Chapter 62: The Dogs Are Starting to Eat Each Other

Seeing Zhang Yang's dark expression, the chill and fury in his eyes seemed ready to erupt like a ferocious beast at any moment!

She thought to herself that Zhang Yang was young after all. If he acted rashly and did something irreversible, it would be terrible!

So she quickly persuaded, "Yangzi, don't be hasty! How about I go back to the educated youth team and bring Teacher Lin to my house?"

However, Zhang Yang shook his head.

"Thank you for your kind intentions, Sister Cuilan, but if you go a second time, it might arouse the suspicion of certain villains."

He mused inwardly: If you cut the weeds without eradicating the roots, they will grow back with the spring breeze!

To eliminate the scourge in the team once and for all, drastic measures were necessary!

After a moment of thought, Zhang Yang's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Sister Cuilan, I have an idea, but I might need your cooperation and help."

Today was the official day for finalizing the new members of the Zhangjiatun militia squad!

Prominently featured on the new member list was the name of Shen Yiming.

Zhang Saomao was specifically designated to visit the clinic to bring the news and deliver pork to Shen Yiming.

"Our squad leader is truly a wonderful person. He's giving every new member three catties of wild boar meat."

The educated youth accompanying Shen Yiming by his hospital bed were all genuinely happy for him.

"Yiming, you are the only one from our educated youth team to be selected. You are now an official member of the militia squad!"

"Counting those two brothers from Gaojiatun, there are only ten people in the entire squad, and you are a proud one-tenth of it!"

Shen Yiming himself was extremely thrilled!

However, since his legs were still unfit for walking, he could only look to Zhang Saomao, entrusting him to convey his gratitude to Zhang Yang on his behalf.

Lying on another hospital bed not far away was Qian Xiuju.

Despite a day and night of medical treatment and attentive care, Qian Xiuju still showed no signs of waking up.

Sun Hongying was keeping vigil by Qian Xiuju's bedside.

The young men of Zhangjiatun all knew Qian Weiguo, but very few had ever laid eyes on Sun Hongying.

Moreover, at this moment, their hearts and minds were completely consumed by the joyous news of the pork distribution, leaving them with even less reason to look toward Sun Hongying.

Yet Sun Hongying was neither deaf nor blind.

When she saw that fat, red chunk of wild boar meat, her mouth watered so much she had to swallow repeatedly!

Over the past two days at the clinic, she had heard plenty of gossip!

First was the matter of her sister-in-law, Qian Chunfen, obtaining a hundred yuan.

Sun Hongying had previously learned that Wang Jie went to the Zhang family to demand maintenance fees for raising Zhang Yan for three years.

But she had dismissed it as groundless.

Which family wasn't poor these days?

Who could possibly cough up eighty-eight yuan within a month?

At the time, she had even discussed it with several women in Wulipu, saying Wang Jie had a lot of nerve demanding eighty-eight right off the bat!

Given the state of the Zhang family, reduced to the point of selling their daughters, let alone forking over eighty-eight yuan...

Even coughing up eight yuan would probably be a stretch!

To her surprise, less than a month after that discussion, Wang Jie had actually managed to extract a full ten yuan.

Then again, if Wang Jie had gotten the money through his own ability, that would be one thing!

The Wang family had made a scene under the pretext of raising medical expenses for Qian Xiuju!

This left Sun Hongying extremely displeased.

They claimed they needed the money to treat her daughter's illness, which was why they pressed for payment.

Yet once Wang Jie got the money, he hadn't set foot in the clinic once!

He hadn't even bothered to visit his cousin, Qian Xiuju!

Sun Hongying was bursting with frustration!

But since her daughter couldn't be left unattended, she couldn't rush over to the Wang family to demand an explanation right away, so she had simply endured it.

Never did she expect that not even a day later, she would witness the people of Zhangjiatun dividing up pork here.

She instantly concluded: Qian Chunfen must have also secured some benefits from her previous two attempts to make a scene!

She had simply kept it a strict secret out of fear that she would have to share it with Qian Weiguo and his family!

Yet since both Qian Chunfen and Qian Weiguo shared the surname Qian, how could Qian Chunfen's family hog all the advantages?!

The more Sun Hongying thought about it, the angrier she became. Managing to catch a neighbor from Wulipu, she entrusted them with a message to take back home to Qian Weiguo, telling him to go to Qian Chunfen's house and demand an explanation.

They owed her an explanation!

Before nightfall, a minor disturbance occurred over in Wulipu.

Outsiders only heard that not long after Qian Weiguo went to Qian Chunfen's house, Qian Chunfen threw a suicidal fit, weeping and wailing that life was too hard and she couldn't go on living.

However, that very night, Qian Weiguo did not return home; instead, he stayed right at Wang Jie's house.

Heaven knows what those two families talked about, or how the discussion went.

Meanwhile, moving to the other side.

That same evening during dinner, the educated youth team was bustling with lively excitement!

Having gone nearly two months without seeing a scrap of meat, these educated youths were as joyous as if celebrating the New Year!

They even brought out their stored sorghum wine to drink. As they raised their glasses in celebration, they chimed in:

"Thank you, Yiming!"

"This leg injury wasn't in vain!"

"Yiming suffered alone for the benefit of the entire educated youth team!"

"Yiming has made a contribution! A monumental contribution!"

Amidst the clinking of cups, a male educated youth suddenly smacked his forehead and hurried over to find Ma Jian.

Then he fished a crumpled envelope out of his pocket and handed it to him.

"When I came back from the clinic today, a villager gave this to me and asked me to pass it to you. But I was so overjoyed over the pork issue that I almost forgot."

By this time, Ma Jian was flushed with alcohol.

Receiving the letter, he didn't think much of it and merely asked offhandedly, "Did they say who gave it to me?"

The male educated youth replied, "They didn't say. The villager just told me that you'd know once you read the letter."

Though Ma Jian found it slightly peculiar, he didn't dwell on it and immediately broke open the letter to read it.

"Little Ma, if you're free tonight, meet me at the courtyard."

Just those eight crooked words were written on the letter.

There was neither a signature nor a specified time.

Yet something seemed to click in Ma Jian's mind, and he was struck with sudden delight.

Judging by the yellowed paper and the childish handwriting, it was clearly not written by someone with a lot of formal education.

However, the characters were written very small and somewhat delicately, most likely penned by a woman.

Looking across the entire village, there were only a handful of women who called him Little Ma and had a courtyard at home.

After a moment of thought, Ma Jian instantly zeroed in on Sister Cuilan!

"This restless woman has finally relented..." he thought with a wicked inward smile.

While basking in his triumph, Ma Jian did not forget to sweep his gaze across the dining tables.

Although the atmosphere was lively tonight, Lin Qiuishui was notably absent.

She had claimed she still needed to rush through writing her self-criticism report, and left after taking only a bowl of soup with a few pieces of meat in it.

The mere thought of Lin Qiuishui's cold, disdainful glare made Ma Jian's blood boil.

What was Lin Qiuishui acting so stuck-up for?

He, Ma Jian, was loved by everyone; no matter where he went, women fought to crowd in front of him!

Only Lin Qiuishui failed to appreciate what was good for her!

No matter, if Lin Qiuishui lacked the taste to recognize his worth, there were others who did.

Wasn't the sensible Sister Xiuelan delivering herself right to his doorstep now?

Ma Jian put on his heavy cotton-padded jacket and stepped outside, his feet seemingly light as he headed toward the settlement.

A young man called out to him, "Ma Jian! It's so late, where are you going?"

"I drank a bit too much wine, feeling dizzy and stuffy, so I'm taking a walk nearby! By the way, I'll patrol the village to prevent any wild beasts from roaming around, so I can protect our fellow villagers."

Laughter echoed from behind him.

"Zhangjiatun has a militia squad now, who needs you to patrol and protect them?"

Hearing that, Ma Jian felt a strong urge to curse.