Chapter Six: She Was Reborn
Su Xiangdong roared at the gate, startling Sun Yaozu so much that he fell off his stool, only to quickly scramble back to his feet. He'd kept the gate locked, fearing people would come looking for him. How had they still found him?
His parents knew about his visit to the Su family during the day; the elderly couple had secretly followed him in the crowd, but when they sensed something was amiss, they didn't dare show themselves. Now that the man from next door had come looking for them, they were equally panicked. Their Sun family had a bad class background, while Su Xiangdong was a veteran who had rendered meritorious service. He had impeccable revolutionary credentials.
"What should we do?" Sun Yaozu asked in a low voice, his face full of anxiety.
"This..." Old Man Sun had spent half his life being flattered and told all sorts of things. He used to hold his head high, but over the years he'd learned to hunch over. Hearing Su Xiangdong shout outside, he shivered with fear. He could use moral blackmail on Shu Yao, but he wouldn't fall for that trick on others.
"Hey Sun, open the door for me!" Su Xiangdong shouted from outside, attracting all the neighbors to come out and watch the commotion.
"A whole family of cowards, all they do is bully weak women. Open the door for me, or else..."
With a loud bang, not only did the main door shake, but the entire doorway seemed to tremble. The Sun family of three were terrified, but the man outside remained relentless.
"Open the door! Let's get this straight in front of our fellow villagers. You think you can just cower like cowards? No way. If you don't come out today, Sun Yaozu, do you think you can skip work tomorrow? I'll be right here blocking your way."
With a bang, seeing that the wooden door was about to collapse, Sun Yaozu reluctantly went to open it. He was terrified of Su Xiangdong, so he didn't dare confront him. But Su Xiangdong said he would wait for him at work tomorrow, so he had no choice but to face him. Otherwise, he was afraid that Su Xiangdong would beat him up if he kept his anger building up.
The door was flung open, just as Su Xiangdong kicked out, sending Sun Yaozu sprawling backward, wincing in pain. Even so, Su Xiangdong didn't let him go. The tall man crouched down and lifted him up like a chick.
"You piece of shit, you dare to smear me? Do you have a death wish?"
"No, no," Sun Yaozu stammered, his heart pounding as he faced the murderous face. "No, I just said a few words to Shu Yao, I didn't..."
"What are you saying?" He still gripped Sun Yaozu's collar. "Your Sun family forced her to marry you so she could continue to be your slave. She was lucky to be born in a good era; the government stood up for the poor. She actively responded to the call to resist oppression. Was she wrong?"
"No, no." How could he dare say he was wrong? Who was wrong? She was responding to the government's call; if she was wrong, then the leaders were wrong. He wouldn't dare say such a thing even if he were beaten to death; it wasn't like he wanted to die.
"I didn't really say anything, I just felt that her remarriage was a bit too quick?"
People around were watching and whispering, with most of the comments favoring Shu Yao. But some felt that remarrying so quickly was unreasonable.
"She's all alone here, with no relatives or friends. If she doesn't remarry, how can she bear it if you keep pressuring her? Your family has been manipulating her, always bringing up the time you bought her. To put it bluntly, isn't it just that you want a free maid? Other maids are out of the question, but if she marries into the Sun family, she can be used for free for life. Do you think no one knows what despicable schemes you're plotting?"
Upon hearing this, the onlookers immediately understood. "That's right, the Sun family doesn't dare use their previous day laborers anymore, so they've been keeping Shu Yao under their thumb. They even said she was an adopted daughter before, so why are they forcing her to marry into your family?"
"Yeah, what kind of adopted daughter is she? She's just a child bride. She goes to work and earns money before she's old enough, and then when she's old enough, she's forced to marry her son. She can keep earning money, have children for the family, and take care of the two old people."
"How despicable! Still acting like people from the old society. It's a new society now, and they're still bullying her like this. They just think she's easy to bully because she's an outsider."
At the height of the emotional outburst, Su Xiangdong released Sun Yaozu at the opportune moment. Turning to the crowd, he explained that humans are social animals, especially in this era where people rarely move around; once someone works in a certain place, they're basically stuck there for life. Public opinion is extremely important; a torrent of criticism can be deadly.
“We’re all neighbors, so they must have heard about my situation. Sigh, I was diagnosed with a terminal illness and didn’t have long to live. The person I was introduced to mistakenly thought that liver problems must be contagious. It’s normal that he passed away, it’s nothing.”
He sighed, and some of the people around him immediately asked, "Then why did you marry Shu Yao?"
Before he could even speak, someone had already guessed the answer: "Is it because they're all in one group? She's divorced and has no backing, so she's afraid the Sun family will cause trouble and force her to go back. You're sick, so having a woman take care of you might help you have an heir."
You know what, they're all ordinary people, and their thoughts are pretty much the same. Director Hao, who was introducing the situation, thought this way, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"That's a good idea. If she can leave you an heir, she'll have a place to settle down and make a living. It's good for both of you."
"Oh, I see. Shu Yao is pitiful too, such a beautiful young woman, but she doesn't have a single relative by her side."
"Yes. Shu Yao is such a beautiful girl, and she has a permanent job. If her parents were still around, she wouldn't have suffered so much all these years, being controlled by the Sun family. Now, in order to escape the Sun family, she hastily married someone else..."
The woman didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant. If things were going well, the two would be a good match, but now Su Xiangdong is sick and might die any day now. They'd all heard about it and were afraid of contracting liver disease.
Even if she had a small courtyard, it wouldn't be as important as her life. Besides, once married, they would be a couple, and she could refuse a man's advances. If she got pregnant again, she would be a widow raising a child, and life wouldn't be easy. So no one was happy about it, and no one expected Shu Yao to choose this path in the end.
“My wife is a pitiful person. She was sold to the Sun family when she was a child. For the past ten years, she has been treated like a slave in the Sun family, doing laundry, cooking, and serving them. She even had to go to work to earn money for them. Now that she has finally been freed thanks to good policies, the Sun family is still trying to cause trouble. Fellow villagers, you can all bear witness that it is not me, Su Xiangdong, who is causing trouble, but the Sun family that is going too far.”
After Su Xiangdong finished speaking, he pushed Sun Yaozu to the ground. He strode into the courtyard, followed by a group of people. He kicked over a square table and stools in the courtyard, then went inside to continue.
"No, no..."
Seeing the tables and chairs all overturned, and even the heavy wardrobe kicked over, Granny Sun tried desperately to stop him, but to no avail. She dared not step forward, and Su Xiangdong simply wouldn't listen.
He only stopped after turning the house upside down. Pointing at the Sun family, he said, "Let me make this clear: Shu Yao is my wife, Su Xiangdong's wife. Even if I die, my Su family will protect me. Besides, I'm alive and well. If you dare to bully my people, I'll fight you exploitative class to the end."
Before liberation, the Sun family owned several sizable shops, and Old Man Sun had been working in the fields for the past few years. Upon hearing people call him an exploitative member of the class, he immediately shook his head in fear.
"No, we don't."
The Sun family's oppression and bullying set the tone for the whole affair. They bullied others, so the victims retaliated and vandalized their home. The Sun family kept quiet about it, never even considering filing a lawsuit.
"How pitiful, one is terminally ill, and the other was sold to the Sun family to be a slave for ten years. Now that the government has finally taken the initiative to break free from their shackles, they should stop causing trouble for others."
"If Shu Yao can get pregnant soon and leave Su Xiangdong with a child, it would be a way for the two unfortunate people to continue their lineage."
"Yes. Xiang Dong is the only son of the family. His parents died early. If he could have an heir, he could die in peace."
Public opinion was overwhelmingly in his favor, and Su Xiangdong returned home with a smile on his face. Shu Yao had already heard about his heroic act and had caught a glimpse of it from behind. She didn't stop him; he was protecting her.
"Wash your hands before eating."
"Hmm." There was water in the basin, and he quickly washed up. Dinner was already on the table outside. The seaweed and tofu soup, the cold side dishes, and the scallion pancakes looked very yellow; they must have had cornmeal added.
"You can actually wait until I get back to cook. I cook very quickly."
"I'm a great cook, you should try it."
She's not experiencing pregnancy symptoms anymore, just a bit lazy and has some cravings. She's already happy that she can cook whatever she wants to eat. She really wants seaweed and tofu soup, but in her past life, her mother-in-law didn't like it and wouldn't give her money to buy it, so she could only suffer from her craving. In this life, she has the freedom to choose what she wants to eat.
"If you have any dietary restrictions or food you don't like, please tell me so I can take that into consideration when cooking."
“What else do I, a grown man, have? Make whatever you like, I’m not picky. Or tell me, and I’ll make it for you.” He tasted the soup; it was quite delicious.
"What do you want to eat? I can get most things, and I can even find a way to get the rarer ones. By the way, do you eat shrimp? We have a batch of frozen ones in the warehouse."
"Is it okay?" she asked cautiously. Was it even possible to eat shrimp in this era? This was the North, not some watery southern region. When she was little, her family had shrimp; boiled shrimp with a special sauce was her mother's specialty. She would think of that dish when she missed her mother.
"Of course." He smiled and handed her a scallion pancake. "Don't forget what I do. Other things might be difficult, but I have an advantage when it comes to food and drink."
"oh."
Seeing her smiling so happily and longingly, he regretted not bringing her back today. He had also left in too much of a hurry; upon hearing that the Sun family was coming to cause trouble for her, he rushed back on his bicycle.
Shu Yao smiled silently at him; he was backing her up. Looking down at her belly, she knew that if she hadn't been reborn and gained a newfound understanding, she definitely wouldn't want Sun Yaozu's children. But she was reborn; the two children in her womb had lived with her for nearly thirty years in her previous life.
These two weren't embryos; in her heart, they were her own flesh and blood. Despite living in the Sun family's environment, the two children thrived. The son was favored by his grandparents, but he never kept any treats like steamed cakes to himself; he always shared them with them.
His younger sister went to wash the dishes, so he went to sweep the floor, unmoved by anything his grandparents said. She took good care of both children; they were such filial and sensible children, she couldn't bear to part with them, even though she knew that keeping them would definitely cause trouble.
Now she has nine thousand yuan from selling small yellow croakers, and a stable, formal job. Her husband, whom she'd known for decades in her past life, is the best cover for her; she trusts Su Xiangdong's character. With so much to rely on, she's confident she can raise her child well.
After he finished eating, he cleaned up, washing the dishes while boiling two eggs in a small pot. There were still some scallion pancakes left; he'd bring her a bowl of soup later, and that would be perfect.
He prepared her lunchbox for the night shift and then rode his bike to take her to work. He handed her the lunchbox. "If you feel tired or uncomfortable, just tell Director Liu. I've already spoken to her."
"Okay." Director Liu was the workshop director, so it seemed they knew each other or something; he had actually pulled some strings for her beforehand. Carrying her lunchbox, she walked inside, a smile playing on her lips the whole way.
"Xiao Shu, I just saw someone dropping you off. Was that your partner? I heard you remarried."
"yes."
"Oh, congratulations. This man is great; he even brought you here tonight. He's better than my husband. My husband said there's nothing to be afraid of; no wolf is going to carry you away."
"Thank you." That warmth spread from the corner of his mouth to his heart, like fireworks exploding on his chest, one after another, then merging together to fill his entire chest. This exhilarating joy was something Sun Yaozu couldn't achieve no matter what he said.
A note from the author:
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