Meanwhile, at the mechanical factory’s family housing compound—
“Sister-in-law, don’t think you can slack off and leave me stupidly scrubbing all these dishes by myself. If you don’t do it, I won’t either!”
After the family finished eating, Gao Qin gathered up the dishes. Looking at the big basin full of them, she shouted unhappily: “What’s the meaning of this? Are you bullying me just because my husband isn’t home?”
Her husband, Li Aihua, had quit his job at the soy sauce factory earlier that year and gone south to work.
Gao Qin and Li Aihua had only one son, already eight years old. But because housing was tight, mother and son still shared one bed.
Now, Gao Qin was just hoping that when Li Aihua returned from the south at the end of the year, he would bring back two or three thousand yuan. With that, plus their savings and some borrowed money from relatives and friends, they could buy a cheap single-story house and finally move out.
“No one’s bullying you! And stop bringing up the fact that your husband isn’t home. Even when my man is here, he’s useless!” Huang Juan cursed as she came out of the room, irritated.
As she said, her husband Li Jianguo was the type of man who wouldn’t even lift a finger if an oil bottle tipped over. He never cared about household chores. Every day after work at the factory, he would go play cards with his coworkers—and they gambled money. Sometimes he lost one or two yuan, though occasionally he won. But at the end of the month, he always lost more than he gained, throwing away as much as ten yuan just on gambling.
Li Jianguo’s monthly salary was only eighty yuan!
And that wasn’t the only thing that troubled Huang Juan. Whenever Li Jianguo drank, his temper turned nasty—he would hit and kick people when things didn’t go his way. He didn’t drink every day, but at least once a month, as regular as her nearly menopausal cycle.
The house was small, and she had three children. Actually, she had four. The youngest, Li Dongle, had been given up for adoption when he was just a few months old, to Lin Jingwen and her husband (the third son). They lived under the same roof, though not in the same room. Her other three children—two boys and a girl—were twelve, ten, and eight years old.
The eldest slept on a single bed in their room, the youngest daughter shared the big bed with them, and the second son slept with his grandmother.
Her father-in-law had passed away a few years earlier, so the grandmother and grandson shared the large bed comfortably.
But in a few years, her daughter would be a grown girl, and she would need her own bed.
Huang Juan was now hoping that the third son’s family would move out soon. That way, two rooms would be freed up, and the housing situation would immediately improve.
It looked like the third son’s family was about to be allocated a house by the school, so they could move out first. But then Zhou Xinping suddenly appeared, upsetting the third son’s wife so much that she went back to her parents’ home.
The room that was about to be freed up seemed to vanish before her eyes. Furious, Huang Juan cursed the third son in her heart.
What a useless man—he was even worse than her own husband. At least her husband didn’t go chasing women outside!
Huang Juan walked into the courtyard, squatted down, and when her hand touched the cold water in the basin, she immediately cried out from the icy sting.
“Ah! Why is this water so cold? Quick, pour some hot water in—how can I wash dishes with water this cold?”
“What hot water? There isn’t any hot water left in the house. Didn’t the third daughter-in-law always wash with cold water? You’re just being spoiled!” the mother-in-law, Zhang Lanxiang, immediately shouted.
Gao Qin and Huang Juan spoke in unison: “That’s because the third daughter-in-law was stupid! We’re not going to be like her!”
Zhang Lanxiang…
Soon, there wouldn’t even be hot water left for washing feet. They’d have to boil more, which meant spending more money on coal. These two wasteful daughters-in-law drove her mad.
Zhang Lanxiang filled an iron kettle with water and went to the kitchen to boil it, only to find the stove’s fire had gone out. Looking closer, the stove door was sealed shut. Furious, she cursed: “Who shut the stove door so tight? The fire’s out! How am I supposed to boil water now?”
The eldest daughter-in-law, Huang Juan, heard her scolding and immediately felt a pang of guilt. Her neck shrank as she muttered under her breath: “That stove is impossible to use anyway! It’s not my fault.”
Zhang Lanxiang had to relight the stove, which filled the room with smoke, choking her into constant coughing. Her anger only grew.
Ever since the third daughter-in-law had married into the family, Zhang Lanxiang hadn’t touched the stove—those chores had always been Lin Jingwen’s responsibility.
“Cough, cough, cough… cough, cough…”
Choked by the smoke, Zhang Lanxiang coughed and teared up, nearly driven to fury.
At 9:30 p.m., Li Anping finally returned home. The corners of his mouth carried a smile, his whole body radiating that unmistakable post-affair swagger. And indeed, that was the case. He had just gone to meet Zhou Xinping. The two first reminisced about the past, weighed down by regrets, lamenting how her sudden departure back then had prevented them from marrying and staying together.
As they talked, they eventually embraced. Li Anping felt as though he had fallen in love again, rekindling his passion.
Moreover, Zhou Xinping was no longer the naïve girl she once was. She had matured, with charm and sophistication, intellectual yet elegant. Her hands were still as soft and tender as a young girl’s, and in intimacy, she was uninhibited. Li Anping was utterly infatuated with her!
Compared to her, Lin Jingwen was nothing but rotten fish and shrimp—worse than the street sweepers. Especially those hands of Lin Jingwen’s, swollen and rough, cracked from frostbite—every time he saw them, he felt disgusted. He never allowed Lin Jingwen to touch his skin, despising the coarseness of her hands.
In truth, it was only during the first half-year of their marriage that he went through the motions of touching her. Soon after, when it was confirmed she couldn’t bear children, he stopped altogether.
After adopting Li Dongle, she had to care for the child, and he all the more felt justified in ignoring her.
For years, though outwardly he lived in a sexless marriage, he had secretly pursued other women—college classmates, and later even his female students once he became a teacher. But for the sake of his reputation, those affairs were always kept shallow. He knew where the final line was.
Zhou Xinping, however, was different. She was his first love. They even had a child together. Once he divorced Lin Jingwen, the three of them could happily live in the new apartment.
“Mom, where’s Lin Jingwen?” Li Anping asked as he entered the house, puzzled not to see her.
“She went crazy with anger. Not only did she dare to curse me as an old hag, but she also packed her things and went back to her parents’ home. She even told everyone she’s divorcing you! This time, let’s not go looking for her—let’s see how long she can stay at her parents’ place!”
Zhang Lanxiang shouted furiously: “A barren old hen, yet she dares to raise her neck and crow! Let’s see how capable she thinks she is!”
“Mom! Why didn’t you stop her? Now she’s made a scene, and everyone knows I’m divorcing her. This could affect my housing allocation and my year-end evaluation!” Li Anping panicked, immediately blaming Zhang Lanxiang.
“Oh dear, well… maybe tomorrow I should go to her parents’ place and bring her back? Try to coax her for now?” Zhang Lanxiang said, flustered.
In truth, she didn’t want to go. Doing so would mean bowing her head to the third daughter-in-law, giving her face. She was waiting to see the third daughter-in-law scolded by her father and return home humiliated.
Zhang Lanxiang had already made up her mind: once Lin Jingwen came back, she would force her to kneel and wash her feet, begging her mother-in-law for forgiveness.
Huang Juan and Gao Qin, hearing this, quickly urged their mother-in-law to go to Lin Jingwen’s parents’ house the next day and bring her back.
Without Lin Jingwen, they had to do far too much housework themselves. And if they didn’t do it well, they would be scolded. Better to have Lin Jingwen back as soon as possible. This household simply couldn’t function without Lin Jingwen doing the chores!
“Yes, Mom, tomorrow I’ll go with you. Let’s bring her back quickly,” Li Anping finally decided.
“We’ll coax her for a month. Once the housing allocation is settled and the advanced worker evaluation is done, then we’ll divorce her.”
“Fine then,” Zhang Lanxiang reluctantly agreed, adding: “I’ll go alone. You don’t need to come. If both of us go, she’ll think her tantrum worked. Even if she comes back, she might keep making trouble.”
Li Anping thought that made sense. He didn’t need to give Lin Jingwen that kind of face. As long as his mother went, and with his father-in-law’s words added in, Lin Jingwen would surely come back obediently.