They went to bed early and woke up early, too.
After waking up, she felt refreshed and invigorated. Shu Yao had not kept such a healthy schedule for at least three or four years.
The sounds of bowls and chopsticks clinking came from downstairs, along with quiet conversation.
“Shu Yao.”
Shen Zhongyue pushed open the bedroom door.
“If you’re awake, come downstairs for breakfast. Then we’ll go to the Civil Affairs Bureau.”
“Mother, breakfast is so lavish today!”
Five-year-old Shen Huaizheng leaned against the table, his face filled with amazement.
“Is that so? Then eat a little more, Huaizheng.”
Su Zhiyun held back her heartache and stroked her son’s head.
“Okay, mother. I think I can eat two egg pancakes. No, three!”
Shen Huaizheng held up two fingers, then, after thinking about it, quietly raised another.
“Eat as much as you want. There’s plenty for everyone today!”
Qin Shu brought out another large plate of white-flour steamed buns from the kitchen.
Shen Huaizheng was still staring open-mouthed in amazement, but Shen Huaiyi sniffed, his voice filled with fear and tears:
“Mother, are we going somewhere else like Uncle Ji’s family?”
“I heard you and father talking. Is our home going to be smashed up, too?”
The Uncle Ji whom Shen Huaiyi spoke of was a teacher in the Department of Western Languages at Jinling University. He had personally witnessed a group of people wearing Red Armbands storm into Uncle Ji’s home and smash it to pieces.
The Eldest of the Ji Family had tried to protect a book, but was beaten until his face was covered in blood.
“Don’t be afraid. Father and mother are only changing places to work and live. Our family will not be separated.”
“The things being smashed are all bad things, things our family doesn’t want.”
Su Zhiyun squatted down, hugged the two children tightly, and comforted them softly.
Shu Yao lowered her eyes and quietly drank her porridge.
Under the inexorable wheels of the times, even someone like her, who had come from a later era and possessed the Old Madam’s lifelong memories, was nothing more than a speck of dust.
She could not contend with the tide of the times, nor could she save anyone.
Sigh, even someone as optimistic as her had become a little emo. How terrifying.
After finishing an extremely strange and oppressive breakfast, Shen Zhongyue and Shu Yao each rode a bicycle to the Civil Affairs Bureau.
Shen Zhongyue’s bicycle belonged to Shen Jianghai, while Shu Yao’s had been bought for her by Old Master Shu after she started working.
They rode one in front of the other, with a great distance between them.
“I told you, they had to get a divorce!”
“The couple never had a good relationship to begin with. Don’t you remember? Previously, when Shu Yao saw the Younger son of the Shen Family, she became so agitated that she suffered a miscarriage scare.”
“Then how did those two end up getting married?”
“They hastily held a wedding banquet. Who knows?”
The person said he did not know, but his strange tone made it seem as though there was definitely something suspicious going on.
Someone else offered a fair comment.
“That Granddaughter of the Shu Family is unlucky, too. She married into their family. If she didn’t get a divorce, was she supposed to stay with them and suffer?”
“If she were your Daughter, would you agree to that?”
Of course they would not. They would have dragged her to get a divorce even if they had to force her there.
Perhaps because they had seen too many such cases recently, the Civil Affairs Bureau staff did not even ask any questions. They simply tore up the marriage certificate, which looked like a certificate of merit, and issued a green divorce certificate in its place.
Then the two went to the household registration office at the police station and transferred Shu Yao’s and Shen Huaiyu’s registrations out.
As they walked out of the main door of the police station, Shen Zhongyue let out a heavy breath.
He looked at Shu Yao as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he did not say a single word.
Just as when they had come, the two silently rode back to the compound, one behind the other.
The atmosphere outside the compound was unusual. Many people wearing Red Armbands had gathered at the entrance, putting up big-character posters on the compound walls and raising their arms as they shouted in unison.
Shen Zhongyue suddenly pedaled madly toward the inside, and Shu Yao had not expected these people to arrive so quickly.
Shen Huaiyu was still at the Shen Family home!
These people had not completely lost their minds. They had not blocked the entrances and exits of the compound, because they also knew that the people living inside were no ordinary people.
Shen Zhongyue had disappeared from sight long ago. Shu Yao desperately pedaled her bicycle according to her memories.
Sure enough, the Shen Family home was surrounded layer upon layer by people.
After finally squeezing her way inside, Shu Yao saw that one leg had been torn off the dining table, while all the plates and bowls on it had been smashed to pieces on the floor.
The chairs, furniture, and small ornaments had all met the same fate.
The three men of the Shu Family stood in a corner, shielding their wives and children behind them. Shen Huaizheng was bawling in terror, while Shen Huaiyi’s eyes were filled with hatred, though Su Zhiyun quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
While loudly listing the crimes of the Shen Family Members, these people smashed things everywhere. They deliberately threw the objects in their hands at the people huddled in the corner, watching them become utterly disheveled.
They were insane. Completely insane!
“Where is my son?!”
Shu Yao rushed up to the man who looked most like the leader.
“He is no longer a member of the Shen Family!”
She held up the freshly issued household registration book.
“Comrade Shu, rest assured. We will not let a single bad person escape, but we will not wrong a single good person either.”
“Comrade Shu severed her ties with this nest of monsters and demons in time. She is a good comrade and deserves praise.”
“The child was sent to the Shu Family by our people earlier. The Former Senior Commander is probably playing with him right now.”
Shu Yao breathed a sigh of relief and glanced toward the second floor.
“I still have some luggage upstairs that I haven’t taken. If you’re worried, you can send someone up with me.”
The man smiled amiably, looking as though he were very easy to talk to.
“Why would we be worried? Comrade Shu, go right ahead.”
Shu Yao did not even glance at the Shen Family Members. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, she went upstairs.
The upstairs rooms had been ransacked as well. The rooms belonging to the two elders of the Shen Family and the Eldest couple had been turned upside down. Even the two children’s room had not been spared; the floor was covered with shattered toy fragments.
Shen Zhongyue’s room had also clearly been searched, but compared with the others, it was far better off.
No wonder they had felt safe letting her come up alone.
The wardrobe contained mostly “Shu Yao’s” clothes, while Shen Zhongyue had very few. Shu Yao roughly packed several of his garments into her Storage Space.
People undergoing forced relocation were permitted to bring at most one outfit each quarter, and even those were deliberately destroyed.
Shu Yao decided to do her best to collect some inconspicuous clothes for everyone and put them in her Storage Space, along with bedding, especially winter bedding.
Cotton was a scarce commodity in those days.
Shen Jianghai and Qin Shu spent the most time at home and had the most clothes. Shu Yao took one-third of them, so that the father and sons and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law could distribute them and all have clothing to keep warm.
The bedding was handled the same way. As for the other small items, Shu Yao left them alone.
While collecting things, she unexpectedly found a multicolored jade bracelet.
After thinking about it, Shu Yao understood. The Shen Family had deliberately placed it here for those people to find.
There was probably more than just this. It was highly likely that there was also a sum of money.
Handing over those things would help them suffer a little less.
Shu Yao moved quickly. On the surface, she packed “her” clothes in a bedsheet, took one winter cotton quilt, and stuffed it full of thick clothing.
It was neither too much nor too little. After sweeping his eyes over it, the man quickly let her pass.
“Mother, Little Aunt took Younger brother away.”
Shen Huaiyi buried his head in Su Zhiyun’s embrace and spoke in a low voice.
“Mm. Younger brother is too young…”
Su Zhiyun gave a choked sob.
“I know. Younger brother is too young. He’ll be afraid, he’ll cry, and he’ll get a fever, just like Xiao Zheng did when he was little.”
“Little Aunt has to take care of Younger brother, so she can’t come with us.”
Su Zhiyun sobbed uncontrollably. How could her child be so understanding?