Wu Chunmei felt a pang in her heart at her daughter's words and, taking a few steps forward, hugged her daughter and began to weep as well.
"Li Shu, my in-laws have truly wronged you. Everyone's eyes are clear enough to see what kind of people they are," Li Xiulan said at the opportune moment.
In the eyes of the others, this was indeed an immense injustice. The crowd immediately cast peculiar glances at Old Madam Chen and Chen Mancang's family.
"What they did was truly not decent. Just because they couldn't have a son, they can't bully them like this! It's a matter of conscience!"
"Chen Mantun and his wife are such honest folk, usually just minding their own business and working hard, sigh!"
Old Madam Chen and Chen Mancang's family had not expected things to turn out this way. They had originally intended to teach Chen Mantun a lesson, but now that the items were found in their own possession, it was like having mud on one's crotch – it might not be excrement, but it sure looked like it.
When they arrived at Widow Liu's place, it was even more astonishing. Good heavens, a widow with two children, and not even responsible children at that. Not only was the family not short of grain, they actually had quite a bit. A rough estimate showed that besides three sacks of grain, there was also a duck and two chickens.
"Isn't that the duck my family lost?" a woman in the crowd suddenly pointed at the duck and exclaimed loudly.
"What do you mean my duck? That's clearly the one I raised." Since she had already been discovered, Widow Liu could only insist that the items were hers.
"Nonsense. I remember my ducks clearly; the one that went missing had a tuft of white fur on its neck." The woman took a couple of steps forward, pulled the duck out of its cage, and indeed, there was a tuft of white fur on its neck.
"You actually stole my family's duck, you shameless wretch! You didn't say anything when I looked for it for so long, today I'll teach you a lesson!" The woman then lunged to grab Widow Liu's hair. Widow Liu was not one to be trifled with, and the two quickly got into a scuffle.
"Pah, slandering me for stealing your duck. My man clearly gave it to me. You can't control your own husband, so you come here to bully me!"
Widow Liu's face was scratched by the other woman, and her heart filled with resentment, she lost control of her tongue.
The more they fought, the fiercer they became, and the more unpleasant their curses grew.
"What are you all standing around for? Go and separate them quickly," Zhang Changhe said over his shoulder. Immediately, two women rushed forward to break up the fight.
Although they were supposed to be separating them, they clearly had a dislike for Widow Liu and secretly pinched her several times. By the time the two were pulled apart, Widow Liu's face was already scratched.
"The nature of today's incident is too serious. Our village committee will need to hold a meeting to decide how to proceed."
Zhang Changhe spoke, "It's getting late, and work cannot be delayed. Everyone should go back to work first. We will inform you of the decision later."
Hearing him speak, and seeing that there was no more spectacle to be had, everyone obediently went back to their work.
The outcome of the matter was soon decided. Chen Mancang would attend a study session for half a month, and his existing rabbits and pheasants would be confiscated. He was also fined twenty yuan, to be paid to the brigade.
As for Widow Liu, her duck was returned to its owner. Furthermore, because she could not explain the source of her grain, and although everyone knew how she got it, this practice could not be allowed to continue. The village committee decided to confiscate half a sack of her grain for the production team.
At this time, grain was life itself. Confiscating half a sack was like cutting off her flesh, and the mother and her two children now harbored an intense hatred for Chen Lishu! "Dad, Mom, after this incident, you've seen that my grandma doesn't consider us family at all. It's enough to fulfill our obligations; you should keep your distance from her in the future."
Chen Mantun and Wu Chunmei lowered their heads, nodding silently after a long while.
"What obligations? She treated our family like that; there's no way I'll call her grandma again!" Chen Liyuan was so angry when she heard about the incident after returning from school that she wished she could go and argue with them again.
"Your uncle..."
Chen Mantun looked up, looking at Chen Lishu, wanting to say something but hesitating. After all, they were brothers. Attending a study session would leave a stain on his record: "This was our fault to begin with."
Chen Lishu looked at Chen Mantun's face, full of self-reproach, and no longer knew what to say. She took a deep breath, managing to suppress the surge of anger from within her heart.
"Dad, if it weren't for them wanting to put pressure on you, would your own mother and elder brother do something like this? If someone hits your left cheek, do you want to offer your right cheek for them to hit as well? And then even feel guilty about them hurting their hand?"
"I, I didn't," Chen Mantun weakly retorted in a low voice.
"I hope you and Mom will take my words to heart. This family isn't just the two of you; there are also your younger daughters. If not for yourselves, at least think for them." Chen Lishu's tone softened slightly. Seeing that they had nothing more to say, she got up and went home.
Another two days passed in the blink of an eye. One day, Gu Xingping returned from school with a letter.
"Dad, Mom, Third Sister-in-law, my third brother has written!"
Hearing her say this, the whole family put down their tasks and gathered around.
Gu Xingping handed the letter to Li Xiulan and gave Chen Lishu a meaningful wink.
Chen Lishu was startled, not understanding what she meant.
Li Xiulan happily opened the letter and, looking at the small writing on it, involuntarily moved the letter further away. Unfortunately, her aging eyes were not good, so she handed the letter back to Gu Xingping: "My dear daughter, you read it."
Gu Xingping took the letter and began to read.
Gu Xingdong's letter first conveyed his greetings to the whole family and then briefly described his situation in the army. Since some things could not be mentioned, he could only pick out some everyday matters to talk about.
The letter was not long, but Gu Shoufu and Li Xiulan listened with unusual earnestness.
"Good, good, old man, did you hear what our son said in his letter? They get enough to eat in the army mess hall, and there's even steamed buns and meat."
"Mm," Gu Shoufu nodded. "I heard."
Perhaps for every child who traveled far from home, the most important thing to their parents was whether they ate enough and were dressed warmly.
After the family finished reading the letter, they began to eat dinner. After dinner, as Chen Lishu finished cleaning the kitchen and returned to her room, Gu Xingping followed her in.
"Hee hee, Third Sister-in-law, how will you thank me?"
Chen Lishu saw the other unopened letter being dangled in her hand and knew without a doubt that this was another letter Gu Xingdong had written to her alone.
"My third brother is truly biased; he didn't even write a letter to me separately," Gu Xingping said, placing the letter on the table. She said playfully, "Here, this one is addressed specifically to Lishu. I have to go back and do my homework; I won't disturb you reading your letter, Lishu."
Chen Lishu's face flushed slightly at her teasing tone. "If you tease me any more, I won't make your skirt for you."
Gu Xingping, having her weakness exposed, immediately begged for mercy: "Third Sister-in-law, I was wrong. I'll leave now. When you write back, be sure to tell me; I am very willing to offer my humble service for you."
"Keep talking nonsense!" Chen Lishu made a gesture as if to hit her, and Gu Xingping dodged out of the room. Before leaving, she did not forget to close the door for her.