Life went on uneventfully. Old Liang and Li Yuemei held a wedding banquet, witnessed by their superiors and coworkers, and walked towards happiness. Zhao Dahu also earned the five yuan he had longed for.
For some, happiness is simple and practical: taking the whole family out for hot pot. Zhao Dahu and his father sipped their drinks, watching Zhao's mother, Wei Shuqing, and Zhao Aiguo eat with their mouths full of sesame paste and their bellies round, and instead of finding it disgusting, they found it adorable. Being together as a family is happiness.
For some people, happiness is elusive; what they want is vague and unrealistic. After pursuing it for a long time, they are exhausted only to find that it is not happiness.
Li Yuemei finally married Lao Liang, and Lao Liang went to work at the Materials Bureau, far away from the steel mill. But Li Yuemei was still unhappy, or perhaps she was afraid her happiness would be stolen by someone else. She feared that the Materials Bureau still had countless Liu Zhifangs and Zhao Zhifangs...
That day, Li Yuemei and Qi Zhifang bumped into each other on their way home from work. Rivals meeting are bound to be furious. Li Yuemei was so angry that she wanted to tear Qi Zhifang apart. She was so angry that Qi Zhifang had such a terrible experience on the day they were supposed to get their marriage certificate. No wonder she was a female rogue. She always managed to do something that would disgust people for a lifetime. She cursed under her breath, "Qi Zhifang, how could you be so shameless? Do you even know that Lao Liang and I are already married?"
Qi Zhifang straightened her thin back, feigning arrogance, and said coldly with a disdainful expression, "Comrade Li Yuemei, please take back what you just said. I, Qi Zhifang, am an upright and honest person..."
Li Yuemei snorted, as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "You, a man who is upright and innocent? How dare you say such a thing? You, an upright woman, can get pregnant by three months and shamelessly sneak into the bed of a married man? You're innocent and innocent, and you end up in jail? You, an upright and innocent woman, can get arrested by the police and get involved with that counterfeit ticket criminal? Who would believe you if you said that?"
Qi Zhifang glared at her angrily and said, word by word, "If you slander me again, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Li Yuemei stepped forward, glancing at Qi Zhifang with disdain, and snorted, "You shameless slut, stripping naked and begging our Lao Liang for you. I really don't know what you're after! Do you know what Lao Liang said about you?" She paused, leaned closer, and whispered in Qi Zhifang's ear, "He said your belly is all mushy and loose like an old sow, there's no elasticity in that area, and when you take off your pants, you smell like urine, it almost made him vomit. You don't leak urine, do you? You still have the nerve to compare yourself to me? You're not worthy!" With that, she laughed and strode away.
Qi Zhifang's eyes widened, her chest heaving. She couldn't believe Lao Liang would say such a thing. How could the gentle, refined, and respectable Lao Liang utter such vulgar and offensive words? But if Lao Liang hadn't said it, how would Li Yuemei know about her affair with Lao Liang?
After returning home dejected, she went to the Party office to find Lao Liang the next day. She wanted to ask why he had spoken about her to Li Yuemei like that. She had decided to forget about Lao Liang and keep to herself, keeping their relationship in the deepest part of her heart, reminiscing about their moments together late at night when no one was around. How could he be so awful, not even giving her this right?
As a result, she got up early and waited until work but didn't see Lao Liang. Finally, she had to bite the bullet and went to the Party Office to ask. A clerk in the same department looked at Qi Zhifang with a sidelong glance and said dismissively, "Lao Liang was transferred to the Materials Bureau a long time ago..." She couldn't hear what he said next. Lao Liang left, left the steel plant. Could it be that what Li Yuemei said was true? Lao Liang, you're something else. Why didn't he tell me? Was he so afraid that I would bother you?
Then a more serious thought occurred to her: "Oh no, will Li Yuemei retaliate against me? No, she shouldn't, otherwise she would have already told everyone, why would she be talking to me privately here!" Qi Zhifang thought of many possibilities in an instant, trying to comfort herself, while also blaming herself for being too impulsive yesterday.
After finally getting off work, I walked out in a panic. As soon as I stepped out of the factory gate, I saw Lao Liang, Li Yuemei, and Wei Shuqing chatting in the bicycle shed.
Old Liang said with a big smile, "Old Zhao, you've finally made it! I heard before I left that you're the deputy director."
Zhao Dahu smiled sheepishly and said, "It's not appropriate to say such things, the factory's documents haven't come through yet!"
Old Liang patted Zhao Dahu on the shoulder and said, "Whether you get promoted or not is up to you. The documents are all stamped. You're just waiting for Old Ma to retire so you can take over. Don't look down on your brother anymore!"
Zhao Dahu quickly said, "How could that be! But you, Lao Liang, when you go to the Supply Bureau, don't forget your brothers. You should still lend a hand when needed!"
Old Liang smiled and said, "Don't worry about that. We're all from the same factory, and my wife is here too. We'll be in touch a lot in the future!" The two men were exchanging pleasantries. Wei Shuqing wasn't very familiar with Li Yuemei, so she could only smile and wait on the side.
But she inadvertently noticed that Li Yuemei's gaze was looking elsewhere, which was clearly wrong. Following that gaze, she suddenly felt like gouging out her own eyes.
Li Yuemei felt disgusted, as if she had swallowed a fly, when she saw Qi Zhifang looking at her with that half-dead expression again. She was furious that Qi Zhifang was like a persistent ghost.
Of course, she couldn't look at her; she was looking at Lao Liang. She was so angry that she barely suppressed it, turned around and blocked Lao Liang's view. She didn't know what she said, but Lao Liang quickly put his hand on her shoulder, lowered his head and spoke to her, then said goodbye to Zhao Dahu. The two of them rode away on their bicycles.
Wei Shuqing noticed the way Li Yuemei looked at Qi Zhifang and couldn't help but wonder, could it be that Qi Zhifang and Lao Liang...?
I remember there was an old man named Liang in that strange book who gave Qi Zhifang a fake gold necklace, but he was a scumbag with a wife and children...
She pulled her thoughts away from the plot, thinking, "Wait a minute, Wang Dong met Old Liang on the train after running away from home, but in reality, Wang Dong and his two friends went back to their grandparents' house, so they didn't meet Old Liang on the train. But she looked for Old Liang at the factory? This Old Liang, like Zhao Dahu, never appeared in that book. Sigh! Am I going crazy? That book has so many inexplicable parts. If the family can't afford food and can't make ends meet, why would the children run away? They have grandparents! It's probably just a coincidence..."
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