Chapter 59 Suicide Note
Every word in the suicide note tells the story of this poor woman's short and tragic life.
The woman's original name was Cai Hong, and her family was from Nanxiang City.
At the age of seventeen, she was taken to the northern part of the city by her relatives, who ostensibly arranged for her to work as a nanny for city dwellers, but in reality, her relatives sold her off.
The buyer was Old Man Zhou, and she was sold to Zhou Laosan as his nominal wife.
The reason it's only nominal is because Zhou Laosan likes men and already has a lover outside.
Just reading this, Xiao Mu's gaze toward the Zhou family was already filled with anger.
"Those two kids of Zhou Laosan..." A thunderbolt seemed to explode in Gao Ming's mind, and his eyes widened suddenly.
Only then did Old Man Zhou and Zhou Jianguo's mother notice the piece of paper the police officer was holding. They hurriedly asked, "Did Xiaohong leave any last words? We are her parents, let us see it!"
"You're not worthy!" Chen Yun said, her lips pressed into a straight line. She then turned and whispered to Xiao Mu, "Be careful he doesn't get away."
Having already seen the latter half of the scene, Xiao Mu's burning anger had reached his eyes.
"Send a few men to keep an eye on these two beasts!"
He directed four men to watch over the swaying old man Zhou, and then sent two more men to watch over Zhou Laosan, who had hidden in the old man Zhou's house.
"Take a look! Read it aloud to the neighbors in the compound after you're done." Xiao Mu skimmed through it and then handed the will to Gao Ming: "These are Comrade Cai Hong's last words."
Gao Ming continued reading.
Cai Hong, who was sold to the Gao family, thought that if she pretended to be deaf and dumb and served Old Man Zhou and his wife well, she could at least barely survive.
Little did she know that from that moment on, she had truly fallen into hell.
Old Zhou knew his son liked men and wouldn't sleep with his daughter-in-law, so he sneaked into the house under cover of darkness and defiled Cai Hong. He then used Cai Hong's widowed mother, who had been living in her hometown for many years, as a threat to shut her up.
The old woman turned a blind eye once or twice, but Old Zhou gradually became bolder and even called people into their room... The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law served Old Zhou together.
The old woman, who was also a victim, later transformed herself into a perpetrator.
During the day, they took Cai Hong out, claiming they had found her a job, but in reality, they rented a room in a chaotic area.
The daughter-in-law was forced to work as a prostitute, while the two old bastards became pimps.
This practice of soliciting clients only stopped when Cai Hong became pregnant, but after she gave birth to her daughter... the nightmare began again.
“Until I became pregnant with my second child, Old Man Zhou said that as long as it was a son, I wouldn’t have to go out to entertain guests anymore…” Zhou Ming read the words on the will word by word.
Gao Tiejun was stunned, and everyone in the courtyard wore a complex expression of fear and guilt.
The seemingly honest and easy-going old man and his wife were worse than animals, and they lived in the same courtyard as Cai Hong without discovering the problems in the Zhou family.
Perhaps some of them noticed something amiss, but preferring to avoid trouble, no one pointed it out.
Even today, Cai Hong's suicide... has plunged them into a deep sense of guilt.
Gao Ming continued reading.
Before she was even out of her postpartum period, Cai Hong discovered that her child had a problem. At that time, she was not terrified or scared, but rather vaguely felt that the time for relief had finally come.
In previous years, she asked the children in the courtyard to secretly teach her to read. The words she learned, which were originally meant to help her escape, became the only way for her to accuse the Zhou family.
The final straw that broke Cai Hong's back came from Zhou Laosan.
He brought his lover into his home under the guise of his cousin. The two not only acted intimately at home, but also did disgusting things in the room where Cai Hong was in confinement after childbirth.
Zhou Laosan did not harm Cai Hong, but he turned a blind eye to his parents' actions.
Two things happened two weeks before the suicide.
Zhou Laosan's lover raped Cai Hong in front of his eldest daughter. The daughter, unaware of the family's situation, told Zhou Laosan about it.
Zhou Laosan didn't blame his lover, but instead turned his anger towards Cai Hong and her daughter. After beating the daughter severely, he forced his mother to sell her.
“I asked Old Zhou a few days ago, and he said his granddaughter went to her maternal grandmother’s house to play.” Someone recalled with tears in their eyes: “When I got home, I told my wife that Old Zhou must have sent his granddaughter away because he had a grandson.”
But no one expected that Old Man Zhou would actually betray him...
The daughter was sold, and the son was handed over to the Gao family.
The night Cai Hong learned that her daughter had been sold, she thought about killing the entire Zhou family, but when the time came, this weak woman ultimately chose to commit suicide.
She died just like that... She no longer cared whether her last words could be seen by outsiders, and she did not expect the beast to receive the retribution it deserved!
At least she found relief in the moment before she died!
Perhaps placing the suicide note beside her before dying was her last gamble, because Cai Hong believed that even if the Zhou family discovered she was dead, they would not easily approach her.
Perhaps heaven had eyes, for Chen Yun first discovered her death and also saw the suicide note.
No matter how heartbroken Zhou Laosan appeared, and no matter how much Zhou Laotou and his wife cried and wailed, they showed no sign of anything amiss.
Until Xiao Mu arrived, the suicide note became evidence pointing to these beasts.
At the end of her suicide note, Cai Hong mentioned her daughter who had been sold, as well as... Zhou Jianguo and Gao Lan.
The appearance of these two names surprised many people, with some even thinking that Zhou Jianguo had also participated in the persecution of Cai Hong.
In fact, Chen Yun thought the same thing when she saw this.
But at the end of the letter, Cai Hong expressed her gratitude to Zhou Jianguo, thanking him for being the only person in the Zhou family who had ever cared about her.
Zhou Jianguo knew that Old Man Zhou favored his capable third son, so he rarely returned to the Zhou family and was unaware of what was happening at home.
Zhou Jianguo noticed that Cai Hong was very thin, so he secretly asked Gao Lan to buy a lot of nutritional supplements and send them over, although in the end all of them ended up in the stomach of Zhou Laosan's lover.
Cai Hong hoped that Zhou Jianguo could go and see how his niece was doing. If she was doing well, then he didn't need to worry about her. But if she hadn't found a good family, then he should help her find a better place to live.
She saved up her entire life's money as the only thing she could leave to her daughter.
The last sentence... If Old Zhou sees the suicide note, then I curse them to never have a good death.
Thus concludes the account of Cai Hong's tragic life.
Even after listening to it again, Chen Yun still felt deeply moved.
Everyone has a different personality. Cai Hongming had many opportunities to escape hell, but she missed them because of her cowardice.
The person is dead... what's the point of saying right or wrong?
"Cuff them and take them back!" Xiao Mu waved to the police officers, then turned and put his arm around Gao Ming's shoulder: "The letter also mentioned Zhou Jianguo and Gao Lan. I also need to invite them to the station. Don't blame me."
"How could that be?" Gao Ming forced a smile, then sighed, "Let's get together properly after we've dealt with this matter. Now is not the right time to talk!"
The two said their goodbyes in haste.
Xiao Mu took the Zhou family and Cai Hong's remains back to the police station, and the baby in swaddling clothes, whose name hadn't even been given yet, was also taken back to the police station.
Chen Yun hadn't expected so many things to happen in just two days since she arrived in Beicheng.
Before she could get used to the stench of the public toilets in the alley, or even empty a spittoon, Gao Jialian and she became the center of attention in the entire alley.
After returning from the Public Security Bureau, Zhou Jianguo was severely affected and fell ill.
After lying in bed for a full two weeks, my complexion finally regained some color, and I was able to barely manage to sit by the door and bask in the sun for a while.
Half a month later, the verdict in Cai Hong's case was also announced, and even the whereabouts of Cai Hong's daughter, who had been sold, were found.
Old Zhou was convicted of multiple crimes, including sexual assault, forcing women to commit sexual assault, abuse, and child trafficking, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The old woman was sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
As for Zhou Laosan, he shifted all the blame for selling his daughter onto his mother, and the old woman also insisted that she and the old man had sold their granddaughter... Zhou Laosan was acquitted.
Although he narrowly escaped death, Zhou Laosan was too ashamed to continue living in the alley. He heard that the day he was released, he immediately started making arrangements to sell the house.
Zhou Jianguo neither reacted nor even glanced at the Zhou family.
Regardless of whether it was selling the house or the money from the sale was swindled away by Zhou Laosan's lover, Zhou Laosan eventually went south to work and disappeared without a trace.
The money he once cared about most didn't make Zhou Jianguo happy, nor did Zhou Laosan, whom he trusted most, stir any emotion in his eyes.
Until...this day.
Zhou Jianguo suddenly knocked on Chen Yun and Gao Ming's door, accompanied by Gao Tiejun and Gao Lan.
Chen Yunlai opened the door and looked at the group of people with some confusion.
During dinner, Gao Tiejun happily told Gao Ming that he had taken the children fishing in the afternoon. Gao Nianping cast his line and caught a big fish right away, which made the old man next to him, who had been fishing empty-handed for most of the day, extremely envious.
Dinner was a meal prepared by the family of several people, including the grandfather and grandson.
At the dinner table, Zhou Jianguo kept his head down and ate without saying a word. But after finishing his meal, he came to their room.
"Second Sister-in-law." Zhou Jianguo called out in a hoarse voice. Chen Yun seemed to be hearing him call her that for the first time. Gao Lan also called out from the back door, "Second Sister-in-law."
"What happened?" This was the only possibility Chen Yun could think of.
“We have something we want to talk to our second brother about,” Zhou Jianguo said.
"Let's talk inside." Chen Yun opened the door and let everyone in before closing it.
After more than half a month of preparation, the house has been transformed into a completely different place.
There was a double bed against the left wall, and two smaller beds next to it against the right wall. The beds were piled with toys and books that the two children had brought from the factory.
It's clear that the two beds aren't currently used for sleeping.
The wardrobe is placed against the foot of the bed, so that the bed isn't immediately visible when the door is opened.
Apart from that, there were only two desks under the window.
Chen Yun's green desk lamp came to Beicheng from the factory and still serves as her main lighting tool for reading at night.
The other desk clearly belonged to the siblings, and Gao Nian'an was writing large characters with a mournful face.
In preparation for the entrance exam for the Fifth Primary School next week, Chen Yun and Gao Ming have been giving their child intensive tutoring these past few days.
Today... it's Gao Ming's turn.
"dad."
"Grandpa." Upon seeing Gao Tiejun, Gao Nian'an felt as if he had seen a savior.
Put down the pencil, close the notebook, and jump up from the chair... all in one smooth motion, without any hesitation.
She rushed over and helped her grandfather sit on her special stool, then nimbly stepped aside and started snatching the comic book from Gao Nianping.
The high-speed rail crew looked around the room.
The house was filled with books, and the children in the alley loved watching TV, but the two children never looked for the TV.
Seeing Gao Nianping and her sister engrossed in reading in a corner, and then seeing Chen Yun sitting back at her desk and opening a book.
Gao Tiejun understood immediately...
Parents are the best role models for their children, and Chen Yun is the best role model for her two children!
"Dad." Gao Ming was a little confused. After sitting down in the house, none of the three people said anything. Did they really just come to visit?
Gao Tiejun and Zhou Jianguo raised their chins.
Gao Ming then turned to look at Gao Lan, whose eyes were darting around, before finally settling his gaze on Zhou Jianguo, whose brow was furrowed.
"Second Brother," Zhou Jianguo said, gripping the chair armrest tightly with his right hand, "I want to bring Xiaojuan back."
Zhou Xiaojuan—is Cai Hong's poor daughter who was sold by her grandfather.
“Gao Lan and I have already discussed it and decided to bring Xiao Juan back to us so we can raise her.” Zhou Jianguo patted his chest and promised, “I will definitely go out and find work to support Gao Lan and Xiao Juan.”
Gao Ming raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Two days ago, Gao Ming and Chen Yun were talking about the poor girl who was sold before going to bed. The couple both thought that Zhou Jianguo, who loved money so much, would never be willing to spend money to see his niece who was not related to him by blood.
Even Cai Hong might not know who Zhou Xiaojuan's father is, but he is definitely not a member of the Zhou family.
Gao Ming also said that once the child is found and sent back to the Beicheng Welfare Institute, he will secretly give the child some money to go to school.
Zhou Jianguo's proposal to adopt Zhou Xiaojuan came as a complete surprise to everyone... including Chen Yun.
“The sins were committed by the Zhou family, and I must pay for them.” Zhou Jianguo said in a deep voice, “Since Cai Hong is dead, I can only raise her daughter well so that I can face her in the afterlife.”
Gao Lan quickly nodded and said, "No matter whether we have biological children in the future, I will always raise Zhou Xiaojuan as my own daughter."
Gao Tiejun stated: "I agree, children shouldn't suffer the consequences of the sins committed by adults."
Before coming to see Gao Ming, Zhou Jianguo first explained his plans to his parents-in-law and unexpectedly received their support. They had already made up their minds before coming.
Gao Ming silently curled the corners of his lips slightly before quickly suppressing them, his tone revealing no emotion whatsoever: "Since you've already made your decision, then you've come to see me..."
“I want you to come with me to pick up the child.” Zhou Jianguo finally revealed his intention after some hesitation: “The police sent word that the child was sold to a nightclub in Jiaobei City to work as a handyman, and I want to go and bring him back myself.”
The decision has been made, but being timid is innate... and can't be changed so easily.
Zhou Jianguo was scared. As soon as he heard that the other party was involved in organized crime, he felt uneasy and couldn't calm down.
In the end, Gao Lan brought up her second brother, whom she both respected and feared.
“If you don’t have time, I’ll ask for leave from work and go. Anyway, we have to be prepared and bring some money with us,” Gao Tiejun said.
"I have money."
"..."
Zhou Jianjun surprised everyone again. This man, who values money more than life, actually brought up money on his own initiative. Gao Tiejun's words about being prepared did not include his son-in-law.
“Sure!” Gao Ming agreed readily. “Let’s take advantage of the fact that there’s nothing much going on at the company these next couple of days and make a trip.”
After discussing some details, Zhou Jianguo and Gao Lan left.
"I heard from Gao Ming that you're taking the two kids and Lao Chen to visit an old friend the day after tomorrow. Should I have your mom prepare some things in advance?"
Before leaving, Gao Tiejun suddenly asked about Chen Yun.
“We’ll just buy some fruit on the way, and my dad will take care of the rest.”
"Okay, let us know if you need any help."
"Thank you, Dad."
After seeing Gao Tiejun off, Chen Yun turned around and winked exaggeratedly at Gao Ming: "I never expected this... I never expected this!"
“Zhou Jianjun is just stingy.” Gao Ming quickly closed the door, turned on the fan, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “If he really had character issues, would he still be living in our house?”
Having worked in public security for most of his life, Gao Tiejun wouldn't let bad guys live under his nose for years.
"Gao Nian'an."
The grandchildren who seemed so well-behaved in their grandfather's eyes were no longer reading; the siblings were clearly hiding behind the books, eating snacks.
Chen Yun didn't see it, but she smelled the spicy aroma blowing from the fan.
“It’s beef jerky that Dad bought!” Gao Nian’an immediately betrayed Gao Ming without any sense of loyalty, and also reported where the beef jerky was hidden: “It’s in the box on my brother’s bed.”
clever:"……"
Chen Yun: "..."
The two faces behind the book were burning red, and Gao Nianping's face was still wet with tears. He was so burned that he didn't utter a sound even though he was crying.
Chen Yun likes spicy food, but her child has always preferred bland food. Gao Ming even hid the extra-spicy beef he bought, but the two of them still found it.
"That's really something." Chen Yun sighed, rubbing his forehead with a helpless smile.
The couple were so hungry from all the spicy food that they had no energy left to educate their child. They quickly poured some cold water for the two of them to drink and then went to the kitchen to boil water for the child to take a bath again.
As a result, I was still up until the early hours of the morning due to gastroenteritis.
If Chen Yun hadn't been a doctor, the entire Zhou family would probably have been alerted tonight.
“Raising a child is really not easy.” Chen Yun gently patted Gao Nianping, who had finally fallen asleep in her arms, her eyelids drooping with exhaustion. “Let’s buy a top cabinet for the wardrobe and put a lock on it.”
Gao Ming wiped the sweat from the back of Gao Nian'an's neck, then got out of bed to wring out a clean handkerchief and came back.
"It's okay now, but once both kids are in school, I'll help them with their homework..."
Chen Yun's drowsiness vanished instantly.
In my previous life, the hospital I worked at had treated a middle-aged man who suffered a brain hemorrhage from getting angry while helping his child with homework. After treatment, the hospital declared that the chances of him waking up were extremely slim.
As a result, the wife inadvertently mentioned to her husband that their son's grades had plummeted... and the man miraculously woke up.
Chen Yun went to see the doctor at the time, and his wife promised the attending physician that she would never dare to let her husband tutor their child's homework again.
Tonight, just teaching Gao Nian'an to write the most basic name almost made Gao Ming dizzy. The thought of the long days ahead made them both feel suffocated.
"You don't regret marrying me, do you?" Gao Ming suddenly laughed, folding a towel and wiping it on Chen Yun's neck. "It's no use regretting it now! I'll take care of everything at home from now on, and you just need to go to work and earn money to support us."
"Alright!" Chen Yun laughed and waved away the towel that was bothering him. "Let's get down to business."
“We still need to be prepared for Nian’an not to get into the Fifth Primary School.” Gao Ming sighed with a helpless smile: “Although it’s a bit early to say, I don’t think our daughter… is cut out for studying.”
It takes five minutes to write one character "高" (gāo), and ten characters "高" can have ten different forms.
Gao Mingzhen couldn't lie and say that his daughter wrote well, and he had even lost his initial ambition to get his daughter into the Fifth Primary School.
"Let her be!" Chen Yun patted her daughter's sweaty hair. "It just means we two need to work harder."
"It's better to pressure the parents than the child..." This thought involuntarily crossed Chen Yun's mind.
“Then I’ll contact Chunmian Primary School at the entrance of the alley first,” Gao Ming decided. Then it was the second child’s turn: “Shouldn’t Nianping also choose a kindergarten?”
"Let's go with the kindergarten at the entrance of the alley! I think the environment is quite nice."
"I'll go take a look tomorrow, and if there are no problems, I'll make a decision."
“You’re busy with Zhou Jianguo’s matter. Tomorrow, my parents and I will go to the kindergarten to take a look. You know Nianping’s personality… He has to like it himself.”
Gao Nianping's personality truly reflects the "Ping" in his name; he is steady and slow in everything he does.
Even though she's only four years old, she has a lot of her own ideas.
You have to choose what to wear in the morning, and you absolutely won't touch any food you don't like. I guess it'll be the same when choosing a school.
Gao Ming couldn't help but laugh out loud at the thought.
“Nianping is known for his good luck. I need to take Nianping with me when Nianan takes his exams, just in case…”
"What are you thinking about all day!" Chen Yun laughed and nudged Gao Ming, who was lounging on the pillow. "Do you think Nianping is some kind of lucky charm?"
"Our second child is like a lucky koi fish."
Gao Ming chuckled to himself.
What started as a joke between the couple turned out to be true!
***
Three days after their conversation, Gao Ming and Zhou Jianguo, accompanied by Xiao Mu, boarded the train to pick up Zhou Xiaojuan.
Li Huguo returned to the transportation company to handle the work.
Chen Shu and Xu Cuihua found like-minded friends in the park, and they were even busier than Chen Yun, leaving early and returning late every day.
Tuesday morning.
The Gao family members were either at work or out having fun, and when Chen Yun woke up, she found that it was just her and her three children at home.
Ruanqiu went home to visit her parents and noticed that Li Shuaishuai had a runny nose, so she asked Chen Yun to help take care of him for a day.
Have you chosen your clothes yet?
Chen Yun stood at the door and asked for the fourth time.
Normally, when taking children out, mothers spend time changing clothes and putting on makeup, but for Chen Yun, it was the complete opposite.
Besides... they were just going out to eat dumplings.
"We'll be there as soon as we've put Shuai Shuai's shoes on," Gao Nian'an's reply came from inside the house for the fourth time.
Chen Yun switched feet and stepped onto the stairs.
Ten minutes later, the three children finally came out of the house. Chen Yun looked down at her dress, which was now frayed from washing, and silently followed them.
"It's just going out to eat dumplings, do you think it's a trip to the zoo?"
Chen Yun couldn't resist asking out of curiosity.
Gao Nian'an crossed her arms and twirled around in front of Chen Yun with a smug look on her face: "Mom, do you think my dress is pretty?"
"nice!"
"It doesn't matter if I'm good-looking or not, as long as my handsome younger brother is handsome."
"Then why did you ask?" Chen Yun sighed, then turned to look at Li Shuaishuai, who was smiling shyly: "Shuaishuai looks really good today."
"Thank you, Aunt Chen."
Li Shuaishuai was wearing a brand new blue and white striped navy shirt and navy blue shorts with an anchor pattern printed on them.
This is the outfit that Gao Nianping, who once aspired to be a naval officer, cherishes most.
To fulfill his son's wish, Gao Ming specially ordered a miniature version of a navy uniform from the children's clothing market.
The clothes that were treasured at the bottom of the box were actually being worn by Li Shuaishuai today, which seems to have a very important reason.
Then Gao Nian'an continued, "We want to let Shuai Shuai's grandfather know that Shuai Shuai is doing well! We absolutely cannot let them look down on Uncle Li and Aunt Ruan!"
The two younger brothers nodded firmly.
Chen Yun was both amused and exasperated: "Who told you all this?"
"Dad and Mom talked about it last night." Li Shuaishuai opened his innocent big eyes and recited to Chen Yun everything his parents had said in bed.
The underlying message was that they absolutely could not allow Li Huguo's parents to look down on their family of three.
It has been half a month since I returned to the north of the city.
The Li Zhong couple, who live next door, and their eldest son didn't even come to visit their youngest son's family.
The son and daughter-in-law don't care, and they don't even care about their grandson!
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