Bai Erlang said he didn't know.
"If you're bullied, just hit back," he said, which is what he did in Qili Village—and no one dared to complain to his family, let alone go to the authorities.
But he also knew things here were different from Qili Village, yet he was puzzled, "Being hit is such a humiliating thing; would they really go complain to the authorities?"
Manbao: "Anyway, I would."
Bai Erlang then curled his lip, "Coward."
Manbao slapped him and glared, "Say that again!"
Bai Erlang was furious, "You're hitting people now; I'm going to the authorities, too."
Manbao: "Coward!"
Manbao decided not to study with a coward anymore, so she put away the Book of Documents and took a medical book out into the courtyard to recite.
After school at the government school, Bai Shanbao came straight home without lingering at the school.