Chronicle of the 70s-Chapter 28 - 0 Hitting People

For a moment, both groups became eerily quiet. Wang Xiwang watched with a malevolent expression as the rangy teenage boys across from him bared their teeth in grins, feeling a hint of confusion. These young men didn't seem like typical rural folk at all, especially the slightly plumper one who spoke the local dialect with a tinge of Mandarin, was eloquent, and even appeared knowledgeable about the local administration. Could he be the child of some leader?

But at this critical moment, he couldn't afford any mistakes. Otherwise, the accusation of kidnapping women would fall on his family. Although his brother had assured him that this family had significant influence, valued sons over daughters, and saw girls as nothing more than commodities, incomparable to sons. They had even planned for all possible scenarios. But what was happening now? Wang Xiwang felt a headache coming on.

As he looked at the onlookers, Wang Xiwang's eyes darted around before smiling slyly and gesturing towards some people holding sticks nearby.

The seven or eight young men standing behind him, with the leader bearing a 70-80% resemblance to Wang Xiwang, noticed his signal and didn't hesitate to shout to the people beside him: "Brothers, beat them up for me!"

Without any caution, they charged forward and began fighting.

These people, armed with sticks, had no problem dealing with the six unarmed boys, who immediately found themselves on the receiving end. Thankfully, their attackers weren't hitting too hard, targeting the meatier parts of the back and buttocks. Seeing this, Li Jianqing started dodging and running through the crowd, calling out, "Everyone, rush to the yard! Rescue my sister first!"

With these words, he began rushing towards the yard recklessly. Qin Family's Fatty, who was pain-stricken from the beating, hurriedly started moving, shouting as he ran towards the yard, "Help! Help! Wang Xiwang is murdering to silence us! Wang Xiwang is a human trafficker! He kidnapped a girl to marry off to his idiot!"

With this revelation, the previously retreating crowd enclosed even tighter, drawn by the commotion. In these days, rural villages didn't have much entertainment, so gossip about who had a lazy daughter-in-law, a harsh mother-in-law, or a troublesome young auntie was common, but such explosive news about human trafficking was rare. Thus, unable to control their inner gossipers despite the cold, they stomped their feet and crowded around the yard.

Updat𝓮d from frёewebnoѵēl.com.

For a time, the Wang family's yard was bustling with chaos. The Wang family's relatives also came out to help. Li Jianqing hadn't even reached the entrance of the cave dwelling when he was blocked by several muscular middle-aged men who dragged him away to the side of the yard.

Ma Sanjue was a smart lad who had agreed that if anything went awry, he'd run. So, he was the first to flee the yard, shouting for help as he ran.

The other five, including Qin Family's Fatty, were caught. Wang Xiwang's face, in the midst of the scuffle, was unintentionally scratched by someone, leaving three nail scratches that stung fiercely. He looked at the several captured young lads with a rage that made his teeth hurt.

Qin Xiaopang gave Li Jianqing a meaningful look, and Li Jianqing immediately shouted, "Let us go! We left a message with the brigade. If we don't return, Wang Xiwang, you won't get away with this. Release us now!"

Wang Xiwang laughed darkly. He walked up to Li Jianqing, who was at the forefront of the attempted escape, and punched him hard in the stomach. Using all his strength, the punch forced Li Jianqing to spew out a mouthful of water, curling up like a shrimp on the ground in agony, his face twisted in pain.

Seeing his companion being hit, Qin Family's Fatty's rage burned uncontrollably and, losing his previous composure, he struggled fiercely, yelling, "Release us! Wang Xiwang, you despicable scoundrel! Human trafficking is a serious crime wherever you go. If you have the guts, kill me today; otherwise, I swear I will annihilate your entire family!" He shouted with murderous intent.

Wang Xiwang shuddered. This teenage boy did not look like a child from a typical farmer's family. However, he really couldn't afford to have anyone killed at this juncture, but a beating to let out some steam was feasible. After all, even if someone came, what would it change? There was no evidence, was there?

With this in mind, he waved his hand and ordered, "Beat him! Just don't beat him to death!"

In an instant, various cries of agony filled the courtyard of the Wang family. Li Jianqing, with both arms restrained by two strong men, was unable to defend himself. He was then viciously punched and kicked several times by Wang Xiwang, covering him in dust and leaving blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing that a few had been subdued, Wang Xiwang, with a gleeful look, addressed the onlookers from the village, "That's enough, gentlemen, there's nothing more to see. Go home, everyone. These young troublemakers came to our village to stir up trouble. It's our village's duty to subdue them. In a while, I'll have the militia send them off to the commune's police station!"

The surrounding whispers buzzed; the onlookers showed no sign of dispersing, as the scene before them was too out of the ordinary.

Wang Xiwang ignored them and turned to enter the house when a middle-aged man who was drenched in sweat and wearing glasses squeezed into the courtyard and called out, "Brother!"

Hearing that it was his own younger brother, Wang Xiwang quickly turned around. His brother wiped the sweat from his brow with some urgency and, seeing the beaten young men on the ground, asked in confusion, "Brother, what's going on here?"

Wang Xiwang frowned, glanced at the people outside their courtyard wall, and without answering, gestured with his eyes. The two quickly went inside.

No sooner had they entered the house than Wang Xiwang asked with an angry tone, "What's going on? Didn't you say that family would absolutely not come knocking? How did they find us?"

Wang Aijun's brow furrowed as tightly as a twist of dough. His previously gentle face now looked sinister. Squinting his small eyes behind his glasses, he took a moment before saying, "Are those teenage boys outside from the Li Family?"

Wang Xiwang nodded, "We just set off the firecrackers, preparing for the wedding ceremony, when six people showed up. I let one run away, and had the others beaten up. What do we do now?"

Instead of a direct answer, Wang Aijun asked, "Where are they now?" Then he glanced at the wooden ceiling of the house.

Wang Xiwang pointed upwards, "When things got chaotic outside, I had their mouths gagged and put them up there."

Wang Aijun nodded, "It's okay, as long as the people are well hidden, there won't be any problem. If anyone asks, just say they went back to their maternal home."

Wang Xiwang nodded, just as he was about to say something, he heard the noisy arrival of more people outside. The voice was somewhat familiar. Wang Aijun's face suddenly darkened; the voice outside was unmistakably Old He from the county's Armed Forces Department!