"Niu Hong, if you don't give me an explanation, this matter won't be over today!"
Hu Lijing approached Niu Hong, shouting loudly with her hands on her hips and glaring.
Niu Hong looked at the 1.55-meter-tall Hu Lijing, whose voice could be heard from three floors away, and chuckled, saying,
"What explanation do you want? What kind of explanation?"
Seeing this, Hu Lijing's almond eyes widened as she shouted,
"You beat up my husband and my son today.
We can't take this beating for nothing. You must compensate us with one hundred dollars, or I'll report you to the commune and have you arrested."
When the onlookers heard this, their faces showed understanding. The Hu Lijing family was truly incorrigible, still trying to extort money from anyone they encountered.
Niu Hong is in trouble today, about to be extorted. One hundred dollars is a huge sum!
If he doesn't give Hu Lijing money, this matter probably won't end well!
Just as everyone was secretly worrying about Niu Hong, they heard him say,
"Oh, report me to the commune and have me arrested? Do you know what your son was doing early this morning?
Your son came to my house early this morning to extort money from me, asking for twenty dollars.
Now you want one hundred dollars from me and threaten to have me arrested.
Do you still have any face?
Let me tell you, no money! You can get lost."
"Fine, Niu Hong, no money, huh? Without money, I'll fight you to the death. When I die, someone will seek revenge for me."
With five brothers and twenty or thirty nephews backing her up, Hu Lijing was fearless, ready to charge over and fight to the death.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from not far away.
"Are you all bored? Are you eating too much and have nothing to do? Don't you see how much snow there is in the village that needs to be cleared? All of you go sweep the snow."
With the voice, seven or eight people walked over, led by Niu Village Production Team Captain Niu Tiancai and Militia Captain Niu Shengli, followed by several militiamen with rifles on their backs.
Seeing this, everyone watching breathed a sigh of relief for Niu Hong.
"Captain, please stand up for our family. Look at what Niu Hong did to Liansheng and Chun'er!
Wah wah wah..."
Seeing Niu Tiancai and Niu Shengli walking over, Hu Lijing rushed to them, crying and falsely accusing them first.
Niu Tiancai glanced coldly at Hu Lijing and said loudly,
"Enough crying. Go home quickly and prepare to clear the snow. Otherwise, not only will you get no work points today, but your family will lose ten work points. Think about it carefully?"
Work points were very important for rural households, serving as proof for year-end grain distribution.
Ordinary male team members could earn eight or nine work points per day, which was already difficult.
Getting ten work points was almost impossible.
Female team members' full work points were eight.
After autumn settlement, families with no work points or few work points would have to pay money to the production team to make up the difference in order to receive grain.
Therefore, the punishment of losing ten work points was severe.
After hearing this, Hu Lijing's face showed fear and anxiety. She knew very well that no matter how strong her family's influence was, no one could help her with work points.
Continuing to argue would be detrimental to her.
Seeing this, Niu Liansheng quickly got up from the snow.
Without bothering to brush off the dirt on his body, he glared fiercely at Niu Hong, shouted "We'll see about this," and then pulled the dazed Hu Lijing and Niu Chun away from the scene.
The other onlookers also hurriedly dispersed, returning to their homes to prepare for clearing the snow in the village.
Seeing the incident resolved smoothly, Niu Tiancai was satisfied and turned to leave with Niu Shengli and the others. As for Niu Hong, he never even glanced at him.
A person who couldn't be kicked three times to produce a fart. If it weren't for his niece's sake, he wouldn't bother with Niu Hong's affairs.
Niu Hong saw this and sneered inwardly. It seemed that his former self was indeed too honest and decent, which was why he was so despised.
He didn't know that even greater bullying and humiliation awaited him.
As the saying goes, a dog that bites doesn't bark - Niu Tiancai was no exception!
Suddenly, a familiar figure caught Niu Hong's eye,
"It's Sister Dongsheng! Why did she come? Is there something wrong with my sister Niu Xinfen?"
Thinking of this, Niu Hong quickly led Ma Lanhua over.
"Sister, why did you come? Is there something wrong with Xinfen?"
"No, Xinfen is still sleeping. I heard you arguing on the street and came to see what was happening. Uncle Tiancai and Brother Shengli didn't come too late, did they?"
Hearing this, Niu Hong's heart stirred. Looking at Zhang Qiaoying's concerned gaze, he asked suspiciously, "Sister, did you call them?"
"Yes, when I went out, I saw Niu Liansheng's couple walking this way, cursing all the way.
Worried that you might get into trouble, I went to the team headquarters to call Uncle Tiancai and Brother Shengli for help."
Zhang Qiaoying noticed that a girl was standing next to Niu Hong, silent and loyal, and couldn't help but ask.
"Brother Hong, who is this little sister?"
"Sister, this is Ma Lanhua, my aunt's neighbor."
"Lanhua little sister, this is Sister Dongsheng. Just call her Sister."
Niu Hong quickly introduced Zhang Qiaoying and Ma Lanhua to each other.
Hearing this, Zhang Qiaoying came over, warmly took Ma Lanhua's hand, and praised with a smile,
"Lanhua little sister is so beautiful! How old are you this year?"
"Sister, I'm just seventeen this year."
Ma Lanhua smiled in response, her demeanor graceful and dignified, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Brother Hong, since you have a guest, why don't you take Lanhua little sister home for a meal? You can go clear the snow after eating breakfast."
Ma Lanhua, sensitive to Zhang Qiaoying's tone, glanced at Niu Hong and politely declined.
"Thank you, Sister. I came today to discuss something with Brother Hong. I'll leave after we talk."
As a woman and someone with experience, Zhang Qiaoying noticed this and quickly found an excuse to leave the scene.
Ma Lanhua watched Zhang Qiaoying's retreating back, lost in thought.
After being together for more than ten years, Brother Hong never mentioned a woman named Sister Dongsheng.
And now, this woman was speaking to Brother Hong in a family-like tone. What was going on?
Could it be... that she and Brother Hong...?
If that's the case,
What's the point of me coming here?
Ma Lanhua's brows furrowed slightly, her mood suddenly sinking into darkness.
At this moment,
Niu Hong didn't notice Ma Lanhua's strange behavior. Looking around and seeing no one, he said softly,
"Lanhua little sister, what brings you here so early today?"
In his memory,
He had suggested that Ma Lanhua go on a blind date in the past, and later deeply regretted it.
Now he knew that Ma Lanhua had come to find him, likely to ask for his opinion about whether she should go on a blind date.
So he was thinking to himself, if Ma Lanhua asked him about this again, what should he say now?