Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 28: The 1970s Naive Supporting Girl (28)
Song Susu asked casually, “Is it really that bad? Back in Xingling Village, I heard the local atmosphere here isn’t great. Nobody does anything about it?”
Liu Yingzi curled her lips and lowered her voice. “Some of those troublemakers belong to the Tian clan in the village. The people in charge here are also surnamed Tian. They look out for each other and cover things up. As long as nobody dies, they just turn a blind eye.”
When Song Susu heard the surname Tian, her eyes grew cold.
The abusive man the original host had married in her previous life had also been surnamed Tian.
His name was Tian Shiwu. A widower with two children, he loved gambling and had barely a coin to his name. He had a violent temper, and whenever he suffered outside, he came home to vent his anger.
His wife and children were nothing more than punching bags to him. When he hit someone, he showed no mercy at all. There wasn’t a shred of humanity in him.
“Susu, my arm’s injured so I took a day off. Wherever you’re going, I’ll go with you.”
“Sure.”
Song Susu didn’t say much about her real purpose for coming. With members of the Cao family still around, the more people who knew, the harder it would be to succeed.
“Oh right, Yingzi. We’ll probably need to stay for a night, so we need somewhere spacious to sleep. Could you help ask around? We won’t stay for free, we’ll pay for lodging.”
As soon as she heard this, Liu Yingzi said, “There’s an Auntie Ge living next to the educated youth settlement. She has a spare room, and her family is pretty decent.”
Liu Yingzi was quick and efficient. She immediately went out to ask, got the homeowner’s permission, and returned right away to lead the three of them to see the place.
The Ge family was an elderly couple. Their eldest son had married into his wife’s family and moved to the county town.
Their younger son had just gotten married this year. Coincidentally, the young couple had recently gone to visit the wife’s family, leaving two empty rooms at home.
The Ge family wasn’t well-off, so when the old couple heard they would receive one yuan for a night’s stay, they were thrilled. Without hesitation, they cleaned up two rooms for them.
Song Susu shared one room with her younger brother, while Cao Xiaojun took the other.
After settling in, Song Susu casually asked about the direction of the Tian family’s home. She had no intention of wasting time.
By coincidence, just as Song Susu and the others left the educated youth settlement with Liu Yingzi, they ran into several hooligans who looked like bad news.
“Liu Yingzi, you little slut, how dare you chase me with a sickle! Today I brought my brothers along. Let’s see if I can’t finish you off!”
The man shouting was barely over one meter sixty tall. His sharp, monkey-like face had several fresh scratches, and he leaned on a wooden crutch as he glared viciously at Liu Yingzi.
Caught off guard by the sudden confrontation, Liu Yingzi instinctively stepped back half a pace, but she still gritted her teeth and snapped, “Niu Dayong, shut up! You were the one following me and up to no good. And you still dare come here to cause trouble? Believe it or not, I’ll call the police and have you arrested!”
“You dare? Let’s see if you can even leave this village!”
Liu Yingzi’s temper flared as well. Clenching her fists tightly, she shot back, “No matter what, I’m still an educated youth from the City. Do you think we’re easy to bully? If Captain Tian finds out, a second-rate thug like you won’t have a good ending!”
Perhaps because Liu Yingzi sounded so confident, Niu Dayong faltered for a moment. He instinctively turned to look at the man beside him, calling out ingratiatingly, “Brother Wu.”
But Tian Shiwu wasn’t paying attention to their argument at all. His eyes were fixed on Song Susu, staring straight at her as his throat bobbed with a swallow.
Good heavens. He had lived most of his life and had never seen a woman this fresh and delicate.
Song Susu wasn’t dressed flamboyantly. She wore a loose dark blue floral shirt, plain baggy trousers, and wide-strap cloth shoes. Her straight bangs framed her face, and her hair was tied into a single braid.
Yet her face was simply too striking. Under the sunlight, her skin seemed to glow with a pale radiance.
When Niu Dayong didn’t get a response, he followed Tian Shiwu’s gaze. His eyes rolled slightly, and he immediately said with a flattering tone, “Brother Wu, that’s probably a newly arrived educated youth.”
The others burst into lewd snickers when they heard that. “That girl is really pretty. Her face is so white and tender, and those lips are so red.”
“And that waist is so slim, curves in all the right places…”
Song Susu let out a cold laugh. Without warning, she rushed forward and slapped each of them across the face.
“Who gave you the nerve? A bunch of filthy creeps with rat-like eyes!”
She didn’t hold back at all. Every slap landed with full force. The hooligans who had been making comments were knocked straight to the ground, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths as dizziness washed over them.
Song Yuanchao reacted quickly, rushing over to deliver two solid kicks before darting back behind his sister.
Tian Shiwu was startled by the sudden outburst, but seeing the woman up close only made her seem even more breathtaking, almost like a fairy.
He was used to the timid, submissive women in the village. This fiery temperament had a completely different kind of charm.
He immediately chimed in, “Right! Their mouths were filthy. They deserved that beating.”
Song Yuanchao stepped in front of his sister, glaring fiercely at the older man. “Stay away from us!”
Liu Yingzi and the others finally snapped out of it and hurried over.
Song Susu patted her younger brother’s head, then lifted her gaze toward Tian Shiwu and let out a soft scoff. “And what kind of good thing do you think you are?”
Behind him, Niu Dayong shrank back slightly and muttered, “Brother Wu, this shrew went too far. She even hit our people…”
Tian Shiwu turned around and gave him a light kick. “Get lost. Since when was it your turn to speak?”
He quickly switched to a smiling expression and stared at Song Susu as he asked, “Comrade, you’re a newly arrived educated youth, right?”
Cao Xiaojun’s face darkened as he let out a cold snort and answered for her. “No. She’s an educated youth from our Xingling Village. She’s just here visiting a friend today.”
The smile on Tian Shiwu’s face faded. He frowned at the tall Cao Xiaojun. “I wasn’t talking to you. Besides, what’s your relationship with this comrade? Since when was it your turn to speak?”
Cao Xiaojun’s temper flared. His large frame stepped forward, forcing the other man to keep backing up.
“Pah. A hooligan like you really thinks you’re somebody? Stop trying to chat her up. I’m protecting the educated youth from our village. If you dare cause trouble, don’t blame my fists for being merciless.”
Tian Shiwu was only about 1.7 meters tall with an average build, and he immediately lost ground in terms of presence, stumbling back a step.
His face turned dark with anger as he cursed, “Where did this brat come from? Never heard of my name, Tian Shiwu? My uncle is the brigade leader here. In Heihegou, I’m the boss. Don’t you dare start trouble!”
“Pah! Look at you showing off just because of one relative. My own uncle is the brigade leader of Xingling Village. You think I’m scared of you?”
“You!”
Cao Xiaojun shoved him aside and escorted Song Susu and the others away protectively.
Tian Shiwu watched their retreating figures unwillingly, cursing under his breath in frustration.
After they had walked some distance away, Liu Yingzi still looked shaken. She hesitated before glancing at Song Susu and said softly, “Susu, I know you’re bold, but just now was really dangerous.”
Song Susu had acted on purpose from the start. What she wanted was for those people to come looking for trouble later.
She knew Liu Yingzi meant well, so she replied casually, “Mostly because their mouths were too filthy. I really couldn’t hold back. Besides, we’ve got Comrade Cao here.”
Hearing that, Cao Xiaojun puffed out his chest and cleared his throat. “Exactly. As long as I’m here, you ladies don’t need to be afraid. Those few punks are nothing. A few punches from me and they’ll fall in line.”
Liu Yingzi had no choice but to let it go, though she kept glancing back from time to time, still feeling uneasy, as if those men would definitely come looking for trouble again.
Noticing her small movements, Song Susu suggested, “Yingzi, why don’t you stay with me tonight? We can chat for a bit.”
Liu Yingzi froze for a moment, then nodded instinctively. “Alright.”
She simply assumed Susu wasn’t used to staying here alone, and besides, she genuinely enjoyed talking with her.
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Glossary:
In the context of rural China during the 1960s–70s:
1. Brigade Leader (大队长 / dà duì zhǎng)
🌞 Leader of a production brigade, which is a collective farm unit.
🌞 Responsible for organizing labor, farming tasks, and production quotas.
🌞 Usually in charge of multiple villages or large village areas, depending on the region.
🌞 Focus is more on work, economy, and collective production.
2. Village Head (村长 / cūn zhǎng)
🌞 Leader of the actual village settlement, like the “mayor” of a small village.
🌞 Responsible for local governance, civil affairs, and village disputes.
🌞 Handles things like household registrations, minor disputes, and community matters.
🌞 Focus is more on daily life, social order, and administration.
So: A brigade leader might supervise several villages’ production, while a village head deals with the people and day-to-day village affairs. Sometimes, one person could hold both roles, but they’re technically different responsibilities.
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