Chapter 139
The next day, it wasn’t just Little Wu’s parents-in-law, husband, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and a crowd of relatives from her husband’s side who appeared at the Library; her own parents, siblings, and relatives from her maiden family were there too.
When Qiao Wei arrived at the Library escorting Little Wu with personnel from the Armed Forces Department, Wu Xiaoling’s Father was trying hard to apologize to his in-laws: “She is not that kind of person, she is absolutely not that kind of person. I promise! I promise!”
At this moment, Little Wu appeared, and her father hurriedly pulled her over: “Quickly promise your father-in-law and mother-in-law that after you finish university, you will definitely live a steady and grounded life!”
Upon hearing this, the corners of Qiao Wei’s mouth curled up slightly.
After a night, Little Wu had also calmed down.
She hung her head and said: “Dad, Mom, Wang Jianshe, after I finish university and come back, I will definitely live a steady and grounded life.”
But her parents-in-law didn’t think so. The father-in-law gave the mother-in-law a look, and the mother-in-law slapped the table and stood up: “Study what university! You’re already a married woman, it’s been two years, and there’s still no news from your belly! And you still want to go to university? Then tell me, when will you have children? You’ll be in your twenties by the time you finish university! How long do you intend to delay our Wang family from holding a grandson!”
Seeing Qiao Wei’s cold expression, Wang Jianshe grabbed his mother’s arm: “Mom, Mom, calm down.”
“I can’t calm down! How can I calm down!” Wang Jianshe’s mother was responsible for being the “crazy” one in the family; the words that the men found inconvenient to say were spoken by her in her fits of madness. “Wu Xiaoling, look into your conscience and say it! Has our family ever wronged you in the slightest? We’ve never hit or scolded you, have we! Ah! You tell me yourself! You’ve been married for two years and haven’t conceived, and I haven’t even let Wang Jianshe divorce you, have I! Ah! How can you be so heartless!”
“Oh, so you’re running off to go to university? What about this whole family?”
“Who will cook the meals? Who will wash the clothes? With this whole family of old and young, you’re just going to run off? You’re just going to ignore everything?”
Little Wu pursed her lips tightly and didn’t speak.
After his mother finished her outburst, Wang Jianshe pulled her back.
Only then did Wang Jianshe’s father speak: “Xiaoling, one cannot be too selfish. You are already a daughter-in-law of someone else’s family, and you bear the responsibility of taking care of the whole family. Chairman teaches us that one must have a sense of responsibility. How could someone like you possibly find the time to go study for a few years?”
“Our Wang family doesn’t count on you to bring glory to our ancestors. Things like attending university should be left for Yuejin to do in the future.”
“You, just stick to your duties, live your life well, and take good care of our family; that will be the greatest achievement of your life!”
Qiao Wei glanced over.
Little Wu’s lips were already pressed so tightly they had turned white.
Wu Xiaoling’s Father said: “In-laws, attending university has been our Xiaoling’s dream since she was a child. It wasn’t easy for her to get accepted; look, if she doesn’t go, what a pity that would be.”
Little Wu glanced at her father gratefully.
But Wang Jianshe’s father said: “Old Wu, it’s not that I want to criticize you. Xiaoling has already married into our family; she is a member of our family. What she does in the future should prioritize our family. You’ve raised her this big, so you’ve fulfilled your parental responsibilities. From now on, Xiaoling’s affairs will be the responsibility of her mother and me.”
Wang Jianshe’s mother muttered: “Never seen someone who has already married out, yet the maiden family still manages this and that all day long.”
Wu Xiaoling’s Mother wanted to speak, but Wu Xiaoling’s Father felt in the wrong and pressed her arm to stop her. He sighed and didn’t say another word.
Being someone else’s person once married out was the mainstream ideology at the time.
Relatives from the Wu family also urged: “Ling, say something.”
“If you ask me, she really shouldn’t be going to any university. She’s already married, so having children quickly is the proper thing to do.”
“Lingling, listen to reason.”
Wang Jianshe said: “Xiaoling, say something.”
Qiao Wei stepped forward and swept her gaze across these people.
Everyone present knew who she was. Wu Xiaoling’s old leader, Qiao Wei, who had never fallen, and now had even been promoted to a deputy director.
Although there were many deputy directors, she was different. Everyone knew about how she had resisted the [redacted] faction back then and refused to kick Meng Zuoyi while he was down at the [redacted] meeting. Now, Meng Zuoyi had returned and was the top leader again.
Although there were many deputy directors in the Revolutionary Committee, everyone knew that Qiao Wei was different.
But hearing about her and actually facing her were different. As Qiao Wei swept her gaze over them, for some reason, these people subconsciously shrank their necks, their auras weakening a fraction.
Even Wang Jianshe’s mother didn’t dare to shout directly at her.
Qiao Wei said: “Xiaoling, say something. Do you really want to attend university or not?”
Wu Xiaoling raised her head: “I want to. I want to attend university.”
For this college entrance examination, Librarian Zheng Ai did not assign her tasks, letting her study in the back room of the office that Yan Xiang used to use. All the colleagues in the Library helped her review, recite, and take dictation.
Everyone encouraged her time and time again: “Our Ling will definitely get in!”
Everyone thought she should go to university, didn’t they?
Everyone thought that going to university was the good, the right thing, didn’t they?
Why was it that only her husband’s family didn’t think so.
She spoke very firmly.
Her husband, Wang Jianshe, changed color.
He said loudly: “Wu Xiaoling, I’ll lay it out here today! If you want to go to university, divorce me first!”
His mother also said loudly: “That’s right, if you want to go to university, let’s get a divorce!”
We don’t want this daughter-in-law anymore!
Fortunately, Qiao Wei had transmigrated thirteen years ago; if this had been in the first year or two after she transmigrated, she probably would have laughed out loud upon hearing this.
What was the biggest fear in later generations? The biggest fear was wanting a divorce but being unable to get one.
For this kind of in-laws to actually be the ones to bring up divorce first—if this were in later generations, wouldn’t a group of girlfriends be popping champagne and hanging banners to celebrate their sister escaping a sea of misery?
Wu Xiaoling’s Mother panicked: “Jianshe, Jianshe’s mother, don’t be impulsive.”
Wu Xiaoling’s Father also said: “Everyone, calm down. Jianshe’s father, you persuade Jianshe.”
But Wang Jianshe’s father just turned his head away and huffed arrogantly.
Wu Xiaoling’s Mother’s tears were about to fall: “Lingling, Lingling… otherwise let’s… let’s…”
But she also knew that university was her daughter’s dream.
She couldn’t bring herself to say that she should give up on going after passing the exam.
That was university; how many people did it take to produce one university student?
Qiao Wei curled her lips: “Comrade Wang Jianshe. Things like divorce shouldn’t be brought up casually. This is a very serious matter. Saying it too much hurts feelings. Do you really want to divorce her?”
The meaning behind these words from Wu Xiaoling’s old leader was also to help Wu Xiaoling stabilize her marriage.
The Wang family was even more certain that Wu Xiaoling didn’t have the guts to divorce.
Wang Jianshe said: “University and marriage, she can only choose one.”
University and marriage, you can only choose one of the two, how do you choose?
Yesterday, Qiao Wei had already asked. She gave her a night to think about it.
Wu Xiaoling raised her eyes and met Qiao Wei’s gaze.
When Qiao Wei had just transferred to the Library, Wu Xiaoling’s first impression of her was that this older sister was really pretty.
But later, she rarely thought about how pretty Qiao Wei was.
When her parents asked “How is your current leader?”, Wu Xiaoling would bite her chopsticks and then say with admiration: “She is exceptionally capable.”
She drove away wave after wave of people who came to the Library to cause trouble; some she coaxed, some she scared off, and some she confronted head-on.
When she was tough, those people would back down.
She secured budgets, fought for resources, and added benefits for the Library; during the five years she was there, the Library was peaceful, sheltering them from the wind and rain.
Wu Xiaoling’s personality was actually somewhat weak.
But weak people yearn more for strong people.
Qiao Wei stared into her eyes: “Xiaoling, you choose for yourself: go to university, study to gain knowledge, and achieve something for yourself? Or go home to wash clothes, cook, and serve your husband, parents-in-law, and brother-in-law?”
Did this need choosing? These were clear-cut options.
Qiao Wei’s slightly raised eyebrows and burning gaze were all encouraging her, all telling her which one she should choose.
Hot blood rushed to her head, and Wu Xiaoling, who had always been weak-willed, blurted out: “I want to go to university!”
Shouting this sentence at such a high volume felt incredibly satisfying in her heart.
This was the first time in Wu Xiaoling’s life she had experienced such satisfaction.
She took a breath, and this time, her voice was louder and more resolute: “I want to go to university! I choose to go to university! I, I agree to the divorce!”
Qiao Wei smiled with gratification. When she turned her head back, she had already put away the smile, looking troubled: “Comrade Wang Jianshe, look at this…”
Wang Jianshe could see it now; Wu Xiaoling had lost her mind and was determined to go to university.
Did she think he was just trying to scare her when he mentioned divorce?
Wang Jianshe took several sheets of paper from his pocket and slapped them onto the long, large old elm desk in the Library: “Fine, then let’s divorce! I even have the referral letter ready!”
In this era, divorce was actually very difficult.
Not to mention the rounds and rounds of dissuasion from family members, relatives, and even neighbors. In the end, even if you could withstand all that, you still had to pass the hurdle of your unit’s leader.
The leader would talk to you time and time again, firmly believing that “it is better to destroy ten temples than one marriage.”
Without a divorce referral letter issued by the leader, one could not get a divorce.
Wang Jianshe had explained the situation to his leader, telling the leader, “I’m just trying to scare her so she doesn’t dare go to university,” which is why the leader had readily issued the referral letter.
This was truly great.
What Qiao Wei was most worried about was the leader on Wang Jianshe’s side causing trouble.
She reached out, picked up the referral letter, and glanced at it; no problems, the names and everything were there, and the big red stamp was there too.
The two sheets underneath were the marriage certificates, which he had also brought.
This was truly great; everything was complete.
Qiao Wei sighed: “It seems that the marriage between Comrade Wu Xiaoling and Comrade Wang Jianshe has completely broken down.”
“There is no guilty party in this matter.”
“Comrade Xiaoling accepts the Party’s teachings and strives to improve herself for the sake of a better revolutionary cause. She is not at fault.”
“Comrade Wang Jianshe believes that Comrade Xiaoling cannot balance the household chores and reproductive needs of the family, and his desire to find someone else who meets his needs is also human nature.”
“We can understand both sides. Since this is the case, let’s stop arguing.” Qiao Wei looked at Librarian Zheng Ai, “Librarian Zheng Ai, where are the comrades from the Civil Affairs Bureau?”
“Coming, coming, here they are!”
As the voice rang out, everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
Big Sister Shen pushed out two people from behind a bookshelf, wearing uniforms and carrying briefcases.
No one knew when they had arrived or when they had hidden behind the bookshelf.
Qiao Wei went over to shake their hands: “Sorry for the trouble of having to make a trip.”
The two people said: “Director Qiao, no need to be polite, this is serving the people.”
Qiao Wei said: “Going deep into the masses, doing practical things, doing good deeds—I must write a letter of commendation to your bureau chief later.”
The corners of both men’s mouths stretched wide.
The people in the large reading room were all dumbfounded.
One person from the Civil Affairs Bureau sat down, and the other acted as a witness.
The person who sat down took out a red seal and a box of ink paste from their briefcase.
Qiao Wei handed over Wang Jianshe’s referral letter and the marriage certificates. The person checked them and asked: “Where is the woman’s referral letter?”
Librarian Zheng Ai hurriedly took a piece of paper from the chest pocket of his Zhongshan suit, unfolded it, and handed it over: “It’s right here!”
Librarian Zheng Ai was Wu Xiaoling’s current leader. The referral letter on Wu Xiaoling’s side was issued by him.
The staff member checked that there were no errors, picked up the big red seal, blew on it hard, stamped it a few times on the ink paste, and raised it high.
At this moment, the Wang family, who had finally reacted, couldn’t help but stand up and reach out their hands: “Hey—, hey—”
Wanting to stop it.
But the red seal representing public authority had already fallen heavily!
Bang—
The sound of it colliding with the tabletop seemed to carry an echo.
To Wu Xiaoling, it was deafening.
