Chapter Fifteen: Oriole in the Rear

  Chen Lan, Song Quan and Shu Tong were all stunned, their legs trembling with fear. The three of them felt inexplicable, what did we do wrong?

  Yu Songyuan was the same, after a brief panic, he quickly went over in his mind the "bad things" he had done recently. The more he thought about it, the more he felt wronged, what earth-shakingly bad thing had he done?

  In his memory, when he was a child, there wasn't a single day that he didn't get into trouble and get beaten by his mother. But his mother's method was three parts beating and seven parts scaring, after beating him she would secretly cry herself. However, the family rules were different, he had only been disciplined once.

  That time, it was because the team secretary Zhou Jianguo teased Yu Yue. I remember Zhou Jianguo pinched Yu Yue's aunt's neck with his hand, and when he didn't get his way, he became furious and threatened to come back that night. At that time, only 7 or 8 years old, Yu Songyuan was filled with hatred, so he used a slingshot to knock Zhou Jianguo to the ground, almost blinding one of Zhou's eyes.

  I remember that time after being punished, Yu Xinhe also told the naughty Yu Songyuan, "You helped your aunt, it's a merit. But you almost blinded someone's eyes, that's a mistake. To make you remember from a young age, merits and mistakes are not interchangeable, so I had to punish you." Although Yu Songyuan was small, he understood things relatively early, and he completely understood his father's words, obediently accepting the punishment.

  This time is different, Yu Songyuan doesn't even know what he did wrong. So, the young Yu Songyuan stood in front of his father, looking straight into his eyes, and calmly stated his conditions:

  "You are the parents, and if you want to hit me, that's fine. But I have two requests. First, I want to know what I did wrong, can you tell me before hitting me? Second, those three all listen to me, if there is a mistake, it was only me who made it, so hitting me would be enough, and it has nothing to do with them, no need to involve the innocent."

  Yu Xinhe asked the adults of each family to sit down, then said: "You ask well. I also want to know what you did wrong, who can tell me where they went wrong?" The four families all looked at each other in dismay, not knowing how to answer. Even Wang Feng, who was full of knowledge and questions, was asked and left speechless.

  It was either that the professor had seen and known much, and immediately reacted, knowing she should speak first. So, she kindly said to Yu Songyuan and his three younger brothers:

  "Children, you are all good kids in Grandma's eyes. Your grandfather, your uncle and all the grown-ups think that you have not done anything seriously wrong. However, just because you haven't done anything wrong doesn't mean everything is okay. As you grow up, you will face more and more difficulties in life, and you need to know that living in this complex society can't be solved by just fighting and killing. But you are still lacking this lesson, so today your grandfather wants to teach it to you."

  This question is a bit complicated, and Yu Songyuan didn't quite understand it. Grandma's reason obviously hadn't convinced him. He turned his head to one side, looking rather unconvinced, the other three even more so.

  There's no mistake but it's still wrong, what kind of reason is this? How can people accept this?

  Yu Xinhai saw that they were not convinced, so he said: "Grandma's words just now are very right. Today, Bian Shaotian came to me to admit his mistake, you can't settle accounts with him anymore, he has already slapped himself in the face. But what he said scared me and made me feel uneasy. Our few families are poor and struggling, but we always feel that there is hope. Do you know what this hope is? Can any of you four tell me?"

  Yu Songyuan and others have never considered this issue, of course they can't answer it.

  Yu Xinhe continued, "You four kids are the hope of our nation! The Chinese people have been thriving for thousands of years, and no one can defeat us. It's because we're getting stronger with each generation, and no matter how hard it gets, we never give up on raising the next generation. You've learned some martial arts, your fists and feet are a bit harder now, and you think you're invincible, but you don't know how high the sky is or how thick the earth is. You go around causing trouble and making enemies everywhere, and you don't know how to resolve conflicts, all you know is how to fight and kill."

  "You almost let someone drown in the water. If Bian Shao Tian doesn't come to apologize today, I, as a father, will still be in the dark, and all the parents of your friends will also be in the dark. Your mom and I have already severely scolded that little brat Bian Shao Tian, but what's the use? If any one of you four had been pressed underwater and drowned that day, even if I beat those useless kids to death, what would it accomplish? Once something like this happens, can parents still live with themselves? Won't your family be ruined by you?"

  "Grandma just hit the nail on the head. You kids are all good material for learning and martial arts, but you were born in the wrong time. Now is not a chaotic world, but a peaceful one, with laws of the country, discipline of the military, rules of the school, and rules of the family. Today, practicing martial arts is not just about building physical strength, but also about defending the nation. Letting you kids practice martial arts is not to encourage you to be brave and fight in gangs, so if someone asks why they should fight, isn't this explanation clear enough?"

  Grandma and Father's words, Yu Songyuan finally understood and accepted. Yu Songyuan was deeply shocked, he had always thought that his brave and famous father and uncle looked down on him. He never expected that he and a few younger brothers were so valued by them and held such high hopes by the family.

  Song Quan, Chen Lan and Shu Tong were also deeply shocked psychologically. They were convinced and knew they were indeed wrong.

  Yu Songyuan burst into tears and said, "I'm so moved, thank you elders. I was wrong, I deserved to be beaten, I admit it. From now on, I will never again be a violent and reckless person, I will never again do things that make you sad. But my second request is, just beat me and let's end this, can you agree?"

  At this time, She Wenfang, She Wenshu, Wang Feng and Yu Yuyue all stood up to speak well, saying that the children had already listened and would be spared this time, and would not be late if they committed again.

  Teacher Chen interrupted them, "Yu's words make me ashamed. These words should have been said by me originally. In the past, my several masters all told me the same thing. The most important thing to practice when practicing martial arts is not the skill itself, but how to be a good person. I was thinking of warning you about these things after you grew up and understood more, but I didn't expect you to have caused such big trouble already."

  "You guys are not bad by nature, you have a good heart, and you didn't provoke others on purpose, so you might not be convinced. But remember, just because someone provoked you, it doesn't mean you have to fight back. There are other ways to solve problems besides using your fists. Your teacher also has a share of responsibility, my body is not well, so let Lan'er take the blame for me."

  Chen Lan was a sensible child, he listened carefully, he didn't protest at all, but quietly pulled down his pants and lay down on the bench voluntarily.

  Yu Songyuan looked at his father, seeing that he had no intention of compromising, he gave in and tears welled up in his eyes again. He voluntarily pulled down his pants and lay on the bench. The other two saw this and knew they were done for, so they also quietly pulled down their pants and lay down. Yu Xinmin coldly picked up the rolling pin and heavily hit each of them twenty times on the buttocks, the four of them endured it silently, not making a sound.

  Apart from the professor, several other women were hugging their heads and crying uncontrollably.

  This family law is obviously more brutal than the last time. After being beaten, the four of them could no longer walk and could only move one step at a time. When going to the toilet, they didn't dare squat down and could only half-squat. When sleeping, they didn't even dare lie on their backs, as the pain from the bruised bones made them shiver all over.

  All four were carried by Yu Yue and Wang Feng to the professor's home, where they lay on the bed. The four women pitied them, tears streaming down their faces, as they pulled down their pants, revealing four swollen buttocks, which they applied hot towels soaked in medicine to. The medicine had been secretly handed to Xiao Shu by Yu Xinmin after the beating.

  The professor sat to the side, also heartbroken and crying. Yu Songyuan said, "Grandma, mom, aunts, don't cry. We were indeed wrong and should be punished. After being beaten, we will know what was wrong and won't blame the adults." He then said to his mother, She Wenfang, "Mom, tell Big Brother and Little Brother that we won't hold grudges, we will obey willingly, and from now on, we won't do anything to make them sad again."

  She Wenfang nodded with tears in her eyes, while She Wenshu cursed angrily, "The old thing is too ruthless!"

  Yu Songyuan said, "Little aunt, Master Yu is showing mercy. If he really wanted to hit us, twenty strikes would have been enough to finish us off. We don't blame him at all, it's for our own good!"

  The professor sighed and said, "Good kids, your beating was not in vain, you've grown up! Grandma is happy for you."

  It wasn't until half a month later that the wounds healed, and they dared to sit down and eat. But for Yu Songyuan and his three brothers, this family law still had a strong psychological impact. They were already young men, starting to think about life, and they didn't harbor resentment towards adults. They gradually began to look at society with a more mature perspective, and they slowly started growing up.

  Those years, to promote the agricultural learning from Dazhai and industrial learning from Daqing, every commune had to organize a cultural performance on the birthday of the Party on "July 1st" each year. Each brigade and school had to participate in groups. The reserved program of Yujiacun Brigade's propaganda team was the movie clip "North Wind Blows" from the film "The White-Haired Girl". In the commune performances over the years, they always ranked among the top three. This year's performance is about to begin, and the propaganda team has started intense rehearsals.

  Because the original actress of Xi Er, female educated youth Zhou Hongmei, had her belly enlarged by Zhou Jianguo and hastily married and left for another place. So the role of Xi Er was taken over by sent-down educated youth Xia Ke. Xia Ke is the new bride of Kang Zuobao, the secretary of the production team's Communist Youth League branch, and also Zhou Jianguo's mistress, which is an open secret throughout the entire production team.

  When Xia Ke had just arrived, there were four female educated youths in the educated youth point. The naturally ** Xia Ke was soon given to the two secretaries of different sizes. One evening, the brigade showed an outdoor movie "The Flower Girl", and everyone from the educated youth point went to watch the movie. Team Secretary Kang Zuobao pulled Xia Ke back to the educated youth point in secret. Because they were worried that someone might come back at any time, the two didn't even take off their clothes, pulling down their pants and hastily doing their business.

  The little secretary had just arrived at the harbor when someone outside shouted in a low voice, "Quickly run away, someone is coming!" Kang Zuobao was so scared that he pushed Xia Ke away and rushed out of the door without even pulling up his pants. Zhou Jianguo pretended to scare away the little secretary and took advantage of the situation to push open the door and quickly close it behind him. He then picked up Xia Ke, who was in a state of panic, and they both fled together to Wushan Mountain. Xia Ke was so frightened that she had forgotten to pull up her pants and before she could even come back to her senses, Zhou Jianguo had already tightly hugged her in his arms.

  Later, Xia Ke married Kang Zuobao, the secretary of the team branch. The propaganda team returned to the leadership of the team branch, and she naturally became one of the pillars of the propaganda team.

  Xia Ke's charm is like a willow in the summer breeze, captivating both Secretary Zhang and Secretary Li. However, performing on stage requires not only singing but also acting skills and stage presence. Her basic skills are all learned in bed, far inferior to Zhou Hongmei's singing and acting abilities. Zhou Hongmei is Yu Yueyue's friend, beautiful but weak-willed, ultimately falling prey to Zhou Jianguo's advances.

  Before, Zhou Hongmei always secretly found Yu Yuet to coach her privately, and her singing skills and stage presence were well-organized. Xia Ke used to be jealous of Zhou Hongmei, but when she really performed as Xi Er, she realized that it wasn't just about singing, but also acting, which she couldn't do either. The performance is imminent, which made the leaders of the big team anxious. So, everyone suddenly thought of Yu Yuet, a counter-revolutionary who was currently under arrest.

  Although Yu Yuemei made great contributions to the agricultural learning of Dazhai in Liu Xiao Team, she was still a person wearing a "hat". The rally was a political task, and it was inappropriate for her to participate. The team made a decision to let Yu Yuemei privately tutor Xia Ke, with two whole male labor forces counted as work points every day, and the tutoring location was in Yu Yuemei's home.

  The condition put forward by the team is that "North Wind Blows - Red Headscarf" must enter the top three in the concert.

  Li Wen brought Xia Ke to find Yu Yueyue and announced the decision of the team. Li Wen was the director of the Women's Federation, and as the daughter-in-law of Yu Xinhe and a military dependent, she had a lot of weight in the team leadership. Even Zhou Jianguo, the first-in-command, would give way to her.

  This scalding yam, whether to accept or not? The team's decision left Yu Yue in a dilemma.