Chen Dagui and Wang Qiuhua were delighted to hear that. Wang Qiuhua looked disdainful as she said, “Alright! You’d better keep your word. It’s been so hard on us, having to support two loafers like you. In the end, both of you have grown up to be ungrateful and vicious. Get lost and don’t ever come back.”
Chen Goudan’s eyes were filled with tears, but he continued to hold his little sister as he spoke to the brigade leader, Wang Mingtao, who had just rushed over. “Brigade leader, I… My little sister and I will live on our own. I won’t burden my eldest uncle’s family any longer. I’m grown up now and I can support her.
“I want to return to my father’s old house. Will you allow me to move out?”
Wang Mingtao was the Qing River Brigade’s leader. He was a very fair person and everyone trusted him. He had hurried over when he heard the noise, only to hear these words upon his arrival.
Wang Mingtao said to Chen Dagui angrily, “Dagui, can’t you even tolerate these two children? Do you have to force them out of your house?”
As the brigade leader, Wang Mingtao knew the people in the brigade. He was well aware of Chen Goudan and his sister’s living conditions.
But times were just too hard, and many people suffered. They were unable to help.
Now, Chen Goudan wanted to move out, and Wang Mingtao’s first assumption was that Chen Dagui had forced them to go.
Chen Dagui looked at Wang Mingtao with some misgivings, but stuck to his story. “I… I didn’t. Brigade leader, he wanted to go. He hit my Xiaobao today. Look, Xiaobao is such a small child, but he still hit Xiaobao. Why shouldn’t I beat a vicious little beast like him?”
Chen Goudan was afraid that the topic would be diverted, so he continued to shout, “Brigade leader, it was my idea to move out. I… I’m grown up now. I can really take care of my own little sister. I can!”
“Move out?” Wang Qiuhua sensed that something was amiss. She bellowed, “You want to move out? What do you mean? You don’t have a home. I’ve fed and supported you for so long for nothing, but you want to move out? Bah! You’re dreaming! If you want to go, you can get lost!”
When Chen Dagui heard this, he continued to beat Chen Goudan with the branch in his hand. “Heartless beast. You want to move out? Then vomit out everything you’ve eaten. Beast!”
“Enough!” Wang Mingtao was in a towering rage.
Chen Goudan and Chen Xiaocao huddled in a pathetic heap. Chen Goudan’s clothes had been torn by the beating. He looked pleadingly at Wang Mingtao and said, “Uncle Brigade Leader, I’m the one who suggested moving out. I’m all grown up, truly I am. I… I cannot burden my eldest uncle’s family anymore. I can support my little sister. Please, will you allow us to move out? I just need two buildings to live in. My little sister… my little sister…”
Wang Mingtao glanced down at Chen Xiaocao, who was huddled pitifully in Chen Goudan’s arms. She was pallid and looked terrified. Her face was streaked with tears. She looked wretched and breathed shallowly. He was afraid that Chen Dagui and Wang Qiuhua would beat her to death if she continued to stay with them.
It was not easy to survive in these times. Chen Goudan usually worked hard, and he felt sorry for the boy.
If he worked hard for work points, and if the brigade gave them a mouthful or two now and then, the two children probably would not starve.
Every brigade had children who were fed by a dozen households.
Also, even if Chen Goudan and Chen Xiaocao continued to stay with their eldest uncle, they would still need frequent handouts from the brigade to escape starvation.
Wang Mingtao could not stand it any longer. Today had been the trigger point. As he looked at Chen Goudan, who was pleading earnestly, he said, “Goudan, think it over. If you really want to, you can move out!”
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