Chapter 37 Dispute
The two walked along the dirt road, baskets slung over their shoulders, chatting mostly about practical matters: the neighbor's child was sick, the neighbor's husband had sent back less allowance, and the new floral fabrics from the camp service station were too rustic...
Nan Zhiyi mostly listened quietly, occasionally chiming in with a few words.
By February 11th, the cold wind was still biting.
Nan Zhiyi clearly remembers that in the early morning of November 4th, everything she had was taken away.
Now, it's been 100 days.
Her parents' graves are in Jian'an City, and she can't go back there.
Memorial tablets were not to be set up.
Even in the military family compound, she didn't dare burn a single piece of paper money.
The sky was overcast, and Nan Zhiyi locked the courtyard gate early.
She took off her coat, revealing the black armband she had always worn on her left arm, and walked into the yard, facing the direction where her parents were buried.
There were no incense or candles.
There were only a few plates of offerings.
She poured two glasses of Moutai liquor, held the glasses with both hands, raised them above her eyebrows, bowed deeply three times.
Then, she knelt on the cold, muddy ground, placed her hands together in front of her forehead, bent over, and touched the ground heavily with her forehead.
"Dad, Mom..."
A silent cry choked in my throat, turning into scalding tears.
She remained kneeling.
After a long while, she straightened up, picked up her wine glass, and slowly poured the wine onto the ground in front of her.
After doing all this, she silently got up, carefully removed the armbands, and hid them back at the bottom of the trunk.
One hundred days have passed.
She survived.
But the thought of finding the truth about his parents' death remained hidden in his heart, and the unresolved doubts only deepened the backlash.
Gu Xiao is away on a mission and has not yet returned; his return date is uncertain.
Should we wait for him to come back and tell him? Or should we beg him?
The thought had barely formed when it was immediately overwhelmed by a deeper fear.
Gu Xiao treated her extremely well, so well that it made her feel uneasy.
She stole this peaceful life.
Uncovering old wounds and revisiting unsolved mysteries—what storms will this stir up? Will it shatter the stolen peace? Will it... implicate him?
She walked to the window and looked out at the courtyard.
The frozen soil has been thawed by spring, and the wild grass timidly peeks out.
She curled her fingers, her nails digging deep into her palms.
But in the end, she was just Nan Zhiyi, who needed to hide her armbands and walk on thin ice.
Waiting is agonizing for oneself.
Waiting is still agonizing.
She slowly exhaled a breath of white air, which condensed into a blurry mist on the cold glass.
The answer cannot be seen in that fog.
In early spring, news of the camp's plans to cooperate with a clothing factory spread throughout the family compound.
Sister-in-law Wang and Sister-in-law Liu came less often, and their words carried a sense of urgency.
They asked Nan Zhiyi, "Zhiyi, want to sign up together? Every little bit helps."
Nan Zhiyi shook her head, her voice soft: "I'm clumsy, I can't do it."
The two sisters-in-law didn't try to persuade them much, and hurried off to inquire about the recruitment details.
The competition was fiercer than expected, and there were limited spots available.
Sister-in-law Wang has a loud voice. When she came back, she repeated what others had said, saying that some people complained that she had too many children and was being a burden. She immediately retorted, "Did the children eat more of your rice? The men are bleeding on the front lines, and the women at home can't even earn a living?"
Aunt Liu was gentle by nature. She silently waited in line to submit her application materials, listening to the gossip, her eyes slightly red.
On the day the list was posted, Nan Zhiyi also went to join in the fun with her two sisters-in-law.
Wang's name was prominently listed; she has four children, and her difficulties are real.
Sister Liu was also hired. Her husband's position was not high and her child was still young, so she also met the criteria of "priority given to those in difficulty".
Sister-in-law Wang slapped her thigh and raised her voice: "I knew it!"
Aunt Liu breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
The crowd erupted in uproar.
"Why her?" A tall, thin woman pointed at Sister Liu, her voice shrill. "My family is much worse off than hers! All three of our children are still eating solid food!"
“Exactly! I have four kids!” Another short, plump woman squeezed forward, spitting as she spoke. “I understand Wang Guihua’s family is struggling! But what makes Liu Xiaoju so special? She just had two girls and is taking care of a baby!”
Aunt Liu's face turned pale instantly. She wanted to explain, but her voice was drowned out.
"Bullshit!" Sister Wang pulled Sister Liu behind her, put her hands on her hips and cursed, "Whether it's difficult or not, do you think the organization knows better than you? Liu Xiaoju has three children, her mother-in-law is bedridden, her husband's salary is low, and her family can't help! Your family is subsidizing you every month, do you think no one knows?"
"You're talking nonsense!" The short, fat woman, stung by the attack, flew into a rage and lunged at Wang's wife, tearing at her.
The crowd immediately erupted into chaos.
The tall, thin woman also joined in the shoving and pushing, and shouts and attempts to break up the fight mingled together.
Aunt Liu was pushed and stumbled, her eyes reddening even more.
Nan Zhiyi's heart tightened, and she stepped forward to help Liu's wife.
"What are you doing! Stop it!" a sharp shout rang out.
Li, the section chief of the logistics department, parted the crowd with a stern face, followed by two clerks. "The list was decided by the organization! Any objections should be raised according to procedure! Fighting here, what kind of behavior is this? It undermines revolutionary unity!"
His gaze swept over the fighting group, finally landing on Nan Zhiyi, who was cowering in the back. He paused for a moment, then looked away. "If you keep causing trouble, you're disqualified! Everyone, disperse!"
The crowd fell silent instantly, as if someone had grabbed them by the throat.
The tall, thin woman and the short, plump woman were indignant, but dared not utter another word. They glared fiercely at Sister Wang and Sister Liu before squeezing out of the crowd.
Sister Wang snorted and pulled Sister Liu, who was still trembling, along: "Come on, let's sign in together."
A few days later, definite news came: we could go and pick up the materials in a while.
"It's piecework!" Sister Wang said as she picked vegetables. "The military camp has connected with the clothing factory at the foot of the mountain! You can take the work home to do, like sewing on uniform buttons, buttonholes, and mending torn clothes! If you're quick and efficient, I heard you can earn ten or twenty yuan a month!"
There was a light in her eyes, even if it was just ten yuan, it could buy so many kilograms of flour.
Sister Liu explained in a low voice, "The factory sends people to deliver the materials and requirements regularly, and they take them away after they're finished."
It saved us the trouble of using a sewing machine and also prevented the families from gathering together every day.
Nan Zhiyi understood that this opportunity was very important to them. It was to supplement their household income and feed their children.
Sister-in-law Wang's voice was loud and clear: "Even a mosquito's leg is meat. There are too many mouths to feed at home."
She planned to finish her work while the children were asleep at night.
Sister Liu nodded and smiled shyly: "Earning a little bit is good, it's good for buying notebooks and pencils for the children. It's just... we have to be careful not to damage the material."
Piecework, taken home to do, is more comfortable and discreet.
With Wang's fiery temper and Liu's meticulousness, they should be able to handle it both.
I reckon the sisters-in-law will be quite busy then.
Nan Zhiyi didn't want to be idle, so she turned her attention to the patch of land in the yard.
The courtyard was square and tidy. There was a plot of land on each side, with a brick path leading to the house. It was about twenty square meters in total, which was quite spacious.
In the past, her family garden was precious, but she only knew the flowers and not the seedlings. Now, this small piece of land is also her refuge.
You can't be idle; if you're idle, your mind will feel empty.
Under the increasingly warm sunshine, the surface of the soil has become softer, but the soil underneath remains hard and compacted.
Nan Zhiyi pulled out a military shovel. She imitated the gardener's posture from her memory, gripped the shovel handle tightly with both hands, and pushed the shovel tip down forcefully!
"throat!"
With a muffled thud, my hand went numb from the shock, and the shovel tip only managed to pierce half an inch into the hard soil.
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