Honghe Village, Ma Family home.
The daughter-in-law had suffered grievances at the hands of the Educated Youth, so Ma Shuanzi naturally would not let it go. He immediately shouted for his two sons and was about to head out to settle the score.
The eldest son, Ma Da Dong, was 20 this year, and the second son, Ma Er Dong, was 17. Both were big-built. Upon hearing that someone had bullied their mother, they became furious and grabbed sticks, ready to go out and deal with the person.
Liu Lijuan was afraid they would end up killing someone, so she did not allow them to take the sticks.
Ma San Dong and Ma Xiao Dong also ran out—one was 14, the other just 9. The two also wanted to go and avenge their mother.
In the end, Liu Lijuan had no choice but to stay behind to pacify the two younger sons, while her husband took the two older sons to intimidate the small Educated Youth Station.
Ma Shuanzi went off aggressively with his two sons to settle the score. A sharp-eyed aunt quickly ran to inform Wei Ye.
After all, that Educated Youth was so thin and weak. If those three went over, a single punch might kill him. It would be terrible if something went wrong and a life was lost.
Before the three even reached the Educated Youth Station, Wei Ye was already standing in their way, holding a wooden stick as thick as an arm.
Ma Shuanzi looked at Wei Ye and frowned as he said: “Wei family boy, what are you doing? Move aside quickly. We’re going to settle accounts with that little Educated Youth. Don’t go sticking your nose into this.”
Wei Ye sneered. “Did your wife not say this started because of me? Picking on a young girl—what kind of skill is that? If you’ve got the ability, come at me.”
When Ma Shuanzi heard this, although he was displeased, he hesitated slightly, because his wife had not mentioned Wei Ye at all.
Back in the day, Ma Shuanzi had suffered losses at Wei Ye’s hands. Once, when he had been peeping at a widow bathing, Wei Ye nearly blinded him with a slingshot shot to the eye.
This kid’s hits were viciously painful. Now that he had returned from the Army and had such a solid build, Ma Shuanzi could not help feeling a bit afraid.
He could not bring himself to back down immediately, so he was about to discuss it with his sons. When he turned around, he saw that both sons had already retreated to the tree behind them.
Ma Da Dong’s large frame hiding behind the tree looked somewhat comical. He glanced nervously at Wei Ye and said: “Dad, we haven’t eaten yet. Let’s go home and eat first.”
Ma Er Dong was no better. Back then, both he and his brother had been beaten by Wei Ye many times.
Wei Ye was the kind of person who hit quietly but ruthlessly. Every time, it hurt so badly they nearly died from it, yet there were never any obvious bruises. That made it impossible for them to find a reason to make trouble afterward.
The shadow from those earlier years was too deep. Even though he was about the same size as Wei Ye now, he still instinctively feared him.
Ma Shuanzi’s old face turned red, and he no longer paid attention to Wei Ye. He muttered to himself: “Go, go, go. Let’s go home and eat.”
The three of them left in embarrassment.
Wei Ye casually threw the thick wooden stick aside and raised his voice to shout after them: “That little Educated Youth is under my protection. If I hear she’s injured, I’ll come after you all.”
Upon hearing this, the Ma family father and sons ran even faster.
……
Su Qiu only learned about this the next morning. Aunt Hua heard it from other village women and told her about it, even bringing up Wei Ye’s past of dealing with the Ma family.
As Su Qiu listened, an image unconsciously formed in her mind—a pitiful little boy, bullied by those people, thinking of all kinds of ways to deal with those who had wronged him.
She gave a helpless smile and suddenly felt that Comrade Wei was not having an easy time either.
……
In the following days, whenever Su Qiu had time, she went to Old Master Yang’s house.
She studied with great urgency. Fortunately, her dimension space also had stationery and notebooks. She started by learning the basics and had to take a lot of notes.
She could not jump straight into practice and could only begin from the most fundamental knowledge.
Old Master Yang was not stingy at all. He handed her beginner medical textbooks. Whenever she had time, she would hold them and memorize them with great focus, her learning enthusiasm extremely high.
Until her ankle injury fully recovered, Su Qiu planned to bring something to visit Comrade Wei. After all, he was her lifesaver.
However, before she even had the time to visit, during morning work, she heard Aunt Hua say that Comrade Wei had gotten into a fight with his father, and the incident even alarmed the police in the middle of the night.
Su Qiu was completely stunned.
Such a big incident happened last night, yet no informed person had mentioned anything this morning.
Su Qiu quickly asked: “Aunt Hua, how was it resolved in the end?”
“It’s just a father-son fight, it’s not like they’ll end up in prison. But I heard the eldest Wei boy used to be in the Army. They say he lectured Old Wei and then left.”
After saying that, Aunt Hua shook her head. “This Wei Ye… Old Man Wei may not be his biological father, but he raised him. Asking for some compensation money to help the younger son marry a wife is normal. It shouldn’t have escalated like this.”
Hearing this, Su Qiu suddenly understood what Comrade Wei had meant before—he really was not his biological son.
Curious, she asked again: “Auntie, what compensation money?”
Aunt Hua glanced outside and leaned closer, lowering her voice. “That Wei boy used to be in the Army. I heard his superiors valued him a lot—he could have had a bright future. But he got injured early this year and came back. They say he can no longer serve. The Army gave him a compensation of one thousand yuan.”
At the mention of the one thousand yuan, Aunt Hua looked envious. “For a rural family, one thousand yuan is a huge sum. Enough to build houses and arrange marriages for two sons.”
“There are three siblings in the Wei family. Besides Wei Ye, there’s only the youngest son left. He’s also of marriageable age now. It’s not strange that Old Wei has such thoughts.”
Su Qiu was greatly shocked. Aunt Hua and the others actually thought this was reasonable.
A soldier being injured and discharged must have been seriously hurt. That one thousand yuan was essentially a severance for everything in his future. Comrade Wei might even need it for long-term treatment of aftereffects.
Yet his family had set their eyes on it, intending to use it for the younger son’s marriage.
No wonder Comrade Wei had called them ungrateful wretches before. This was indeed excessive.
“Aunt Hua, since Comrade Wei was discharged due to injury, that money must be for his medical treatment. Is the Wei family really so poor that they have to use his treatment money for marriage?”
Just as Su Qiu finished speaking, Aunt Hua leaned in and whispered into her ear: “I heard it’s not injuries to arms or legs. It’s… that he won’t be able to have children in the future. That condition can’t be cured even with money.”
“So, Wei Ye should help his younger brother marry a wife. That way there will still be nephews to take care of him in old age. Otherwise, living alone would be too pitiful.”
Su Qiu choked and touched her nose, momentarily unsure how to respond.
From the way Comrade Wei looked—tall, strong, full of masculine presence—he actually… could not do that?
If it was true, then Comrade Wei really was quite pitiful.
Seeing her silent, Aunt Hua assumed she was shy and smiled. “Auntie treats you like family, that’s why I’m telling you this. That Wei boy looks tall and strong, but outsiders would never know this secret. In the future, just stay away from him and don’t let him cling to you.”
Hearing this, Su Qiu grew somewhat doubtful.
Sister Zhao had said Wei Ye was not a good person, and Aunt Hua also said the same. Could it be that the Comrade Wei she knew was fake?
In her past life, Su Qiu had relied on herself to survive and had seen all kinds of people.
If Comrade Wei were truly two-faced, he would not have helped her so many times.
Right now, her appearance was not particularly beautiful, her clothing was ordinary, she had no money and no looks. There was no reason for Comrade Wei to scheme against her.
Moreover, he had driven away bullies for her. Such righteous behavior did not seem like someone deceitful or malicious.