Lin Xiyu’s aunt had taken her traditional medicine but was called to the public telephone booth before she could wash the medicinal pot. After the phone call, several customers came to buy newspapers and cigarettes, and in the busyness, she completely forgot about the pot.
It happened to be the weekend, and Zhang Dafen wasn’t working. Carrying a washbasin, she came to the yard’s only public water tap to do laundry. Spotting a blackened, old-fashioned medicinal pot in the sink, she picked it up disdainfully and threw it to the ground. The fragile pot cracked upon impact.
When the aunt returned at noon to cook and saw the broken pot, she immediately flew into a rage. Among the neighbors, few would do such a shameless thing. Without a second thought, she grabbed the broken pot and stormed into Zhang Dafen’s house.
Zhang Dafen, unreasonable, not only refused to apologize but instead blamed the aunt for occupying the public water tap and delaying her laundry. The aunt naturally wouldn’t let it slide and argued her case firmly.
The argument escalated, and Zhang Dafen, with her sharp tongue, sneered at the aunt, calling her “the hen that doesn’t lay eggs.” The aunt was most sensitive about her inability to have children and exploded at the remark. She grabbed Zhang Dafen’s hair, and the two women started fighting.
The commotion grew so loud that it even drew out Uncle Huang, who was usually indoors due to poor health. He pushed open his window and craned his neck to see what was happening by the water tap. Grandma, too old to intervene effectively, was so angry she clutched her chest and collapsed onto the ground. Zhang Dafen’s sister-in-law, who had long disliked her, hid inside watching the drama unfold without stepping out.
Finally, Uncle Wang couldn’t stand it any longer. He and his son each pulled one of the women apart, forcibly separating them. Both women suffered injuries: the aunt, being shorter, had her face scratched by Zhang Dafen, while Zhang Dafen’s wrist was skinned. Since the face is more important than the hand, overall, the aunt came out worse.
When Lin Xiyu returned home, she saw her aunt with two clear scratch marks on her face, bleeding slightly. Grandma was sitting on the doorstep, pale-faced and trembling with anger, her hand pressed to her chest. Zhang Dafen was throwing a fit in the yard, screaming and cursing, demanding an apology from the aunt and threatening to bring her boyfriend over.
After the fight, the aunt’s adrenaline faded, and she grew timid. Remembering that Zhang Dafen’s boyfriend was a provincial government official, she lost all her earlier fierceness and hung her head, not daring to say another word.
Lin Xiyu grasped the situation roughly and immediately ran out to the public telephone booth to call her uncle and her other aunt. The other aunt’s family was larger, including her husband, cousin, and cousin’s siblings. With the aunt beaten, Grandma angered to sickness, and threats looming, they couldn’t just let it go—someone had to step up and stand up for the family.
The other aunt’s family arrived quickly, within less than an hour. Zhang Dafen’s boyfriend showed up too, initially arrogant and threatening to demand compensation for medical expenses, warning that he’d call the police if they refused.
The uncle went into the Zhang family’s west room to reason with him, but his voice was completely overpowered, barely audible. Then the cousin arrived. Without a word, he pulled a fire hook from the kitchen stove and charged into the west room.
The west room fell silent instantly. Zhang Dafen’s boyfriend went quiet.
Lin Xiyu and her cousin hid under the pomegranate tree in the yard, eavesdropping. Hearing the voices from the west room, they realized their family was gradually gaining the upper hand. Relieved, they let out a sigh and broke into smiles.
“Hmph, if Grandma hadn’t stopped me, I would’ve scratched her face to shreds.”
My cousin, feeling she hadn’t contributed, said with some frustration: “I came all prepared for a fight—I even changed out of my skirt and put on pants just for this.”
“Pfft.”
Lin Xiyu couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her cousin’s feisty tone.