Chapter 108 The Women's Federation came to mediate; the weather in October was already...
The weather in October was already a bit chilly. A gust of autumn wind blew by, carrying Aunt Li's words to everyone's ears. Everyone's eyes widened. Why would they have to go that far?
Aunt Li and Uncle Sun have lived together for most of their lives, why would they get a divorce over such a trivial matter?
Aunt Ma said, "Old Li, don't say things without thinking. You and Old Sun have been married for over thirty years. What haven't you been through thick and thin? Life was so hard and difficult before, but you still made it through, didn't you? Even if you're angry, you can't just say things like 'divorce' so casually."
She said a few words to Aunt Li, not too harshly, then turned around with a very unpleasant expression: "Old Sun, I also have to talk to you. You handled this matter very poorly. Yes, your mother's grave was flooded, so we should repair it if necessary, and relocate it if we can't. It's a normal request of yours, and even if it costs a little money, Old Li wouldn't object. But what were you thinking? We living people are already struggling to make ends meet, and you want to buy your mother a burial plot for a thousand yuan? What, are you planning to starve after buying the plot? If you ask me, just forget it. The dead are never as important as the living, especially something that's just for show. Besides, you're not even planning to pay for it yourself; you're planning to use Old Li's savings. To be honest, everyone in our neighborhood knows that your mother wasn't good to Old Li when she was alive. It's perfectly normal that she didn't want to use her savings to buy your mother's burial plot."
Oh ho!
Mingxi wished she could whistle at Aunt Ma, because she really didn't give Grandpa Sun any face at all, and directly stripped Grandpa Sun of all his dignity.
Grandpa Sun's face darkened, and he pointed at Grandma Ma with a trembling finger, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Aunt He chimed in, "That's right, that's right, Old Ma is right. I just don't understand, Old Sun, what are you thinking? We've been breaking down feudal superstitions for so many years, why do you still believe in this feng shui stuff? Do you really think that whether your descendants are successful or not depends entirely on where their ancestral graves are located? If that's the case, then in the future, if any family's child is unsuccessful or good-for-nothing, they shouldn't scold the child anymore, they should just go to the ancestral graves and curse them. It's their fault for not being able to bless their child to be successful."
Aunt He's words amused the crowd of onlookers.
Mingxi: "Then our ancestors must have carried too much burden!"
"Hahaha, that's right..."
Everyone burst into laughter, while Grandpa Sun's face turned ashen with anger.
He paused for a long time before speaking, wiping his eyes with a wronged expression, and said, "I'm not doing this out of superstition, but I feel bad thinking about my mother soaking in the cold water for so long. A few months ago, I dreamed that my mother appeared to me in my dream and said that the place where she is is cold and damp and she is not feeling well. I didn't take it seriously until a few days ago when people in our village notified me that there was a problem with my mother's grave."
“As you all know, my mother’s generation suffered all kinds of hardships: the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Japanese invaders, the CCP, and I was powerless. My mother never had a good day while she was alive. Now that she’s gone, she’s suffering in the afterlife. It’s hard for me to bear!”
As Grandpa Sun spoke, his eyes reddened, and he clutched his collar and pounded his chest.
The group of people, who had been laughing and joking, fell silent upon seeing him like this.
The younger generation was fine with it, but the older generation resonated with his words even more, nodding in agreement.
"Old Sun has had it tough too. After all, she was his own mother. Now that she's gone, he just wants her to have a proper burial. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"
"If you ask me, Old Sun is right. He's just being filial, and it's only right to be filial to one's elders!"
“Old Li, it’s really wrong of you to argue with Old Sun over this. That’s your mother-in-law. Even if she wasn’t good to you when she was alive, she’s gone now. When a person dies, it’s like a lamp going out. Don’t dwell on the past.”
I don't know what Aunt Li thought when she heard this, but Mingxi couldn't help but roll her eyes.
How can death be the end of everything? Does the harm a person caused to others simply disappear after they die, as if nothing ever happened?
That's just easy for someone who doesn't understand the situation to talk!
Because they are not the victims themselves and have not been harmed, they can say such things.
If the whip were to touch them, Mingxi guaranteed that they would never utter the phrase "when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out."
Besides, if death is truly the end, then why bother choosing an expensive burial plot or holding a grave relocation ceremony? The body simply disappears, so why not just dump it somewhere?
Mingxi strongly disagreed with such remarks, but in this situation, she, as a junior, had no right to speak.
Of course, Zhao Sulan did not have this concern.
She stepped forward, glaring fiercely, and with just one look, even Grandpa Zheng, who had just spoken ill of Aunt Li, took a step back. "I disagree with that. Old Li has done more than enough over the years. During her mother-in-law's final days, when she was bedridden and unable to get out of bed, wasn't it Old Li who took care of her single-handedly? As for Old Sun, you keep talking about being filial to your elders, but when your mother was dying, I didn't see you taking care of her much. So, you didn't know how to be filial when your mother was alive, but now that she's dead, your filial piety has suddenly popped up?"
Despite her fiery temper, Zhao Sulan rarely gets involved in the affairs of the courtyard.
As a widow with a child, she already had a difficult life, so of course she wouldn't be foolish enough to offend her neighbors in the courtyard. She generally wouldn't stand up for others unless it involved her own family.
But Aunt Li was different; Zhao Sulan had received kindness from Aunt Li.
When Mingxi was born, it was during the Cultural Revolution, a time of food shortage. Although there were only two people in the family, including the infant Mingxi, Mingxi was still small and not very healthy. Zhao Sulan had just given birth and needed to be nourished.
Not to mention nutritious foods, even refined grains were being sold at five or six times their usual price.
Zhao Sulan didn't have enough money, so Aunt Li secretly gave her two jin of rice and a bag of red dates. For this, Aunt Li was scolded by her mother-in-law, who said she was being kind but had no use for it and was out of her mind.
Of course, other people in the courtyard did help, but they had many family members and were struggling financially, so they couldn't contribute anything but their labor. Zhao Sulan remembered all of this.
It was Aunt Li who spoke up. Zhao Sulan remembered Aunt Li's kindness, so she stood up to speak for Aunt Li.
Aunt Ma and Aunt He had already shown no respect to Grandpa Sun enough, but now Zhao Sulan's words had exposed all of Grandpa Sun's past misdeeds.
He was completely humiliated, staring at Zhao Sulan with a gloomy expression, his fists clenched tightly.
Mingxi glared at him and clenched her fist to stand in front of Zhao Sulan.
If you want to mess with her mother, you'll have to beat her up first.
Although Grandpa Sun was angry, he did not intend to lay a hand on Zhao Sulan in front of everyone.
As a grown man, how can he save face if people see him hitting a woman?
He simply stared at Zhao Sulan, trying to intimidate her in this way.
But it was clear that this tactic was ineffective against Zhao Sulan.
Having been a widow for so many years, Zhao Sulan has seen all sorts of strange and monstrous things. She's really not afraid of Grandpa Sun, that old man!
She glared back defiantly, her chest puffed out.
Grandpa Sun was furious, and just then, Zhao Sulan reminded everyone in the yard, and they actually brought up all the old stories.
"Old Zhao's words may not be pleasant to hear, but they are absolutely true. When Old Sun's mother was seriously ill, it was Old Li who took care of her day and night."
"Yes, back then, Old Li had to take care of everything, from cleaning up after the elderly to raising children and managing the household. It wasn't easy for him."
"That's right, I remember it all. Back then, Old Granny Sun was delirious and didn't care about hygiene. She would poop and pee on the bed, and Old Li never minded and cleaned it up for her. Old Granny Sun lay in bed for half a year, and when she finally passed away, she didn't have a single bedsore on her body."
Old Mrs. Sun was Grandpa Sun's mother. Actually, she was in good health, just unlucky. One winter, near the New Year, she went out to the toilet in the middle of the night and accidentally fell. She didn't know where she fell, but she was paralyzed. The doctor at the hospital couldn't treat her and could only take her home to recover.
She stayed in bed for six months, and then, in the hottest part of summer, she passed away.
Old Granny Sun had a bad temper, and her daughters-in-law had all suffered at her hands. After she fell ill, her son and daughter-in-law, who had long since separated from the family and moved out, only came back to visit once, without mentioning taking her in to take care of her.
In the end, it was Aunt Li who took on the responsibility of taking care of her. Aunt Li was a really good person. Although she had been mistreated by her mother-in-law in the past, she did not mistreat Old Granny Sun when she was too sick to get out of bed. She took good care of her.
Anyone who has cared for a patient knows how difficult it is to look after someone who is unable to move. You have to feed them, supervise them to the toilet, constantly turn them over, and wipe their body every couple of days. If you're not careful, they'll develop bedsores. Old Mrs. Sun wasn't particular about hygiene; she often soiled herself, so her clothes, sheets, and blankets all had to be washed…
But when Granny Sun passed away, her body was completely clean, without a single bedsore.
This is a fact that everyone has witnessed, and even the most critical person cannot find a single fault with Aunt Li.
Seeing everyone praising Aunt Li and secretly criticizing themselves, Grandpa Sun couldn't sit still. His hair was practically standing on end. He said, "What do you know? I have to go out and earn money to support my family. If I don't earn money, what will my family eat and drink? Besides, taking care of the family is a woman's job. I work so hard outside every day. She doesn't earn money at home, so shouldn't she do some work to take care of the elderly?"
"Tch, that sounds nice, but I've never seen you do any work when you come home!"
"Old Li isn't without income. She does handicrafts at home to supplement the family income. Do you really think your family of six relies on your meager salary?"
"Now you're saying it's hard to earn money outside, so why don't you give your job to Lao Li and let him go to work, while you stay home and take care of the family..."
Tsk tsk tsk.
The fighting power of those middle-aged women was so fierce that Mingxi had to admire them.
The other old men in the courtyard didn't dare to speak up, for fear of being scolded as well.
Grandpa Sun was speechless, glared at everyone for a long time, and finally said, "I'm not going to argue with a bunch of women with long hair and little sense," before leaving in a hurry.
Seeing Grandpa Sun leave, Mingxi and several other women went up to Grandma Li. Grandma He asked, "Old Li, what exactly happened today?"
They only understood part of what was being said and were still a little confused.
Aunt Li sat at the table with her eyes downcast. When Grandpa Sun was here, she was so angry that her face turned red, but she still had some spirit. Now that Grandpa Sun was gone, her shoulders slumped, and she looked like she had no energy at all.
She sighed and said, "It's just like what you just heard. A while ago, someone from the village wrote to say that Old Sun's mother's grave had collapsed. He went back to the village to check the situation and didn't come back until today. When he came back, he told me that the ancestral graves were fine, but his mother's grave was flooded. He consulted someone in the village who knows about feng shui, and they said that the feng shui of the ancestral graves clashed with his mother's luck, so the graves had to be moved and reburied in a different place."
Despite the vigorous campaign to eliminate the "Four Olds" and break down feudal superstitions in previous years, many people in rural areas still believed in these beliefs.
In addition, the regulations have not been so strict in the past two years, so all sorts of people who practice feng shui, exorcise ghosts, and other supernatural things have sprung up.
Mingxi didn't understand this, and she didn't comment on it. She just wondered, "Even if it's relocating a grave and buying a burial plot, it shouldn't cost that much, right?"
She heard it all just now: Aunt Li said that Grandpa Sun wanted to spend a thousand yuan to buy a burial plot.
A thousand yuan is no small sum. In the countryside, that amount could buy a three-room brick house. To spend so much money on a burial plot is just too much of a rip-off.
Speaking of this, Aunt Li got angry. She slapped her thigh and said, "That's right! When I heard the price, I was shocked too, but he insisted that someone who knew how to look things had looked at it and specially found a feng shui treasure land. However, that land had already been allocated to someone else. If he wanted to bury his mother there, he would have to buy the whole land. The seller was asking for a thousand."
Now that the rural areas have implemented the household responsibility system, all the land has been distributed out.
If Grandpa Sun wants to use someone else's land as a burial plot, he will definitely have to pay to buy the land.
This is not surprising.
However, Mingxi still felt that one thousand yuan was too expensive. If the family could afford it, there would be no problem, but the problem was that Grandpa Sun's family could not afford it.
Grandma Ma frowned: "Can't we move Old Sun's mother's grave to a public cemetery in the city?"
The price of land in a cemetery is cheaper than buying a plot of land in the village, and the cemetery is managed by someone, with better benefits and conditions.
Aunt Li said, "Old Sun was unwilling, but he was determined to spend money to buy the land. He had already negotiated with the other party and was going to pay the money next week. He also told the villagers that when the grave was moved, they should hold a grand ceremony to make up for the regret that they couldn't hold a big ceremony when his mother died, and that everyone should be able to attend the banquet."
Old Mrs. Sun died in 1970. At that time, funerals were supposed to be simple and not held in a big way, so the Sun family did not hold a banquet.
Aunt Li said angrily, "I agree to relocate that old woman's grave because of the incident, but Old Sun wants to buy land and hold a grand funeral. Isn't that just a waste of money? I don't agree, especially since he wants me to contribute my own savings. You all know how that old woman treated me before, and I'm not afraid to tell you frankly, I have a lot of resentment. I thought that no matter how bad that old woman was, she was still our children's grandmother. Although she wasn't good to me, she was always good to my children. So when she was bedridden and couldn't move, I didn't neglect her at all, but took good care of her until she passed away. I think I did more than enough. To be frank, I don't think many other daughters-in-law would have done what I did. But now he wants me to take out all my savings to relocate that old woman's grave? I absolutely cannot agree to that!"
Aunt Li really disliked her mother-in-law and wouldn't even call her "mother-in-law".
However, everyone was very understanding of her.
She suffered too much in the past.
At this moment, everyone patted her hand to comfort and console her.
"Okay, Lao Li, don't be too angry. We can all understand you. If you don't want to pay, then don't. Lao Sun can't hold a knife to your throat and force you to pay."
"Calm down, Old Sun just made a mistake. We'll have a good talk with him when he gets back."
Everyone tried to persuade her, but Aunt Li's anger didn't subside at all. She said coldly, "If Sun Baomin really forces me to use my private savings to move his mother's grave, then I will get a divorce."
Everyone just took it as something she said in anger and didn't take it to heart.
Unexpectedly, Aunt Li and Uncle Sun actually got a divorce.
The incident occurred the next day. Mingxi was at work when she saw a junior staff member from the subdistrict office rush into the office in a panic: "A couple in our subdistrict are getting a divorce and they've even started fighting. Your Women's Federation needs someone to come and help mediate!"
Sister Wang stepped forward: "What's going on?"
"It's not something that can be explained in a short time. You'll find out if you come with me!"
After thinking for a moment, Sister Wang realized that a fight had broken out on the other side, and the situation must be very serious, so she called on Mingxi, the best fighter in the unit.
Even if things get heated and her mediation fails, there's someone who can use force to intimidate people.
And so, Sister Wang led Mingxi hurriedly to catch up with the junior cadre, who led the way and Mingxi followed behind.
After walking down a street, crossing a road, and turning into an alley, Mingxi felt that the road looked so familiar.
Isn't this her daily commute route?
As she was about to turn into her own alley, Mingxi wondered if the couple going through a divorce were from her alley.
When the junior staff member stepped into his own yard, Mingxi could no longer smile.
Hey, what a coincidence! The couple going through a divorce are not only from their alley, but also from their courtyard.
Mingxi stepped into the courtyard. The courtyard was noisy at the moment. The residents of the courtyard, the neighbors from the neighboring courtyards who came to join in the fun, and the staff of the street office were all gathered in the courtyard, forming a circle three times in the middle.
Mingxi craned her neck to look over, and in the very center of the crowd were Aunt Li and Grandpa Sun's family.
Not only Aunt Li and Uncle Sun, but also Sun Xuewen, the eldest son of the Sun family who had already moved out, Sun Lili, the eldest daughter of the Sun family who had already married out, and Sun Xuewu, the second son of the Sun family who had been working overtime last night and hadn't shown up, were all there.
The family of five was divided into two groups by the street office staff. Aunt Li and Sun Lili stood on one side, while their two sons and Uncle Sun stood on the other.
Whether it was Aunt Li's side or Uncle Sun's side, both people had messy hair and disheveled clothes, looking like they had just finished a battle, extremely disheveled.
"Our colleagues from the Women's Federation are here, everyone make way for them!"
Everyone jostled to make way for Mingxi and her friends. Mingxi squeezed into the middle of the crowd and asked, "Aunt Li, Uncle Sun, what's going on with you all now?"
Sister Wang glanced at Mingxi in surprise and asked in a low voice, "You know him?"
Mingxi: "My family lives in this courtyard."
Sister Wang nodded, thinking that having acquaintances would make things easier. Mingxi lived in this courtyard and knew everyone there, so the mediation work should be easier.
She didn't say anything and let Mingxi go first.
Grandpa Sun had bruises on his face, with several scratches from his fingernails on his cheeks and forehead. He glanced at Mingxi, saw that she was a junior in the courtyard, turned his head away disdainfully, and remained silent.
Okay, you won't tell me, then she'll ask someone else.
Mingxi turned to look at Aunt Li: "Auntie, if my uncle won't tell, then can you tell me what happened?"
Aunt Li said angrily, "What else could it be? This old geezer forced me to give him money. When I refused, he tried to rob me, and he even brought those two ungrateful wretches to berate me. I had no choice but to fight him."
Mingxi: "Then what about the divorce?"
"I don't want to live with him anymore!" Aunt Li shouted.
She wiped away her tears: "I've been married to him for over thirty years. What hardships haven't I endured? What suffering haven't I endured? I've swallowed all these grievances myself, thinking that's how life is for everyone, as long as we can still get by, we'll just make do. But today I finally understand. He doesn't treat me like a wife at all, he doesn't treat me like a human being. My words have no place in his heart. Even if I don't want to, he'll force me against my will. This kind of life is so boring, I don't want to continue living with a man like this."
Aunt Li was truly heartbroken this time; tears streamed down her face, a stark contrast to her angry demeanor yesterday.
Mingxi quickly took out some toilet paper for her, and her eldest daughter patted her shoulder to comfort her.
Instead, her eldest and second sons frowned unhappily.
Sun Xuewen: "Mom, it's not as scary as you say. Dad just lost his temper in the heat of the moment. He didn't really want to take your money. Don't talk nonsense about divorce. It's so embarrassing."
Sun Xuewu: "Big brother is right, Mom and Dad were just angry for a moment. Do you have to make such a big deal out of it? You even want a divorce? You and Dad are both almost sixty. Who's going to talk about divorce at this age? If word gets out, people will laugh at our family. Besides, if you don't live with Dad, who else can you live with? Do you think you can divorce him and find a new old man? I don't agree to that. It's too embarrassing. If my girlfriend's family finds out about this, my marriage with her might be called off!"
vomit!
Mingxi was disgusted; these two were Aunt Li's own sons.
Aunt Li is so upset, and these two are only thinking about whether they're ashamed or not?
Aunt Li was right to scold them; those two are ungrateful wretches!
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