Just then, Political Commissar Huang offered a timely reminder.
“Battalion Commander Li, Comrade Wu’s demands aren’t unreasonable. This is a critical moment. Don’t do anything foolish.”
Li Hongyuan instinctively glanced at Deputy Regimental Commander Yu, and changed what he had been about to say.
“Fine, I agree! I’ll give you three thousand yuan. That’s half of my allowances from all these years, and not a penny less. Xiaojun… I’ll take responsibility for looking after him from now on, too.”
Wang Yun’s face went pale. It felt as if a piece had been torn out of her chest; the pain made her vision go dark.
The money was gone, and now she’d have to look after another brat!
Her eyes reddened. “Hongyuan…”
“Teacher Wang, you’re an outsider. You don’t need to speak.”
Regimental Commander Liu was a blunt, coarse man who couldn’t stand soft, helpless-looking women like Wang Yun, putting on an act of being pitiful!
Wang Yun clenched her teeth in resentment and could only try to buy time.
“Guihua, you and the children have come a long way. Why don’t you come home with us and rest first? We’re family. We can talk things through at our leisure.”
Wu Guihua wasn’t having it.
“No, thank you. Li Lan and I will wait here. Bring us the money, and we’ll leave. You live such precious lives; we’re country bumpkins. If we accidentally break something—or if you twist your mouths and claim something’s missing—I couldn’t afford to pay for it!”
“Oh, no, no, that won’t happen! It’s your home too. You’ve come all this way; you should at least have a meal with us.”
Wang Yun shamelessly kept at it, coaxing and tugging Wu Guihua and Li Lan along.
Li Xiaojun was still thinking about how well he’d eaten and slept when he’d visited last year. With a quick slither, he darted out the door and ran ahead.
Only then did Wu Guihua “reluctantly” agree.
Wang Yun secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She linked arms with Wu Guihua, acting like the two of them were close sisters, hoping everyone outside would see and that she’d still have a chance to restore her reputation.
Wu Guihua fought back her disgust and trudged along, sneering inwardly.
Wang Yun had been the one to “invite the wolf into the house.” She couldn’t complain if Wu Guihua showed no mercy.
The little thatched hut in the Jade Pendant Space was still empty. It urgently needed stocking up!
Li Hongyuan was a battalion commander and had been assigned a two-bedroom apartment on the fourth floor of the military family compound.
Usually, when Wang Yun came home from work, she loved chatting with the neighbors and soaking up their flattery and praise. After all, everyone had children to send to school.
But today, Wang Yun wished everyone would disappear—or go collectively blind.
Of course, Wu Guihua wasn’t about to let her have her way. As soon as they entered the compound, she started asking questions, stopping every few steps to look around.
“Oh my, this military compound is nothing like our village! These apartment buildings are so impressive! How come the water comes out of this well without anyone pumping it? Sister-in-law, you have to tell me all about it, so I can go home and teach the villagers. It’ll make me look good!”
Li Lan was quick-witted too. She tugged on Li Hongyuan’s arm and called him Dad again and again.
“Dad, did you buy this apartment building? Did you spend all your allowances on it, so you had no money left to pay for my schooling?
“Dad, there’s nowhere to grow vegetables or grain here. No wonder you take all the good grain from home every year and leave us hungry for half the year.
“Dad, are there only two rooms in your home? Then where will Sister Jiaojiao and Brother Pengfei sleep, and where will you and Auntie sleep? You and Auntie in one room, and Sister Jiaojiao and Brother Pengfei in the other? Dad, Dad…”
Li Hongyuan’s head was pounding. He wished he could sew his daughter’s mouth shut.
Wu Guihua really was a country bumpkin—she hadn’t even taught the child that family shame should stay behind closed doors!
He and his sister-in-law living with the children was… indecent! But what could he do?
Even if Wu Guihua was unhappy, she could have talked about it behind closed doors. Why did she have to make such a public spectacle of him?
In the courtyard, all the women and girls—whether they were cooking or not—along with Auntie Liu and the children, grabbed whatever vegetables they had and crowded around the water trough, straining their ears from two li away.
Some of the neighbors had had minor conflicts with the Li family before. They didn’t dare mock them aloud, but as they stared at the bruises on Wang Yun and Li Hongyuan’s faces, they grinned oddly. Wang Yun and Li Hongyuan were so mortified they wished the ground would open up and swallow them.
At last, they managed to get inside, and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Wu Guihua was disappointed. She’d wanted to give the affair between those two shameless lovers another round of publicity, but at least she’d saved her breath.
Li Xiaojun darted around the room like a monkey, tore open a packet of peach pastries on the table and stuffed them into his mouth, then went to rummage through the huge four-door wardrobe in the master bedroom.
“Auntie, there’s malted milk powder here! I want some. Make me a big bowl!”
The corners of Wang Yun’s mouth twitched with pain.
Wu Guihua clapped to cheer her son on. “Xiaojun, this is your father’s home, and it’s your home too. Your father has only one son. Everything will be yours someday. Just say what you want to eat!”
Then she took some peach pastries and handed them to Li Lan.
“Eat up, daughter! You’re nearly twenty, and today’s the first time you’ve had a meal from your father. It hasn’t been easy.”
Li Hongyuan’s face darkened. He held back for a moment before speaking.
“Guihua, I’ll definitely take better care of you from now on. But three thousand is too much. Can you give me a few months to come up with it…”
“No!” Wu Guihua swept her hand across the table, smashing the enamel mug, then kicked the door open.
“Everyone, come and judge this! Li Hongyuan has money to support his sister-in-law and his niece and nephew, but no money to pay for his own mother and son’s medical care! He promised to give us the money in front of the authorities, but now that we’re home, he’s going back on his word!
“He’s forcing me to keep selling my blood to support his mother and children! I might as well jump off the building and die right here, instead of having all my blood drained and dying in misery!”
Crash!
Every closed door upstairs and downstairs flew open, and all the heads in the courtyard turned toward them in unison.
Li Hongyuan yanked Wu Guihua back inside and slammed the door shut.
“Fine, I’ll give it to you!”
Wu Guihua dusted off her backside and sat back down, as if nothing had happened.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up and cook. We haven’t eaten all day. If we pass out from hunger, this courtyard will be even livelier.”
Wang Yun was so furious she could have spat blood. She hurriedly changed clothes and fixed her hair, then went to cook in the communal kitchen at the end of the corridor.
The swelling on her face was even worse now. No matter how she tried to cover it up, she couldn’t—and, of course, she became the focus of every woman in the compound all over again!
Li Xiaojun kept finding good things in every room and happily carrying them to the kitchen.
When the meal was finally laid out, it was surprisingly generous.
A basin of rice mixed with millet, cabbage stir-fried with cured pork, potatoes stewed with kelp, and tofu soup with dried shrimp.
Wu Guihua picked out the slices of meat, giving half to her daughter and keeping half for herself.
Li Xiaojun wailed in protest, when the door was pushed open.
Nineteen-year-old Li Jiaojiao looked like a younger version of Wang Yun. She wore a short red wool coat and black corduroy trousers, and had permed her hair.
“Mom, Mom! I heard people came from home. Did they bring my admission letter? That’s wonderful! That bastard Li Lan doesn’t deserve to go to—”
Wang Yun sprang up to shield her daughter, but she was too late.
Wu Guihua shoved her aside, yanked Li Jiaojiao out, and slapped her hard across the face.
“You little slut! I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to settle the score with you this time, but here you are, delivering yourself right to me!”
“Smack!”
“You’ve got a pig’s brain and couldn’t get into college, and you still dared to steal my daughter’s admission letter!”
“Smack, smack!”
“Put on an emperor’s robe and you’re still just a monkey! Don’t think you can make yourself look important!”
“Smack, smack, smack!”
“You’re the bastard! Your whole family’s full of bastards!”
“Smack, smack, smack, smack!”