Writing a Letter: It’s just like that.
On the day Sun Mei was taken away, Jiang Yantang didn’t go to see her. Instead, he went to work as usual.
However, there were very few people working that day. Many had gone to the Xie family to watch the spectacle. They weren’t afraid of the police, and some were already familiar with the officers, as none of them were involved in any crime.
After all, such excitement was a once-in-a-lifetime event!
When the police took Sun Mei away, she still resisted arrogantly, shouting defiantly, “Do you know what position my real son’s father holds? How dare you arrest me! Let me go immediately!”
…
The onlookers pointed at Sun Mei and whispered among themselves.
“She swapped someone else’s child, yet she still thinks they’ll let her go?”
“She’s so shameless.”
“Who knows, maybe Jiang the educated youth will plead for his biological mother.”
Even the officers were baffled. How could this woman, who had stolen someone’s child and mistreated him for over ten years, be so unrepentant? She even expected her stolen son to continue benefiting from the love of his adopted parents.
The police car drove Sun Mei away, and the people of Qiao Xin Village watched as the vehicles left. In this village, where even the sight of a tractor was rare, the appearance of several four-wheeled cars in recent days was nothing short of extraordinary.
And they were police cars from the county.
It was truly a major event.
No one knew how the matters between the Jiang and Xie families would ultimately be resolved.
“What kind of sentence will Sun Mei get for her crime?”
“I heard it could be five to fifteen years.”
“It’s hard to say. Maybe Jiang the educated youth or the Xie family will plead for her, and if they forgive her…”
When Sun Mei was taken away, the Xie family didn’t dare intervene. They even stayed far away. Old Man Xie drowned his sorrows with a couple of bottles of liquor. Xie Jianping kept his family inside their house, refusing to step out or acknowledge what was happening at the other Xie household. They had long since split from them. Qin Xiuying, upon hearing that Sun Mei was to be arrested, wanted to go out and watch the commotion but restrained herself out of consideration for her husband. Instead, she secretly laughed and planned to prepare a feast in a few days to celebrate with the children.
Xie Weiqiang acted as if Sun Mei wasn’t his mother. Xu Yanlan took their son, Xie Yaozu, and hid at her parents’ house. Even Xie Huadong, who was usually “filial,” showed no reaction. Smoking a cigarette, he sighed deeply, neither working nor doing any other chores. He ate just enough to stay alive and was too apathetic to do anything else.
Now that he no longer had a wife or children, his life felt meaningless, and he couldn’t find a reason to keep working.
Zhou Xiaohui, on the other hand, wanted to take her two daughters out to see the excitement. Watching the Xie family’s misfortune, especially Sun Mei, who had oppressed her for years, being arrested, made her feel as though a weight had been lifted from her chest.
There was finally hope for the future!
“Chunjuan, Xiajuan, tonight we’ll steam an egg each for you.”
The police decisively took Sun Mei away, and the crowd gradually dispersed. Hoisting their hoes and other tools, people went to work, all the while chatting about what they had just witnessed.
“Driving a police car looks so impressive.”
“If my son grows up to catch criminals, that’d be amazing.”
…
The onlookers weren’t just villagers; many educated youths had also come to watch the commotion. Back at the educated youth station, they too discussed the incident in private.
Sun Mei’s child-swapping scandal was the first of its kind they had encountered since coming to the countryside—a story so shocking it was beyond imagination.
Most of the educated youths only dared to talk about it in whispers behind Jiang the educated youth’s back. Only He Liang, with his trademark sarcasm, deliberately raised his voice in front of Jiang Yantang.
“When that old woman was taken away, she was still shouting, ‘Do you know what position my son’s father holds?’ Oh my, she’s so shameless! Hahaha…”
Jiang Yantang clenched his fists tightly but said nothing. However, Lin Baijun, who was beside him, couldn’t stand it any longer and nearly started a fight with He Liang.
He Liang sneered, “What? Is the thief’s son going to show his face? Stealing someone else’s life—if it were me, I wouldn’t even want to live anymore.”
He Liang had long harboured resentment against Jiang Yantang. First, he envied his family background and popularity. Then, after Zhang Lili turned her attention to Jiang Yantang, his hatred only deepened. Now that Jiang Yantang had been publicly humiliated, He Liang saw this as the perfect opportunity to kick him while he was down.
He wanted to make the most of it.
Aside from Lin Baijun, the other male educated youths remained silent, while the female educated youths stood on the side-lines, exchanging awkward glances.
“Oh yes, I’m so scared,” He Liang mocked. “After all, her ‘real’ son has such a powerful father. Hahaha.”
Lin Baijun couldn’t hold back any longer and threw a punch at him. The two scuffled until others intervened to break them apart.
“Stop it! Stop it! He Liang, say no more,” someone urged.
Zhao Qingqing stepped in to mediate. Eventually, the crowd dispersed, and she returned to her dormitory at the station. Her roommates hadn’t returned yet, and the room was chilly as the autumn wind seeped through the cracks. She wrapped a jacket around her shoulders and sat at the table by the window, pulling out a pen and paper from the drawer.
So much had happened recently—no, ever since becoming an educated youth in the countryside, she had witnessed countless incredible and astonishing stories.
The twists and turns in these stories were beyond belief. Had she stayed in the city, she would never have experienced such things.
The string of events was simply too extraordinary!
She had to record them.
Zhao Qingqing had previously written to her pen pal about Jiang Yantang and Su Xiaoman. She had described the story of a beautiful village flower falling in love with the most handsome and outstanding educated youth in the countryside, pursuing him persistently.
—That summer, when the educated youths first arrived in the village, the beautiful girl fell in love with the remarkable young man from the city.
—It was a fated encounter.
—She sought his guidance, but he ignored her. Heartbroken, she withdrew, while he remained aloof and proud…
—Later, after a mishap in the water, the village flower was forced to marry a poor young man from the village.
That had seemed like the story’s conclusion—a bittersweet ending. Zhao Qingqing had poured her thoughts into a letter to her pen pal, Qianqian, recounting the tale.
Not long after, she received a reply. Her pen pal expressed sympathy for the village flower, lamenting the tragedy of such a love story.
Qianqian: It’s truly a heart-breaking tragedy. Talented scholars and beautiful maidens only have happy endings in novels.
Zhao Qingqing hadn’t entirely agreed, but she thought the story was likely over. She hadn’t anticipated the plot to spiral out of control like a wild horse.
—The village flower fell in love with the poor young man.
—The scruffy poor boy transformed into a handsome and striking young man.
—The two were an exceptionally good-looking couple, as if made for each other.
—Deeply in love, they returned home as a devoted husband and wife.
If the earlier part of the story was a bittersweet romance of the era, the latter part felt more like an inspiring and satisfying narrative. Of course, such a concept didn’t exist in the 1970s.
When Qianqian, Zhao Qingqing’s pen pal, received her letter, she felt momentarily choked. As a teacher, she had just recounted this bittersweet love tragedy to her students, only to find that the story had taken such a dramatic turn.
Qianqian: “It seems the first line should be, ‘The end of the road, a glimmer of hope; where the willows darken, another village appears.’”
Qianqian: “And the second line: ‘Suddenly, looking back, that person was under the dim lights.’”
Qianqian: “She finally found her true love! Even if they’re living a simple countryside life, they’re still happy together.”
Zhao Qingqing planned to continue writing to update her pen pal about the story’s developments. If the last twist had been like a runaway horse, this time it felt like a satellite spinning out of control.
—The poor boy and the educated youth were swapped at birth!
—The police drove into the countryside to arrest someone.
…
After finishing her letter, Zhao Qingqing wrote one final sentence: Looking forward to Qianqian’s reply.
When the ink dried, she sealed the letter in an envelope. Standing up to stretch, she gazed at the blue sky and white clouds outside, thinking that life truly was as unpredictable as the weather.
If her mother called her again, she would say: “Mom, coming to the countryside was absolutely the right decision this time!”
Two days after Sun Mei was taken away, Old Man Xie, as her husband, still felt some semblance of marital obligation. He thought someone from the family should visit her at the police station. Of course, Old Man Xie himself had no intention of going.
He told Xie Weiqiang to go.
“Second son, you should go to the county and visit your mother. It’s been a few days now; go see how things are,” Old Man Xie instructed, hoping his second son would go see Sun Mei.
He would never go himself, as he didn’t even want to see her again.
After decades of marriage, Old Man Xie knew Sun Mei’s personality—selfish and somewhat irrational. If he went to visit her, she would undoubtedly make unreasonable demands, like asking Jiang Yantang’s father to intervene or trying to get Xie Mingtu to help her get released.
…
She would definitely say such things, but Old Man Xie knew he couldn’t fulfil those requests. If he refused, Sun Mei would lash out like a venomous snake.
Now all the blame was on Sun Mei. It was she alone who swapped the children, and she alone who committed the crime. He had nothing to do with it and had only recently learned that Xie Mingtu wasn’t his biological son.
He hadn’t committed any crimes and had no reason to get involved.
So he couldn’t go see Sun Mei, but out of some lingering sentiment and considering that Sun Mei had always favoured Xie Weiqiang, who was her biological son, Xie Weiqiang had to go see her.
Upon hearing this, Xie Weiqiang looked troubled. “Dad, please have mercy. I can’t go. How could I go to such a place?”
“Dad, you’re Mom’s husband. You should be the one to visit her in jail.”
Xie Weiqiang didn’t want to see Sun Mei either. At this point, he would rather sever all ties with her. His wife, Xu Yanlan, had already taken Xie Yaozu and left the village. Xie Yaozu, who had once been favoured by his grandmother, now chanted repeatedly, “I don’t want a criminal grandmother! I don’t want a criminal grandmother!”
Hearing Xie Weiqiang’s refusal, Old Man Xie took a sharp breath. He hadn’t expected his second son to be so heartless, unwilling even to visit his own mother.
“Look at you! Don’t you have a shred of conscience? No matter how many mistakes your mother made, she poured her heart and soul into you. Now that she’s been arrested, yes, others might treat our family like a plague, but as her son, how can you turn your back on her?”
“How can you not even visit her?” Old Man Xie scolded Xie Weiqiang harshly, cigarette in hand.
This son was too selfish, unwilling to visit even his own mother.
“Do you remember how much your mother cared for you and Yaozu? How can you be so cold and ungrateful? Fine, it’s one thing for the eldest and third sons not to go, but you must go!” Old Man Xie pushed Xie Weiqiang, insisting he visit Sun Mei.
Xie Weiqiang, feeling immensely irritated, silently cursed to himself: You’ve been her husband for decades, yet you refuse to go and push the responsibility onto me instead.
Decades of marriage, and their bond was as fragile as paper, easily torn.
“Dad, you’ve been married to Mom for decades. You’re the one who can comfort her the most.”
Xie Weiqiang knew his mother’s personality well. She might have bullied villagers with her unreasonable ways, turning lies into truths and vice versa, but the police station wouldn’t tolerate her antics.
Besides, Xie Weiqiang felt a deep bitterness.
He had always thought he was his mother’s favorite son. Though he wasn’t the eldest or the youngest, he had been the lucky one, the most cherished by both parents.
But now, he realized that Sun Mei had an even greater favorite: Jiang Yantang. His youngest “brother” had been turned into the child of a cadre and had enjoyed years of privilege and luxury.
Compared to Jiang Yantang’s life, Xie Weiqiang’s so-called favouritism seemed insignificant.
Why hadn’t Sun Mei made him a cadre’s son?
Even if not a cadre’s child, she could have swapped him into a middle-class city family, letting him enjoy a better life.
Instead, someone else had all the benefits. If he had Jiang Yantang’s opportunities, with his abilities, how could he still be stuck in a small village teaching school?
It was utterly unfair.
Sun Mei had always claimed he was her favorite son, yet she gave the best life to Jiang Yantang.
As expected, mothers always doted on their youngest sons. She had mistreated Xie Mingtu because he wasn’t her biological child.
While thinking about all this, Xie Weiqiang couldn’t help but feel a surge of resentment toward his mother, Sun Mei.
Last night, he even dreamed of how wonderful it would have been if he had been the one Sun Mei swapped all those years ago.
However, Xie Weiqiang didn’t stop to consider how Sun Mei could have possibly swapped him into a wealthy family given his age at the time.
Now, resentment toward Sun Mei filled his heart, leaving no room for any desire to visit her.
“I still have to teach in the future. How can I go to a place like that?”
Old Man Xie nearly exploded with anger. “You ungrateful child! You’ve shamed the love your mother poured into you all these years! She may have wronged the rest of the family, but she never wronged you! Everything to eat, drink, or use always went to you and Yaozu first.”
Xie Weiqiang scoffed, “Her youngest son, that Jiang the educated youth, was the one who lived the best life. You should ask Jiang to visit her. I bet the person she most wants to see now is still Jiang Yantang.”
No one knows a mother better than her child.
Xie Weiqiang figured Sun Mei was desperate to see Jiang Yantang, likely fantasizing that he would save her. But she didn’t realize that Jiang Yantang was in trouble himself—his fake identity as a Jiang family child had been exposed.
Though he envied Jiang Yantang for being swapped into a cadre’s family, Xie Weiqiang couldn’t help but feel schadenfreude at his current plight.
Even if they were biological brothers, Xie Weiqiang wished for Jiang Yantang to suffer as much as possible.
All the Xie brothers deserved to live worse lives than his own!
Why should Jiang Yantang enjoy things that didn’t belong to him? Sooner or later, he’d have to give it all back.
Xie Weiqiang had also overheard the villagers mocking him, saying that while he and Jiang Yantang might look similar, their temperaments were worlds apart. One was as refined as the heavens, the other as lowly as the earth. Even when Xie Weiqiang wore Jiang Yantang’s clothes, he couldn’t shake off his rustic demeanour.
Spitting on the ground, Xie Weiqiang thought: How dare they call me rustic when his entire life was stolen!
Seeing that Xie Weiqiang stubbornly refused to visit his own mother, Old Man Xie had no choice but to turn to his other sons. He headed to the eldest son’s courtyard, even though the houses were adjacent. The eldest son had built a thick fence to separate himself from the rest of the Xie family.
Old Man Xie knocked on the door, and his daughter-in-law, Qin Xiuying, opened it with a sour expression.
Qin Xiuying deeply resented her mother-in-law, Sun Mei. The fact that she didn’t set off firecrackers to celebrate Sun Mei’s arrest was already an act of restraint.
She hated Sun Mei bitterly.
After her husband returned home, Qin Xiuying had increasingly been recalling the painful years she spent in the Xie household. Her eldest son, who had a birthmark on his face, was constantly berated by Sun Mei. Even during her postpartum recovery, Sun Mei had cursed her, calling her a curse-bringer who gave birth to a “demon.”
When Xie Yaozu pushed her second son, causing him to hit his head, Sun Mei scolded her son for not watching where he was going and blamed Qin Xiuying for not being a good mother.
When her eldest son was still a child, Sun Mei had sent him to fetch hot water. The child accidentally spilled it, scalding his feet so badly that they were covered in blisters. To this day, he bore a large, horrifying scar on his leg.
And when her youngest daughter was born, Sun Mei openly cursed her as a worthless money-draining girl, saying it would have been better to drown her.
Recalling all of this, Qin Xiuying couldn’t fathom how she had endured those years. Thinking back to the times she swallowed her anger, she wished she could go back in time and fight Sun Mei to the death.
She admired Zhou Xiaohui for her courage to divorce Xie Huadong and gave her ten yuan as a token of support. Zhou Xiaohui’s actions had inspired her, showing that they weren’t born to suffer or to be trampled by their mother-in-law.
Qin Xiuying had discussed her grievances with her husband, making it clear that she and her children would not tolerate him siding with Sun Mei or the Xie family. If he did, he could leave the house.
Old Man Xie’s visit to the eldest son’s house was in vain. Seeing his grandchildren, he was at a loss for words and left with a downcast face.
He then sought out Xie Huadong, who had fallen into utter ruin. Dishevelled and unshaven, Xie Huadong lived in filth, emitting such a stench that Old Man Xie didn’t even want to approach him.
“Huadong, go to the county and visit your mother.”
Xie Huadong looked up with murky eyes, unwilling to move. He was so apathetic that even lice crawling on his body didn’t bother him. Bathing or caring about Sun Mei was out of the question.
For years, he had prided himself on being a filial son, obeying Sun Mei’s every word, and urging his wife, Zhou Xiaohui, to endure her mistreatment. Sun Mei had constantly insulted Zhou Xiaohui for only giving birth to daughters.
Yes, he had been a dutiful son, but it had brought him nothing in return. Sun Mei never treated him as a person.
Now, what was the result of his obedience?
—He had nothing.
His wife and children were gone. When he visited his daughters, his eldest screamed and threw rocks at him, refusing to acknowledge him as her father.
“You’re not my father! You’re no one’s father!”
“You’re a bad man! You always called me a worthless girl and said Mom couldn’t give you a son. You should be arrested too!”
“Pfft! Xiajuan, run! He’ll rename you to ‘Recruit More Daughters’!”
“Ahhh, sister, I don’t want to be called that!”
Now, the son he had always longed for was gone, and even his daughters were out of reach. His eldest looked at him with hatred, his youngest was terrified of him, and Zhou Xiaohui refused to see him.
In the past, he had thought only of having a son. Now, with no children left, he longed for his daughters instead.
Why had life turned out this way? He would rather have raised his daughters with Zhou Xiaohui and lived a decent life.
Now, he had nothing.
Sun Mei had never cared about him, so why should he care about her? The idea of visiting her was laughable.
Despite Old Man Xie’s pleas, Xie Huadong lazily turned away. Why visit Sun Mei? He’d rather see his daughters in his dreams.
Old Man Xie, seeing his once-most-filial son so indifferent at the mention of Sun Mei’s name, sighed deeply. What a tragedy.
Lowering his head, he decided to seek out Jiang Yantang.
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