novelraw Chapter 54 Life was blissful
Chapter 54 Life was blissful
Director Liu strode forward, kicked aside a half-brick on the ground, and pointed at Zhao Gang's nose, his finger trembling: "So, Zhao Gang, I always thought you were an honest man, but I never expected you to pull such a big stunt on me behind my back! Now, immediately, get to my office! If you can't explain yourself, you can expect to be fired!"
Zhao Gang's knees buckled, and he could no longer hold on, collapsing onto the cement ground.
It's over. It's all over.
The boss saw it, the mother-in-law saw it, everyone in the county saw it.
This seemingly respectable facade was ripped apart by someone.
In the crowd, a tall figure wearing a tattered straw hat leaned quietly against the wall.
Qin Rushan lowered the brim of his hat, revealing only a pair of deep eyes. He looked at the woman in the center of the room, whose face was pale but whose spine was straight and who was staring at Zhao Gang without yielding an inch.
His rough, large hand was clenched into a fist in his pocket, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.
Well done, Xianglian.
That's it.
Don't be afraid, the sky won't fall. Even if it does, I'll hold it up for you.
Seeing Zhao Gang's pathetic state, Li Xianglian felt much better.
She turned to face Director Liu, who was covered in sweat, and said in a hoarse voice, neither humble nor arrogant, "Leader, I'm just a rural woman, I don't understand any grand principles. But I know that in this new society, it's not acceptable to bully others."
Zhao Gang has a wife and mother back in his hometown, but he committed bigamy and marriage fraud in the city. Are you going to do anything about this? If you can't, I'll go to the county committee, to the city, and find someone who can handle it!
These words were spoken with such force and conviction that they hardly sounded like those of a rural woman who had never seen the world.
Cold sweat was pouring down Director Liu's forehead.
Is this a complaint? This is a knife to his throat!
If this really escalates to the city level, not only will the selection of advanced units be ruined, but his official position will also be in jeopardy.
"Lady, please calm down."
Director Liu had no choice but to force a smile and wipe his brow, "We will definitely handle this matter seriously! If the situation is true, we will not tolerate it!"
Turning to look at Zhao Gang, Director Liu's face instantly darkened as if by magic: "Zhao Gang! Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough? Go back to your unit and write a self-criticism! Await organizational punishment!"
Zhao Gang wiped the cold sweat from his face; at this moment, he had lost all his former air of authority.
Director Liu's shouts were still ringing in my ears. If these people were allowed to continue causing trouble at the gate, not only would the deputy director be in trouble, but he would also be skinned alive.
"Stop howling!"
Zhao Gang gritted his teeth, spitting out the words, "If you want to talk, come in with me! If you want to die, let's go to the police station, and we'll fight to the death!"
After saying that, he ignored the pain in his buttocks and limped into the family compound.
Niu Guihua was sitting on the ground wailing when she heard these words, and her crying stopped abruptly, faster than turning off a radio.
She scrambled to her feet, slapped her backside a couple of times with her large hands, and spat at Zhao Cuifen, who was still kneeling on the ground: "Old hag, stop pretending to be dead! Get up and see the golden nest your precious son lives in!"
Zhao Cuifen was also feeling uneasy. The look Yan Xiujuan gave her before she left had sent chills down her spine.
She shakily got up, not daring to look at the people around her, and followed Li Dabao into the family compound with her head down.
On the second floor, Zhao Gang slammed the green-painted wooden door on the left shut, cutting off all the prying eyes from outside.
Upon entering the room, Niu Guihua and Li Dabao were immediately overwhelmed with surprise.
Goodness gracious, this is a city dweller's house!
Although it wasn't large, just a one-bedroom apartment, the floor was paved with cement, unlike the yellow earth in the village; the walls were painted white and hung with framed paintings; floral curtains hung on the windows, and in the center of the room was a long bench with cushions, next to which was a radio with two large speakers.
Even the air was filled with the sweet, cloying scent of face cream.
Li Dabao was like a country bumpkin visiting the Grand View Garden, finding everything fascinating and reaching out to touch the lit button on the radio.
"Don't move! Can you afford to pay for it if you break it!" Zhao Gang shouted and slapped Li Dabao's hand away.
That was just bought for him by Wang Lili; it's made in Shanghai and it's quite expensive.
Returning to his own territory, Zhao Gang seemed to regain some of the dignity that had been trampled on.
He unbuttoned his collar, panting heavily, his eyes sweeping menacingly over the people in the room before finally fixing on Li Xianglian.
Li Xianglian didn't look at him. She stood quietly at the door, her gaze lingering for a moment on the double bed covered with pink sheets.
There were two pillows placed side by side inside, one with a pillowcase featuring mandarin ducks playing in the water, which looked very festive.
This is Zhao Gang's home in the city.
They used her hard-earned money to live a blissful life.
"Alright, stop pretending to be mute."
Zhao Gang pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, his hand trembling several times before he lit it. He took a deep drag, exhaling a cloud of grayish-white smoke. "We've got inside, and the person's gone. Tell me, what do you want? What do you want in return for letting me go?"
He finally understood that today's whole thing wasn't about ruining his reputation; these poor bastards were after his money.
If you really want him dead, why not just make a scene at the county committee gate? Why leave him alive at the supply and marketing cooperative gate?
These poor bastards are only after money.
Li Xianglian found a stool and sat down, her expression calm: "Zhao Gang, let's not beat around the bush. This can't go on anymore, let's get a divorce."
"Leave?"
Zhao Gang sneered, flicked his cigarette ash, and said, "Fine, let's get a divorce! If you're willing to divorce, we can tear up this marriage certificate right now! But all this commotion today, you didn't just do it to get a divorce certificate with me, did you?"
Niu Guihua had long since lost her temper. She plopped down on the soft bench, bouncing a couple of times, before finally speaking up, hands on her hips: "Of course not! My daughter has been a slave in your Zhao family for three years, serving the old and taking care of the young, eating pig swill and doing the work of an ox. Now you think you can just kick her out? No way!"
She stretched out a rough, large hand, fingers spread wide, and waved it in front of the radio: "Divorce is fine, but the compensation for emotional distress, the loss of youth, plus my daughter's wages for the past three years—five hundred yuan in total! Not a penny less!"
"What?! Five hundred?!"
Zhao Gang nearly burned his mouth with the cigarette butt in his hand, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
He jumped up from his chair, pointed at Niu Guihua's nose, and yelled, "Why don't you just rob me! Five hundred yuan? You wouldn't even get that much if you sold me!"
These days, a first-class worker only earns twenty or thirty yuan a month.
Five hundred yuan is two years' salary for an ordinary worker, enough to build three large brick houses in the countryside!
"No money?" Niu Guihua sneered, her triangular eyes squinting. "If you don't have money, then borrow it! Steal it! Sell your blood! I don't care what you do, but if we don't have this five hundred yuan, we're staying here!"
As she spoke, she took off her worn-out and muddy cloth shoes and put her smelly feet on the coffee table.
"Perfect timing! Let your pregnant new wife see how our whole family manages to eat together! Da Bao, go get your sister a glass of water, the sweet kind!"
"Alright!" Li Dabao ran over excitedly, grabbed Wang Lili's special enamel mug and started pouring water, truly acting as if he were one of them.
Zhao Gang was so angry that he trembled all over, and his face turned as red as a pig's liver.
He was genuinely afraid of these barefoot scoundrels.
This room is full of things that Wang Lili bought. If those people were to ruin it, Wang Lili would skin them alive when she got back.