Chapter 220
"They feel that there is nothing they can't get over as a family."
"They advised me that a harmonious family is the key to success."
Lu Jingzhi's long-dry eyes were slowly covered with a layer of mist, and his weather-beaten face was full of despair and fragility.
"They only saw how badly I treated Zhong Dazhi, but dismissed my suffering with the phrase 'it's all in the past.'"
"They believed the exaggerated complaints of the two aunts, saying that Zhong Dagui had a bad fate and married a strong and cruel wife."
"They felt I had brought shame upon them."
"My dowry supported your grandfather's entire family. Even your great-aunt's dowry and her children's tuition came from my shop."
"After the founding of New China, I donated the shop so that I could bring Zhong Dagui to work in the textile factory."
"They stole the money from my shop together and haven't paid it back yet. Now they're throwing all the blame on me."
"Now they are acting like ungrateful wolves, trying to sow discord between me and your father and uncle, and are now biting me back."
"I will never forgive Zhong Dagui and his family in my life."
Zhong Linfang hugged her grandmother tightly and cried bitterly in pain.
She was such a gentle grandmother, such a delicate old lady, how much grievance had she suffered?
"Grandma, why don't you tell Dad and Uncle why you let your aunt sow discord between you?"
Lu Jingzhi shook his head. "Although your father and uncle were young at that time, they are not without memories."
"Linfang, it's hard for men to empathize with women."
"What's more, when their grandmother was alive, she often spread bad things about me. After hearing it so many times, they started to believe it."
"The neighbors are also gossipy. They all believed your grandmother's words and pointed fingers at me."
"They only saw me chasing and beating Zhong Dagui when he was old, but they didn't see me when I was young and he beat me up all over."
"Everyone in the world sympathizes with the weak."
"Although Zhong Dagui didn't take care of his children when he was young, he never beat his two sons."
"In the eyes of the world, he is good to his children and grandchildren, his parents, and his brothers and sisters."
"I'm the only one who says he's not good. He's not worthy of anyone..."
In fact, everyone knows that there is no teenage girl from a wealthy family who would be willing to marry an older, ugly and poor man.
They actually know it in their hearts, but they can never respect women and face up to the value they bring.
The child that I raised with great difficulty stood against me for someone who hurt me.
How desperate and painful must grandma be?
Lu Jingzhi sighed and gently rubbed the back of Zhong Linfang, who was sobbing.
"So, Linfang, grandma, aren't you afraid that people will say I'm vicious?"
"Grandma's life has already been like this. There's no turning back."
"But I hope that your daughter Linfang can be safe and sound."
"I hope you always put yourself first, eliminate any danger that shouldn't occur, and don't let public opinion give you any chance to hurt you."
Zhong Linfang lowered her head and said nothing.
Lu Jingzhi sighed, she already knew her granddaughter's answer.
She actually didn't really object to Zhong Linfang standing up to testify for the comrades in the security team.
She just wanted Zhong Linfang to understand what kind of storms she might face if she took this step.
Her Linfang is weak and timid, so she has to give her some precautions in advance to prevent the shock from being too great and her from not being able to bear it.
Besides, the security comrade also said that the public security department will keep it confidential. Even if things get worse, don’t we still have ourselves?
As long as Lu Jingzhi is alive, she will protect her granddaughter.
"Stop crying. Go get a handkerchief and wipe your face. It's time to change the bandages on your knees and hands."
Lu Jingzhi stood up heavily, walked to the basin rack, pulled a towel and poured hot water for his granddaughter.
"Your eyes must be swollen. Put a handkerchief on them, or they won't look good tomorrow."
In fact, Zhong Linfang would feel better if her grandma cried, but seeing her grandma looking so calm, Zhong Linfang felt even more distressed.
Because like everyone else, she once complained about her grandmother's dominance and felt sorry for her grandfather who was chased and beaten by her grandmother.
But who knows the suffering that grandma has gone through?
Zhong Linfang lowered her head and stroked the yellowed black and white photo in the box.
The couple above are so well matched.
The Grandpa Wen, whom he had never met, might never know that the little girl whom he held in his hand like a treasure and vowed to protect well was suffering from grievances and torture in a place where he could not see.
From my grandmother's words, actions and behavior, you can tell that she was well educated and lives a strong life.
It is obvious that she could have had a life hundreds or thousands of times better than the one she has now. She was originally a rich lady and should have been an officer's wife.
She is not a country peasant woman who is pointed at and looked at with disgust, nor is she a black-hearted old lady who is blamed and hated by future generations.
What she couldn't understand even more was her father and uncle. Why did they treat her mother like this?
Just because grandpa became a better person later on, grandma must be forced to forget all the hurt.
Just because grandpa no longer has the ability to hurt grandma, grandma can't resist?
They only saw that grandpa was very pitiful later on, but they clearly knew what kind of life grandma lived in the past!
Lu Jingzhi turned his back to his granddaughter and fell into deep thought.
She has made one wrong step after another in her life.
Just now, her granddaughter asked her two questions: Why did she have to marry Zhong Dagui? Why didn't she go to find Brother Wen?
She had thought about it and even almost took action.
But in that feudal era, the status of women was a hundred times more difficult than it is now.
At least now we advocate freedom of love and equality between men and women.
Back then, a woman's chastity was more important than her life. In that era, if a woman got pregnant before marriage, in a conservative and feudal family, there were basically only two options.
Either die with a clear conscience or live in obscurity, and even implicate your mother's family.
Even if she had the courage to go find Brother Wen, would he accept her? Would Brother Wen's parents accept a woman who had been violated?
Although she is innocent, how innocent is Brother Wen!
Although her parents treated her badly and valued their reputation more than their daughter's happiness, she still received no less dowry from her parents.
So, it’s the era that is wrong, and it’s the person who is wrong!
That night, neither the grandfather nor the grandson slept well. When it was still dawn, Su Qingci rode her bicycle to Zhongjiawan.
Lu Jingzhi and Zhong Linfang got up early in the morning.
They lit the kerosene lamp and sat in silence.
As Su Qingci arrived in the yard, the person inside heard the noise and opened the door.
Zhong Linfang was carrying a small shoulder bag, like a soldier about to go to the battlefield.
Lu Jingzhi held his granddaughter's hand and spoke to Su Qingci in a pleading tone.
"Captain Su, my Linfang will be leaving school in two months. The person she's with is Bai Hao, a teacher at the town's elementary school."
"He is a decent, gentle man and a good match."
"But the Bai family has a strict family tradition. Three generations of our family have been teachers. You promised me that you would protect the privacy of the witness!"
(My grandmother’s story is adapted from a true story. The author saw it on Tianya Forum many years ago and has never been able to let it go!)
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