Chapter 188 Clarification
A few days ago, Xiaoman caught a cold, and Nan Zhiyi didn't have time to write. Now, taking advantage of Xiaoman's afternoon nap, Nan Zhiyi was finally able to sit at her desk and spread out her manuscript paper.
She was deep in thought about the previous chapter when she heard a loud commotion in the distance, mixed with cries and shouts.
Although Nan Zhiyi was curious, she didn't get up to look. Xiaoman was sleeping and needed to be watched.
She walked to the window and looked down. Wu Ma, wrapped in a scarf, was looking out of the courtyard gate. Several other households were also peeking out from nearby. She even saw Zhou Anping come out to join in the fun.
The snow outside was still thick, and she was only wearing a maroon sweater. It was Meng Qingshan who chased after her and put a military overcoat on her.
Nan Zhiyi chuckled, shook her head, and sat back down at her desk, refocusing her attention on the manuscript.
Just as I finished writing the last chapter, the door was gently pushed open.
Zhou Anping entered, exuding a chill, his eyes shining with an astonishing light.
Seeing Xiaoman playing with her cloth tiger, she quickly picked up the child and went downstairs: "Aunt Wu! Please watch Xiaoman for a while."
When she returned, she said in a low voice, "That gray building next door on the east side, where those people from the Revolutionary Committee lived, their entire place was ransacked!"
Nan Zhiyi paused, and ink dripped onto the manuscript paper.
Zhou Anping gestured, "Several green pickup trucks arrived, and men wearing red armbands went door-to-door confiscating things. Wang Lili's father, that Director Wang, was forced into a jeep by two men wearing red armbands. Wang Lili was clinging to the door frame, crying and wailing, and his wife fainted from crying in the snow... They said he had caused several deaths and was going to be executed!"
Nan Zhiyi grabbed her wrist: "Which Director Wang?"
"He deserved to be shot!" she was still indignant. "I heard the confiscated valuables filled three rooms, and there were several boxes of large and small yellow croakers! ...A scum of socialism!"
"Wang Lili chased after the car, crying and falling in the snow. No one helped her up... I heard her job is in jeopardy, and the Wang family's house will be taken back..."
Zhou Anping paced back and forth in the room, talking excitedly, with the exhilaration of someone who had finally avenged a great grudge.
"Wang Lili's mother was taken away to cooperate with the investigation. Everything seized from their home was loaded onto a truck. Oh, and among the things confiscated was your mother's mother-inlaid mother-of-pearl jewelry box—I recognize the one with the chipped corner! It's a sign... good and evil will ultimately be rewarded."
As she listened, Nan Zhiyi silently shed tears.
"Zhiyi?" Zhou Anping turned around and hurriedly grabbed her shoulders. "Why are you crying? Isn't this a good thing?"
Even if I executed them a hundred times! A thousand times!... my parents would never come back...
Nan Zhiyi couldn't control herself, and her tears flowed even more fiercely.
Zhou Anping hugged her tightly, crying along with her, "Everything will be alright... Zhiyi... Your aunt and uncle can finally rest in peace..."
Overwhelmed with grief, Nan Zhiyi leaned on Zhou Anping's shoulder, letting her tears flow freely.
Suddenly, they heard Xiaoman's excited chatter coming from downstairs, followed by Gu Xiao's voice.
The two sisters wiped each other's tears.
Zhou Anping stood up. "Fifth Brother is back. I'll head back now. Zhiyi, don't be sad..." She couldn't help but whisper a few more words of comfort.
Nan Zhiyi said in a hoarse voice, "Okay..."
Zhou Anping left, still feeling uneasy.
A short while later, Gu Xiao came upstairs.
Seeing that Nan Zhiyi had clearly been crying, his heart tightened, and he pulled her to sit on the sofa, holding her tightly in his arms.
You found out?
Nan Zhiyi's nose tingled, and she felt like crying again. "Mmm..."
He kissed her eye tenderly, "I'll always be with you..."
Nan Zhiyi's grief gradually subsided in his arms.
She pressed herself tightly against the crook of his neck, remaining motionless.
He patted her back gently, again and again... for a long, long time.
Two days later at dusk, Gu Xiao brought back a manila file folder.
Nan Zhiyi was playing with building blocks with Xiaoman on the living room sofa when she looked up and saw him: "Are you tired? Aunt Wu made some bone broth..."
"There's been progress on the matter concerning my father-in-law and mother-in-law." He gently placed the documents on the coffee table.
Nan Zhiyi flipped the book with trembling fingertips.
The official document, stamped with the seal of the Military Region Political Department, stated: "Preliminary investigation... raises doubts regarding the deaths of comrades Nan Jin and Li Jingsi... the original conclusion of 'suicide out of fear of punishment' is revoked... historical issues remain questionable... a reinvestigation is recommended..."
"Formal exoneration still awaits approval from higher authorities." He pulled out several yellowed sheets of paper. "The yarn factory has been nationalized, but... your family's property deeds, various belongings... have already been inventoried and registered. They'll be returned soon..."
Nan Zhiyi asked again, "What about those books? Dad's out-of-print medical books... Mom's poetry collection..."
Gu Xiao shook his head silently. He had done his best to find these. Those books were either burned or sold to a scrap yard, so the hope of finding them was slim.
He pulled her into his arms. "Tomorrow I'll take you and Xiaoman to pay respects to our parents."
The next morning, the family of three went to a cemetery in the suburbs. Gu Xiao held Xiao Man, who was wrapped up like a cotton ball, in one arm and held Nan Zhiyi's hand in the other.
Upon arriving at the grave, Gu Xiao handed Xiaoman over to his wife.
He squatted down, brushed the snow off the stones with his work gloves, and laid out four offerings: persimmon cakes, pine nut candy, wine, and a copy of "People's Literature".
"Mom and Dad, don't worry, things will get better and better from now on."
He took Xiaoman from him, held the child, and bowed deeply three times. "Mom and Dad, this is your grandson. His full name is Gu Zhao, and his nickname is Xiaoman."
Xiaoman cooperated by reaching out her hand towards the tombstone and making a few "ah-woo" sounds.
Nan Zhiyi quietly wiped away her tears.
"Dad, Mom," she lit a copy of the preliminary opinion letter in the copper basin, "dawn is almost here. Watch over me from heaven..."
"When I get old, you must come and pick me up..." she thought to herself.
Gu Xiao gently put his arm around her shoulder, offering silent comfort.
The day after the memorial service, Gu Xiao's bodyguard, Xiao Liu, drove to pick up the family of three and take them back to Beijing.
Aunt Wu hurriedly stuffed several glass jars into a mesh bag: "Pickled garlic and cucumbers, they can be eaten with porridge..." Then she pulled out a cloth bag, "New shoes for Xiaoman, she can wear them in the spring."
“Aunt Wu, you always think of me.”
Nan Zhiyi thanked her again and again.
Commander Gu stood under the eaves holding Xiaoman. The child was wrapped in a cotton cloak, with only her dark, grape-like eyes showing.
He rubbed his knuckles against his grandson's cheek: "Next time you come back, you should be able to call me Grandpa."
Gu Xiao took the child from him: "Dad, please take care. Aunt Wu, remember to remind the Commander to take his blood pressure medication."
Aunt Wu wiped her eyes. "Yes, I'll definitely remember."
Nan Zhiyi waved to Wu Ma again before turning around and getting into the car.
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