’s mother was shocked: “!!!”

***

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