“Back then, Xiaoman indeed married Zheng Taiping because she was pregnant.”
“But why would Zheng Taiping agree?”
“Of course he would agree! Not only did he agree, but he was the one who proposed becoming a live-in son-in-law!”
Wen Nianxin was somewhat puzzled.
Since ancient times, the concept of male superiority and female inferiority had been deeply ingrained, with men regarded as the pillars of the family. This was especially true in rural areas, where most families held strong preferences for sons over daughters.
Even if Zheng Taiping agreed, would his parents consent? The Zheng family only had two sons.
“No one knows how Zheng Taiping found out about Xiaoman’s pregnancy, but he took the initiative to approach Uncle Wen, saying he was willing to become a live-in son-in-law and be the child’s father. Initially, Uncle Wen and Aunt Lu disagreed—they also looked down on Zheng Taiping. But at that time, Xiaoman absolutely refused to have an abortion. As the baby in her womb grew day by day, if they waited until it became noticeable and the matter was exposed, the Wen family would have no place in Mingzhao City—they would be drowned in the gossip of those around them. Uncle Wen and Aunt Lu didn’t care about their reputation being damaged, but they couldn’t bear the thought of Xiaoman, Yingrui, and you—still in the womb at the time—suffering a lifetime of cold remarks from others. In the end, they agreed to let Zheng Taiping become a live-in son-in-law.”
“My grandfather must have promised Zheng Taiping a considerable amount of money, right?”
Zhang Wei nodded.
“Uncle Wen not only gave Zheng Taiping two thousand yuan but also arranged a formal job for him at the Textile Factory. Since Xiaoman had already worked at the factory for three years by then, they were allocated housing after marriage. This allowed Zheng Taiping to instantly transform into a city dweller.”
“Wait, Uncle Zhang, was that house allocated to my mother or to both of them together?”
“Of course, it was allocated to Xiaoman. New employees weren’t eligible for housing allocation.”
“So, the house was tied to my mother’s job. Now that I’ve sold the job, can the factory reclaim the house?”
“In principle, yes. But Zheng Taiping has worked at the factory for so long now that even if the current house is reclaimed, he would still be eligible for housing allocation.”
“He may be eligible for housing allocation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll get a house in as good a location as the current one, right?”
Back then, as the factory director, her grandfather would have shown special consideration for his only daughter. In terms of size, given Wen Xiaoman’s seniority, she wouldn’t have been allocated a very large house, but she could have been given one on the best floor and in the prime location within the building.
Zhang Wei instantly understood what she meant.
“I’ll check with the factory on Monday to see if there are any other available units.”
“Thank you, Uncle Zhang.”
“You’re just doing this to make things difficult for them, aren’t you?”
“I just don’t want them to enjoy the benefits my mother brought them while treating me poorly. In the past, Ding Lan repeatedly urged me to cause trouble with my grandparents, taking a lot of money and belongings from them, all of which ended up being used on her own children. If she had ever shown me even an ounce of sincerity, I wouldn’t have come all this way to confront her.”
While the three of them were still in the living room discussing the past of the original host’s biological mother, a woman’s hysterical shouts suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
“Director Zhang! Your relative is taking advantage of your position as factory director to bully people in our Family Compound! They’ve beaten my son’s face until it’s swollen! You must give us an explanation today, or I’ll report this to higher authorities!”
“Who’s there?”
Zhang Wei frowned in displeasure at the commotion outside.
Yu Yaqin looked out through the window: “Seems like it’s Ding Lan.”
“Ah, Uncle Zhang, Aunt Yu, I forgot to mention something earlier. When I first entered the Family Compound this morning, Zheng Xu threw a handful of sand at me. I couldn’t help myself and gave him two hard slaps across the face. Ding Lan might have mistaken me for your relative…”
“It’s fine, what’s done is done. That little brat from the Zheng family deserves to be disciplined. He’s been causing trouble all over the Family Compound, just like before—” Yu Yaqin glanced at Wen Nianxin, whose temperament had clearly improved, and cut herself off, not finishing the sentence.
“Let’s go see what’s happening first.”
Zhang Wei and Yu Yaqin walked ahead, while Wen Nianxin wrapped a scarf around her face and followed them out of the house.
“Mom, it was that crazy woman who hit me like this! You have to teach her a lesson! And make her pay me compensation! Otherwise, I’ll tell Dad and Grandma that you’re siding with outsiders to bully me!”
“Don’t worry, Bao’er, Mom will definitely get justice for you!”
After comforting her son, Ding Lan plopped down on the ground and began wailing loudly.
“Everyone, come and see! The Zhang family’s relative is throwing their weight around and bullying others. My poor Xu Bao’er, show all the uncles and aunties around here your face. Oh dear, look what they’ve done to my good boy—his face is all swollen, he can’t even chew his food! It breaks my heart as a mother. What kind of person would be so cruel to a ten-year-old child? Everyone, come and see!”
Since it was a day off work and just after lunch—prime time for resting and chatting—neighbors who heard the noise came out to watch the spectacle. Some had even been drawn by Ding Lan’s cries as she dragged her son all the way from the Tongzilou, forming a crowd of curious onlookers.
“Tsk, tsk, that’s quite a beating—you can still see the slap marks.”
“What kind of grudge could justify hitting a child like this? It’s really too much.”
“Maybe the Zheng kid started it and picked the wrong person to mess with. He’s caused plenty of trouble in the Family Compound before.”
…
The bystanders shared their opinions in hushed discussions.
Watching Ding Lan’s theatrics, which were identical to Liu Chunhua’s, Wen Nianxin sighed helplessly and rubbed her forehead.
Is this the go-to move for all shrews? First, the crying; then, the tantrum; next, she’ll probably start banging her head against a wall. The only question is whether it’ll be the compound wall or me—her brick wall.
“Ding Lan, stop causing a scene and spouting nonsense in front of our house! We don’t have any relatives here, and we’ve never thrown our weight around to bully anyone!” Yu Yaqin retorted with equal force.
“It’s that woman behind you! Our Xu Bao’er said she’s the one who hit him, and several other children saw it too. Everyone can testify!”
Just as Yu Yaqin was about to argue back, Wen Nianxin tugged at her sleeve, signaling her to step behind her.
“I did hit him, that’s true! But have you asked your dear son why he got hit?”
“You all heard that! She admitted she’s the one who hit him! I don’t care about the reason—you beat my son up like this, so you have to pay us for medical expenses and emotional damages!”
“After my son was beaten by you, he cried at home for a long time and was badly frightened. He couldn’t even eat his lunch and could only drink some rice soup. You have to compensate for all of this!
Otherwise, I won’t let this go!”
Ding Lan felt the woman looked somewhat familiar, but she was covering her face, making it hard to see her full appearance.
Now that she was furious, she had no time to ponder who the other person was.
“Haha, ‘compensate’ you say? Tell me, how much should I pay?”
Ding Lan didn’t expect the other party to be so straightforward, which gave her more confidence to speak up.
“You should pay… a hundred yuan, yes, exactly a hundred yuan!”
This woman seemed to be close with the factory director and his wife. If she couldn’t afford it, the factory director and his wife had money!