Chapter 45: Revenge
The old Mr. Bai walked over with his men. Ji Bai’an was beside him, pointing at the children covered in dirt as he walked and said, “…Grandpa Bai, it was them. They grabbed a handful of lime powder and threw it. Cousin and Mi Yang got it on their bodies and faces. Aiya, it was very dangerous!”
The old Mr. Bai had come over on some urgent business and had his orderly with him. Hearing this, his face became even uglier. He looked up, and his gaze soon fell on the only adult. “Was it your children who did this?”
The woman braced herself and looked at the imposing old chief. She was from the countryside and didn’t know how to read military ranks, but seeing the person who had come with an entourage made her a little timid. But when she glanced at her son, who was spitting out black stuff from his mouth, she immediately furrowed her brow and started to make a scene. “Even, even if my child threw a handful of lime, what about Deputy Regimental Commander Mi’s child? Did Mi Yang do nothing wrong?” She said as she pulled her son over, wiped his face with her hand, and shouted, “Look at how vicious this child Mi Yang is. He was going to feed our child lime. That’s lime! If you eat it, you’ll be burned to death. He’s only a few years old. How can he be so cruel!”
The old Mr. Bai stood there and turned to look at the group of little kids. “Mi Yang, did you feed him lime?”
Mi Yang was familiar with the old man. Although Old Bai usually looked serious, when it was just him and Bai Luochuan, he was definitely a kind grandfather. So, he was not afraid of him. He stepped forward and said frankly, “No, Grandpa Bai. I just fed him a handful of dirt.”
The dark and fat nephew standing at the door shouted in a low voice, “You’re lying! I saw it. It was lime!”
The woman also felt that something was wrong. She pried open her son’s mouth and looked. It was dark, but there was no other reaction. It wasn’t lime; it was really a handful of dirt.
The child who had led the bullying of Mi Yang was named Li Mao. He hadn’t won the fight just now, and now his own mother was prying open his mouth to look. He was so aggrieved that he shouted, “Even if it was dirt, the lime I threw just now also fell on the dirt. You just wanted to feed me lime. You have no good intentions!”
The woman didn’t have time to cover his mouth. Her son had already shouted it all out. Her face turned red and white. She could only slap her son hard on the back. The slap was solid, and the child immediately wailed.
Mi Yang, however, didn’t care how she educated her child. He was here to get justice, so he had to lay out the facts first. He pointed at the crying boy’s pants pocket. “The lime powder came from his pants pocket. He must have hidden a small handful before. If you check now, there will definitely be some powder left. If you don’t believe me, you can verify it. Of course, I can show you my pockets first. We all can—” Mi Yang said as he turned out his own pockets to show her, then said to the other little kids, “Everyone, turn out your pockets and show Li Mao’s mother if there’s any lime powder.”
The woman didn’t have time to stop them. The group of children from the compound all listened to Mi Yang and turned out their pockets in unison for everyone to see. Except for a few who dropped a couple of candies, the rest were all clean, without a single speck of white powder.
Li Mao, however, didn’t dare. He covered his pocket and kept shrinking back. His meaning couldn’t be more obvious.
Mi Yang stood there and looked up at the old Mr. Bai. “Grandpa Bai, there’s lime powder in Li Mao’s right pants pocket, and also on his palm. Doesn’t that prove that only he threw lime powder at people?”
The woman was about to argue when she heard the old Mr. Bai snort heavily. “Yes!”
The woman said in a low voice, “You’re such a high-ranking chief. You shouldn’t lower yourself to the level of a child. Besides, it doesn’t look like he’s seriously hurt…”
“Doesn’t look like it? That’s right. Our child has already been sent to the hospital. If anything happens to him, you just wait!” The old Mr. Bai said sternly, “Don’t give me that moral high ground nonsense. The Cultural Revolution is over. Do you still think you’re a Little Red Guard and can just pin labels on people as you please? Everyone is equal now. I’m just standing here as a child’s parent. Parents are not divided by rank! I’m a leader, and you’re playing the victim here. If I were an ordinary person, would I just have to be bullied? There’s no such logic in the world.”
The woman’s face flushed from the old Bai’s scolding, and she didn’t dare to act wild anymore. But she still had a bit of anger in her heart and couldn’t help but say, “Then what about Mi Yang? Did Mi Yang just get away with bringing a group of people to beat up my child? Is it so great to have more people? And he even fed my child dirt!”
Before the old Mr. Bai could speak, the group of little kids beside him became unhappy. They had all heard clearly that Commander Bai had been sent to the hospital because of this, and now this family was trying to frame their Adjutant Mi!
A few of them couldn’t sit still and immediately started to clamor, “Grandpa Bai, don’t listen to them. They were the ones who bullied Mi Yang!”
“That’s right, it was the four brothers! They always trouble Mi Yang. They run when they see we have more people, and when there are fewer of us, they always go and provoke Mi Yang!”
“They started it, and Li Mao even cursed that Mi Yang’s dad was going to die. I heard it!”
“I heard it too! Li Mao and the others said bad things about Mi Yang’s dad, and they also cursed!”
…
The woman couldn’t control so many children talking at once. She was so anxious that she started to sweat. “Don’t talk nonsense. Our Li Mao never says dirty words!”
“Who says? He said this to Mi Yang—” The little kid who had first run to get help was very clever. He imitated Li Mao’s hometown dialect and shouted a sentence. Not to mention, he even got the tone right. “Last time Li Mao said this, my mom said it was a dirty word and that good children shouldn’t listen. If you listen too much, your ears will rot!”
The other few followed suit, “That’s right, Li Mao said it!”
The child didn’t know what it meant, but the adults understood as soon as they heard it. The old Mr. Bai had had a few orderlies who could speak dialects. Although the tone was not quite the same, his face darkened as soon as he heard it. It was definitely not a good word.
The commotion here was big, and someone had already notified Regimental Commander Li to hurry home. When he arrived, it was to this scene of being publicly accused. He was sweating. He had indeed cursed a few times at home when he was drunk, but that was only because Mi Zehai’s family had a good temper and didn’t bother with them. The adults at home had said it so many times with a cold face that the younger ones had learned it. He hadn’t expected that this time he would actually go out and curse at people, causing a big disaster.
Regimental Commander Li hurried over and said in a low voice, “Old Chief, it’s our family’s fault.”
The woman held her child tightly and was about to retort but was glared at by Regimental Commander Li. “Why don’t you take the child inside? Look at how you usually manage the child. What does he look like!”
The woman was not convinced. Now that her husband was here, she was not so eager to go in. This made Regimental Commander Li very anxious, and his repeated glances were of no use.
The old Mr. Bai said with a sullen face, “I’m not going to argue with the child. I’ll just talk to you as parents. What does a child know? The reason he said that is because he heard it and followed suit. So, it can only be your responsibility.”
Regimental Commander Li said awkwardly, “Actually, it’s just a catchphrase. We say it casually where we’re from. It, it doesn’t have any other meaning.”
The old Mr. Bai sneered, “Oh, since you say it casually and it has no other meaning, then fine.” He pointed at the little boy who had eaten a mouthful of dirt and was standing in front of the woman. “You turn around and say it to your parents ten times.”
Regimental Commander Li and his wife’s faces both turned ugly. He forced a smile. “Chief, this, this is not good…”
The old Mr. Bai scolded, “Say it!”
Old Bai had been on the battlefield, and his aura was particularly imposing. When he was really angry, let alone a child, even an adult would not dare to be presumptuous. The child immediately started to cry, but he didn’t dare to cry loudly. His shoulders twitched as he tried to hide behind his mother. The woman was about to make a scene again but was scared by a single glance from the old Mr. Bai and stood there, not daring to move.
The old Mr. Bai said, “Why aren’t you saying it anymore? Do you think I’m easy to fool?”
Regimental Commander Li was sweating profusely. “I wouldn’t dare.”
The old Mr. Bai glanced at the couple and said coldly, “I gave you a chance to explain, but you didn’t want to. If you want to make a scene, it won’t work on me. Everyone has to be punished for their mistakes. The son’s debt is paid by the father, and the father can’t escape responsibility for his son’s mistakes. If you dare to shout nonsense again, I’ll have the orderly arrest you adults and put you in confinement for a few days to be thoroughly educated!” As he spoke, the orderly behind him took a step forward. The woman was so scared she didn’t dare to say another word and shrunk behind her husband, whispering a few words like a mosquito, “No, I didn’t want to make a scene…”
Regimental Commander Li’s face also turned red and white. “I apologize.”
The old Mr. Bai looked at him. “Only to the child?”
Regimental Commander Li gritted his teeth. “No, I also apologize to Comrade Mi Zehai.”
The old Mr. Bai sneered. “Very good. Write another letter of apology and send it to the division headquarters! I think you’ve been training too little lately, thinking about all sorts of nonsense all day. It’s ridiculous! If you can’t do your job well, then don’t do it. Get back to your hometown and farm!”
The couple lowered their heads and didn’t dare to say anything.
The old Mr. Bai left with a group of children. He had the orderly send the other children home and also told their parents about what had happened today, explaining it clearly and not giving those who liked to gossip behind people’s backs any opportunity. He took Mi Yang back himself. When they got home, Bai Luochuan had already returned from the hospital. His eyes had been checked by the doctor, and there was nothing wrong. He had just been given some eye drops and a rinse, and was told to observe for the next two days.
The old Mr. Bai looked at the hospital slip the orderly had handed him, took out a receipt, and said to him, “Take this to Regimental Commander Li’s house and have them pay for it. Remember, not a penny more, and not a penny less.”
The orderly saluted. “Yes, sir!”
The old Mr. Bai then beckoned for Bai Luochuan to come over, looked at him seriously, and asked, “Luochuan, are you uncomfortable anywhere else? You must tell Grandpa. Don’t let it become a problem. Your eyes are too precious. You’ll have to use them for the rest of your life.”
Bai Luochuan smiled and shook his head. “Grandpa, I’m fine.”
Bai Luochuan’s eyes looked at Mi Yang, with a hint of worry. The old Mr. Bai snorted with a laugh. “You’re still worried about him? Yangyang was amazing today. When I went, he was helping you get ‘revenge’!”
The young master Bai’s eyes lit up. He looked at Mi Yang with an expectant gaze and asked, “Really? What did you do? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
Mi Yang shook his head with a smile and stood there obediently, looking like that gentle and good-tempered good baby again.
