Song Wei had long known about Wang Shu and the widow from the neighboring village from a few elder women. She had even seen Wang Shu visiting the widow herself.
What surprised her was that Liu Guifen was only now discovering it.
In theory, such behavior could lead to both being arrested if someone reported them. However, without catching them red-handed, they could deny everything, leaving no evidence.
Plus, reporting them might stir up trouble for the whistleblower.
Old lady Niu wasn’t someone to mess with. Liu Guifen likely wouldn’t be grateful; instead, she’d blame the reporter for meddling and causing her husband’s arrest.
In such cases, it was purely thankless work.
Additionally, since the woman involved was a widow, unless caught in the act, or if there was no real grudge against them, everyone would turn a blind eye. Reporting them could tarnish the brigade’s reputation.
Soon, old lady Niu arrived. The older woman was notorious for being unreasonable. She immediately grabbed Liu Guifen’s hair and delivered two slaps.
Standing with her arms akimbo, her fierce glare bore into Liu Guifen as she shouted:
“Have you eaten too much and got nothing better to do? Instead of working and earning points, you’re here slandering your own husband? What good will it do you if something happens to him?”
Liu Guifen sat on the ground, clutching her face, crying: “Mother, it’s Wang Shu who wronged me first!”
Old lady Niu snapped back: “What did Wang Shu do? He was just being kind and helping Widow Hu. Did you see him do anything to wrong you? Stop your nonsense! If you don’t earn work points, are we all supposed to starve?
“And you, little tramp,” she spat at Widow Hu, “my son hasn’t even finished his own fieldwork, and you have the nerve to get him to work for you for free? If you’re so helpless, find some lonely old widower to help you, but don’t you dare think my son is here to work for you for nothing!
Old lady Niu knew her son’s true nature.
He probably did have something with the widow, but she didn’t care as long as he wasn’t caught.
In her eyes, all men were the same- they couldn’t help but stray.
But there was one condition: his indiscretions couldn’t interfere with the family’s needs. Skipping fieldwork to help the widow was unacceptable.
She spat at Widow Hu, who cowered as Wang Shu tried to shield her.
This enraged old lady Niu further. She delivered a hard slap to Widow Hu’s face.
“You shameless tramp, you’ve charmed my son so much he doesn’t even know his own name anymore!”
Widow Hu, clutching her face, dared not retaliate.
Finally, old lady Niu forced Wang Shu and Liu Guifen to leave, berating them the whole way.
On the way back, she tugged Liu Guifen’s ear and cursed:
“You’re a curse! Are you hoping for something to happen to your husband?
If you keep screaming nonsense and get him arrested, I won’t let you off easy. You’ll be divorced and sent back.”
Song Wei watched their retreating figures with mixed feelings. Though she had no sympathy for Liu Guifen, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad for her.
Women’s status in this era wasn’t as low as in ancient times, but traditional thinking still lingered.
Especially in rural areas, where education was scarce and the preference for sons was deeply ingrained.
Many women grew up believing that their husband was their world. Even though they were capable of surviving on their own, they couldn’t see life outside the confines of their marriage.
Divorce was technically an option, but for most women, it was seen as shameful, akin to being cast off. Returning to their parents’ home would bring disgrace to their family.
Even if their husbands strayed, these women lacked the courage to leave.
After the commotion, Liu Guifen returned to the fields and resumed her work.
In the end, earning work points to put food on the table outweighed everything else.
Song Wei finished harvesting her last patch of radishes and left with a full load on her back. The surrounding women looked on enviously.
- “There’s still some time before the end of the day, and Song Zhiqing has already earned her full work points.”
- “So capable. If I had such a strong, hardworking son, I’d laugh myself awake from dreaming.”
Why a son? Because daughters eventually marry off and become part of someone else’s household.
After finishing, Song Wei went to find her brother.
She was surprised to see Little Heidan helping out. Gao Le and Zhao Su, under Song Jing’s influence, were also working harder.
Though their progress was slow, they had stopped whining and crying every few minutes.
With Song Jing’s help and influence, both had managed to exceed expectations, completing work worth four points each.
“Sister Song~”
Heidan spotted Song Wei and ran over happily.
“Why are you here?”
Heidan explained: “I went looking for you but found brother Song here, so I came to help!”
The little boy was working hard to leave a good impression on Song Jing. After all, Song Wei would soon become his sister-in-law, and they would be family. He couldn’t let her slip away.
Song Jing walked over and asked: “Finished harvesting the radishes?”
Song Wei nodded: “Not only finished but caught some drama along the way.”
“Drama?”
“Just some gossip.”
Song Jing sighed, but seeing his sister so full of energy, he thought she seemed more vibrant and alive.
“You head back first. I’ll find you after work.”
He handed her a half-pound of cake tickets he’d gotten from Gao Le and Zhao Su.
“Take this and use it before they expire. Treat yourself to something sweet.”
Afterward, he returned to work. For him, such tasks were no different from military training.
Song Wei, touched by her brother’s care, felt warm inside. Having a big brother is wonderful.
Instead of heading back to the educated youth dormitory, she took Heidan and ventured into the mountains, determined to hunt some meat for her hardworking brother.
She even stopped by Lin Zhen’s house to borrow a slingshot.
Heidan eagerly asked for one too.
As Lin Zhen worked on the slingshot, Song Wei mentioned the drama at the Lin household: “So, your granduncle got into another fight today? Were you there?”
Lin Zhen nodded: “I had to follow him to make sure he was okay.”
His voice held a hint of amusement, clearly finding the chaos enjoyable.
Song Wei’s eyes sparkled with delight as she recounted.
“Old man Lin and old lady Lin had a fight. Old man Lin’s face was scratched up like a net, and he even threatened old lady Lin with divorce and so on.”
“I think he seems to regret it a bit,” Song Wei commented.
Lin Zhen sneered. “Regret? It’s just because Granduncle threatened to remove him from the family registry. That hit his own interests.”
Song Wei propped her chin on her hands.”When do you think Lin Dahai’s affairs will be exposed?”
Lin Zhen kept working, his hands not pausing. “Soon.”
A slingshot wasn’t hard to make, and Lin Zhen finished one quickly.
Song Wei and Heidan each got one, then grabbed their baskets and headed straight for the mountains.
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