In the winter of 1964, dripping water turned into ice.
The ice shards in the river stung Shiyue's hands as she washed diapers.
Just then, she heard Sun Xiaohong from her village calling out from behind her.
"Shiyue, Shiyue, why are you still washing diapers here? They weren't born from you, why are you so nosy! Did you know your man is back? I heard he brought a woman back from school!"
Shiyue blinked, not quite understanding what Sun Xiaohong meant.
She knew Sun Chengcai would be back soon, after all, it was almost Chinese New Year and the university would be on holiday.
But what does it mean to bring a woman home from school?
Could it be...?
Thinking of this, Shiyue's hand trembled, and the diaper instantly fell into the river, quickly drifting away with the current.
But she didn't bother picking it up. She stood up and stared at Sun Xiaohong, asking, "What did you just say? I didn't hear you clearly. You said Sun Cheng came back, and he brought a woman with him?"
Sun Xiaohong looked at Shiyue with sympathy and nodded.
Speaking of which, Shiyue is really pitiful.
Her family were outsiders; they moved from the city to Qianjin Brigade just before liberation and had no relatives or friends in the village.
The Shi family had no sons, only one daughter, Shiyue. Unfortunately, both elderly people died young, passing away within a year of each other.
Fortunately, Old Man Shi was a capable man who also cared deeply for his daughter. Before his death, he somehow managed to persuade Sun Chengcai, the only high-achieving student in the village at the time, to marry Shiyue.
Old Man Shi originally thought that this would give his daughter someone to rely on, but little did he know that this arrangement was tantamount to throwing Shi Yue directly into a wolf's den!
Sun Chengcai has not returned home since he went to school.
Her mother-in-law, Liu Sannu, taking advantage of her son becoming a college student, looked down on Shiyue in every way, treating her like a slave every day at home, and constantly beating and scolding her...
In just over a year, she was transformed from a beautiful young woman into nothing but skin and bones!
Looking at Shiyue's hands, which were frozen purple and as thin as chicken claws, a trace of pity flashed in Sun Xiaohong's eyes again.
"Where is he? Did he go home?"
Shiyue had no idea what Sun Xiaohong was thinking. She didn't even bother to clean up the pile of diapers and ran home.
Sun Xiaohong quickly followed and explained, "No, they're still at the commune. My dad and Accountant Xu went to the commune on business today, and they ran into him and a woman getting off the long-distance bus."
I heard from Accountant Xu that when they went to greet him, Cheng Cai was quite embarrassed. It was the woman who introduced herself as Cheng Cai's wife, saying they had come back to reconnect with their family.
At this point, Sun Xiaohong clicked her tongue and blushed: "Lovers...how shameless!"
As she spoke, she nudged Shiyue: "Didn't you and Cheng Cai get your marriage certificate? If you got it, how come he can still get married in the city?"
Speaking of which, Sun Chengcai and Sun Xiaohong are siblings within the fifth degree of kinship, and their relationship is quite close.
But after hearing this news at the brigade headquarters, her impression of that cousin plummeted.
And you call yourself a college student?!
Can college students get married twice?
Shiyue's mind was in turmoil.
She was somewhat reluctant to believe Sun Xiaohong's words.
But she knew that Sun Xiaohong wouldn't dare to lie to her about something like this.
Shiyue and Sun Chengcai were not familiar with each other before.
She was four years younger than Sun Chengcai. When Sun Chengcai went away to school, she was still a little girl and didn't have a deep impression of him.
Even though they got married, because Shiyue's father was critically ill at the time and she had to take care of him, the two of them only had a ceremony and didn't have time to consummate their marriage.
Then came the day when Sun Cheng went to university.
So, although she had been married to that man for over a year, she actually didn't even remember what he looked like.
But I never remembered that he was my man!
It makes no sense that she had to serve his wicked mother-in-law at home and take care of his strange adopted son, enduring all sorts of grievances and torment, while he was finding a new lover at school!
Still lover...
If that woman is my "lover," then who am I?
What am I anyway?
She, his first wife, is still alive! What kind of new wife did he marry?
-
When Shiyue returned home, Liu Sannu was talking to Li Xiangcui, the wife of the brigade accountant.
Seeing her come in, Li Xiangcui called out, "Shiyue is back!"
"Hey, Auntie, you're here," Shiyue greeted.
She looked at Li Xiangcui, then at Liu Sannu sitting on the edge of the kang, and asked bluntly, "Mother, did my Aunt Li come here to tell you that Chengcai is back?"
"Then she must have told you that Cheng Cai brought a woman home, saying she was his girlfriend, and that she came with him to meet the family. Mom, I want to ask, what's the family's stance on this?"
Hearing her question, Li Xiangcui, who was about to leave, stopped moving. She and Sun Xiaohong, who was chasing Shiyue, exchanged a quick glance and stood aside without saying a word.
Both pairs of eyes stared straight at Liu Sannu, wanting to hear what she had to say.
Liu Sannu was furious that Shiyue dared to question her like that, especially in front of outsiders!
Without thinking, she grabbed a shuttle used for winding thread from a winnowing basket and hurled it at Shiyue!
Shiyue instinctively dodged, and the shuttle grazed her cheek before slamming heavily against the earthen wall behind her.
This shuttle is made of wood and is shaped somewhat like an oversized jujube pit, the kind that is bulging in the middle and pointed at both ends.
If it hit Shiyue's face, she would definitely be injured even if she wasn't disfigured!
Even outsiders like Li Xiangcui and Sun Xiaohong couldn't stand it when they saw Liu Sannu actually using a shuttle to hit Shiyue.
Sun Xiaohong immediately said, "Third Aunt, how could you hit Shiyue like that? If you hit her, Shiyue's head would be smashed open!"
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