Soft-hearted
That's so exciting!
I spent time with my older brother and then with my younger brother.
However, she remembered that Xie Erge had a wife, and he came to the Xie family today with his wife.
Zheng Nanle secretly clicked his tongue. Who said the older generation was innocent?
When the older generation gets into it, there's really no chance for the new generation to take over.
Zheng Erya stood beside Zheng Nanle, her eyes wide open. She asked Zheng Nanle, stammering, "Sister, sister, what is that, what is that?"
Zheng Nanle nodded, "Yes, he's your fiancé's older brother."
"He, Sister-in-law Hehua, how could you do this?" Zheng Erya thought that Sister-in-law Hehua only had sex with Xie Xiaosan.
Zheng Nanle said, "An orphan and a widow with an old woman to support, Sister Hehua can't afford to raise her family."
Zheng Erya said, "She can remarry."
"After remarrying, will you live like you?" Zheng Nanle asked.
Er Ya was silent for a moment, then shrank back, "Then maybe you shouldn't remarry."
After a moment, she added, "But this isn't a solution for Sister Lotus. If the other women find out, she'll be beaten, and she won't be able to live in the village anymore."
If she only sleeps around with her fiancé and is discovered, the two can still get married.
After all, neither of them was married.
If Xie Erge and his brother are discovered, they will both have their heads shaved in a humiliating way and be sent to the far northwest.
Zheng Nanle looked at Zheng Erya with gentle eyes.
Zheng Erya is really kind.
Despite being a victim herself, she possesses great empathy for others.
This little guy is so adorable.
"She did it, so she should bear the consequences of it being exposed."
Being soft-hearted and kind-hearted is an advantage, but being overly soft-hearted and kind-hearted is not.
Kindness should have its limits.
“Sigh,” Zheng Erya looked at Zheng Nanle, “Sister, I can feel your strength, stronger than all the men in the village. So, sister, I envy you so much. I want to have that kind of power too, not just physical strength, but also…”
Zheng Erya didn't know how to describe it, so she paused before continuing, "The power in one's bones, the power of one's soul?"
"You mean to say someone is mentally strong and has a tough personality, right?"
"Maybe. I know my grandparents were wrong. They tormented my mother to death. They weren't the direct murderers, but they were indirect murderers. If I were tough enough to avenge my mother, I would have drugged them and taken them to the deep mountains so they could experience hunger and illness, and slowly die like my mother."
"But I don't dare."
"Everyone around said that my mother was unlucky and had a bad fate, and that her death was a relief."
Zheng Erya wanted to cry again.
Why did she want to give her body to her sister, and why did she remain silent when her sister was secretly making things difficult for the family? Wasn't it because she thought the same thing?
Did she not want to kill someone?
She thought about it, she thought about it frantically.
Many times, she thought of sending the Zheng family to hell with a packet of rat poison.
But while she could think about it, she couldn't do it.
Her father was a soldier, and her mother was kind and simple. She couldn't let herself become a murderer and let others point fingers at her parents.
She hoped her sister could do what she herself couldn't.
“Sister, not all women are like you, with the power to resist.” Zheng Erya stared at the door in front of her, her thoughts drifting into memories. “I remember the old Lotus Sister. She wasn’t like this before. The old Lotus Sister would have a happy smile on her face, a beautiful flower in her hair, and she could be happy all day long if she saw a basket of snails or beetles, or ate a piece of meat.”
"But after she got married, she didn't smile as much anymore. She would smile occasionally, but most of the time she had a sullen face, like a sky about to rain."
"After becoming a widow, she lost even the slightest bit of her smile. Although she would laugh and curse at the villagers, there was no smile in her eyes."
"Before I got married, Sister Lotus noticed that I looked unwell and would occasionally give me some wild fruits. Those wild fruits were ones she had painstakingly found in the mountains and secretly kept for her own enjoyment. Her family was poor and had no snacks, so she could only find wild fruits to eat in the mountains. There were many people in the village, and the wild fruits on the mountain were picked clean before they were ripe. Only in places further in the mountains, where few people went or where it was difficult for children to pick them, would there be some left. But she gave me some of them."
“Sister, Sister-in-law Hehua isn’t a bad person. She must have been forced to do bad things.” Zheng Erya looked at Zheng Nanle.
Zheng Nanle understood.
This is why Zheng Erya didn't feel any ill will towards Hehua even though she saw her fiancé and Hehua crawling through the rice stack. Because of that bit of kindness, Zheng Erya couldn't bear to blame her.
She received so little kindness from her family that she cherished every act of kindness from outsiders.
“Okay, I’ll give her a choice.” Zheng Nanle softened and nodded in agreement.
"Squeak—"
The door opened, and Sister-in-law Hehua saw Xie Erge off. Her young face was full of smiles, and she even gave Xie Erge a playful push, coaxing him so much that he didn't want to leave.
Sister-in-law Hehua's face hardened, and she scolded him, asking if he wanted to alarm others and make her lose face.
Xie Erge then left reluctantly.
As soon as Xie Erge turned around, Hehua's smile vanished. She turned around expressionlessly and slammed the door shut behind her.
Zheng Nanle estimated the time; less than ten minutes. This is too long. Tsk, Brother Xie is no good.
Men are really something; the worse they are, the more restless they become.
She tiptoed closer and peered through the crack in the door. She saw the oil lamp in the main room was lit, and an old woman came out. She was all smiles, holding a coin and a cloth ration coupon in her hand. She said to Sister Hehua with a smile, "Hehua, this Xie Er is quite generous. He gave you a dollar and a cloth ration coupon. You should hold on to him and not let him lose interest in you."
Lotus Sister's face darkened, and she glared at the old woman with hatred. "Hold on to him? How about I marry him then?"
The old woman's face darkened, her eyes glaring like a hyena's. "Marry him? Bah! Don't you even know if you're worthy? A woman who's been ridden by a thousand men and slept with by ten thousand? If it were when I was young, a little bitch like you would have been drowned long ago."
"You should be secretly laughing at me for not being looked down upon by my family. You still dare to give me attitude. If it weren't for the fact that your body is still useful and can support my precious grandson, a daughter-in-law like you who disrespects her mother-in-law and does not uphold the virtues of a wife would have been beaten to death long ago. How could we allow you to live and ruin my family's reputation?"
She stared at her with drooping eyes and a sharp gaze. "You should have died a year ago. I allowed you to live. Now you have a man to sleep with, a loving son, and a tolerant mother-in-law like me. What more could you want?"
"Don't get any funny ideas. Don't you even think about how many men you've slept with? You still want to remarry? What good man wouldn't want to marry a decent woman? Someone like you wouldn't even be wanted if you were given away for free."
Sister-in-law Hehua was so angry that she slammed the door and went inside, crying.
The old woman stared at the door, her face cold and sinister.
If it weren't for the fact that she could still raise her grandson, I would have beaten her to death long ago, to prevent her son from being defiled.
"Ahhh, you bad guy, you bad guy."
Zheng Erya rushed in and started punching and kicking the old woman.
However, she was just a harmless spirit, and no matter how many punches and kicks landed on the old woman, the old woman was completely unaware.
Zheng Erya returned to Zheng Nanle's side dejectedly.
"Sister." Zheng Erya looked at Zheng Nanle, hesitating to speak.
After a moment, she still didn't say anything.
Zheng Nanle asked, "You want to help her?"
“Yes,” Zheng Erya looked at her hands, “Sister Hehua did not do it voluntarily; her mother-in-law forced her. I don’t want Sister Hehua to live like this anymore.”
"But I don't have the ability."
"No, then you should learn from me." Zheng Nanle patiently guided him. "When you observe my actions, do you see how much inspiration you've received?"
Zheng Erya thought blankly for a moment, "If Sister Hehua eats all the grain in the house and is full, then that old woman won't be able to beat her?"
"Or perhaps we could drug the old woman and starve her half to death, or break her legs so she can't cause any more trouble?"
Zheng Nanle nodded to himself. Good, it's good that they have the idea of resisting.
If you're completely clueless and have no ideas at all, then you're doomed.
At the same time, Zheng Nanle couldn't help but reflect that this era was not the same as hers.
Women of this era are hardworking, resilient, and patient. Having just transitioned from the feudal era, rural women's ideological liberation has not yet taken hold, and they are not much different from oppressed women of the old era.
A great man once pointed out that Chinese women are burdened by four mountains: political power, divine power, clan power, and husband's power.
The old society's political and religious authority has been overthrown by great men, but clan authority and patriarchal authority still firmly oppress women. In fact, for the vast majority of women at the bottom of society, clan authority and patriarchal authority are the two mountains that oppress them the most. Throughout history, many ordinary people have never had any dealings with officials in their entire lives. The people they have the most contact with are their husbands' families and relatives.
Despite these two major obstacles, and despite the fact that a great leader proposed that "women hold up half the sky," and that human rights have been enshrined in the Constitution for nearly 30 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and that the Marriage Law has clearly stipulated provisions such as "abolishing the feudal marriage system of male superiority and female inferiority," "implementing a new democratic marriage system that ensures equality between men and women and protects the legitimate interests of women and children," and "prohibiting interference with the freedom of widows to marry," rural women still lose their rights in reality.
She cannot use her memories from her past life to judge women of this era, assuming that their involvement in other people's marriages is voluntary and that they have low moral standards.
Zheng Nanle patted Zheng Erya and said, "We should ask Sister Hehua about this, about her life, and see how she wants to live it."
The help that outsiders can give is ultimately temporary. Only when you figure things out and stand on your own two feet can you live a good life in the future.
Using his mental power, Zheng Nanle detected that the old woman was already lying in bed, with a sleeping little boy beside her, presumably Hehua's son, Gou'er. He used his mental power to knock the old woman unconscious, then lightly landed outside Hehua's door and asked in a low voice, "Sister Hehua, do you want to remarry?"
Lotus Sister, who was still crying, stopped crying and wondered if there was something wrong with her ears.
Zheng Nanle asked again.
Sister Hehua walked to the door, intending to open it, but Zheng Nanle held the doorknob from the outside. "Let's just talk like this."
Sister-in-law Hehua could tell it was a woman's voice, but she couldn't recall anyone who did. She remained silent and didn't speak.
"Does Sister Hehua want to continue living like this until the dog grows up?"
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