Chapter 77 - Two People Joining Together and Demanding Divorce (Bug Fix)...
Aunt Guizhi recounted the whole story, and the old lady trembled with anger. Lin Shan, who was squatting by the stove plucking chicken feathers, shouted angrily upon hearing Aunt Guizhi's words. Aunt Guizhi said, "I know, I'll think of something. I definitely won't let Lian'er suffer like this if she doesn't go back."
Lin Shan pointed in the direction of the village head's house, and then pointed to Aunt Guizhi.
Aunt Guizhi nodded, "Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go ask Uncle and the others."
News of even the smallest things in the village spread quickly. Just as Chen Dongniang and the others were about to ask, Aunt Guizhi arrived. She had cried several times that day, her eyes were still red, and her complexion was not good.
Aunt Guizhi is usually a cheerful person; she wasn't this angry even when her son didn't come back a few years ago.
Sun and Chen Dongniang immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. They sent the children out to play and invited Aunt Guizhi into the house.
As soon as they sat down, Madam Sun asked with concern, "What happened? I heard from the villagers that you brought Shui Lian back. Is she feeling unwell?"
Aunt Guizhi's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this. She said to Madam Sun, "My poor son was beaten by that beast from the Yang family. I caught him just as I arrived. He even got into a fight with that old bastard."
"Is Shui Lian badly injured?"
Aunt Guizhi said, "The family we took in that day, my Shuilian was pregnant, and they had to abort the child. If it weren't for meeting Chuntao on the way, my Lian'er might not have made it back!"
Sun and Chen Dongniang were shocked and said angrily, "What kind of family is this! They think the Lin family has no one left!"
Sun said, "We will not swallow this bitterness; we must go to the Tian family and demand an explanation."
Sun was perhaps just being polite, but Aunt Guizhi felt comforted by what she heard. She said, "Even if we go back and beat Shuilian, we won't escape this misery. Aunt, you're knowledgeable, can you help me figure out what to do?"
Sun's words weren't entirely polite. When a married daughter is bullied, the quickest way is to lead the brothers in the clan to beat her up. But this kind of thing can't be eradicated. Some families go to beat her up several times a year. You go to beat her up, you leave, and they beat you up again. You go again, and you get beaten up again. It's a never-ending cycle.
Clearly, Aunt Guizhi didn't intend to vent her anger this way. Considering that she had no children of her own, Madam Sun asked directly, "Guizhi, don't take offense at my bluntness, but you and Dashan are both getting on in years and don't have any children. What are your plans?"
Aunt Guizhi looked at the old lady and said, "We didn't have any plans before. We just lived day by day. We just wanted to save some money and get by like this."
Sun was stunned when she heard this. She thought they were planning to adopt a son and raise him in the future.
Unexpectedly, they didn't have that plan.
Thinking about Lin Shuilian's situation, Sun Shi realized that the child couldn't speak and was in such a state that if she were divorced and sent home, it would be difficult for her to remarry. For a moment, she didn't know what advice to give Aunt Guizhi.
Chen Dongniang also felt that this matter was difficult. She pursed her lips and thought of Lin Chuntao. It was also a bit strange that she would want to hear what Lin Chuntao had to say about this matter.
She glanced at Madam Sun and then at Aunt Guizhi, tentatively suggesting, "Mother, sister-in-law, should we ask Chuntao about this?"
Should we ask Chuntao? Aunt Guizhi did have that plan, but she came to see the old man first, saying it was to make a decision, but also to let him know in advance.
She hadn't expected Chen Dongniang to say that. She looked at Madam Sun, who had no objections, and then called Lin Jiahui to fetch Lin Chuntao.
"Sister Chuntao, Grandma wants you to come over to her house to play."
Lin Chuntao initially thought it was just a trip to play, so she went along since she had nothing else to do. However, when they arrived at the door, Lin Jiahui refused to go in. Lin Chuntao raised an eyebrow slightly, and Lin Jiahui said, "Auntie came to the house to talk about something. Let's go outside and play."
Lin Chuntao then understood. She entered the courtyard, where Lin Cunzheng and Lin's second uncle were sitting. Sun Shi and several daughters-in-law were inside. Lin Chuntao greeted Lin Cunzheng and the others, and Sun Shi invited her to come in from inside the house.
Chen Dongniang brought pumpkin seeds for Lin Chuntao to eat, and she took a little bit and sat down next to her.
After a few casual words, they got down to business. Lin Chuntao looked at Aunt Guizhi and said directly, "It depends on whether you want to keep Sister Shuilian at home. Even if she never remarries, you will support her for the rest of her life."
Her words silenced all the women present.
Everyone was filled with mixed emotions, including Aunt Guizhi. After a long while, she asked Lin Chuntao, "What will happen to her when your Uncle Linshan and I are gone?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Doesn't Sister Shuilian have two children?"
As soon as she finished speaking, everyone present still frowned. Lin Chuntao tentatively asked, "Assuming a divorce, wouldn't you want these two children?"
Chen Dongniang said, "Isn't this just letting that beast's family benefit for free, raising their child for them for nothing?"
Aunt Guizhi also liked the two children, but what Chen Dongniang said was true. If it really came to the point of divorce, the children would definitely be raised by the Tian family.
Looking at them, Lin Chuntao suddenly thought of something. It seemed that when many girls got divorced, their families would tell them not to have children, and that they should remarry without bringing any burdens with them.
That was true in that era, let alone now.
She looked at them and said frankly, "If the children are well-educated, they will be sensible. They were born after Sister Shuilian carried them for ten months and called her 'Mother.' They are not all someone else's children. In my opinion, no one is as reliable as yourself. Between my children and a strange man, who is more reliable? I can't say for sure."
Lin Chuntao didn't dare to say anything too outrageous, after all, it was a major concept within the context of the times.
After a moment of silence, Lin Chuntao said, "Actually, we still need to see what Sister Shuilian thinks about this. But before that, Auntie also needs to make a good decision. You need to be her support and give her a way out. Even if she is kicked out, her parents can still give her a home, a home where no one will kick her out no matter how long she stays. That way, she won't suffer alone."
Aunt Guizhi felt a sharp pang in her heart. She nodded and said, "Your Uncle Linshan and I only have her as our daughter. We certainly won't kick her out when she comes home."
“If Aunt wants to bring Sister Shuilian back, then they have to get a divorce. We should discuss this privately. If we can reach an agreement, we can go directly to the government office to get the divorce stamped. If we can’t reach an agreement, then we have to go to the government office.”
"I think the Shangguan family should act quickly, before Sister Shuilian recovers, and let the officials see the true colors of that beastly family."
The incident of Qian suing Tian is still fresh in everyone's mind. To be honest, everyone is still somewhat afraid of the Shangguan family.
Sun said, "Guizhi, you two make a decision. We can go to the village headman and talk to that beast's house together. Once we've reached an agreement, we can write a document and send it to the county town to get it stamped."
Aunt Guizhi agreed, and Chen Dongniang then brought up the marriage arrangements for Lin Chunxing and her sisters.
Lin Chuntao also spoke frankly about her thoughts.
“Aunt, if anyone asks you about Chunxing’s marriage, please help me refuse. Chunxing will not be involved in any marriage or engagement before she turns nineteen. If she finds someone she likes after she turns nineteen, then we can talk about it. If she doesn’t, then I will let her be.”
Chen Dongniang laughed and said, "If you keep her old like this, people will laugh at her."
"To be honest, Auntie, our parents are gone, so I have to take care of them. If they get married in the future, I hope they will both bring their own husbands into the family. I don't want them to get married out of the family."
"But it's still early, nothing's set in stone yet, it all depends on what the three of them think."
"As for what others will say, close friends won't laugh at us, and whether strangers laugh or not won't affect us. I'll live my life, they can laugh all they want, it's none of our business, and I won't care."
She spoke casually, and Chen Dongniang smiled inwardly, thinking of Wang Shi's inquiries. According to Lin Chuntao's idea, she had no chance.
Aunt Guizhi was shocked by Lin Chuntao's words. She had no son by her side and was laughed at by others. It took her more than ten years to understand this, while Lin Chuntao was not even twenty years old this year, and she had already figured it out.
After she got home, she discussed it with her husband. Lin Shan kept cursing the family, but he also agreed with Aunt Guizhi's suggestion to let his daughter divorce that beast.
"What about the child? What if they refuse to give him to us?" Lin Shan asked in sign language.
Aunt Guizhi replied, "Then we'll think of something."
"What method?" Lin Shan asked again. Aunt Guizhi couldn't answer either, only saying, "I'm thinking about it."
After saying that, she went to get busy. When Lin Shuilian woke up, the sun had already set. She felt a little more relaxed, so she got out of bed and prepared to go out.
Aunt Guizhi heard the commotion as soon as she entered. She rushed in and saw Lin Shuilian coming downstairs. She quickly asked, "Do you need to go to the outhouse? I'll bring you a bucket. Don't go out in the wind."
Lin Shuilian shook her head, and Aunt Guizhi said, "If you're alright, just lie down and don't get up and walk around."
As she spoke, Lin Shuilian was stopped and forced to lie back down. Aunt Guizhi asked, "Are you feeling unwell anywhere? The two children are outside. They just said they wanted to come and see you, but I told them not to disturb your sleep, so I didn't let them in."
Lin Shuilian used sign language to let the two children in, and Aunt Guizhi called the children in as well.
The two children quietly followed Aunt Guizhi inside. Seeing Lin Shuilian on the bed, their emotions suddenly surged, "Mother!"
The children's voices were choked with sobs. They watched helplessly as their mother was led into the clinic. They had been terrified the whole time, but now that they saw their mother safe and sound in front of them, they felt a little relieved.
"Mother, are you still in pain?" Zhao'er asked worriedly as she stood by the bed.
Lin Shuilian shook her head and waved to them. The brother and sister moved closer together, and Lin Shuilian reached out and touched her head, then made a sign saying, "Mother is fine, don't worry."
After speaking, Lin Shuilian gestured to Tian Hu in sign language, instructing him to take good care of his younger sister.
Tian Hu nodded: "Mother, take good care of yourself. I will take good care of my sister."
Lin Shuilian looked at the two children with tender eyes. Aunt Guizhi, watching from the side, felt a pang of sadness and slowly lowered her eyes, thinking about what Lin Chuntao had just said. Those weren't all other people's children; they were her daughter's children, born after ten months of pregnancy.
Whether she's in pain or sad, she'll always be thinking about her two children.
After a while, Lin Shuilian's expression relaxed. After the children left, Aunt Guizhi talked to her daughter about future plans and asked for her opinion.
Thinking about Lin Chuntao's words, she first expressed her own thoughts. Lin Shuilian listened with tears welling up in her eyes, and a moment later, tears rolled down her cheeks.
She gestured and asked Aunt Guizhi, "What if my brother comes back in the future?"
Aunt Guizhi thought of the boy who had become someone else's son, and a bitter smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Even if he does come back, I won't keep him. Don't worry. If you stay at home, you can remarry and have him live with his wife's family. You won't have to go out again." After Aunt Guizhi finished speaking, Lin Shuilian finally felt relieved and told her that she didn't want to go back; her husband often beat her.
When did he start hitting you?
Lin Shuilian was silent for a moment before saying, "Last year."
Aunt Guizhi frowned. Lin Shuilian and Na Tianxiang had just returned with their child during the Spring Festival, and at that time she thought the young couple had a good relationship.
“He started beating you last year. Why didn’t you tell your mother when you came back for the New Year? Your father and I may not be very capable, but we won’t just stand by and watch you be bullied.”
Lin Shuilian remained silent. Her parents had no son, and she was mute and incompetent. Not causing them any trouble was the greatest filial piety she could offer.
Even this time, she wouldn't have said anything if she hadn't been caught red-handed.
Aunt Guizhi thought that Lin Shuilian and that beast used to be on good terms. When she saw Tian Xun hitting Lin Shuilian, her mind went blank. Before seeing it with her own eyes, she never thought that such a thing would happen.
Although it didn't make much sense, she still asked, "Do you know why he always hits you?"
Lin Shuilian fell silent. Tian Xiang had been kind to her before, but he became unkind after she gave birth to her daughter. He wanted to come during her postpartum period, but she was bleeding and had an upset stomach, so she didn't agree. She continued to bleed for two months, and then Tian Xiang got annoyed and went to the city with the villagers. He didn't return until many days later.
Ever since that trip to the county town, he had grown to dislike her. The familiar person had lost her former gentleness, leaving only some torturous methods. She was tired of that, but Tian Xiang enjoyed it immensely. Even when he was no longer able to perform, he would always blame her.
After these events, he became addicted to drinking and irritable. At first, he would only hit her after drinking, but later he would resort to violence whenever things didn't go his way.
Even to her own mother, she found it difficult to talk about such a thing.
Seeing that Lin Shuilian remained silent, Aunt Guizhi asked again, "Has he been having an affair with another woman?"
Lin Shuilian shook her head. It wasn't a matter of whether it existed or not; it was that she didn't know either.
“He would hit me when he was drinking or in a bad mood, for no reason.” Lin Shuilian gestured, looking at her own mother. She paused and then gestured again, “He also hits the children.” He also called the children “silent quails.”
Aunt Guizhi sighed deeply and said, "You should take good care of yourself. Your mother and father will figure out the rest."
*
When Lin Chuntao returned from the village head's house, Lin Chunxing and the others had already prepared the meal.
After the sisters finished eating, they started preparing meat and vegetables for tomorrow. Pei Ying said, "Let's take some time in the next few days to invite some craftsmen."
Lin Chuntao had no objections. She said, "Then let's go to the homestead again tomorrow. I feel that the area I drew before was a bit small. I wonder if it can be made a little more spacious."
Lin Chuntao is planning to fence off a courtyard. She doesn't know how far things have progressed with Chai Xingyu. If the sauce business can be turned into a success, she will need to set aside two spacious rooms.
That was their plan, but the next day the village chief was busy with something and didn't have time to set up the base. Two days later, on the afternoon of August 20th, when they returned from the county town after finishing their work...
Aunt Guizhi invited Village Chief Lin and his group to the Tian family to discuss Lin Shuilian's matter. Many people from the village went along, some specifically invited and others just to watch the spectacle.
Seeing Lin Chuntao and the others return, Aunt Guizhi called her to go with them.
They went home, ate a quick meal, and then went with them.
Lin Cunzheng and his group invited the village head, and when they arrived at the Tian family's house in a grand procession, the Tian family members were sitting happily in the courtyard eating melon seeds, and there was also a strange woman sitting with Tian Xiang.
Lin Shuilian didn't come today, and Aunt Guizhi looked at the Tian family with a face full of resentment.
Tian Xiang suddenly noticed that Aunt Guizhi still seemed a little guilty, so he quickly stood up, wanting to get away from the woman, but his mother grabbed him and pulled him down, saying, "Sit down, what are you being so guilty about?"
After his mother said that, Tian Xiang sat down immediately.
Before Aunt Guizhi could speak, the old woman sneered, "Oh dear, Xu Guizhi, you've brought so many people, are you trying to eat this old man alive?"
Aunt Guizhi clenched her teeth in anger.
Sun said from the side, "Tian Xiang's mother, there are no cannibals in our Lin family. It's just that our Lin family's daughter was beaten half to death by your Tian Xiang. We've come here to demand an explanation!"
"This lady has a very unfamiliar face. Is she your son's new bride?"
Zhao's face trembled slightly upon hearing this. She was confident in front of the Lin family, but because the Lin family had arrived so quickly, she hadn't yet mentioned that Lin Shuilian had been taken away by Xu Guizhi. At this moment, the people around the Tian family also knew what had happened and were all gathered outside watching.
Aunt Guizhi raised her voice and said, "Well, I knew it! How could there be such a heartless family? They beat their pregnant daughter-in-law to death. So it turns out they had someone else. If I hadn't come yesterday, would you have beaten my daughter to death to make room for her?"
The villagers began to whisper among themselves upon hearing this.
"Oh dear, I was wondering where Lin Shuilian was."
"They've hit each other again."
"She was pregnant, but the old lady didn't care at all."
Hearing those words, Zhao cursed, "Xu, stop making baseless accusations! Who hit her? Tell Lin Shuilian to come out and say who hit her!"
Aunt Guizhi was trembling with anger. She pointed at Zhao and cursed, "You wretched woman! If your family hadn't been so poor that you were about to collapse, and if you hadn't promised me every day that you would treat my daughter well, would I have agreed to a marriage between our children? How much have I given you? You're a whole family of ungrateful beasts, and now you're bullying her like this!"
Zhao's face turned ashen, and she yelled, "A mute! If it weren't for my kindness, you wouldn't even be able to get married! You should be grateful you married into my family!"
"All that 'ee-ee-ah-ah' all day long, it's so unlucky to watch!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Guizhi rushed over and grabbed Zhao's hair. The Tian family members, Lin Changzong, and Chen Dongniang all rushed over, turning what started as a fight into a melee, which broke out right there in the small courtyard.
The stranger had unknowingly retreated to a corner of the courtyard. Lin Chuntao wasn't good at tearing hair, so she couldn't help her.
The two families were tearing and wrestling, their faces red with anger as they pointed at each other and cursed each other from their ancestral graves for eighteen generations.
Zhao shouted that she wanted to divorce Lin Shuilian and have Aunt Guizhi take her home to rot in her house!
Aunt Guizhi pointed at Zhao and shouted that she was going to report to the authorities and send that damned Tian Xiang to prison.
The village head, smoking his pipe, leisurely watched the two families fight. After he finished his pipe, he called out in a deep voice, "Have you had enough?"
Those who had witnessed the fight rushed forward to separate the two families.
The village head looked this way and that, snorted coldly, and began to give both sides equal punishment.
"What, are you two really going to storm the government office?"
Neither family spoke. The Tian family brought out a chair for the village head to sit on, and she then told everyone to sit down, those with chairs to sit, and those without to stand aside.
After the village head sat down, he first looked at Zhao and asked, "Tian family, what's the meaning of this? Don't you want your daughter-in-law anymore?"
"A daughter-in-law like this, in-laws like this! Our family can't afford such a daughter-in-law!"
The village head frowned slightly, seemingly unsurprised. He looked at Aunt Guizhi and asked, "And you? What do you have to say?"
Aunt Guizhi said, "I can't accept a son-in-law like that. My Shuilian is divorcing Tian Xiang! We'll take the two children with us! We'll have nothing to do with the Tian family anymore!"
Zhao didn't like the two children, but she felt that they belonged to the Tian family and how could the Lin family take them away?
"You're dreaming! You surnamed Xu, our family will write a letter of divorce today, and you can get out with your mute daughter!"
"A letter of divorce? If you dare to write one, I'll send your son to jail."
Zhao spat and sneered, "Do you think you own the prison and can just say whatever you want?"
Aunt Guizhi choked for a moment, and Lin Chuntao, standing behind her, said, "The prison isn't run by anyone, but I've heard that the coroners in the yamen can deduce when someone was beaten, what tool they used, and how many times they were hit just by looking at the bruises! As long as you report it to the yamen, whoever beat the person will be in jail for sure!"
"By the way, Lin Shuilian is pregnant and was beaten to the point of near death. I went with her to the county clinic, where the doctor can testify. Are you sure your family wants to take the gamble and go to the yamen for a fair trial?"
It was the first time Tian Xiang and Zhao Shi had met Lin Chuntao. She was a thin, young girl, but her words were quite intimidating. At least Zhao Shi was intimidated. She glared at Lin Chuntao angrily and said, "Who are you? Do you have any right to speak on adults' matters?"
Lin Chuntao said, "Auntie, who I am is not important. I'm just reminding you that the officials in the yamen are not to be trifled with."
Zhao swallowed hard, about to lash out, but was stopped by the village head.
"You said you wanted to divorce your daughter-in-law, what's the reason?"
Zhao couldn't come back. The village head looked at the woman standing in the corner and asked Tian Xiang in a deep voice, "Who is this person? Is she your lover?"
The village head wasn't a high-ranking official, but when it came to serious matters, the villagers still had a certain fear of him. When questioned, Tian Xiang didn't dare to lie and admitted that it was his lover.
The village headman said, "Does having a lover mean you have to beat your lawfully wedded wife to death?"
Upon hearing this, Tian Xiang panicked and hurriedly explained, "Village head, I didn't mean to kill her, we just had a few words in our conversation."
Aunt Guizhi was furious when she heard this. She remembered that Lin Shuilian was lying on the ground being beaten when she arrived, and she was so angry that she trembled all over.
“Village head, when I came that day, Shui Lian was locked inside and being beaten and kicked by him. Zhao Shi was eating melon seeds at the door. If I had come any later, my poor daughter would be gone. Now he’s saying we should have a little argument? A little argument and my daughter would have been half dead!”
"Village head, she still can't get out of bed today..."
As Aunt Guizhi spoke, she cried. The members of the Tian family hissed coldly. In fact, they had always known that Tian Xiang had hit Lin Shuilian, but since Lin Shuilian was mute, no one understood what she was gesturing, so no one paid any attention to it.
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