Qin Zhoucheng was startled—it turned out to be Lin Su.
She had also started crying, even running into the courtyard while crying: “Everyone come and take a look! The old woman is bullying her ex-daughter-in-law! I worked myself to exhaustion supporting their entire family for seven years, and yet after Yu Minghai went to the city, he changed his heart. This heartless scoundrel is just a modern Chen Shimei! Their whole family is trying to kick me out and refuse to give me the compensation they promised!”
Seeing Qin Zhoucheng looking at her as if he had seen a ghost, Lin Su winked at him and smiled mischievously—then her tears came on instantly.
“Everyone, judge this fairly! They’re forcing me to death, not letting me live! If I end up begging on the streets, I’ll only be able to go to Haicheng and look for his new girlfriend Jiang Tingting! That homewrecker, pretending to be a rich city young lady—I’m going to report her all the way to the provincial capital, to the central authorities! I’m going to accuse her of destroying other people’s families! Yu Minghai abandoned his wife—he will be struck by lightning!”
Old Madam Sun was completely stunned. In their household, she had always been the one throwing tantrums and rolling on the ground, while Lin Su had always been obedient and submissive. When did she learn this? And even more extreme than her, now making a scene at the village entrance demanding public judgment?
The city daughter-in-law couldn’t be chased away like this. Old Madam Sun quickly got up and tried to rush out to stop Lin Su from speaking.
But with Qin Zhoucheng watching them like a hawk, they couldn’t possibly beat him. Yu Xiuli had gone to the production team, so there was no one to help them, and Minghai still hadn’t come home.
The aunts and village women who weren’t at the production team all came out to watch the excitement. They had always thought Lin Su and the university-educated Yu Minghai were mismatched, but now they realized he was cheating in the city and dumped his wife for someone else.
Lin Su grabbed Aunt Liu, who was passing by, and started crying and complaining about how she had been mistreated, how Yu Minghai was having an affair with a rich city girl. The crowd listened with great interest.
Aunt Liu, enjoying the drama, said, “The Yu family, this really is your fault. Your Minghai made a mistake. You agreed to compensate Xiao Lin, yet you’re not keeping your word. And he’s supposed to be a university graduate too. Xiao Lin worked for your family for seven years—if not merit, at least she deserves hardship compensation. You can’t just kick her out.”
“Yes, yes, that evil mother-in-law is abusing me—I can’t live anymore!” Lin Su said from behind, even trying to imitate Old Madam Sun slapping her thigh.
Qin Zhoucheng was barely holding back his laughter, almost unable to keep his cold expression. She looked like a chubby little goose—round and lively, very quick-witted, quite amusing.
It was only when the village party secretary arrived in time that the farce ended. He personally reviewed the notarized documents and, amid Lin Su repeatedly shouting about going to the city to beg at the Jiang family’s door, made the final decision.
The sewing machine, piglet, and two chickens (one male and one female) were given to her. She also received ten jin of grain and oil tickets, a small cloth bag of grain, two jin of meat and coal tickets, and three pieces of fabric (ten chi each). The remaining cash was 300 yuan.
The half-room house was not given. Instead, the secretary arranged for Lin Su and Qin Zhoucheng to temporarily live in an abandoned house by the riverbank as a production team subsidy.
Although she had “won” quite a bit, in reality it wasn’t much. This was the early stage of reform and opening up—only coastal cities were experimenting, while Yu Family Village still relied on work points. Everyone was poor, extremely poor.
Lin Su sighed inwardly. Seeing Qin Zhoucheng observing her with a hint of curiosity, she bit her lip and asked, “Do you think I’m a shrew? That making a scene like that was uncultured and cheap?”
“Do you care that much about what others think?”
“Not completely… but I can’t say I don’t care at all.”
With reform and opening up just beginning, old and new ideas were clashing.
Yu Family Village was relatively conservative. As the village secretary said, if Qin Zhoucheng didn’t agree to marry her, then after a divorce and openly interacting with a man, she would truly have no place in the village. Gossip and spit could drown a person.
Lin Su felt she could endure it, but the original owner might not have been able to.
“To deal with a shrew, you use shrew tactics. When you’re at the end of your rope, what’s face worth anyway? Don’t take it to heart.”
Lin Su looked at Qin Zhoucheng and found that he truly didn’t care. For some reason, she felt a bit more at ease.
The village secretary repeatedly said that the riverside house was only temporary accommodation provided by the production team and would have to be returned once they found a place of their own.
Lin Su had thought it would at least be a brick house, but when they arrived, she was stunned. It was a mud house, half the courtyard wall had collapsed, the windows were hanging loosely, and even the door was missing half.
She had only ever seen such houses in TV dramas.
Qin Zhoucheng was already moving things into the yard and even tied up the pig in its pen.
“How are we supposed to live here?” Lin Su deflated. “I knew it—nothing good ever really comes my way.”
“In the village, land can’t be bought or sold. Having a place to stay temporarily is better than sleeping on the streets,” Qin Zhoucheng said calmly.
Lin Su felt a bit guilty. “I said I’d repay you, but now you’re stuck living in this broken place with me.”
Qin Zhoucheng found it amusing, though he didn’t show it. “You’re a girl, but you talk like a man. Usually it’s men who make women live well, not women supporting men.”
“That’s different—you’re my benefactor.”
Lin Su straightened her waist and said, “This really is a disastrous start, but it’s fine. I don’t believe I can’t make money. Just wait—starting from a grass hut, next year I’ll let you live in a villa.”
Qin Zhoucheng curled his lips slightly, almost laughing again. This girl was like a ray of sunshine—she kept saying strange things, yet was extremely optimistic, making people feel better just by being around her.
Big talk aside, they still had to clean the house first, or they couldn’t live in it at all. It was full of dust and in poor condition, though the stove and firebed were still usable.
Lin Su wanted to do a thorough cleaning, but realized she didn’t even know how to use the rural stove and couldn’t even boil water. That was awkward.
The matches in her hand were taken by Qin Zhoucheng, and she was sent inside the house, even handed a small booklet.
“What is this?” Lin Su asked in confusion.
“My household registration book and introduction letter. Don’t you need these for marriage?”
Lin Su froze, suddenly realizing he wasn’t joking.
She looked down at the documents, and when she saw his name, she was stunned. The three characters “Qin Zhoucheng” were clearly printed.
She had felt it sounded familiar before, but thought it was just someone with the same name. Now seeing it clearly, she suddenly remembered—
Wasn’t this the name of the original novel’s big villain?