Chapter Two: Divorce
Seeing that she didn't want to talk about it, Su Xiangdong didn't ask any further questions. "Going to work? I'll give you a ride?"
He knew it wasn't convenient for a lone man and woman to be alone, but he couldn't bear to see her crying so pitifully. When he left home to join the army, she wasn't even born into the Sun family; by the time he returned after his military service, she was already about to marry Sun Yaozu.
"No need, thank you."
She sniffed, stood up, and took a deep breath to calm herself. She didn't take the handkerchief, but nodded and brushed past him. She was on the early shift today, and it had taken her about half an hour to walk to the factory. She had previously received a bicycle ticket, but the Sun family was struggling financially, so she had sold it.
She buried herself in her work in the workshop, but her coworker, Sister Xu, still noticed something was off. At lunchtime, she only got a bowl of noodle soup, and Sister Xu sat next to her with her lunchbox.
"What's wrong? You seem a bit off today."
In her past life, she and Sister Xu had a particularly good relationship. Later, when she started her own factory, Sister Xu helped her after she was laid off. Decades of friendship had built a strong bond between them, and she trusted Sister Xu. The secret of her rebirth is not to be revealed, but other matters are open for discussion.
"Sis, are the dormitories at our factory easy to apply for?"
"It's not that easy," Sister Xu said, taking a bite of her noodles. "Why are you asking this? You just got married, you don't lack a place to live."
"Just asking casually."
To leave the Sun family, the first step was to resolve this issue. That evening, after work, she went to the logistics department and bumped into the director, who was about to leave. She greeted him with a smile and, upon entering, asked her question. The director took out a registration form, glanced at it, and frowned slightly.
"There is still one spot available. However, you are married, why are you looking for a dormitory? There are eight people in one room, and only one top bunk is still empty."
"I can't stay at the Sun family's house anymore, I want a divorce." Divorce wasn't a personal matter during this period; if the people at her workplace wouldn't issue a letter of introduction, and there was endless mediation, she simply couldn't get a divorce. So she lowered her head as she spoke, her voice trembling with aggrieved tears.
"What's wrong? What happened? We just got married, why are you getting a divorce already?"
"Director, I am the child bride of the Sun family. I was bought by them. I didn't want to be here in the first place, but his parents said that the Sun family had raised me for so many years and couldn't let it go to waste. Once I entered the Sun family, I became a member of the Sun family."
"Outrageous!" The director slammed his fist on the table in anger. "What era are we living in? This is a new society! Does he think he's still a landlord or capitalist? Buying and selling women is a crime; marriage must be based on mutual consent. You're such a fool, why didn't you say so earlier if you didn't want to?"
She cried, tears streaming down her face. "I dare not. I've been separated from my parents and family, and I have no relatives left. The Sun family has been very good to me these past few years. If I don't accept their kindness, they'll call me an ingrate."
"Bullshit!" The director cursed, furious. "Marriage is a matter of personal freedom; how can you coerce people like this? Human trafficking is illegal; they were the ones who acted unreasonably and illegally first."
She nodded in agreement: "I was twelve years old when I came to the Sun family. I did everything, from washing clothes and cooking to cleaning. I started working in a factory when I was fifteen, and I had to hand over all my wages. I didn't eat for free."
"You silly child," the director sighed. "Why didn't you object sooner? Now you're already a divorcee."
“I said I didn’t want to, but they said I couldn’t be heartless.”
These were words her in-laws had said many times before, subtly reminding her. It was the Sun family who saved and raised her; otherwise, if she had been sold to an old bachelor or to a squalid place, she might not even be alive now. In her past life, she had been coerced into taking over the Sun family's business without saying a word.
"This is outrageous!" The director was speechless and slammed his fist on the table in anger. "This is clearly a case of repaying a debt of gratitude. But they haven't done you any favors at all. They're buying and selling people and then trying to make themselves look good. They're forcing you to marry their son, just so they can make you work like a slave for them for the rest of your life."
She sobbed softly without speaking. The kind-hearted director stood up and took her hand. "Come on, let's find your neighborhood office director. I'll go with her. In arranged marriages, we have to stand up for the weaker party. The government should organize divorces."
"Is it possible?" Her return came at a very opportune time; the government was running this campaign. For arranged marriages where the husband's family was abusive and wouldn't let go, the government would arrange divorces. The husband's family didn't need to agree; in fact, if they dared to insist, they would be reprimanded.
"Fine," the director said angrily. "They are all victims of feudal society, and the government should stand up for them and protect them."
She was immediately taken away by the director of the factory's logistics department on a bicycle. The two went to the street office first. The street director knew about her situation and immediately sighed.
“Your in-laws used to say you were an adopted daughter, and then you married their son. Everyone said it was a double blessing and a marriage between relatives. Why didn’t you say anything then? Now that you’ve said it wasn’t your choice, of course we’ll stand up for you.”
"What else could it be?" The logistics director rolled his eyes. "It's all because the Sun family used their favors to blackmail her. She's a girl in her early twenties, with no relatives or friends here. She's lived in the Sun family for over ten years and has long been controlled by those old couple."
Director Hao of the neighborhood office nodded, agreeing. A girl with no relatives or friends was being pressured by the Sun family using their supposed favors; how could she possibly dare say anything more?
"Fortunately, you realized this in time, and you are still young, so you can start all over again."
The two women accompanied her to the Sun family. The elderly couple in the Sun family never dreamed that she would come back with people and bring up divorce.
"Daughter, are you possessed? You've been at home for over ten years, you know how your mother has treated you, I've always treated you like my own daughter. You're married now, why do you want a divorce?"
The old man was furious: "This is outrageous! You were raised by the Sun family and it was agreed long ago that you would marry my son. Now that you're married, you want a divorce? What face does a divorced woman have? Where can you go after leaving the Sun family?"
Sun Yaozu had just gotten off work and was stunned when he heard this. He had noticed something was wrong with her since yesterday, but he never expected that she would want a divorce.
He was nine years old when she came to his home. Her clothes were dirty, but the traffickers washed her hands and face to make her easier to sell. What a beautiful girl, even prettier than any he had ever seen at school. Only after her parents bought her did he learn that she had already graduated from junior high school and could draw and play the piano.
She had always taken care of him like an older sister, and even supervised him, explaining his high school courses to him through self-study. He always felt somewhat inferior in her presence. His feelings towards her were complicated; he had just begun to experience her gentle, wifely side, and now she wanted a divorce.
"Shu Yao, are you making a fool of me?"
Her gaze swept over the Sun family members, not missing a single reaction. His face was a mixture of shame and indignation; he felt humiliated to have been dumped by a childhood sweetheart. His father-in-law was utterly furious, showing absolutely no concern for her. His mother-in-law was still using the same old tactics, morally blackmailing her.
“Arranged marriages are a shackle of feudal society. Now it’s a new era, and we should all bravely break free.” She turned to her mother-in-law and said, “I was sold to the Sun family when I was twelve. Over the years, I have done laundry, cooked, and worked to earn money. I have never eaten a free meal. The Sun family has treated me well, but I don’t owe them anything. I have the right to choose my own life.”
*Bang!* The logistics director slammed her hand on the table; she had a fiery temper. "Buying and selling women! Do you even know what kind of crime that is? Now you show no remorse and continue to oppress women—truly the behavior of feudal capitalists..."
The old man, who had been furious just moments before, was instantly terrified by those words. After all these years, he knew all too well how heavy those accusations were. He couldn't bear them, and he dared not wear them.
"No, no, sir. We didn't buy Shu Yao; we rescued her from human traffickers. We couldn't find her family all these years, so she stayed with us."
His wife quickly chimed in, "Yes. We raised Shuyao like a daughter, and now that she's grown up, she married my son willingly. We didn't force her."
The neighborhood director then spoke up: "Marriage is a matter of personal freedom. Arranged marriages are oppressive and unprotected. Shuyao was confused for a moment, but now she has realized she doesn't want to continue. You should expedite the procedures."
The elderly couple looked at each other, truly reluctant to part with her. This daughter-in-law was not only beautiful but also capable and competent. Not long after she married into the family, liberation came, and everything changed. The old man, who was a landlord, had to go to work, but she got a job in a factory, and for the past seven years, they had survived on her wages and benefits.
"Yaoyao," the old woman cried, looking pitiful. "Child, back then, that kidnapper said you were pretty and wanted to sell you to that filthy place. We spent several times the price to keep you, treating you like our own daughter. We didn't mistreat you. How could you abandon us?"
The old man realized what was happening and suppressed his temper. "Shuyao, we've been trying to find your parents all these years. But we haven't heard anything. Some people say they've gone abroad. We treat you like our own child. How can you suddenly change your mind now that you're married?"
Since liberation, since she started earning money at the factory, their attitude towards her has improved year by year. Just now, Old Man Sun lost his temper; all these years, they've been using this kind of moral blackmail against her.
“I know, but I haven’t been living off the Sun family all these years. When you bought me, I did the laundry and cooking, and even as a long-term worker, I got paid, right? Later, when I went to work in the factory, I handed over all my income. If you do the math, I’ve already paid it all back, haven’t I?”
Stop trying to blackmail me with some excuse of gratitude. In my past life, I served the Sun family like a slave for my entire life because of this. You criticize me for being the one in charge, and your son is assigned to sweep the streets and clean toilets, but in reality, I do most of the work.
The neighborhood chief scoffed, "How much did you pay to buy her back then?"
"We're not buying it, we're trying to save her," Sun Yaozu's mother quickly explained, afraid of being accused of this.
"Save her?" Director Hao sneered. "Then what are you doing now? Since you're saving her, and she's worked for your family for so many years and earned so much money, why are you still talking about gratitude? Arranged marriages are illegal. She's asking for a divorce, and we'll give it to the organization. You can sign off on it."
"this……"
"this,"
Sun Yaozu's face turned pale and then dark. He turned to Shu Yao. "You're not willing anymore?"
"Yes. We should all bravely say no to arranged marriages."
This is currently the main focus of propaganda, belonging to the political sphere. Director Hao had actually approached her before, but she shook her head, saying it was voluntary. For so many years, she had been manipulated by the Sun family; Sun Yaozu's sweet words had convinced her that they were in a free-love relationship.
"Shu Yao, are you having an affair?"
"Sun Yaozu, even at a time like this, you still want to smear me?" Looking at that young face, she realized that he was always so disgusting when he turned his back on her. She angrily raised her hand and slapped him. "You bastard."
Sun Yaozu glared at her too. If the two directors hadn't been there, he might have reached out too. "Fine, let's get a divorce. Who cares about you? You're just an old woman."
"Fine, fine, I've finally seen your true colors." She was so naive; she actually thought he'd changed his mind later. In his heart, she'd always been just an old woman, someone he'd only married out of necessity. "Director Hao, could you please help me with the paperwork?"
It just so happened that during this movement, these arranged marriages ended in divorce very quickly. And she was even able to take all her own belongings with her—clothes, bedding, even her utensils.
The two directors helped her with the formalities and arranged for her to move into the dormitory. Seeing that she was sad and upset, Director Hao patted her on the shoulder.
"That bastard is talking nonsense. You're only twenty-three, in the prime of your life. Leave that Sun family and find someone better. Let him be furious."
She touched her belly, wondering if the two children were already inside. She wasn't in a rush to find a partner; having experienced it once, she preferred to remain single. But in this day and age, if the Sun family found out about the children in her womb, the trouble would be endless. Seeing the two children's sensible and filial faces before her, she knew these weren't just embryos; they were her own flesh and blood, her children of thirty years. She couldn't bear to abandon them.
"Sis, please introduce me to someone."
A note from the author:
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