Chapter 192 - 180: The Roadblock
Chapter 192: Chapter 180: The Roadblock
The end of the Lantern Festival marked the end of the Chinese New Year. It was time for the production team to get back to work, but since it had just rained heavily, they wouldn’t be going out on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month. The team leader called the members for a short meeting that was over in less than half an hour. Everyone then went home to pull out and repair their farm tools, preparing to start work.
Since the adults were still home, the mothers took care of everything from cooking to feeding the pigs, so the kids had it easy. Today also happened to be market day at the commune. Guan Ailan, Mo Linghui, and the others who had bicycles at home decided to ride to the market and invited Xiao Man to come along.
Before Xiao Man could even answer, Grandpa told her to go with them. He gave her some money and asked her to buy some fresh pork from the market. "Be sure to pick a lean cut," he said. "Hao Hao is a city kid; he doesn’t like fatty meat."
Xiao Man pouted. ’Grandpa and Grandma are so good to Tang Haocheng,’ she thought. ’They treat him almost better than they treat me.’
She took the money and went inside to get her bicycle. She had her own money, too. On her trip to Beijing, she had received a ton of red envelopes, and when she opened them all back home, the total came out to nearly three thousand yuan! This was 1979! In the countryside, one thousand yuan was enough to cover both a bride price and a wedding banquet!
Grandpa and Grandma hadn’t taken her money, telling her to keep it for tuition and pocket money. Whenever she needed to buy something for the household, Grandpa would give her the funds separately.
As for the two-yuan monthly allowance from Grandma, it seemed rather paltry now, but Grandma still gave it to her with a solemn air as usual.
Tang Haocheng wanted to go with Xiao Man, too. Grandma had dried his pants, and he could go out wearing Zheng Shaolian’s jacket.
Xiao Man didn’t want to take him, but Grandma pointed at Guan Ailan and the others. "They all have a younger sibling riding on the back of their bikes. Why can’t you take him?" she said. "Let your little brother go with you. Let him see how lively our local market is, and buy him a piece of fried bean cake."
Grandpa handed Tang Haocheng a five-yuan bill. "Buy whatever you like," he said.
Third Sister Guan’s eyes went wide with envy as she watched from the side. "Hao Hao, you get five yuan just for a trip to the market, and my dad only gave me fifty cents! I’m starting to wonder if I’m even his biological daughter."
Her words made everyone chuckle. Guan Ailan lightly tapped her little sister on the head. "Keep talking nonsense, and I’ll give you away tomorrow!"
As Xiao Man pushed her bike out of the courtyard gate, she looked up and saw a bicycle pass by on the road. She didn’t recognize the young man pedaling, but the girl on the back seat was Mo Xiaosu.
Mo Xiaosu clutched the corner of the young man’s shirt with one hand and glared furiously at Xiao Man. Her mouth opened and closed without pause; even a fool could guess how energetically and viciously she was cursing at her.
Xiao Man couldn’t be bothered to deal with her. "To the market!" she shouted. With that, the group cheerfully mounted their bikes and hit the road.
Four bicycles, each with a passenger on the back rack, raced down the road. They chased and playfully bumped into one another, weaving in S-patterns as they went—a sight you’d only see on a country road.
While the older girls played at overtaking and bumping into each other, the younger siblings on the back cheered them on, even using their hands and feet to pull or push their rivals. It was the first time Tang Haocheng had ever witnessed such a spectacle. He didn’t dare join in, sitting obediently on the back and watching Mo Xiaoman. He was amazed as she deftly overtook others, dodged whenever someone tried to bump her, and even reached out to grab another bike’s handlebars and give them a good shake. When one of the shaken bikes toppled over, forcing its riders to jump off and shout in frustration, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
Since they arrived early, the commune market wasn’t too crowded yet. The group parked their bicycles and wandered around for a while, buying everything they needed and eating all the snacks they wanted. As noon approached, the market grew increasingly packed. Not wanting to fight the crowds, they decided to head home.
Tang Haocheng’s mood wasn’t as cheerful on the way back. He had to carry a cut of fresh pork strung on a bamboo strip, and Xiao Man had tied two new bamboo-leaf hats to his back. He had no idea what kind of ridiculous figure he must have cut.
But when he saw that the other younger siblings weren’t faring any better, all of them carrying various items, he slowly started to feel better about it.
They came to a mountain hollow where the road sloped upward, forcing everyone to get off and push their bicycles. They were only halfway up the slope when a rustle came from a patch of tall grass by the road. Two young men stepped out, followed by more than a dozen others emerging from the grass. They spread out in a line, blocking the road and cutting off Xiao Man and her friends.
Xiao Man counted them. There were thirteen in total.
’This must be the group that attacked Teacher Yu,’ Xiao Man guessed. One look told her they were all delinquents. They had long hair, cigarettes dangling from their lips, and terrible posture, slouching every which way with sinister smiles. Their ages ranged from fourteen or fifteen to twenty-one or twenty-two.
A sturdily built man of average height in his early twenties, wearing a drab, yellow work jacket, stepped forward. A blade of grass dangled from his lips, and he squinted his sullen eyes as he sized up Xiao Man. "You’re Mo Xiaoman?"
Xiao Man recognized his face. He was the man she’d seen this morning, riding a bicycle past her gate with Mo Xiaosu on the back.
"That’s right, I’m Mo Xiaoman," Xiao Man said. "What do you think you’re doing, blocking the road? Mo Xiaosu is an idiot, but you’re a grown man. Are you an idiot, too?"
The yellow-jacketed man spat out the blade of grass and let out a lewd chuckle. "Not bad, Mo Xiaoman. You’ve definitely got an air about you, and you’re a sharp one, too. No wonder that little brat Mo Xiaosu can’t shut up about you, and even Mo Xiaoqiang got taken down... Look at that pretty face. Tsk, tsk! It’d be a real shame to ruin it. Why don’t you come with your big brother here? I’ll keep you safe and make sure you live well. How about it?"
Just as Xiao Man was about to speak, two people simultaneously rushed forward to shield her. It was Mo Shuixia and Tang Haocheng.
Mo Shuixia shouted, "It’s broad daylight! Do you really intend to commit a crime?"
Tang Haocheng added, "I’ll kill anyone who dares touch my sister!"
Guan Ailan and the others shouted from behind, "We’ve seen all your faces! If you dare try anything, we’ll report you to the police!"
Xiao Man was speechless.
’Is that supposed to work?’ she thought. ’If we were really a bunch of weaklings, these thugs would probably just kill us all to keep us quiet once they got serious.’
The yellow-jacketed man pulled a switchblade from his pocket. He tossed it in his hand a couple of times, then pressed the button. The blade flicked out with a piercing, cold glint. He gestured with it toward Mo Shuixia and Tang Haocheng. "If you’re not afraid to die, get out of the way. We only want Mo Xiaoman. Mo Xiaoman comes with us, and the rest of you can go home! And remember: no matter what you see or who you recognize, don’t you dare say a single word. This blade isn’t just for show! It’s killed plenty of people, and it wouldn’t mind taking a few more of your worthless lives!"
Xiao Man started to step forward, but Tang Haocheng blocked her with his body. "No! Get back!"
Xiao Man told Mo Shuixia to pull Tang Haocheng back. Mo Shuixia glanced at her, seeking confirmation. Xiao Man nodded, and Mo Shuixia pulled Tang Haocheng back several steps.
The yellow-jacketed man watched Xiao Man walk toward him and reached out to grab her, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "That’s more like it. You listen to me, and I promise I won’t make things difficult. Being my woman is a lot better than getting passed around by the whole group, right? Once we’re together, who gives a damn about Mo Xiaosu? I’ll... OUCH!"
All anyone saw was a blur, followed by a sharp CRACK and a heavy THUD. Before they could even see what Xiao Man did, the yellow-jacketed man was on his knees, howling in agony. The gleaming knife was now in Xiao Man’s hand, and she tossed it casually in the air.
"What are you all standing there for?" she called out to her friends. "You’ve been training for so long, and now you have a chance to put it to the test. So get to it! This is self-defense, so you can’t go wrong no matter how hard you hit them. Just make sure nobody dies!"
Guan Ailan, Mo Shuixia, and Mo Linghui froze for a second before it clicked. With a unified battle cry, they charged forward and unleashed a thorough beating on the dozen-odd thugs!
Tang Haocheng watched for a moment, his eyes wide and his jaw hanging open. He started to rush in and help, but Xiao Man pulled him back, telling him to watch over the other three younger siblings. She then joined the fray, knife in hand. Of course, the blade was just for show—she never used it. Her fists and feet alone were more than enough to break her opponents’ stances. Some ended up with broken limbs. The goal was to incapacitate them all so they could wait for the police to haul them away.
As for the "big brother" who had fronted for Mo Xiaosu and tried to abduct Mo Xiaoman, she had severed the tendons in his arms and legs. For the rest of his life, he would be nothing but a cripple.