Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 24: The 1970s Naive Supporting Girl (24)
Early the next morning,
Song Susu and her younger brother had breakfast at the brigade leader’s house. She borrowed a bicycle from the brigade and rode to the neighboring village’s postal station to mail the anonymous report.
After that, she took her brother to the educated youth settlement.
Some of the original owner’s clothes and belongings were still left there.
At this hour, the educated youths were all out working, so the place was mostly empty.
Song Susu found the spot where the original owner had hidden the key, opened the wooden trunk, and sorted through everything.
There were two or three sets of clothes, plus a pile of daily necessities like bowls, a thermos, cups, and odds and ends.
The most valuable item was a palm sized black wooden box hidden at the very bottom of the clothes.
According to her memories, it held jewelry left behind by Song Susu’s mother.
Inside were a pair of jade round buckle earrings, a thin flat gold bangle, and a pair of silver butterfly hair ornaments with tassels.
Song Susu gave the jewelry a quick glance, then focused on the box itself.
The box was especially exquisite, carved with antique patterns and inlaid with mother of pearl designs. It had a rich, old world elegance to it.
She casually took out the medal from her pocket, placed it inside the box as well, and stored everything into her space.
When Song Susu had gone down to the countryside, her luggage had been prepared by Li Yanlong and his wife. The clothes were all fairly new, and the daily items had been bought not long ago.
Since she would still need to stay here for a while, Song Susu packed everything up. Song Yuanchao volunteered to carry the heavier items, while she held the thermos and washbasin.
The two of them carried their things and headed back toward the brigade leader’s house.
Just as they stepped out of the educated youth settlement, they ran straight into Guo Juan.
Guo Juan had forgotten her gloves while working and came back to get them. When she saw Song Susu returning, she immediately noticed the large bundles in her hands.
Thinking of the slap on the train last time, her anger flared up as she questioned her sharply, “Song Susu, what are you stirring up again? Where do you think you’re going with all that luggage?”
Song Susu rolled her eyes. “None of your business.”
She brushed past her and left without another word.
Seeing his sister’s attitude, Song Yuanchao immediately understood that this woman was no good either. He shot her a cold glance and snorted softly.
He hurried after his sister. As he passed Guo Juan, the large bundle slung over his shoulder suddenly slammed into her.
Guo Juan staggered from the impact. Furious, she stomped her foot and was about to curse, “You!”
Unfortunately for her, the siblings did not even spare her a glance as they walked straight away.
Still fuming, Guo Juan did not bother retrieving her gloves. She turned around and ran off to complain.
Song Susu had skipped reporting in yesterday, did not show up for work this morning, and now was packing up and leaving the educated youth settlement on her own. She had better be written up for a serious demerit this time.
……
Meanwhile, Song Susu and her younger brother returned to the brigade leader’s house.
When the brigade leader’s wife saw the two of them coming back loaded down with big bags, her enthusiasm immediately cranked up another notch.
The brigade leader’s wife was surnamed Gao. Everyone called her Aunt Gao. She had a broad face, narrow eyes, and a round, well-fed figure that made her look prosperous and wealthy.
“You’re back. Moving all your things over is good. Just stay here peacefully. When you go back to the City, I’ll help you pack everything up.”
As she spoke, Aunt Gao stepped forward to lend a hand, casually lifting the edge of a bundle as she glanced inside.
Her eyes landed on a brand-new, soft cotton quilt, along with a pile of shiny, neatly arranged pots, bowls, and utensils.
Her smile grew even warmer. These siblings clearly spent money without holding back. When they returned to the City later, who would bother hauling all this stuff along? Most likely, it would end up staying right here.
Song Susu noticed it all, but pretended not to see a thing.
She would not be staying here long anyway. These items were not worth much, and people who loved taking advantage needed a little bait to keep them sweet.
Although Song Yuanchao did not like how overly attentive this aunt was, since his sister said nothing, he kept his mouth shut.
After the siblings finished tidying up the room, Aunt Gao helped out again, her gaze once more drifting quietly over their belongings.
Song Susu planned to make a trip to Heihegou Brigade, so she casually asked, “Aunt Gao, I have a friend who went to the countryside as an educated youth in Heihegou Brigade. Is it far from here?”
At the mention of Heihegou Brigade, Aunt Gao frowned instinctively and replied offhandedly, “Not really. About twenty li or so.”
After hesitating for a moment, she added, “If you’re going, it’s best to hitch a ride with Wang Fugui from the village entrance.”
Song Susu lowered her eyes and asked, feigning confusion, “Why is that?”
The brigade leader’s wife hesitated, glancing outside before leaning closer to Song Susu’s ear and lowering her voice. “That village has bad feng shui. Quite a few women from nearby villages married over there, some fell ill, some died. There are households with no women left, and plenty of idle widowers of all ages. You look delicate and eye-catching, too easy to attract trouble. Going with more people would be safer.”
A trace of seriousness flashed through Song Susu’s eyes. It turned out that the original Song Susu wasn't the only one experiencing this; many similar incidents had already occurred in that village.
She pressed further. “If people died for no reason, the husband’s family must bear responsibility. Did the women’s families really not pursue it at all?”
Illness here, death there. It sounded light, but behind it there had to be domestic violence. Did no family ever demand answers?
“What’s there to pursue? Once a woman marries out, she belongs to her husband’s family. Besides, when someone’s dead, some families cry for a couple of days and that’s it. Those who are harder to deal with might ask for some money, and that’s the end of it.” The brigade leader’s wife spoke with a face full of sympathy.
Song Susu felt a surge of anger, her fists clenching tight. “So a woman’s life is really worth that little?”
The world was born beneath women’s skirts, yet women were trampled into the dust beneath it.
Ridiculous, and heartbreaking.
The brigade leader’s wife glanced at Song Susu again, smacking her lips helplessly. “Families who live well can still protect their daughters a bit. Families who can barely eat see their daughters as bride price money. Once a daughter is married out, she’s like water spilled on the ground. In the end, a woman with good fate finds a good husband. A woman with bad fate just has to accept it.”
Mockery crept into Song Susu’s eyes. “Fate, my ass. Fate has always been in your own hands. If you’re going to be bullied to death anyway, then wait for a dark, windy night and stab a few times, drag those people down to hell with you.”
If she had to put it bluntly, death was death either way. Better to take the culprit along, kill one to warn a hundred, and see if those beasts who only dare bully women would still be fearless.
The brigade leader’s wife suddenly shivered, clearly intimidated by the aura coming from this thin young girl.
For some reason, she felt that Song Susu truly meant every word. That she really could do it.
“Well, uh, there are still more good people than bad in this world. Those who commit all kinds of evil are only a small number. Our village has good feng shui and good morals. Nothing like that has ever happened here.”
“Oh right, I need to go boil some water. You two take your time tidying up.”
As she spoke, the brigade leader’s wife hurried out, her steps noticeably faster than when she had come in.
Song Susu rubbed her temples. In the past few worlds, she had been doing side character missions in modern settings, all CEO dramas, innocent white lotus heroines, and vicious female leads. She had not dealt with this kind of thing in ages. Just listening to it made her annoyed.
“Sis, no wonder Uncle Li warned me that poor mountains and bad waters breed troublemakers. Those people are really awful. Good thing you didn’t get sent to that village as an educated youth.”
Song Yuanchao tugged at his sister’s sleeve, still a little shaken. Even though Aunt Gao had lowered her voice when she spoke to his sister, he had heard everything.
Song Susu reached out and ruffled his hair. “Scared?”
Song Yuanchao nodded first, then shook his head. “I’m scared you’ll get bullied by bad people. That village doesn’t treat girls’ lives as important at all. But I’m not scared of those bad people, because they’re cowards. They only dare to bully women.”
He only hated that he had not grown up yet. If he were older and as capable as his sister, then if he went to that village, he would definitely beat those people up and teach them a proper lesson.
Song Susu rubbed his head again, clearly pleased. “Xiao Chao’s right. Only cowards bully women. Your sister will go to that village later to beat up bad people. Do you want to come with me?”
Song Yuanchao’s gaze was firm as he nodded without hesitation. “I do.”
“Good. Then we’ll go together.” Song Susu smiled faintly. She really liked this younger brother of hers, whose values were so upright.
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