Before heading to Yucun, Long Zaitian first called Long Xiaochuan to the ancestral hall, saying that he wanted to give an explanation to the people in the village.
He just asked Xiaomei Long to follow him: "I'll help your brother back later."
Not allowing outsiders to observe the execution of family law is definitely not because Long Zaitian wants to hold back for personal gain, but rather because he does not want anyone to intercede to prevent corporal punishment.
With tears in her eyes, Long Xiaomei kept begging her brother for mercy, but was blocked by Long Xiaochuan's remorseful "I deserve it."
Indeed, Lei Zhai had the full control of today's matter. If Long Xiaochuan had not agreed to play to determine the outcome without permission, and violently beat up Shi Lang, Long Xiaochuan would have been sitting at home, waiting for Shi Zhenxing to prepare.
Come to your door with generous gifts to plead for mercy.
Because of Long Xiaochuan's impulsiveness, not only did Leizhai lose face, but he was also ripped off by Yucun, and even the broken basketball stand was not compensated.
Long Zaitian is the leader of the village. If his own son makes a mistake, he can only be punished by "causing heavy losses to the village, twenty canes."
Long Xiaomei had a fierce temper and argued with tears: "Why! That Shi Lang is not a good person. He not only destroyed our public property, but also acted like a gangster by touching me. If he dares to go to the government to file a complaint
, we will go to court with him, my brother is suspended, and he will never want to play basketball in the future!"
Long Zaitian stared and stamped his feet: "What do you know? You think it's a lose-lose situation? In fact, Yucun has a strong army and a prosperous population, so they can afford to lose; it's your brother who can't afford to lose. His suspension will ruin his future; Leizhai can't afford to lose."
, the 'village bas' who missed these two years will only be left behind by other villages, and the gap will become wider and wider!"
"That can't be..."
"Stop talking, Abba is right!"
Long Xiaochuan interrupted his sister, quickly took off his shirt and knelt down in the main hall of the ancestral hall, kowtowing to the ancestral tablets of each surname in Lei Village to apologize.
There was a skin injury on his knee. When he knelt down suddenly, the bandaged wound immediately burst, and the blood stained the blue tile floor red.
Long Zaitian was so distressed that he almost shed tears, but he still resisted scolding his son for his mistakes, and then brought an old black stool and asked his son to lie down on it to receive punishment.
Long Xiaomei once again stepped forward to beg for mercy, but was shouted back.
Long Zaitian looked at the dark wooden stick in his hand, and he actually felt uncomfortable. The stick would cause swelling and bruises at first, and the skin would be torn and bruised at worst. After twenty sticks, he would not be able to walk for at least two months.
Just when he was raising his head high and ready to hit it down, Grandpa Wu suddenly walked in from outside: "Stop!"
"Uncle Wu, why are you here?"
"Can't I come to the ancestral hall? Put down the stick!"
"Don't stop me. I told you that I would give everyone an explanation."
"In what age are you still engaging in these feudal methods? Let me say it for the last time, put down the stick!"
Grandpa Wu got angry, but Long Zaitian didn't dare to disobey his orders, so he could only throw the stick on the ground in anger.
The old man came up, picked up the clothes and asked Long Xiaochuan to put them on: "It doesn't matter if you make a mistake, you can correct it. What you are afraid of is making the same mistake over and over again and being stubborn."
Long Xiaochuan's eyes were stubborn: "Fifth Grandpa, thank you for your kindness, I am willing to accept the punishment."
"You know nothing, do you think I'm saying you made a mistake? I mean your father is obsessed with making mistakes again and again! Think about it, your father beat you up, who will go to play basketball for Lei Zhai?
A game? I heard about your idea of returning to the village. This basketball game is very important. You should play well and make meritorious deeds!"
Grandpa Wu smiled and sent the brothers and sisters to leave first. He wanted to have a good talk with Long Zaitian.
The two of them sat facing each other under the patio of the ancestral hall. Long Zaitian was dejected: "Uncle Wu, if you do this, I won't be able to explain to the people in the village."
"We are all our own people, who would take pleasure in watching you destroy Xiaochuan? You can handle the external affairs well, which is the best explanation for the village!"
"Hey," Long Zaitian nodded, more or less finding a step for himself.
He took out the pipe pot and filled it with tobacco leaves, and asked for advice: "What should I do when I go to Yucun?"
Grandpa Wu laughed dryly: "It's just a loss of face. At your age, you still can't look away?"
"How much is my face worth? I'm still worried that Shi Zhenxing's lion will open his mouth and harm the interests of our village."
"For the future of the village, it is understandable to make some trade-offs. As long as it is not an interest condition that exceeds the bottom line, you can just accept it. I will comfort you at home and no one will gossip."
This is a reassurance, which means sufficient trust and a lower bottom line.
Long Zaitian responded gratefully and handed over the packed cigarette bag.
Fifth Grandpa did not answer: "I heard that a person can smoke only a limited number of cigarettes in his life. He should finish smoking early and leave early. I still want to keep this smoke and live for a few more years. You should also smoke less, Xiaochuan also said
Young man, I can't live without you in the village."
Long Zaitian was very obedient and immediately put away the tobacco bag.
After leaving the ancestral hall, he went home first, took two 10L white plastic square buckets, filled them with his home-brewed Baogu soju, and went to Yucun for a walk.
This is destined to be a humiliating trip.
Long Zaitian rested for a while at the entrance of the village, lowered his head and hurried straight to the village committee compound. However, he was told by the person on duty: "Secretary Shi has something to do at home and has asked for personal leave."
He knew that Shi Zhenxing was deliberately making things difficult. If he had been himself ten years ago, he would have gone back in anger. If he had been twenty years ago, he would not have made this trip at all.
But now that I have reached the age where I know my destiny, I have to think about my son and Lei Village, and I am forced to bow to the feuding Shi family.
He went to Shi Zhenxing's house and knocked on the door with his neck stiffened, but found that the door was closed tightly and no one answered for a long time.
The neighbor also directed him to go to the basketball hall to look for someone, so he had to carry two barrels of wine and walk around Yucun.
All the villagers in Yucun recognize Long Zaitian.
At every street corner and alleyway there are gossipy village women pointing and pointing. They don’t know any of the inside story, but they don’t stop them from chatting happily all afternoon.
Long Zaitian walked with heavy steps for a long time before he saw the arena building with the words "Thunder MVP" and various basketball stickers hanging at the door.
Pushing open the door of the arena and looking at the polished wooden floor under his feet, he became more and more uncomfortable, feeling that he was out of place here.
Before he could ask the staff, Shi Zhenxing had already greeted him from afar, smiled and hurried up to greet him, looking extremely enthusiastic, as if he were reunited with an old friend.
The two village party secretaries stood together, forming a sharp contrast.
Shi Zhenxing is tall and thin, with a red face and a smile. He wears an executive jacket, trousers and leather shoes, and a watch on his wrist.
Long Zaitian is short and stocky, with deep wrinkles and sullen features. He wears traditional homespun clothes and yellow rubber shoes, with two white plastic buckets at his feet.
"Look, you can come as soon as you come. What gifts can you bring," Shi Zhenxing said politely, but waved for Liu Dingding to come over and "take" the two barrels of wine. He took Long Zaitian to visit the basketball stadium without saying a word.