“After discussing, they decided to go to Bai Xiaoming’s house where Sister-in-law Song and Jiang Hong could help Lin Chuxia out.
Lin Chuxia had no objections, and set a time with Sister-in-law Song and Jiang Hong to head out early in the morning to buy groceries.
Their place was desolate, with the nearest village more than 10 miles away, so they had to go to the city to shop.
All three had bicycles, so they simply rode their bikes out.
They chatted and laughed along the way, and although the road was rough, it wasn’t lonely.
Upon reaching the city, they headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.
Meat was a must; these days, people were short on oils and fats, and both men and women loved eating meat, so Lin Chuxia bought plenty of pork and mutton, and even added a fish when she saw one.
As for vegetables, they bought whatever was in season and also picked up some pears and apples.
Then came various canned goods.
Though considered nutritionally poor in later eras, with prolonged consumption being harmful to one’s health, canned goods at that time were really good stuff.
They filled up three large baskets.
The baskets they carried were personally woven by Jiang Hong.
After coming here, Jiang Hong found many packing straps from construction site machinery, some of which people collected to sell as scrap, while others were simply thrown away.
With nothing much to do, she picked some up to weave baskets.
And indeed, the baskets she wove were durable and heavy, and the patterns matched quite nicely (as shown in the picture).
Each person tied a basket to the back of their bicycle, and they were ready to head back home.
They hadn’t walked far when a woman screamed and dashed out from a nearby alley, closely followed by a scruffy-bearded man cursing and swearing.
The woman was quick, but she couldn’t escape the man’s claws.
He grabbed her hair and violently pulled her to the ground.
Before she could scream, a slap as big as a fan struck her face.
Fresh blood flowed from the corner of her mouth.
Even so, the man didn’t stop; he kept slapping her one after the other.
The woman couldn’t escape and could only hold her head and keep screaming.
The commotion quickly attracted many passersby, and some well-meaning people stepped forward to try and break it up.
The man, reeking of alcohol and slurring his words, waved those people away.
“I’m beating my own wife, what’s it to you meddling in my affairs?”
“Even if she’s your wife, you can’t just hit people like that. Look at what you’ve done to her! She married you, not to be beaten by you.”
Not knowing which comment hit the man’s sore spot, he hit her even harder.
The woman begged for mercy under his blows, her screams growing louder and louder.
“You ask her what her intentions were by marrying me? I’ll tell you, she married me just to be beaten. This woman is despicable; that’s how you should treat such despicable people.”
“Speak up, tell everyone, why did you marry me? You slut, you deserve a beating.”
“Speak quickly, do you enjoy being hit by me? Do you really think you’ve fooled me and that I’ve gone blind? Calling you out for flirting with other men, now you look down on me, it’s too late, thinking about ditching me? No way.”
…
It’s said that even an upright official finds it hard to settle domestic disputes. Although I feel sorry for the woman, hearing the man curse makes it hard to interfere further.
Even those who were sympathetic to the woman earlier stepped back into the crowd when they saw the man’s fierce expression.
Lin Chuxia slightly frowned when she saw a man hitting a woman, with a four or five-year-old boy alongside.
The boy’s face was filled with fear and timidity. As he looked at the woman, tears swirled in his eyes, clearly her child.
Lin Chuxia has always had a compassionate heart towards children; regardless of what happens between adults, children are innocent.
Children raised in a domestic violence environment tend to have psychological issues to some extent.
She was about to stop her bike and step forward when Sister-in-law Song grabbed her arm.
Looking up in confusion, Sister-in-law Song shook her head at her, glanced at the man and woman in the distance, and bypassed the crowd by pushing her bicycle directly.
Lin Chuxia knew Sister-in-law Song’s character; there must be a reason she chooses to stand by and even stops her from intervening.
She rarely comes to the Northwest, while Sister-in-law Song has always lived here, there must be reasons she is unaware of.
Without further hesitation, she followed Sister-in-law Song with her bicycle, Jiang Hong silently trailing behind them.
They walked a good distance away, nearly out of earshot of the quarreling couple, before Sister-in-law Song spoke.
“It’s not that I’m heartless. I know that man; he used to work at our company’s union and was the vice chairman. He was fired later due to issues with his conduct.”
“Was he Xu Sijin’s ex-husband?” Lin Chuxia asked.
Sister-in-law Song was somewhat surprised, “You know about that?”
She was just thinking about how to tell Lin Chuxia that the man was Xu Sijin’s ex-husband, the former vice chairman Sha Jianqi.
And that woman had initially brought her child to find Qin Yang, stirring up all kinds of rumors.
Then somehow she got involved with Vice Chairman Sha, and was caught in bed by Xu Sijin.
Lin Chuxia nodded lightly, “Qin Yang mentioned it in a letter. That he once helped a mother and son who came looking for him, asking him to take responsibility.”
Since Lin Chuxia knew already, Sister-in-law Song felt relieved and sighed.
“What can I say, Mr. Qin kindly saved their lives, but in the end, they turned on him, and there was even talk at the union asking Mr. Qin to adopt the child as his foster son. What kind of solution is that? If you ask me, it’s Sha’s own doing. Since he was kind-hearted, he might as well have taken in the mother and son.”
“They did take them in,” knowing the identities of the two, Lin Chuxia ceased to feel any sympathy.
As for that child, although she saw him briefly and couldn’t judge his character, she had heard some things from her past life.
Lin Jiayi, in her eagerness to please Qin Yang, had devotedly cared for the child he brought back, ensuring he never suffered.
Yet that child showed no gratitude for Lin Jiayi’s kindness; when his biological mother showed up, he even schemed with her to frame Lin Jiayi for abusing him.
In her past life, Lin Jiayi lived with Qin Yang’s parents, and given their character, they would never allow Lin Jiayi to mistreat the child.
It was most likely that the child was lying.
Hearing Lin Chuxia’s words, Sister-in-law Song also scoffed, “Indeed, they took them in. Vice Chairman Sha and Manager Xu were out to gain but ended up losing more. And that woman, she’s formidable. When things didn’t work out with Mr. Qin, she clung to Vice Chairman Sha quickly, not expecting his wife, who has a strong background, won’t tolerate her, a grain of sand, disrupting their marriage. In the end, it escalated, not only did Vice Chairman Sha lose his position but also his job, which ironically resolved everything for the couple.”
Sister-in-law Song looked around and continued, “I heard after Vice Chairman Sha lost his job, he became a wastrel, spending his days smoking and drinking, supported by the woman working odd jobs. Whenever he wasn’t pleased, he’d strike out, blaming her for seducing him. If you ask me, it’s really a case of a dog biting a dog.”