Guan Mancang and Guan Manku didn't return until dusk. The moment they got back, Guan Manku started fuming angrily: "That wretched girl Manyue—not only did she refuse to help, she even said I deserved it! And Eldest Sister kept making excuses to dodge me too. I've finally seen it clear—when it really comes down to it, you can only count on yourself. Nobody else is worth counting on!"
Li Yuezhi was equally indignant: "Honestly! All these years, our family has given Eldest Sister's family so many good things, and now when we're in trouble, she's completely useless. Even if we fed those things to a dog, at least the dog would bark at us affectionately."
Yang Xiucui couldn't stand hearing that and immediately started arguing with Li Yuezhi. Yang Feifang, never one to miss a chance to stir things up, added fuel to the fire with her snide comments, making Yang Xiucui even angrier. Her voice grew shrill and piercing, and eventually she even lunged at Li Yuezhi with her nails.
All the children in the house were scared into loud crying, and the whole courtyard descended into chaos. Zhao Shenggu pulled Guan Yuan aside and carefully covered his ears.
Guan He, his temples throbbing with veins from the racket, finally couldn't hold it in any longer and bellowed: "Enough! What's all this useless shouting about? Everyone, get back to your rooms—now!"
Seeing Guan He angry, no one dared to keep up their tantrums. Each branch of the family led their children away sheepishly. Zhao Shenggu took the chance to pull Guan Yuan back to their room.
Zhao Shenggu had complicated feelings about the Guan family. He didn't really care for them, but after living in this household for several years, he didn't want to see them fall apart either. More than that, he was worried that Guan Yuan might get caught up in the fallout.
Noticing that Zhao Shenggu had been frowning all day, Guan Yuan couldn't help asking, "Brother, what's really wrong with you? You've been like this the whole day." He reached up and pressed Zhao Shenggu's brow with his fingers. "When you look like this, it makes me feel bad."
Zhao Shenggu snapped back to the moment. "Xiao Yuan, I'm worried that what happened to Second Uncle Guan will drag you into it too. I'm really scared you'll get hurt!" He pulled Guan Yuan into a tight embrace with both arms. The reason Zhao Shenggu was so anxious was because he'd once witnessed a landlord being denounced in the village—and even his three-year-old child wasn't spared. The boy was hit until his head bled, and people even spat on them.
Zhao Shenggu felt lost. He didn't understand what that little child had done wrong to deserve such treatment. The mere thought of Guan Yuan suffering the same fate made his heart race with fear.
Feeling Zhao Shenggu's arms tremble, Guan Yuan couldn't help but regret his actions that day. If he'd known, he would've come up with a more discreet way to deal with Guan Manku. "Brother, how would I get dragged into it? Didn't the team leader say only Second Uncle has to go for re-education?"
Zhao Shenggu saw Guan Yuan's worried face and forced a smile. "I was overthinking it. It's nothing."
"Then give me a real smile—that fake one doesn't look good on you." Guan Yuan made a funny face at Zhao Shenggu, who indeed laughed at the sight. With Guan Yuan's distraction, Zhao Shenggu's mood lifted considerably. They put the matter aside, and Zhao Shenggu fetched firewood to heat the kang, then tucked them both under the quilt for their usual bedtime story session.
In the other rooms, everyone except the children lay awake.
Yang Feifang nudged Guan Mancang: "Hey, with your second brother in this mess, what are we going to do?"
"What do you mean, 'what are we going to do'?" Guan Mancang didn't catch her meaning.
"I'm asking if you're playing dumb or really don't get it. With your second brother in trouble, won't we be affected too? And since he can't be work-point recorder anymore, with all those kids in the second branch, we're the ones losing out!"
"So what do you want to do?" Guan Mancang still didn't see where she was going.
"What do I want? Split the family! If we keep living together, that money Old Man Zhao gave will end up being handed over to someone else by your mother sooner or later. If we split now, we can at least get our share."
Yang Feifang's words struck a chord with Guan Mancang—he'd been mulling over the same thing these past few days. But as long as Guan He was against it, nothing would come of it. "Sigh, let's talk about it later." He pulled the blanket over his head and went to sleep.
Yang Feifang punched his back in frustration.
The other two branches were also hatching their own schemes.
The next morning, Guan He sent Guan Taiming out to work too. Li Yuezhi objected: "My Taiming is still a child—how can he do heavy labor?"
Guan He replied sternly: "Still a child? Whose boy that age in this village is still sitting around at home? Hurry up and get him ready—he'll start earning from the third-class work points."
With Guan He putting his foot down, Li Yuezhi had no choice but to drop it.
That day, Zhao Shenggu worked the same plot of land as the day before, and Guan Yuan spent the day at the same open space nearby. When work ended, Zhao Shenggu said mysteriously, "I'll show you something good later."
Guan Yuan looked up at the sky—whenever Zhao Shenggu said that, it meant he'd found something edible in the fields. Sure enough, back in their room, Zhao Shenggu pulled out what he'd hidden in his clothes.
It was a big handful of peanuts. "When they harvested peanuts last year, that plot was worked by the village's laziest man. I figured he definitely wouldn't have cleaned it up properly, and sure enough, I found all these. Xiao Yuan, eat up—peanuts left in the ground like this taste amazing!" Zhao Shenggu shelled them and stuffed them straight into Guan Yuan's mouth.
"They're really good! Brother, you have some too." Guan Yuan chewed and grabbed a few to feed Zhao Shenggu. But just then, there was a sudden banging at the door.
Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan exchanged a look. Zhao Shenggu quickly pocketed the peanuts, then went to open the door.
It was Guan Taiming.
"What goodies have you two been sneaking?" Guan Taiming barged in as he spoke, his eyes sweeping the room like searchlights.
"What goodies? I've been working outside all day—where would I get food?" Zhao Shenggu walked over and pulled Guan Yuan into his arms before answering.
"Hmph, don't try to fool me! I heard you two sneaking bites from outside. Hurry up and hand it over, or I'll tell Grandma and she'll give you a good thrashing."
"Go ahead and tell, then. But before you do, I'll give you a few good punches first!" With that, Zhao Shenggu set Guan Yuan down, cracked his knuckles, and strode toward Guan Taiming.
"What are you doing?! Watch out or I'll hit you back!" Guan Taiming blustered, but his body was already backing toward the door. Zhao Shenggu waited until he was outside, then slammed the door shut and locked it.
"Haha!" Guan Yuan burst out laughing. Guan Taiming was a strange one—he didn't care about much in life, but he was completely obsessed with food. In fact, he ended up becoming a cook later on.
Zhao Shenggu could only shake his head with a wry smile at the cowardly Guan Taiming. Whether Guan Taiming actually tattled or not, no one came to bother them. Guan Yuan had been ready for a fight, but it never came.
A few days later, the production team announced over the loudspeaker that Guan Manku would undergo a month of re-education, scheduled for after work every day. All villagers were required to attend and participate actively.
Since Zhao Shenggu was already earning work points, he had to go too. Guan Yuan insisted on tagging along, and Zhao Shenggu couldn't talk him out of it, so he brought him.
The re-education was held at the village threshing ground. First, the team leader went up and gave Guan Manku a harsh scolding. Then, at the leader's signal, the crowd surged toward Guan Manku. At that moment, Zhao Shenggu suddenly covered Guan Yuan's eyes. "Xiao Yuan, don't look. It's okay—I'm here. Don't be scared." Guan Yuan could hear his voice shaking.
Not wanting Zhao Shenggu to worry, Guan Yuan buried his face in Zhao Shenggu's neck. "Mm, I won't look. And I'm not scared—really."
Guan Yuan's hearing was extraordinary. Amid all the shouting and beating, he could still make out Guan Manku's pig-like squeals, which eventually faded into weak, pained groans.
The re-education session lasted about half an hour. By the time Guan Mancang carried Guan Manku back, he was completely limp—his forehead was busted, his nose was bleeding, and his clothes were stained with spit.
When they got back to the Guan house, Yang Xiucui and Li Yuezhi burst into earth-shattering wails.
"My son! They're gouging out my very heart! Oh, heavens above…" Yang Xiucui cried with snot and tears streaming down her face. Li Yuezhi clung to Guan Manku's hand and sobbed as if her heart would break.
Guan He roared: "Both of you, shut up! Are you dissatisfied or something? If anyone hears you, you can go join your second son in re-education!"
The two women, who moments ago had acted like the sky was falling, immediately clamped their mouths shut. Li Yuezhi even let go of Guan Manku's hand.
When Guan Manku woke up, he lay on the kang groaning in pain—his whole body ached terribly. But the next day, he still had to go to work, and he was given the heaviest labor.
After several days of this, Guan Manku couldn't take it anymore. He collapsed on the ground begging Guan He to save him.
Guan He sighed: "Second son, how can I save you? This is a decision made by the production team, and it's already been reported to the higher-ups."
"Dad, you can't just watch them beat me to death! Dad, I'm your own son! What if we send money to the team leader…" Guan Manku suddenly seemed to have a flash of inspiration. "Yes—bribe the team leader! That guy is greedy too. I once saw him take money from someone with my own eyes, and when grain was distributed, he gave that family a whole lot extra. Dad, this will work!"
At the mention of spending money, Yang Xiucui fell silent. Guan Yuan found Yang Xiucui quite something—she was generous with her daughters when it came to money, but tight-fisted with her sons.
As soon as Guan Manku said that, Guan Mancang and Guan Manwu reacted strongly: "Second brother, how can you still be thinking about these shady shortcuts? We haven't seen a single cent of the money you took in. Now that you're in trouble, you want to use the family's joint funds to fill your hole? What kind of logic is that? I disagree."
Guan Manwu chimed in: "Second brother, just bear with it. A month will pass soon enough. And if you're going to bribe the team leader—if you give too little, he won't even blink at it. If we pour all our money into covering your mess, how are your nephews and nieces supposed to get by? I don't agree either."
Guan He furrowed his brows and thought for a while, then also refused: "Second son, just grit your teeth and get through this month. Our family's money can't be wasted for nothing."
Li Yuezhi, on the other hand, kept shouting that they should go ahead and bribe the team leader, but Yang Feifang shot her down on the spot.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar