The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Looking around but finding nothing suitable, Bao Ya stepped forward, took off her cloth shoes, grabbed Li Jinxiang by the collar with one hand and the shoe with the other, and slapped her face with all her might. When her right hand got tired, she switched to her left hand, until both sides were symmetrical before letting go.

My shoes have become a bit soft after wearing them for a long time, and my face is just swollen. If the soles were hard, I probably would have lost my teeth.

I've always disliked that old hag, and today I finally got to collect some interest.

Seeing this, the audience became even quieter. Bao Ya had truly gone mad; she even hit her aunt.

"Comrades, fellow villagers, since everyone has time today, let's hold a meeting to expose the crimes of Lin Dahe and his family."

"Bao Ya, he's still your uncle, we're family after all, let's just let it go."

"Forget it? Do you think I can just say 'forget it' and call it a day? I've said everything, then we can discuss whether or not to just let it go. Who else is involved? Today, we'll settle accounts one by one!"

Seeing Bao Ya's gritted teeth, the person who had pleaded for Lin Dahe's family shrank back.

She usually had a good relationship with Li Jinxiang, and their families were even related, so she often chided Baoya. Seeing this, even the gossipy women who were on good terms with Li Jinxiang didn't dare to show their faces.

"Everyone knows about our family's division of assets. The village elders also witnessed it. My grandparents' retirement money and grain were given to them."

Today, my uncle… no, Lin Dahe and Li Jinxiang brought my grandfather to my house, demanding the bride price from my in-laws. My grandfather refused, and since yesterday they haven't been feeding him.

Old Man Lin said he was so worried he couldn't eat, and that makes sense. In short, whether he didn't eat, wasn't given food, or didn't want to eat, the result was the same.

Upon hearing this, Lin Dahe's eyes widened, and he shook his head vigorously. This brat was going to ruin him!

Unfortunately, he couldn't speak at the moment, and could only shake his head desperately, making muffled sounds.

That was Bao Ya's plan. If murder wasn't illegal, she would want to kill those two disgusting things.

Upon hearing this, everyone erupted in a commotion. The villagers were all poor, so poor that all they had left was their appearance. If anyone accused them of being unfilial, the whole village would gossip about them.

"No way, is Boss Lin really that ruthless? He wasn't like this before!"

"Before the family split up, all the brothers were still alive, so he didn't dare."

"That's right, he still needs Old Man Lin to control his brothers."

"Really? I never noticed before."

"It's probably true. You can't be wrong if you look at the work points book. The two of them combined aren't even worth as much as a strong laborer. Aren't they just sponging off their fathers and brothers?"

"Yes, yes, all five of their children have gone to school, except for the children of the second and third brothers."

"Isn't Bao Ya in junior high school?"

"That was provided by the brigade leader. She was raised in the brigade leader's house since she was a baby. The Lin family never cared about her. They only took her back when she was about to get married."

"My god, Boss Lin is a real scoundrel."

…………

Listening to everyone's discussion, Boss Lin felt increasingly disheartened. All the image he had built up over the years had been ruined by this brat.

Two eyes stared at Bao Ya as if they were poisoned. Li Jinxiang had the same look in her eyes, but her face was swollen like a pig's head, and her eyes were completely hidden.

"Everyone, please be quiet, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Hearing that he hadn't finished speaking, everyone immediately shut up and waited for what he would say next.

Today, Lin Dahe and Li Jinxiang brought my grandfather to my house, insisting on the bride price from my husband's family.

"If I don't give it, they'll make my grandfather kneel to death in front of me. To force me to hand over the bride price, they even broke my grandfather's leg."

"What? This is outrageous! A grandfather kneeling before his granddaughter? That's going to shorten his lifespan! How could someone do something so immoral?"

An old woman was so angry when she heard this that she slapped her thigh. When people get old, they are most afraid of their children being unfilial. This really hit a nerve.

"No way, no way, this is really terrible."

"No wonder I saw Old Man Lin couldn't even stand up and had to be supported by Lin Laosan."

"He even coveted his niece's dowry; he's a real scoundrel."

"Of course I'm thinking about it. It's five hundred yuan, plus the three turns and one ring. You could never earn that much in your entire life."

Every word Bao Ya uttered was like a drop of water falling into a pan of oil, sparking a heated discussion among everyone.

"Quiet down, everyone, please be quiet. I can't hold back any longer today. I'm going to expose the crimes of Lin Dahe and his wife. They are unfilial to their parents, enslave their brothers, and even sell their niece."

Everyone knows his own daughter, Lin Daya. When Lin Daya got married, he didn't ask for a single penny of betrothal gift, and even gave her a dowry of several tens of yuan.

When it came to my second sister, Lin Erya, she accepted eighty yuan as a bride price, but didn't even make her a set of clothes. She just carried a tattered bundle and got married.

Now Er Ya can't hold her head up in her husband's family home at all. She's bullied by her in-laws and sisters-in-law every day, and even beaten by her husband.

This is all the fault of that couple. They used Er Ya's dowry to buy their son, Lin Xiaoquan, a job and to marry him off to a woman from the city. If you don't believe me, ask my second uncle.

Upon hearing this, everyone searched for Lin Lao Er and his wife in the crowd and found them in a corner at the back.

"Second Uncle, tell me, did they sell Er Ya? Is she being abused by her in-laws now?"

Seeing that everyone's eyes had turned to him, Lin Lao Er took two steps back, murmured something, then buried his head in his hands, squatted down, and said:

"It's all my fault for being so incompetent, I ruined Er Ya! I... Waaah!"

Aunt Zhang Laidi, thinking of her eldest daughter, was overcome with grief and cried out, "My child, I'm so sorry!..."

Then he started wailing loudly, and several children joined in the crying. Coupled with the Lin family's tattered clothes, the scene was incredibly pitiful.

Given all this, what else is there that no one understands?

"As everyone knows, I grew up in my uncle's house. From a young age, the Lin family would beat and scold me whenever they saw me, and they never gave me a single grain of food."

Now Lin Xiaohong is constantly making a fuss about wanting to be a worker, and he's got his eye on me again. They took me back so they could sell me, buy Lin Xiaohong a job, and get him a wife.

Suddenly, the whole place erupted in cheers again. It's not unusual for people to save up for a son's dowry when marrying off their daughter.

But buying a job in the city was something no one dared to even think about. A family with able-bodied members could only save a few dozen yuan a year after deducting food and drink expenses, and only if the year was good.

If the harvest is bad or something happens at home, not only will there be no money left, but there will also be debts. Buying a job will cost at least several hundred dollars, and farmers can't even dream of such things.

How could Lin Dahe's family be so greedy? His eldest daughter married a worker in the city, and his eldest son became a worker, but they were still not satisfied. They even wanted to buy a job for their second son.

His third son is still in high school in the county town, and he might go to university someday. But look at the second and third sons of the Lin family, they have nothing, and their daughters have to be sold off. They are truly heartless.