Tian Laotou's voice, though making Tian Jing turn her head in alarm, still swept past her temples and scalp with a large slap.
She yanked and pulled, turned and bent, and threw, her movements as fluid as they had been a few seconds prior.
After throwing the person, Tian Jing reached out and grabbed a few times on the table, getting a few flatbreads in her hand. Then, picking up the preserved vegetable bowl, she lifted her foot and kicked the table over. With a clatter and crash, the bowls and plates on the table fell to the ground and shattered.
Zhang Mei and her two sisters-in-law were pinned to the ground by the tilting table, covered in thin porridge.
"Ah?" Zhang Mei shrieked.
Ding Aihua and Chen Yun had already been thoroughly dealt with by Tian Jing that morning. With a tacit understanding, they simultaneously exerted force to lift the table, climbed up from the ground, and silently shook the thin porridge off their clothes before picking up the flatbreads from the floor.
Tian Jing took a bite of a flatbread, chewing and swallowing slowly. Only after appeasing her restless stomach did she speak, "Making a fuss over breakfast, all over a seat, and you even have ranks? You can sit, so why can't I? Haven't I contributed to this family?"
"Without someone like me, a maid, standing by, your landlord-like sense of superiority wouldn't be highlighted, would it? I'll go to the brigade office later and ask if anyone assigns seating by rank.
"Did I not show respect to the elder? Did I touch the old lady's seat? Am I less noble than you? Just because I'm the girl of the house? Didn't the great figures say women hold up half the sky? Are you opposing this?" Su Dan Novel Network
After her tirade, she continued to bite into the flatbread. Mmm, it tasted pretty good. The cornmeal aroma was locked in, the crispy bottom was crunchy, and paired with some preserved vegetables, it was nice. A little dry for the throat, though.
Impulsive, she forgot to leave a bowl of porridge.
She turned to look at the kang table and walked over two steps. She picked up the bowl of thin porridge in front of Tian Liwu and took a few sips. With food in her stomach, she finally felt comfortable.
Tian Laotou's face turned ashen. This damned girl was slapping his face! She was blaming him for stopping the third son's wife and not stopping Li Fu.
Tian Laotai, holding the basin of thin porridge to distribute food, looked at the mess of food scattered on the ground and the broken bowls and plates, then at the single bowl of thin porridge left in the basin in her hand. She was so angry she wanted to smash the basin of thin porridge onto Tian Jing's head.
Her heartache, combined with the provocation to her authority, and her inability to vent or punish, left her extremely stifled. She simply sat on the ground and wailed, "Oh! Heavens, I can't go on living, this life is unbearable, oh heavens! Open your eyes..."
"Oh! Aunt Tian, what are you doing?"
A woman's voice drifted in from outside, and soon, a figure walked in. "Oh my! What happened here? Why are there bowls and plates all over the ground? Did the table fall over?"
The newcomer looked to be in her thirties, with ear-length hair tucked behind her ears, a full forehead, a round face, a round nose, and thin lips. She was wearing a dark blue lapel jacket with patch pockets on each side. Her appearance, hair, and clothing were all in line with contemporary aesthetics.
She didn't even glance at Tian Yongyi and his son lying on the ground. Instead, she strode to Tian Laotai's side and bent down to help her up.
"Aunt Tian, what's wrong? Did these unfilial descendants make you angry? Don't worry, I'll seek justice for you."
"No, it's my..." Tian Laotai wanted to ask this enthusiastic women's director to mediate.
"Director Qi, you're here?" Tian Laotou interrupted his wife. "Liwen, Liwu, quickly help your second uncle up. He's such a grown man, yet he can be tripped. Li Fu, you too, you couldn't even keep your balance, how could you help your father? You two father and son ruined a perfectly good breakfast."
"Eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, quickly sweep up the broken shards on the ground. Third sister-in-law, find a rag to wipe the table. Director Qi is here, pour her some white sugar water."
Tian Jing, who was eating heartily, almost choked on her flatbread.
This Tian Laotou was truly formidable. In just a few words, he had glossed over the incident, not only explaining the situation to Director Qi but also setting the story straight for the Tian family, and at the same time, making Director Qi look foolish. She knew the situation wasn't like that, but she couldn't find any evidence. No wonder she dared to accept the responsibility of raising the original owner for the sake of gold bars.
She picked up Tian Liwu's bowl of thin porridge, which she had already drunk from, and took a few more mouthfuls before swallowing the flatbread stuck in her throat. It was suffocating her.
This Director Qi was the commune's women's director, known for her zealousness. As soon as she heard the slightest rumor of daughters-in-law being bullied, without the wronged party even reporting it, she would directly visit to investigate, scold the husbands, mothers-in-law, and sisters-in-law, and then leave. Afterward, the young daughters-in-law would suffer even more.
The young daughters-in-law who were beaten more severely dared not complain about their husbands, mothers-in-law, or sisters-in-law anymore, for fear that Director Qi would hear about it and scold their men and elders again, leading to even worse beatings.
Gradually, throughout the Zhonghe Production Brigade, Director Qi could no longer hear any voices of women being bullied. She felt her work was being done exceptionally well.
Last night, she had heard rumors about the Tian family in the Zhangshan Production Team of the Zhonghe Brigade planning to trade their daughter for marriage. If it weren't for the fact that Zhonghe Brigade was more than ten li from the commune, she would have come to resolve the issue last night.
As soon as she started work this morning, she borrowed a bicycle from the commune secretary and rushed to Zhonghe Brigade. She didn't even enter the brigade office, but directly headed to the Zhangshan Production Team, only two li from the brigade office. She asked the villagers and found the Tian family.
In the past two years, she had been the highly lauded women's director of the commune. However, in the last year, there hadn't been many significant cases. If she could handle a few more major events, she felt she might be able to transfer to the Women's Federation.
At this moment, Director Qi, who was full of joy and thought she had a major case, felt a pang of disappointment upon hearing Tian Laotou's words. Then, she recalled what she had heard upon entering and immediately had an idea.
Tian Laotai had already stood up with her support, feeling a sense of lingering fear. This Director Qi was quite capable. If the old man hadn't interrupted, she would have poured out all her pent-up frustrations to this women's director like a bamboo tube emptying its contents.
"Aunt Tian," Director Qi enthusiastically patted the dust off Tian Laotai's clothes, "As soon as I came in, I heard you calling out to heaven. You have problems but you don't seek help from the brigade or commune cadres to solve them, instead you cry out to this nonexistent heaven for salvation. This is spreading superstition! Your thinking is unacceptable."
As Director Qi gently and enthusiastically patted the dust off her clothes, Tian Laotai, feeling touched, suddenly heard these words. She bit down on her tongue, "Ouch! It hurts so much!"
Tian Jing almost choked on the thin porridge. "Oh dear, so this women's director is also a black sesame dumpling, eh?"
Tian Laotou's mouth twitched. He smiled and beckoned to Director Qi, "Director Qi, please sit, please sit. Don't worry, we'll have her write a self-criticism later. You came so early, is there something you need?"