Li Tao’s family was in an excellent mood that evening, especially Li Tao himself.
At the thought of Gu Xinguo suffering misfortune, he practically wanted to buy a string of firecrackers and celebrate with gongs and drums.
He could not forget the sight of Wang Xiangxiu deliberately jumping into the river to trap Gu Xinguo into saving her.
Whenever he remembered it, he felt as though a lush green hat had been placed on his head.
He lowered his head and gulped down two mouthfuls of liquor, wiped his mouth with his hand, then carried the bottle back to his room with an uneven limp.
Wang Xiangxiu was sitting at the small table on the kang, drawing clothing patterns.
She was sketching the cutting methods she had secretly observed while Li Tao and his father worked that day, such as how to cut the sleeves of a Mao suit and how its collar should be shaped.
By now, Wang Xiangxiu understood perfectly how highly the father and son valued their tailoring skills.
She had already married into the Li family, yet they remained extremely guarded around her and refused to teach her anything.
She had no choice but to learn secretly.
Shen Jiao’s tailoring shop was flourishing.
There was practically no one in Linqing County who had not heard of Xinjiao Tailoring Shop.
The thought filled Wang Xiangxiu with unbearable resentment.
Back then, she had encouraged the old tailor’s family to move into the county town and open a shop for two reasons.
First, with more customers and more confusion, it would be easier for her to fish in troubled waters and secretly learn the craft.
Second, she wanted to distance herself from familiar faces and escape the villagers’ mocking gazes.
Everyone assumed the old tailor’s family had moved because they valued her.
In reality, they had already wanted to settle in the county town.
On the surface, the family constantly asked after her well-being and behaved as though they treasured and adored her.
But who knew the suffering hidden behind that appearance?
Li Tao was a complete bastard.
Whether he was happy or angry, he would always find an excuse to beat his wife.
Fortunately, he cared about appearances and knew not to leave injuries where outsiders could see them.
That was the only reason everyone believed Wang Xiangxiu was living a happy life.
Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
She hurriedly hid the paper and pencil, and her entire body immediately tensed.
She knew she would not escape another beating tonight.
She clenched her fists tightly, her fingernails digging painfully into her palms.
The pain made her mind exceptionally clear.
Gu Xinguo. Shen Jiao.
You reduced me to this state.
One day, I will repay everything with interest.
After beating his wife, Li Tao thought about Gu Xinguo’s supposedly miserable fate and fell asleep in a drunken haze.
Wang Xiangxiu sat curled in a corner of the kang with her hair dishevelled.
Her dark eyes stared at Li Tao’s flushed face.
Her hand stretched out, then drew back.
For one moment, she truly wanted to perish together with him and end everything once and for all.
Gu Xinguo.
Why didn’t you save me?
Why did you watch me marry this beast?
If this was going to be her fate, then he might as well have let her drown in the river when she was ten.
That would have been better than giving her heart to the wrong person and enduring endless suffering.
Tears circled inside her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.
Who was she crying for?
If she woke Li Tao, she would only receive another beating.
The darkness concealed countless people’s suffering.
When daylight arrived, Wang Xiangxiu once again became an energetic young wife.
She dressed neatly, wore a smile, and welcomed customers who came to have clothes made.
The old tailor measured customers and cut fabric, while his son sat at the sewing machine.
Wang Xiangxiu entertained the customers, holding up pattern books so they could choose their preferred styles.
They appeared to be a united family working together to build a good life.
Who would have imagined that it was merely a false appearance?
“Which one of you is Li Chizi?”
The old tailor’s name was truly remarkable.
He had been directly named after a tailor’s ruler, showing just how deeply he loved his trade.
However, everyone had called him “the old tailor” for so many years that he did not immediately realise the visitors were calling him.
“Which one is Li Chizi?”
Two uniformed men raised their voices and asked again.
Only then did the old tailor realise they were looking for him and hurriedly stepped forward.
What followed was practically a repeat of what had happened at Xinjiao Tailoring Shop the previous day.
From that moment onward, Li Tao’s family could no longer remain calm.
When they discovered that Xinjiao Tailoring Shop had opened for business as usual, they became even more unsettled.
Li Tao was not stupid.
How could he fail to understand that Gu Xinguo was deliberately trying to disgust him?
Gu Xinguo had copied the very method Li Tao had used against him and returned it exactly as it was.
Even if nothing serious ultimately happened, he had still succeeded in making the Li family miserable.
Although their family lived fairly well, they were still ordinary people at heart.
Among all their relatives in Linqing County, Li Wenjie was the only one who worked within the government system.
Desperate people would seek help from anyone available.
Li Tao and Wang Xiangxiu carried cigarettes, liquor, and other gifts to Li Wenjie’s home.
Li Wenjie happened to be there.
He had been suspended from duty the previous night.
There were countless pieces of evidence against him, and a deputy director from the municipal bureau had personally criticised him by name.
The county bureau had already wanted to investigate and settle his past misconduct, so naturally, they acted quickly.
In truth, even without this incident, his career in public security would not have lasted much longer.
While suspended and ordered to reflect, Li Wenjie sensed that something was wrong.
However, he never considered that his downfall might have resulted from his own corrupt behaviour.
Instead, he blamed everything on Li Tao’s family.
He had originally planned to visit them that day, but he had drunk too much the previous evening and failed to wake up in time.
Unexpectedly, Li Tao came to him first and even brought his young wife.
Li Wenjie glanced at his own wife.
After giving birth, her waist had become considerably thicker.
Disgust flashed intensely through his eyes.
How had he once been so bewitched that he married such a woman?
Her maternal family was ordinary, and her appearance was nothing impressive.
If his job had not required him to consider the effect on his reputation, he would have divorced her long ago.
“Captain Li, my father was taken away by people from the Public Security Bureau today. Could you help us ask what happened?”
Li Tao’s words nearly made Li Wenjie jump out of his seat.
The people from Xinjiao Tailoring Shop truly could not be provoked.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Fortunately, he had swallowed his pride and apologised to Shen Jiao the previous evening.
Surely she would no longer hold a grudge against him?
No.
He still needed to go out and ask around for help.
It was better to be prepared for the worst.
If that woman remained resentful, he could not afford to sit around doing nothing.
“Ask what? Don’t you know what trouble you caused?
“That Shen Jiao woman’s husband knows the deputy director of the municipal bureau. Did you not know that?
“You’ve nearly ruined me! Get out! Hurry up and leave! I still have matters to handle!”
Li Wenjie waved them away as though driving off flies.
He had originally intended to squeeze a large sum of money from Li Tao and had even vaguely hinted that Wang Xiangxiu should offer herself to him.
Now, however, those thoughts had completely vanished.
He was about to lose his livelihood.
How could he possibly still think about such things?
After being driven outside, Li Tao stopped caring about maintaining appearances.
With a sharp slap, he struck Wang Xiangxiu across the face.
Then came punches and kicks.
If this wretched woman had not provoked him, he would never have attacked Gu Xinguo.
Now everything was ruined.
There was no possibility of continuing to operate the tailoring shop.
Thinking about returning to the village in disgrace and remembering how much the shop earned every month made him furious.
One month in town brought them as much money as they could earn in an entire year in the village.
Yet everything had been destroyed by the woman before him.
At that moment, Li Tao resembled a madman.
He kicked and struck Wang Xiangxiu wildly as though she were not a human being but a sandbag.
He wanted to release every ounce of frustration inside him onto her body.
Wang Xiangxiu endured the agonising pain and gritted her teeth without making a sound.
However, for every additional measure of pain she felt, her hatred towards Gu Xinguo and Shen Jiao increased by the same amount.
Why were they entitled to live happily together?
She had fallen in love with Gu Xinguo first.
He had married twice, yet neither time had he chosen her.
“Hey! What are you doing? How can you beat someone like that?”
The disturbance finally attracted the attention of passers-by.
Several people hurried over and pulled Li Tao away.
Only then did he release Wang Xiangxiu.
An elderly woman passing by tried to take Wang Xiangxiu to the Women’s Federation to report Li Tao, but Wang Xiangxiu refused.
She had already married Li Tao and sacrificed both her marriage and her chastity.
She could not afford to gain absolutely nothing from it.
At the very least, she had to learn the Li family’s tailoring skills.
The elderly woman stared at Wang Xiangxiu with bitter disappointment.
She had been beaten so badly, yet she was still protecting her husband.
There was always something pitiful in the circumstances of pitiful people.
If Wang Xiangxiu refused to stand up for herself, other people might help her temporarily, but could they protect her for the rest of her life?
The woman shook her head, sighed, and left.
“Bah! A dog chasing mice and interfering in matters that don’t concern it. I’m beating my own wife. No one has the right to interfere.”
Only after the woman had walked far away did Li Tao spit in her direction and curse under his breath.
Wang Xiangxiu sneered inwardly and silently called him a coward.
Why had he remained silent earlier?
Was it not because he was afraid to offend someone from the county town?
Now that the woman had left, he suddenly behaved like a great lord again.
“Why aren’t you hurrying home? Are you waiting for some other man to come and save you, you bitch?”
Li Tao had failed to rescue his father and had been caught beating his wife while trying to vent his anger.
His frustration was unbearable.
Still cursing, he limped back towards the shop in the county town.
He planned to return home and ask his mother whether their family knew any other relatives who might be able to help.
Unexpectedly, the front of the tailoring shop was crowded with customers demanding refunds.
Li Tao did not possess Gu Xinguo’s ability to manage a public-relations crisis.
Nor did he have a respectable job that would make people trust his promises.
In the end, he had no choice but to return the money.
Looking at the now-empty tailoring shop, Li Tao beat Wang Xiangxiu again.
Then, after checking the time, he returned to Shuanma Village in disgrace.
News of what had happened to Li Tao’s family quickly reached Shen Jiao and the others.
Everyone felt deeply satisfied.
It was one thing for the Li family to imitate the clothing styles from Xinjiao Tailoring Shop and compete for customers.
But they had secretly plotted against Shen Jiao and tried to send a pregnant woman to a labour reform camp.
Their consciences had truly been eaten by dogs.
“Let’s see whether they dare do anything so immoral again.
“Usually, although Li Tao had a bad temper, he still seemed reasonably honest.
“Who would’ve thought he was only polished on the outside while completely rotten within?
“People like him deserve to be properly taught a lesson by the government. Otherwise, he’ll always be thinking of ways to harm others.”
Gu Xinmin, Wang Juying, and Wang Meili complained about the Li family while continuing their work.
Shen Jiao, however, did not say a single word.
The stars in her eyes and the smile at the corners of her mouth expressed nothing but happiness.
Gu Xinguo had truly kept his promise.
She stroked her stomach and gently pressed down the baby’s little foot.
She thought that after returning home, she would have to reward him properly.
How she rewarded him that evening could not be described.
All that could be said was that Shen Jiao’s hand remained sore for two days afterward.
The day after the old tailor was detained, Li Tao and his mother carried expensive gifts of cigarettes and liquor to visit Gu Xinguo and beg for mercy.
Gu Xinguo refused to take any responsibility and pushed the matter away completely.
What a joke.
Would he deliberately find evidence and have the old tailor detained, only to plead for his release afterward?
Was he mentally ill?
Seeing that neither soft persuasion nor hard pressure worked on Gu Xinguo, Li Tao’s mother thought about how her husband might be suffering inside.
Grief immediately overwhelmed her.
She sat directly in front of Xinjiao Tailoring Shop and began crying and cursing.
For the first time, Shen Jiao witnessed the full power of a rural elderly woman quarrelling in the street.
It was truly impressive.
Every filthy and obscene expression imaginable poured from the woman’s mouth.
She could curse continuously for several hours without repeating herself, drinking water, catching her breath, or pausing to rest.
After Gu Xinmin explained how formidable Li Tao’s mother was, Shen Jiao admired the woman’s lung capacity.
However, she also began worrying.
They operated a business with their doors open to the public.
The old woman’s behaviour was genuinely driving customers away.
Shen Jiao stroked her large stomach.
Personally entering the confrontation and trading insults with the woman was unquestionably the worst possible choice.
It appeared she would have to defeat her using intelligence.
Gu Xinguo wanted to step forward and drive the woman away, but Shen Jiao stopped him.
No matter what method he used against such a shameless elderly shrew, his reputation would suffer.
Shen Jiao absolutely refused to allow that.
“Auntie, if you don’t want Uncle Li released, then continue cursing as much as you please.
“Your words won’t tear any flesh from my body.
“Originally, the Public Security Bureau merely intended to educate Uncle Li and release him once the matter was settled.
“But if you continue creating trouble like this and the officers see you, I can’t say whether they’ll still release him.”
As the saying went, when striking a snake, one had to strike its vital point.
At present, the old woman’s vital point was clearly her husband.
Sure enough, after hearing Shen Jiao’s threat, she scrambled up from the ground and left while still muttering curses.
The old tailor remained in detention until New Year’s Eve.
The moment he returned home, his wife no longer had any reason to restrain herself.
She spent every day darting around the village and trying to destroy the reputation of Gu Xinguo’s family.
However, both the most powerful and second-most powerful figures in the Shuanma Village production brigade had already been won over by Shen Jiao.
No matter how energetically the old woman caused trouble, no one believed her.
Because Grandma had passed away, the family had to observe mourning.
Although the rules were no longer as strict as they had been in ancient times, basic traditions still had to be followed.
For example, their family could not paste Spring Festival couplets for three years.
Furthermore, because Shen Jiao was already seven months pregnant, their New Year preparations were extremely simple.
However, all six apprentices she had trained brought New Year gifts, including fried meatballs, steamed buns, and other food.
Therefore, the family only needed to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner.
Naturally, the responsibility fell entirely on Gu Xinguo.
Villages had practically no secrets.
Soon everyone knew that Gu Xinguo cleaned the house, washed the clothes, cooked the meals, and handled nearly every household task.
Meanwhile, Shen Jiao only needed to eat, drink, and enjoy herself each day.
Her life could not have been more comfortable.
Naturally, countless wives in the village became red-eyed with envy.
As a result, during the period before the New Year, several young couples in Shuanma Village argued over housework because their wives compared them with Gu Xinguo.
This New Year was the happiest and warmest Shen Jiao had experienced in all her memories.
There was no loneliness.
There were no hateful words or disgusted gazes.
Her husband remained beside her, and their child rested inside her stomach.
Together, they gave her the first warm Spring Festival memory of her life.
After the New Year, Shen Jiao no longer returned to the tailoring shop in the county town.
People had spent generously on new clothing before the holiday, so business was now extremely slow.
Her pregnancy was also far advanced, and she might give birth at any moment.
Even for the child’s sake, she would not visit the shop during this period.
Gu Xinmin, however, did not want to abandon it.
She feared that keeping the shop closed for too long would cause them to lose customers.
After discussing it with Wang Juying and Wang Meili, the three women decided to continue operating the shop as usual.
They had little else to do during the first lunar month anyway.
They might as well earn some money.
This time, Shen Jiao did not pay them fixed wages.
Instead, she told them that after deducting the rent, the three of them could divide the shop’s income during the first lunar month equally.
It was not because Shen Jiao was unwilling to pay wages.
Small favours inspired gratitude, but excessive generosity could create resentment.
Even when helping people, boundaries had to be maintained.
The three women did not object.
Instead, their enthusiasm increased.
Whether they earned much money did not matter.
They would be sitting around doing nothing otherwise.
Even if the shop had no customers, they could use the opportunity to search the county town for available storefronts.
They were also preparing to open tailoring shops of their own.
They were not the only ones.
When women from the Party secretary’s family, the brigade captain’s family, and Wang Xiaoyu’s family heard how profitable a tailoring shop could be, they also considered opening shops.
However, they planned to practise at Shen Jiao’s store for a while longer and further improve their skills before establishing their own businesses.
Government policy was becoming increasingly relaxed, but Shen Jiao could do nothing with her enormous stomach.
Finally, one night near the end of February, her labour began.
Because her due date was approaching, Gu Xinguo had once again applied for an internal assignment and had not dared accept any long-distance deliveries.
The moment Shen Jiao’s stomach began hurting, he rushed to the production brigade and borrowed a tractor.
He drove her directly to the hospital.
Had his driving skills been any worse, his nervousness might have sent the tractor straight into a ditch.
By the time Shen Jiao entered the delivery room, Gu Xinmin arrived carrying bags of supplies.
She watched her younger brother pace continuously through the hospital corridor.
She was equally anxious.
In her heart, she repeatedly prayed to every Buddha she knew, begging them to protect Shen Jiao and allow her to deliver the child safely.
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