Chapter 198
“I want to eat sweet and sour pork and braised pork ribs,” Su Xiaoxiao promptly listed what she desired to eat.
However, what she considered normal brought an even more twisted expression to Yu Siping’s already gloomy face. Some dishes were hard for her to have, but in the eyes of some people, they were standard fare.
This was the consequence of marrying the wrong man. She didn’t even consider herself a woman anymore.
Su Xiaoxiao saw the negative glance from Yu Siping but pretended as if she hadn’t seen anything, continuing to chat with Jiang Yexun with a sweet smile and even asking for a soft drink.
Naturally, Jiang Yexun fulfilled her requests, then inquired about what his mother wanted to eat. Aunt Guo intended to suggest buying a bowl of soup to supplement Yu Siping’s meal, but feared she’d latch onto them, so she remained silent.
Jiang Yexun acted quickly and efficiently. He returned within forty minutes, carrying the food. He had borrowed a thermos and a lunchbox from Big Gao. Once they were done, he would return it to him.
After her surgery, Yu Siping was limited to a liquid diet. Yet, despite her persistence, Jiang Yexun intentionally hadn’t bought any soup. Instead, he brought three bottles of drinks, leaving Yu Siping to watch longingly.
Struggling with her desire, she finally couldn’t resist and pleaded, “Can you also buy me something to eat?”
Aunt Guo frowned, but before she could say anything, Su Xiaoxiao arrogantly retorted, “No! You’re on a restricted diet. What if something happens? We’ve been looking after you since you woke up, and that’s more than enough. You’re awake now, so we don’t have to look after you anymore. Take care of yourself.”
After finishing her meal quickly, she stood up, ready to leave. Her purpose in staying was to upset Yu Siping when she woke up. Now that she had achieved her goal, there was no need to stay any longer.
“If you leave, what will I do?” Yu Siping panicked immediately.
But neither Su Xiaoxiao nor Jiang Yexun, nor even Aunt Guo, gave her any extra attention. They ate faster than Su Xiaoxiao, only staying to ensure she didn’t choke from eating too quickly.
“If your own husband doesn’t care about you, how can you expect us to?” Su Xiaoxiao tilted her head, continuing to jab at Yu Siping’s heart.
Yu Siping’s eyes immediately reddened. “If you don’t care for me, you’re forcing me to die.”
“Go ahead then! Let’s see if the police think we’re guilty.” Su Xiaoxiao immediately retorted.
Jiang Yexun and Aunt Guo packed up and gestured to her, “Okay, let’s not waste time on her. It’s late; we need to get back to the production team.”
Su Xiaoxiao withdrew her gaze from the glaring contest with Yu Siping and left with Jiang Yexun.
Although they had departed, the aroma of the food seemed to linger in the air. Yu Siping desperately swallowed but found no relief from her hunger. Her immobile body, isolation, and the injuries left her sinking into an unbearable despair.
When Su Xiaoxiao and the others came to the hospital, they ran on foot, but when leaving, Jiang Yexun specifically borrowed two bicycles from Big Gao. They had fastened flashlights to the handlebars and swiftly returned to the production team.
The main hall of Team Leader Jiang’s house was dimly lit by a kerosene lamp. Many villagers gathered at the door. When they passed by these people, only the last few glanced at them.
Both Aunt Guo and Jiang Yexun had no interest in joining Team Leader Jiang’s activity. They parked the bicycles in the yard, but Zhang Tiewa immediately leaned in.
“Yexun, come and watch the fun. The prefect and commune leaders are here; they say they’re going to remove your dad’s title as the production team leader.” His tone was odd—a mix of excitement and suppression.
It was a result already anticipated by Su Xiaoxiao. Family conflicts couldn’t lead to arrest, but such an action by the production team leader warranted his removal. She worried that Jiang Yexun and Aunt Guo might not be happy about it. However, they appeared pleased.
“Xiaoxiao, let’s go and witness this show,” Aunt Guo said cheerfully. Twenty years ago, she hadn’t needed to marry into the Jiang family. She was initially about to marry with a worker, who had been working at her parent’s home for years. The two of them were childhood sweethearts. But due to the fact that Jiang Guoli’s father was the village head and Jiang Guoli held the position of production team leader, she had no choice but to marry him.
Due to the two children left behind by Jiang’s ex-wife and his position as production team leader, she and her two children had suffered. And now, with Jiang’s loss of his title, there would be no power and no reason for him to restrict her.
From the very beginning, it was Jiang and his family’s identities as poor farmers that she aimed at from this marriage, and she didn’t care about whether Jiang was the team leader at all.
The atmosphere at Team Leader Jiang’s house was suffocating, making it hard to breathe.
The commune leaders, pointing at them, scolded, “What on earth are you all thinking? You’ve been living with Guo, your step-mother, since you were five years old, and now you’re casting these dirty aspersions on her. You should be glad that you’re all family; otherwise, you’d be in prison for at least six months.”
“And you… Jiang Guoli! You are the team leader, yet your consciousness has sunken so low that you and your son and daughter-in-law dare to frame your wife! With such low consciousness and mindset, there’s no need for you to ask for anything. You won’t remain as the production team leader, and tonight, you’re immediately dismissed. The team leader of the number one squad of Hong Feng Production Team will replace you.”
“Secretary Zeng, I have deeply realized my mistake and have reflected on it,” Jiang Guoli begged in a hurry.
However, the prefect interjected, “Enough, don’t say anything more; it’s useless! You’ve done something incredibly heinous. Don’t you know that?!” The prefect was getting more and more furious; he wanted to give him a good thrashing. He had just honored two young brave individuals from the county, only for the captain he selected to commit such a serious error.
His hope for promotion was dashed.
“Prefect Wang, Hongxiang is my wife, and Yexun is my son. As long as they don’t hold it against me, this issue fundamentally is just a trivial dispute among family members. I will go talk to them and make sure they’ll cooperate with the police,” Jiang Guoli pleaded, sweating profusely in the chilly air of December.
But the prefect pushed away his hand sternly and rebuked, “That’s enough! The issue has been settled; you don’t need to stir anything up. We came here tonight to notify you that from this moment, you’re no longer the leader of the Hong Feng Production Team.”