When Xie Jianhua wrote letters home, he told his family honestly about the situation on the farm.
Everyone knew that life after being sent down to the countryside was tough. If he tried to hide things, it would only make Cripple Xie worry. So, it was better to come clean.
"It's good that you can still smile. A shortage of food and clothing isn't a big deal. We've endured all kinds of hardships in the past," said Cripple Xie, who didn't have high expectations.
In his eyes, as long as one was alive, that was enough.
Things like getting chilblains on the hands or having rheumatism in the legs didn't matter. There were people who lost their limbs or even their lives on the battlefield. He himself was a cripple.
Cripple Xie was worried that Old Zheng, who had received a lot of education, might be prone to getting depressed and hurting himself.
Sometimes, mental torture could be more devastating than physical suffering. Over the years, he had observed coldly that most of the people who died were those educated individuals.
He didn't like reading. Even though his family used to run a small shop, his requirement for himself was just to know some commonly used characters and be able to use an abacus.
But Cripple Xie knew that Wang Cuifen admired educated people. Back then, Wang Cuifen was extremely envious of her younger brother's education. As a result, all their children were forced to finish high school.
Wang Cuifen firmly believed that Old Zheng would be rehabilitated, so he just went along with what she said.
"Old Zheng once went to a military academy for further studies. He advised our second son to pursue a career in this field," Cripple Xie whispered to Wang Cuifen in bed. "Old Zheng just has a problematic family background. But he was a great fighter when he was in the army."
By speaking well of Old Zheng now, he hoped that next time when there was a need, Wang Cuifen would be more generous with money.
Wang Cuifen knew what he was up to and didn't need his advice. She replied impatiently, "All right, all right, I got it. Go to sleep. I'm exhausted after a long - day's work."
"What have you been up to?" Cripple Xie asked curiously. There were no major events at home recently, and the daily chores had been assigned to the two younger children. He couldn't figure out what Wang Cuifen had been busy with.
"I went to Xiejia Village to exchange for eggs this morning. I walked so much that the soles of my shoes are almost worn out, and you still ask me what I've been doing?" Wang Cuifen got angry as she spoke.
Walking for a whole morning was really tiring.
"You came back with eggs this morning? Why didn't we have eggs today?"
Actually, they did have eggs. But only Su Qing and Wang Cuifen ate them. They ate secretly in the kitchen, and the rest of the family didn't get any.
Cripple Xie was just asking casually without any other intentions, but Wang Cuifen got furious, just like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "You're just like a dog that can't keep a leftover bun. As soon as there's something good, you want to gobble it up. Can't you save it for a few more days?"
When scolding, Wang Cuifen was quite justified. She had bought the eggs with her own private savings, so she could decide how to eat them.
Scolded like this, Cripple Xie quickly surrendered. "All right, we'll eat them in a few days."
In the past, whenever Wang Cuifen found something good, her first thought was to give it to the children to supplement their nutrition. That's why Cripple Xie asked this question.
Now that Wang Cuifen had other plans, Cripple Xie didn't dare to say more.
"The chickens don't lay many eggs in cold weather. I didn't get many today. I'll go to another village in a few days," Wang Cuifen explained.
Exchanging for eggs was one of her purposes. Another purpose was to find out where the corrupt official's ancestral grave was.
Back then, when she heard the gossip, she only got a general idea. She only knew that there was a corrupt official who had fled with supplies, but she didn't even know his name.
She had to visit the place herself to find out the exact location where the official had hidden the money.
Cripple Xie reminded her, "If you can't get many eggs, forget it. Be careful and don't exchange things with strangers. It doesn't matter if the family eats a little less."
There were no elderly or young children in their family now. So, it wasn't a big problem if they didn't eat as well.
In the past few years when the children were young, Wang Cuifen tried every means to buy fine grains and eggs. But now that the children were older, she didn't go to such lengths.
"All right, I know what I'm doing. You don't need to worry blindly," said Wang Cuifen, who was an experienced person and wasn't afraid at all.
The next day, she went out as usual, carrying her small basket, using the excuse of exchanging for eggs to gather information.
"Didn't your brigade produce a high - ranking official? Why isn't there electricity in your brigade?" Wang Cuifen asked casually while picking eggs.
"What high - ranking official? He's out of power," said an old woman, nodding her chin towards the opposite hillside. "Their family's ancestral grave has been moved. The person couldn't even come back. He's probably dead by now."
The words "ancestral grave" touched Wang Cuifen's sensitive nerve. "The ancestral grave is gone?"
The old woman explained in a low voice, "I heard that when their family built the grave, they specifically invited someone to choose the location. It occupied the best feng shui in our village. That's why their family could produce a high - ranking official while the villagers had to go hungry. Some people in the village moved their ancestral grave a couple of years ago."
When moving the ancestral grave, they shouted slogans against feudal superstition, but in fact, those who moved the grave were the most superstitious.
Not only were they superstitious, but they also had strong jealousy.
Wang Cuifen curled her lips and didn't ask more. She bought the eggs and went straight home, planning to go to another place next time.
Since this official's ancestral grave had already been desecrated, it definitely wasn't the target she was looking for.
Although she didn't have a job and had plenty of free time, she had to cook lunch and dinner, so she had to hurry back. When she met the militia on patrol on the way, she didn't try to hide.
There were only about twenty eggs in her basket, and she wasn't carrying a large amount of grain into the city. There was nothing to hide.
She returned to the city without any trouble. Wang Cuifen was still thinking about how to cook the eggs. "Su Qing loves fried eggs the most, but there isn't much oil at home. We can only have boiled eggs tomorrow morning..."
Just as she was talking about Su Qing, Wang Cuifen turned around and saw Su Qing standing at the alley not far away, looking completely disillusioned. She immediately walked over cheerfully.
"Su Qing, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Wang Cuifen, Su Qing sighed. "Mom, why are you here? We're here to mediate a divorce. There are too many people in the room, so I came out for some fresh air."
"A divorce? Who is it? Which unit are they from? Why are they getting divorced?" Wang Cuifen's eyes sparkled. She pulled Su Qing towards the room. "What are you doing outside? Go in and listen."
Su Qing said dejectedly, "Director Zhang told me to come out and not cause any trouble."
"On what grounds? Is your director bullying you? I'll go and scold her right now," said Wang Cuifen, ready to roll up her sleeves.
"No, no. I don't want to stay in there either," Su Qing explained awkwardly.
Seeing that Wang Cuifen was eager to know the details, Su Qing kindly started from the beginning. "It's Elder Sister Yang who wants to get divorced. Her husband beats her! She was beaten black and blue. I was shocked when I saw her. I immediately said that she should get divorced. There's no way she should stay in that marriage."
Except for those with problematic family backgrounds, in normal marriage cases, both the neighborhood committee and the work units usually tried to reconcile the couple.
Hearing that Su Qing was advocating for a divorce, Wang Cuifen was a bit stunned. Although this didn't conform to her values, she still chose to spoil her.
"You're right. She should get divorced."
"Right? You also think she should get divorced, don't you?" Su Qing seemed to have found a kindred spirit and mumbled, "When I said she should divorce, a bunch of colleagues stared at me. Elder Sister Yang's husband even wanted to punch me, but he was stopped by others. This man dares to raise his hand in front of so many people. God knows what he'll do in private."
Was Su Qing the kind of person to be intimidated? She was quite strong herself. When the man threatened her with a fist, she defiantly stared back without showing an ounce of fear.
Under the man's threatening gaze, she loudly declared her stance, firmly supporting Elder Sister Yang's decision to divorce.
"Did they get divorced?" Wang Cuifen asked curiously, craning her neck to look into the alley. "Are they dividing up their property now or what?"
At this question, Su Qing's momentum suddenly waned. "No. But Elder Sister Yang said that when her husband doesn't beat her, he's actually quite nice to her, so she doesn't want to divorce."
"I knew it would be like this," Wang Cuifen replied.
This outcome was exactly what she had predicted. People could quarrel and make a fuss, but unless it was something extremely serious, no one would get divorced. Divorce was considered a disgrace.
Su Qing said speechlessly, "It was she who first said she wanted a divorce, and that's why we came here to mediate."
In the end, when Su Qing supported her, Elder Sister Yang backed off. What else could Su Qing say? She couldn't force someone to divorce. She could only force a smile and say, "Okay, if you don't want to divorce, then don't."
But when Su Qing said not to divorce, Elder Sister Yang started complaining again, saying that her husband also drank and gambled. Whenever he had a little extra money, he'd get drunk.
With the combination of domestic violence and alcoholism, the anger that Su Qing had just managed to suppress flared up again.
But as soon as Su Qing mentioned divorce, Elder Sister Yang immediately said, "The kids are still young. We have to think about them."
Whenever Su Qing advised divorce, Elder Sister Yang would come up with reasons not to.
Whenever Su Qing said not to divorce, Elder Sister Yang would start complaining about her husband's various misdeeds, telling Su Qing that she couldn't stand this kind of life for another day.
By the end, Su Qing not only wanted to give Elder Sister Yang's husband the "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms" but also wanted to give Elder Sister Yang a couple of slaps.
She disliked Elder Sister Yang and her husband, and Director Zhang disliked her too. Director Zhang thought she was just causing trouble and a nuisance, so she directly kicked Su Qing out and continued to persuade the couple to reconcile with the other colleagues.
When Su Qing pulled Wang Cuifen into the house, this divorce farce was coming to an end. Elder Sister Yang's husband was promising that he would never mistreat his wife again.
This scene made Su Qing roll her eyes.
Wang Cuifen didn't believe the man's lies either. Regardless of whether she knew the old lady beside her or not, she grabbed someone and asked, "Has he made this kind of oath before? Can he really change or not?"
"Anyway, he'll be good for a while," the old lady said. The unspoken part of her words was also quite clear: he couldn't change. After a while, he'd start beating his wife again.
But no matter what the man was like, everyone still thought that they should just make do with the marriage. What else could they do but stay together?
The old lady looked at Su Qing and Wang Cuifen, their arms intertwined, looking very close, and curiously asked Wang Cuifen, "Is this your child?"
"Yes. She's mine," Wang Cuifen said proudly.
"Your child is a bit reckless," the old lady said euphemistically.
Wang Cuifen didn't like to hear this. What did she mean by "reckless"? This was called being honest, kind, and brave! Moreover, Su Qing didn't force anyone to divorce. When Elder Sister Yang didn't want to divorce, Su Qing didn't say anything more. She was quite sensible.
If she forced Su Qing to be hypocritical, wouldn't she be raising an ungrateful person?
However, Wang Cuifen also took to heart what Su Qing had told her just now. That man actually dared to threaten Su Qing with a fist!
Since Xie Jianhua wasn't at home to protect her, Wang Cuifen suggested, "Qingqing, why don't you learn some martial arts from Old Man Liu? Next time, see who dares to lay a hand on you."
"Old Man Liu? Who's that?" Su Qing asked in confusion.
"He's the master who taught Jianhua martial arts. These years, because the situation is a bit sensitive, he claims to only know simple boxing techniques like military boxing, but he's actually very skilled. Ordinary people can't beat him," Wang Cuifen began to promote.
To be honest, she was also afraid that Su Qing would be bullied. If she really encountered a hooligan, having more colleagues around wouldn't help.
Su Qing didn't reject the idea and nodded obediently. "Okay. I've been wanting to learn some martial arts anyway."
"Next Sunday, I'll take you to see him," Wang Cuifen said. "This Old Man Liu is very slippery. If you're not an old acquaintance, he won't teach you the real stuff."
After finishing the fieldwork and persuading the quarreling couple, Su Qing didn't go back to the office. She went home directly with Wang Cuifen.
The other colleagues did the same. After finishing this task, they took the opportunity to slack off and wandered back home.
On the way home, Director Zhang still couldn't help complaining about Su Qing, saying that she was young and inexperienced and dared to say anything.
But in the unit, it was still the young people who could be relied on to do the work. The old-timers were not very useful.
When there were no colleagues around, Wang Cuifen asked with concern, "That Director Zhang, she didn't target you, did she? And your younger sister, she didn't cause any trouble, did she?"
"No. They not only didn't cause trouble but also took good care of me. They were just afraid of being gossiped about," Su Qing said with a smile.
Everyone wished that this wave of rumors would pass quickly. Who would dare to do something that would arouse people's suspicion?
Even though Su Qing often didn't cooperate, Su Xue still had to put on an act of sisterly affection. On the surface, everything seemed harmonious.
The only problem with this job for Su Qing was that it was too boring. Working in this kind of job was not as good as staying at home and researching food.
She lifted the lid of Wang Cuifen's vegetable basket and saw that there were eggs again. She asked curiously, "Mom, didn't you buy eggs yesterday? Why did you buy them again today?"
"Good things are never too much," Wang Cuifen said casually. "I also managed to exchange for a few cloth tickets today. When I'm free in a few days, I'll make you some clothes."
Su Qing nodded. Wang Cuifen had indeed been very busy recently. Sometimes, when Su Qing had already slacked off and gone home from work, Wang Cuifen still hadn't returned.
It was just that Su Qing watched Wang Cuifen bustling around all day. It seemed that she was very busy, but she didn't know what she was busy with.
It was the same with her job.
After dealing with a few of those trivial matters at the Women's Federation, Su Qing's outlook on life had been reshaped. She didn't rush to handle things anymore, but Wang Cuifen liked to listen and watch. Every time she encountered such a situation, she would stop and watch the commotion.
Su Qing didn't notice anything strange at first, but after encountering such situations three or four times, she felt something was wrong.
"Mom, what are you doing in the north of the city? And last time, I saw you in the west of the city. Why are you wandering all over the city?"
