Chapter 109 What hardship hasn't I, Qiao Xingyue, endured?

The wind blew in from outside the main room, causing the 15-watt light bulb hanging in the center of the roof beam to sway.

Under the dim light, Qiao Xingyue's tears streamed down her face, her eyes red and swollen. Usually, she was decisive, resolute, and courageous, like a strong grass in the wind, but now, as she cried, she looked utterly broken.

Xie Zhongming was stabbed hard in the chest.

He raised his hand to wipe away the tears on her cheeks, but they kept falling.

His wife was indeed the smartest one. Before he had said a single word to her, she had guessed his purpose, and she even guessed the divorce papers he had filed.

Just a few days ago, he told her what kind of husband he would be and let her test him. He said he would spend his whole life making it up to her and their two children. But in the blink of an eye, their family of four had only been reunited for a few days when such a drastic change occurred in their home.

At this moment, Xie Zhongming raised his lips, but they trembled so badly that he couldn't utter a single complete word.

The first word stuck in his throat, piercing him like a sharp thorn. After a moment of sobbing, he could only quietly wipe away the endless tears streaming down Qiao Xingyue's cheeks.

When has he ever seen her cry so intensely?

She probably hasn't shed so many tears since she traveled to this era.

She must have shed more tears than anyone else, not even when she gave birth to An'an and Ningning alone in the dilapidated temple, smashed the broken ceramic bottle next to her, heated it over a fire, and then cut An'an and Ningning's umbilical cord.

Tears fell, dripping onto the back of his hand; they were scalding hot, burning a dull ache in his chest.

He almost stopped breathing.

"Xingyue, I know you can definitely share the joys and sorrows with me. You are a girl who can endure hardship, and I believe in you."

"But I can't bear to see you suffer anymore, and I can't bear to see An An Ning Ning suffer along with you."

“Listen to me, this time we’ll get a divorce. Then you, your sister-in-law, and your second sister-in-law can go and stay with the Huang family’s uncles. You’ll have a good life then.”

With that, Xie Zhongming hardened his heart, turned around and walked to the cabinet in the main room, opened the drawer, took out the documents inside, took out a fountain pen, sat down at the square table, uncapped the pen, and continued typing the divorce report:

Divorce application

Dear organization leaders...

Each word, each stroke, each line felt like a sharp knife cutting through Xie Zhongming's chest.

He clenched his fist over and over again, his arm feeling as if it were weighed down by a thousand-pound stone, even though it was a pen in his hand. In the end, he persevered and finished writing yet another divorce application, then handed the pen to Qiao Xingyue.

“Xingyue, think about An'an and Ningning. They're not even five years old yet, and they've suffered so much following you all this way. Now I'm a family member of an enemy agent, and I definitely won't keep this uniform. Going to the countryside for reform through labor is a done deal. If you follow me, you'll only suffer…”

Qiao Xingyue suddenly took the pen.

Xie Zhongming thought she was going to sign something, and his heart sank.

But the next second, she grabbed the rewritten divorce report in her hand, ripped it up, and tore it apart.

With a "ripping" sound.

In the quiet night, the sound of paper being violently torn apart was particularly jarring.

She threw the scraps of paper on the ground, like scattered snowflakes.

"I do not agree to a divorce."

Qiao Xingyue stopped crying. She wiped away her tears and looked at Xie Zhongming with red eyes.

Her usually clear eyes, like black grapes soaked in water, were glistening with tears, yet also revealed her unwavering determination.

So what if you suffer?

Qiao Xingyue's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"An Anningning has suffered before."

“In the past, the hardships my mother and I endured were not shared by anyone. I bore them all, and so did the two children.”

“Sometimes I go to the next village to work as a midwife and don’t come back for one or two nights. I leave a few cooked potatoes and sweet potatoes at home for the two kids, lock the door from the inside, and let them wait for me at home.”

"The two kids were alone in the dark all night, facing the slightest sound outside, too scared to close their eyes, but they persevered until I came back. When I got home, the two kids rushed into my arms, too brave to cry."

“An’an also comforted me, saying that she’s grown up and can take good care of her younger sister, and that I shouldn’t worry.”

“An’an was clearly afraid that her mother wouldn’t come back, afraid that her mother would be carried away by Granny Xiong, afraid that her mother would fall off a cliff, afraid that her mother would encounter bad people, but she still had to pretend that nothing was wrong in front of Ningning…”

At this point, Qiao Xingyue choked up, her shoulders trembling.

She has already experienced all the hardships of life, so what is there for her to fear?

"Do you know how happy An'an and Ning Ning were when they found out you were their father?"

"They are not afraid of hardship at all, they are afraid of losing."

"You suddenly want to get a divorce and ask me to take the two kids and my sisters-in-law to live with Uncle Huang. What are you going to do with the two kids? They just got a father and they just found someone to rely on."

"Even if things get tough in the future, at least they have a father, someone to hold them when they're in pain, and someone to comfort them when they're sad..."

“So what if we’re sent to the countryside for reform? I’ll farm with you, carry manure, cut pig feed, and even if we live in a cowshed, our family will still be together.”

"Besides, there are many people in the Xie family. If the whole family works together to earn work points, are we afraid of starving to death?"

"Anyway, I don't agree to divorce, and I believe my sister-in-law, my second sister-in-law, and my mother definitely don't agree to divorce either."

She guessed that Xie Zhongming was able to bring up divorce with her, so his elder brothers Xie Zhongyi and Xie Zhongjie must have also brought up divorce with their wives, and even his father-in-law Xie Jiang must have brought up divorce with his mother-in-law Huang Guilan.

That's just how the men in the Xie family are; they don't want the women in their families to suffer even the slightest hardship or pain.

But what they didn't know was that every woman in the Xie family was hardworking and resilient, and none of them were cowards.

I heard that after saying so much in one breath, she finally said one word: no matter what anyone says, she will not get a divorce.

Xie Zhongming was overwhelmed by guilt, which surged like a torrent of sweat.

He was afraid she would suffer, but he forgot that she had always endured hardship alone in the past.

He raised his hand and clumsily wiped away her tears. His fingertips touched her cold, tear-stained skin, and he realized his hand was trembling. "Xingyue, this time is different from before. Our family is..."

"What is it? It's just being treated as an enemy agent, and there's no evidence to support it."

“It’s not that there’s no evidence. Uncle Chen came over to tell us that after my uncle was arrested, they found correspondence with foreign countries in his office at the factory.”

"That's a frame-up. Besides, even if it were true, our family would only be considered as collateral damage, as relatives of enemy agents. We wouldn't be executed. Being sent to the countryside for reform isn't a big deal. In a few years, many of those sent to the countryside will be able to return to the city, and some will even have their grievances redressed."

Qiao Xingyue held Xie Zhongming's hand. "Zhongming, listen to me. This period of history will soon be over. Our country will get better day by day. Not only will there be various good policies, but our economy and technology will also advance by leaps and bounds. If you, your eldest brother, second brother, third brother, fifth brother, and Dad can still return to the army, that would be the best. If not, listen to me. Let's go into business, get through this dark time, and our whole family will see the light."

A glint flashed in Xie Zhongming's eyes. "Xingyue, will it really be possible to allow individual businesses and every household to do business, just like you said?"

She had told him what the future world would be like.

She depicted it vividly.

Skyscrapers rise from the ground, airplanes fly in the sky, high-speed trains and subways shuttle between cities, everyone can open a shop and do business on the street, and every household can afford a car.

Now, however, we live in a completely planned economy, where the existence of private enterprises is not permitted at all.

The Xie family, starting from the generation of the grandfather's grandfather, were landlords, capitalists, and the richest family in Jincheng. Later, they implemented a nationalized economic transformation, and the family's match factory, cement factory, textile factory, and restaurant all completed the nationalization transformation in accordance with national policies. The grandfather was even arrested for this.

He was only a few years old at the time. The authorities wanted to ban private enterprises. Would the individual economy still be allowed in the future?

The light in Xie Zhongming's eyes was extinguished in an instant.

He used to have an old neighbor who was also considered an enemy agent. Some of his family members were executed, some were imprisoned, and some died in prison. Those who were implicated were sent to the countryside for labor reform, where they lived in cowsheds and were under constant supervision. They had to participate in high-intensity physical labor every day without being given water or enough to eat.

Will these hard times really give way to light?

"Don't you believe me?" Qiao Xingyue suddenly pulled Xie Zhongming and glared at him. "I've already told you, I'm from the future. I haven't seen this part of history, but I'm very familiar with it. Just listen to me, if our family is really sent down for reform, it will only be four or five years of hardship at most."

"Stars and moon..."

Qiao Xingyue said firmly, "Xie Zhongming, don't try to convince me that I have to divorce you for the sake of An'an and Ningning, and then accept your Xie family's arrangement to go and rely on Uncle Huang."

Then, he added, "Let me make it clear to you, what An'an and Ningning want is not money or a life of luxury, but the company of their loved ones. Instead of racking your brains to get me to agree to a divorce right now, you should quickly find out where our family will be relocated, and then use your connections and money to prepare enough asthma medication for Dad and An'an and Ningning, as well as some emergency supplies. There are some things that are inconvenient for our family to handle, so we should ask Uncle Huang for help as soon as possible."

At this moment, Qiao Xingyue regained her senses.

A few words enlightened Xie Zhongming.

Qiao Xingyue had already sat down at the square table, holding the document paper and pen that Xie Zhongming had brought back from the army, and began to list the supplies that needed to be prepared.

Medicine is the most important thing.

She held the pen and wrote things down one by one. Even though she was writing in a hurry, each character was still neat and beautiful. As she wrote, she said to Xie Zhongming next to her, "These things definitely can't be taken with us. We'll have Uncle Huang find a way to send them over later."

Xie Zhongming stood there, watching her list the supplies with mixed feelings.

He knew that no matter what he said, she would definitely not agree to a divorce.

However, since they are in a military marriage, when the soldier initiates the divorce, the spouse's opposition cannot fundamentally stop the divorce process. It will only prolong the divorce period due to military mediation. As long as he insists on divorce, she and the children will not have to suffer with him during the divorce process.

"What are you looking at? Sit down and think about what kind of supplies you should ask Uncle Huang to help send to the countryside."

She held up her pen and pointed to the list written on the paper. "We definitely can't take the money and ration coupons with us. Tonight, we'll have someone deliver them to Uncle Huang's place. They're staying at the guesthouse right now. We'll have Uncle Huang use the money and coupons to buy some meat and grain and secretly send them to our family. Uncle Huang is always kind to our mother, so he'll definitely help us. At that time, the thing we'll need most is meat and grain."

Only Xingyue could maintain such a clear mind at a time like this.

He had hesitated before, wondering whether he should believe that she had traveled from the future, but now it seemed certain.

He sat down and looked at her.

Under the 15-watt light bulb, the tear stains in Qiao Xingyue's eyes had not yet dried, and the corners of her eyes were so red that they looked as if they were soaked in blood.

But at this moment, she had regained her usual decisiveness and rationality, and when she wrote down the list of supplies that needed to be prepared, she listed everything clearly and concisely.

Xie Zhongming looked at her like that, feeling a pang of guilt. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his previously tense jawline softened.

Right now, the only option is to pretend to agree to her request not to get a divorce.

That way, she'll lower her guard and submit the divorce application first.

His hand landed on the back of her hand holding the pen, gently pried her fingers apart and removed the pen, his fingertips slowly slipping between her fingers to intertwine with hers.

The movements were deliberately slowed down, the fingertips seemed to convey a comforting power, yet also carried a hidden sense of farewell, "Xingyue, I'll listen to you. If anything happens in the future, we'll face it together, our whole family will face it together."

His eyes tried hard to appear resolute, his brows furrowed slightly as if he were making a serious promise, but deep in his eyes lurked a barely perceptible evasiveness.

Qiao Xingyue took it all in.

The other hand, which had been pressing down on the document, was pulled back and placed on the back of his hand, scrutinizing him intently.

Your eyes met his. "Really?"

Feeling guilty, Xie Zhongming met her gaze for a moment, then patted her hand that was covering the back of her hand with his other hand. He quietly looked away, lowered his eyelids, and stared at the back of her hand. "Really."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips, more painful than tears, tinged with forced tenderness. He looked up at her again and said, "Don't worry, this time, no matter what, I will never abandon you and the two children again."

Qiao Xingyue sneered inwardly: I don't believe you!

She abruptly pulled her hand out of his palm, her voice rising sharply, "Xie Zhongming, don't even think about sending me and An'an to Uncle Huang's place to rely on them. Even if you submit your divorce papers, as long as I tell the organization that we're not divorced, I can still go to the countryside with you."

"..." Xie Zhongming's gentle eyes held a hint of guilt. "Xingyue, I really promise you, I won't leave you."

"Stop saying useless things, go and do something right away."

Qiao Xingyue got up and went to the inner room to take out a box. The box was given to her by her mother-in-law, Huang Guilan, and it was locked with an old copper lock.

When you open it, you'll find stacks and stacks of "big unity" (a unit of currency) inside.

A single "Great Unity" note costs ten yuan and was bundled into seven or eight bundles.

Qiao Xingyue quickly stuffed the money into a canvas bag, and then stuffed all the gold and silver jewelry that Huang Guilan and the old lady Chen Suying had given her into it as well.

It was a heavy, large bag, which he stuffed entirely into Xie Zhongming's arms.

"You should immediately have Jiang Beiyang or Jiang Beisong take this to the guesthouse tonight and give it to Uncle Huang. After our family is exonerated and can return to the city, this money will be our start-up capital for starting a business."

She added, "Also, quickly tell Dad, Mom, Grandma, eldest sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, third brother, and fifth brother to have the two Jiang brothers take all the valuables out to give to Uncle Huang. If we don't take them tonight, we might not be able to take them tomorrow."