"Dongxu, why are you lying here all alone? Are you exhausted? Or are you feeling unwell?"
When Qin Huairu saw her husband lying down as soon as he came back, she guessed he was in a bad mood and asked him with concern.
"No, it happened this morning. People were pointing and gossiping about me at the factory. Sigh..."
"Hey! I thought it was something serious! People can say whatever they want, why do you care what they say? Come on, get up and eat."
Seeing that Jia Dongxu was somewhat dejected, Qin Huairu comforted him from the side.
Hearing Qin Huairu's words and looking at his wife's beautiful face, Jia Dongxu's mood improved a little. He then stretched out his hands and said jokingly.
"Come on, give me a hand, and I'll go eat."
Seeing Jia Dongxu's serious look, Qin Huairu didn't say a word. She reached out and grabbed Jia Dongxu's hands. With a little effort, the two hugged each other tightly.
Jia Dongxu secretly made a fuss, touching Qin Huairu inappropriately. Qin Huairu played hard to get, laughing and begging for mercy. The temperature inside the room instantly rose. Jia Zhangshi outside the room heard the noise and exclaimed that Qin Huairu was shameless.
After joking around for a while, Jia Dongxu whispered a few words in Qin Huairu's ear, and Qin Huairu nodded with a blush. Then the two went out to eat.
After dinner, Qin Huairu finished tidying up and was then pulled into the room by Jia Dongxu to play games.
Because the house was too small, Jia Zhangshi was sent away for a walk with her grandson, which made her furious and she cursed behind his back, saying that he had forgotten his mother now that he had a daughter-in-law.
...
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Sun Zhengguo, who was practicing his martial arts early, discovered that Yi Zhonghai had secretly left the compound. Sun Zhengguo had no interest in Yi Zhonghai and went back to his practice.
Why did Yi Zhonghai rush out so early in the morning?
He was mainly afraid of losing face, and secondly, he wanted to quickly bring the older woman back. Ever since the two of them had argued, the older woman had gone back to her parents' home, and Yi Zhonghai had realized that it was really impossible to have a family without a woman.
Yi Zhonghai left the compound and, seeing that it was still dark, took a stroll outside.
I waited until dawn before finding a steamed bun shop. After eating two steamed buns and a bowl of soy milk, I went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some gifts and some meat before finally arriving at the station to catch my train.
The woman's family home was dozens of miles away from Beijing. By the time the car finally arrived, it was almost noon.
After getting off the bus, Yi Zhonghai stood there and rested for ten minutes before he recovered and headed towards the village.
As soon as he arrived at the village entrance, Yi Zhonghai ran into an acquaintance, Zhou Liucheng, his wife's cousin.
"Oh! Brother-in-law is here! You're such a busy man! Sister Xiulian was talking about you the other day. Come on, come on, come to my house for a visit."
Zhou Liucheng met Yi Zhonghai and greeted him politely.
"It's Brother Liucheng! I won't go today. I need to go to your sister Xiulian's house first, and I'll pay a visit another day."
When Zhou Liucheng heard Yi Zhonghai's words, his eyes crinkled with laughter. It was just that people were so poor these days. When a wealthy city person like Yi Zhonghai came to visit, he would definitely bring a lot of things.
Thinking of this, Zhou Liucheng quickly said politely.
"Then I'll wait at home for my brother-in-law to come over. Don't forget to bring Sister Xiulian with you."
"Okay, definitely."
After saying goodbye to Zhou Liucheng, Yi Zhonghai arrived at his wife's parents' home.
The woman's maiden name was Zhou. Her parents passed away before the liberation. She still has two brothers, the eldest Zhou Liucai and the second Zhou Liuyou, both of whom are married with children. This time, Yi Zhonghai came to visit the eldest brother's family.
Is anyone home?
After speaking, Yi Zhonghai didn't stand on ceremony and pushed the door open directly.
"Who is it? They're here."
A woman's voice came from inside the door, and before she could open it, the door was pushed open.
"It's brother-in-law, come in and sit down, I'll go call my sister."
The visitor was Yuzhi, the eldest son's wife. After seeing Yi Zhonghai, she greeted him politely.
"Is that your sister-in-law? Is Liu Cai not home?" Yi Zhonghai asked.
"Liu Cai has gone to the fields and will be back soon. Brother-in-law, please come in first."
After Yuzhi finished speaking, she shouted.
"Sister, brother-in-law is here."
An older woman inside was making shoes when she heard that Yi Zhonghai had arrived, and she quickly came out.
After the two met, the older woman's anger subsided considerably upon seeing Yi Zhonghai's travel-worn appearance.
"Xiulian, are you alright here?"
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Yi Zhonghai spoke first.
The older woman nodded and then said.
"Come inside. Didn't I say we'd talk about it after I'd thought it through?"
“Xiulian, I can’t live without you! You don’t know, just yesterday, I locked myself in my room all day. I didn’t eat a single bite of food all day. I felt like I wanted to die.”
Yi Zhonghai wasn't afraid of losing face; his wife would find out sooner or later anyway.
As for the sister-in-law next to her, what could they do even if they knew? You have to understand, this is the countryside. Everyone works in the fields to fertilize every day. Who hasn't gotten covered in manure? Nobody cares.
Upon hearing Yi Zhonghai's words, the older woman felt a pang of pain in her heart. She knew Yi Zhonghai well; he wouldn't do this unless something serious had happened. She then hurriedly asked...
"What happened? Tell me quickly."
Yi Zhonghai looked at his wife and said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Xiulian, don't laugh when I tell you."
"Just tell me already? Why would I laugh at you?"
"It's an older woman," she said anxiously.
So Yi Zhonghai recounted the whole story, word for word.
The older woman was furious when she heard this.
"The Jia family is going too far. We'll settle the score with them when we get back."
The sister-in-law, however, was unimpressed, thinking, "What's the big deal? Is it really worth it? Why would she want to kill herself?"
It's not her fault that she thinks that way; it's because she doesn't understand Yi Zhonghai.
People like Yi Zhonghai are stubborn and self-willed. They value their reputation above all else. To put it bluntly, they would rather starve than lose face.
Next, his sister-in-law went to cook, while Yi Zhonghai chatted with an older woman.
At noon, Zhou Liucai returned from the fields for lunch. When he saw his brother-in-law, the two exchanged pleasantries until lunch was served.
After finishing her meal, the older woman started packing her things. Having heard about Yi Zhonghai's ordeal, she didn't want to stay a moment longer and couldn't wait to go back and settle scores with Jia Zhangshi.
Seeing his sister packing her clothes, Zhou Liucai did not try to stop her, but only offered a few words of advice, such as telling her to go back and live a good life with her brother-in-law.
On the way back, Yi Zhonghai remembered that he had promised Zhou Liucheng to visit him. He could only apologize, but Yi Zhonghai was also a good man. He took 30 yuan and divided it among the group as a gift.
After leaving the village, they soon boarded a bus back to the city.
After getting on the bus, Yi Zhonghai was still thinking about what to do when he got back.
Should we continue to endure this, or confront them directly?
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