“Now, Auntie, one thing at a time. Yuan the Eldest is sticking his elbow outward—he’s protecting his sister-in-law. Even if you go to his door, you can’t outfight him. You’d be better off making plans early, while you’re still in the Gongshe, to pick up a few more household items. You’ve got to keep living, don’t you?”
The tractor driver wasn’t a bad sort, just a bit loose-tongued, and everything he said was plain truth.
Some things are clearer to outsiders than to those involved. Though no one knew why, Yuan the Eldest always seemed bent on shielding his sister-in-law.
He wore himself out working hard just to send Yuan the Second’s two children to school, while his own daughters were treated like livestock on the farm—good only for bearing hardship and suffering losses.
Hearing this, Yuan Ni’s Mother deflated like a punctured ball, all her strength draining away. Forget about saving face—she didn’t even have the energy to breathe.
Yuan the Eldest was her husband, after all. Though the household had been split, deep in her heart, Yuan Ni’s Mother still harbored hopes of going back.
A woman raising children on her own was no long-term solution. If only Yuan the Eldest would show her a little kindness, she’d take the kids and return to how things used to be.
Only now did she realize that Yuan the Eldest would never change, because his elbow bent outward—not toward her and the children, but toward his sister-in-law. It was simply beastly and inhuman.
Yuan Ni’s Mother was crushed beyond words. Yuan Ni frowned. “What about my two younger sisters? Did they get beaten?”
“No, they didn’t. Captain Uncle shielded them.”
That was good—as long as they were unharmed.
Now Yuan Ni had lost all interest in shopping. Who knew what state the things they’d been allotted were in after being smashed up?
She had limited funds. If she needed to replace household goods, ten-odd yuan wouldn’t be nearly enough, so she’d have to think of another way.
Everyone sat in silence, heads bowed. Once Yuan Ni’s Mother recovered her composure, she started cursing heaven and earth—cursing her husband, cursing her sister-in-law, and cursing her mother-in-law.
Yuan Ni didn’t try to stop her. It was better if her mother gave up hope entirely; otherwise, staying entangled with the Yuan family would only cause more trouble.
When Old Captain finished his business, the tractor headed back.
At an intersection, two people by the roadside waved them down.
The tractor driver took one look at the sacks by their feet and understood. “They’re scrap collectors, hoping to hitch a ride to the purchasing station.”
Old Captain tapped his pipe against the side. “Let them on.”
The two men’s sacks were heavy. Once aboard the tractor, they knew the drill and handed the driver a pack of cigarettes. He chuckled, pulled one out and lit it, then passed the rest to Old Captain. “Drop you off at the scrap purchasing station?”
“Yes, yes—sorry for the trouble, Master.”
Scrap collecting in these times could turn up real treasures. Yuan Ni watched the two men closely, curious how they operated.
The two scrap collectors rummaged through their sacks. “How’d a cement block end up in here? No wonder it’s heavy as hell.”
“Huh, it really is a cement block? I thought it had rebar in it.”
“Rebar my ass.”
Cursing under their breath, the two men pulled the cement block out and set it aside.
Just then the tractor reached its destination. The driver called for them to get off, and they grabbed their sacks and hurried away, leaving the cement block behind on the vehicle.
Old Captain was furious. “What kind of people are these? Expecting us to toss their trash for them?”
Yuan Ni ran her hand over the block. Her left palm grew warm, and she immediately had an idea. The cement was just the outer shell—inside, the block must be wrapped around precious metal.
“Captain Grandpa, I heard Second Aunt smashed up our house again. I’d like to keep this block—it’ll do fine as a stool.”
The Old Captain knew about this. Although Yuan Ni’s Mother and her children had split off from the family, they were still connected to that side by blood and sinew—some things were hard for them to intervene in. “Fine, then you can stay here. We’ll put them in the storage room for you when the time comes.”
The tractor rumbled along and quickly entered the village. As soon as it stopped, the Old Captain called out to the tractor driver and together they began unloading the cement blocks.
Yuan Ni’s Mother had sharp eyes—she spotted at once that the storage room door was wide open. Worried about their belongings, she ignored her injuries and scrambled inside.
The storage room was divided into two sections. The outer room was empty and had been lent to Yuan Ni’s Mother and her children as temporary lodging, while the inner room, which held the farming tools, was kept locked.
When they had first moved in, they had received bedding, pots and pans, an oil lamp, and small stools from the Yuan family.
Yuan Ni had led her two younger sisters in arranging these things neatly and properly.
But now, seeing this, Yuan Ni’s Mother went black before her eyes and nearly fainted.
The bedding had been shredded to pieces, the cotton soaked through with water.
The iron wok had been smashed with a big hole, and every single bowl and dish had been shattered.
“Oh heavens above! They’re not letting us mother and daughters live!” Yuan Ni’s Mother knelt on the ground, wailing to the skies.
The Old Captain was so angry his whiskers bristled. “Didn’t they already split the family? How can they still come and wreck someone’s place?”
The tractor driver set down the blocks and said breathlessly, “This is pure bullying. Haven’t you heard? Yuan the Eldest has had his eye elsewhere for a long time—he favors his younger brother’s wife and finds his own wife an eyesore.
That’s why Yuan the Second’s wife has the nerve to come and smash up her sister-in-law’s home.”
“There’s no such thing—don’t talk nonsense,” the Old Captain stopped the tractor driver from continuing. “Yuan Ni, talk some sense into your mother. We’ll help you clean this up. Life still has to go on.”
Yuan Ni shook her head. “Mother, since it’s come to this, we should call the uncles over to back us up.”
Yuan Ni’s Mother’s eyes lit up, then dimmed again. “But… but—”
She had several brothers in her natal family, all capable fighters and willing to stand up for her. The key issue was—if her natal family came and fought, then she and Yuan the Eldest would truly be finished.
The earlier talk of splitting the family had been meant to scare him. In her heart, Yuan Ni’s Mother still harbored illusions—she hoped Yuan the Eldest could change, and if he did, she could still bring the children and live properly with him.
If her brothers came knocking with fists, then her bond with Yuan the Eldest would truly be at an end.
Yuan Ni sighed and pointed at the bedding on the ground, telling her mother to grab a handful.
From the once-fine cotton wadding, filthy yellow, foul-smelling water seeped out.
“Mother, he didn’t just smash our belongings—he pissed on them too. Is a man like that worth entrusting your life to?”
Yuan Ni’s Mother looked at her hands covered in filth and finally burst into tears. That man—he wasn’t even human.
“Yuan Ni, come back to my natal home with me. We’ll ask your uncles to come.” Yuan Ni’s Mother had finally made up her mind.
“I’ll take you back, and then you shouldn’t come over here. Let Yuan Ni stay and lead the uncles here.” The tractor driver offered his advice on the side.
The Old Captain nodded repeatedly as well. Since they were going to teach Yuan the Eldest a lesson, it was best for Yuan Ni’s Mother to stay away.
Otherwise, she might cling to her marital feelings and be reluctant to let her brothers go through with it.
Yuan Ni’s Mother was now dead to that man. “Fine, let’s do it that way.”
After her mother left, Yuan Ni didn’t sit idle either. She went straight to the woodpile and retrieved the celadon teapot she had hidden underneath it.
She felt around carefully and, finding the teapot still intact, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After some effort, she moved the cement block over, then grabbed a few handfuls of straw to cover it up, making sure no outsider could tell anything was amiss. Only then did Yuan Ni stop. She was just about to rest for a bit when she saw Pandie running over.
Pandie was only seven, and years of malnutrition had left her very small. “Sis, you’re finally back. Please save Zhaodie—Grandma says she’s going to sell her into the mountains to make up for the family’s losses.”
“What losses?”
“I don’t know, but Grandma just said she’s going to sell Second Sister.”
Yuan Ni’s heart stirred. Most likely, Old Mrs. Yuan had discovered the silver dollars were missing. The old woman was holding in her anger, not daring to say anything to anyone, and so she was taking that pent-up fury out on Zhaodie.