On the train, Su Manning saw Cheng Shuo being held down and felt slightly relieved.
The woman across from her heard the commotion, opened the window, and poked her head out. “That man’s wife must have run away, right? He looks decently dressed, so he can’t be poor.”
“His wife must have someone else outside.”
The auntie in the lower berth beneath Su Manning cracked sunflower seeds and made the spiteful remark while sizing up the woman who had just spoken.
The woman had four children with her—two girls and two boys. The oldest looked to be around ten, while the youngest was not only thin-faced but also sallow. Their clothes were covered in patches, and large and small bags filled the space beneath the berths.
The auntie clicked her tongue disdainfully. “These days, just about anyone can afford a sleeper ticket.”
The woman was stung by her contemptuous gaze, and the flesh on her face trembled with anger.
The auntie paid her no attention. She reached out and slapped Su Manning’s berth hard. “Little girl, why don’t you switch places with my son?”
Su Manning frowned. “No.”
This was the four-person sleeper berth that her Eldest Uncle had gone to great lengths to secure, one without any adult men.
Not only was it expensive, but it was also close to the dining car and safer.
The auntie was extremely displeased after being refused. She stuck her head out to look at Su Manning and froze for a moment when she saw her graceful figure and skin as fair as snow.
Then she spat harshly. “You look just like a seductive vixen, and you don’t understand the slightest thing about respecting your elders or caring for the young.”
“Maybe you’re the wife who ran away from that man. Good thing my son is already married. If I’d brought a vixen like you home as his wife, I’d have died of anger.”
Su Manning’s eyes were icy. “Then I hope your son marries a girl who’s both old and ugly. That way, you’ll occupy his heart for the rest of his life.”
The auntie flew into a rage from shame. “What do you mean? I’m telling you, my son is the director of a military district farm. Believe it or not, I can have my son punish you!”
Su Manning struck at the root of the problem. “If you keep making such a racket, I’ll go to your son’s military district and report you. I’ll say you have capitalist thinking, look down on farmers, throw your authority around at the slightest opportunity, and have no respect for workers.”
In those days, the word “capitalist” was a curse no one dared let touch them.
The auntie shuddered in fright. “You’re talking nonsense! I’ll tear that mouth of yours apart!”
That was what she said, but she did not dare lay a finger on Su Manning.
The air about Su Manning was clearly not something an ordinary family could cultivate.
In particular, she wore a watch on her wrist, her clothes were made of expensive material, and there was a suitcase beside her feet that ordinary families could not afford.
The auntie relied on her son’s influence to throw her weight around, but she was not completely blind to the situation.
She would never dare provoke a wealthy family. She only bullied families who lacked experience and knowledge.
Seeing that the auntie was merely putting on a show of strength, Su Manning rolled her eyes and lay back down on her berth to sleep.
“Pfft.” The little daughter of the woman across from her could not hold back her laughter.
The auntie’s sharp eyes immediately locked onto her.
The little girl hurriedly covered her mouth, shrinking back as a pair of large eyes peeked out.
“You little slut, you dare laugh at me?”
The auntie was already furious at having lost face. Now that she had been mocked by someone she looked down on from the bottom of her heart, she lost control and slapped the little girl across the face.
The little girl was stunned with fright and failed to react for a moment.
When her mother saw her daughter being bullied, she rushed over and began wrestling with the auntie.
Several children burst into tears at the sight.
“Little brother, little brother, what’s wrong?” The eldest daughter saw her younger brother suddenly fall to the ground and begin convulsing. Her face went pale with fright.
When the woman heard that something had happened to her son, she no longer had any time to fight with the auntie and hurriedly reached into her bag for medicine.
But the child’s hands and feet were convulsing, his eyes had rolled upward, and his teeth were clenched tightly together. She could not get the medicine into him.
In her panic, the woman completely forgot the doctor’s previous instructions and immediately tried to pry open the child’s mouth.
Su Manning grabbed her acupuncture needles and hurriedly slid down from her berth. “Don’t move the child. He’s having an epileptic seizure. Everyone, move aside. I’m a doctor.”
The woman clung to her like a lifeline. “Doctor, please save my boy. He can’t swallow his medicine.”
Su Manning quickly turned him onto his side. She first pricked the Renzhong point beneath his nose to open his orifices, then the Shixuan points to clear his heart and purge heat. Next, she needled Hegu and Taichong to stop the convulsions, Baihui to stabilize his spirit, and finally Yongquan to prevent the reversal of his qi and the collapse of his vitality.
“Has the child had epileptic seizures before?”
“Twice,” the woman said through her tears.
Before long, the child gradually calmed down and regained consciousness. Su Manning breathed a sigh of relief and removed all the needles.
“Give him his medicine.”
The woman hurriedly took hold of her child. “Yes, yes. Thank you, Doctor.”
Su Manning stood up. When she turned back to look for the person responsible, the auntie had already disappeared.
A train attendant came over to ask what had happened, and Su Manning explained the entire cause of the incident.
Seeing that her child was all right, the woman was afraid of upsetting him again. She held back her anger and, with tears in her eyes, pulled the attendant out of the carriage, demanding that the auntie be moved elsewhere.
The attendant was also in a difficult position. But after seeing that the woman’s letter of introduction identified her as a military family member, and that the child truly was ill, she had no choice but to find the auntie and mediate between them.
Although the auntie was in the wrong, she did not want to lose face. In the end, it was only after her son came forward that the matter was settled and she was taken away.
Seeing that everything had been dealt with, Su Manning was just about to climb to the upper berth and rest.
The woman across from her brought over a bag of oranges. “Doctor, our village doesn’t have anything good. These oranges are pretty good, and very sweet. Try one.”
Su Manning accepted them. “Thank you, Sister-in-law. Are you also going to the XX Military District?”
She had just seen the woman’s letter of introduction.
“Yes, you are too? My name is Xu Dahua. My husband is the battalion commander of the Third Regiment. This time, I’m going to join him.”
Xu Dahua peeled an orange. Her somewhat aged face twisted into a bitter smile. “At first, my husband wouldn’t let me join him. He said it was terribly cold there and told me to stay home and look after the elderly. But half a year ago, the village children beat my son, and it left him with some problems. The doctor in our county said they couldn’t treat him and told us to go to a big city. That’s why I decided to take the child to the military district to find my husband.”
Su Manning was puzzled. “Sister-in-law, didn’t your husband buy your train tickets?”
Xu Dahua nodded. “One of my husband’s comrades bought them.”
Su Manning had a bad feeling. “Sister-in-law, does your husband know you’re taking the child to the military district?”
Xu Dahua was silent for a moment before shaking her head. Then she put on a smile. “I called. His leaders said he had gone on a mission. My husband sends money home every year, and he treats me and the child quite well.”
Su Manning felt slightly relieved. At least he had not told her not to come.
She had never viewed men through the rosy filter of their profession.
It had only been a little over twenty years since marriage certificates had become widespread. During the first decade or so, quite a few people became successful by exploiting loopholes and never registering their marriages. They would leave one wife in the countryside to care for their elderly parents, then take another, beautiful wife in the city to pave the way for their careers.
She was only afraid that Xu Dahua had encountered a man like that.
*
At that moment, in a small village, He Yan sat beside the bed, his entire presence cold enough to frighten anyone.
The woman on the bed let out a soft groan and slowly woke up.
Apparently realizing that she was wearing nothing, she flushed scarlet and covered herself with the quilt.
He Yan clenched his fists, a trace of disgust flashing through his eyes. “Did you drug me?”
Lu Xiao bit her lip, a hint of embarrassment passing across her face. “Yes. I want to leave this place. Battalion Commander He, I’m sorry, but don’t worry. I know there’s someone in your heart. After two years, I’ll divorce you.”
He Yan was so furious that he kicked the stool beside him away. He was distraught and enraged.
Lu Xiao acted as though she had not seen it and lowered her eyes as she put on her clothes.
“Battalion Commander He, consider it repayment for providing information to you. I only want two years.”
After being reborn, she absolutely refused to remain in this rural place that devoured people.
In her previous life, she had secretly loved He Yan. But after learning that he had someone in his heart, she had not dared take that step. As a result, her parents sold her to a much older bachelor in the neighboring village as his wife, and she spent her entire life being beaten and laboring through hardship.
Before she died, she saw He Yan on television. He had risen to a high position and possessed great authority. Whenever he mentioned his wife, his eyes were filled with deep affection.
Only then did she realize that she had been just one step away from escaping the mountains.
She admitted that after being reborn, she was despicable and shameless, stealing something that did not belong to her.
But… she did not regret it.
He Yan was instantly left speechless.
Thinking of the madness of the previous night, with an air of sensuality still lingering in the room, he ultimately could not bring himself to be ruthless.
“Two years, then two years it is. Just don’t regret it!”