novelraw Chapter 43 A toad on your foot, it doesn't bite but it's disgusting.
Chapter 43 A toad on your foot, it doesn't bite but it's disgusting.
Normally, when educated youth are sent to the countryside, each commune receives a notice and the village sends an oxcart to pick them up. However, this group of educated youth had registered in advance and were not among the large batches of educated youth assigned in the spring or summer, so no one picked them up.
With the certificate from the county's educated youth office and their registered household registration, they still had to go to the commune to report for duty. The commune would record the time when they started working and, based on feedback from the brigade, record their performance every year.
Don't underestimate this record. In the future, it will be used as a reference when educated youth are recommended to attend worker-peasant-soldier universities, enter factories for recruitment, or even be given quotas to return to the city.
There just happened to be a bus departing from the county to Hongzheng Commune at 3:30 pm, so the family took their brand-new household registration booklets and went to the county bus station to catch the bus.
The county town was less than 20 kilometers from the commune, but the car journey took more than 40 minutes. This was partly due to the poor road conditions and partly because there were several stops along the way, each requiring a few minutes' wait. By the time they arrived at Hongzheng Commune, the town's clerks were almost off work!
In Tong Yuheng's eyes, the county town's bus station was low, cramped, and dirty. When she and her eight daughters arrived at the station to wait for the bus, they couldn't find a clean place where they could put down their luggage without feeling uncomfortable.
Tong Yuheng handed his handbag to Yuyao to carry, while he carried his large backpack to buy a train ticket.
The last bus of the day departs at 3:30 PM, but it's often a little late. Who says that inefficient government services are due to underdeveloped transportation? Registration and household registration were completed in just over an hour—isn't that fast?
Wherever they went, they attracted attention, whether because of their fair and beautiful faces, or because of their trendy backpacks and fashionable city attire.
Just as they entered the station, the family was spotted by several young men. A few of them, who were clearly thugs, saw that Tong Yuheng had bought a ticket, so they also bought tickets for the same train as them.
Tong Jiahui and her companions were carrying so much luggage, and they were worried about it getting dirty so they couldn't put it down properly, making their standing very uncomfortable. Fortunately, the car arrived not long after.
At this time, seating on the bus wasn't assigned; it was up to whoever grabbed the seat. Tong Yuheng had Yuyao carry two large bags and get on the bus first. She rushed up and used her two handbags to reserve two rows of seats. Linglong, who followed closely behind, also reserved a row of seats. In this way, with two rows in front and two rows on the left and right, all eight members of the family had seats.
Tong Yuheng was the last to board the bus. The young men deliberately tried to squeeze her, hoping to take advantage of her, but they were startled by her cold glance back and didn't dare to be presumptuous. They lowered their heads and boarded the bus.
After getting on the bus, the young men talked loudly, trying to get the girls' attention, but the girls completely ignored them.
The young men had no seats, so they stood in the aisle between the two rows of seats where Tong Yuheng and her sister were sitting. They deliberately played around and leaned against the girls, and one of them even pretended to lose his balance and lunged at Yuyao.
Tong Yuyao wasn't going to tolerate him. She used her handbag to block him and gave him a push. The young man lost his balance and fell onto his thug companion.
"Hey! Why did you push me, you brat!" He said, reaching out to grab her chest. Wasn't that obviously an attempt to take advantage?
"Thump!" Tong Yuheng didn't even stand up before kicking him to the ground. "So what if I pushed you? I'll kick you too!"
Being kicked down by a young girl made the thugs feel humiliated. They exchanged glances, then instinctively rushed towards Tong Yuheng, hitting and kicking her, trying to subdue her first!
Tong Yuheng jumped up, put the backpack he was holding on the seat, and with two punches and a kick, kicked the three thugs behind the driver's seat.
The driver and many passengers knew these men; they were notoriously difficult to deal with and avoided them. It seemed these young women were unaware of their nature and were about to get into trouble.
The driver quickly stopped the bus, fearing it might be damaged and cause an accident, and said, "No fighting on the bus! If you want to fight, don't ride! Get off!"
"Driver, open the door and wait for me for five minutes!" Tong Yuheng's unquestionable voice startled the driver, who subconsciously obeyed and opened the door, stopping the car in place.
Tong Yuheng looked at them coldly and said, "Go and settle this yourself if you dare! Trying to take advantage of us sisters, I think you've been kicked in the head by a donkey!"
"Fine, I'll get off! I don't care if you're a woman or not, I'll beat you up anyway!" said the thug who had been wronged, and got off the bus first.
Tong Yuheng did not disappoint them. He gave them a lesson right there on the roadside, making them realize that: Don't think that women are easy to bully!
After a flurry of punches and kicks, the three thugs were no match for him! It didn't even take five minutes; he beat them into submission in just two minutes, and they were all crying for their parents.
The passengers on the bus were terrified, feeling sorry for them. These guys had really messed with them today; they'd been so arrogant all along!
These petty thugs were from villages around the county town. Spoiled rotten by their families, they were lazy, greedy, and bullied the weak while fearing the strong. They loitered around the train station, harassing honest people and freeloading.
They wouldn't dare do anything too bad; they just like to scare people into giving them something in return, or try to grope women on the bus. If they were actually handed over to the police, they wouldn't even get a chance to be sent to a labor camp.
They're just like those old women in the countryside say, "like toads on your feet, they don't bite but they're still annoying!" These bastards deserved to be taught a lesson long ago!
"You're all grown up and still not doing anything productive! If you keep going like this, you'll get yourself into trouble sooner or later! I'm giving you a free chance to turn over a new leaf, so don't thank me too much!"
"Oh, little miss, we admit defeat! We'll never take advantage of women on the bus again!"
"Get lost! Don't let me run into you again!"
Tong Yuheng stepped into the car, returned to his seat, picked up his backpack, and said to the still-stunned driver, "Driver, close the door, let's go!"
"Okay, everyone, please sit down!"
The bus went from being noisy to quiet all at once. Passengers were careful not to bump into them when they got off at their stops, which saved a lot of time. They arrived at Hongzheng Commune in just over half an hour.
The commune clerk in town hadn't left work yet, so Tong Yuheng hurriedly took his letter of introduction and household registration to register. He also went to Zhang Limin's office to say hello.
"Yuheng? Didn't you just go back a few days ago? You're back so soon? Did you come alone this time or...?"
"Uncle Zhang, my family has all arrived and is preparing to spend the New Year here! It's too late today, so I'll take my mother and the others to the brigade first. We'll visit you and your aunt another day."
"You children, what time is it? Eat before you go back, I'll find a car to take you!" Zhang Limin didn't want to mention how much food she had left behind when she left last time, so he sincerely invited them to stay for a meal.