Chapter 42 Breaking Legs

Chapter 42 Breaking Legs

After two days of drying following the rain, Tang Bingde let everyone go into the fields to harvest wheat.

They still used the contracted plot system, and the commune members worked harder than usual to earn more work points.

This year’s wheat harvest was more efficient than in previous years, so they could relax a bit after the initial rush.

Xiangyang Brigade was wiping tears while harvesting the fallen wheat in the fields, but Qianjin Brigade had it much easier.

Tang Bingde instructed the other commune members to continue cutting wheat and asked the rich peasant's son to accompany Feng Chen and the others to slaughter and distribute the pork.

Originally, Tang Aiguo should have been cutting wheat, but since he wanted to be near Feng Chen, he sent his brother to cut wheat instead.

Tang Aidang dared not express his anger and had no choice but to go cut wheat.

The other commune members kept asking him, "Aidang, what happened? Why did you go hunting wild boars and come back still talking about wild boars?"

Being questioned by others made Tang Aidang feel more important than going to help with slaughtering and distributing pork, so he immediately became happy.

"When we passed a field of wheat, we saw a group of wild boars wreaking havoc. The militia of that brigade was useless; they couldn’t drive away the boars and were even knocked around. Cadre Ji knew that Brother Feng Chen is a good shot, so he asked us to help. We managed to kill over ten wild boars. In the end, Cadre Ji negotiated with the other brigade, and we split the boars evenly. We took four big ones and two small ones to the city..."

"Wait, how did you kill them? Tell us slowly."

The commune members were eager for more details and felt that Tang Aidang had skipped the exciting parts.

Tang Aidang: "Brother Feng Chen shot one after another... one after another..."

What else was there to say?

It was just one shot after another. He barely saw it happen; he only heard the bangs, and then the boars fell down.

The commune members loved hearing him say "one shot after another," feeling particularly exhilarated, as if they had eaten watermelon chilled in well water on a hot summer day.

Tang Yuan also pulled Old Lady Feng along with her and followed Feng Chen to the brigade office to slaughter and distribute the pork.

She applied mosquito repellent on herself and Old Lady Feng, which attracted a group of children who kept sniffing them and saying how nice it smelled. They only stopped when Tang Yuan rubbed the remaining repellent on their bodies.

Several elderly men and women were drying wheat in the courtyard and greeted Old Lady Feng when she arrived.

Old Lady Feng walked with her head held high, proudly yet modestly nodding in response, "Drying wheat, you’re working hard."

The elderly men and women were surprised, thinking Old Lady Feng had become unexpectedly friendly.

"She really has changed."

"Her grandson has improved, no longer idle and can now work in the fields and hunt boars. Of course, she’s happy."

Someone couldn’t help but feel envious and said sarcastically, "Don’t get too cocky."

Really, if you want to change, do it gradually. Why change so drastically and overshadow other young people?

The rich peasant's son is the younger brother of the rich peasant, and he has been responsible for slaughtering pigs in the brigade for years.

With villagers helping, Feng Chen didn’t need to get involved and sat in the shade with Tang Yuan, cracking walnuts and pine nuts for her to eat.

These were traded from Shiban Village.

He whispered to Tang Yuan, "We originally planned to give those six wild boars to Ji Hongyue as a gift for the Municipal Revolutionary Committee, but the commotion was too big, so they only accepted one large and two small ones and paid us money and food tickets for the rest, considering it a purchase."

Their leaders wanted to be clean, so they accepted fifty cents per catty, which was roughly the price of live pigs, and helped with the slaughtering.

They also ate stewed pork at the cafeteria there.

The other three large pigs were sold to the canteens of affiliated units at one yuan per catty, with assistance in slaughtering and cleaning.

Feng Chen was only responsible for slaughtering and distributing the pork, while Tang Aiguo led a team to clean the offal.

Tang Yuan listened with great interest, "So what about these four pigs? Did you wipe out an entire herd?"

Sustainable hunting is essential.

Feng Chen chuckled, "Of course not. On our way back, Tang Aiguo mentioned that we had eaten wild boar meat in the Municipal Committee, and it was a pity that our families hadn’t tasted it. So we went searching in the nearby mountains again."

It wasn’t difficult, as he was skilled at tracking prey and easily found several groups of wild boars.

This time, they only hunted the adults and left the young ones alone.

Since Feng Chen led the hunt, Tang Bingde generously gave him half a pig, a whole pig’s head, and all the cleaned offal.

The others each received five catties.

All of this was given freely, without needing work points, as a reward.

Feng Chen handed a handful of pine nut kernels to Tang Yuan.

She stuffed them into her mouth, finding them both fragrant and sweet!

"Let’s cook the pig’s head tonight." Tang Yuan saw that the cleaning was almost done; the men were strong and worked quickly, but she needed to supervise them to ensure the intestines were thoroughly washed with coarse salt.

Boiling the pig’s head and offal together, then cooling it and hanging it in a bucket in the well would make it refreshing, delicious, and preserve it for several days.

Hearing Tang Yuan’s suggestion, Feng Chen could almost smell the braised pig’s head. He stood up, "They’re taking too long. I’ll go help."

The sooner they finish, the sooner they can start braising. Yuan Yuan said it needs to braise all afternoon.

He discussed inviting the brigade leader to share the braised pig’s head with Tang Yuan.

Tang Yuan naturally agreed and went to the brigade office to borrow paper and pen to write a letter.

Feng Chen whispered to Tang Yuan, "I want to borrow some guns and ammunition from the team leader to take hunting in the mountains. It'll be more convenient."

It turned out that Tang Bingde was not just strict but fair and understanding, an old captain who knew how to reward and punish appropriately.

When Tang Yuan invited him for braised pig's head at night, he volunteered, "The team's guns are rusting away. Let Feng Chen take care of a few of them and come by to maintain the rest when he has time."

Of course, Feng Chen agreed.

He had been studying these guns for a few days and already had plans to modify them. He intended to assemble a shorter one with less recoil, easier to aim and capable of rapid fire, specifically for Tang Yuan to use.

If she had a gun in the mountains, her movements would be safer.

After returning home, Tang Yuan and Grandma Feng carefully washed the intestines again with bean flour and then prepared the spices for the braised meat.

Besides their own Sichuan pepper, star anise, scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers, Grandma Feng also asked Feimao Tui for cardamom, cinnamon, and bay leaves.

Of course, it wasn't Feimao Tui being particular, but rather Secretary Liu's family.

Liu Guangming had brought them back from the county, and Secretary Liu's wife found them too fragrant and left them unused.

Slow-cooked over a low flame all afternoon, the braised pig's head and offal were so fragrant they could lure anyone's soul. A taste was enough to make you want to swallow your tongue.

In the evening, when it was time for dinner, Feng Chen and Tang Bingde arrived together, carrying three guns, an iron box, and a basket of tools.

They waited for Dad Tang and Mother Tang to return before starting the meal.

A small bowl of garlic paste, several platters of assorted pork dishes—pig ears, pig tongue, pig's head meat, braised intestines, and pig liver...

Seeing such a sumptuous feast, even Tang Bingde felt dizzy, overwhelmed by the aroma.

Despite being the team leader, he had never experienced such a lavish meal, let alone one so delicious!

Cadre Ji said that what Yuan Yuan made was better than the food at the county restaurant. He believed it.

After a few sips of wine, Tang Bingde told Dad Tang, "Fulin, do a good job."

Seeing the team leader about to entrust him with a task, Dad Tang was flattered and quickly raised his cup to toast Seventh Uncle.

The braised meat was delicious, and the wine was good, but Tang Bingde did not indulge. He forced himself to eat until he was seven... or eight-tenths full, then put down his chopsticks, saying he still needed to patrol, check on the team office, and the wheat fields, before leaving.

Tang Yuan and the others saw him off. At the door, she handed Tang Bingde a letter. "Seventh Grandpa, read this when you get home. If it's okay, send it; if not, forget it."

Tang Bingde looked puzzled. "What is it?"

Tang Yuan smiled. "Wu Jin is malicious and tried to harm our big black pig to eat its meat. He also lured Tong Xue away from the city, which is improper behavior. Even if Tong Xue didn't report him, shouldn't we inform the city authorities?"

Wu Jin left Tangjia Village for the city as soon as the rain stopped, making a grand speech at the team office before departing.

Tang Yuan couldn't stand seeing a scoundrel leave so triumphantly.

Jobs were hard to come by in those days.

Tang Bingde took the letter without hesitation. "Alright."

Wu Jin's parents weren't influential; otherwise, they wouldn't have taken years to get him back from the countryside.

Even if they knew someone from the team wrote an anonymous letter reporting their son, they couldn't do anything about it.

Who made him commit such a heinous act?

Tang Bingde first patrolled the nearby wheat fields, where people were still harvesting. Then he went to the team office and saw Feimao Tui fiddling with a radio.

His face darkened. "Where is Tang Wu?"

Feimao Tui was annoyed but stood up quickly, smiling. "Team leader, Tang Wu has been very obedient these past few days, helping me harvest wheat. Since there's pork today, I let him go home to eat."

Tang Bingde first checked the small room next door; the guns were there, and the locked boxes were intact.

Earlier, Feng Chen had requested three guns and a box of ammunition, taking a few defective grenades and landmines to extract the gunpowder for use in the mountains.

Tang Bingde now trusted Feng Chen and Tang Yuan unconditionally, knowing they wouldn't harm anyone and must have legitimate reasons.

If Tang Yuan hadn't mentioned it earlier, he wouldn't have been so vigilant, always worried about Tang Wu stealing dangerous items.

Seeing everything in order, he was relieved.

But in reality, Tang Wu had not reformed; instead, he was plotting.

A man obsessed with getting married couldn't accept being single, especially after his fiancée ran away.

For days, he kept thinking: Why did Tong Xue break up? How would everyone mock him? How humiliating it was! How pitiful and unfair his life was!

He never considered his own shortcomings or how to improve himself. He didn't even think about earning money to prove himself to Tong Xue. He only thought about how shameful it was that she left and how unfair life was to him.

The more he thought, the more extreme he became.

Finally, he decided to force Tong Xue to marry him because his mother always said, "You slept with that little slut. Why won't she marry you? You didn't beat her hard enough!"

He would find Tong Xue and give her another chance.

If she refused to marry him, he would... die with her.

Even during dinner, the meat in his bowl tasted like sawdust. His mind was consumed by thoughts of forcing Tong Xue to marry him.

Hutou, chewing on a piece of fatty meat, suddenly noticed his uncle's face and was startled.

Uncle looked terrifying!

Auntie was still complaining, "These days, parents treat their daughters like cash cows. Are they marrying off their daughters or selling them? They ask for such high dowries."

She started secretly arranging blind dates for Tang Wu but couldn't find a suitable match.

People saw that he was still single and, despite Auntie saying she wanted to take her time to find the right one, no one believed it. Clearly, all the previous attempts had failed.

If you were a good catch, wouldn’t people be lining up to meet you?

He was being rejected.

Naturally, they would raise the dowry even higher.

These days, men with jobs in their late twenties didn’t struggle to find partners; in fact, their longer work experience and higher salaries gave them an advantage in matchmaking.

But it wasn’t the same for rural boys. Eighteen or nineteen was considered the prime age, perfect for getting married in their early twenties.

If a man hadn’t married by twenty-three, he was seen as leftover in the countryside, likely having some flaw—either ugly, unhealthy, extremely poor, or disabled.

Auntie was anxious, cursing those girls for being blind and calling Tong Xue a little slut.

When she rambled anxiously, no one dared to speak up, fearing she might explode.

Tang Xiang was annoyed to death. She had told her second brother and mother not to worry, that she would find a way to earn money, but they didn’t believe her.

Before the family split, she was doted on by everyone. Afterward, with the household in disarray, no one was happy, and no one pampered her anymore.

Feeling dejected, she just wanted to finish eating and go chat with Song Huazhang.

Tang Wu lay straight on the bed, gripping the sharp knife he had stolen from Speedy Legs. His mind raced with a single thought: She must marry me; if she doesn’t, we both die.

He stayed awake until dawn, his mind increasingly agitated and confused.

As the sky began to lighten, everyone went to the fields to harvest wheat before breakfast, and he also left with the knife.

Standing at the crossroads, he hesitated. That stubborn girl, Yuan, refused to arrange a marriage for him. He should teach her a lesson first.

But Feng Chen was strong, and he couldn’t beat him.

With a humph, he ran to the educated youth residence.

Tong Xue had tied wheat stalks yesterday and ended up dizzy and with stomach cramps, almost fainting.

After returning, she vomited uncontrollably and sought medicine from Tang Zhonghe, taking a day off from work.

Today, she still felt weak and lightheaded, so she rested on the bed.

The other educated youths had gone to harvest wheat, and it was still dark outside, so she fell back asleep.

Suddenly, she felt suffocated, as if a massive stone was crushing her, making it hard to breathe.

Struggling to wake up, she was horrified to find someone frantically kissing her.

It was Tang Wu!

She fought desperately, but Tang Wu held her down, babbling incoherently.

Tong Xue screamed for help.

Tang Wu: "We’ve slept together; you’re my wife now. You have to marry me and bear me sons!"

He pulled out a rope to tie her up, thinking this way, he wouldn’t need to kill her but could take her home.

No matter how much Tong Xue pleaded, Tang Wu wouldn’t let her go, insisting they get married.

Seeing that he hadn’t truly hurt her even in his madness, she decided he couldn’t bear to harm her and began taunting him, "Tang Wu, can you take me back to the city? If you can, I’ll marry you."

Tang Wu remained silent, continuing what he was doing.

Tong Xue finally couldn’t take it anymore and cried out, "I want to go back to the city! Wu Jin can take me back! I don’t want to stay in this dirty, smelly, tiring, and chaotic countryside!

Who wants to be here? When it rains, the mud is so thick you can’t move your feet, and there are mosquitoes, bugs, and fleas everywhere. Rats run around the roof, and we work all day long, exhausted like dogs but never full. We barely eat any fine flour or meat throughout the year.

I want to go back to the city, I want to go back to the city. I’d rather die than stay here."

Just then, a child from the village passing by heard the commotion and came over to investigate.

The bamboo gate of the educated youth residence was open, but the door was locked from the inside.

The two children peeked through the window, where the winter paper had long since torn, revealing the scene inside.

"Ah, Tang Wu is naked on the bed attacking Tong Xue!"

One child was shocked and immediately shouted.

The other child was equally terrified.

The two children yelled and ran to call for adults.

Most adults were in the fields harvesting wheat, and children over eight were either collecting wheat stalks or cutting grass.

Only the elderly who couldn’t work and young children who didn’t need to work were left in the village.

An old woman, hearing this, was shocked and told the children to stop shouting and quickly find Grandma Tang.

Though they had quarreled in the past, those were minor issues. Today’s incident was serious and shouldn’t be used to mock Grandma Tang.

Using this to ridicule her would create a lasting feud.

She hurried to inform Grandma Tang.

Grandma Tang looked at the old woman who usually didn't get along with her, her face full of wariness, fearing that she had come to cause trouble.

The moment she heard that Tang Wu was causing trouble for Tong Xue at the educated youth point, she immediately felt weak in the knees and hands.

Grandma Tang was also one of those who were tough within the family, able to be fierce with her son and daughter-in-law at home, but when faced with real problems, she was completely at a loss.

She wasn't like Grandma Feng, who appeared harsh and sharp-tongued but actually had a backbone and could make big decisions.

"What should we do?"

She muttered, this dead child is courting death. If he's caught by the brigade for hooliganism, won't they execute him?

The old woman who came to report reminded her, "Find his father and his second uncle."

Grandma Tang then calmed down a bit, yes, find someone. She then pleaded with the other woman, "Sister, go call our second son from the northern fields; I'll go call his father from the southern fields."

In recent days, Grandma Tang had been responsible for delivering meals to the fields, knowing where Uncle Tang and others were working. Naturally, she also cared about her second son and asked where he was working.

Last night, the second son had secretly brought her a large piece of fatty pork, saying it was given by Yuan'er.

She knew where the second son's family was working.

With all this commotion, it was time for breakfast.

Tang Yuan, carrying a basket and a soup jar, went to deliver meals to the fields and happened to run into Old Lady Sun running to report the news.

Hearing Old Lady Sun stammering about what Tang Wu did to the female educated youth, Dad Tang didn't react at first.

What was going on?

But Tang Yuan understood immediately—was Tang Wu looking for Tong Xue?

She had thought Tang Wu had been locked up at the brigade office to cool off and behave himself.

Now things were very different from the original story.

In the original story, Wu Jin hadn't gone to labor reform; he left the village with high spirits after receiving the order to return to the city.

In the original story, Tangjia Village didn't harvest wheat early; the early-ripening half was beaten into the mud by heavy rain. Now that the rain had stopped, they were busy salvaging the wheat from the mud.

Now, the brigade harvested the wheat in time with no losses, and there was plenty of time. The commune members were in high spirits after eating pork.

Under such good circumstances, no one would stir up trouble, right? Even Liu Laizi's mother had calmed down.

Yet, damn it, Tang Wu still acted crazy.

She had warned Grandpa Qi that Tang Wu shouldn't be able to take away the landmines, right?

From what Old Lady Sun said, the two were fighting on the bed without using landmines to threaten each other.

When Dad Tang understood what was happening, his deeply tanned face turned instantly red, and he immediately told Mother Tang that he needed to stop his nephew.

Ignoring it was not an option.

Tang Yuan knew his character; if he didn't intervene, he would feel guilty if something happened.

But if he did intervene, he would definitely get involved.

This was his instinctive protection of his family, something Tang Yuan couldn't change through short-term persuasion.

Pretend to have a fit?

Feng Chen was nearby, and she couldn't muster the emotion for it.

Dad Tang had already run off.

Tang Yuan decisively sought Feng Chen's help.

Upon hearing this, Feng Chen put down his sickle, looked down at Tang Yuan, and whispered, "Break his leg?"

Tang Yuan: "Don't let him know."

Feng Chen: "You can trust me."

If he wanted to break someone's leg, he wouldn't let them know.

With Feng Chen's help, Tang Yuan felt relieved and followed to watch the commotion.

By the time they arrived at the educated youth point, the courtyard was already filled with people banging on the door and shouting through the windows.

Inside, Tang Wu and Tong Xue had already dressed, but the situation was tense.

Tang Wu held a sharp knife to Tong Xue's neck, his eyes bloodshot, roaring, "Marry me!"

Tong Xue's neck was bleeding slightly, her legs weak and trembling as she leaned against Tang Wu, unable to escape.

Dad Tang rushed over, and everyone made way for him to squeeze through.

Zhonghe also hurried over. He had just returned from treating a patient in the third production team and heard about the incident, so he rushed over to mediate.

"Everyone, please leave and don't crowd here. Something might happen and you could get hurt."

It's the busiest season for harvesting wheat, and you still have the leisure to do this!

Dad Tang rushed forward, shouting, "Wu'er, put down the knife. Let's talk calmly. It's just about getting married; we can pay more dowry."

His mind was in a frenzy, buzzing, unable to think clearly about the situation or how to handle it. All he could think about was preventing his nephew from killing someone.

Feng Chen followed behind him, worried that Dad Tang might blurt out something like, "It's just dowry money; your second uncle will help you." What would you do if Tang Wu really asked for money later? Would you give it? How would you explain it to your wife and daughter?

He pressed his large hand on Dad Tang's shoulder, signaling him not to rush.

Sure enough, this gesture interrupted the rash promise Dad Tang was about to make.

Seeing Feng Chen approach, Dad Tang subconsciously asked, "Feng Chen, what do you think we should do?"

If Feng Chen hadn't come, Dad Tang would have acted on instinct and kicked the door down to stop his nephew.

Now that Feng Chen was here, he felt that Feng Chen was smart and capable, so he naturally sought his opinion.

Feng Chen gestured for him to step back. "I'll kick the door down, and then everyone can rush in together to stop him."

Dad Tang exclaimed, "Like that?"

Feng Chen nodded, serious. "Yes, with more people, he'll be overwhelmed."

Inside the room, Tang Wu was still going crazy. Suddenly, the two wooden doors, which he had firmly wedged shut and propped with a thick stick, both fell down at once.

With a loud "clang," the doors hit the ground, kicking up choking dust and a strong gust of wind.

Tang Wu and Tong Xue immediately turned their heads, covering their mouths and stepping back.

Then they saw Dad Tang, Zhonghe, Tang Aiguo, and a crowd of others rushing in, shouting, "Tang Wu, don't act recklessly—"

"Thud... Ah—"

Tang Wu let out a cry of pain.

There were too many people, filling up the not-so-spacious main room.

In the chaos, someone pulled him, and then Tang Wu was kicked in the leg, causing him to kneel from the pain.

Tong Xue was supported by two women and pulled out.

Zhonghe also urged the others to retreat.

"There are too many people, get out! Back up! Back up!"

Finally, Tang Wu was carried out and placed in the courtyard; it was too dark inside.

Zhonghe examined Tang Wu. "Oh, Tang Wu, how did your right leg break?"

Although it wasn't dislocated, it was clearly fractured.

His daily life shouldn't be affected, but he definitely couldn't go on a rampage anymore.

Women's Committee Head Liu Hongxia supported Tong Xue, comforting her and whispered, "Tong Xue, do you want to report him for hooliganism? They'll send him to work in coal mines or quarries for hard labor, at least five years."

Tong Xue had initially been humiliated by the children's shouts and later terrified by Tang Wu's rampage.

After being rescued, she felt a sense of relief.

Now leaning against Liu Hongxia, she momentarily forgot her embarrassment, looking at Tang Wu lying in the courtyard. His leg was broken, and he was pale with sweat rolling down his face.

He looked terrible.

Should she make him suffer even more? Send him to dig coal?