Lin Ran truly could not imagine what kind of life Zheng Sanya lived at home on a daily basis.
Although she had known before that Zheng Sanya was frequently beaten, hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with her own eyes was another matter entirely.
If Auntie Zheng could beat someone like this in front of outsiders, one could only imagine how she mistreated Sanya at home.
Lin Ran felt that the plan she had given Zheng Sanya earlier might not be particularly effective against someone as shameless as Auntie Zheng.
Now, she worried whether Sanya would face a “settling of scores” after returning home.
Just then, Lin Weiguo, who had just finished checking the situation at the dam, arrived.
As soon as he returned, he heard that little Jin Bao had woken up, and the weight in his heart finally lifted.
If something had happened to Jin Bao, he, as the brigade leader, would certainly have had to take responsibility. Fortunately, the danger had passed.
However, just as he approached to show concern for Jin Bao’s condition, he saw the wretched Zheng Sanya lying on the ground.
Her hair was a mess, her face was marked with red welts, and not to mention the visible wounds on her body—anyone who didn’t know better would have thought Zheng Sanya was the one who had been in danger.
With one look, Lin Weiguo knew Sanya had been beaten again.
As a neighbor of the Zheng family, he was naturally well aware of the life Zheng Sanya led in their household.
Though he felt sympathy, even as the brigade leader, it was difficult for him to interfere in another family’s domestic affairs.
However, in the past, the Zheng couple had always beaten the child behind closed doors. Today, they had actually done it in broad daylight.
Especially after seeing Sanya’s miserable state—there wasn’t a single patch of uninjured skin left—Lin Weiguo finally couldn’t help but give them a warning.
“Accountant Zheng, we are brigade cadres after all; we must lead by example.”
“Look around the entire brigade—whose family treats their daughter like this? This kind of behavior is tarnishing the reputation of our entire brigade.”
“Furthermore, I heard that Daya is recently looking for a suitor. Shouldn’t you pay attention to your reputation? If people find out about your family’s situation, would they dare to marry into your family?”
Knowing that the Zheng couple cared most about Jin Bao, Lin Weiguo brought him into the conversation as well.
“Especially Jin Bao. Although the child is still young, in a few years, he will also be at the age to take a wife.”
“If people know you like to beat your daughters at the drop of a hat, who would dare marry their daughter into your house? Aren’t they afraid you’ll beat her too?”
Auntie Zheng originally looked indifferent, but when she heard that it might affect Jin Bao’s marriage prospects, she immediately grew anxious.
“I hit Sanya because she’s disobedient and causes trouble all day! What does that have to do with my future daughter-in-law? Brigade Leader, don’t you try to scare me!”
The onlookers curled their lips in disdain, clearly scoffing at Auntie Zheng’s reasoning. In the entire Tashan Brigade, what other child could be as sensible as Sanya?
Lin Weiguo couldn’t be bothered with Auntie Zheng and simply added a final word to Accountant Zheng.
“I’m sure Accountant Zheng understands the situation in his heart. I won’t say any more.”
A flash of annoyance crossed Accountant Zheng’s eyes, clearly showing his extreme dissatisfaction with Lin Weiguo interfering in his family business.
But he quickly realized that today’s events were bad for his family’s—and especially his own—reputation.
After all, he still wanted to pull Lin Weiguo down and climb up himself. If he didn’t have a good reputation, it wouldn’t matter even if the people in the brigade didn’t support him.
Thinking of this, Accountant Zheng quickly reined in his expression and said with a face full of shame:
“Brigade Leader, neighbors, I am truly sorry for making you witness such a scene.”
“It was mainly because the child’s mother was terrified by Jin Bao’s accident. She was momentarily triggered and lashed out. How could we possibly beat our children at home normally?”
“The injuries on Sanya were also from a fall when she was up on the mountain. This child is a bit clumsy in her work. I’ll tell her to be more careful in the future—look at how this caused a misunderstanding!”
Accountant Zheng spoke with such sincerity, and since he was usually very good at managing his public image, many people believed his explanation, thinking today’s incident was just an accident.
After all, everyone felt deep down that no parents would beat their own child to death; no matter how much they preferred boys over girls, it seemed impossible.
However, there were also those who saw things more clearly. Although they knew the truth of his words, they weren’t going to offend Accountant Zheng for the sake of an unrelated person. At the end of the day, Zheng Sanya and Accountant Zheng were family.
They had already done their part by helping to persuade them earlier.
Seeing this, Lin Weiguo didn’t say anything more. Looking at Accountant Zheng’s demeanor, he knew the man had taken his words to heart.
As long as he still valued his reputation, Sanya’s life at home would be a bit easier in the future. As the brigade leader, there was only so much he could do.
Seeing this, Lin Ran also breathed a sigh of relief for Sanya. As expected, every person has a weakness; as long as you grasp the opponent’s weakness, you can strike true.
Her previous plan had been based on an insufficient understanding of Accountant Zheng’s family!
Thinking of this, Lin Ran immediately reflected on herself. She shouldn’t have been using the mindset of her past life to handle the affairs of this life.
In her past life, she was the legitimate daughter of a Marquis’s manor, dealing with the wives and ladies of noble families. Those noble families valued reputation and “face” above all else. But the Tashan Brigade of this life was different.
The villagers here hadn’t even solved the problem of food and clothing, so why would they care about matters on a spiritual level?
Unless they had something they desired, just as Lin Weiguo had accurately grasped Accountant Zheng’s ambitions.
Therefore, she had to quickly shift her thinking and integrate her past-life experience with the reality of this life.
Of course, she didn’t learn these things because she wanted to fight people, but for self-preservation.
If no one provokes me, I won’t provoke them; but if someone provokes me, then don’t blame me for being cold-hearted!
This had always been her style of conduct.
…
At this point, the farce finally came to an end.
Accountant Zheng did not want to be further scrutinized or discussed, so he led his family away in a hurry.
Before leaving, Zheng Sanya gave Lin Ran a grateful look. She had escaped a disaster this time thanks to Sister Ranran and the Brigade Leader.
Moreover, she wasn’t stupid. With the Brigade Leader’s words, her parents would have many more reservations before beating her again.
She really didn’t know how she could ever repay Sister Ranran and the others in the future.
When Lin Meng arrived panting for breath, she saw exactly the scene of Accountant Zheng’s family leaving.
She stared at Zheng Sanya—who was walking perfectly fine and appeared relatively unharmed—and was completely stunned, her eyes filled with confusion.
This wasn’t right. In the novel, shouldn’t Zheng Sanya be beaten to the point where her breath was as thin as silk by now?
How could she still be walking normally?
She clearly remembered that by the time the Brigade Leader arrived, Zheng Sanya had been beaten nearly to death. If it hadn’t been for the Brigade Leader speaking up, it was likely Zheng Sanya would have been killed on the spot.
At that time, Accountant Zheng had spoken nice words in front of everyone, but after taking Sanya back, no one cared for her; they couldn’t bear to spend money on medicine for her.
It was Lin Ran who, out of a soft heart, applied medicine and fed Sanya. It was also Sanya’s incredible luck that she actually managed to pull through.
It was because of this that Zheng Sanya viewed Lin Ran as her life-saver, later becoming a great help to Lin Ran, especially after Sanya was recognized by her biological parents.
Lin Meng had originally thought that if she stepped in to help first after Sanya’s “accident,” wouldn’t the person Sanya was grateful to be her instead?
But now the plot had changed. Zheng Sanya was actually fine, so how was she supposed to make Sanya owe her a favor?
And what about Lin Ran?
Since nothing had happened to Zheng Sanya, had her relationship with Lin Ran also undergone a change?