radicalducati Chapter 298 Relapse
Chapter 298 Relapse
On the morning of the fourth day, Bang Geng woke up with soreness all over his body, especially his shoulders and waist. It was like a needle pricking him when he moved. He put on his clothes slowly, moving much slower than usual.
"Hurry up!" Tie Niu urged impatiently outside the door.
After finishing the work on the south slope, they were assigned to weed the west depression today. This place is close to the pond, and there are too many mosquitoes. As soon as he got off the ground, Banggeng was bitten all over his legs, and he scratched constantly because of the itch.
"Focus on your work!" Tieshuan glared at him. "Can a mosquito bite you to death?"
Banggeng managed to swing the hoe a few times, but his attention was focused on the itchy bumps on his legs. Sweat ran into his eyes, making him cry. The sun made his scalp burn, and the clothes on his back were soaked and stuck to his body, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"I want to take a break." Banggeng finally couldn't help it and threw down his hoe and sat down on the edge of the field.
Tieshuan strode over and said, "How long have you been working? You're taking a break now? Get up!"
"I'm itchy!" Banggeng scratched the swelling on his calf, leaving a bloody mark. "It's impossible to work in this damn place!"
Tieshuan grabbed him by the collar and said, "Say it again?"
Bang Geng also got angry: "I said this place is not a job for humans! Are you deliberately making trouble for me?"
"To punish you?" Tieshuan sneered, "Everyone in the village is working here, but you are the only one working here?"
Banggeng pushed the iron bolt away fiercely: "Get out! I've had enough!" He turned around and walked back, "I want to go home!"
Tieshuan rushed forward and kicked Banggeng in the knee from behind. Banggeng fell to his knees in the mud with a plop, and before he could get up, Tieshuan's fist had already landed on his back.
"You're lazy, huh? You're being arrogant, huh?" Tieshuan scolded as he beat her. "A dog will always eat shit!"
Banggeng struggled to turn over and grabbed Tieshuan's wrist: "Stop hitting me! Can't I do it myself?"
Tieshuan stood up panting and pointed at the hoe on the ground: "Pick it up and get to work! If you don't finish weeding this ridge today, don't think about eating!"
Banggeng slowly got up, picked up the hoe, and weeded the grass sporadically. The regret and determination in his heart had long been replaced by irritation, and he just wanted to finish this damn labor as soon as possible.
When Maya brought lunch at noon, Banggeng was lying in the shade of a tree pretending to sleep. He heard Tieniu say to Maya, "You're lazy again. You only finished half a ridge this morning."
Maya didn't say anything, but Banggeng could feel her standing beside him, her eyes on him. The disappointment in her eyes pierced his back like a needle, but he was too lazy to move.
"Boss, it's time to eat." Maya pushed him gently.
Banggeng pretended to have just woken up, rubbing his eyes and sitting up. Maya's eyes were red, as if she had been crying. She placed corn cakes and pickles in front of Banggeng, then quietly walked aside to feed Liuxu.
Bang Geng chewed the biscuit without knowing the taste, and the nameless anger in his heart was getting stronger and stronger. He stood up suddenly and threw the remaining biscuit on the ground: "It's so disgusting!"
Maya shivered with fear, and Liuxu burst into tears.
"What are you crazy about?" Tie Niu stood up suddenly.
Bang Geng pointed at Maya and yelled, "It's all your Li family's fault! If I hadn't married her, I wouldn't have to suffer this!"
Maya's tears flowed down her cheeks, she picked up Liu Xu and turned to run. Tieniu and Tieshuan rushed over to hit Banggeng, but were stopped by Tiezhu.
"Let him go." Tiezhu said coldly, "Let's see how long he can survive in Wugoutun without our Li family."
Banggeng limped towards the village with his neck stiffened. Tieshuan cursed from behind: "You are a useless piece of crap!"
Halfway through the journey, Banggeng's anger gradually faded, replaced by a trace of panic. His words just now were equivalent to completely offending the Li family. In the future...
When passing by the old locust tree at the entrance of the village, several villagers who were enjoying the cool air pointed at him with contempt in their eyes. Banggeng walked past with his head down, but he knew in his heart: he had left the educated youth camp. He married Ma Ya just to survive. Now he was a resident of Wugou Village. If he divorced and returned to the educated youth camp, not to mention whether he could survive, even his father-in-law Captain Li might not agree. Without the protection of the Li family, he would not be able to move forward in Wugou Village.
When it was getting dark, Banggeng reluctantly returned to his yard. The oil lamp was on in the house, and the sound of Ma Ya coaxing catkins could be heard. He wandered at the door for a long time, and finally pushed it open.
When Maya saw him, she turned away immediately. Captain Li sat on the edge of the kang smoking a pipe, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm. The three brothers Tieniu stood aside, their eyes as cold as ice.
"Dad..." Banggeng opened his mouth but didn't know what to say.
Captain Li exhaled a puff of smoke and said slowly: "Jia Geng, our Li family treats you well, right?"
Bang Geng lowered his head and unconsciously twisted the corner of his clothes with his fingers.
"Ma Ya is my daughter. She has never suffered any grievances since she was a child." Captain Li's voice became colder and colder. "I have shed more tears in the past six months of marrying you than in the previous twenty years."
Banggeng's knees suddenly became weak and he fell to his knees with a plop: "Dad, I was wrong... I was confused for a moment..."
"Are you confused for a moment?" Tie Niu sneered, "I think you are a dog that can't change its nature!"
Captain Li knocked on his pipe and said, "Starting tomorrow, you will work with Old Sun to accumulate fertilizer. If you continue to be sneaky..." He paused, "Pack up your bedding and get out. We in the Li family don't want such a son-in-law."
Banggeng shuddered. Composting was the dirtiest and most tiring job in the production team. They had to collect manure from every household and carry it to the composting pool at the east end of the village for fermentation. Old Sun was a notoriously strict person in the village. He had been a soldier when he was young and he hated lazy people.
"Dad..." Banggeng's voice was filled with tears, "I promise to work hard, can you..."
"No!" Captain Li said firmly, "It's settled!"
The next day, before dawn, Bang Geng was awakened by a rapid knock on the door. A hoarse voice came from outside the door: "Jia Geng! Get up and collect the manure!"
Banggeng put on his clothes slowly, opened the door and saw an old man with a hunched back standing in the yard. Old Sun was about sixty years old, with wrinkles all over his face, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.
"Here." Old Sun threw him a shoulder pole and two dung buckets, "Go to the team headquarters first to get the dung scoops."
The early autumn morning was chilly, and Banggeng followed Old Sun with his neck hunched. Most of the houses he passed by had their doors closed, and only a few chimneys were emitting wisps of smoke.
In the warehouse of the team headquarters, Old Sun took out a long-handled dung shovel and handed it to Bang Geng: "Start from the west end of the village and collect it from each household."
The first house was Wang Laowu's. Old Sun walked around to the toilet behind the house and opened the wooden cover of the manure vat. A foul smell hit him in the face and he almost vomited.
"Go ahead!" Old Sun glared, "Are you waiting for me to serve you?"
Banggeng pinched his nose and trembled as he put the dung shovel into the dung vat. The sticky dung water made a gurgling sound, and a few drops splashed on his hand. He retracted his hand as if he had received an electric shock, and the dung shovel fell into the vat.
"Useless!" Old Sun pushed him away, picked up the dung shovel, and skillfully scooped up the dung water and poured it into the bucket. "See clearly? Just do it!"
Banggeng followed Old Sun to visit more than 20 households in the morning. When the dung bucket was full, he would carry it to the manure pit to dump it, and then come back to continue collecting. By noon, his shoulders were already rubbed with blood marks, his clothes were covered with dung spots, and he smelled foul.
"Go home for dinner." Old Sun looked at the sun, "Meet here in an hour."
Banggeng dragged his heavy feet back to the Li family. As soon as he reached the gate, he heard Maya screaming, "Don't come in!" She covered her nose and threw a set of clean clothes and a piece of soap far away, "Go to the river and wash yourself before entering the house!"
Banggeng stood in the cold river, scrubbing the feces off his body, tears streaming down his face. He remembered that when he was in the city, although his family was poor, at least he didn't have to do this kind of work. Now he has fallen to the point of digging out feces, and even his wife finds it dirty.
The work in the afternoon was even harder. In addition to collecting the manure, they also had to stir the manure water in the manure pool. Old Sun stood by the pool holding a long stick and gave instructions: "Stir hard! How can it ferment if it's not stirred evenly?"
Bang Geng was holding the dung stirring stick, and every time he stirred, the dung splashed on his face. His arms were shaking with pain, but he didn't dare to stop. Old Sun was standing next to him, and he would hit his legs with a stick if he slacked off.