“Qionghua?? Wake up! Your mom and dad are fighting!”
Lin Qionghua opened her eyes, feeling a bit confused. Wasn’t she at home catching up on sleep after her boss gave her a day off following a late night of overtime?
Why was there an endless blue sky in front of her? The heat was so stifling it made her head spin.
The person standing in front of her was her eldest uncle—wait, wasn’t her eldest uncle in their hometown? Why was he at her house?
No, this wasn’t her home either. All she could see were bushes and leaves; sunlight filtered through the dappled canopy, casting spots of light on her face that danced whenever the wind blew.
She sat up abruptly. She was under a tree. Looking around, she saw rows of adobe houses in the distance. Her thoughts stalled. She rubbed her eyes—she wasn’t seeing things! This was indeed her old hometown.
But hadn’t these adobe houses been torn down by the construction crew years ago?!
She turned to look at her uncle again. This wasn’t the uncle she remembered, worn out by half a lifetime of labor with a head full of gray hair. He was in his prime, his face devoid of a single fine line.
Her gaze shifted to the villagers sitting under the shade of the trees nearby, appearing younger than she remembered. Lin Qionghua felt a wave of dizziness. She looked down at her own hands; these were definitely not the hands of an adult.
She looked at her uncle and asked urgently, “What is today’s date? What year is it?”
Her uncle looked a bit stunned and answered subconsciously, “’92, July 20th. What’s wrong?”
A surge of warmth flooded Lin Qionghua’s heart. She was only eight years old, currently on summer break. The demolition wouldn’t happen until tomorrow! Her parents were still alive and well.
She ran toward her house like a ghost. Her doorstep was crowded with people watching the spectacle.
She could vaguely hear her mother raising her voice, accusing her father of “cheating.”
Lin Qionghua wasn’t the only one in shock; the villagers were equally incredulous.
This was earth-shattering gossip!
Who was Lin Weisen? He was a man who treated his wife like a treasure—afraid she would melt if he held her in his mouth, and afraid she would shatter if he held her in his palm.
Just take her postpartum confinement for example.
While other women had to go out and work in the fields shortly after giving birth, Song Lanfang never even stepped out of the room. Lin Weisen washed all the diapers; that was in the dead of winter, with the river water frozen into ice shards, yet he never uttered a single complaint.
Every day, it was either steamed egg custard or stewed hen. All the dozens of chickens raised by old Mrs. Lin were “sacrificed” by him.
Because of this, right after Song Lanfang’s confinement ended, the elderly couple had quickly divided the family property.
Lin Weisen had marked out a plot of land at the village entrance with his wife and child, building three adobe houses.
Of course, that was digressing.
Being such a man who doted on his wife, the local women didn’t believe he would actually cheat behind her back.
However, the men who had been nagged by their own wives over the years, and who had been criticized—openly or secretly—for not “doting” on their wives as much as Lin Weisen, finally had something to say.
Lin Weisen’s second older brother curled his lip. “I told you, no man can resist a pretty face.”
What kind of normal person would put their wife on a pedestal?! If the third brother doted on his wife that much, didn’t it make them look like bad husbands?! How were they supposed to live their own lives?
These words quickly received unanimous support from the other men. They had long disliked Lin Weisen; a grown man spending his whole day hovering behind his wife’s skirt—what a loser!
Lin Qionghua glared at her second uncle. “Second Uncle, don’t speak for all the men in the world. My dad is not that kind of person!”
The second uncle scoffed. “Your dad isn’t that kind of person? Your mom said it herself just now; I didn’t frame him!”
Lin Weisen’s classmate and “good brother,” Dong Liang, gave Lin Qionghua a reassuring look, comforting her, “Don’t overthink it. Your dad isn’t that kind of person, and your mom isn’t the kind of unreasonable shrew to cause a scene either. Why don’t you go and persuade them?”
Lin Qionghua glanced at him, deciding not to engage in a war of words with her second uncle. She pushed past the thrill-seeking villagers and walked to the entrance of the main room in a few steps, looking at her parents who were in the middle of a fight.
Tears welled up in her eyes instantly.
They were all still alive. Her father hadn’t died, and her mother was still so young and beautiful.
She rushed forward and hugged her bickering parents. This startled Song Lanfang and Lin Weisen, who immediately stopped arguing to wipe their daughter’s tears.
But she cried even harder, sobbing uncontrollably, unable to stop.
“Daughter, what’s wrong? Who bullied you?” Lin Weisen panicked. His daughter had always been strong; she had never cried this hard before. What happened? Had she been wronged?
Song Lanfang glared at her husband, clutching her daughter and whispering comfortingly, “Qionghua, don’t cry, Mommy is here. Good girl, tell Mommy, what happened?”
Feeling her mother’s warmth, Lin Qionghua finally felt the stability of having returned.
She was no longer alone; she had a father and a mother. These were the people who loved her the most.
Lin Qionghua rubbed her reddened eyes and forced a smile at her parents. “I’m okay! I just had a dream that you both died, and I was so sad.”
Song Lanfang wiped her little face. “Don’t talk nonsense. I’m so young, how could I die? I haven’t watched you grow up yet; I couldn’t bear to die.”
Lin Weisen agreed, “Exactly! Dreams are the opposite of reality. Look, your mother and I are alive and well. Once the village is demolished and we have money, I’ll take you to live in a big house.”
Lin Qionghua nodded, then suddenly froze.
Demolition? Today was July 20th?!
That’s right, the village would be demolished tomorrow, and they would become wealthy overnight.
Everyone thought that with money, a good life would follow, but Lin Qionghua knew from personal experience that of all the relocated households, each received at least 200,000 in assets.
Back then, a 100-square-meter apartment in the suburbs cost only 50,000; 200,000 could buy four. A school-district apartment in the prime center of the city cost only 200,000 for 100 square meters. Thirty years later, the value of those properties would increase at least thirty times.
Of those villagers who struck it rich, only 30% could hold onto their wealth. The remaining 70% would fall back into poverty within five years—some even worse off than before. At least now, they had houses and land and wouldn’t starve.
But five years later, some would only be able to rent, doing odd jobs everywhere. Some couldn’t handle the decline and committed suicide.
Unfortunately, her family was among that 70%.
The moment they got the money, before it was even warm in their hands, an old classmate approached Lin Weisen with a project, promising high returns. Lin Weisen dumped all the money into it.
Six months later, the investment evaporated. Overcome with guilt, Lin Weisen jumped into the river and ended his life.
After her father died, her mother took her away from their hometown to work and support her.
Years later, when Lin Qionghua returned to her hometown, the entire Daling Village had been razed to the ground, and she couldn’t find a single familiar place.
Seeing her home from memory reappear, Lin Qionghua felt only relief.
Demolition was tomorrow; her father hadn’t been lured into the investment yet. Her mother wouldn’t have to take her away from their home to scrape a living.
As she was feeling relieved, Song Lanfang took her hand. “Qionghua, come with Mommy to your grandmother’s house.”
Lin Weisen was pacing back and forth in a panic. “What are you talking about? I really didn’t do it. Why won’t you believe me?”
He was wary of his daughter’s presence, so he spoke vaguely and in a very low voice.
Lin Qionghua was pulled by her mother before she realized what was going on.
Lin Qionghua tugged at her mother’s hand. “Mom, I just heard you say that Dad was ‘cheating’ outside. Who did you hear that from?”
Song Lanfang looked at her daughter’s clear eyes and suddenly realized that her daughter was too young to know what “cheating” meant.
She no longer held back. She glanced at Lin Weisen and huffed. “I promised the person I’d keep it secret, but they wouldn’t lie to me.”
Lin Weisen stomped his feet in frustration, wishing he could peel his heart out for her to see. “I really didn’t! Why won’t you believe me?!”
Seeing that her mother refused to say more, likely fearing it would dirty her daughter’s ears, Lin Qionghua decided to say it for her. “Mom, was it Uncle Dong Liang who said Dad was cheating?”
Song Lanfang was slightly surprised. “How did you know?!”
She had specifically waited until her daughter was out of the house to question Lin Weisen. How did her daughter know?
Well, perhaps her daughter had overheard her chatting with Dong Liang a few days ago.
Before Lin Qionghua could answer, Lin Weisen spoke up first. “What did you say? Dong Liang?! How could he do such a thing? When did I ever cheat? How come I didn’t know! He lied to frame me! What is his true intention?!”
Seeing his expression, Song Lanfang was a bit skeptical. “If you ask him now, of course he won’t admit it! He told me out of kindness; if I sell him out, how am I supposed to hold my head up in the future?”
Lin Weisen was anxious. “You’d rather believe him than me?!”
Lin Qionghua tugged her mother’s arm. “Mom, Uncle Dong Liang is right outside. Even seeing you two fight like this, he won’t come over to mediate. I think he’s deliberately stirring up trouble. Did he say what day Dad was ‘cheating’?”
Lin Weisen looked at the courtyard gate. Dong Liang was indeed standing there, and a flash of disgust crossed his mind.
Song Lanfang felt slightly uncomfortable, and her guard slipped. She answered quickly, “Three days ago, at 2 PM, on Youyi Road.”
Youyi Road was the red-light district of their county; many women there engaged in that kind of business. If Dong Liang hadn’t sounded so convincing, she never would have believed it.
Lin Weisen thought carefully. Three days ago, 2 PM, Youyi Road—he did go there. But he hadn’t been cheating!
Lin Weisen couldn’t wait any longer. “No! I’m going to call Dong Liang over right now, and we’ll confront him face to face.”
Song Lanfang wanted to stop him, but Lin Qionghua grabbed her first. “Mom, let Dad call him over to confront him. We can’t let Dad be wrongly accused.”
Even though in her previous life, her father had invested the demolition money without her mother’s consent, he had never done anything to betray her.
After her father died, her mother regretted it countless times, wishing she hadn’t just complained about him. He had been devastated and full of regret when his investment was scammed; if she had only been understanding and said, “It doesn’t matter,” perhaps he wouldn’t have committed suicide.
With Lin Qionghua’s intervention, Lin Weisen had already dragged Dong Liang out from the crowd.
Song Lanfang was still hesitant. “But he made me promise repeatedly not to sell him out. He’s your father’s classmate, and he risked our friendship to tell me. If I sell him out, it’s a bit unloyal.”
Lin Qionghua had no love for Dong Liang.
In her past life, before her father’s first death anniversary had even passed, this man had confessed to her mother, saying he would take her father’s place in caring for them and would treat her like his own daughter.
Back then, Lin Qionghua was young, and after her father was gone, she felt an instinctive repulsion toward Dong Liang trying to be her father.
When she grew up and saw more of the world, she suspected that Dong Liang might have coveted her mother for a long time, which was why he tried so hard to destroy her parents’ relationship and lured her father into investing, eventually causing her father’s suicide so he could move in.
Fortunately, her mother had integrity and refused to step into other people’s marriages.
Her mother still thought Dong Liang was kind. She had to tear off Dong Liang’s mask and make her parents wary of him.
As she was thinking this, Lin Weisen had already dragged the thrill-seeking Dong Liang into the yard.
Dong Liang acted as if he didn’t know how serious the conflict was, laughing as he entered. “You two are fighting over such a small thing. Sister-in-law? You misunderstood!”
Song Lanfang and Lin Qionghua walked out upon hearing the noise, and the two sides met in the main room.
As soon as they met, Dong Liang apologized to Song Lanfang. “Sister-in-law! It’s my fault for not being clear. I said Aimin was cheating on Youyi Street—that part is true. But the ‘cheating’ I meant isn’t what you’re thinking of.”
Song Lanfang was confused and looked at Lin Weisen.
Lin Weisen huffed, signaling her to listen for herself to what Dong Liang had to say.
Dong Liang then told her that three days ago, he had met Lin Weisen on Youyi Street and saw him eating an apple by himself. “You tell me, why is a grown man so gluttonous that he has to ‘sneak’ an apple behind your back? Isn’t that bad?”
Song Lanfang was stunned. “The cheating you meant… was sneaking an apple?”
“That’s right.” Dong Liang clapped his hands. “Did you get the wrong idea?!”
He slapped his own mouth. “It’s all my fault for not being clear. I’ve caused a misunderstanding for you, sister-in-law. Let me apologize!”
As he spoke, he actually bowed to Song Lanfang.
Song Lanfang felt a lump in her throat. It was just sneaking an apple? How could he have been so vague? She had thought Lin Weisen was cheating on her behind her back.
Seeing that Song Lanfang was no longer angry, Lin Weisen quickly held her hand. “The misunderstanding is cleared up. Not angry anymore, right? I swear to heaven, I have absolutely no other woman—only you.”
Being intimate in front of others, Song Lanfang, who was thin-skinned, flushed deep red. She glared at him and pulled her hand away.
With the misunderstanding resolved, a glint of cold light flashed in Dong Liang’s eyes as his plan failed. He coughed slightly. “I’ll head home first. I took on a big job today; it pays well, but I’m too busy to even eat…”
Just as he turned to leave, Lin Qionghua suddenly called out to him, looking puzzled. “Uncle Dong Liang, you said you wanted to be my father—was that true?”
The single sentence caused all three of them to change expressions, and they turned to look at her in unison.