Gu Jianghan looked at her. After their eyes met for a few seconds, he stepped aside and asked, “Did you come over the mountain?”
“Yes.” Xiao Mandong smiled faintly. She never would have imagined that she would run into Gu Jianghan here.
“Mandong?”
Before she could even enter the house, Grandma came hurrying out. She took Mandong’s hand—rough and covered in calluses—and her own hand trembled slightly.
“It’s so cold. You must be frozen. I told you last time not to come again, but you never listen. Do you know how dangerous it is for a girl to cross the mountain alone at night? What would we do if something happened to you? How would we go on?”
The weather was bitterly cold, and Mandong had crossed the mountain alone carrying so many things. Just thinking about it made Grandma’s heart ache.
Grandma pulled Xiao Mandong onto the kang. It was warm and comfortable. In the faint light of the kerosene lamp, Mandong could see that Grandma’s eyes were red.
Gu Jianghan glanced at his watch and cleared his throat. “I’ll drive you back later, so there’s no need to hurry. Take your time and talk.”
Without waiting for Xiao Mandong to answer, he turned and walked out.
He didn’t want to disturb the Xiao family’s precious time together. He planned to wait in the car for a while. He didn’t know whether Mandong would be angry after finding out that he had told her family about her situation, and he felt somewhat uneasy.
Xiao Mandong let go of Grandma’s hand, took off the bamboo basket she was carrying, and began pulling out fruit.
“Grandma, look what I brought you! Uncle, there are some things behind the back window. Open it and bring them in quickly.”
But Grandma stared straight at her granddaughter, her throat tight and her voice choked with emotion.
“Mandong… We know everything now.” Grandma wiped away a tear. “You don’t have to be afraid of making us worry anymore. You’ve been carrying all this by yourself, and it’s been so hard. We’re family. You shouldn’t have to bear so much alone.”
Xiao Mandong’s hands froze. Could Grandma mean what she thought she meant?
“Your grandfather realized a long time ago that something was wrong with you… When that Gu boy came last time and mentioned you, your grandfather asked him to look into your situation. He came here today especially to tell us what had happened.”
“That Gu boy said you’re doing very well now and told us not to worry. Don’t blame him for telling us. Your grandfather forced him to.”
Grandma held Xiao Mandong’s hand as tears streamed down her face, though she still tried to force a smile. She had never imagined that her wonderful granddaughter had been mistreated so badly by the Lu family. If the Xiao family hadn’t been framed, how could Mandong ever have chosen to marry into the Lu family? What those people had done was utterly inhuman. In the end, perhaps getting divorced wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Xiao Mandong herself felt a little foolish. Her grandfather was an extraordinarily wise man; he had probably guessed part of the truth long ago. He simply hadn’t asked her outright.
Xiao Jingping lowered his head, his shoulders shaking violently. His throat worked for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t say a word. Slowly, he crouched down and clutched at his hair.
It was his fault for failing to judge people properly. He was the one who had caused his daughter to suffer through all of this.
Her uncle got up and pushed open the window. Looking at the jars outside, he let out a deep sigh.
“Child, how much effort must it have taken you to carry all this here?”
Her cousin climbed straight out through the window and brought everything inside. When he opened one of the jars, its savory aroma quickly filled the entire room.
“What is this? It smells amazing!” Xiao Siyuan tried to lighten the mood in the house.
“Sweet roasted flour. I made it myself, and I’ve already mixed in the sugar. The two lunch boxes contain meat sauce.”
Xiao Mandong let out a long breath, feeling as if a heavy burden had finally been lifted. She didn’t care what other people said, but she truly cared about what her family thought. Seeing that her family supported every decision she made without reservation finally allowed the stone in her heart to drop.
Grandma wiped her tears and walked over. She looked at the jar of roasted flour, then at the vegetables and fruit on the floor, and her eyes reddened again.
Her aunt had only just managed to compose herself, and her voice still sounded nasal when she spoke.
“Yes. Don’t bring anything else next time. We have cotton-padded clothes and quilts now, so we won’t freeze. Life isn’t easy for you either. Keep your money for yourself and make things easier for yourself.”
After saying this, her aunt hesitated. She lowered her head and twisted the hem of her clothes. Then she raised her head and moved her lips, but in the end, she still couldn’t bring herself to say it.
She wanted Xiao Mandong to ask around and find out how her own daughter was doing. After hearing about Mandong’s situation, all she could think about was her daughter. Before being sent away, Ailin had hastily married the man she had just been introduced to. Her mother had no idea whether Ailin was being mistreated by her in-laws.
Grandma saw this and sighed. She came over and took Xiao Mandong’s hand.
“Mandong, your aunt misses your Cousin Ailin so much that she can’t sleep. If it’s convenient, could you help us find out how she’s doing? Don’t put yourself in a difficult position. If you hear anything, let us know. And if you can’t find out anything, don’t force yourself.”
Only then did Xiao Mandong remember her cousin, Xiao Ailin.
Xiao Ailin’s husband was surnamed Zhu, and his name was Zhu Nanchao. He worked as a teacher at a middle school and wore glasses, giving him a refined, scholarly appearance. Zhu Nanchao’s mother worked at the same factory as Mandong’s aunt’s sister-in-law. Whenever she mentioned her son, she praised him endlessly, saying that he had been an outstanding student from childhood. After hearing this often enough, Mandong’s aunt began to consider the possibility of a marriage between the two families, and they arranged for the young couple to meet.
After meeting him, Xiao Ailin was pleased with Zhu Nanchao’s looks, job, and manner of speaking. He was satisfactory in every respect, and she gradually developed feelings for him as well. But before her mother could make private inquiries about his family, news came that the Xiao family had been sent away.
At the time, Mandong’s uncle was so anxious that he developed sores on his lips. No one could predict what a girl might endure after being sent away. The only solution they could think of was marriage. So they met with the Zhu family again, and the very next day, Xiao Ailin and Zhu Nanchao went to register their marriage.
After they obtained their marriage certificate, Zhu’s family brought Zhu Nanchao with them to promise the Xiao family that they would treat Xiao Ailin well.
The Xiao family was satisfied with this son-in-law, whom they didn’t know particularly well. After all, he and his family had helped Xiao Ailin at the most difficult time in the Xiao family’s life.
But no one had expected that all of Zhu Nanchao’s promises had been forced out of him by his family. Their real purpose was to make sure Xiao Ailin brought more dowry with her.
In the second year after the Xiao family was sent away, they learned that Xiao Ailin was pregnant. Not long afterward, Zhu Nanchao was transferred to the far northwest. To outsiders, he claimed that he had been implicated by the Xiao family and complained about how unfairly he had been treated.
This made Xiao Ailin feel deeply guilty. With Zhu Nanchao gone, every chore in the Zhu household fell on her shoulders. She had to give birth, raise the child, and care for her parents-in-law—all by herself.
In the eyes of Zhu’s father and Zhu’s mother, Xiao Ailin was the reason their son had been sent to suffer in the far northwest. They claimed that the Zhu family had done her an enormous favor by taking her in, and that since their son was away from home, she should devote herself to serving the Zhu family without holding anything back.
They demanded that she hand over her dowry money and her wages. Eventually, they even forced her to give her job to her sister-in-law.
All of this suffering was buried beneath Xiao Ailin’s guilt toward Zhu Nanchao. She had no one else to rely on, and the Zhu family constantly lectured her about repaying their kindness and learning to be grateful. Little by little, she became nothing more than a servant to the Zhu family.
