CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 44: TIDYING UP

Li Shengmei didn’t want to listen to her, she was still angry. The thought of He Hongjun slapping her in front of Gao Guoqiang and Gao Jiaxing made Li Shengmei very upset.

But at this moment, Li Shengmei also knew there were so many people outside watching the spectacle, so she immediately bellowed, "What are you all doing out there, got nothing better to do, huh?"

The people outside erupted into a laugh and then dispersed.

Li Shengmei followed He Hongjun into the house, and as soon as he shut the door, he started beating her with his walking stick.

"Ah, He Hongjun, why are you hitting me?" Li Shengmei dodged and even resisted.

But He Hongjun was beyond enraged today, where could he easily let Li Shengmei off? Before, it wasn’t that he didn’t care or wasn’t bothered, he had just been holding it in.

Now that He Hongjun had erupted, the fury was unstoppable.

Some people can always be good-natured, hardly ever get angry, like a nice person, but when they do get angry, it’s extremely frightening. He Hongjun was this kind of person, and Li Shengmei had also seen He Hongjun’s temper. But at that time, she had given birth to a son; she was the one with the greatest merit, and He Hongjun’s mother was still alive, revering Li Shengmei as if she was an ancestor.

One could say that although He Hongjun might not have looked much from the outside, after Li Shengmei married him and gave birth to a son, the He family mother and son both doted on Li Shengmei alone.

If it had been anyone else, they would have fallen into a pit of blessings, including now; Li Shengmei didn’t need to cook at home, as He Hongjun did that. But Li Shengmei always felt it was a matter of course, believing that since she gave birth to three sons for the He family, she had the greatest merit, and it was only right that the He family pampered her.

As He Hongjun indulged her, Li Shengmei became increasingly unruly, and even knew about He Hongjun saving Gao Guoqiang’s life, often using this as leverage.

As for Zheng Xianghong, she egged Old Lady Gao on to cause trouble for Zheng Xianghong, feeling not the slightest remorse. She just couldn’t stand seeing Zheng Xianghong well-off, and relished in Zheng Xianghong being bullied by her mother-in-law, resulting in Li Shengmei always causing problems for Zheng Xianghong.

She never expected that today Gao Jiaxing would not be able to endure any longer, bringing matters to He Hongjun, and Li Shengmei kicked an iron plate.

"I’ve supported you for so many years, you didn’t have to do anything. Before my mother died, she waited on you hand and foot, doing your laundry and cooking. I never said a word, but you, you’ve been thinking of Gao Guoqiang all these years." He Hongjun grabbed Li Shengmei’s hair and interrogated her fiercely, "Tell me, did you ever betray me, make me a cuckold?"

"It hurts, let go!" Li Shengmei pleaded, feeling like He Hongjun was about to rip her scalp off.

"Tell me, did you make me a cuckold?" When He Hongjun thought of what Li Shengmei had just said, and remembered Gao Jiaxing’s words, his expression became even more ferocious. He could tolerate anything else, but this was something He Hongjun absolutely could not.

Moreover, thinking that Li Shengmei, being a women’s director, might be flirting with Gao Guoqiang, He Hongjun’s grip tightened even more, and with his right hand holding the walking stick, he began to beat Li Shengmei.

"I didn’t, you’re wronging me." Li Shengmei screamed, threatening, "Ah, He Hongjun, I can’t take it anymore. If you hit me, I’ll tell our son."

"Call out louder, let everyone in the production team know that I’m disciplining you." Once He Hongjun said this, Li Shengmei didn’t dare make a sound.

That day, Li Shengmei was beaten up so badly by He Hongjun that she didn’t leave the house for over half a month.

This time, Li Shengmei came to hate Gao Jiaxing too.

Of course, Gao Jiaxing did more than just that—he also wrote letters to He Xuegang and He Xuebing in the army, so after Li Shengmei’s wounds had healed, she received letters from both her sons filled with blame, a double blow for her.

However, after this incident, Li Shengmei became much more submissive, humming a sound and avoiding Zheng Xianghong upon seeing her.

If Zheng Xianghong made a fuss at the He Family’s door, Old Lady Gao might not be pleased, she might even beat Zheng Xianghong again, but when Gao Jiaxing made trouble, Old Lady Gao did not make a sound.

After this incident, Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing, the brothers, stopped visiting Old Lady Gao. They used to come often to bring her food, especially Gao Jiaxing, who was always sent by Zheng Xianghong.

Once the brothers stopped visiting, Old Lady Gao cursed Zheng Xianghong every day in her house for leading her grandsons astray and being distant from her, yet she still longed for Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing’s company whenever there was something tasty.

This led Lin Xuebi to be the first to become upset, feeling that the interests of their house were being violated; she was still bitter about the previous failed attempt to borrow money from Gao Guoqiang.

Although Old Lady Gao had disciplined Zheng Xianghong, Lin Xuebi felt relieved, but after the recent quarrel between mother and son when Gao Guoqiang came over, her husband also developed an opinion against them.

Li Xuebi also regretted not keeping her distance when Old Lady Gao beat Zheng Xianghong. If she had, Gao Guoqiang would not have seen her, it seemed she would have to wait until this matter had blown over before attempting to borrow money again.

Although Zheng Xianghong was beaten by Old Lady Gao this time, Li Shengmei didn’t fare much better. After He Hongjun forcefully asserted his dominance, he also started thinking that he should not indulge Li Shengmei too much and even ordered Li Shengmei not to see Gao Guoqiang anymore.

The affairs of the Gao and He families were a hot topic of gossip for many, including hushed discussions in Xia Xiao’s dormitory.

Dong Meihua visited Li Shengmei several times, but when she was never let in, Dong Meihua stopped trying and held a grudge against Li Shengmei.

Dong Meihua looked down on Li Shengmei, but considering the He Family’s status in the production brigade and with both of Li Shengmei’s sons being soldiers—especially the outstanding He Xuebing—Dong Meihua couldn’t help but be impressed and thus sought ways to get closer to Li Shengmei.

As for Xia Xiao, who had been in the production brigade for quite some time now, it was hard to keep anything hidden. Today this couple argued, tomorrow that couple fought; such domestic strife was routine, along with women tearing at each other.

And men beating women, husbands hitting their wives, had become common occurrences.

Xia Xiao felt her heart thump uncomfortably at the sight. She felt that such practices weren’t right; a common phrase on the lips of the village men was, "Women need to be disciplined; if you don’t beat them every three days, they’ll start tearing off the roof tiles."

While incidents like that involving Li Shengmei were somewhat satisfying for Xia Xiao to hear about, the sight of so many men beating women without family members intervening and instead saying to discipline her properly, "if you don’t beat her, she won’t behave," left Xia Xiao feeling cold.

And there were the daughters-in-law from other places, with no family nearby to stand up for them when they were bullied. Like slaves, they toiled for their in-laws with no appreciation in return. Any slight dissatisfaction, any minor annoyance led the men to swing their fists, slap their faces—it was all too common.

"In our production brigade, which man hasn’t beaten his wife?" asked Sun Yuhua.