The Brigade Leader pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Lu Bingshan. Lu Bingshan opened it and instantly froze—it was Lu Jianguo's divorce certificate.
He had planned to have Lu Jianguo divorce her, but that was supposed to wait until confirmed news about joining the army came through. If the divorce happened now, and the enlistment fell through, his family would lose both the bride and the money. But how could the man not even gone yet, and be already divorced?
Before Lu Bingshan could ask, the Brigade Leader gave the answer:
"Comrades from the commune came to investigate. Comrade Xiao Mandong's claims were all true. To protect women's rights, the civil affairs officer personally came to have Lu Jianguo sign the divorce agreement, and the commune processed the divorce certificate directly. In other words, from today onward, Comrade Xiao Mandong is no longer a daughter-in-law of your Lu family. If your family raises a hand against her again, it won't be a 'family matter' anymore—Comrade Xiao Mandong can report it to the public security bureau."
The Brigade Leader then handed another paper to Xiao Mandong—a notice for going to the countryside: "Mandong, pack your things. Tomorrow, I'll have an ox cart help move your belongings to Red Flag Commune."
Xiao Mandong apologized repeatedly. The Brigade Leader had arranged her marriage, but he had done so with good intentions. No one walks around with "villain" written on their face; misjudging someone wasn't the Brigade Leader's fault.
Besides, in her previous life, when she was bullied by the Lu family, the Brigade Leader had often stepped in to help. She couldn't blame others for her misfortune. It was her own weakness in that past life that led to her bitter end, but she still remembered and appreciated his repeated kindness.
Ma Lanying had long since left the kitchen without brewing any brown sugar water for the Brigade Leader and the accountant. The village had given them only two packages of sympathy rations; cups here, cups there, and she'd be down half a bag. She couldn't bear to waste it.
Hiding in the kitchen and listening to the Brigade Leader's words, her heart churned. If the divorce was done, wouldn't they lose the chance for a job?
"Return Comrade Xiao Mandong's two hundred yuan betrothal gift," the Commander said. "It's clearly written in the agreement."
The Brigade Leader knew that if he didn't speak up, this family would never cough up the money.
Lu Bingshan gnashed his teeth but forced a smile, telling Ma Lanying to get the money. Ma Lanying knew there was no escaping it. She shuffled back into the room dawdled around for a long while before reluctantly taking out two hundred yuan.
Xiao Mandong took the money, wrote a receipt, and pocketed it—though in reality, she used her mind to store it directly in her space.
The Brigade Leader asked Xiao Mandong if she wanted to stay at his place that night and share a room with his youngest daughter.
Xiao Mandong politely declined. She didn't want to trouble him further. Besides, now she had her space.
After sending off the Great Team Leader and the Accountant, Lu Bingshan called out to Xiao Mandong as she headed back to her room:
"Mandong, back when your family was in such trouble, I felt sorry for you as a young girl. I couldn't bear to see you sent down, so I agreed to this marriage. Actually, your father said back then that as long as we protected you, those two hundred yuan were compensation to our family. Now that you don't have to go to the countryside, you want to kick our family aside and even take back the compensation. Your actions are really quite unfair."
"You know perfectly well why we divorced. If your memory's poor, go ask the Commune. As for those two hundred yuan in Bride Price, they were given through the matchmaker. If you don't believe me, go ask the matchmaker what that money really was. And as for my job—if you think it's too expensive, I can sell it to someone else. Right now, jobs are in high demand, and plenty of people want mine." Xiao Mandong had already seen this family's shamelessness, but she hadn't expected them to twist things so thoroughly.
Ma Lanying was about to speak when Lu Hong pulled her back and smiled obsequiously at Xiao Mandong:
"Sister Mandong, can you go any lower? Our family doesn't have that much money."
Xiao Mandong knew exactly how much money the Lu family had. Lu Jianjun had died on a special mission, and they'd received fifteen hundred yuan in compensation. Ma Lanying had said that since Wang Xiumei didn't leave behind a child from Lu Jianjun, the compensation went to the Lu family, not a single cent to Wang Xiumei. So she knew the Lu family could afford it. She flatly refused: "No discount. Think it over."
"Xiao Mandong, a divorced capitalist lady going to the countryside, with no one to back you up—do you think life will be easy for you? If you're smart, when life gets tough at the sent-down youth station, our family might still take you in. Why do you have to be so ruthless? Five hundred yuan for your job is plenty. Give you more, and it won't be safe in that sent-down youth station. We're only looking out for you." Ma Lanying felt Xiao Mandong simply didn't know what was good for her. A woman needed so much money for? The sent-down youth station was full of people—what if the money got lost! All this fuss with their family—where was the advantage? She'd have no one to back her up in the future.
Xiao Mandong was infuriated by Ma Lanying's shameless reasoning and forced a derisive smile: "Out of my interests! Offering five hundred yuan for a two-thousand-yuan job—that's for my sake? That's not good for me, I'm declining. I won't sell my job for a cent less than that. If you want it, get the money ready."
Saying this, she turned and went back to her room. Even though she'd been through all this in her past life, this family's nerve still managed to infuriate her.
She locked the door and started packing her belongings. She had to leave tomorrow, so she put all her valuables into her space, leaving behind only one pair of camphorwood chests with a few old clothes stuffed inside to avoid suspicion.
Meanwhile, the four members of the Lu family were meeting over buying the job. Lu Bingshan took a few strong puffs of his tobacco pipe. He could see clearly now—Xiao Mandong wouldn’t budge. She was already legally separated from the Lu family and would move out tomorrow. No amount of talking would help. It was all that old woman's fault. If she hadn’t gone to the Commune and stirred things up, the divorce could have been delayed. Such incompetence. After long than half a pondering, he finally made his decision:
"First, we buy the job. If we don't have enough money, we borrow some. If Lu Jianguo goes to the army, and the job goes to Lu Hong. When she finds a husband later, she can get the job money back. If Lu Jianguo's enlistment falls through, he gets the job, so he can find a wife in the future."
"Absolutely not!" Lu Hong immediately shot back. "That money is Eldest Brother's Death Compensation! I agree to earning back the job money through marriage, but why should it go to Second Brother just because he doesn't make the cut?"
"If you don't agree, go raise the money yourself. I'm all for it," Lu Bingshan said, giving her a sideways glare. This daughter of his had a mind like a sieve, all kinds of ploys.
Lu Hong bit her lips and glared at Lu Bingshan. If she had money, would she even need to discuss it with the family? In the end, she had no choice but unwillingly to concede, silently praying that would go to the army.
Lu Jianguo sat silent through the whole conversation. With summer heat and sweat trickling down, the blisters on his back stung with pain. His lower body was just starting to heal, but there was still some soreness. His worst fear was of permanent damage—if he could never... , how would he live on? He had no mind to think about the whole job mess.
The next morning, Lu Bingshan borrowed money from seven different families, lowering himself from door to door, and managed to scrape together 200 yuan. Along with the Compensation of 1,500 yuan and their household savings of 300 yuan, it made exactly 2,000 yuan. An hour later, with a long face, Lu Bingshan led the others straight to the Production Brigade Headquarters.
The agreement was still written by the village accountant. Xiao Mandong spoke each line, and the accountant wrote it down: "Xiao Mandong voluntarily transfers her position at the cotton mill to Lu Hong, with a monthly wage of 38 yuan. If future factory adjustments cause changes in wages, Xiao Mandong bears no responsibility..."
She deliberately did not mention the office job type—how could Xiao Mandong let Lu Hong work in an office?
Xiao Mandong told Lu Hong to come find her at the factory that afternoon, as she needed to speak with the leadership first.
Xiao Mandong tucked the transfer agreement into her pocket and went to the cotton mill ahead of time. Director Liu’s son also worked at the mill; his health was not great, and he sometimes had to take rotating shifts. In her previous life, Xiao Mandong had been ostracized because of her status, and Director Liu had often helped her. In this life, she wanted to repay that kindness.
