Chapter 47 Zhao Fei Buys a Radio
The winter sun hung listlessly in the gray sky, offering little warmth.
In the courtyard, Zhou Lanying was hunched over, wringing out the last wet diaper on a clothesline made of two bamboo poles, unfolding it, and hanging it up.
The cold water made her fingers turn red, but she was completely unaware of it.
The courtyard gate creaked open.
Zhou Lanying assumed it was Zhao Fei who had returned, and without even looking up, said, "You're back? There's water warming on the stove."
"Sister-in-law." A somewhat hesitant female voice rang out.
Zhou Lanying paused in her work and turned around.
Seeing Li Yugu standing at the door, she showed no surprise, but her eyes darkened with a complex expression.
"You're here." Zhou Lanying's tone was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger. She patted the water off her hands. "Come in and sit down, it's cold outside."
The two entered the main room.
The stove was burning, making it warmer than the courtyard, but the atmosphere was somewhat stagnant.
Zhou Lanying poured a bowl of hot water and handed it to Li Yugu, then sat down opposite him.
After a moment of silence, Zhou Lanying spoke first, her gaze falling on Li Yugu's evasive eyes: "Yugu, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but what kind of thing did you do?"
Li Yugu held the rough enamel bowl, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the rim.
She looked up, her eyes reddening first, her voice carrying a long-suppressed grievance and helplessness:
“Sister-in-law, it’s easy for you to say that when you’re not the one suffering. You became a widow early and it wasn’t easy for you to raise Li Rui, but at least Li Rui is a girl, and she’s a good friend. As for me? I also became a widow and raised Qingda all by myself. Who can I tell about the hardships and suffering I’ve endured? I’m just hoping that he can get married, start a family, and give me a grandson so that the Zhao family line can continue.”
She sniffed, her voice rising with emotion: "Qingda and Xiaoxiao have been married for two years, and she hasn't conceived at all! You know what the gossip is like back home! Qingda cried in front of me, saying he couldn't hold his head up high, that Xiaoxiao was a barren hen! Later, he had an affair with Wang Juan, and Wang Juan got pregnant with a son! He knelt down and begged me, saying the Zhao family line couldn't end, and asked me to go and take care of them..."
Li Yugu's tears fell and landed in the bowl: "Sister-in-law, tell me, what should I do? On one side is my own son, the grandson I've been longing for for so many years; on the other side is my daughter, whom I haven't conceived in two years. If you were in my position, what would you choose?!"
This series of questions reflects a traditional rural woman's lifelong obsession with continuing the family line, as well as her helplessness in the face of her son's pleas.
Zhou Lanying listened quietly without immediately refuting.
She had also lived through that era, and she understood all too well what the words "no descendants" meant to a woman like Li Yugu; it was a matter of utmost importance.
Moreover, she only had one daughter, Li Rui, so she probably heard even more gossip than she did.
After a long while, Zhou Lanying finally let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with helplessness and sorrow.
“Yu Gu, I understand your difficulties.” Her voice softened. “Put yourself in my shoes… Sigh, I wouldn’t know what to choose either. That’s just the fate of us women, it’s tough.”
Her tone shifted, her gaze sharpening: "But Yu Gu, choosing one side doesn't mean you can completely abandon the other! Xiao Xiao married into your Zhao family, so she's now a member of your Zhao family. It's not solely her fault that she didn't have children; doesn't Qingda bear any responsibility? Besides, Xiao Xiao got pregnant later, and had twins! Even if you favor your grandson more, can you really be so heartless as to not see your two living granddaughters for months, leaving them, a widow and her children, in this cold, desolate courtyard?"
Li Yugu's face flushed red and then turned pale as he was told this, and he was speechless.
The favoritism is a fact, and so is the guilt.
Zhou Lanying looked at her, her tone heavy: "Why do women have to make things difficult for each other? Xiaoxiao has a hard life, but she has never done anything to wrong your Zhao family. Qingda was messing around outside, but she didn't make a fuss; after she gave birth, no one took care of her, but she gritted her teeth and raised the child herself. All her suffering is in her heart, in those thin bones."
At this point, Zhou Lanying's voice suddenly rose: "Yugu! Do you know what kind of beastly things your good son did when he came back a few days ago?!"
Li Yugu's heart skipped a beat, a bad feeling creeping over him: "What...what's wrong with him now?"
"He took advantage of the night and...!" Zhou Lanying squeezed each word out through gritted teeth. "Xiaoxiao was lacerated and her head was broken. Zhao Fei later told me that she almost jumped out of the hospital window that day! She had only been discharged from the hospital a few days ago!"
"What?!" Li Yugu was struck dumb.
Her eyes widened: "No...it's impossible...Qingda, he..."
"Impossible?" Zhou Lanying sneered. "I saw it with my own eyes! The way Xiaoxiao looked back then... Yu Gu, if you have any conscience at all, go to the door of the east wing and see what she looks like now! She was brutally abused by your son!"
Li Yugu suddenly stood up, almost losing his balance.
Her face burned, as if she had been slapped dozens of times in public.
She no longer had the courage or the face to push open the door to the east wing and face Wen Xiaoxiao.
She didn't even dare to look Zhou Lanying in the eyes anymore.
"I...I..." She stammered, and in the end, she didn't say anything. She turned around abruptly and rushed out of the west wing as if she were fleeing, staggering out of the courtyard.
When Li Yugu got home and saw Zhao Qingda with his face wrapped in gauze, groaning and complaining of pain, his pent-up emotions finally exploded.
She grabbed a broom from the kang (a heated brick bed) and started hitting Zhao Qingda indiscriminately, crying and cursing as she did so.
"You beast! You bastard! Are you even human?! How could you do such a thing to Xiaoxiao?! How could you rape her! She's your lawfully wedded wife! Haven't you done enough evil already?! Why didn't someone brand your face?! I'll beat you to death, you inhuman creature!"
Caught off guard, Zhao Qingda was hit and screamed in pain, wincing in agony.
As he dodged, he also became furious: "Mom! Are you crazy?! Why are you hitting me?! I'm your son!"
"I'm beating you, you beast!" Li Yugu gasped for breath, tears streaming down his face. "How could I have given birth to such a thing! You've completely disgraced me!"
Wang Juan, who was lying in the inner room, was in a very bad mood because of the miscarriage and the pain in her body.
Hearing the crying and commotion outside, especially the words "Xiaoxiao" and snippets of conversation like "forced," her heart skipped a beat, and a surge of intense jealousy and anger welled up within her.
Well, Zhao Qingda! You not only went back to that haggard woman, but you even forced yourself on her?
What do you take me for, Wang Juan?!
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She started throwing things on the bed, crying and yelling, "I can't live like this anymore! I lost my child, and my husband doesn't treat me like a human being! What's the point of me living..."
Listening to the commotion and crying from both inside and outside, Li Yugu felt his temples throbbing.
A few days later, Zhao Fei returned from outside, carrying a square box carefully wrapped in cloth.
He entered the east wing, where Wen Xiaoxiao was leaning against the headboard, with her two children asleep beside her.
"Xiaoxiao, look at this." Zhao Fei placed the box on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and opened it.
Inside was a new "Red Lantern" brand radio, with a dark red plastic casing that was very clean.
"I had someone bring it back for me." Zhao Fei took out the radio, plugged it in, and adjusted the knob.
After a buzzing sound of electricity, the clear, melodious sounds of traditional opera began to emanate from the room. Although there was some background noise, it was exceptionally clear in the quiet room.
Wen Xiaoxiao's gaze was finally drawn to the box that could make a sound.
“You usually take care of the kids, so it’s not convenient for you to go out, and you can’t watch TV all the time.” Zhao Fei turned the volume down a bit, his voice gentle. “This will help you pass the time. You can listen to songs, operas, and storytelling.”
He demonstrated by switching between several channels, including rousing revolutionary songs, melodious Huangmei opera, and Shan Tianfang's uniquely hoarse voice narrating "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties."
Wen Xiaoxiao listened quietly, her face expressionless, but her eyes were no longer so empty.
She reached out and gently touched the cool plastic casing of the radio with her fingertips.
From that day on, the Red Lantern brand radio became the constant sound in the east wing.
Wen Xiaoxiao listened to it while doing needlework, while coaxing the child, and even while daydreaming.
The chivalrous spirit of heroes in storytelling, and the joys and sorrows of devoted men and women in opera.
She still speaks very little, but when she hears something interesting, the corners of her mouth curve into a very slight smile.
When feeding her baby at night, she would tune to a channel playing soft music. As the melodious music played, she would pat her baby, and her eyes would gradually warm up.
The wounds on my body are slowly healing, and the glacier in my heart is melting away, albeit very slowly.
Seeing the occasional gentle expression on her face, Zhao Fei finally dared to relax a little.
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