“Now that things are cleared up, what are you all still standing around for? Aren’t you cold or sleepy?”
The brigade party secretary had stopped Wang Chunhua, but unlike when Su Nian was wronged, he didn’t immediately reprimand Chen Pozi and Wang Chunhua for their malicious actions. Instead, he lit his long-stemmed pipe and, while smoking, began to disperse the onlooking villagers.
“Everyone except Wang Chunhua and the Chen mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, scatter.”
The villagers verbally agreed, but their departing footsteps were slow and dragging.
Who would leave a good show right at the climax?
Comrade Su was not one to be trifled with. Chen Pozi had not only framed her but also tried to pin a political label on her. A confrontation was bound to happen.
“Secretary, Wang Chunhua conspired with her mother-in-law, putting on a show to sling mud at me, ruin my reputation, and try to get me killed.” Su Nian lowered her sleeve, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing. “You must clear my name in front of everyone.”
The Women’s Director, also holding Fubao, walked to Su Nian’s side to back her up. “Secretary, so many people have seen the rash on Comrade Su. I’m sure you have a clear sense of who is right and who is wrong. What do you think should be done about this?”
The brigade party secretary avoided the question. Instead, he spoke to Su Nian in the lecturing tone of an elder.
“It takes two to tango. Comrade Su, you should reflect on your usual conduct and your behavior in the Chen family.”
“Chen Pozi and the other woman were indeed in the wrong this time, but Comrade Xiao Su, she is your mother-in-law, an elder, after all. You should at least leave her some face in front of the villagers, shouldn’t you? If you make things so tense, how will you live together in the future?”
After all that fuss, Chen Pozi and the other’s guilt was established, yet the brigade party secretary didn’t mention a single word of the punishment he had spoken of earlier.
“Then we won’t live together. I’ll divorce Chen Yaozu!” Su Nian sneered. “Besides, Chen Yaozu doesn’t care if I live or die. He even tried to force himself on me during my confinement month.”
Ha! It takes two to tango.
If she didn’t need the brigade party secretary for the divorce and the necessary certificate, she really wanted to give him a hard slap and let him experience for himself whether one hand could make a clap.
“It’s perfect. The Chen family looks down on my family background and despises Fubao for being a girl. I’ll take Fubao with me, so we won’t be an eyesore to the Chens anymore.”
“What are you saying in a fit of anger! Their shameless behavior is a result of the village’s ideological education not being thorough enough. I will definitely educate them properly later and guarantee it will never happen again!”
The brigade party secretary choked for a moment.
If Su Nian really pushed for a divorce because of his words, where would he put his old face?
“Comrade Xiao Su, you’ve been wronged this time. As the brigade party secretary, I apologize to you on their behalf.”
The brigade party secretary turned his head to look at Chen Pozi and the other woman. “Did you two hear that clearly? If it happens again, I’ll skin you alive myself!”
“Clearly, clearly.”
Chen Pozi and the other woman seized the opportunity to back down, nodding repeatedly. “We guarantee it won’t happen again.”
Su Nian lowered her head, a trace of mockery flashing in her eyes. This was what the brigade party secretary called fairness?
When she made a mistake, the punishment was immediate criticism and confinement.
When it was the villagers’ turn, a light, dismissive apology was enough to resolve it?
In her dreams!
【That biased Secretary Grandpa, helping the evil mother-in-law instead of Mommy. He deserves to have a stroke.】
【Baby hates him!】
Grandpa?
Was Fubao’s biological father really the brigade party secretary’s youngest son?
Su Nian’s heart leaped, and a thought flashed through her mind. If she cured the brigade party secretary’s stroke, would she gain his support?
“It’s good that Mother-in-law knows she was wrong.”
Hiding the look in her eyes, she took Fubao back from the Women’s Director.
“Secretary, since my mother-in-law knows she was wrong, I ask you to consider her old age and that she can’t bear the hardship of a village parade and criticism. Please be lenient and give her a lighter punishment.”
“I know this request will make things difficult for you, Secretary, and might affect your good name for being fair and just. But I wasn’t wrongly condemned to death, and my mother-in-law’s actions could barely be considered an attempted crime. A lighter punishment probably won’t be criticized by others.”
“Although the law is unforgiving, it’s not out of the question to give special treatment to special individuals.”
“If it’s really too difficult for you, Secretary, I can also go to the commune or the city to plead with the leaders.”
With every other word being “punishment” and “fair and just,” Su Nian was holding the brigade party secretary’s feet to the fire.
The brigade party secretary took a heavy drag from his pipe. Through the smoke, he stared intently at Su Nian’s rash-covered face, a lump like a ball of cotton stuck in his chest, unable to move up or down.
He had heard of Su Nian’s unforgiving nature, but he hadn’t expected her to be this stubborn, showing no mercy to her mother-in-law.
Her words seemed to be pleading for Chen Pozi, but in reality, she was expressing her dissatisfaction with his favoritism toward the villagers and his unfair handling of the matter. She was calling him out!
Especially her last sentence. On the surface, she was talking about pleading with the leaders, but it was clearly a threat.
A threat that if he didn’t handle it to her satisfaction, she would go cause a scene at the commune and the municipal government!
The time for the “advanced brigade” evaluation was approaching.
If Su Nian blew this matter up at the commune and caused the Red Star Brigade to lose its “advanced” title, the higher-ups would surely strip him of his position as village secretary!
The brigade party secretary’s gaze darted back and forth between Su Nian and Chen Pozi. After weighing the pros and cons, he smiled benevolently.
“Xiao Su, bending the law for personal gain is not acceptable.”
He raised his hand to flick the ash from his sleeve and said with righteous indignation, “The laws and regulations are not child’s play. One is one, and two is two. If we set this precedent, who will take the rules seriously in the future?”
“Wang Chunhua, Chen Pozi!”
The brigade party secretary’s face darkened as he said sternly, “You two have low political and ideological awareness. You conspired to spread rumors to frame a comrade, wasted the brigade’s resources, and undermined the unity of the people. Your punishment is a village parade and criticism, writing a statement of repentance, and one month of labor reform in the cowshed!”
Hearing such a severe punishment, Wang Chunhua was dumbfounded. She waved her hands frantically, distancing herself and pushing the blame onto Chen Pozi.
“Secretary, this has nothing to do with me.”
“I was just trying to help Chen Pozi get justice out of good intentions. Who knew I’d be deceived by her?”
If Chen Pozi hadn’t beaten her chest and guaranteed that everything was arranged perfectly, she would never have waded into these muddy waters.
Now look, she hadn’t gained any benefits and had only gotten herself into a mess.
“Old sister, you really tricked me good!”
Wang Chunhua’s hands gripped Chen Pozi’s shoulders tightly, shaking her. Her resentful eyes held a hidden threat.
“Hurry up and explain it clearly to the secretary. It was obviously your bad idea alone. You can’t frame a good person! You were the one who said Comrade Su forced you to catch fish, that’s why I spoke up for you. I was just worried about you, that’s why I was deceived into forcing Comrade Su to give you money to go to the commune health center.”
“You!”
Chen Pozi was so angry she almost vomited blood.
She wanted to curse Wang Chunhua for being an ungrateful wolf, but she was afraid that pushing Wang Chunhua too far would make her reveal the rest of their plan. She could only swallow her anger and grievances, making a mental note against Wang Chunhua.
“Secretary, I was the one who used Sister Chunhua.”
Chen Pozi gritted her teeth. “It was all my idea. Sister Chunhua was just trying to help me out of kindness and ended up being used by me.”
“Xiao Su, your mother-in-law says she did it alone,” the brigade party secretary said, not rushing to answer, instead tossing the question to Su Nian. “What do you think?”
Su Nian’s target had been Chen Pozi all along, so she was happy to do the brigade party secretary a favor. “I’ll listen to you. My mother-in-law is very persuasive, so it’s normal for Aunt Chunhua to be deceived.”
“Oh, Comrade Su is as kind as she is beautiful!”
Wang Chunhua was relieved. After showering Su Nian with praise, she hid in the crowd.
She was kind-hearted?
Su Nian sneered inwardly. Wang Chunhua was really overthinking it.
Letting Wang Chunhua go wasn’t because she was kind, but because she knew Chen Pozi.
Chen Pozi would definitely hold a grudge over today’s events. Once she recovered, she would surely deal with Wang Chunhua.
Why bother beating the dog herself when watching a dog-eat-dog fight was so much more satisfying?
“Chen Pozi, get up quickly. It’s almost dawn. Tidy yourself up and come with me to the Revolutionary Committee right away!”
The sight of Chen Pozi now annoyed the brigade party secretary, and his tone was harsh. “So many eyes are watching. Don’t even think about escaping your punishment.”
“Ouch… Secretary… I’m not faking it, I’m really in pain!”
Chen Pozi’s face was deathly pale as she clutched her chest and groaned. “Send me to the health center first. My whole body hurts terribly. I’m cold and hot all over, and my bones feel like they’re being stabbed with needles. If I don’t go to the health center soon, I’m afraid this old life of mine will be over! Once I’m cured, I’ll accept any punishment.”
“Yaozu’s wife, please be kind and get some money from your room for me to see a doctor.”