Chapter 83: An eye for an eye
Liu Nian turned and went to the village committee, where Zhang Suzhen was training female workers. Liu Nian waved to Zhang Suzhen, who was explaining, and she quickly came out.
"Do you remember Sun Xiaomei?" Liu Nian asked. "Did she sign up for the women's factory work before?"
"Let me think." Zhang Suzhen frowned and pondered, then said, "They did sign up before, but then Aunt Cui persuaded them to take the registration form back. So we didn't need them anymore, right?"
Liu Nian nodded. "Okay, I understand."
She already had a general idea in mind and was ready to take action.
...
Hu's husband died young, and she lived alone in a mud-brick house.
As usual, she got into bed that night, lowered the mosquito net, and lay down in a daze when she felt a gust of wind blow in.
Hu shivered, rolled over on the kang (a heated brick bed), and tried to pull the quilt over herself, when she suddenly saw a person in a red coat standing outside the mosquito net.
"Old man! Is that you?" Madam Hu lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), her eyes immediately reddening. "You've been coming to see me so often these past few days, I forgot to ask if you're doing well down there?"
She was already old and her eyesight was failing, and the room was dark, so she could tell that the thing was her old man's ghost.
"Old man, talk to me!" Mrs. Hu sat up shakily, reaching for the mosquito net, when suddenly the thing spoke—
“It wasn’t me who came before, it was that kid Hu Zhiqing in disguise. He and his wife wanted to get into the factory, so they came to you and started playing tricks.”
“There are no relatives of the Hu family down there. You should make those two children do hard labor for Nianya as an apology. Otherwise, the ancestors of the Hu family will not forgive them.”
"And my dear husband, I'm doing fine down there. Don't worry about me. Take good care of yourself..."
His voice was ethereal, as if it came from nowhere. The old woman, with tears in her eyes, clutched the mosquito net and began to sob.
That was the man she had spent half her life with. He always wore the red wedding gown they wore when he came to see her, as if that day was still vivid in her mind.
Hu was nameless and surnameless; she was a child bride in the Hu family, yet she was pampered by her husband for half her life.
Mrs. Hu looked up, her cloudy eyes twitched, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. "Old man, I miss you so much."
I miss you...
Each cry was hoarse and desperate. Hu lowered her head and wiped the tears from her face. When she looked up again, the shadow outside the mosquito net was gone.
She stared blankly, pursed her lips and cried softly. Finally, she lifted the mosquito net to look over, as if he had never been there at all.
"Old man, you'd better wait for me." Hu leaned against the wall, shrinking into herself, thinking aggrievedly.
How could you be so heartless? Why didn't you say a few more words?
...
Su Xu was somewhat silent when he came out of the Hu family's house.
Liu Nian listened from outside, feeling uneasy.
“Some people are afraid of ghosts, but think about it, those ghosts are people that some people long for but can’t have.” Liu Nian held Su Xu’s hand and said, “The old lady is also quite pitiful. Let’s take better care of her in the future.”
Su Xu didn't speak, and Liu Nian turned to look at him.
The moonlight bathed his face, making it appear dark, inscrutable, and difficult to decipher.
When she died, her soul floated in the air, watching Su Xu embrace her and jump into the sea. Liu Nian thought: Did Su Xu also think at that time that he would go to the underworld if it meant seeing her?
The two walked in silence until they reached their doorstep, at which point Su Xu finally spoke. He grabbed Liu Nian's arm and stared intently at her.
"If one day in the future we get old and you pass away first, what will I do? I definitely won't be able to survive."
"Then in this life, I'll see you off and take care of your funeral arrangements," Liu Nian said secretly to himself, "and then I'll go with you."
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