Chapter 26: Is Divorce Possible?
Couples can quarrel verbally or physically. When Su He was a child, he heard his parents talk about someone’s family quarreling, beating each other until they were bruised and swollen, but they made up after a while.
But the injuries on Third Sister Gu's body were shocking no matter how you looked at them. They were not just small bruises but large patches of bruises. The bruises on her arms were as big as bowls, and the ones on her back were even bigger.
Did her man want to beat her to death? He hit her so hard.
And looking at Third Sister Gu’s condition, she probably didn’t fight back, or she didn’t have the strength to fight back.
Sister Gu was furious, "Mom, let's gather some people to go to Liujia Village and beat up Li Laifu! Damn it, give him some face!"
This was not the first time that Li Lai Fu beat his third sister, it was several times.
He had been beaten four years ago, and the degree of beating was similar to this. The third sister cried all the way home, and her fourth brother happened to come back to visit at that time, so he called on the young and strong men in the village to go to Liujia Village and teach Li Lai Fu a lesson. Li Lai Fu promised not to do it again.
However, she met her third sister at the county fair last year. There was a bruise around her eye and she had fought again.
And this time, they knew about it being fought three times, but they didn't know about it and there was no telling how many times he fought behind the scenes.
Mother Gu was applying medicinal wine to the wound of the third sister. She did not directly answer the eldest sister Gu's words, but said to the third sister, "Stay at home for a few days, don't go back yet."
What this means is that when Li Lai-fu comes to pick her up, they, as the elders, will give her a good scolding.
Sister Gu shook her head, "No need, mother. He apologized to me this morning and said he was drunk and didn't mean it."
She had to go back. If she didn't, her daughter would suffer. Li Lai-fu would beat her daughter if she was not around. And if she didn't go back, her daughter would have to do all the housework.
Sister Gu, "You believe her words"
Sister Gu didn't say anything. What else could she do if she didn't believe it?
Su He said, "Third sister, if you really can't live like this anymore, just get a divorce."
The book says that in their generation, divorce is rare. Even if a woman is unhappy and is beaten by her husband, she will grit her teeth and continue to live without thinking about divorce.
This is not a problem of the person involved, but a problem of society and the woman’s family.
As for society, their country has only been out of feudal society for a few decades, and there are few jobs for women to make a living. As for their parents' families, most of them would advise the girls to grit their teeth and bear it and go on, saying that they had all experienced this.
For this reason, Su He wanted to ask, why should your next generation and your daughters have to suffer the same pain you suffered?
Furthermore, many brothers and sisters-in-law are unwilling to accept a divorced sister-in-law, and parents reject their daughters because they think divorce is shameful and disgraceful!
This is not right.
The night before she married Gu Jianhua, her parents told her that if she was wronged after marriage, she could always come back and they would support her if she wanted to divorce, and her parents' home would always be her safe haven.
As for looking at the faces of my brother and sister-in-law
It doesn't exist, what does it have to do with them!
Also, I remember she asked her parents a question at that time,
“What if we have children?”
Comrade Su Changyuan and Chen Yuling said, bring the child back as well.
If people had a way out, why would they live the hard life they are living now?
Su He's words were so bold that the three people in the room didn't know what to say for a moment. After a while, Gu's mother sighed and said, "Divorce is not that easy."
Sister Gu nodded in agreement. Yes, divorce is not that easy. Where does the woman go after divorce? What about the children?
It's okay to stay at her parents' home for a few days, but will her sister-in-law be willing to stay there for a long time? Although her sister-in-law looks good at the moment, who will be willing to stay there for a long time?
Moreover, her third sister might not be able to have children in the future, so no one would marry her and she would have to stay in her parents' home for the rest of her life.
There's a lot of stuff going on here!
Besides, they are divorced, who knows how the second wife will make fun of their family!
Su He knew that she and Gu's mother were from two generations with different ideas and grew up in different environments, so their ways of thinking and solving problems would also be different.
But since Sister Gu was beaten so badly, what other options did she have except divorce? Her husband Li Laifu wanted a son, but the doctor judged that Sister Gu had a difficult labor and was injured, so it would be difficult for her to get pregnant!
Her husband's family wanted a son, but Gu Sanjie, as the wife and daughter-in-law, was unable to accomplish that goal. If they continued to live together, the result would be that if things did not go their way, her husband and mother-in-law would either scold her or even resort to violence.
Su He did not reply to Gu's mother, but spoke directly to Gu's third sister.
"Third sister, if you ever feel like you can't live like this anymore and want a divorce, as your sister-in-law, I will always support you."
"I know your concerns. Let's not talk about anything else. As your sister-in-law, I won't say a word if you stay at home, even if you never get married. Your parents' home is also your home. You can come back anytime. You don't have to worry too much."
After saying this, Third Sister Gu started crying again. This time she was crying very hard, gasping for breath.
Mother Gu and elder sister Gu also had tears in their eyes.
Third Sister Gu cried and said to Su He, "Sister-in-law, I am happy to hear what you said, but mother is right, divorce is not that easy."
"Your third brother-in-law said he has changed, so I will believe him again."
After hearing this, Su He said nothing more. She didn't want to be persuaded by others, and it was useless. After all, everyone is different, and what she thought was different from what Third Sister Gu thought.
Mother Gu said, "You should stay at home for a few days, and then go back to heal your injury."
Third Sister Gu shook her head, stood up and put on her clothes. "No need, mother. We have reconciled. He has apologized to me."
Sister Gu is gone.
Mother Gu could only sigh and spoke less while cooking in the evening, obviously she was worried.
Yes, if our children’s marriages are unhappy, how can parents not worry?
While eating, Su He talked to Gu's mother about Gu's third sister. Gu's father was also present.
The two finally said, "Well, let's see how the situation develops. If the two of you keep making trouble and Li Laifu keeps beating you, then we'll ask your third sister if she wants to continue."
Su He felt it was harsh enough. If there was a first time, there would be a second time, countless times. There were two options: the first was to divorce, the second was to beat him!
Neither is easy, but divorce is easier than winning.
There are so many people in the Li family, including the father-in-law, mother-in-law, brothers and sisters-in-law. How can Third Sister Gu win alone? Unless she puts rat poison in the food and poisons them all to death.
But this method kills one thousand enemies but injures eight hundred of your own men.
It doesn't work!
Anyway, if Third Sister Gu gets divorced in the future and moves back to her parents' home, Su He won't say a word and there's no problem with her living there for the rest of her life.
What right does she have to say that to other girls? Their parents’ home is also their home. What’s wrong with them coming back to live there?
Besides, she is also a sister-in-law, so she should put herself in her shoes.