Chapter 104
"There was a dried flower stuck in the book with English writing on it. I asked her about it, and she said it was just an ordinary bookmark. I didn't believe her. I insisted on showing it to her father, and she started fighting with me. I tore the flower in half, but I still showed it to her father. He saw it and got furious."
When Mrs. Liang's daughter reached marriageable age, she was busy looking for a match. A family like hers naturally wanted a man of equal status and wealth. Mrs. Liang was furious that her daughter was dating a poor student.
Mrs. Yi said, "Kids nowadays are so spoiled they can do whatever they want. Back then, we didn't even know what our husbands looked like, and we still had to go with whatever family our parents told us to marry."
Mrs. Liang said, "I told you you're my own child. I only hope for the best for you, but I also hope for the worst. If you marry a poor boy, you won't be able to endure the hardship in the future, and you'll blame your parents for not taking care of you and watching you jump into the fire pit."
Mrs. Ma said, "Is it broken? A poor family like this is still trying to get close to your family, so you have to promote them."
Mrs. Liang said, "She said it was just a classmate, someone she didn't know well, and she just wanted to borrow a novel. I said we didn't have any books at home, so we had to go out and borrow some. She said no one at home reads novels, so where would we get them? Of course, she had to borrow it from a classmate."
Mrs. Yi said, "What's so interesting about that novel? I get annoyed just by looking at the words. I've been sitting in the room reading for a long time and it's boring."
Mrs. Liang said, "Who says it's not true?" Then she turned to Wang Jiazhi and said, "Did you always borrow books from your male classmates back then? What about kids nowadays?"
Wang Jiazhi was only three years older than Mrs. Liang's daughter. But in the eyes of this group of people, once a woman got married and became a wife, all wives were the same; there was no age limit for wives.
Wang Jiazhi laughed and said, "You may not be able to finish a novel after buying it. You may only read it once or twice. Although it is not expensive, it is not worth buying it once. So I just borrow it from classmates and friends."
Mrs. Liang said, "Old Liang loved watching it when he was young. What's so good about it? Now that he's old, he still loves watching it. My daughter has inherited this from him."
Mrs. Yi said, "No wonder your Lao Liang is in love with you just like in the novel."
Mrs. Liang laughed and said, "Old couple, how can they still be together?"
Mrs. Yi said, "If you don't believe me, ask Mrs. Ma. Young couples don't behave like you do."
Mrs. Ma was obviously angry and said with a smile: "Mr. Yi doesn't read novels, right?"
Mrs. Yi said, "He didn't like those things when he was young."
Mrs. Ma said, "Really? That doesn't seem like it."
Having said that, he came back here.
Mrs. Yi asked, "Are you and your husband in a free relationship, or is this your parents' idea?"
Wang Jiazhi said, "That's what my parents wanted."
Mrs. Liang said, "Look, a decent family wouldn't hide anything from their parents. It's not that I look down on people from humble backgrounds, but if they are decent people, it's fine. I'm just afraid he has ulterior motives."
Wang Jiazhi said, "That's what I mean. Some people are hypocritical and appear to be good, but they're actually very bad. If their family is okay, at least living there won't be a problem. But if their family isn't good either, it's really terrible."
Mrs. Yi said, "I think Mr. Mai is a very good person. You two are very loving and affectionate."
Wang Jiazhi laughed and said, "What's good about him? He's that kind of person."
Wang Jiazhi deliberately made her tone very stiff to show that she was not saying one thing and thinking another.
She had never dared to look at him, and of course he had never shown any jealousy when others mentioned Xiaomai. But she felt he cared, and every time this happened, she felt uneasy, afraid she'd say something wrong and make him think she had feelings for Xiaomai. She told him her mother had died young, her father treated her like a burden, and didn't want her to finish her education, so she told him she'd find someone to marry as soon as she was old enough.
Mrs. Ma said, "Mrs. Yi also said that Mr. Yi doesn't like reading novels like Mr. Liang does, and he's not romantic enough. Mr. Yi, Mrs. Yi is calling on you."
He smiled and said, "I liked watching it when I was young, but now I don't watch it much."
Mrs. Liang smelled tension and said, "Old Liang loves to read that novel called... something. I told my daughter that your father has so many novels, and yet you still say you don't have any."
Listening to her description, Wang Jiazhi asked, "Is Mrs. Liang talking about Zhang Henshui?"
Mrs. Liang said, "It seems so. I didn't watch it, so I don't remember it clearly."
Wang Jiazhi thought to herself, at this point in my life, do I like to read Zhang Henshui?
Wang Jiazhi had only read "The Golden Age," and what struck her most was the Jin family's extravagant and lavish lifestyle. The entire family depended solely on the old man's official position for support. Even his wife did nothing but play, living a life of luxury as if it were the end of the world. No one went to bed before 2 a.m., and they didn't wake up until noon the next day. The kitchen and several cars were kept on standby all night, ready for food, drink, and outings.
The women played more decently, but the sons were the most frantic, busy all day and night with eating, drinking, and having fun, smoking opium, keeping actresses, and having mistresses. They had no real business at all, working in the government office for nothing, even forgetting which way the gate faced.
Then there's the Prime Minister's family. They say they'll marry a poor girl as their daughter-in-law, so they'll marry a poor girl. It seems she's the eldest young mistress's sister, a noble lady from a wealthy family. They say they'll marry a poor boy, so they'll marry a poor boy. The family doesn't object at all, as long as they're happy.
Wang Jiazhi was only a teenager at the time, but she also found it unrealistic when she read it.
"Mrs. Mai also likes to read Zhang Henshui?"
Wang Jiazhi was absent-mindedly counting cards while thinking about something.
It was only after Mrs. Liang reminded her that she realized he was asking her.
I felt helpless and said, "Why are you asking when you already know the answer? You've been talking too much today."
He laughed and said, "I just read it casually when I was in school. I didn't like it much."
"I don't like Zhang Henshui either."
"Mr. Yi probably likes Shen Congwen's school."
"Shen Congwen likes it."
Everyone started talking about other things, but he turned and left, saying quietly, "I have a few books. I'd like to read them."
Wang Jiazhi was embarrassed and didn't say anything. She was angry in her heart that this person was really trying to get himself killed recently.
Seeing that Mrs. Yi and Mrs. Ma both had stern faces, Wang Jiazhi felt very uncomfortable. After all, she couldn't do without Mrs. Liang. Mrs. Liang noticed the awkwardness and quickly changed the subject.
Mrs. Yi was upset that Old Yi was openly treating the little girl this way, but seeing that Mrs. Ma was also unhappy, she felt very proud. Mrs. Yi thought that this strategy really worked. Judging from the expressions of Mrs. Ma and Mrs. Liao, at least the two of them had broken up for a while. This little girl was a merchant's wife and was relatively honest. She wouldn't cause any trouble. Especially since she was at home now, Old Yi was willing to come back. He couldn't change his mind anyway, so it was good to have an honest man to tie him down.
After a few rounds of playing cards, the topic of marrying off returned, and Wang Jiazhi brought up the story of Huang Liju, of course, with her name hidden and the story slightly altered.
The other three were hearing such shocking news for the first time. They stopped playing cards seriously and just listened to her gossip.
Wang Jiazhi's mouth was dry after speaking, so she took a sip of her tea and continued, "That guy coaxed her into having an abortion. And as soon as she did, he wanted to break up. It's unbelievable."
Mrs. Yi reacted the most strongly, saying, "How could this be possible? It's simply a sin."
Mrs. Yi, a non-Buddhist, was clearly outraged by the news of abortion. Wang Jiazhi thought she probably felt that some people wanted children but didn't, while they had them but didn't want them.
"The woman herself finds the money and the place for the abortion."
The other three said in unison: "How can this be possible!"
Wang Jiazhi said, "That man was so shameless, he insisted on breaking up. He even told people that she was a bad person and was blackmailing him with some bastard. He had never had anything to do with her, but he didn't expect her to do this, so he broke up with her in anger. He also beat her so badly that she hanged herself that same day."
After telling the story of Huang Liju, Wang Jiazhi did not feel that it was disrespectful to Huang Liju. Although no one here sympathized with Huang Liju except herself, she felt that this was a way to remember her. At least someone still remembered her.
Thinking about it this way, no one at the card table would mention her after she died.
His father and brother hadn't heard from her in a long time, and of course they were glad to have no news at all. They must have assumed she'd lived in poverty, then remarried a poor husband and had several children. Perhaps it was the sorrows of a poor couple, or perhaps she'd been beaten by her husband. Either way, she wouldn't recover, but she certainly wouldn't die. They certainly didn't think she'd die, because they didn't want to, and that would make them feel guilty.
After Wang Jiazhi finished telling this story, she found that she had actually made a mistake.
After playing mahjong until after midnight, Wang Jiazhi returned to her room to clean up for bed. She turned on the desk lamp and found a pile of books on the bedside table: a History of Asian Literature, a Collection of Famous European Paintings, the Last Will and Testament of the Founding Father, and the Words and Deeds of Leaders.
The next day, Wang Jiazhi flipped through the books. The first two were very good, but what were the last two books for? Why did he lend them to her?
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