This time, Gu Xinguo travelled alone to Shenjia Village to transfer Shen Jiao’s household registration.
He travelled light. Apart from the gifts in his hands for the brigade captain, he carried only a briefcase. Inside were several handfuls of wedding sweets, two packets of cigarettes, and all the documents required for Shen Jiao’s household registration transfer.
Because he wanted to gather information, he deliberately avoided entering the village when few people were around. Instead, he chose to arrive at noon, when everyone was eating.
At this hour, most of the commune members were at home.
Unlike people in the city, rural villagers did not necessarily sit around a dining table to eat. They generally carried their bowls outside, found somewhere to squat or sit, and gathered in groups to eat and chat.
The weather was particularly pleasant that day. The midday sun felt warm and comfortable, so many villagers had brought their bowls outside and formed small groups.
Therefore, the unfamiliar Gu Xinguo was noticed the moment he entered the village.
“Comrade, may I ask you something? Where does the brigade captain live?”
The person Gu Xinguo happened to approach was Liu Mingli, the brigade captain’s younger sister-in-law.
Seeing that he was unfamiliar, she naturally asked where he came from and why he wanted to see the brigade captain.
“Comrade, I’m the husband of Shen Jiao from your brigade. I’ve mainly come to transfer her household registration.”
“Since she has already married me, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to continue taking up your brigade’s resources, would it?”
“So you’re Shen Jiao’s new husband!”
Liu Mingli looked him over.
“Why didn’t Shen Jiao come back with you? Her brother and sister-in-law are both in the hospital.”
“Even though the two families have severed ties, blood is still thicker than water. How can a married woman completely abandon her maternal family?”
“Her brother and sister-in-law are hospitalised?”
Gu Xinguo appeared surprised.
“That can’t be right. When we married three days ago, her sister-in-law even visited our brigade.”
“Still, I can’t blame Jiaojiao for refusing to return. She was deeply disappointed in her brother and sister-in-law.”
“Although Jiaojiao had some unpleasant disagreements with them before remarrying, they shouldn’t have deliberately travelled to our brigade and spread rumours to ruin her reputation.”
Gu Xinguo sighed.
“Jiaojiao was truly heartbroken. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have refused to come back today. She was simply too hurt.”
His story was so detailed and convincing that Liu Mingli might have believed him if Shen Chunshan and Du Lingxiang had not been causing trouble right under everyone’s noses for the past few days.
Only yesterday, the couple had been injured and hospitalised after fighting with Du Lingxiang’s maternal family over money.
Speaking of that incident, no one knew what Du Lingxiang had hoped to accomplish.
She had driven her sister-in-law out of the family for money, completely offended her, and ruined her own reputation.
Then, because of that same money, she had fallen out with her maternal family as well.
By now, everyone in the surrounding villages knew about the Shen and Du families.
Behind Du Lingxiang’s back, countless people laughed that she was receiving retribution. She had sold out her sister-in-law and obtained the money, yet she still could not live peacefully.
“So Jiaojiao’s brother and sister-in-law haven’t left the brigade during the past few days?”
Gu Xinguo frowned thoughtfully.
“That’s strange. Jiaojiao said she never offended anyone else here.”
“Who would be idle enough to travel more than a hundred li simply to destroy her reputation?”
Liu Mingli’s eyes shifted.
She merely looked at Gu Xinguo without speaking.
Gu Xinguo had experienced enough of the world to understand exactly what she meant.
He opened his briefcase, took out two cloth coupons, and slipped them into her hand.
Liu Mingli gripped the coupons and grinned so broadly that her eyes nearly disappeared.
With those two cloth coupons, she could make a new outfit for her son to wear when meeting a potential bride.
Since Gu Xinguo was so generous, she no longer concealed anything.
She told him about the supposed grudge between Shen Jiao and Li Mingxia’s family.
Gu Xinguo frowned.
Without any evidence, merely because of a few ambiguous words, these people had placed such an enormous accusation upon his wife.
No wonder Jiaojiao always spoke indifferently whenever Shenjia Village was mentioned.
The people here had truly treated her without kindness.
“Who actually witnessed Jiaojiao refusing to save anyone?”
“No one genuinely saw anything.”
Liu Mingli shook her head.
“It was all because of Little Chatterbox, Old Chatterbox’s daughter. That rotten mouth of hers made a few vague remarks, and Li Mingxia immediately began hating Jiaojiao.”
“The truth is, we all watched Jiaojiao grow up. Everyone knows what kind of person she is.”
“If she had genuinely seen Li Mingxia’s Maodan fall into the water, she definitely wouldn’t have stood by without helping.”
“But Li Mingxia refuses to believe that.”
Liu Mingli sighed.
“She used to be quite easy to get along with. I don’t understand why she became so stubborn and unreasonable over this matter.”
Gu Xinguo connected her explanation with the middle-aged woman who had appeared in Shuanma Village on the day of his wedding.
With a little thought, he understood what had happened.
He pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth.
This Li Mingxia would be difficult to handle.
She had neither killed anyone nor committed arson. She had not committed any serious offence, so there was little he could formally do to her.
However, he could not simply stand aside and allow her to continue jumping around and troubling his wife.
“Is Li Mingxia at home today? I’d like to meet her and clear up the misunderstanding on Jiaojiao’s behalf.”
He had already travelled all this way.
He could not leave without meeting her.
At the very least, he needed to understand what kind of person she was.
It would be best if they could resolve the misunderstanding. If that proved impossible, he still needed to learn more about her and issue a warning, both openly and indirectly, so that she would restrain herself.
“She went to visit relatives at her maternal family’s home. She’s been gone for several days and hasn’t returned yet.”
Gu Xinguo’s brows drew together.
What unfortunate timing.
He only had that one free day. He had to return to work tomorrow and would certainly have no spare time afterwards.
Nevertheless, he asked for the location of Li Mingxia’s maternal family.
Everyone had a weakness.
Since Li Mingxia had lost her husband and son, her maternal relatives were surely the people closest to her.
As long as a person had something they cared about, they would possess reservations and would not act too recklessly.
It appeared he would need to visit the brigade where Li Mingxia’s maternal family lived later that day.
Liu Mingli led him towards the brigade captain’s home.
Before they even entered the courtyard, they heard the brigade captain’s wife calling the family to come and eat their noodles.
At that sound, Liu Mingli immediately stopped walking.
Her sister-in-law was not an easy woman to deal with.
If she arrived precisely at mealtime while bringing another person, her sister-in-law would certainly accuse her of deliberately bringing an extra mouth to feed.
Liu Mingli did not want to quarrel with her later.
“Comrade Gu, this is the brigade captain’s home. You can go in by yourself. I still have something to do, so I’ll return home first.”
After saying this, Liu Mingli turned and left.
Her hurried steps made it seem as though a wolf were chasing her.
Gu Xinguo shook his head with a smile before entering the brigade captain’s courtyard.
“Comrade, who are you looking for?”
The brigade captain’s wife had never met Gu Xinguo.
Anyone would feel unhappy when an unexpected visitor arrived precisely while the family was eating.
“Auntie, I’m looking for the brigade captain.”
As he spoke, the brigade captain emerged from the house.
The moment he saw Gu Xinguo, his head began to ache.
The main reason was the continuing trouble caused by Shen Jiao’s divorce.
Shen Chunshan’s family and Du Lingxiang’s maternal family had been arguing over money every day, throwing the entire Shenjia Village Brigade into chaos.
Now, they had even fought until people were hospitalised.
“Little Gu, you’re here. Where is Jiaojiao? Why didn’t she come?”
When the brigade captain did not see Shen Jiao, he felt even more displeased.
Was she genuinely planning never to recognise the Shen family again?
She had married, yet she would not even return for a visit.
Sure enough, because she was not biologically related to them, raising her for so many years had still failed to make her truly part of the family.
“Grandma is seriously ill and can’t be left alone. Jiaojiao remained at home to care for her.”
“Uncle, before I came, Jiaojiao specifically asked me to send you her regards.”
Regardless of how truthful Gu Xinguo’s words were, the brigade captain immediately felt much better after hearing them.
He invited Gu Xinguo inside and told his wife to serve him a bowl of noodles.
The brigade captain’s wife had originally resented Gu Xinguo for arriving at mealtime.
However, once she accepted the cigarettes and alcohol he had brought, her heart blossomed with delight.
Neither the cigarettes nor the alcohol was cheap.
When she served Gu Xinguo his noodles, she no longer felt reluctant and filled an enormous bowl to the brim.
“Since Jiaojiao has married, her household registration should naturally follow her husband’s family.”
“There won’t be any problem from my side. After we finish eating, I’ll help you complete the procedures.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
“No wonder Jiaojiao always says you’re the fairest person in the brigade and that all the commune members respect you.”
Gu Xinguo was usually a man of few words, but when there was business to accomplish, he knew how to say pleasant things.
Only after the atmosphere had become harmonious did he mention that Li Mingxia had visited their village to spread rumours and ruin Shen Jiao’s reputation.
“Uncle, you watched Jiaojiao grow up. You know her character.”
“Do you genuinely believe she could stand by and allow someone to die?”
“You don’t know how upset she became after hearing the rumours outside. She cried from anger.”
“If Grandma didn’t require constant care, she would have come here herself to confront whoever was accusing her.”
The brigade captain also felt irritated when the matter was mentioned.
It was not as though he had never attempted to reason with Li Mingxia.
At the very least, she should have questioned Shen Jiao before declaring her guilty.
Yet Li Mingxia had remained silent on the surface.
Even after Shen Jiao returned from the capital, she never confronted her.
The brigade captain had assumed the matter had ended.
Who would have imagined that Li Mingxia had been waiting to strike elsewhere?
Thinking about it now, everyone had originally assumed Shen Chunshan’s family had deliberately damaged the house assigned to Shen Jiao near the village entrance.
It appeared they had been falsely accused.
“She truly went to your village?”
“Yes. She arrived on the day Jiaojiao and I married.”
Gu Xinguo paused and observed the brigade captain’s expression before continuing.
“Uncle, Li Mingxia’s experience is certainly tragic, but we can’t allow her to hurt others however she likes simply because she deserves sympathy.”
“If she isn’t restrained now, before she causes a serious incident, she’ll only become increasingly daring.”
“If she eventually does something that can’t be repaired, it will be too late for regrets.”
The brigade captain was responsible for Shenjia Village.
He naturally prioritised the interests of his own brigade members.
Shen Jiao, as a married daughter who now belonged elsewhere, would inevitably come second.
Gu Xinguo had no choice but to place additional pressure upon him.
The noodles in the brigade captain’s mouth suddenly lost their flavour.
Li Mingxia was the wife of one of his clan nephews.
She had already lost both her husband and child.
As her elder, not only had he failed to care for her sufficiently, but now he was being asked to restrict her.
Shen Jiao’s husband had truly given him a difficult problem.
“Don’t worry, Little Gu. I’ll keep an eye on her from now on and prevent her from casually leaving the village.”
Gu Xinguo was not satisfied with the brigade captain’s solution.
However, for the moment, that was all they could do.
After completing the household registration transfer paperwork at the brigade office, he prepared to find Liu Mingli.
He wanted her to keep an eye on Li Mingxia.
In addition to visiting Li Mingxia’s maternal family, it would be safer to make other preparations.
However, before he could leave, the brigade captain stopped him.
“Little Gu, Jiaojiao’s brother and sister-in-law are both in the hospital.”
“Although Jiaojiao has severed ties with them, how can twenty years of care and upbringing be erased so easily?”
“When you return, tell Jiaojiao to come back and visit them.”
Gu Xinguo sneered inwardly.
No wonder Jiaojiao did not want to return.
If she came back, these people might tear her apart and swallow her whole.
Nevertheless, he smiled, though the warmth did not reach his eyes.
His response did not mention Shen Chunshan or his wife at all.
“Haha. This is Jiaojiao’s maternal home. When we have time, I’ll accompany her back for a visit.”
The brigade captain watched Gu Xinguo stride away and took a forceful drag from his hand-rolled cigarette.
Why did these young people refuse to understand?
Everything he did was for their own good.
Hadn’t the ancestors always taught that harmony within the family allowed everything else to prosper?
Meanwhile, after Liu Mingli received another two industrial-goods coupons from Gu Xinguo, she readily agreed to keep watch over Li Mingxia, Shen Chunshan, and Du Lingxiang.
She even volunteered to help clear Shen Jiao’s name.
The main reason Gu Xinguo approached Liu Mingli was that she was the brigade captain’s sister-in-law and possessed some influence within the village.
With her watching Li Mingxia and Shen Chunshan’s family, he could feel somewhat reassured.
Moreover, if she spoke publicly to refute the rumours about Shen Jiao, her words would carry some authority.
Back in Shuanma Village, Shen Jiao continued massaging Grandma as usual.
After Grandma fell asleep, Shen Jiao had nothing else to do at home.
She did not know whether Gu Xinguo’s trip to transfer her household registration was proceeding smoothly.
They had not even been separated for a full day, yet she already missed him slightly.
When she realised this, sweetness filled her heart, but it was accompanied by even greater panic.
She was genuinely afraid.
She feared becoming so immersed in love that she lost herself and eventually transformed into the kind of woman she despised.
She could not continue like this.
Feeling unsettled, she hurried back to her room, took out the small amount of money she possessed, and counted it.
It was time to begin planning her future life.
Once her household registration was transferred to Shuanma Village Brigade, the brigade captain would certainly assign her to work.
However, Shen Jiao planned to open a tailoring shop in town once Grandma’s health improved slightly.
She did not particularly want to work in the production team.
But when she remembered the rumours already spreading about her in the village, she developed a headache.
If she also refused to work, who knew what kind of woman they would describe her as next?
Leave a Reply