She put the money away and, for the first time, gave Wang Yong a genuinely heartfelt smile.
“Yongzi, you really do keep your word.”
“Hehe…” Wang Yong was so delighted by the praise that the lecherous look on his face grew even more pronounced. He actually opened his arms and took a few steps toward Su Man. “Manman, I really mean it when I say I love you. Let me give you a kiss…”
Su Man’s smile instantly froze. The foul stench that burst from Wang Yong’s mouth nearly made her gag.
Disgusting!
A strong look of revulsion flashed through Su Man’s eyes, and she nimbly dodged to the side.
Wang Yong missed her completely and stumbled forward. He nearly fell flat on his face, then looked at Su Man with an aggrieved expression.
“Manman, I already gave you all the money. You still won’t even let me hug you?”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” Su Man shot him a sidelong glance. “There are so many people in the village, and word gets around. What if someone sees us? What will happen to my reputation?”
“Besides, I’ve already accepted your bride price. Are you really afraid I’ll run away?”
Wang Yong loved this coy, teasing side of Su Man. She was like a cat that could steal a man’s soul with a single glance. He was instantly placated again.
His mother had said that once Su Man married into their family, she would belong to him for the rest of her life. By then, he could do whatever he wanted with her. Even if he beat her to death, he wouldn’t have to take responsibility.
Wang Yong’s eyes lit up. “All right, Manman. I’ll wait for you.”
Su Man suppressed the disgust and nausea churning inside her and patiently nodded.
“See you tomorrow.”
After sending Wang Yong away, Su Man went to the village Party secretary’s house. Using the excuse that she was going to Beijing to visit relatives, she asked him to issue her a letter of introduction.
Once everything was ready, Su Man finally felt as though a weight had been lifted from her heart.
The next day at noon.
Su Man had been busy in the kitchen for half the day. By the time the ge-dimple soup was almost cold, Su Xiu and Yang Shiyong finally got out of bed.
She pulled a paper packet from her pocket and poured all the white powder inside into the soup. Only then did she turn around and call the two of them over to eat.
This powerful sleeping pill was strong enough to knock out even a cow for an entire day and night.
And these two lazy gluttons were no exception.
“Congee again? Can’t you make anything else?” Su Xiu stirred the soup with her spoon, complaining nonstop. “When you marry into your husband’s family, you’ll get beaten to death with cooking like this!”
Su Man stared at the spoon in Su Xiu’s hand, her gaze growing increasingly deep and unreadable.
“When I go to Wang Yong’s family, I’ll work hard to improve my cooking.”
Seeing how obedient she was, apparently having accepted the fact that she was going to marry a fool, Su Xiu’s tone softened somewhat.
“You’ve finally grown up. At least you know how to behave.”
Su Man pretended to be obedient and lowered her head, her long lashes concealing the emotions roiling in her eyes.
Ten minutes later.
Watching Su Xiu and Yang Shiyong collapse onto the table with a heavy thud, Su Man finally raised her head and walked over. She reached out and nudged the two of them, who were snoring like thunder.
No response.
She grabbed a handful of Su Xiu’s hair and gave it a hard tug.
Still no response.
They were completely out cold.
Su Man let out a cold snort and turned around. From the cabinet behind her, she pulled out a large sack she had prepared long ago.
Today, she was going to strip this place bare!
Su Man turned the small room beside Su Xiu’s bed upside down. She didn’t even spare the tiny pockets sewn into the underwear.
In this era, refined flour and rice were precious commodities. Naturally, Su Man did not hesitate to stuff everything in the kitchen into the sack.
Before leaving, she even boiled all thirty-some eggs.
After finishing all that, Su Man did not hurry away. Instead, she sat down at Yang Shiyong’s desk and began writing a letter of denunciation.
In her previous life, Yang Shiyong had hardly been honest at the factory. He would secretly take the factory’s leftover raw materials and scrap materials home, then resell them, pocketing every penny for himself.
There were only a handful of people willing to buy state-owned factory scrap, and Yang Shiyong had only one or two people he worked with.
Su Man wrote every detail down clearly in the denunciation letter.
Having lived two lifetimes, she remembered exactly where every penny of Yang Shiyong’s ill-gotten gains had come from.
When she was finished, Su Man carefully folded the letter and slipped it into an inner pocket. Then she hoisted her heavy luggage onto her back and left without hesitation.
“Never again.”
This earthen house had imprisoned her for an entire lifetime, making her believe it was home. From this day forward, she would have nothing more to do with them.
“Su Man! Where’s Su Man?!”
In the evening, Su Xiu was jolted awake by someone shouting.
She groggily opened her eyes, only to see Wang Yong’s mother storming in.
“Where’s that little slut Su Man?! Hurry up and call her out!”
Su Xiu instantly became alert. She hurried over with a smile.
“Why, in-law, what brings you here?”
Wang Yong’s mother was in no mood for pleasantries. She spat contemptuously toward Su Xiu.
“Enough nonsense. Hand that little bitch Su Man over!”
“That dead girl tricked eight hundred yuan out of Yongzi! I’m going to make her pay for it today!”
“What? She actually dared to swindle Yongzi out of his money?” Su Xiu was stunned. “In-law, wait here. I’ll go find her right now.”
Su Xiu slapped Yang Shiyong awake, and the two of them searched everywhere, but there was no sign of Su Man.
Finally, at the entrance to the village, they heard that she had left around noon with a bag on her back.
“That damned little bitch! She took the money and ran!” Su Xiu stomped her feet in fury.
Wang Yong’s mother looked at her disdainfully.
“I’m telling you, if you can’t find her, then either give me my money back, or…”
“I’ll call the police!”
Su Xiu and Yang Shiyong froze simultaneously.
They couldn’t call the police.
If the police got involved, what would happen to Xixi? She wasn’t even married to that military officer yet!
“No!”
Su Xiu shouted. Then she forced herself to calm down and gritted her teeth.
“I’ll definitely find her and bring her back. And I’ll make sure she returns the money to you.”
“You just go home and wait.”
After sending Wang Yong’s mother away, panic began to rise in Su Xiu’s heart.
“Damn it. Could that dead girl have found out something?”
“Impossible.” Yang Shiyong’s eyes were dark and unreadable. “We kept that matter completely secret. If she really knew anything, she wouldn’t have obediently gone to get an abortion.”
Su Xiu was still worried.
“Husband, what do we do now?”
“What do we do?”
A sinister look appeared in Yang Shiyong’s eyes.
“We need to call Xixi right away. If that little bitch really went to Beijing, we’ll make sure she never comes back!”
Their Xixi had gone there carrying the letter and jade pendant. Even if Su Man went to Beijing, she might not be able to interfere with anything.
Besides, Xixi had called home not long ago and said that she was about to register her marriage to that military officer. Once that happened, with her status, wouldn’t it be easy for her to crush Su Man?
Su Xiu immediately agreed.
“Right. Let’s hurry and call Xixi!”
……
Su Man had no idea what had happened back in the village.
By then, she had just set foot in the capital.
Standing amid the crowds at the train station, Su Man belatedly realized that she had come too hastily. At the moment, she had absolutely no idea where she should go to find the person she was looking for.
After thinking it over, she decided to take her letter of introduction and find a guesthouse first.
She had left the village in such a hurry that she had failed to bring many of her belongings. After asking one of the guesthouse workers where the supply cooperative was, she decided to go out and buy some everyday necessities.
She wasn’t planning to leave anytime soon, anyway. She would have to stock up on some things for daily life.