It was already midnight when Fang Shugen and the others got home.
"Keep a close eye on Hua Mei these next few days, don't let her go out," Fang Shugen's mother instructed in a low voice, her tone carrying an undeniable urgency.
Two days later, family planning officials came to our door to inquire about the situation.
“She wandered around aimlessly, and it took me several months to find her. I was a little scared, so I’m letting her rest now.” Fang Shugen’s mother said with a smile on her face, her voice trembling slightly.
“Let’s go see her.” The person who came said calmly, but left no room for refusal.
"Oh, thank you for your concern, everyone's back, no need for you to go see them." Fang Shugen's mother stood at the door, waving her hands repeatedly.
The family planning office staff exchanged glances, and one of them spoke up, "This is in accordance with a directive from higher authorities that we need to show some concern for married women. Go and check it out so we can report back."
They still insisted on going into the room.
Hua Mei lay on the bed, staring blankly at them.
They came with one man and two women. One of the women walked to the bedside, wanting to ask her what was wrong.
Hua Mei's eyes swept over the bag the man was carrying; the person who came to take her daughter away was also carrying a bag.
Hua Mei stared wide-eyed, wondering if her daughter might be in his bag.
Suddenly, he sat up abruptly and went to pull the bag.
The woman who approached her was startled by Hua Mei's sudden action and hurriedly stepped aside.
"Hey, hey, hey! What are you doing?" The person carrying the bag pulled hard on their bag.
Hua Mei grabbed the arm of the woman next to her again, "Where's my daughter? Where's my daughter?"
Seeing this, Fang Shugen's mother quickly picked up Huahua, who was sleeping on the bed, saying, "My daughter is here, she's here."
“Comrade, she hasn’t seen her daughter for months and is afraid that someone will take her daughter away. Look, now that she’s back, she wants to take care of her daughter herself and won’t even let me touch her.”
Hua Mei still wouldn't have it and tried to grab the others, scaring the two women who were with her so much that they ran outside.
The man dusted off his handbag and walked out of the house dejectedly.
Fang Shugen's mother put Huahua in Huamei's arms and followed her out.
"Has he had children outside of marriage?" one of the women asked, looking at Fang Shugen's mother with a sharp gaze.
"No, no, how could she give birth in such a short time?" Fang Shugen's mother hurriedly denied, but as soon as she finished speaking, Hua Mei's cries came from inside the house.
Fang Shugen's mother immediately raised her voice, sounding aggrieved and dissatisfied, "Comrades, why are you arguing with a madwoman? Madwomen don't usually interact with people. You scared her by coming here. She's crying and screaming inside. If she gets hurt, will you take responsibility?"
As she spoke, Fang Shugen's mother turned and went into the house, from which came her cries again, "Oh dear, they just bully honest families like us. Having a madman in the family is hard enough, oh dear, why am I so unlucky? Father, can you see this from heaven...?"
Fang Shugen's mother cried and shouted as she watched the family planning officials walk away from the window. Only then did she stop crying and shouting, gritting her teeth and cursing, "Which son of a bitch went to report this?"
He turned to Hua Mei and said, "Yes, from now on, when they come to our door, you should act crazy, but don't act crazy towards us when no one is around."
Hua Mei continued to lie in the room.
A month is almost up.
"Hua Mei, wash the clothes," Fang Shugen's mother instructed.
Hua Mei obediently went to wash the clothes, but she wasn't as quick and efficient as before.
He slowly rubbed the clothes with his hands, tilted his head, and stared blankly at them for a while before stopping and standing there in a daze.
He muttered incantations while washing the dishes, and after washing them, he would put them back to wash them again, repeating this process over and over.
"You've been washing until dark, and these dishes are still in the pot."
Fang Shugen's mother couldn't bear to watch, so she went to wash it and took it out herself. "My son can't be born, and now he can't even do any work."
Fang Shugen's mother beat and scolded her, but she didn't react much, only occasionally calling out, "Daughter, daughter!"
"The girl has something delicious to eat, hahaha!" Then she would suddenly laugh, "The girl is full."
"Mom, why don't we go and bring him back?" Fang Shugen couldn't help but say to his mother.
"Bring her back? If we do, Hua Mei will be taken away to get sterilized."
"Forget it, there are plenty of families with two daughters."
“They’re the ones who don’t want to find a solution. We’ve already given birth, and the town doesn’t know. We’re giving you another chance to have a son, and you still don’t want it?” Fang Shugen’s mother glared at him, her tone becoming even more serious. “Don’t think about anything else. Just think about having another son next time.”
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