Chapter Five: You, surnamed Sun, get out here right now! ...
She took a long, hot bath, and that evening she was in the inner room while he was in the outer room. A wooden door separated them, which made the newlyweds feel much less awkward.
Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), her heart pounded with emotion as she gently touched her belly. Her two little ones didn't want to leave their mother and wanted to live with her. Of course, she welcomed the children, and the thought of her two darlings filled her face with a smile.
"Thank you all for keeping me company."
She lives comfortably here, taking relaxing hot baths. Meanwhile, just a wall away, Sun Yaozu is restless all day, scratching his head in anxiety.
He walked to the Su family's door several times, but dared not go in. He pressed his ear against the wall to listen, but heard nothing. He could only smell the incredibly delicious aroma of meat, making his mouth water. He stood on tiptoe, tilting his ear to listen for any sound, feeling a pang of unease, like cat claws scratching at his heart.
Shu Yao took a hot shower and slept very well all night. She only found out it had rained the night before when she woke up in the morning. The air was cool and refreshing. He cooked in the kitchen while she washed up and cleaned the house.
"I have to go to work today, so you should rest at home during the day."
"good."
The man finished eating and left for work. How could she stay at home doing nothing? She's not the type to sit idle.
Take out the clothes and sheets that have been moved around and soak them in a basin. They can be washed after the house is cleaned. I looked carefully in the kitchen and didn't find anything that needed cleaning.
"A single man, yet his home is so clean."
He truly shattered her expectations, leaving her somewhat incredulous. Their families had been neighbors for many years in her previous life, but she had rarely entered his courtyard. She had heard from neighbors that his house was very clean, but at the time she hadn't paid any attention.
The bedding had all been washed and disassembled, and the clothes in the wardrobe were neatly hung or folded. The upper half of the window was covered with paper, which was pasted on very neatly. The lower half was glass, so clear it was almost invisible. The room was very bright with good natural light.
She was washing her clothes in the yard, and casually took out his basketball jersey that he had taken off and put it in the basin. While she was washing, someone walked in from outside. At this time, there were no outsiders, and everyone knew each other, so the yard gate was basically left open during the day.
When Sun Yaozu came in, he saw her wringing out a men's vest, and his mind went blank. The Sun family lived to the west, and the Su family lived to the east. Last night, he had been listening intently against the east wall for a long time, but there was no sound. This morning, after seeing Su Xiangdong ride away on his bicycle, he couldn't help but come over. He never expected to see this scene.
"Shu Yao, what are you doing?"
Shu Yao was startled by him, and the clothes in her hands fell back into the basin. She reached out and scooped them out again, wringing out the water, and frowned deeply at him.
"Are you blind? Do you even need to ask?"
She calmly wrung out the water and hung the clothes on a hanger. Seeing how skillfully she did this, Sun Yaozu couldn't hold back any longer and went over to throw the clothes on the ground.
"Sun Yaozu, are you sick in the head? You've dirtied my clothes that I just washed."
How could you wash another man's clothes?
“If you’re out of your mind, go see a doctor. These are my man’s clothes, why can’t I wash them for him?”
"You—" Sun Yaozu was going crazy, grabbing his hair. "Shu Yao, you…"
"What about me?" she pointed to the door. "Get out of here right now, this is my home."
"Okay, very good." Sun Yaozu hadn't slept well all night; eavesdropping alone had taken a lot of his energy. Now, after a period of extreme anger, his mind finally found its own voice.
“We’ve been married for less than a month and you want a divorce. A few days after the divorce, you got a marriage certificate with the man next door. Tell me honestly, you two have been having an affair for a long time, haven’t you?”
Although she was prepared, having seen through the true colors of the Sun family after so many years in her previous life, she still trembled with anger at hearing these harsh words from his mouth.
"Sun Yaozu, you're quite the expert at throwing mud at people." She had already picked up a small basin, scooped water from the large basin, and splashed it all over his head and face. Meeting his incredulous and angry gaze, she continued her attack.
"Your family trafficked people, forcing me to marry you." She saw someone peeking from the front gate, and she absolutely couldn't let the Sun family smear her like this. Since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless too.
"I've been a slave to your Sun family for ten years, and in the end, I can't even get my freedom. You forced me to marry you, wanting to trap me for life. Why should I? This is a new society now, we're liberated. Why can't I resist? Haven't I been oppressed for ten years enough?"
"You're saying we forced you?"
“No, that’s right. Your family bought me back home, and I haven’t earned a single penny of money over the years. I have to go to work, and when I get home I have to do laundry and cook. Even farmhands in the old society got paid, but what about me? You forced me to marry you. You just want to tie me to the Sun family and make me a slave for you for the rest of my life. I don’t want that, I’m going to rebel.”
His voice grew louder uncontrollably, and hers wasn't quiet either. Just moments ago, only two people were peeking in, but now there were many more. Some had already entered through the gate.
“Feudal arranged marriages are against the women’s will, and the government says they can get divorced.”
"Your family is really bullying us. In the old days, even maids who were bought by their families would be given a proper monthly salary. Your family has been using people for over ten years and still expects them to work to support you. Isn't that going too far?"
"My God, Shu Yao is so pitiful. She was sold to the Sun family to do their laundry and cook, and she even has to earn money to support them?"
"No wonder she wears old, patched clothes even when she's working. On the other hand, Sun Yaozu eats and dresses well."
Listening to the neighbors' gossip, Sun Yaozu's heart, which had been pounding with anger, began to slowly cool down. Initially, his family was furious about the divorce. But after she left, they realized that their home was truly in chaos without her.
His mother never washed his clothes properly, nor did she iron them neatly. She was never a good cook, and even when Shuyao worked the day shift, she would prepare the meals in advance. Now that she was gone, his mother was the only woman left at home, but her cooking was truly inedible.
No one cleaned the house; the food was like pig slop. Accustomed to a clean and tidy home, they couldn't stand it. His parents were arguing at home, and his mother, after being verbally abused by his father, fell ill.
He couldn't take it anymore yesterday and thought of swallowing his pride to coax her back. But he never expected that she would marry someone else. How could she marry someone else? She belongs to the Sun family; what will happen to the Sun family if she leaves?
"Shu Yao, if my father hadn't spent a fortune to save you from human traffickers back then, you would have been sold into a brothel long ago. Don't you feel guilty saying this now?"
His parents had said those words before, and he was furious at her betrayal and had no intention of trying to keep her. But now, the chaos at home after she left has finally made him want to blame her.
“I’ve said this before. You helped me, and I’ll repay you with ten years of my life. Isn’t that enough? In the old society, people who sold themselves into slavery could buy their freedom. Why can’t I have my own life?”
"Yes, ten years is enough to redeem oneself."
"This is a new society now, there's no such thing as redeeming someone from slavery. Buying and selling people is illegal, and you'll be locked up and shot."
"Did you hear that, Sun Yaozu?" Shu Yao seized the opportunity to speak up: "I've paid back everything I owed you, so don't try to take advantage of my kindness. Back then, your father spent eighty-eight silver dollars, which, based on the purchasing power of grain, is less than three hundred dollars now. I've been working for almost seven years, and I have a surplus of my annual salary."
Sun Yaozu was completely speechless, his tongue agape and his mind seemingly in a knot. He had always used this tactic, and she always wore an expression of deep gratitude. As long as he said that, she would do anything he asked.
When she first arrived at the Sun family, she couldn't do any housework. She had delicate skin and slender fingers, could play the piano and paint, and had already graduated from junior high school at the age of twelve. It was clear that her family's financial situation was far superior to the Sun family's.
His mother used such tactics to train her to be a servant in the household, capable of everything from laundry to cooking. After the liberation, the Sun family fell into poverty, but she passed the textile factory's exam and became a formal printing worker, earning a decent monthly income. Moreover, she obediently handed over her salary to his mother, having no say in anything at home.
It was like a bird that had been tamed in the palm of his hand, but in a single night it broke free of its invisible ropes and flew into the sky, no longer under his control.
The accusations from all around made him afraid to bring it up again. He was unwilling to give up so easily, but he could no longer hold onto the rope. He was good at accounting and knew how much income Shu Yao had generated for the family over the years, far exceeding the value of her when they bought her. She hadn't understood before why things were suddenly like this.
"I'm already married, so please don't come to my house again."
Shu Yao told him to leave. He was soaking wet, looking like a drowned rat, and left the courtyard in a sorry state amidst the accusations of the crowd. Some people looked at him with pity; people are always subconsciously inclined to sympathize with the weak.
Shu Yao burst into tears at the opportune moment, two clear tears sliding down her cheeks. She had been so focused on anger just moments before, but now, remembering his actions in her past life, a wave of sadness and betrayal washed over her, and only then did she belatedly realize the rise of hatred within her. Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face, and her whole body trembled with pain. The women, seeing her like this, felt great sympathy, and several came forward to comfort her.
"Don't cry, silly child. Were you bullied by the Sun family before? Why didn't you say anything?"
"Yes. The Sun family owns shops, and his wife is ruthless; she's very good at exploiting people."
"I heard from the old woman who used to work for the Sun family that the old woman was very strict about who you worked for, and she never let you rest. Poor Yaoyao, she earns her own money but wears patched clothes, and she still has to do laundry and cook when she gets home. They even said you were an adopted daughter. What family would treat their daughter like that?"
"Bullshit. They're just using this to manipulate her. She's young and naive, unwilling and afraid to speak up. Luckily, she's in this great era where arranged marriages are handled by the government. Otherwise, she'd be a slave to the Sun family for the rest of her life."
Hearing everyone's words of comfort, Shu Yao's tears flowed even more fiercely. In her past life, she had been manipulated by these same words her entire life, silently dedicating herself to the Sun family. And in the end, she received such words: he had never loved her, and marrying her was a last resort.
Goodbye, Sun Yaozu. We have nothing to do with each other in this life.
She presented herself as a victim to the public, asserting her right to pursue her own life. Public opinion immediately turned in her favor, with many saying she had been bullied by the Sun family.
"She's just too kind, and the Sun family has been manipulating her all along. It's pitiful; she doesn't even know where her parents are. If they knew, they'd be heartbroken."
"Yes, what a beautiful girl, but she's been wearing old clothes all these years. I thought the embroidery on her clothes was pretty, but it turns out they're all patches."
"The Sun family, they used to have no idea how to control her behind closed doors."
When Su Xiangdong got home from work in the evening, he heard about this before he even got there. Everyone sighed behind his back; he had a terminal illness, and his wife was being targeted by the Sun family—they were both pitiful.
Su Xiangdong didn't go home, but went straight to the Sun family's house. The Sun family's door was ajar, and he kicked it open.
"Hey, you surnamed Sun, get out here right now."
A note from the author:
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