Chapter 49: Storm Brewing (Part Four)

Ye Zibian had been secretly helping Sun Meili. Seeing everyone chattering and asking what was going on, she took the opportunity to repeat the things Zhou Xue had said to scold Sun Meili, and then went on to reveal all the things the Zhou family had done, laying everything bare for everyone to hear. There were a lot of people around—men and women alike—so the gossip spread quickly, both openly and behind people’s backs, until almost everyone knew what was happening. What was even more surprising was that when Zhou Xue was being beaten up by Sun Meili, not a single person in the village stepped in to break up the fight. After all, Sun Meili had several brothers, and she grew up in the same village as everyone else. Seeing that she wasn’t getting the worst of it, even her brothers and sisters-in-law didn’t intervene, and even seemed to block Zhou Xue’s father-in-law and his brothers from stepping forward. Sun Meili’s eldest sister-in-law was known for being tough and had always treated her only sister-in-law like her own little sister. When she heard what Zhou Xue had said at the start, she was so angry she started cursing loudly. She shouted about how her little sister-in-law ended up naked, and how even when she returned to her maiden home, she was still being bossed around by outsiders. What kind of daughter-in-law meddles this much? And to even sow discord, she told her little sister-in-law to tear Zhou Xue’s mouth apart.

As a result, no one was willing to step in and break up the fight, nor did anyone try to persuade the crowd to leave; instead, everyone was busy gossiping. Old Wang, the production team leader, was so anxious he was pacing in circles. His wife, who always took advantage of being the team leader’s wife, had gone to the county town early that morning and wasn’t home. The sisters-in-law in the family had long been at odds with Zhou Xue, and when they heard Sun Meili’s sister-in-law cursing, they all hid far away. Old Wang shouted loudly for everyone to stop, but it was no use. People were intentionally or unintentionally preventing him from intervening.

After a while, a simple-minded young man from the village came by, laughing and saying he wanted to see what dowry Zhou Xue had stolen from Jinwa. That was all it took—everyone watching the commotion was eager for more drama, and they all followed along to watch. The only ones who stayed behind were those who felt obliged to respect Old Wang’s authority as team leader, but even they just stood by and watched the fight, snickering to themselves.

Sun Meili had been working in the fields earning work points since she was a child, and was a real hand at housework—she wasn’t lacking in strength. Zhou Xue, on the other hand, had lived an even more carefree life than Zhou Jiao at her parents’ home, doted on by her grandfather and mother, never having worked a day in the fields, unable to tell wheat from chives. She might have been tall and sturdy, but she was no match for Sun Meili, who was beating her soundly, especially since Sun Meili knew how to pinch where it hurt most. And Sun Meili wasn’t just fighting—she was venting all her pent-up grievances, hitting and pinching while loudly airing all the Zhou family’s dirty laundry. She accused them of secretly collecting military mail meant for Jinwa, of the whole family shamelessly living off Zhou Jiao, bullying her because she had no father, boasting everywhere without fear of retribution. She listed all the packages—twenty-eight just this year—that Jinwa never received, and how the clothes Jinwa’s grandmother made for her child ended up on Zhou Xue’s own son. She called them heartless, said they’d suck the marrow from Jinwa’s bones if they could, and accused Zhou Xue’s mother, Huang Zhaodi, of hiding all the valuables—bicycle, sewing machine, watch—sent by Jinwa’s family. She said the whole family was worse than bandits, and that they lied to Jinwa, claiming she’d received nothing but money from her grandmother, while secretly keeping every package sent over the past seventeen years. She accused the brothers of shamelessly wearing the watch given by Jinwa’s grandmother and helping to hide things, and said not a single member of the family was any good. Even the things Jinwa’s aunt sent were taken by Zhou Xue’s sisters-in-law. The whole family, she said, was rotten to the core.

Ye Zi stood by, explaining everything in detail to the onlookers. Every time Sun Meili cursed, Ye Zi would elaborate, making sure everyone understood. By now, everyone who was still at home or working their private plots had come out to watch. As the crowd grew, Zhou Xue realized that after all this time, no one was coming to her aid. She grew anxious, her whole body aching from the beating. She blamed Zhou Jiao for everything—if she hadn’t talked, who would have known? She wouldn’t have lost face like this. Cursing Zhou Jiao in her heart, she decided she had to go after her, thinking, “Just wait, I’ll skin that bitch alive. This is all her fault.” Having made up her mind, she pushed Sun Meili away with all her strength, ignored her son and didn’t even take him when someone handed him over, and stormed out of the village, shouting, “Zhou Jiao, you bitch! I’m going to kill you!” Her voice was so loud that even more people looked down on her, and some mischievous villagers started shouting along, “Zhou Xue is going to kill Jinwa! Zhou Xue is going to kill Jinwa! Hurry, run to Zhangjia Village, something big is happening—someone’s going to die!”

Zhou Xue was in so much pain from the beating that she couldn’t walk fast, but many villagers wanted to follow and see what would happen. Despite Zhou Xue’s shouting, everyone knew Jinwa’s husband was Zhang Guoqing—who in the area didn’t know him? There was no way he’d let his wife get beaten up. It was almost laughable. Sensing a big fight was about to break out, everyone hurried to keep up. Over the years, everyone had heard rumors about the Zhou family’s scandals, and now they were eager to see if the gentle Jinwa would finally explode. No one cared about the Zhou family anymore; everyone was waiting to see what would happen next, secretly thinking the Zhou family deserved it. Everyone had seen how arrogant they were, noses in the air, and many had long been dissatisfied.

Along the way, people—both intentionally and unintentionally—shared bits and pieces of the truth. With farm work just finished and it being a slack season, more and more people joined the crowd, thinking that “the law doesn’t punish the masses.” Passing through three villages, the crowd grew larger and larger, with even many men joining in to watch.

As they went, villagers who had witnessed everything from the start explained the details to curious friends. As the crowd swelled, the noise grew, and soon more villages joined in. Jinwa was famous, and she’d married the well-liked Zhang Guoqing—there wasn’t a soul in the area who didn’t know the couple, not even in the county town.

In less than half an hour, people from nearby villages, hearing the commotion, came running over and joined the crowd. No one bothered going back to work; men and women alike, more and more people joined in.

Before they even reached Zhangjia Village, someone had already run ahead to notify the Zhang family. Strangely, though, no one went to Zhoujia Village across the river to report the news. In fact, everyone seemed to tacitly agree not to tell the Zhou family—just goes to show how unpopular they were. Only Zhou Xue, that fool, would go looking for a fight without first rallying her own family, heading straight to Zhangjia Village to find Zhou Jiao. Where did she get the nerve?

Zhangjia Village was backed by Daqingshan Mountain, and the Zhang family had been hunters for generations. Every member of the family knew how to fight. Zhang Guoqing had been a local legend since he was a child—no hooligan in the area dared mess with him. He was born strong enough to lift a 500-jin millstone with one hand. With him in Zhangjia Village, no one dared come looking for trouble."