Pei Jiaojiao bit her lip and forcefully wiped away the tears on her face. Her eyes held nothing but stubborn determination, reckless and unyielding. Ever since she was little, she had always gotten whatever she wanted. Shen Linzhou belonged to her—he had to belong to her. No one else was allowed to take him away.
Zhang Shaohong was startled by the madness in Pei Jiaojiao’s eyes. “Jiaojiao, you can’t act recklessly. You’ll ruin your reputation.”
Zhang Shaohong’s heart pounded. Why was Pei Jiaojiao telling her this? If she really wanted to do something, she could do it herself. Why drag her into it? If Zhang Shaohong knew about it and failed to report it, she would surely be implicated if anything happened. Wasn’t this making things difficult for her?
“I have something else to do. I’m leaving.” With that, Zhang Shaohong turned to go.
“Auntie,” Pei Jiaojiao called after her.
“As for your job, my father definitely won’t help you. He’s an upright man with strict principles. If you use his name to do something that violates regulations, how could he possibly cover for you? If you don’t want your job anymore, then forget it. But if you still want to keep it, help me. As long as Shen Linzhou becomes one of our own, he’ll naturally withdraw that report.”
Zhang Shaohong was caught in a painful dilemma. Pei Jiaojiao was right. Her brother-in-law was stubborn and extremely principled; he would never break the rules for her, his younger sister-in-law. Seeing how furious her elder sister-in-law was, Zhang Shaohong guessed that she would no longer help her either.
If she wanted to keep her job, she could only rely on herself. Besides, this whole mess had been caused by Pei Jiaojiao. It was only right that Pei Jiaojiao solve it.
“How do you want me to help you?”
Pei Jiaojiao took two steps forward and leaned close to Zhang Shaohong’s ear, whispering. Zhang Shaohong’s mouth fell open in shock. That girl was far too bold! She hurriedly shook her head.
“No, no, I can’t. I don’t dare. If it fails or something goes wrong, your mother will fight me to the death.”
“Fine. Then wait to be fired and go home to serve my grandmother.”
At the thought of going back and facing her sharp-tongued mother-in-law every day, Zhang Shaohong felt a knot form in her chest. Without her job, she would have no choice but to return to her in-laws’ home and endure their abuse. What was she supposed to do?
After struggling for a while, Zhang Shaohong finally hardened her heart and nodded.
“All right, I’ll help you. But we have to make sure there’s no room for failure.”
“Auntie, let me explain everything to you…” The two of them moved closer together and quietly worked out a careful plan.
Meanwhile, after Xiao Mandong and Shen Linzhou had finished discussing the arrangements for the following day, Xiao Mandong rode her bicycle home.
Partway there, she found a deserted spot and tied the cotton quilt she had retrieved onto her bicycle.
As soon as she entered the village, she saw many villagers heading toward the eastern end. Xiao Mandong quickly pushed her bicycle along behind them. They followed the crowd all the way to Accountant Sun’s house. The gate was surrounded by people, and she immediately spotted Huang Chunxing.
“Auntie Huang, what happened?”
The moment Huang Chunxing saw Xiao Mandong, she grabbed her and began chattering excitedly.
“You haven’t heard? Accountant Sun’s daughter-in-law is getting remarried. Apparently, she’s marrying a widower from Li Family Village. He’s in his fifties, and his grandchildren are already teenagers.”
“Tsk, tsk… What a tragedy. Look at her—she has a scar on her face from all that fighting, and the miscarriage damaged her body. Now she’s being married off to an old man. The moment she enters his household, she’ll become a grandmother and have to look after someone else’s grandchildren. Sigh! Because of their elder daughter, the Zhang family’s younger daughter’s engagement was even called off. They’re embarrassed and desperate to send her away so they won’t have to see her anymore.”
A woman standing nearby cracked sunflower seeds and casually stuffed a handful into Xiao Mandong’s hand.
“Who else can she blame? It’s all because she had no sense of propriety. With so many men around, she just had to choose her father-in-law. Back when her husband had only been dead for two years, plenty of people came to propose. But she refused every one of them, saying she didn’t want to remarry and only wanted to raise her child and take care of her husband’s parents. And look what happened in the end! Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Crying and cursing blended together inside the courtyard. Suddenly, Zhang Yanhong came running out, threatening to hang herself at the gate of the Sun family home.
Her younger brother, Zhang Hongbing, chased after her and wrapped both arms tightly around her.
“Sis, calm down.”
“Let go of me! If you won’t let me keep my child, I’ll die right in front of you! He’s my son—what right do you have to leave him with the Sun family? Sun Quan, you old bastard! I was with you once, and now you’re trying to drive me to the brink. You deserve to have your family line die out! I’m taking my son with me, and I’ll change his surname!”
“Sis, stop making a scene. What else do you want? You’re marrying into another family and still want to take a child from the Sun family with you. Their grandson is about the same age as your son—how do you expect your son to live there? Besides, this is the only male heir the Sun family has left. Isn’t it perfectly normal for them not to give him up? Can’t you just settle down and live your own life?”
“Smack!”
A slap landed across Zhang Hongbing’s face.
“Zhang Hongbing, I carried you on my back when you were little! And now, instead of taking my side, you’re siding with outsiders? Did you throw your conscience to the dogs?”
Zhang Yanhong screamed hysterically, “I can’t have any more children! This is the only child I’ll ever have in my life. You’re forcing me to marry someone else, and I haven’t said a word even though I’ve brought shame to my family. But what right do you have to keep my child? He’s my flesh and blood! I have to take him with me!”
She sobbed as though her heart were breaking. Her disheveled hair clung to the scarred face, while her arms and legs kicked wildly in an attempt to break free from her brother’s grip.
Her family was forcing her to remarry, and they had even found her an old man who was already a grandfather. She was only in her twenties. Even with the scars on her face and the disfigurement they had caused, she shouldn’t have been reduced to this—to marrying a man old enough to be her father and becoming a grandmother the moment she entered his home!
It was no different from forcing her to die.
She had swallowed her pride and gone to beg her mother-in-law for forgiveness. She had promised that if they let her remain in the Sun family, she would behave herself, work hard in the fields for work points, and take care of the elderly and the child. But her mother-in-law had refused no matter what. She had even mocked Zhang Yanhong, saying that she must simply enjoy being indulged by old men.
Since the Sun family was determined to be so heartless, she would take her child away. The Sun family had only one child left, and she would change his surname. If she couldn’t have a good life, neither would they.
At that moment, Mother Sun stormed out as well and pointed at Zhang Yanhong, launching into a vicious tirade.
“You little slut, you still want to stay here? Dream on! The child belongs to our Sun family. I will never let you take him away. You’re going off to be a grandmother yourself, so why are you still coveting my grandson?”
“You worn-out shoe, you filthy old cooking pot! I hear the family you’re marrying into has several sons. You’ll have plenty of men to keep you satisfied every night, so why are you still pining after the old cabbage from my family?”
Mother Sun’s insults were vicious enough to make everyone’s ears burn.
“You old hag, you’re right—I am a worn-out shoe, and I’m proud of it!” Zhang Yanhong shouted back, her eyes bloodshot.
“I’m telling you, I’m taking my child with me no matter what. If you don’t believe me, ask the brigade chief—or ask that old bastard Sun Quan. If this goes as far as reporting it to the police, who do you think the child will be awarded to?”
“I’m telling you, not only do I have the right to take him away, I can also change his surname. You old bastard! From now on, you won’t even have anyone to carry the ritual basin at your funeral!”
Mother Sun was so enraged that she raised her hand and slapped Zhang Yanhong across the face.
But before the slap could land, Zhang Hongbing caught Mother Sun by the wrist. Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Yanhong raised her hand and lunged for Mother Sun’s face.
