Chapter 5 Preferring Sons to Daughters

The car was much warmer than outside; as soon as she sat in, her blood seemed to start warming up. Shen Mianmian hugged herself and couldn't help but tear up again at the thought of her past life. The road ahead was long, and the first thing she had to do now was go to school.

Only by going to school and acquiring skills could she break away from her past fate and resist Zhou Lanfang.

In the 1980s, college students were extremely precious, even a graduate from an unremarkable university could make an entire village proud. In the eyes of others, they were intellectuals, worthy of extra respect.

Teachers of that era were also very strict, especially with someone like her, a struggling student. Although she liked to read, she never had time to do homework once she was home. After washing the dishes and clothes, she had to feed the pigs and cows. Zhou Lanfang, citing the need to save electricity, wouldn't allow her to turn on the lights, so her homework was rarely completed. Her teacher was so frustrated with her that he often ground his teeth in anger and frequently made her stand as punishment.

She had been beaten by Zhou Lanfang yesterday and hadn't made it to school; she also didn't go today, and she definitely had to go tomorrow. The school had a rule that students who missed three days would be expelled immediately.

Her poor academic performance was one of the reasons why she hadn't been able to continue her studies in her previous life, and why Shen Jianhua hadn't objected to it.

Zhao Xianlai sighed as he looked at Shen Mianmian sitting in the car, then turned and went into the yard. He Nan followed him, and as the two of them entered the main hall, Zhao Xianlai's wife, Li Chunhua, returned from outside. Her first question upon entering was,

"Why is Mianmian sitting in He Nan's car?"

Zhao Xianlai took a puff from his large tobacco pipe before responding with a sorrowful face, "She was beaten again, with nowhere else to go."

"Lanfang is really committing sins. If she didn't want to keep her at the beginning..." Li Chunhua's words trailed off halfway as she glanced at the car at the entrance, sighed, and then turned to He Nan, "You and your uncle sit for a while—I'll go pour some tea for you."

He Nan nodded and casually replied with a soft "Okay," and as soon as Li Chunhua left, he asked in an indifferent tone, "Uncle Zhao, what's the matter with Mianmian?"

Mianmian?

Zhao Xianlai looked at He Nan with some surprise. When had he become so familiar with Shen Mianmian?

"Mianmian is a pitiful child. Zhou Lanfang beats and scolds her every other day. Just look at her body, old injuries upon new ones. She's hardly had a few peaceful days in a year."

He Nan frowned slightly, "Haven't you intervened?"

Zhao Xianlai sighed deeply, his tone filled with helplessness, "After all, it's someone else's family matter. Mianmian hasn't come to me like she did today; it's not easy to meddle. I also didn't realize she was so ruthless."

Which family doesn't discipline their children? It's never been brought up here before. When a family closes their doors, even if he's the village head, he can't interfere too much.

In this era, few people could read, and the general lack of education meant that they didn't understand the law and didn't realize that such behavior constituted child abuse.

He Nan's frown deepened, and as Li Chunhua came over with the teapot, she couldn't resist joining the conversation, "Lanfang is just partial. She only cares about her niece and has never treated Mianmian like a human being. The neighbors living next to her say that when Mianmian was a child, she was often heard wailing from the beatings. They haven't heard any noise in the past two or three years and thought it was because the child had grown bigger and Lanfang dared not hit her anymore. They didn't realize it was just on the surface—this child must have become numb to the beatings, which is why she no longer made any sound."

Her wounds on the arm pained her to see; she wouldn't even bear to treat a dog like that! Zhou Lanfang's heart couldn't possibly be made of flesh.

After listening to Li Chunhua's account, He Nan pondered for a moment, his expression impassive, "Uncle Zhao, aren't you going to do something about this?"