Seeing Xie Zhongming, Zeng Xiuzhu was utterly shocked.
She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
But upon a second look, it was indeed the unfortunate platoon leader she had drugged with a packet of beast medicine five years ago.
Oh my god, how did this man end up in their village?
Guilt-ridden, Zeng Xiuzhu was so frightened that the carrying pole on her shoulder slipped.
Two buckets of nightsoil instantly spilled across the field.
The foul, filthy waste splattered all over Zeng Xiuzhu and splashed onto Xie Zhongming’s trousers up to his ankles.
Yet neither of them noticed.
Zeng Xiuzhu, with a guilty conscience, paid no mind to the filth covering her.
Xie Zhongming, full of confusion, urgently pressed Zeng Xiuzhu, “Mom, where is Pang Ya? I heard from Aunt Liu that she died—how could Pang Ya possibly be dead? When did she die?”
Zeng Xiuzhu didn’t dare lie anymore.
Plus, Xie Zhongming’s intimidating demeanor frightened her badly.
She suddenly became stammering, “Pang Ya, she, she… Pang Ya really is dead.”
“But didn’t the Village Chief just send a telegram to the army yesterday, saying Pang Ya stole 800 yuan from a villager—money meant for their son’s wedding—and was going to be sent to the Public Security Brigade?”
“…” Zeng Xiuzhu couldn’t answer that.
Over the past five years, she had bribed the Village Chief and, using Pang Ya’s name, swindled who knows how much money from Xie Zhongming.
From the initial 38 yuan a month he sent back, to later his entire 100 yuan salary, it all ended up in her pocket.
And often, using Pang Ya’s troublemaking as an excuse, she made Xie Zhongming pay various fines.
This time, she lied to Xie Zhongming that Pang Ya had stolen 800 yuan from a villager and spent it all at the provincial department store, because Zeng Xiuzhu’s son was about to get married.
So once again, Xie Zhongming became their cash cow.
Who would have thought that after five years of not coming to Chadian Village, Xie Zhongming would show up right before her son’s wedding.
Zeng Xiuzhu’s palms were sweaty, and she hemmed and hawed, unable to speak for a long time.
“Mom, when exactly did something happen to Pang Ya? And how did it happen?”
“Just a few days ago, she, she, she stole the villager’s money and fell into the river and dr—drowned.”
Xie Zhongming didn’t believe Pang Ya could have died just like that.
Moreover, his mother-in-law’s eyes were shifty while she spoke, and her story was full of contradictions.
The sweat on her forehead—was it from farm work or guilt?
His sharp, perceptive gaze fixed on Zeng Xiuzhu.
With his insight, he sensed she was lying from the very first moment.
“Mom, I’m asking you, did Pang Ya really steal money from the villagers?”
“Yes, she stole 800 yuan from a villager, and afraid of being beaten, she fell into the river and drowned.”
“She really drowned?”
“O—of course, why would I lie to you?”
“Was the funeral held? Has she been buried?”
“She’s been buried.”
To cover her guilt, Zeng Xiuzhu answered very firmly this time.
But to Xie Zhongming, her story was full of holes.
“If Pang Ya drowned in the river, why didn’t you send me a telegram?”
“And why bury her without waiting for me to return?”
Pressed with consecutive questions, Zeng Xiuzhu’s palms grew even clammier with sweat.
Xie Zhongming found it highly suspicious and coldly warned:
“What really happened to Pang Ya? If you don’t explain clearly, I’ll investigate on my own.”
“Once I get to the bottom of this, if there’s any trickery involved, you won’t get off so easily.”
Seeing how guilty Zeng Xiuzhu looked,
The more she tried to keep him from the truth,
The more certain he became that there was something fishy about it.
This intimidation left Zeng Xiuzhu too frightened to fabricate anything too far-fetched.
She stared at Xie Zhongming’s tall figure, his cold, hard brow exuding waves of frostiness. The air around them seemed to freeze over as if coated in a layer of ice.
Yet she still refused to tell the truth. “Zhongming, Pang Ya really is dead. She died out there. I only heard it from others, but she never came back.”
It was clearly a lie.
“It seems you still refuse to speak the truth.”
After that, Xie Zhongming stayed at Aunt Liu’s house.
He spent two half-days going to the township police station.
He found no death registration or household deregistration for Pang Ya.
He then visited the neighboring villagers.
Only then did he learn that shortly after he and Pang Ya had obtained their marriage certificate, Zeng Xiuzhu had driven Pang Ya out.
Someone had seen Pang Ya in a nearby village.
After that, she was never seen again.
No one knew whether she was dead or missing.
Discovering this information filled Xie Zhongming with deep remorse.
For five years, he had never visited Chadian Village. Moreover, because he didn’t like Pang Ya, he had never considered bringing her to the army base as a military dependent. He thought that as long as he sent money to Pang Ya in Chadian Village, he had fulfilled his responsibility.
Thus, even during his home leave over those five years, he never once visited Chadian Village.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have only found out about Pang Ya’s misfortune now.
He returned to Pang Ya’s maternal home.
Just moments before, Zeng Xiuzhu and Pang Ya’s brother, Liu Dazhu, had been discussing what to do.
“Mom, will Pang Ya’s soldier husband demand the money he sent her over the years back?”
“Even if he does, there’s nothing left. It’s all spent. How can we repay him? If he insists, I’ll just collapse on the ground and cry.”
“But we were the ones who drove Pang Ya out.”
“All we did was drive her out. We didn’t kill anyone or set any fires. It’s not illegal. Don’t worry.”
The next moment, Xie Zhongming stepped over the threshold and entered the main hall.
The actions of this family were utterly despicable.
His eyes were like steel blades tempered in ice, filled with thunderous fury.
“You’re right, you didn’t kill anyone or set fires. But by driving Pang Ya out and leaving her fate unknown, you’ve disrupted a military marriage.”
“Disrupting a military marriage is illegal. If I pursue this, you’ll be in serious trouble.”
Even with her lack of education, Zeng Xiuzhu understood the implications of the phrase “disrupting a military marriage.Those words carried such intimidation that her attitude immediately softened.
She approached Xie Zhongming. “Son-in-law, Pang Ya was just too lazy and gluttonous. She did nothing all day but eat and sleep, sleep and eat. How else could she have gotten so fat, over two hundred pounds? As her mother, I couldn’t stand it anymore, so I drove her out.”
Xie Zhongming snorted. “A mother may discipline her children, but you drove Pang Ya out. For years, her whereabouts have been unknown, and you didn’t inform me. On top of that, you colluded with the Village Chief to swindle money from me. That’s extortion and deception against a soldier. You, your son, and that Village Chief will be eating prison food.The deterrent effect of the words “prison food” made Zeng Xiuzhu’s legs go weak.
Beside her, Liu Dazhu pleaded desperately.
Xie Zhongming insisted that Zeng Xiuzhu return the money.
Over the past five years, he had sent 38 yuan per month for the first two years and 100 yuan per month for the last three years.
Including the swindled money, the total amounted to over six thousand yuan.
Zeng Xiuzhu collapsed to the ground, wailing and crying.
She claimed life had been hard and the money had long been spent on food and medical expenses.
No money, but I’ve got my life.
Seeing that the money from these years had likely been spent by the mother and son, Xie Zhongming knew it was irrecoverable and could do nothing about it.
Besides, even if he wanted to pursue the matter, it would have to wait.
Right now wasn’t the time to deal with that vicious mother and son.
He needed to find Pang Ya’s whereabouts as soon as possible.
He went to the township police station to file a missing person report, hoping to locate Pang Ya quickly.
He also considered returning to the army to leverage his and his father’s military connections to see if they could help find Pang Ya.
That same day, he bought a train ticket back to Jin Cheng.
When he returned to the Compound, Xie Zhongming happened to run into Jiang Beiyang’s mother—Zhang Hongmei.
“Aunt Mei!”
“Isn’t this Zhongming? Didn’t my Beiyang say you went to Chadian Village to see your wife? Zhongming, why didn’t you bring your wife back?”
Zhang Hongmei was a woman with a loud voice and a straightforward personality. When she spoke, she could be heard from far away.
So much so that Qiao Xingyue, who had stepped out early in the morning, heard her from a distance.
What did that auntie say?
Comrade Xie’s wife was from Chadian Village? What a coincidence—she was from the same village as Pang Ya?
Qiao Xingyue, carrying two and a half jin of pork belly tied with hemp rope and some eggs, cabbage, and potatoes in a net bag, walked toward Xie Zhongming and Jiang Beiyang’s mother.
The early March morning in Jin Cheng was still foggy.
Coupled with last night’s rain, the ground was damp and puddled, and the air was chilly.
Colder than the air was Xie Zhongming’s expression. Whenever someone asked about Pang Ya, he deliberately avoided the topic. “My wife can’t come to the Compound. Aunt Mei, I’ll head back first.”
“Alright, I’m off to buy groceries too.” Zhang Hongmei nodded awkwardly.
Remembering her son Jiang Beiyang’s reminder not to pry into Xie Zhongming’s wife—a topic he disliked discussing—she regretted having brought it up.
The cement ground was full of potholes. Wearing cloth shoes, Qiao Xingyue skirted the puddles and reached Zhang Hongmei just as Xie Zhongming had walked over ten meters away.
Jin Cheng was a vast basin where fog lingered morning and evening in spring, autumn, and winter, often refusing to dissipate.
In the gray mist, Xie Zhongming’s silhouette stood out distinctly.
With each step, his shoulders and back were as straight and firm as a deeply rooted pine tree, though his figure soon vanished from sight.
Seeing Zhang Hongmei walking briskly, Qiao Xingyue quickly greeted her, “Aunt Mei, good morning.”
“And you are…” Zhang Hongmei stopped and looked her over. “Division Commander Xie’s housekeeper?”
This girl didn’t look like a widow at all—fair, clean, tall, and slim, more like a fresh-faced college student.
“Aunt Mei, I’m Qiao Xingyue, the new housekeeper for Division Commander Xie. I just overheard Comrade Xie say he returned from Chadian Village?”
“You didn’t know he went to Chadian Village?” Aunt Mei, not only loud-voiced but also sociable and fond of chatting, was an enthusiastic woman. “He went to Chadian Village to see his wife.”