Chapter 39

With that shout, anger twisted her face, edging toward hysteria.
Her outburst scared the entire Wang family silly. Her mother thought she was having some kind of hysterical fit and grabbed her in a panic.
“Lanhua! My Lanhua, what’s wrong with you?”
Wang Shuisheng was startled too. What on earth was going on with his little sister?
He couldn’t help worrying. “You haven’t been right these past few days. Did Hao Jianguo bully you, Lanhua?”
A flicker of guilt and hatred flashed through Wang Lanhua’s eyes.
And Wang Shuisheng caught it clearly. “It is him!”
Seeing father, mother, and big brother all worried for her, Wang Lanhua slowly calmed down.
These days she’d been stringing Hao Jianguo along, playing nice while feeling so disgusted she could puke.
At the same time she’d been digging into the real reason he’d been sent down. In her previous life she’d only vaguely heard, much later, that the reason was… unspeakable.
Back then the Hao family had hidden it from her. She still thought she’d burned high incense and married well, her husband’s family conditions were excellent, and they treated her kindly and warmly. Nothing to complain about.
Then one time Hao Jianguo got drunk and his true nature slipped out. He beat her black and blue… She had thought it was a one-off. But it wasn’t. That wolf had just acted too well before marriage.
At first, he’d apologize, sweet-talk her, and everyone around would persuade her to let it go. Later he’d drop to his knees, sobbing. When he realized that stopped working,
That was when her end began.
He stopped pretending altogether. He’d bring prostitutes home and do it right in front of her, then hit her…
Thinking about it now, Wang Lanhua grit her teeth so hard she almost bled, eyes burning with hatred.
This time around, she absolutely would not let Hao Jianguo have it easy. While she was at it, she’d dug into the reason he’d been sent down, and sure enough, she’d found something.
Of course he wasn’t going to stay in the countryside, which he looked down on, of his own free will, when he had such a cushy life as a rich young master. Obviously he was hiding from something.
Turned out he’d messed around with women and gotten someone killed. The woman wasn’t exactly a soft touch either; she was one of the “five black categories” and wanted to use the child to force her way into the Hao family.
She just hadn’t expected Hao Jianguo to be even more shameless than she was, and in the end her plans came to nothing.
Wang Lanhua had already written that woman an anonymous letter, telling her all about Hao Jianguo’s father’s political rival, the other workshop director who was competing with him for the deputy factory director position.
She could only hope that woman wouldn’t let her down. As for Hao Jianguo, he shouldn’t think she didn’t know he’d been flirting around with other girls in the village too. He’d set himself on fire sooner or later.
Calm again, she shook her head at Wang Shuisheng. “Brother, no, he hasn’t bullied me. But… I just don’t want Bai Xinmei as my sister-in-law.”
She had no intention of letting her brother get involved in this. She wouldn’t let her family get hurt.
“Why? Lanhua, she… she’s a good woman. Raising a child alone, and life at the Qin house isn’t easy.”
Shuisheng frowned instinctively. Lanhua was the little sister he doted on, obedient and sensible since childhood.
He wanted his marriage to have his family’s blessing, but that didn’t mean Lanhua got to meddle in his affairs and steer his decisions.
A good woman. Hearing those three words from her brother’s mouth, Lanhua felt a surge of bitter irony.
She admitted she carried over her past-life prejudice toward Bai Xinmei; up to now she really hadn’t seen any signs of her being loose or vain.
But as for this “good” and “having it hard” that her brother spoke of, she hadn’t seen any of that either. All anyone saw was that face of hers.
“Lanhua, I hope for your blessing, but when I say I want to marry Bai Xinmei, I’m not asking your permission. In the future, brother will have his own family and his own life, and so will you. Understand? You can’t force your likes and dislikes onto your big brother.”
When he finished, Wang Lanhua dropped her head. No one could tell whether his words had actually sunk in.
Wang Shuisheng sighed and went back to his room to rest. The old couple were the most confused of all, they couldn’t understand why their son was infatuated with a widow, nor why their daughter hated her so much…
Naturally, Bai Xinmei had no idea the Wang siblings had just had a big fight over her. And even if she had known, she probably wouldn’t have cared much, she’d just tilt her little face proudly and huff: I only said we’d try seeing each other. Who said I’m definitely marrying Wang Shuisheng?
What did bother her was that every time she went out walking with Wang Shuisheng, just to stroll around or go have a meal at the state-owned restaurant,
She would run into a smiling Comrade Song.
For some reason, every time she ran into him like that, Bai Xinmei would feel this inexplicable guilty conscience, not daring to look him in the eye.
She blamed it on the fact that Comrade Song was simply too deep and unreadable, which was what made her act like this.
She decided she ought to reduce contact with that kind of person.
As for this matter, Song Jinping had his own unspeakable troubles. The moment he’d heard that Bai Xinmei was looking at suitors, he’d gone straight to the matchmaker he’d seen in her courtyard that day.
And the moment he heard all the conditions Bai Comrade had laid out…
Song Jinping immediately felt he’d practically missed the entire New China. Those conditions were clearly describing him!
He regretted it so much his guts turned green. How had he not gotten wind that Comrade Bai was going on blind dates?
He asked the matchmaker to introduce him to Comrade Bai in a few days.
The tactless old woman even asked whether she’d help him if the two of them hit it off, but refused to be the type to “stick to both sides.”
If not for the fact that he was wearing glasses, she might have seen the sparks shooting from his eyes.
That night, Song Jinping didn’t sleep a wink, and when he got up to ask around, he found out she’d already agreed to start seeing someone.
From then on, he made a point of “running into” the two of them whenever they were out together.
This day, Wang Shuisheng had come to pick Bai Xinmei up to go to the state-owned restaurant. The two of them had agreed to try the restaurant’s hotpot mutton.
She’d tied a light, bright green chiffon scarf at her neck, wore a long dress, and had her beautiful hair combed out and curled into soft little waves at the ends with a pair of heated tongs.
When she came out, she made Wang Shuisheng’s eyes light up. A little shy, he said, “Xinmei, you look really beautiful today.”
Just as they were about to head out, Bai Xinmei suddenly remembered: she was about to go to the state-owned restaurant to feast on meat and broth, while leaving Niuniu at home gnawing on coarse cornbread.
Wasn’t that putting the cart before the horse? The whole point of her finding a new man was to give Niuniu a better life. If even this was too much for Wang Shuisheng to accept, he could get lost, and she’d have Aunt Wang line up the second candidate as soon as possible.
Thinking that, Bai Xinmei nodded and told her precious girl, “Niuniu, sweetheart, eat more later, alright? We’re going for hotpot mutton.”
“Mhm! Mutton!”
Little Qin Sisi had never eaten mutton, but she could see from her mother’s eyes that hotpot mutton was something good, so she answered crisply.
So she brought her daughter along as well.
When Shuisheng saw her leading the girl by the hand, he froze for a second, but quickly recovered and cheerfully hoisted Niuniu up onto the bicycle.
He might long for a “two-person world” with Xinmei like they talked about in the West, but Niuniu was Xinmei’s child. That meant she was his child too.
Life loves coincidences. And today, it really was one of those days.
Back when arguing with her brother hadn’t worked, Wang Lanhua had turned all her firepower onto the scumbag Hao Jianguo.
The woman she’d written that anonymous letter to, the one Hao Jianguo had tricked, had gone to his father’s rival, and then gone to hang herself at the textile factory gates. She’d gotten Hao’s father suspended from his post.
Today, Lanhua had gone to write a report letter to the city disciplinary committee, and also mailed an anonymous letter to the mayor’s office, reporting Hao Jianguo’s mother for failing to do any real work and instead using her position as women’s director to create bogus projects and embezzle government funds “for women’s welfare.”
And she just so happened to run into Song Jinping, who was there sending a letter home.
When their eyes met, Lanhua looked at her second-marriage husband from her previous life. He was much younger now, still that clean, elegant sort of handsome, but with less steadiness and more youthful sharpness.
Thinking of their former affection and the way they’d once supported each other, tears welled up in her eyes. She parted her lips and whispered, “Jinping.”
But the post office was full of people and noise, and he didn’t hear her at all.
When he turned his head he only saw a girl of sixteen or seventeen, eyes brimming with tears as she looked at him, as if she’d known him for years.
His first reaction was: could it be that the people in the capital had found him? Found out that he’d been secretly helping Old Master Zhao?
He’d investigated for a long time before he’d learned that Old Master Zhao was locked up in a re-education farm not far from this area.
When he’d finally seen him, the old man was nothing but skin and bones.
Did those vermin in the Central Committee really think this lawless chaos would last forever? Impossible.
With that thought, Song Jinping’s gaze sharpened, and he looked Wang Lanhua over.
Had they discovered something and sent a female agent to frame him with a charge of “messing around with women”?
Otherwise, why was it that he came to the post office to send a letter, and suddenly some strange woman was standing there sobbing at him?
Lanhua had no idea he was on guard. She was still lost in memories of their former love, unable to pull herself out.
She hurried after him. “Comrade, are you a sent-down educated youth? Which village were you sent to?”
How does she know I’m a sent-down youth? At that point, Song Jinping was fully on alert.
They were in town. How could she be so sure he wasn’t just a local, but a down-sent educated youth?
None of it showed on his face, though; outwardly, his tone was mild as always.
“Lotus Village, Lotus Village! I should’ve thought of it sooner! That woman is in Lotus Village, so of course you’d be there too! That’s where you were set up!”
Lanhua sounded both shocked and suddenly enlightened.
Song couldn’t hear clearly what she was muttering. He really wanted to shake her off, but when he turned his head he caught sight of Bai Xinmei on her date with Wang Shuisheng.
His eyes were full of wonder. She… really was beautiful today. Women dress up for the ones they like. Was she dressed like that for Wang Shuisheng…
Did he really still have a chance? Word was they were about to settle the match.
Song Jinping’s eyes dimmed.
This was the first time he’d ever liked someone.
He wanted to storm in there, tell Comrade Bai to her face that he was the man most suited to her. Didn’t she like a man with good conditions? His conditions were excellent! He could leave that Wang Shuisheng ten streets behind!
Or… forget it. Just go back.
What he didn’t know was that in just a few days, a major turn of events was waiting for him,
One that would rekindle his hope.