Lu Bingshan sat on the steps with his face buried between his knees, his hands clutching his head. Now and then, faint sobs escaped his throat, while his shoulders shook without stopping.
He truly regretted it—regretted it so deeply his guts had practically turned green. How had he allowed their lives to become such a mess? On the way back from the army, he had already noticed that his second son had developed inappropriate feelings for Wang Xiumei. But at the time, his mind had been clouded. They had spent money to bring a daughter-in-law into the family, yet she had not borne the Lu family even a single child. He had felt they were getting the short end of the bargain, and a crooked thought had taken root in his mind: he had wanted his second son, Lu Jianguo, to leave an heir for his eldest son’s branch of the family.
In the village, such arrangements—where a younger brother took over after his elder brother—had still been fairly common just a few years ago, so he had not stopped them.
But he had never imagined that Xiao Mandong would catch them red-handed. He truly regretted not putting a stop to Lu Jianguo’s actions in time. One moment of muddleheadedness had led to a terrible disaster.
He was terrified. If Xiao Mandong refused to relent and would not write that letter of forgiveness, what would become of their family?
Lu Bingshan heard footsteps. He raised his head and saw Xiao Mandong walking out of the police station.
His bloodshot eyes were filled with pleading. He hurried to his feet, no longer caring about the dignity or pride expected of an elder. With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees before Xiao Mandong.
“Mandong, please... give Jianguo one more chance. I promise, this will be the last time.”
Xiao Mandong swiftly stepped aside, avoiding Lu Bingshan’s kneeling figure. What a joke. As someone who had been reborn, she was extremely superstitious. People said that when an elder knelt before someone younger, it shortened the younger person’s life—and she had no intention of dying anytime soon.
“You can stop pestering me. I will not write that so-called letter of forgiveness. Lu Jianguo is still in the hospital, isn’t he? You’d better make him a few good meals. After all, he has one fewer meal left to eat with every meal he eats.”
Her words were like needles, stabbing viciously into Ma Lanying’s heart. It felt as though a hole had been torn open inside her, leaving her aching and chilled to the bone. Before Ma Lanying could say anything, Lu Bingshan collapsed to the ground.
“Dad!” Lu Hong hurried over to check on him.
“Old man, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me!” Ma Lanying’s face turned deathly pale. She dropped to her knees beside Lu Bingshan, utterly at a loss.
Xiao Mandong turned to leave. Lu Hong stood up and, quick as lightning, reached for Xiao Mandong’s arm.
“Sister Mandong, you’re a doctor. Please, help take a look at my father.”
Xiao Mandong avoided Lu Hong’s touch. “I haven’t received my barefoot doctor’s certificate yet. I’m not allowed to treat people privately. You should hurry and take him to the hospital.”
What a joke. She was not some great Buddha of compassion, here to save all living beings. If they tried to pin responsibility on her afterward, wouldn’t she be reaching into a pile of filth only to disgust herself?
Lu Bingshan had fainted at the entrance to the police station, and the officers could not simply ignore it. They hurriedly called someone to carry him into a vehicle.
As Lu Bingshan was lifted into the car, his heart brimmed with resentment and frustration. He had planned that, if Xiao Mandong treated him, he could use her lack of a medical license to blackmail her in return. But he had never expected the little bitch to be so cold-hearted that she would truly stand by and watch him die!
On the way to the hospital, Lu Bingshan pretended to have just regained consciousness. Seeing that he was awake, the young police officer driving relaxed. Feigning weakness, Lu Bingshan begged him to take them back to Kaoshan Village.
Only when they reached their doorstep did Ma Lanying realize that her husband had been faking it. He had nearly scared her to death.
Her husband was clever, but Xiao Mandong had not fallen for the trick. Though her husband was fine now, there was still no solution in sight for their son’s predicament.
With nowhere to vent the rage burning inside her, Ma Lanying turned and spotted Wang Xiumei still asleep in the house, not yet out of bed. Her anger flared at once. She kicked open the bedroom door, grabbed a feather duster, and began striking Wang Xiumei with it.
“You slut! Our family is in this state because of you! You killed my eldest son, then seduced my younger son! If you hadn’t seduced Lu Jianguo, how could he have done such things with you? How could he have gotten divorced? How could it have come to the point where he might be shot? It’s all because of you, you jinx! You killed your mother when you were young, killed your husband after you grew up, and now you want to kill my Jianguo too! I’m going to beat you to death today, you little slut...”
The angrier Ma Lanying became, the harder she struck, with no restraint at all. “What goddamn time is it? You lazy bitch, still lying in bed! If my Jianguo gets sentenced to death, you can go to the grave with him.”
Cowering in the corner of the kang bed, Wang Xiumei wept and begged for mercy. “Mom, I was wrong. Sob... Please stop hitting me. My stomach hurts. I’m carrying Lu Jianguo’s only child. If anything happens to this baby, your Lu family really will have no descendants left.”
Wang Xiumei was truly afraid that something would happen to the baby. Ever since becoming pregnant, she had been sleepy every day, wishing she could sleep from morning till night. She had not meant to be lazy. But after taking this beating, hatred gnawed at her heart. That damned old woman—sooner or later, she would make her pay.
“Enough!” Lu Bingshan roared from outside.
He wanted to beat Wang Xiumei to death too, that little scourge. But the child in her belly was indeed the Lu family’s only bloodline. Lu Bingshan closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and headed toward the Old Party Secretary’s house. He knew that, for now, this was the only path left to him.
The Old Party Secretary’s younger son, Zhu Xiaoliang, had contracted polio at the age of three. The illness was incurable and had left his left leg badly crippled; he limped and staggered whenever he walked. Now in his forties, he still had not found a wife. This son was the old couple’s greatest worry.
When Lu Bingshan arrived at the Old Party Secretary’s home, he sat listlessly on the edge of the kang bed, sighing heavily with worry and saying nothing for a long while.
“Second Brother Lu, if you’ve got something to say, just say it. What’s with all this sighing?”
Lu Bingshan tapped the bowl of his tobacco pipe. “Uncle Changgen, I won’t beat around the bush. This is something only you can help me with.”
Then Lu Bingshan told the Old Party Secretary everything about Lu Jianguo’s situation. Before, he had kept things vague because he was afraid of losing face. But now that Lu Jianguo was facing execution, he had nothing left to be ashamed of.
The Old Party Secretary did not understand what good it would do to tell him all this. He was not a police officer—just a former Party Secretary with no authority.
“Uncle Changgen, the police said that if Xiao Mandong is willing to write a letter of forgiveness, my son can be spared the death penalty. If he behaves well afterward, his sentence may gradually be reduced. But we’ve already knelt and begged that woman, and she absolutely refuses to write it.”
Lu Bingshan took two hard drags on his pipe. “Our Brigade Leader’s family has some ties with the Xiaos. I’m hoping you can speak to the Brigade Leader for me, see if he can help plead with Xiao Mandong. Whatever conditions she names, I’ll agree to them.”
Lu Bingshan’s eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice caught with sobs. Setting down his pipe, he wiped his face hard with both hands, then went outside to blow his nose.
“Uncle Changgen, I know coming to you puts you in a difficult position, but I truly have no other choice. You know he’s my only son. If he’s gone, my family line will end with me.”
