Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 30: The 1970s Naive Supporting Girl (30)
More and more people gathered to watch. Song Susu didn’t care about their curious or judgmental looks at all. She stood there openly, letting everyone see her clearly.
Before long, people from the brigade leadership arrived.
The Heihegou brigade leader was named Tian Dagui, a man in his early fifties with a stout build. He looked around first, and only relaxed when he didn’t spot any of his own family involved. As long as his household wasn’t implicated, he didn’t really care how those troublemakers were dealt with.
Soon after, his gaze landed on Song Susu, and he frowned deeply as he scolded, “Comrade, why are you still standing there crying? Go back and change your clothes. Aren’t you embarrassed, letting so many people see you like this?”
Song Susu had been covering her face, pretending to be distressed. The moment she heard that shout, she reacted as if truly enraged, glaring at him fiercely.
“You’re talking nonsense! I’m the victim! How dare you say something like that? So many animals are running wild under your jurisdiction, and you still have the face to act as brigade leader? If I were you, I’d be too ashamed to stay in that position!”
The moment those words came out, Tian Dagui’s face turned first green, then dark.
The educated youths watching nearby couldn’t help but cheer quietly. They were all fairly educated, and they had long looked down on the village’s rough customs. A young woman had been harassed, yet instead of helping her seek justice, this brigade leader was humiliating her instead. Clearly, something was wrong with him.
Just then, Cao Xiaojun dragged Tian Shiwu out from inside.
“Everyone, take a look. This man is related to Brigade Leader Tian. That’s why he’s so desperate to protect him.”
Hearing that, the crowd immediately pressed closer to look. Someone exclaimed, “It really is Tian Shiwu!”
The moment Tian Dagui realized it was indeed his own relative, his face darkened further. He immediately tried to disperse the crowd. “What are you all staring at? Go home, all of you!”
Song Susu spat in disgust and pointed straight at Tian Dagui as she began to curse him out. “Everyone, open your eyes and take a good look! How terrifying is it to have an official like this in the village? Today it’s me, tomorrow it could be someone else’s daughter. Are we all supposed to just accept being bullied by them? Do the Tian family really think they can rule over everyone?”
“The new society got rid of oppression long ago! The landlords and feudal systems were overthrown! Why should we still let them push us around like this? We need an explanation today. If not, then let’s all work together and take off his official hat!”
Liu Yingzi immediately chimed in. “I agree! Every family has daughters. This must be resolved today, or who knows who they’ll target next!”
The educated youths, thinking about all the unfair treatment they had witnessed in the village, raised their arms and shouted along. “People like this are parasites! Instead of living under his oppression, he should step down!”
The crowd felt their hearts stir at those words.
Cold sweat broke out across Tian Dagui’s forehead as he hurriedly snapped back, “You need to stop spouting nonsense! If you were more proper, would he have targeted you? Why didn’t he go after someone else? Clearly you were the one who led him on! Don’t you dare smear me!”
Song Susu pushed through the crowd and suddenly lunged forward, grabbing him by the collar and throwing punches.
“What decent girl would ever want trash like that? I’ll beat you for spouting such shameless lies!”
After several heavy blows, blood was already running from Tian Dagui’s nose and mouth. Terrified, he fell to the ground, wailing, “Help! Someone’s being beaten to death!”
“People of Heihegou! We’re all tied together here. Work together and subdue these outsiders, and I’ll reward each household with five yuan!”
Hearing the promise of five yuan, some villagers felt tempted, but no one stepped forward right away.
Just then, a bachelor jumped out and said, “Brigade Leader Tian is right. We’re from the same village, we should help our own, not outsiders. And there’s money too. I, Laizi, will go first!”
The man walked toward Song Susu, but she stepped forward and slapped him twice without hesitation. “I’ll beat you too for helping evil!”
The others were startled by the girl’s fierce temper.
Song Susu kicked Laizi aside and turned her sharp, dark gaze toward the onlookers, her eyes cold and piercing as she stared them down.
“Are you all really just going to stand here and watch the show? Who here doesn’t have women in their family? Are you really going to let your future children grow up under this kind of filthy oppression?”
“I’m just a weak woman and even I dare to stand up against injustice! There are so many of you, are you really going to pretend not to see and hide like cowards? If you don’t stand up now, you’ll never be able to hold your heads high again!”
Some of the people who had suffered under the Tian family, their eyes burning red, suddenly rushed forward and shouted, “Heihegou used to be a well respected village! Ever since Tian Dagui became Brigade Leader ten years ago, our reputation has only gotten worse. He harms our own villagers, and now even people from other villages look down on us!”
More and more people stepped forward. Some of the young women in the village who had been deeply wronged also ran out, crying as they spoke.
“None of the Tian family are good people! Why should we suffer like this for nothing? We want justice!”
“That’s right! Tian Shiwu beat his wife to death and nobody cared. Is there even a way for people like us to survive in this world anymore…”
Seeing the crowd grow more and more furious, Tian Dagui scrambled up from the ground and shouted at them in panic.
“Shut up! Do you still want to live in this village or not!”
The more he threatened them, the more people stepped forward. At first, Song Susu’s words had made everyone too ashamed to raise their heads, but as more voices joined in exposing the Tian family’s crimes, the crowd’s courage began to rise.
Song Susu raised her voice and said, “Everyone, don’t be afraid! Good officials are chosen by the people. If we refuse to recognize him, he’s nothing! These days people talk about equality. He has no right to bully us. Let’s report him together, remove him from his position, and restore Heihegou to the peace it had ten years ago!”
One by one, the villagers were stirred into action. Their eyes reddened as they surged forward and began beating Tian Dagui.
“That’s right! Report this bastard!”
“A corrupt official like you, even an upright official will punish you…”
By the time Cao Guangzhu arrived with the police, the villagers were already crowding around to file complaints.
“Comrade officer, we want to report the crimes of the Tian family!”
“Tian Dagui stole public grain…”
“Tian Baoguo bullied my daughter-in-law. Poor girl, she was five months pregnant and ended up drowning herself…”
“Tian Shiwu harassed women, ruined a girl’s life, and even beat his own wife to death…”
The two policemen who came along were stunned at first by the chaos, but as they listened to the villagers describe the events, their expressions slowly hardened.
“Everyone, please stay calm. We’ll go to the village brigade to sort this out. Tell us everything clearly…”
Cao Guangzhu was still a little shocked and quietly slipped over to pull his nephew aside.
“Didn’t Song Zhiqing’s brother call to say you were being bullied and that someone might get seriously hurt? Why is everyone in the village causing such a scene?”
Cao Xiaojun frowned in anger and explained, “The lowlifes here are way too brazen. The Tian family tried to bully Song Zhiqing under cover of darkness. We all saw it happen, but Tian Dagui refused to admit anything and insulted her too. Song Zhiqing got fed up, so she rallied everyone and beat him up. Then a lot of villagers spoke up about the harassment they’ve suffered at the hands of the Tian family.”
Cao Guangzhu frowned further, then sighed. “If I had known it would get this big, we shouldn’t have gotten involved. Now that it’s blown up, the higher-ups will definitely launch an investigation.”
Cao Xiaojun bristled at his uncle’s words. “Uncle, the ones who did wrong are the Tian family. Why are you afraid? Investigate if you need to. We’re doing the right thing here.”
Cao Guangzhu slapped his nephew on the head. “You don’t understand a thing. Once this spreads, the whole township will come under strict scrutiny. Many people are involved, and by leading the police here, we’ve made ourselves targets.”
Cao Xiaojun rubbed his head. “Doing the right thing is still wrong? It’s their fault. Who knows, the higher-ups might even reward you, uncle.”
He didn’t want to argue any further and ran after the crowd heading to the brigade.
He needed to stand as a witness for Song Zhiqing and tell the police just how reckless the local bullies had been.
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T/N: So basically, today I’m supposed to be translating The Tyrant’s Drama Queen Empress, right? But I still have a slight fever and honestly don’t feel like tackling that monster of a chapter (5k+ words). So, I picked this novel instead. I’m feeling a little better now. As for that long-ass chapter… sorry, I just can’t deal with it right now 😗
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