Chapter Thirty-Nine: Going to the Farm
"What are you doing?" He couldn't help but ask as soon as he entered the room and saw Meng Xi packing her things.
"Of course, I'm cutting ties with you, you capitalist bastard. Sun Yaozu, we're getting a divorce."
"Husbands and wives are like birds in the same forest; when disaster strikes, they fly away separately." He once deeply despised this saying because he had suffered so much in his past life, yet Shu Yao had never left him. He thought that staying together was the norm, forgetting how many couples in this era had fallen apart.
"Where will you go after a divorce? Your parents are both gone, do you think your brother and sister-in-law will accept you?"
"That's my business, it's none of your concern."
Sun Yaozu's gaze turned cold as it fell on the daughter beside her. His daughter's name in her past life was Wu Shuyin; in this life, he named her Sun Shuyin. The four-year-old girl met his gaze and, frightened, hid even further behind her mother. The daughter he had longed for in his past life, he felt little affection for in this one.
He pointed at the girl, his voice cold and sticky. "She's going to find her biological father, isn't she?"
Meng Xi was startled, her eyes widening as if a cat had been stepped on. She felt the panic of having her truth exposed, but instead feigned anger at being wrongly accused.
“Sun Yaozu, stop trying to smear me. You’re just a landlord’s son; your heart is filthy.”
Sun Yaozu had an urge to strangle her, step by step. Meng Xi was so frightened by him that she backed away, her face pale with fear.
"Sun Yaozu, what are you doing?" She searched for a weapon to attack, but the only things on the kang (heated brick bed) were brooms and pillows. "Don't do anything reckless! Murder is punishable by death."
"Mommy!" the girl cried, terrified, but hid in a corner, too scared to approach. Her father was too scary; she was afraid.
"Murder?" Sun Yaozu chuckled softly, his outstretched hand instilling even greater fear in her. Looking at her terrified face, his heart suddenly raced, a strange excitement and a sense of absurdity filling him.
"Bring glory to your ancestors!"
An old man's voice from outside the door calmed his excited heart. He lowered his raised hand, and in that instant of hesitation, Meng Xi across from him picked up a broom handle and swung it at him.
"Get out of here! Get out of here!" The woman hurriedly pushed him away, picked up her packed belongings in one hand and held her daughter's hand in the other, and ran out the door.
Sun Yaozu didn't chase after them. Instead, he covered his face and squatted on the ground, looking like he was both crying and laughing. Sun's father had heard everything clearly, which was why he came over. Seeing his daughter-in-law and granddaughter run off like the wind, he then shakily entered the house.
"What did you mean by that? Shuyin isn't your child."
Sun Yaozu wiped his face and straightened up; the frenzied excitement from before had slowly subsided. He didn't answer his father's question, assuming his father didn't really care. Just a girl, nothing special.
"Speak." Unexpectedly, the old man spoke sharply, his eyes wide as he waited for an answer.
"have no idea."
"It's uncertain, isn't it?"
Sun Yaozu finally turned around: "What did you hear?"
"You good-for-nothing."
Old Man Sun glared at him angrily, his eyes blazing with fury as he turned to leave the house. The fire in Sun Yaozu's heart flared up again, burning ever brighter, until it ached to the bone.
His father left, and he threw his head back and laughed. Good heavens, was he reborn just to become a laughingstock? His decades-long entanglement with Meng Xi in his previous life turned out to be nothing but a joke.
My gaze fell once more on the Su family's house, separated by only a wall. Su Xiangdong had been sent to the countryside for several years, and this storm, seemingly devastating, was actually just a growing pain. A few years later, when Su Xiangdong returned to work, he was responsible for the city's largest supermarket. He was an expert in grains, oils, and other groceries—things closely related to people's daily lives.
He slept at home during the day and went out to clean toilets at night. There were too many people like him during this period. Surgeons in the hospital were sweeping the streets, each with their heads down and not saying a word. When no one was paying attention, their eyes would occasionally meet, but then quickly look away again.
It was almost six in the morning when he followed the route he had been following. In a temple where a Buddha statue had collapsed and the monks had left, a faint light emanated from a corner room. He walked lightly over and pressed himself against the window. He could hear a man and a woman talking in hushed tones inside.
"I don't have a place to stay either. I only have less than five yuan on me, you can have it all."
"Find me a place to stay, otherwise where am I supposed to live with my daughter?" Seeing the man hesitate, the woman's voice continued. "Shuyin is your daughter, you can't just abandon her."
"I didn't say I wouldn't care. But now that you're hooking up with that guy, why are you coming to me again?"
"Bullshit. I'm completely innocent, don't talk nonsense." After rebuking her, the woman's voice was particularly soft.
"Brother Erhu, we've been friends for so many years, and I even gave birth to your daughter."
"Okay, okay. Don't worry, I won't abandon you."
Sun Yaozu gritted his teeth, his last thread of hope snapping. He had held onto hope, but now his heart was utterly dead. A match was struck, and soon the two inside sensed something was wrong.
Why is there so much smoke?
Meng Xi frantically searched for her clothes, and the man quickly pulled on his trousers. In just a short while, all the old doors and windows were ablaze. The old wooden structure couldn't withstand the fire at all; once it came into contact with the flames, it ignited.
"What do we do?" Meng Xi cried out in fear. Although the brick wall behind them wouldn't catch fire, the beams and roof were made of wood and brambles, and if so many places caught fire, the smoke alone would be enough to choke them to death.
"Cough, cough," Wu Erhu coughed intermittently, the smoke growing thicker and thicker. He got out of bed and tried to rush out the door, but the intense heat made him not dare to even reach the doorway.
"Oh no, oh no, how could it suddenly catch fire?"
"Cough cough, how would I know?"
Meng Xi coughed as she spoke, then suddenly saw a figure outside the window. "Sun Yaozu!"
Wu Erhu also saw it; the man outside the firelight had bloodshot eyes, like a messenger from hell. He glanced at him and felt a chill run down his spine, but the instinct for survival quickly suppressed the shame.
"Sun Yaozu, help me! I'm telling you, cough cough, it's all a misunderstanding. It's a misunderstanding!"
Meng Xi's face was deathly pale; she trembled violently in the smoke and firelight. Sun Yaozu had started the fire; otherwise, it wouldn't have grown so large out of nowhere. So, had he already suspected something? Had he seen everything?
"Yaozu, it's all a misunderstanding... cough cough, help me... cough cough, even if you resent me, for Shuyin's sake, please... cough cough, a child can't be without a mother. Shuyin, she's your daughter. She's yours, I was just lying to others."
At this moment, not only Sun Yaozu sneered, but Wu Erhu, who was engulfed in the flames, also sneered, but he couldn't care less about anything else. With life and death looming between them, nothing else mattered.
"Yes, Sun Yaozu, she said that on purpose, cough cough, you hurry up..."
As the man spoke, he made his move, pulling up his coat and then unbuckled his belt to urinate on it. Surprisingly, he'd been in such a hurry to get into bed with the woman that he'd been holding it in for quite a while. The urine soaked through his clothes completely, and without hesitation, he pulled the covers over his head and urinated out.
Amidst the raging flames, the man shot off like a shooting star. Seeing him abandon her, Meng Xi was overwhelmed with a mix of emotions: bewilderment, anger, and heartbreak.
As she watched the man disappear outside, she took off her own coat. Forgetting all shame, she crouched down and did the same. In her frantic state, she heard the man roar. It was like a wounded wild beast, his voice hoarse and filled with resentment.
Looking up in surprise, she saw Wu Erhu fall to the ground, and at the same time, she saw the fierce glint in Sun Yaozu's eyes. She was completely stunned and couldn't believe that Sun Yaozu would dare to do such a thing.
It's over, it's over, Sun Yaozu is going to kill her today. Even if she manages to escape, he won't let her go.
They knew it was dangerous both inside and outside, but staying here meant certain death, a agonizing burn. The fire had already spread to the rafters, and the roof was soon engulfed in flames.
She couldn't care less about anything else and rushed outside, covering her head as fast as she could. The flames burned her skin, and she felt her clothes catch fire. Once outside, she didn't care about anything else and collapsed to the ground, rolling around in agony.
Sun Yaozu watched her rush out, surprised by her audacity. The two had chosen a secluded, deserted spot for their affair. Now, with the commotion, the Red Guards and soldiers were vandalizing these feudal, capitalist, and revisionist structures, and most people were avoiding the area.
Crying for help was useless, so they had no choice but to take the risk. Wu Erhu gambled that Sun Yaozu wouldn't dare to continue, but he clearly underestimated Sun Yaozu's madness. Meng Xi had no other way out; even if it meant certain death, she had to come out and try.
Seeing the woman writhing and screaming in pain on the ground, he slowly raised the weapon in his hand. He had clearly seen that Meng Xi had burns of varying degrees on her body and face.
She loved beauty so much, and being disfigured was a huge blow to her. But that alone couldn't extinguish the anger in his heart; since he had already taken action, he wouldn't hold back.
"Fire! Help!"
"Fire!"
Passersby noticed the fire and started shouting as they ran towards the fire. The footsteps and shouts grew closer and closer; it was too late. He quickly grabbed his tools, rushed over, and kicked Meng Xi in the head. She let out a muffled groan and fell silent. He then sprinted off in the other direction.
Meng Xi was on the ground when the firefighters took her to the hospital. Then they saw Wu Erhu lying on the ground, and someone quickly ran to call the police.
The case quickly made the newspapers. Zhou Dalin, the deputy captain of the fire brigade, was at the Su family's house, eating a bowl of mixed grain noodles with slurping sounds.
“Sun Yaozu ran away, along with two others, both of whom were knocked down. This was a premeditated escape. He was ruthless; he first set fire to the place, then attacked Wu Erhu, who was running out of the fire. Meng Xi was unconscious, and it was only after she woke up that she revealed the truth. The police went to investigate, but they had already disappeared.”
Shu Yao didn't know what to say; she hadn't expected Sun Yaozu to be so ruthless. He had tried to intimidate her before after she confronted him, but he ran away as soon as he heard Su Xiangdong was coming out and hadn't dared to do anything afterward. But this time, he had gone all out.
"Are they out of danger?"
Zhou Dalin nodded: "I don't know if it can be considered lucky. The two have different degrees of burns, but neither is life-threatening. Wu Erhu's injury is not fatal, while Meng Xi's facial burns are not life-threatening but will definitely leave scars."
Auntie San shook her head: "Both of them have families, yet they cheated on each other. I heard that Meng Xisheng's daughter is Wu Erhu's. Do you think any man could stand hearing that? I heard that Old Man Sun hasn't left the house these days. He's making Sun Yaozu clean the toilets."
Shu Yao shook her head, unsure what to say. She sighed at the outcome, but upon reflection, it seemed inevitable. Neither of them had any moral compass; neither was kind or responsible. Once they crossed that line, the ending was bound to be tragic.
The next day, she saw Old Man Sun being forced to clean the toilets. As she rode past on her bicycle, the old man turned to look at her. She left quickly, not wanting to have anything to do with the Sun family.
Su Xiangdong's situation wasn't over anytime soon, and she had tried everything she could. That evening, as he ate the boiled eggs she had secretly arranged to be delivered, the man's face showed a mixture of relief and worry.
He knew his wife was loyal and devoted, and he felt at ease with her around; at least he didn't have to worry about the children. He wondered if the children missed him or were worried about him.
"Mommy, when will Daddy come back?" During dinner, the little girl, still a bit naive, asked again. The two older children, who spend a lot of time together at school, were worried but didn't dare ask. She looked at her mother at that moment.
"have no idea."
"Is Daddy in danger?" He Xu asked, her face full of worry, tears welling up in her eyes.
“No.” Shu Yao took a deep breath and comforted the children. “Don’t be afraid. Everything will pass, these are all temporary.”
"Um."
In his past life, Su Xiangdong had his leg broken, leaving him with a limp. In this life, Shu Yao paid special attention to this, and that evening she arranged to meet Zhou Dalin. The two of them went to a small courtyard under the cover of night.
Zhou Dalin had already found a breakthrough point: a particularly greedy man. He'd agree to secretly help someone with a hundred yuan. Shu Yao was still uneasy and went to check on things every day.
A group of people were kneeling in the middle, surrounded by others. Su Xiangdong kept his head down and didn't speak. When he saw his wife coming again, he looked up and mouthed to her to leave. "What's so interesting about this scene? Don't worry about me, I can handle it."
He didn't want Shu Yao to suffer with him, but Shu Yao was worried about him and came to see him every day. She worked the night shift, but she would come over during her free time in the daytime. When she finished her shift and went home, she would run into Sun Yaozu's father again at her doorstep. The man she had called "father" for decades in her previous life.
The old man was hunched over like a withered tree in the desert, but the way he looked at the Su family made her wary. Sun Yaozu was desperate enough to kill, and this old man wasn't much better.
After everything was finished that evening, she taught the three children on the kang (a heated brick bed). "You two, wherever you go, go together. After school, go straight home and don't linger outside. Do you understand?"
The twins nodded obediently, and He Yi asked sensitively, "Mommy, is something wrong?"
"Mom is just worried. You two remember to stay away from Old Sun next door. He has a grudge against our family. I'm afraid he's not a good fighter and might hurt the children."
"Okay, I understand."
He Xu nodded in agreement: "I know. Mom was originally their child bride, and they bullied her. Now that Dad isn't home, they might take the opportunity to bully people. His son even harmed someone."
"Yes, that family is malicious; stay away from them."
Old Man Sun was at his wit's end. His wife had died, and his son had killed someone and fled. His lifelong wish was to have an heir, but his only granddaughter wasn't of the Sun family line. He asked Shu Yao several times, but was always rejected. He remained undeterred, and no one knew what he might do.
Shu Yao took precautions. When Grandpa Sun offered the twins White Rabbit candy and soda, the two children immediately became wary. Forget being attracted by the food; they ran hand-in-hand from a distance.
Seeing the two children's attitude towards him as if he were a monster, Old Man Sun was utterly desperate. The two had been inseparable lately, and he couldn't use force; he couldn't possibly take both of them away at once. As for gentler tactics, they avoided him like the plague.
As the twins disappeared from sight, his cloudy eyes were filled with death. The large white rabbit in his hand fell to the ground.
With no one left in the Sun family, Shu Yao was busy rescuing her husband. She took a few deep breaths and let go of the Sun family's affairs; the Sun family had long since become irrelevant to her.
In his previous life, Su Xiangdong's broken bone was avoided by her using money. Although he suffered some pain, he wasn't seriously injured. He also knew about the Sun family's affairs, and even if he wasn't around, his wife and children wouldn't be coveted or harassed by the Sun family, which relieved his worries.
"Wife, let's get a divorce."
Shu Yao came to bring him something, but she didn't expect him to say that. She stared at him with wide eyes, and after a moment of hurt, she immediately understood what he meant.
"Don't even think about it."
"Don't act impulsively. Given the current situation, it's best for us to draw a clear line. Otherwise, if we continue to drag this on, you might get caught up in it tomorrow."
He knew her temperament and didn't say anything harsh to force her to leave. Her husband's harsh words hurt her more than any criticism.
"I'm not afraid."
"I'm scared." He was genuinely scared; he hadn't expected this movement to last so long. So many old, trivial matters were being dredged up, things that were normal back then were now being used to label people. He was truly afraid; these people wielded far too much power.
"Listen to me, we'll get a divorce tomorrow. There are people here who specialize in this these days, and many couples have gotten divorced."
"I won't divorce you." Seeing that he was about to say something more, she spoke again resolutely: "I absolutely will not divorce you."
She reached out and took his hand, her gaze warm and firm. "Life is an uncertain journey forward; no one knows what we'll encounter. To live and raise children, one person's strength is not enough, which is why two people need to accompany each other. Having an extra pair of eyes and hands increases our ability to withstand risks. If we run away when danger comes, then what's the point of marriage?"
Su Xiangdong's eyes welled up with tears, but the grown man forced himself to hold them back. "But I'm worried..."
"The future isn't as scary as you think. No matter what happens, I'll be with you. We're husband and wife. Marriage is about sharing joys and sorrows, going through thick and thin together. It's not about abandoning each other when disaster strikes."
After his wife left, Su Xiangdong finally let the tears he had been holding back fall like large, rolling drops. He knew his wife was loyal and devoted, and having her by his side at a time like this was a blessing he had earned in three lifetimes. However, he was genuinely worried, afraid that he would bring trouble to his family.
I was just about to bring up divorce again when we met, but his results came back in a couple of days later. He and several others were sent to work on a farm.
Things have come to a conclusion, even if it's not back to normal, it's still better than being stuck here getting criticized every day. Farming is no big deal.
"I'll go with you."
"Wife, farming isn't fun."
"It's alright, you're here." In her past life, she had to clean toilets with Sun Yaozu, enduring hardship while still having to go to work, all while people talked about her parents. But they couldn't find out anything about her parents, so the matter remained ambiguous. Anyway, she wasn't having an easy time. Now, in this life, they're bringing this up again. No need to clean toilets? Then let's go to the countryside. At least we won't be watched.
"But what about the children? What will happen to them?"
“We’ll take Tangtang with us, and leave the two older ones with Third Aunt. I’ve arranged to meet with Su Juan tonight to discuss with the couple and ask them to help look after them. Don’t worry, with the elderly and the young, they won’t be targeted again.”
"No problem, we'll take care of them. But..." Su Juan's eyes were full of worry. "Are you both leaving?"
Shu Yao nodded: "If I don't leave, they'll bring up old grievances and talk about my parents. It's just going to farm, it's nothing."
No one knows where Shu Yao's parents are, but the fact that the Shu family were capitalists has been brought up. Even if people think the Shu family members might be dead, Shu Yao will still be affected. But she knows it won't be serious; right now, things are at their most sensitive, so going to the countryside to avoid trouble is actually better than staying in the city.
She had made all the preparations, and the plan had been laid out in advance. The couple took their youngest daughter to the countryside, while their two older children stayed in the city to study. Before leaving, they told the two children to study hard, and the two nodded very understandingly.
He Xu acted like a very good older brother, holding his younger sister's hand. His eyes were filled with tears, but he remained strong. "Mom, don't worry, I'll take care of my sister."
She reached out and hugged the two children: "Sweethearts, everything will be alright soon."
Thanks to the connections Zhou Dalin had made, the farm was less than a hundred miles from the provincial capital. The houses they were given were quite sturdy; one was an earthen house with newspaper-covered walls, and the whole place was clean and tidy.
"Honey, you and Tangtang rest first, I'll clean up."
Everyone arrived by car together, but he always started the work first. Shu Yao smiled gently. In her past life, Sun Yaozu always put her first and waited for her to finish. Now, with him protecting her, she wasn't afraid to live anywhere.
"I'll go with you. You go fetch water first, and we'll clean up."
"Mom, I want to come too."
Seeing his wife and children, he finally felt relieved. As long as his family was safe, nothing else mattered. He borrowed buckets to fill the water vat, then Shuyao swept and wiped the earthen bed clean, laid out a mat, and arranged the bedding she had brought.
She had money, and Zhou Dalin helped her find a car to bring her a suitcase. Her clothes were inside the suitcase and didn't need to be moved; everything else was quickly put away. The two of them worked together to clean, and while he went out to fetch water, he even managed to catch a rabbit.
"I'll stew meat for dinner."
She nodded with a smile: "Okay."
Inside the clean and tidy house, everything was in perfect order. The family of three secretly stewed some meat for dinner that night, keeping the doors and windows closed so no one would know. Under the oil lamp, the three ate the meat and laughed softly. He had guessed that no one would come here after he had just been sent down to the countryside.
He blew out the lamp and went to bed at night, his wife whispering stories to the children beside him. He was moved to tears, but what he was thinking about was how to get them back to the city as soon as possible.
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