“Lu Qingjun, get over here! Tie Jiang Shuiying up and take her to the Wang family!”
Zhang Guilan kicked the door open.
The uncle’s family—Lu Jianguo, Lu Qingjun, and two distant aunts—came pouring into the courtyard.
Jiang Shuiying was sitting on a small stool, mending a pair of trousers. She didn’t even bother to look up.
She was twenty-four years old, with a slender waist and shapely hips. Even after giving birth, her figure hadn’t changed. She had beautiful, fair features and a pair of bright eyes that looked like black grapes soaked in water.
She truly deserved her reputation as the prettiest woman in Heping Township, Sichuan. The only problem was that her tongue was far too sharp.
No one within ten miles could win an argument against her. She had a fiery temper, and whoever married her would have to treat her like a queen.
“Mom…” Four-year-old Lu Nian clung to her leg, his little face deathly pale.
Jiang Shuiying gently patted her son’s head, stuck the needle into the trousers, then stood up, folded her arms, and leaned against the doorframe.
She was tall and slender, and simply standing there, she commanded an intimidating presence. One sweep of her eyes was more frightening than getting beaten.
“Are you done talking? If so, get the hell out!”
Everyone in the courtyard froze.
Zhang Guilan planted both hands on her hips.
“Jiang Shuiying, you jinx! You killed your husband and then your mother-in-law, yet you still have the nerve to occupy this place?”
“Exactly! Your husband has been dead for three years. Why are you still clinging to your husband’s family?”
“I think she’s just after that compensation money!”
“Compensation money?” Jiang Shuiying smiled, her eyes curving beautifully. But there wasn’t the slightest warmth in that smile.
“Eight hundred yuan! The eight hundred yuan in death compensation sent by the county People’s Armed Forces Department! You took seven hundred and fifty and left me with only fifty. How dare you accuse me of anything?”
Zhang Guilan’s expression changed.
“You’re talking nonsense! We were only keeping that money safe for Nian Nian!”
“Keeping it safe?” Jiang Shuiying sneered and took a step forward. Her imposing presence made Zhang Guilan instinctively shrink back.
“Keeping it safe until your precious son could buy himself one new outfit after another? Keeping it safe until your family built a brand-new pigsty? Or keeping it safe until you collected eighty yuan in bride price from the Wang family and decided to sell me off as an old man’s second wife?”
“Y-You… How did you find out?” Lu Qingjun blurted out.
Jiang Shuiying shot him a sharp glare. Her eyes were like knives, making his face turn red and then pale.
“There’s no such thing as a secret that stays hidden forever. You think eighty yuan is enough to sell me off?”
“Zhang Guilan, why don’t you go yourself? With your looks, even Old Man Wang would think eighty yuan was too expensive!”
“You little bitch!”
Zhang Guilan’s face turned white with rage as she lunged toward Jiang Shuiying, reaching out to grab her.
“Your husband is dead! You’re a widow with a bastard child! You should consider yourself lucky that anyone is willing to take you!”
Smack!
Jiang Shuiying raised her hand and slapped her across the face.
Zhang Guilan staggered two steps backward, clutching her cheek in stunned disbelief.
“You can insult me all you want.”
Jiang Shuiying’s voice was as cold as ice.
“But you cannot insult my son or slander Qingnian.”
“How dare you rebel!”
Lu Jianguo was shaking with anger.
“Qingjun! Why are you standing there? Tie this crazy woman up!”
Lu Qingjun cracked his knuckles and charged forward.
Jiang Shuiying grabbed the shoulder pole leaning behind the door and swung it down without hesitation.
“Ah!”
The pole struck Lu Qingjun squarely on the arm. He let out a miserable yelp and jumped backward three steps.
“I’d like to see who dares lay a hand on me.”
Jiang Shuiying held the shoulder pole horizontally, taking a step forward.
“Anyone who comes closer gets beaten!”
Seeing her son get hit, Zhang Guilan lunged forward like a madwoman.
“You little bitch! You hit my son! I’ll fight you to the death!”
Smack!
Another sharp slap rang out.
Jiang Shuiying swung her hand back and slapped Zhang Guilan across the other cheek.
Now both sides of her face were perfectly symmetrical, bright red like freshly ripened apples.
“Come at me again, and you’ll get a taste of this shoulder pole.”
Jiang Shuiying’s voice was icy.
Zhang Guilan clutched her face and didn’t dare move.
The two distant aunts exchanged glances. One of them finally mustered the courage to speak.
“Jiang Shuiying, you’ve gone too far! How dare you hit your husband’s aunt?”
“Exactly! That’s utterly disrespectful!”
The other woman quickly chimed in.
Smack! Smack!
Jiang Shuiying walked over and slapped each of them once, swiftly and decisively.
“Who gave you the right to interfere?”
She raised the shoulder pole in her other hand.
“Say another word, and I’ll keep hitting you.”
The two aunts covered their faces, completely cowed.
Lu Jianguo was so furious that his hands trembled. He pointed at Jiang Shuiying.
“Get out of my house!”
“Get out?” Jiang Shuiying sneered, bringing the shoulder pole down hard against the ground.
“Fine! I’ll leave. But first, give me back every last cent of the seven hundred and fifty yuan!”
“What money?” Lu Jianguo played dumb.
“Stop pretending!”
Jiang Shuiying pointed the shoulder pole straight at his nose.
“Lu Qingnian’s eight hundred yuan in death compensation! You took seven hundred and fifty and left me with fifty! If I’m leaving today, you’re giving every single cent back!”
“Dream on!” Zhang Guilan shrieked. “That money belongs to the Lu family! What right do you have to demand it?”
“What right?”
Jiang Shuiying had finally lost her patience. She raised her hand and slapped Zhang Guilan again, hard enough to make the corner of her mouth bleed.
“Because that money was earned with my husband’s life! Your son’s new clothes and your family’s pigsty were all paid for with it!”
“Give it back!”
Jiang Shuiying raised her shoulder pole threateningly.
“If you don’t, I’ll break Lu Qingjun’s legs today and then go straight to the commune to demand justice!”
“How dare you!” Zhang Guilan shouted.
Jiang Shuiying raised the pole higher, pretending to swing it toward Lu Qingjun’s legs.
“Don’t! Don’t! We’ll give it back! We’ll give it back!”
Terrified, Lu Jianguo immediately turned to Zhang Guilan and roared, “Hurry up and get the money!”
Zhang Guilan clutched her face, her heart aching as she complained.
“Seven hundred and fifty yuan… I was saving that money to find a wife for Qingjun!”
Jiang Shuiying sneered.
“You’re more prolific than a sow, yet you gave birth to a son without a conscience! He wants to use money earned with a dead man’s life to marry himself a wife? If you don’t hand it over, I’ll break your son’s legs first!”
Zhang Guilan’s face turned red and then white. She didn’t dare talk back. She had already learned her lesson.
This Jiang Shuiying wasn’t just carrying a shoulder pole for show. She really would use it!
After much dragging of their feet, Zhang Guilan finally brought out a cloth bundle containing a stack of crumpled banknotes.
“Here! This is all seven hundred and fifty yuan. Not a cent less!”
Jiang Shuiying took the bundle, squatted down, and counted the money one bill at a time.
She counted slowly, spreading each bill across her knees. Everyone in the courtyard watched her.
“Seven hundred and forty-eight.”
Jiang Shuiying raised her head, her eyes as cold as knives.
“You’re two yuan short.”
“Impossible!” Zhang Guilan panicked. “I counted it myself! There were definitely seven hundred and fifty!”
“I’ll say it again. Seven hundred and forty-eight.”
Jiang Shuiying slapped the money down in front of her.
“Count it yourself.”
With trembling hands, Zhang Guilan counted the money again. Her face immediately turned pale.
“Where are the other two yuan?”
Jiang Shuiying stood up and slammed the shoulder pole against the ground. Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word was crystal clear.
“Two yuan is enough to buy eggs for Nian Nian for an entire month. If you’re even one cent short, I’ll tear your ancestral family’s legs apart!”
Frightened out of her wits, Zhang Guilan fumbled in her pocket and pulled out two crumpled one-yuan notes.
“Here, here! Take it! Seven hundred and fifty yuan! Not a cent less!”
Jiang Shuiying carefully folded the money, slipped it into the inner pocket of her clothes, and patted it to make sure it was secure.
“This house was originally allocated to Qingnian. Before his mother passed away, she said it was to be left to Nian Nian. The village Party secretary was present, and there’s a written will to prove it. Uncle, are you still planning to steal a martyr’s house?”
“What will? It’s forged!” Zhang Guilan shouted, though her voice had lost much of its confidence. “Your husband has been dead for three years! You’re not even a Lu! This house belongs to the Lu family!”
“Whether my husband is dead or not isn’t for you to decide.”
Jiang Shuiying sneered and planted the shoulder pole firmly on the ground.
“I’m not marrying Old Man Wang. We’re leaving, but from now on, none of you are allowed to come looking for me or Nian Nian.”
“Fine! No problem!” Lu Jianguo hurriedly agreed, afraid she might change her mind. “Go! Leave right now!”
Jiang Shuiying said nothing and turned to enter the house.
Nian Nian wrapped his little arms around her leg and looked up at her.
“Mommy, where are we going?”
Jiang Shuiying crouched down, gently stroked her son’s cheek, and smiled.
“We’re going to find your daddy.”
She packed her household registration booklet, identity card, marriage certificate, half of a silver lock, seven hundred and fifty yuan, and the last letter Lu Qingnian had sent her three years ago.
That was everything she owned.
Zhang Guilan suddenly jumped up and blocked her way.
“You can’t just leave! Who knows whether you’ll come back later and try to claim this house again?”
Lu Jianguo also came to his senses.
“You can leave if you want, but you have to sign and put your fingerprint on a document stating that you voluntarily give up your inheritance rights to this house!”
“Fine! I’ll sign it right now!”
Several aunts quickly joined in.
“These five rooms in this big-tiled house would be perfect for finding Qingjun a wife!”
Nian Nian stepped in front of his mother with his tiny body.
“Don’t bully Mommy!”
Jiang Shuiying felt no attachment to the place. She signed the document without hesitation, took her son’s hand, and walked away without looking back.
Behind her, Lu Jianguo was still shouting furiously.
“Jiang Shuiying! I’m not done with you!”