This program was produced by Tomato Listening, Episode 49: They Really Were Such Trouble!
Without another word, Dong Mimi picked up the broken stool by her feet and hurled it over.
Zhao Xianglan dodged aside and refused to be outdone. She grabbed the shovel beside her and charged forward to hit someone.
Dong Tiantian quickly stepped forward, seized the shovel in her hands, and restrained her.
Taking advantage of that, Dong Mimi kicked Zhao Xianglan squarely behind the knee, sending her crashing to her knees in an instant.
There was a loud bang that sounded painful just to hear.
Dong Tiantian immediately twisted Zhao Xianglan's arms behind her back and locked them there, leaving her unable to move.
A fierce glint filled Dong Mimi's eyes. Her lips pressed tight as she casually picked up another broken stool and brought it down.
Only then did Dong Tiantian regain a little sense, and fearing she might seriously hurt Zhao Xianglan, she let go.
But Zhao Xianglan had no chance to react. The stool smashed into her face, sending wood chips flying as blood immediately poured down.
The whole thing had taken less than a minute, leaving Lin Yuzhu and Wang Xiaomei dumbfounded.
These sisters were vicious. No wonder rural families kept having children!
When there were more siblings, people had to think twice before bullying them!
Wang Xiaomei grabbed Lin Yuzhu's hand and said nervously, "We have to stick together from now on. This is too scary!"
At that moment, Wang Yang and several male educated youths finally snapped out of their panic and rushed forward to break up the fight.
Several villagers had entered the yard at some point, and everything instantly descended into chaos.
Blood streamed from Zhao Xianglan's split head, and her face turned deathly pale.
Auntie Chen from next door stopped watching the spectacle and shouted at the youngest, Song Zhigao, "What are you standing around for? Hurry to the stove and get some wood ash to put on her wound! If she keeps bleeding like this, she'll bleed to death!"
Lin Yuzhu watched Song Zhigao rush back into the house in a panic, then rush out again holding a bowl of wood ash. He ran over to Auntie Chen and stared at her blankly.
Auntie Chen took a deep breath in frustration, grabbed a handful of wood ash, and pressed it onto Zhao Xianglan's head wound.
The bleeding did not stop, so she applied several more handfuls of ash before finally managing to staunch it.
The sight had been quite a shock to Lin Yuzhu. She squeezed Wang Xiaomei's hand back and said firmly, "Look at how decisively they fought. We need to learn from that. We'd rather beat up bad people than get beaten ourselves!"
Wang Xiaomei nodded heavily in complete agreement.
Seeing that the bleeding had stopped, the Dong Sisters finally put away their panic and stood there with calm expressions.
Someone had already quietly gone to fetch the village chief.
Zhao Xianglan lay on the ground, unable to get up. Auntie Chen supported her and asked how she was doing, but she merely shook her head weakly, unable to speak.
More and more people gathered in the yard. Some villagers who had arrived later shouted, "Someone got their head smashed open? Where?"
"Over there?"
"Oh my, there's blood all over the ground!"
Just as the yard was about to fill up completely, the little old village chief finally arrived. Seeing the mess in the courtyard, he was stunned. Were city girls all this capable these days?
His wife had been right. The Educated Youth Dormitory had changed ever since Lin Yuzhu and Wang Xiaomei arrived. The people there had finally learned how to behave.
Seeing the two of them obediently hiding in the corner, the village chief breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they had not gotten involved. Otherwise, those four eggs would definitely have to be returned.
Lin Yuzhu and Wang Xiaomei were baffled. What had that look from the village chief meant?
Did they look that much like troublemakers?
Li Xiangwan came over only after hearing the commotion in the yard grow louder and louder. She had no idea what had happened, and when she saw the scene before her, she froze.
Zhang Yanqiu strolled over from behind the house. When she saw Zhao Xianglan collapsed on the ground, she hurried forward and said in surprise, "I only went to the toilet. How did this happen?"
The village chief was speechless.
The village chief let out a long sigh and asked, "Wang Yang, tell me what happened."
Wang Yang had no choice but to recount the general course of events.
The village chief frowned, feeling a headache coming on as he scolded, "You girls got yourselves bloody over something so trivial?"
Dong Mimi protested, "Today she decided on her own to buy a broken table. Tomorrow she'll decide on her own to buy something else. Our money didn't fall from the sky. Why should we let her waste it like this?"
After thinking it over, the village chief felt that made sense. He said to Zhao Xianglan, "Educated Youth Zhao, you were also in the wrong here. When you bought things with everyone's money, why didn't you let them know?"
Zhao Xianglan said weakly and aggrievedly, "I figured since I was going to the Scrap Station anyway, I'd bring back a few more things for everyone to use. We don't get many chances to go into town, and I just hadn't had time to tell anyone yet."
"They attacked me without a word and bullied me like this." After saying that, she began to sob.
The village chief turned to the Dong Sisters again and complained, "How could you two sisters bully someone like this?"
Dong Tiantian immediately said, "She was going to hit someone with a shovel. We couldn't just stand there and let her hit us, could we? If we had stood there obediently, my sister might have been beaten to death with that shovel."
"But your sister was clearly the one who threw the stool first."
"Then she could have dodged too!"
The village chief looked from one side to the other. Once they had finished arguing, the two saw that he was not speaking and stopped arguing as well.
Only then did the village chief say, "Enough. You should all share some of the cost of what Educated Youth Zhao bought this time. She's an old educated youth and was worrying about things for your sake. Don't chill her heart."
"Educated Youth Zhao, what about your head? Do you need to have it looked at?"
Zhao Xianglan said firmly, "Then have the sisters take me into town to see a doctor. They injured me, so they should pay the medical bills."
"Village chief, how are we supposed to get into town?"
Zhao Xianglan immediately caught the key point. "The village Ox Cart definitely won't be lent to you. Figure out yourselves how to get there. You're not children anymore. Do I have to manage that too?"
They had not given him eggs, so why should he use a favor to help them borrow a cart?
Zhao Xianglan's face turned even paler. She drew in a breath and fainted.
Seeing Zhao Xianglan pass out, the village chief quickly had Auntie Chen press on her philtrum.
After she slowly came around, the village chief finally relaxed and said in exasperation, "Then discuss how you're going to get into town for treatment."
The Dong Sisters were troubled.
Dong Mimi stared at Zhang Yanqiu for a moment, then suddenly said, "Village chief, Sister Zhang cut her leg, and wasn't it enough to just stop the bleeding?"
"Sister Zhao, the bleeding has already stopped. There shouldn't be any need to make a special trip to town for a doctor, right?"
Zhao Xianglan refused to accept that. Weak and resentful, she said, "She cut herself. I was smashed by you two. How can those be the same?"
Dong Mimi curled her lip and said bluntly, "If you insist on going to the hospital, then we'll walk there. It's up to you. My sister and I will accompany you all the way."
Zhao Xianglan was dizzy and disoriented. How could she possibly walk all the way to town? Clearly, she could not.
She looked to the village chief for help.
The village chief frowned and asked as gently as he could, "Well... do you want to go to the hospital or not?"
"If you do, the sisters will accompany you. If you don't, have them buy a Chicken from the village and stew soup for you to nourish your body."
Zhao Xianglan thought that she had been hurt so badly, yet they still did not want to compensate her. Without saying a word, she lowered her head and began crying nonstop.
"What does it mean that you keep crying like this?"
"If you have something to say, then say it. How do I know whether my brain has been damaged? What if I end up with headaches for the rest of my life?"
Zhao Xianglan spoke pitifully as she touched her head.
Upon hearing that, the village chief said directly, "Then you two sisters should take her to the hospital and see what the town doctor says."
Zhao Xianglan was speechless, while the Dong Sisters looked solemn and nodded reluctantly.
Lin Yuzhu finally understood. The old village chief scolded one side a little, then the other side a little, but he was not actually helping either side. He was simply trying to smooth things over. This was completely unlike how he acted when standing up for people from his own village. He might not have been especially decisive, but he definitely would not have been this conciliatory.
The Dong Sisters helped Zhao Xianglan up, one supporting each side.
Zhao Xianglan felt dizzy, with the world spinning before her eyes. She said, "Village chief, no, I can't walk. I won't go to the hospital for now."
"If you don't go now but later find something wrong at the hospital, we won't be responsible."
Dong Tiantian said coldly.
The village chief was speechless. He could tell that Zhao Xianglan did not want to go to the hospital. After thinking it over, he understood that she wanted money.
Why were city children's thoughts so roundabout? If she wanted compensation, she should just say so. Why insist on making someone else bring it up for her?
The village chief was getting impatient. There was tough work to do tomorrow, and who would not rather rest if they had free time?
Zhao Xianglan's expression stiffened as she said aggrievedly, "I can't have taken this beating for nothing, can I?"
The Dong Sisters' expressions darkened, and both released the hands supporting her.
Zhao Xianglan nearly lost her footing and almost collapsed onto the ground again, but she steadied herself at the last moment.
Seeing how pitiful she looked, the village chief said to the Dong Sisters, "You two will compensate her with five yuan and an old hen. Do you accept that result?"
Dong Mimi snorted. "We accept. Next time, Educated Youth Zhao should watch her mouth. Otherwise, she might earn another five yuan. We can afford that much."
The village chief nearly lost his composure. What did that mean?
Were they saying they would beat this city girl again in the future? Wasn't that too ruthless?
Wang Xiaomei gripped Lin Yuzhu's hand even tighter. She felt that if they had not moved out back then, she might have been the first one to get her head smashed open.
Just thinking about it made her break out in a cold sweat.
Lin Yuzhu looked confused from having her hand squeezed, but she stared at the Dong Sisters in the yard as though she had gained some sort of inspiration.
And just like that, the matter was muddled through.
The Dong Sisters bought an old hen that could no longer lay eggs from a villager and tossed it alive onto the kitchen floor. Their meaning was clear: if Zhao Xianglan wanted to eat it, she could kill it herself. They had compensated her with a Chicken.
Zhao Xianglan was so angered by their attitude that she nearly fainted again.
In the end, Zhang Yanqiu helped her kill the Chicken and stew it into soup, taking the opportunity to get herself some chicken soup as well.
The Dong Sisters stood nearby, watching with mocking expressions.
Though the chicken soup was rich and fragrant, it tasted bland and flavorless, as though they were drinking something others had bestowed upon them.
At that moment, Zhao Xianglan and Zhang Yanqiu hated the Dong Sisters to the core.
Auntie Chen had once learned a little from an old doctor. She had her son bring over some anti-inflammatory herbs and told Zhao Xianglan to boil them in water and drink it.
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