Chapter 133
There really is no helping such matters.
Qiao Wei once watched an old TV show with her mother and saw a plot where a couple talked behind a leader’s back in private, only for their child to overhear.
Fearing the child would blab, they catered to the child’s every whim. The child realized they could use this to manipulate their parents and became increasingly pushy.
In the end, the couple had no choice but to tell everyone the child was crazy.
Qiao Wei forgot whether they sent the child to a mental hospital or a reformatory school.
In this life, who hasn’t had a moment of being loose-lipped or sharp-tongued?
She instructed Sister Yang, “Don’t go around saying things you shouldn’t from now on.”
Sister Yang nodded like a chicken pecking at rice.
Qiao Wei said, “I still have to go to work, I’ll be going now.”
She rode her bike a few meters out, then turned the handlebars and came back.
Sister Yang and Lin Xixi quickly hurried over to hear what instructions she had.
Sure enough, Qiao Wei did have instructions.
“Go home and check if you’ve used any portraits of the Great Man or posters printed with propaganda slogans to cut out shoe patterns, and deal with them immediately.”
“By ‘deal with,’ I mean throw them in the stove and burn them. Do you understand?”
Sister Yang’s face went pale again.
Just by looking at Sister Yang’s expression, Qiao Wei knew it hadn’t been a waste of breath to say that; they definitely had some at home.
Sure enough, Sister Yang hurried home and really did dig out a shoe pattern cut from a Great Man portrait. Lin Xixi was annoyed: “When did you cut this?”
It was life-threatening.
Sister Yang said, “It was that day I couldn’t find any paper, so I just grabbed one…”
Lin Xixi snatched it away, took a match, and burned it.
Watching the shoe pattern turn to ash, Sister Yang collapsed onto the kang, exhausted: “I didn’t know, I really didn’t know this wasn’t allowed…”
Women spent their days revolving around the stove and kitchen, and with no newspapers or television at home, their political intuition was much duller.
Lin Xixi searched the house, confirmed there was nothing else, and went back to check on Sister Yang: “There shouldn’t be anything else. You must be careful from now on.”
She had also been frightened today.
She used to live in the countryside, her ancestors for eighteen generations were poor peasants, her roots were red and proper, and she hadn’t really faced any shocks. She never expected that after entering the city, she would experience one firsthand.
It scared the life out of her.
By noon, Lin Xixi started preparing to cook, and when she went in to check, Sister Yang was still lying down.
“Auntie, you should go over and cook for that person.” She nudged Sister Yang.
Sister Yang groaned: “My chest feels uncomfortable.”
She had been frightened too badly today; she couldn’t quite recover.
Lin Xixi said, “What should we do then? Should I make it and send it over to him?”
Sister Yang sighed: “Don’t. He’s very picky. How about you go over and cook for him? He’ll have to instruct you on how to do it; you can’t just cook it however you like.”
“Then what will you eat?”
“You go cook for him first, don’t let him go hungry. When you come back, we’ll cook some noodles for ourselves.”
“Alright, I’m going.”
Lü Tianze didn’t expect that the person coming to cook today would be Regimental Commander Zhao’s niece.
Lin Xixi came in and greeted him: “Comrade Lü, my aunt… my aunt is feeling unwell today, so I’m cooking for you in her place.”
Her Mandarin wasn’t as good as Qiao Wei’s, but it was much better than Sister Yang’s.
Lü Tianze nodded: “Fine.”
Lin Xixi prepared to cook and asked: “Is there anything I should be aware of? My aunt said you have quite high standards.”
Lü Tianze grinned: “No, just do whatever. I’ll read for a while, call me when it’s done.”
After saying this, he went into the room and closed the door slightly. Although he didn’t shut it completely, the door acted like a barrier, standing there as a boundary.
Lin Xixi didn’t say anything and cooked silently.
After she finished, she didn’t knock or go into the room, but called out from the courtyard: “It’s ready, you can eat.”
Lü Tianze came out and saw the food set out and the pot cleaned.
Lin Xixi said, “I’m going back.”
Lü Tianze nodded.
Sister Yang lay down all day.
Regimental Commander Zhao came back and was startled: “What’s wrong?”
Sister Yang had always been a robust woman full of energy; she rarely got sick and was extremely hardworking, never resting for a moment. It was rare to see her lying down like this.
This sudden change frightened Regimental Commander Zhao.
Sister Yang looked at her husband, thinking about the trouble she had caused and how she had almost implicated him, and suddenly burst into tears.
Regimental Commander Zhao was even more panicked.
He wasn’t afraid of his wife throwing a tantrum, but he had never seen her cry like this.
Regimental Commander Zhao tried to coax and comfort her, asking what happened, until Sister Yang tearfully explained the situation.
Regimental Commander Zhao’s face turned pale.
He felt he was just a hair’s breadth away from being discharged.
Qiao Wei had pulled him back.
Looking at his old woman, he wanted to scold her, but seeing her face covered in snot and tears, he felt powerless.
In the end, Regimental Commander Zhao sat down on the square stool by the kang, saying nothing, just smoking.
After finishing one cigarette, he asked in a muffled voice: “Have you learned your lesson?”
Sister Yang choked out: “Yes.”
“Can you remember it?”
“Yes.”
Regimental Commander Zhao huffed and didn’t say anything else.
Saying a thousand or ten thousand words wasn’t as useful as hitting a brick wall in reality.
He stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“I have to go thank Qiao Wei.”
This wasn’t much different from a life-saving favor.
“Yes, yes, go ahead, and thank her properly.”
“I know. Huh? You didn’t go cook for Tianze?”
“I haven’t been feeling well, so I let Xixi go.”
“Alright then.”
Regimental Commander Zhao came specifically to express his thanks, and that was how Yan Lei found out about the matter.
Qiao Wei said: “There’s nothing to thank me for, just make sure Sister-in-law is careful from now on.”
Regimental Commander Zhao sighed: “She’s just an old woman who doesn’t understand anything.”
Qiao Wei wasn’t buying it: “If she doesn’t understand, you should teach her. Have you ever told her about what’s going on outside? She spends her days washing clothes and cooking; she doesn’t even see a newspaper at home and only hears the news from the radio every day. You should be the one providing her with channels to understand.”
Regimental Commander Zhao scratched his head, unable to refute.
Back home, Lin Xixi had already returned and started cooking for the Zhao family.
Regimental Commander Zhao asked: “You went to cook for your Uncle Lü, he didn’t say anything, did he?”
Lin Xixi lifted her eyelids: “Say what?”
Regimental Commander Zhao instead said: “Nothing.”
Lü Tianze wasn’t a good bird; if he dared to flirt with his niece, he would have to beat him up.
Since he didn’t say anything, Lin Xixi continued to boil noodles with her eyes cast down.
For several days in a row, Sister Yang couldn’t sleep soundly, suffering from night terrors and night sweats.
Regimental Commander Zhao went to get a few doses of medicine for her to brew and drink, and then she felt better.
For those few days, Lin Xixi was the one who went to cook for Lü Tianze. Seeing that she was honest, Lü Tianze no longer went back into his room the moment she arrived like he did at the beginning. Gradually, the two could exchange a few words.
After Sister Yang recovered, seeing that it was fine for Lin Xixi to cook for Lü Tianze, she asked Lin Xixi to handle the noon meal.
Sister Yang had been hardworking all her life and had never rested; even when Lin Xixi was around, she was still doing housework and chores without stopping for a moment. Who knew that after lying down for those few days while frightened and sick, a person who had never rested in her life would suddenly realize the beauty of “resting.”
Actually, when the men didn’t come home at noon, the women at home usually just made do with something simple and didn’t cook a proper meal.
It was Lü Tianze’s arrival that increased her workload. Now that she saw it was fine for Lin Xixi to cook for Lü Tianze, Sister Yang took the opportunity to be lazy and had Lin Xixi do the noon meal.
It was uneventful.
By the Spring Festival, Lin Xixi brought back Lü Tianze’s clothes as well: “I saw that as a grown man, his laundry was a mess, so I said I’d just wash it for him while I was at it.”
Sister Yang said: “Your uncle said not to wash them.”
Given Sister Yang’s diligence, she had wanted to wash Lü Tianze’s clothes from the start. It was Regimental Commander Zhao who wouldn’t allow it.
“If he can’t cook, there’s no helping that,” he scoffed. “But who doesn’t know how to wash clothes? Which soldier doesn’t wash his own clothes? This kid has lived too good a life; he should suffer a little.”
He even boasted: “Back when he was a new recruit, he was very arrogant and afraid of no one. Yan Lei took the lead, covered him with a quilt, and gave him a good beating. He still wouldn’t submit, so they beat him a second and third time until he finally submitted. We made the kid wash our clothes for a month. Why can’t he wash them now?”
Lin Xixi was surprised: “Uncle, why do that?”
She chided: “Uncle, you have to consider the timing. Of course you could do that when he was wealthy, but look at his situation now. If you don’t take care of him now, he won’t think of you when he goes back and becomes a big official.”
Sister Yang sighed and said: “When have we ever counted on him to help us later? Besides, who knows what will happen in the future? How do you know things will get better? What if… sigh, phew, phew, phew, let’s not say these unlucky things. Become a big official! Become a big official! You’re right. Let Tianze go back and become a big official in the future!”
“Alright, let’s bring his clothes back and wash them from now on.”
“Auntie, don’t you worry about it, I’ll do it.”
“Okay. You’re young, do a bit more. Let Tianze remember your kindness.”
Time flowed slowly by.
In the blink of an eye, it was October, National Day, and the atmosphere was full of joy everywhere.
Lü Tianze had been taking refuge in Xiahekou for a year when he suddenly received a letter from Beijing.
Division Commander Pan’s wife also called Division Commander Pan. Yan Lei and Regimental Commander Zhao heard about it from Division Commander Pan.
They each went back and told their wives: “Tianze’s wife—no, his ex-wife… has remarried.”
Qiao Wei just shook her head slightly and said: “There’s nothing to blame her for.”
Yan Lei sighed.
Then he looked at her.
Qiao Wei: “…What are you looking at?”
Yan Lei really wanted to know: “If I were to be XX’d, and I divorced you first to protect you and Xiangxiang, would you remarry?”
Qiao Wei said: “Making such assumptions is meaningless. It depends on the situation at that time, how much pressure I’m facing, and what difficulties there are.”
Yan Lei tackled her onto the kang: “Can’t you just say ‘No’ to coax me?”
Qiao Wei retorted: “What if I were the one being XX’d? I’m miserable every day, covered in blood and gore. You can’t help at all. Now there is a, um, sister who holds real power, or maybe she doesn’t, but her father does. As long as you marry her, she can protect me. What would you do?”
There was no need to choose; Yan Lei answered directly: “If there were no other way, I would marry her to let her protect you.”
“See,” Qiao Wei said, lying on her side with her head propped up. “So no one can just open their mouth and promise ten thousand years, right? I don’t believe in such things as promises. I only believe in living every day well.”
Yan Lei lay there, looking up at her beautiful face.
He couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke her cheek.
Who had hurt her, making her stop believing in promises?
But he couldn’t ask.
Sister Yang turned and told Lin Xixi about Lü Tianze’s ex-wife remarrying.
Lin Xixi just paused, said “Oh,” and didn’t say anything else.
Because she and Lü Tianze had always been on peaceful terms, Sister Yang was quite comfortable letting her go cook and do laundry for Lü Tianze.
A year passed; she was honest, and Lü Tianze didn’t guard against her much anymore and was willing to let her go into the room to tidy up.
She had even unpicked and washed his quilts and cotton-padded jackets for him; she took good care of his daily life.
Deep down, she knew what she wanted, but she didn’t dare to be rash.
In her past life, this country girl had been bold once and got pregnant before marriage.
Although with the help of her father and brother’s fists, she successfully married the educated youth from the city, it became a stain on her life. Both her mother-in-law and husband used this against her.
Lin Xixi didn’t want to repeat her mistake.
She didn’t dare to be rash in front of Lü Tianze, either; she didn’t even dare to tease or seduce him.
Clearly, her combined age from two lifetimes was much older than Lü Tianze’s, but she could feel that in front of him, she was nothing.
After all, he was a knowledgeable high-ranking official from Beijing, while she was a woman who had spent two lifetimes revolving around the stove.
She always felt that Lü Tianze could see right through her.
Lü Tianze indeed could see right through her.
One day in October, the sun was bright, and Lin Xixi carried the clean laundry to deliver it to Lü Tianze.
Lü Tianze was lying on a lounge chair with his eyes closed, sunbathing.
Lin Xixi greeted him, and he opened his eyes and nodded.
Lin Xixi was busy inside and out, and he watched her the whole time, for a long while.
When Lin Xixi tidied up the dirty clothes he had changed out of, threw them into a basin, and prepared to take them back to wash, he put his feet down and sat up, in a bold and imposing manner.
“Little Lin. Your uncle is old, so I won’t beat around the bush with you.” He narrowed his eyes and asked the girl, “What are you trying to get from me?”
