Conditions in the 1960s weren’t great, but thermos flasks were excellent.
The hot water had been filled in the morning, yet it was still as scalding as when it first boiled.
Chen Jinhui’s wounds had only been dabbed with iodine and weren’t bandaged, so the boiling water poured directly onto them.
A donkey-like scream burst from his throat as he bent over, clutching his face.
Chen Mianmian pressed the attack, pouring the rest of the boiling water down his neck.
As she poured, she shouted, “Oh no, I accidentally bumped into the thermos! That must hurt, huh?”
Xu Xiaomei saw everything clearly and screamed, “You clearly threw the water! Second sister-in-law, have you gone crazy?!”
Then she turned to the crowd. “Everyone saw it—she poured boiling water!”
Poor Chen Jinhui’s face was covered in blisters, and the pain left him completely unable to fight back.
Afraid of harming the baby, Chen Mianmian didn’t want to prolong the fight. She grabbed her stick and rushed out, trying to escape.
But Chen Jinhui suddenly straightened up, chased after her, and grabbed her by the throat.
As he choked her, he cursed, “I’m doing this for your own good, you stupid woman! You don’t know what’s good for you!”
He tried to drag her back into the room, but the onlookers stepped in.
Someone blocked him: “Don’t hit a woman!”
Another said, “Stop right now, or we’ll call the police!”
At that critical moment, Xu Xiaomei shouted, “Comrades, she’s crazy!”
She stopped the crowd and said, “My sister-in-law is insane. She hits people randomly. Everyone, step back.”
She had a job and some credibility, and sure enough, people stopped intervening.
But that gave Chen Mianmian an opportunity. Since Chen Jinhui’s hands were occupied choking her, she used the nail-studded side of the stick to stab the blisters on his face. Each poke burst one open with a pop. The pain made him loosen his grip, and she turned and ran.
Seeing this, Xu Xiaomei panicked and called out, “Help me catch the madwoman!”
Labeling a woman as insane was the easiest way to control her.
Chen Mianmian was furious. She turned around and struck Xu Xiaomei several times on the head.
Then she shouted, “I have rabies! I bite people—whoever I bite gets infected!”
Rabies was no joke. Many people froze in fear.
A few bold ones still wanted to grab her.
Chen Mianmian bared her teeth. “Woof! Woof woof! I’ll bite you to death!”
If she could bite, the disease must be serious.
Afraid of being infected, the crowd scattered like startled birds.
Clutching her green bag tightly, Chen Mianmian turned to leave calmly. But after only a few steps, she bumped into someone’s arms.
Thinking it was Xu Xiaomei, she raised her stick to strike—but the person said, “I’m here to protect you.”
Looking closely, she saw it was the girl who had helped her earlier.
The girl pulled her close and shouted, “Comrades, she’s a soldier’s wife—you can’t hit her!”
The woman was only 24 years old, still very young.
But because of her pregnancy and disheveled appearance, she did look like a madwoman at first glance.
However, if she was a soldier’s wife, then the child she carried belonged to a soldier.
The Korean War had ended not long ago, and people naturally respected soldiers.
When Chen Jinhui tried to rush forward again, someone slapped him. “Try hitting a soldier’s wife!”
But someone questioned, “If she’s crazy, how can she be a soldier’s wife?”
Xu Xiaomei grew anxious. “Jingjing, what nonsense are you talking about? Get back to work, or I’ll dock your pay!”
The girl, a staff member at the guesthouse, was named Wu Jingjing.
She said, “Chen Mianmian is my classmate. I’ve seen her husband—he’s a very handsome army officer.”
Turning to Chen Mianmian, she asked, “We studied together at Hongzhuan School (Red and Expert School). Don’t you remember?”
The woman’s marriage to Zhao Lingcheng had lasted only two years.
Because she was illiterate, Zhao Lingcheng had sent her to school after they married.
What a coincidence—the one helping her was an old classmate?
Seeing the crowd’s reaction, Chen Mianmian quickly came up with a plan.
She pointed at Xu Xiaomei. “I’m carrying a soldier’s child, and she’s forcing me to abort it!”
Then she pointed at Chen Jinhui. “He’s trying to sell me to an old, bald, fat man!”
Instead of fighting alone, she decided to use the crowd.
“Come beat the trafficker!” she shouted.
As soon as Chen Jinhui tried to resist, he was punched several times. The men shouted in unison, “Stay still!”
Seeing things going badly, Xu Xiaomei hurried to explain, “She’s already divorced—she’s not—ah!”
Chen Mianmian didn’t want her to ruin things and struck her again with the stick.
The nail on the stick tore open bloody wounds. Afraid of being disfigured, Xu Xiaomei ran away.
Turning back, Chen Mianmian yanked up Chen Jinhui’s sweater.
Pointing at the rope coiled around his waist, she shouted, “This is the rope he was going to use to tie me up!”
Kidnapping—and even trafficking a pregnant soldier’s wife?
The crowd was furious. Fists rained down on Chen Jinhui.
Seeing her husband about to be beaten to death, Xu Xiaomei kicked Wu Jingjing twice in anger and ran to call the police.
As soon as she reached the entrance, she ran into a group of officers in caps. Overjoyed, she shouted, “Help! Help!”
She was about to lead them to rescue her husband when Chen Mianmian’s voice rang out behind her:
“Officer, help!”
Her voice was even louder. “Someone is trying to kidnap and sell me!”
Making false accusations and playing the victim first?
She rushed into an officer’s arms, crying. “They want to sell me to an old, bald bachelor!”
At that moment, several people dragged Chen Jinhui forward. “Officer, the criminal is here!”
With the suspect already restrained, the police moved to handcuff him.
But police handled cases methodically.
Seeing that Xu Xiaomei was bleeding, they asked her first, “Who hit you? Why?”
Then they turned to Wu Jingjing. “You reported this. Identify the kidnapper.”
Wu Jingjing, an honest girl, said only what she knew: “I heard Accountant Xu and her husband discussing tying Chen Mianmian up. She’s my classmate and a soldier’s wife, so I think her husband is the bad person.”
Xu Xiaomei cursed angrily, “You don’t know anything!”
She lunged at Wu Jingjing. “I’ll teach you to mind your own business!”
There were four or five officers present. Seeing the chaos, one shouted, “Everyone, be quiet!”
Another took the stick from Chen Mianmian and pointed at her. “You be quiet too.”
Seeing the police, Chen Jinhui was no longer afraid.
“Officer, I work in the railway system—a government employee,” he said.
With his hands cuffed behind his back, he nodded and bowed. “That’s my sister, and that’s my wife.”
He told Xu Xiaomei, “Go get my work ID.”
The officer frowned. “If you’re family, isn’t this a domestic dispute? Did you make a false report?”
Wu Jingjing was stunned. “You’re actually family?”
Because the woman had kept to herself, they hadn’t interacted much before.
Wu Jingjing had only wanted to help after overhearing the plan.
But if they were relatives, had she made a false report?
And for family disputes, even in the future, police would not intervene deeply—let alone now.
Chen Jinhui nodded repeatedly. “Just a family quarrel.”
The officers had come in force expecting a trafficking case—only to find a family conflict?
And in fights, the one who used violence was usually at fault. So the police warned Chen Mianmian, “Comrade, assault can lead to detention.”
Another officer removed Chen Jinhui’s handcuffs and asked, “Who hit you, and why?”
Xu Xiaomei pointed at Chen Mianmian. “She did—and she falsely accused us first!”
Then she pulled out a wallet and loudly said, “I have proof she’s not a soldier’s wife.”
Holding up a divorce certificate, she shouted, “Look—she divorced her officer husband half a year ago!”
Wu Jingjing was even more confused. “Chen, you’re divorced?”
Chen Mianmian rolled her eyes.
The woman had been foolish enough to let her sister-in-law keep her divorce certificate.
The guesthouse director also arrived and confirmed, “Chen Jinhui is a railway inspector.”
Xu Xiaomei displayed the certificate again. “See? She divorced six months ago.”
She had once been married to an officer, but now she was divorced. Yet she called the police on her own brother?
“The one who should be arrested is her!” Xu Xiaomei glared.
Wu Jingjing was still confused. “Chen, your husband was such a good man—why did you divorce him?”
He had been tall, handsome, and impressive.
When Chen Mianmian enrolled, he had personally visited every dormitory asking others to take care of her.
Everyone had been envious—but she had divorced him?
Chen Jinhui didn’t want things to escalate. He told the police, “It’s just a family matter. No need to trouble you.”
Then to Chen Mianmian: “Second sister, I’ll kneel and apologize. Let’s not make a scene, okay?”
So after all this, even the police wouldn’t help her?
Among the officers, one older man with graying hair stood at a distance, observing.
Chen Mianmian hurried over. “Officer, I have something to ask you.”
She had noticed he seemed like a leader—if she wanted a real outcome, she had to speak to him.
He nodded. “Go ahead.”
She asked, “If a younger brother beats his sister to death, will the police ignore it because it’s a family matter? If he tries to sell her, is that legal?”
Pointing at Chen Jinhui, she added, “He said even if he killed me, the police wouldn’t care. Is that true?”
Chen Jinhui laughed angrily and showed his injuries. “Everyone can testify—she did this!”
Xu Xiaomei wiped her blood and cried, “She’s gone mad—she hits people randomly!”
The senior officer spoke calmly, “There’s no smoke without fire. Why would she hit you without reason?”
Then he said to Chen Mianmian, “If he committed a crime against you, tell us. If he tried to kidnap or traffic you, and it’s true, we will arrest him. He could even face execution.”
His firm tone reassured her.
But Xu Xiaomei, seeing that Chen Mianmian was determined to escalate things, quickly tried to smear her.
“She was abandoned by her officer husband!” she shouted.
Chen Jinhui added, “She has a bad temper and hits people all the time. That’s why he divorced her.”
Their accusations made both the officers and the crowd frown.
The military didn’t allow easy divorce—if she was divorced, she must indeed have problems.
In an instant, Chen Mianmian lost support—even Wu Jingjing stepped back.
Taking advantage, Chen Jinhui grabbed her arm and said, “That’s just her temper. Sorry for the trouble, everyone.”
Then he leaned in and whispered through clenched teeth, “Useless woman. Once the police leave, I’ll deal with you.”
…
The woman had actually been strong—typical of Northwest girls. She could farm, hunt, and handle all kinds of labor.
But growing up, all the meat in the family went to Chen Jinhui. The women only got soup.
When he was bullied, she defended him. When he didn’t want to farm, she secured him a job.
Even his marriage had been funded by her.
He had grown used to relying on her. Now that she fought back, he was furious.
In the future, he would beat Niuniu because the woman couldn’t bear children for Section Chief Wei due to childbirth injuries.
Frustrated by his superior, he would vent his anger on Niuniu.
Chen Mianmian curled her lips slightly and unbuttoned the wool coat.
“I accuse Chen Jinhui of assaulting a woman and forcing an abortion of a soldier’s child—even attempting to beat his own sister to death.”
Then she lifted her shirt, revealing her round belly covered in bruises.
Her stomach was swollen like a drum, yet covered in fist marks.
How much pain had she endured? And how strong must the baby have been to survive?
Chen Jinhui was stunned. Xu Xiaomei screamed, “You’re lying!”
But the senior officer grabbed Chen Jinhui by the collar.
“You beat a pregnant woman like this?”
Then he shouted, “Cuff him!”