I finally chose that lake-blue polyester dress.
This dress was the first gift Su Mingqiang gave her before their marriage, and it was also the one Zhang Haiyang had "casually" mentioned looking good in.
When changing clothes, Li Jinhua's hands trembled so badly that she had to button them up several times before she could succeed.
She sat in front of the dressing table, carefully drawing her eyebrows and applying lipstick that she hadn't used in a long time.
The woman in the mirror gradually became a stranger.
Her eyes appeared larger due to the makeup, and her lips were a striking red, as if she were going to an important date.
"I did this to save my parents... What did I do wrong? Yes, I did nothing wrong!!"
Li Jinhua muttered to herself in front of the mirror, her tone gradually becoming more assertive.
The final step is to make perfume.
She hesitated for a moment, then sprayed a little behind her ears and on her wrists.
This was a birthday gift that Su Mingqiang secretly saved up for three months' worth of allowance to buy for her last year.
After tidying up, Li Jinhua stood at the bedroom door, took a deep breath, and then suddenly pulled the door open.
In the living room, Su Mingqiang was already lying there, snoring.
"I'm going out for a bit."
"It's like saying goodbye," Li Jinhua said coldly.
Su Mingqiang miraculously woke up. His cloudy eyes lingered on Li Jinhua's carefully dressed body for a few seconds before he suddenly grinned.
"Honey, why are you dressed so beautifully today...who are you going to see?"
Li Jinhua's heart skipped a beat, but she quickly regained her composure.
"Who can I see? Who can I go see? I'm going to see someone who can save my parents! Unlike you, a good-for-nothing, you can't do anything right..."
Surprisingly, Su Mingqiang did not fly into a rage when faced with Li Jinhua's scolding; instead, he laughed even louder.
The laughter carried a chilling madness.
"Okay...okay...let's go, you should go too...I have nothing left anyway..."
He raised the bottle to Li Jinhua, then tilted his head back and took a big gulp, the liquor running down his chin and neck.
Li Jinhua took one last look at her husband before turning and walking towards the door.
Just as her hand touched the doorknob, a loud bang suddenly came from behind her.
Su Mingqiang smashed the bottle against the wall.
"Get out! All of you get out!"
His roar made the windows rattle.
"Aren't you all going to abandon me? Come on! I don't care!"
Li Jinhua didn't turn around; she forcefully opened the door and walked out.
The cool air outside made her shiver, and she realized that her back was already soaked with sweat.
She heard the sound of shattering glass and Su Mingqiang's hysterical cries coming from inside the room.
Li Jinhua quickened her pace, almost running out of the family compound.
...
The next day, very early in the morning.
Sujiatun was shrouded in a thin mist in the early morning, with the sounds of roosters crowing rising and falling.
Su Jianguo stood at the entrance of the old house, watching Wang Xiulan and her daughter Su Yufen pack their luggage.
Da Mao and Er Mao chased and played in the yard, kicking up dust.
"Father, Mother, are you really not coming back to the city with us?"
Su Jianguo turned around and asked the old man and his wife who were standing at the door of the main room.
The old man puffed on his pipe, the smoke rising slowly in the morning light.
“Your mother and I are used to living in the village. Those cramped, pigeonhole-like houses in the city are just too suffocating.”
The old lady wiped her eyes.
"Jianguo, go back and live a good life. As for Mingqiang... sigh, don't take it too hard."
Su Jianguo nodded.
"Father, don't worry, I'll handle it."
Su Jianguo smiled and bent down to pick up the bundle on the ground.
"By the way, what about Wu Er's place over there..."
"That idiot came before dawn."
The old man interrupted him.
"He was squatting under the old locust tree at the village entrance, waiting. I saw him when I went for my morning walk."
Su Jianguo was taken aback.
"So early?"
"That's right."
The old man tapped his pipe.
"That fool was afraid you'd leave him behind, so he came in the middle of the night. I told him to come inside and wait, but he absolutely refused."
Su Jianguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart and put down his bag.
"I'll go pick him up."
The old locust tree at the entrance of the village is over a hundred years old, and its trunk is so thick that it takes three adults to hug it.
Su Jianguo saw a hunched figure huddled at the base of a tree from afar.
"Second Brother!"
Su Jianguo shouted.
The figure trembled violently, but instead of emerging, it shrank further behind the tree.
As Su Jianguo approached, he realized that Wu Ermaitai was actually wearing a relatively complete set of clothes today.
Although the blue cloth jacket was still just as filthy, and the trousers were too short, revealing his dark ankles.
But Su Jianguo was certain that this was Wu Ermaitai's best outfit ever.
"Brother Jianguo..."
Wu Er timidly peeked out from behind the tree, his dirty fingers twisted together.
"This is my favorite outfit. I even went to the ditch to wash my face before wearing it."
Su Jianguo felt a lump in his throat.
This fool, despised by the entire village, actually disciplined himself for the first time, just so he could go out with him and not embarrass him.
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