Lu Hong frantically ran to the fields to find Ma Lanying, only to come up empty-handed. After asking the team leader, she learned that her parents had gone to the hospital. Her mind was so full of Xiao Mandong's job that she hadn't even bothered to ask why her mother had gone to the hospital.
She wanted to go to the hospital to look for them, but worried that she might miss them if they came home, so she simply sat under the willow tree at the entrance of the village and waited. Mosquitoes buzzed annoyingly around her ears, and her arms were covered in bites.
Ma Lanying, after having her wounds bandaged by Lu Bingshan at the hospital, wanted to hurry back, but unfortunately she missed the midday ox cart and had to wait for the afternoon one.
Ma Lanying scarcely dared to breathe, keeping as far away from Lu Bingshan as possible. The sight of his gloomy face made her tremble inside. She knew that Lu Bingshan had a bad temper, but since the children had grown up, he had rarely resorted to violence. Although today was her fault, she still felt aggrieved—hadn't she done it for the good of the Lu family?
Lu Hong waited all afternoon and finally saw the ox cart returning to the village. There were many people on the cart, so she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
As soon as she entered the house, Lu Hong pulled Ma Lanying into the room.
"Mom, Xiao Mandong wants to sell that desk job at the cotton textile mill. It pays thirty-eight yuan a month, plus grain and cloth rations and subsidies—it's an iron rice bowl..."
Before Lu Hong could finish, Ma Lanying became agitated:
"She said that? She married into the Lu family, so that job belongs to the Lu family. What gives her the right to sell it?"
That job absolutely could not be sold. A job this good would be perfect for her daughter. If her daughter had an iron rice bowl, she might even find a city sweetheart in the future, and the bride price certainly wouldn't be small.
Only then did Lu Hong realize— yes, Xiao Mandong hadn't divorced Second Brother yet, so the job belonged to the Lu family. Since she didn't want it anymore, she should just give it to her own family. They were all family, yet she wanted to sell it—that was truly the behavior of a capitalist.
At that moment, Ma Lanying had just returned and had no idea that Xiao Mandong had already gotten a divorce certificate from Lu Jianguo.
Earlier that day, Lu Jianguo had only signed the papers, thinking that the divorce certificate would be officially processed after his injuries healed.
As for Xiao Mandong, she only took her own divorce certificate. Lu Jianguo's certificate was directly given to the production brigade leader by the commune, who was asked to deliver it to the Lu family.
Ma Lanying, recalling how Xiao Mandong had sold the sewing machine before, feared that Xiao Mandong would secretly sell the job as well. She couldn't wait a single minute and immediately pounded on Xiao Mandong's door.
Xiao Mandong was reading medical books in her study within the space dimension when the sudden knocking startled her. She realized that she could hear sounds from the outside even within the space. Putting down the medical book, she quickly walked out and opened the door to see Ma Lanying's fake smile.
"Mandong, dear, your complexion doesn't look good—I made you a cup of brown sugar water." With that, she handed the cup to Xiao Mandong.
Xiao Mandong didn't take it. She didn't dare drink it. Tomorrow she was leaving the Lu family, and who knew what schemes this family was cooking up.
Seeing Xiao Mandong's cold face, Ma Lanying wasn't embarrassed. She withdrew her hand and continued:
"We've been mother and daughter-in-law for a year now. There have been some unpleasant incidents recently, but that was all caused by Wang Xiumei. Tonight, I'll cook something nice for you. Don't sulk over Jianguo anymore. Men always make mistakes. Be magnanimous, and the matter will pass."
"Stop acting. Just say what you want directly." Xiao Mandong let out a sarcastic laugh. This family truly had no shame—scolding her to her face at the commune during the day, now acting as if nothing had happened.
"I heard from Lu Hong that you plan to sell your job. Look how hard it is to find a job these days—you sell it now, and it'll be difficult to buy one back later. If you ask me, just let Lu Hong take over the job. If you ever want to work again in the future, you can have her give it back." Ma Lanying, having been seen through, didn't bother to beat around the bush. Her tone was righteous and bold!
Her plan was to coax the job into her hands first. As for giving it back—that was another matter entirely.
"I've divorced your son, and you still want my job? I'm not seriously ill, and we're no longer family. On what basis would I give you the job? This job pays thirty-eight yuan a month—it's a genuine iron rice bowl. At market rate, that's five years' salary, which is 2,280 yuan. Considering that Lu Hong and I got along fairly well, just give me 2,000 yuan. If you think it's acceptable, we can handle the formalities tomorrow."
Xiao Mandong couldn't be bothered to waste words with her. They were no longer family, nor friends, but sworn enemies. If murder weren't against the law, she would want to wipe out this whole family.
Lu Hong nearly choked. Two thousand yuan, and she acted as if she'd done them a big favor.
"Xiao Mandong, you are my son's wife—everything of yours belongs to the Lu family. Not just your job, even you yourself belong to us. Don't forget, your entire family was sent down for re-education. If our Lu family hadn't married you, you would have shared their fate. Don't be ungrateful and forget your debt of gratitude." Ma Lanying hadn't noticed Xiao Mandong's mention of the divorce; she only heard the mention of two thousand yuan and immediately grew frantic.
Seeing that Xiao Mandong remained silent, she became even more convinced she was right. She would make Xiao Mandong understand today that without the Lu family, she would have nothing.
She figured it out now—this Xiao Mandong really needed a lesson. She had seemed so obedient before the wedding, but it had all been a facade. Today, she would teach Xiao Mandong properly how to be a daughter-in-law.
"Your family didn't educate you well, so today I'll teach you a good lesson about filial piety." With that, she picked up a feather duster and raised it to strike Xiao Mandong!
Wang Xiumei, watching through the crack in the door, took pleasure in the spectacle. Having been beaten yesterday because of Xiao Mandong, she felt nothing but hatred. Seeing that Xiao Mandong was about to be beaten, she was naturally delighted.
But unexpectedly, Xiao Mandong grabbed the smug Lu Hong and pulled her in front. The feather duster struck Lu Hong's arm, leaving a bright red welt that bulged immediately. Lu Hong hopped around in pain, making it clear that Ma Lanying had put real force behind the blow.
"You little wench! How dare you dodge? Your heart is truly evil!" Although Ma Lanying favored boys over girls, she had never laid a finger on this daughter before. Seeing Xiao Mandong use her daughter as a shield, she flew into an even greater rage. She pulled Lu Hong aside and prepared to strike again.
"What's all this commotion now?" The production brigade leader walked in. Seeing Ma Lanying with bandages around her head gave him a headache. What a foolish woman.
Lu Bingshan had been in his room all along, listening to the commotion. He, too, wanted Xiao Mandong, the second daughter-in-law, to be taught a lesson—she was becoming more and more out of line, causing trouble every day. But as a father-in-law, he couldn't very well lay hands on his daughter-in-law, so he simply let Ma Lanying handle it, thinking that a beating might make her obedient.
But he hadn't expected the brigade leader to show up. Lu Bingshan could only pretend to have just woken up as he walked out of his room: "Brigade Leader, Accountant Sun, you've come! Please... please have a seat."
He bent over humbly, greeting the leader. He knew that if this family's affair reached the commune, it would affect the village's evaluation. He was inwardly afraid of the village leaders causing trouble for him.
"Ma Lanying, what are you doing now? Go prepare two cups of brown sugar water for the brigade leader and Accountant Sun, quickly!" Lu Bingshan scolded Ma Lanying in pretense.
Ma Lanying hurriedly pulled Lu Hong into the kitchen.
