“What’s the name of that soldier?”
Su Die took a bite of her chicken drumstick. “Gu Jingzhou. A regiment-level officer.”
“Little sister, if you and Comrade Gu really get together, are you actually going to follow the army to the northwest? I heard it’s all desert there, and even grain is scarce,” Su Lan said worriedly.
“There’s plenty of wild game in the northwest. I won’t starve. Don’t worry.”
Su Die smiled and put a piece of meat into Duoduo’s bowl. “Look how skinny you are. Eat more.”
“Thank you, Auntie. I haven’t had meat in a long time,” Duoduo said, blinking her bright eyes.
“A long time? Your grandparents don’t buy you meat?”
Su Die was puzzled. The two elders of the Guo family, plus Su Lan and Guo Huai, made four people earning wages. How could they not afford meat?
“Grandpa and Grandma cook meat often, but Mom and I aren’t allowed to eat it. Auntie and Guo Long, and the baby in her belly, get to eat.”
As Duoduo spoke, her little mouth trembled with grievance, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Big Sister, what’s going on? Why have you never mentioned this?”
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Su Die put down her chopsticks.
Su Lan lowered her head silently and wiped away her tears with her sleeve.
Niu Zhenzhu hadn’t known her eldest daughter had suffered such injustice. Her anger flared immediately.
“What exactly is going on? What right does the Guo family have to stop you from eating meat?
You earn 28 yuan a month. Don’t you even have the right to eat meat?
That widow of Guo’s eldest son can eat why can’t you?”
Su Lan finally broke down, hugging Duoduo and wailing:
“That shameless widow… she’s been having an affair with Guo Huai. The child in her belly… is his.”
Duoduo cried as she rolled up her sleeves. “Grandma and Dad did this. Mom and I get beaten almost every day. Grandma, Auntie, I don’t want to go back to that home.”
After checking Su Lan and Duoduo’s injuries, Su Die discovered that aside from the visible bruises, there wasn’t a patch of uninjured skin on them.
New wounds overlapped old ones. This abuse had clearly gone on for a long time.
Niu Zhenzhu had raised three daughters on her own. She had always been tough and fiery.
There was no way she would let this go after what her daughter and granddaughter had endured.
“I’m going to the Guo family to settle the score! They dare bully my daughter like this I won’t forgive those bastards even as a ghost!”
Furious, Niu Zhenzhu grabbed the carrying pole by the door and stormed off to demand justice.
Of course Su Die went with her. The Su family had no man to rely on, so she would have to be the pillar of the house.
“Big Sister, what are you thinking?”
They had to confront the Guo family, but she needed to know Su Lan’s true feelings.
It was only 1967. Society was conservative and harsh toward divorced women.
If Su Lan could make up her mind to divorce that filthy man Guo Huai, that would be best.
Su Die was afraid her sister would endure it for the sake of so-called reputation and continue suffering.
Su Lan had endured all this precisely because she feared damaging the Su family’s name.
Divorcing and returning to her parents’ home could hurt Su Die’s future marriage prospects.
“I… I want to divorce him.”
Su Lan hadn’t eaten well or dressed well in the Guo household. She handed over all her wages every month, did all the cooking and housework, and was beaten daily.
She had planned to wait until Su Die was married before bringing it up, but the truth had come out now.
“Little sister, maybe we should wait until after you’re married…”
Su Die exhaled and held Su Lan’s hand.
“Don’t worry about my marriage. The most important thing right now is to get you out of that hellhole. If my future in-laws mind, then there’s no need to marry into that family.”
Whether two families could become one depended on fate and whether the in-laws were reasonable was the first standard.
“Second Sister, please take Duoduo home first. Mom, Big Sister, and I will go to the Guo family.”
This matter couldn’t wait overnight.
The three women went to the machinery factory’s residential building.
Su Die carried a kitchen knife, Niu Zhenzhu a thick carrying pole, and Su Lan held a wooden stick.
At the door, Su Die kicked it open with a powerful strike. The old wooden door shattered, and half of it flew inward, hitting Guo Huai squarely.
“Who the hell dares kick my door?” he cursed.
Su Die raised the knife. “Your great-aunt did.”
Niu Zhenzhu swung the pole at him, cursing as she struck:
“You shameless bastard! I’ll beat you to death today!
Bullying my daughter and beating my granddaughter you rotten-hearted family!
Sleeping with your sister-in-law and feeling proud?
If I don’t send you to prison, I’m not Niu Zhenzhu!”
The crowd gathered quickly.
Su Lan joined in, years of pent-up hatred erupting.
When Guo’s father rushed out with a knife, Su Die knocked him down with a swift kick.
They exposed Xu Ling’s pregnancy, and the neighbors began gossiping loudly.
“If it’s really Guo Huai’s child, this is serious especially during the crackdown. They could even face execution.”
Factory Director Song arrived.
Seeing Su Lan’s bruised arms, the crowd demanded punishment.
“I want to report him to the police and I want a divorce,” Su Lan declared.
“And compensation,” Su Die added calmly. “Six thousand yuan.”
After counting the money, they found 5,940 yuan. They searched further and found enough to make it 6,000.
Police arrived, and statements were taken. Guo Huai and Xu Ling were detained.
On the way home, they decided Su Lan would finalize the divorce the next day.
The following morning, Su Die met Gu Jingzhou, who had been waiting in a jeep.
“I’ve told my mother. She asked you to visit this Saturday.”
“I’ve told my parents too. Once the marriage approval is granted, we can register.”
Later, an old gossiping neighbor mocked Su Lan’s divorce.
Su Die retorted coolly, driving her off.
“Does your family mind?” she asked Gu Jingzhou seriously.
“Of course not. There must be a reason for the divorce. And my marriage is my own decision. No one else gets to control it.”
Su Die nodded, reassured.
He took her to Shichahai, then to a state-run restaurant.
A former acquaintance, Wang Junye, greeted her, clearly jealous.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Gu Jingzhou said firmly. “We’ll be registering our marriage soon.”
After the man left awkwardly, Su Die looked at him.
“You did that on purpose.”
Gu Jingzhou smiled. “Who told him to try to steal my wife?”