Chapter 1
Under the scorching sun, Xia Qingtang came out of the vegetable market panting, carrying two heavy bags. His hands were sore from the tightening, and his head and face were covered in sweat.
It was early August in 1998, the hottest time of the year. Xia Qingtang walked through several intersections in one breath and finally stopped under the shade of a tree to rest for a while.
She looked down at the heavy cloth bag and wanted to put it at her feet to rest her strength, but she didn't dare to - if the eggs were broken, she would be scolded by her cousin again.
Even though she is my aunt and cousin, as someone else's nanny, I have to endure their anger.
"Isn't this Xia Qingtang?" A familiar yet unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded not far in front of him.
Xia Qingtang shuddered all over and raised her head uncontrollably, and saw her ex-husband Kong Liangchao, who was dressed in a stylish manner, and the young woman next to him who was wearing a fashionable short skirt and big wavy hair.
Xia Qingtang had heard about Kong Liangchao's remarriage, but he didn't expect that his current wife was so young, only about 27 or 28 years old.
"Honey, is this your ex-wife who doesn't lay eggs? Wasn't she the most beautiful girl in the factory? Why is she so old? She is only forty years old, but she has more wrinkles than my grandma!" After the young woman said this in a coquettish voice, she hugged Kong Liangchao's arm and giggled.
Looking at the young woman's delicate eyebrows and bright lipstick, Xia Qingtang felt more and more embarrassed, and his face quickly became red.
Xia Qingtang was a worker when she was young. She married into the Kong family, a cadre family, which was considered climbing up the social ladder. She has been cautious since the first day of her marriage. Now Xia Qingtang is not even a worker, and she can't even hold her head up in front of Kong Liangchao.
Kong Liangchao looked at Xia Qingtang with disdain, and then said contemptuously: "I heard that you are now working as a nanny for your relatives? What's the matter? Are your relatives not paying you? If you had told us earlier that you wanted to be a nanny, why not come to our house? We are a decent family and we never deduct the nanny's salary. We can even give you clothes that my mother and my wife don't wear. At least you won't look so shabby."
"Oh, husband, do you still feel sorry for your ex-wife? Are you still thinking about this ugly thing?" The young woman was unhappy, pouted and turned away.
Kong Liangchao quickly hugged her and said, "Oh, baby, how could I miss her? Look at her, she's old and ugly. Even if she were my mother, I'd think she was too old. How could I miss her?"
The young woman's eyes lit up immediately. She looked at Xia Qingtang with ill intent. Just as she was about to speak, Xia Qingtang suddenly stared at her slender waist and said quickly, "How long have you been married?"
The woman was stunned and answered subconsciously: "It's been five years. Why are you asking this? You can't still..."
"Has the baby been born?" Xia Qingtang continued to ask.
The woman frowned: "Does it have anything to do with you?"
"That means there are no children." Xia Qingtang suddenly looked at Kong Liangchao with an expression of sudden enlightenment. "Kong Liangchao, when I was sick two years ago, I went to the hospital for a physical examination, and the doctor said that there was nothing wrong with my body. Your two former mistresses never got pregnant, and your current wife can't have children at such a young age... Kong Liangchao, so it's you who can't have children, not me. You lied to me back then, didn't you? Does your mother know that you can't have children? Does your wife know?"
All of a sudden, many truths flashed through Xia Qingtang's mind.
Before the young woman could come to her senses, she saw Kong Liangchao with a dark face, swinging his fist and hitting Xia Qingtang's head hard.
Although Xia Qingtang dodged for a moment, he was still hit by Kong Liangchao's fist because he was holding heavy cloth bags in both hands.
She lost her balance and fell to the ground, but she had a relieved smile on her face the whole time: "I was right! You can't have children, and you know you can't! You can't have children, and you lied to me that it's my problem! Kong Liangchao, you beast!"
Kong Liangchao was so angry that his eyes turned red: "Try to say that again? Do you believe I will beat you to death?"
Xia Qingtang sat on the ground, looking helpless: "Even if you beat me to death, you still can't give birth, hahahaha..."
Kong Liangchao raised his fist and rushed over again. Fortunately, this was on the street, and a few kind passers-by ran over and asked, "What are you doing? Why are you hitting a woman?"
Kong Liangchao came to his senses, realized that the situation was not good, and quickly grabbed the young woman and ran away.
Xia Qingtang sat on the ground, not caring about the vegetables that fell on the ground beside her, and just smiled: "It's you who can't give birth, it's you who can't give birth..."
As she laughed, tears began to fall.
If she had known the truth of the matter earlier, how could she have ended up in this situation?
When Xia Qingtang was 20 years old, she married Kong Liangchao, whose family were all cadres. She moved from the small shed built by her parents' home to the beautiful two-story building of the Kong family. She was the most enviable person in the entire cotton mill at that time.
But after many years of marriage, she still couldn't conceive. Kong's mother was originally a wicked mother-in-law. Because she had no children for many years, she scolded her at home all day long, calling her a hen that doesn't lay eggs, and bullied her even more.
Kong Liangchao found one woman after another outside. Xia Qingtang dared to be angry but not to say anything because she felt sorry for their family because she could not have children.
Later, they both went to the hospital to see an acquaintance for a check-up, and the report showed that there was something wrong with her.
After that, Kong's mother became more and more angry. Xia Qingtang got up earlier than the chickens every day, did more work than the cows, and still did not have enough to eat. Kong's mother even went so far as to deliberately lock her out of the door in the cold winter, hoping to freeze her to death and then find another daughter-in-law.
Xia Qingtang was not stupid. She went to a nearby relative's house in the heavy snow and stayed there for one night, but she could not go back after that because the Kong family wanted to divorce her.
Divorce is not that easy. Xia Qingtang's parents, who are barefoot, are not afraid of those who wear shoes. They tried to commit suicide and made a fuss. It took almost two years before Xia Qingtang finally got divorced.
At this time, Xia Qingtang was only in her early thirties and still looked like the most beautiful girl in the factory. Her parents began to arrange a remarriage for her and wanted to introduce her to a widowed leader.
But Kong's mother spread rumors that Kong was infertile and that was why she couldn't have children. The rumors were so convincing that her remarriage was ruined.
During those years, Xia Qingtang was in a very bad state. She made a mistake without paying attention. It happened that there was a major change in the factory. Kong's mother hired someone to trip her up, and she even lost her job.
Her mother's house is not big, and her brother's family of three also live with their parents. After Xia Qingtang lost her job, she was kicked out of the house. In order to support herself, she could only work as a nanny and take care of her cousin's children, and she has been doing this job until now.
But it turned out that the person with fertility problems was not her, and the previous examination report was tampered by Kong Liangchao!
If...if she had known that there was nothing wrong with her body, why would she have fallen to this point?
If I could find another one after the divorce and have a boy and a girl...
But it's too late to say anything now. She is already forty years old. It's too late...
Xia Qingtang recalled the past and couldn't help but burst into tears, with tears and snot streaming down her face.
"Auntie, are you okay? Do you want us to take you to the hospital?" A kind passerby looked at her worriedly.
"Thank you, no need, I'm fine..." Xia Qingtang was shy after all, so she stopped crying, supported herself on the ground with her palms and stood up.
He didn't know if it was because he stood up too quickly, or because he was too excited just now, or because it was so hot that he had some heatstroke, but before Xia Qingtang could even stand firmly, he felt a black screen in front of his eyes and his head was spinning.
"Aunt? Aunt?"
"It's okay... I didn't..." Xia Qingtang fainted before he could finish his words.
Xia Qingtang had a very long dream. In the dream, there were the sweet words of Kong Liangchao when he was young, the mean triangular eyes and drooping thin lips of Kong's mother, the rolling eyes of her sister-in-law Kong Liangjing every time she did something bad behind her back, and the cold eyes and words of Xia's father and mother: "A married girl is like spilled water, not to mention that you are divorced and now you have been fired by the factory. We don't think you are embarrassed, your brother also wants to go out and make a living. If you know better, move out of the house quickly and don't delay your brother's future. He is going to be a director."
Xia Qingtang woke up from her dream with a scream, her chest pounding like a drum.
"He's awake, doctor, doctor! This comrade is awake!" Kong Liangchao's voice sounded again beside her.
Xia Qingtang shuddered and quickly turned over and sat up. The next second, just as he was about to scold, he suddenly realized that something was wrong with the situation in front of him.
This was not the middle-aged Kong Liangchao who had been wearing a white shirt, black trousers and pointed leather shoes. The Kong Liangchao in front of him did not have a single wrinkle on his face. His short black hair stood neatly on his head. His slightly tanned face shone with a youthful luster. There were some dust marks on his white Dacron shirt and army green summer trousers, as if they had been rubbed off somewhere.
Xia Qingtang's heart beat even faster. She looked at the old-fashioned six-person ward and the slightly faded slogans on the wall. Finally, she couldn't help but reach out and pinch her thigh hard - it hurt, it really hurt! She shouldn't be dreaming!
"Why are you pinching yourself? Are you still not awake?" A female doctor in a white coat came over. She had short hair cut to the ear, and the white coat she was wearing was the same one from many years ago. It was slightly yellowed from washing and had patches on it...
"Doctor Qin, please help take a look. I heard that heatstroke can be serious or minor. I hope this comrade is really in serious trouble..." Kong Liangchao said with a concerned look on his face, and his voice sounded very eager.
As the most beautiful girl in the factory, Xia Qingtang was very familiar with this kind of enthusiasm from the opposite sex when she was young.
"What day is today?" Xia Qingtang's heart beat even louder.
Kong Liangchao immediately replied: "Today is the 1st, which is the founding day of the army."
Xia Qingtang's head buzzed and he finally remembered this day.
On August 1, 1978, the 20-year-old girl fainted due to heatstroke on the roadside and was sent to the hospital by Kong Liangchao who was passing by. That was how the two met.
The superficial Kong Liangchao was attracted by her fair skin, beautiful looks and long legs, while Xia's parents were attracted by the Kong family's good family background and high social status. The two sides hit it off and soon married Xia Qingtang to the family. From then on, Xia Qingtang's nightmare life began.
Although she didn't know what happened, Xia Qingtang was only thinking of one thing at this moment: she hadn't married into the Kong family yet! The nightmare hadn't begun yet!
The doctor performed some tests on the stunned Xia Qingtang, and after confirming that she was fine, he asked, "Comrade, what's your name? What unit are you from? You fainted from heatstroke on the street, and it was this young comrade Kong Liangchao who carried you to the hospital. You have to thank him very much, and you should also send a thank-you letter to his unit."
Xia Qingtang came back to her senses and suddenly realized that Kong Liangchao probably didn't know who she was at this time.
Since he doesn't recognize her, as long as she doesn't tell anyone, who will know who she is after she leaves the hospital?
Although Xia Qingtang was not sure whether she was still dreaming, even if she was dreaming, she absolutely did not want to have anything to do with Kong Liangchao again!
Seeing that she didn't speak, the doctor frowned slightly and said, "What's wrong with you, comrade? Why don't you answer when I talk to you? How can you write your medical records if you don't tell us your name and unit?"
Xia Qingtang reacted quickly. She immediately made up a name and work unit: "My name is Liu Xiaohong, I'm 22 years old, and my wife and I both work at the Red Star Shoe Factory."
As soon as she said this, Kong Liangchao's expression changed drastically, his eyes full of disappointment and shock: "What? You're already married?"
Xia Qingtang didn't respond, but the doctor said calmly, "Should we send someone to the shoe factory to notify your lover to pick you up?"
"No, I feel fine now. I can go back by myself." Xia Qingtang said as calmly as possible: "Doctor, can I be discharged from the hospital now?"
"Just pay the fee." The doctor said and went out.
Kong Liangchao had just recovered from his shock. He looked at Xia Qingtang with complicated eyes, and then reluctantly said: "Comrade Liu, how about... I take you home. You are still very weak, and I am worried about you being alone..."
Xia Qingtang felt sick. Kong Liangchao knew that she was married, but he was still thinking about her. How come she didn't see any problem with such a bad character and a horny man?
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