“There’s a new female educated youth named Zheng Shuang. I heard she’s related to Wang Yuanyuan’s family,” Jian Qiuyue said with a curl of her lips. “She doesn’t show anyone the slightest bit of respect when she talks. She said Huimin was shameless, that she went out fooling around and didn’t come back until the early hours of the morning, so drunk she could barely walk… She even said she thought someone had ruined her… She called Huimin a whore.
“Huimin was shaking so badly after being cursed at that she felt everyone looking at her differently. In a moment of impulse, she grabbed the pesticide from the corner and drank it. By the time everyone tried to stop her, it was too late. Ai, she really couldn’t think things through!”
Xiao Mandong had never expected Dong Huimin’s pesticide poisoning to have anything to do with this Zheng Shuang. The girl’s words were so vicious. At first glance, she was clearly not someone to be trifled with…
Dong Huimin lay on the hospital bed, staring blankly at the light bulb on the ceiling.
When the tube used to wash out her stomach was pulled from her throat, she nearly vomited up her bile. The doctor said she had been lucky to survive. If she hadn’t vomited beforehand, she would have been beyond saving.
Vomiting. Fecal water. Xiao Mandong…
The stench mixed with the burning sensation still churned in her throat. What right did Xiao Mandong have? What right did she have to force fecal water down her throat? What right did she have to decide whether she lived or died?
Dong Huimin dug her fingernails into the sheet, almost tearing the coarse fabric apart. Tears slid along her temples and into her ears.
Wang Yuanyuan, Yang Xueqiang—since she hadn’t died, she wouldn’t let a single one of them off.
The hospital-room door opened.
Yang’s family walked in. Yang’s mother went to the bedside with a face full of affection, as though she had completely forgotten how she had threatened and bargained with Huimin that afternoon. She took Dong Huimin’s hand.
“Huimin, child, how could you be so foolish? You know very well that you’re the daughter-in-law I truly wanted. But Xueqiang has been bewitched by that vixen, and they’ve already registered their marriage. What can we do? Give Auntie a little time. I’ll find a way to get them divorced. I promise I’ll give you a satisfactory answer.”
She had to placate Dong Huimin first. Huimin had nearly scared her to death today. She never would have imagined that the girl could be so fierce—fierce enough to drink pesticide.
Yang Xueqiang’s two aunts stood nearby, chiming in one after another.
“Huimin, you’re being foolish. Your health is what matters. If something’s wrong, talk it out. How can you use your life to make a scene?”
“Exactly. Huimin, think about it. If you die, they’ll forget you before your seventh-day funeral. They’ll go on living happily, having children together. Can you really accept that? If I were you, I’d take someone with me even if I were dying.”
The moment she finished speaking, Second Aunt Yang caught sight of Yang’s mother’s glare and hurriedly covered her mouth.
Dong Huimin glanced at Yang Xueqiang, who was standing in the corner, then closed her eyes. She had spent so many years choosing him, and yet she had somehow chosen such a piece of garbage.
She no longer had the strength to speak. Drawing labored breaths, she said in a faint but perfectly clear voice, “I… want to recuperate at the Yang family’s home… Once I’ve recovered, get me a separate courtyard to live in… I can’t go back to the educated-youth compound. Yang Xueqiang must divorce Wang Yuanyuan… Otherwise, I won’t let any of them off…”
Dong Huimin had made up her mind. She would never marry Yang Xueqiang now. She would rather find a widower. But she would not let Wang Yuanyuan have her way. Since things had already come to this, she might as well move into the Yang family’s home and make their lives miserable.
After saying that, Dong Huimin closed her eyes and refused to look at anyone again.
Yang’s mother opened and closed her mouth, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words. She glanced at her husband. Yang’s father sighed and nodded. Only then did Yang’s mother look away.
“All right. Once you’re discharged, you can move directly into the Yang family’s home. We’ll discuss everything else after you’ve recovered.”
Dong Huimin did not open her eyes or respond.
The Yang family remained there for a while. When they saw that she was no longer speaking, they filed out of the hospital room one after another. They needed to figure out what to do next.
Early the following morning, Xiao Mandong went to the brigade chief’s home. The moment the brigade chief saw her, he shouted toward the inner room, “Shunzi, hurry and bring Uncle Liu over. We haven’t finished discussing yesterday’s matter.”
Shunzi answered, threw on a padded jacket, and ran out.
The brigade chief ushered Xiao Mandong inside and poured her a cup of brown-sugar water.
“Educated Youth Xiao, Secretary Liu and I discussed what you said for half the night yesterday… Tell me honestly, do you really think there’ll be a snow disaster? Don’t take it the wrong way—your uncle here is just cautious. Our brigade truly doesn’t have any money. We harvested quite a lot of grain this year, but there are many people, and we have to hand over a large amount as grain tax. On top of that, a lot of villagers have borrowed grain from the brigade. If there really is a snow disaster, forget making money—even if we can keep the people in our village from starving, we’ll consider ourselves lucky…”
Just then, Secretary Liu came in.
“If there really is a snow disaster, many houses in the village might collapse…” Secretary Liu let out a long sigh.
“Uncle, since there’s nothing to do in winter anyway, why don’t we inspect every household’s house? Anything that can be repaired, we repair. If a family can’t afford the materials, then when the heavy snow comes, couldn’t the people living in dangerous houses stay with relatives for a few days?”
Xiao Mandong was rather helpless herself. All she could do was pass along the information she knew to the village leaders. Beyond that, there was truly nothing more she could do.
Secretary Liu nodded. “Ai, I suppose that’s all we can do. What about the grain, then? Let’s forget it. I thought about it all night, and the risk is too great for you to shoulder alone. We can scrape by and get through the New Year.”
He had spent the entire night thinking it over. He couldn’t let a young woman take on such a risk. If the grain ended up stuck in their hands, how could he live with himself? It was better to leave things as they were. They had managed to get through every year like this anyway.
“How about this?” Xiao Mandong suggested. “I’ll provide the money, and the village can help me buy the grain. When it’s sold, I’ll give the village ten percent of the profit. It’ll be a consignment buying-and-selling arrangement. That shouldn’t count as profiteering, right? What do you think? Whether I make money or lose money, the village won’t bear any burden. I’m the one making the money, so I should naturally be the one taking the risk.”
Secretary Liu gave Xiao Mandong a long, deep look. He had never expected such a young girl to be so selfless. He no longer hesitated.
“All right. It’s settled.”
Xiao Mandong stood up and headed for the door.
“I have two thousand yuan. I’ll bring the money back tomorrow or the day after. Buy as much grain as you can, but it must be good-quality grain. Once the heavy snow blocks the roads, grain from outside won’t be able to get in. The commune will do everything it can to ensure the cities have enough food. We can sell it directly to the supply and marketing cooperative.”
The brigade chief’s eyes widened.
“What? I thought you planned to sell the grain to other villages and make a little profit from the price difference. I never imagined you were thinking of selling it to the supply and marketing cooperative. Will they even buy it?”
Secretary Liu shot the brigade chief an exasperated look.
“You’re this stupid, yet somehow you became the brigade chief?”
The brigade chief was speechless.
After everything was settled, Xiao Mandong took Bowen and boarded the ox cart back to the village.
On the cart, they ran into someone familiar: Wang Yuanyuan. Sitting beside her was a chubby girl. Looking at the girl’s eyes and brows, Xiao Mandong saw that she looked exactly like Zheng Chao. Sure enough, she was Zheng Chao’s daughter.
“Shuang, you may not know her. This is your older sister, Xiao Mandong…”
Wang Yuanyuan had deliberately said it that way just to irritate her.
The moment Wang Yuanyuan finished speaking, a figure came running from the village road, shouting as they came.
“Educated Youth Xiao… Educated Youth Xiao…”
Zhao Tiezhu was drenched from head to toe, water dripping from him, his lips blue with cold. He staggered over, his legs giving way so that he nearly fell to his knees. His face was deathly pale.
“Educated Youth Xiao… Huzi… Huzi… fell through the ice…” Zhao Tiezhu’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “I pulled him out, but the child’s not breathing… Please, save him…”
