The Northwest Labor Reform Farm, located thousands of miles away.
The scorching sun, like a giant fireball, hung in the gray sky, relentlessly baking the boundless saline-alkali land.
There wasn't a breath of wind in the air, only choking dust and a nauseating stench of sweat that seeped into the nasal cavity and stuck in the throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Li Dahong was hunched over, facing the loess soil with his back to the sky.
The dulled blade of the hoe in her hand struck the hard, iron-like ground with each blow, making her hands go numb.
Large beads of sweat rolled down her sun-darkened and rough face, hitting the cracked earth and disappearing instantly.
"Damn it! Is this a place for a human to live?! I'm dying of thirst!"
As she struggled to dig at the ground, she cursed viciously in her mind, her throat so dry it felt like it was about to burst into flames.
She hasn't had a single good day since she was sent to this godforsaken place.
They had to get up before dawn to work and could only finish when it was completely dark. They ate coarse rice mixed with sand, drank salty muddy water, and slept in a communal bed where dozens of people were crammed together and the stench was unbearable.
Her hands are now covered with thick calluses, blistered and bleeding, and her fingernails are filled with black grime that she can't get rid of.
"It's all that jinx Ye Nian'an's fault!"
Li Dahong spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes filled with resentment and venom.
"If it weren't for her extremely unlucky birth chart, which brought misfortune to our Zhang family, I wouldn't have ended up in this situation today!"
"How could my son Weiguo, such a promising military officer, be forced to retire and even lose his arm?"
She firmly believed that it was that bitch Ye Nian'an who stole the Zhang family's fortune!
She fantasized more than once that once she got out, she would definitely catch that little bitch Ye Nian'an, skin her alive, and tear her tendons out of her body, so she would know what the consequences of offending her would be!
"Weimin, Weiguo, you two have to make your mother proud! Qingqing may be crazy, but you're men! You must find a way to get your mother out of this hellhole!"
Li Dahong was thinking to herself that once she got out, Zhang Weiguo's pension and Zhang Weimin's salary would all be under her control!
Just as she was lost in her unrealistic fantasies, a stern voice lashed out like a whip.
"Li Dahong! Put down what you're holding! Come here for a second!"
Li Dahong shuddered and looked up.
She saw a cadre who was in charge of guarding them standing on the edge of the field, looking at her expressionlessly.
Li Dahong's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition instantly welled up in her mind.
Did she get caught secretly hiding food? Or was she reported for swearing last night?
Li Dahong didn't dare to delay, so he quickly threw down his hoe and jogged over.
Long-term malnutrition and overwork made her legs weak, and she almost fell several times.
She ran up to the cadre and immediately forced a fawning smile, her back almost bent to the ground.
"Comrade, you...you called for me? Is it...is there some good news at home?"
The cadre looked her up and down, his eyes filled with a complex and indescribable expression.
It was a mixture of sympathy and disdain, which made Li Dahong feel uneasy.
He didn't answer immediately, but instead took a thin telegram from his pocket.
The moment Li Dahong saw that piece of paper, his heart pounded wildly, and his breathing became rapid!
She snatched the telegram, but since she couldn't read, she could only stare longingly at the cadre like a begging dog, her voice trembling.
"Comrade, is this...is this a letter from my son? Are they coming to pick me up?! I knew it! I knew my son was filial!"
The cadre looked at her like that, sighed softly, and finally couldn't bear it and looked away.
She read aloud the telegram—a message that would condemn her to the deepest hell—in a detached, businesslike tone, devoid of any emotion.
"The Haicheng Public Security Bureau called and confirmed that your second son, Zhang Weiguo, smothered his father, Zhang Yaozu, with a quilt on the 15th of this month and strangled his sister, Zhang Qingqing."
"He has now surrendered himself to the police and has been arrested in accordance with the law. The case is under further investigation."
Buzz—
The moment Li Dahong heard those words, it was as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt!
A blank page!
She stood there blankly, her mouth slightly open, her eyes wide like a dead fish, completely unaware that the telegram in her hand had fallen to the ground.
Kill...killed?
Wei Guo... killed... his father... and his sister?
"No...it's impossible..."
After a long while, Li Dahong managed to squeeze out a few dry words from her throat. She shook her head frantically, as if trying to shake this terrible fact out of her mind.
"This is absolutely impossible! You've made a mistake! You must have made a mistake!"
She lunged forward and grabbed the cadre's arm tightly, her nails digging deep into his flesh.
"This is fake! This must be that bitch Ye Nian'an's conspiracy! It's her! She must have framed my son!"
Li Dawei screamed hysterically like a madwoman: "My son is so filial! How could he kill his own father and sister! You are all liars! You are all lying to me! I want to see my son! I want to go home!"
The cadre was startled by her crazy appearance, forcefully shook off her hand, and shouted sternly.
"Li Dahong! Calm down! This is an official telegram from the Public Security Bureau! Countless neighbors have witnessed it!"
"Your son, Zhang Weiguo, has been caught red-handed and has already confessed! The facts are undeniable and the evidence is conclusive!"
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