“How come?” Zeng Shuyi tiptoed over and silently mouthed the words, but her younger brother immediately took off running without a sound, which was surprising.
“What’s going on? Why are you running?”
In the living room, Wang Juan was still lying on the sofa with her legs propped up, while Zeng Shuyue quietly swept the floor.
Before Zeng Shuyi could figure out what was happening, her father suddenly slammed open the bedroom door and rushed out, only to be grabbed firmly around the waist by her mother.
“Explain this to me!” Zeng Qingliang shouted angrily.
Zeng Shuyi stammered, “I… I don’t know what’s going on?”
“Do you even have the nerve to ask that? You just ignore everything I say, don’t you? Zeng Shuyi, how dare you deceive the family and go do something shady!” Zeng Qingliang pointed at his daughter.
If he weren’t held back by his wife, he would have already raised a hand to hit her.
Before Zeng Shuyi could defend herself, Wang Juan let out a slight laugh.
“See, I told you. Work is tough nowadays. Shuyi isn’t capable of much. When I first heard she was involved in Speculation and Profiteering selling popsicles, I didn’t believe it.”
That morning when Wang Juan went to work, she ran into her cousin who was specifically waiting for her.
Her cousin asked if she knew about Zeng Shuyi selling popsicles through Speculation and Profiteering.
Wang Juan was stunned and had to confirm it several times before forcing a smile.
If it weren’t for the threat of salary deduction due to taking leave, Wang Juan wanted to rush back immediately and report the matter.
She had been stressed all day, feeling as if time was dragging endlessly.
After work, she ran straight home and immediately told her mother-in-law about it.
“Shut up!” Zeng Shuyi snapped fiercely at her.
Wang Juan was instantly stunned.
Then Zeng Shuyi looked at her father.
Truth be told, she felt a little uneasy, but she didn’t think she had done anything wrong.
She was supporting herself honestly, neither stealing nor robbing anyone.
Was that really a mistake?
“Don’t call me ‘Dad.’ I don’t have a daughter who’s so disobedient!” Zeng Qingliang nearly fainted with anger upon learning she was selling popsicles.
“Why have you been so rebellious these past few days? I haven’t even hit you. I know you’re upset because I only pay for your older brother’s night school tuition. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that— a daughter should get married early, and it’s natural to support a son’s education. But you’re so angry inside, I’ve been patient with you, yet how could you do such a shameful thing?”
“Quiet down!” Lin Jiazhen clenched her husband’s arm tightly, her eyes reddening with worry.
“Please, lower your voice.”
This matter couldn’t be heard by others, or else their daughter’s reputation would be completely ruined.
Zeng Qingliang was too angry to care.
“If she’s not afraid to be ashamed, then what are you afraid of? Look at her, not even showing a sign of regret!”
Pointing at Zeng Shuyi, he barked, “Explain yourself!”
Zeng Shuyi replied firmly, “I’m not wrong, so why should I apologize? Doing business is about relying on one’s own ability to make a living. How is that shameful? Am I stealing from someone or doing something dishonorable?”
She took a deep breath.
“Mom, the newspapers have already published the new policies. Since the country encourages private businesses, why are you still so feudal and rigid? People don’t have to only work in factories or get married and have children.”
“Shut up!” Zeng Qingliang shook off his wife and slapped at Zeng Shuyi wildly.
Zeng Shuyi stepped back quickly but was still hit on the cheek.
Zeng Qingliang grabbed a few strands of her hair near the temple.
Lin Jiazhen rushed over and embraced Zeng Qingliang.
“Qingliang, she’s still a child. Talk to her properly!”
“Listen to what she’s saying! Even now, she won’t admit she’s wrong!” Zeng Qingliang kept swinging his hand.
But Zeng Shuyi stood her ground, straight-backed, staring at him until he was stunned for a moment.
Then he frowned tightly and said, “Do you even know how people talk about Speculation and Profiteering?”
Wang Juan couldn’t hold back and spoke up, “Dad, Shuyi isn’t just speculating and profiting. I heard that getting a Certificate of Private Business Operation costs a lot of money, so she must be operating without one. If she gets caught, she might even go to jail or be sent down to the countryside!”
Hearing jail, Lin Jiazhen shivered in fear.
“Shuyi, you… you wouldn’t really…”
“Mom, you’re letting my sister stir trouble. It’s not like before. People now only get their ‘hats’ taken off and return to the city. Who still gets sent down?”
Zeng Shuyi said, “As for the certificate, I’ll get one once I earn enough money.”
“You’re still going to do it?” Zeng Qingliang’s eyes bulged in disbelief.
“Yes, Dad. I can’t find a good job, and I don’t want to listen to you guys arrange marriage and children for me. So I want to work for myself. No matter what you say, I will earn money—lots of it.”
Her gaze was resolute.
Even facing the whole family’s misunderstanding, she would not change her mind.
Zeng Qingliang grabbed the teapot and threw it down.
It shattered everywhere, tea and fragments splashing out.
“If you dare do business, don’t call me your father. Get as far away from me as possible!”
He pointed at the front door, his neck bulging with veins—he truly wanted to kick her out.
The whole family held their breath.
Zeng Shuyue quietly came over and gently grabbed her sister’s hand, whispering, “Shuyi, maybe… just give it up.”
“Second sister? Why would I give up?”
Zeng Shuyi wiped the tears that were about to fall.
“I want to live well by my own efforts. Is that wrong?”
Zeng Shuyue couldn’t answer.
Zeng Qingliang snapped, “If you want to live your ‘good life,’ then get lost. You live on my food and in my house, but do you really think you’ve grown wings?”
He opened the big door roughly.
“Zeng Shuyi, if you have any pride, don’t live in my house doing such shameful things!”
The noise of the Zeng family quarrel was so loud it shocked the neighborhood.
Behind the wall, grandfather Liu Xiwang and his grandson peeked out.
Outside the gate, a few others also gathered, all curious about what the Zeng family was shouting about.
They overheard Zeng Qingliang calling it a shameful matter and wondered if Shuyi had broken up with a man.
Otherwise, why call it shameful?
Zeng Shuyi glanced around the house.
Indeed, the house had been allocated to her father by the Bangfang Factory.
She turned and walked away.
She opened the door and didn’t look back.
“Shuyi!” Lin Jiazhen ran out, but by the time she reached the alley entrance, her daughter’s figure was already gone. She called out loudly, “Shuyi, where are you going?”
Others in the alley stopped and asked what was happening.
“Zeng Qingliang’s wife, I heard your husband say Shuyi is shameful. What did she do?” Liu Xiwang was the first to speak. “That girl needs proper guidance. Shuyi’s so pretty. She can’t be led astray.”
Xu Zhaodi also said, “Yeah, Jiazhen, what did Shuyi do to make your husband so angry?”
Lin Jiazhen was too worried about her daughter to answer and burst into tears.
Shi Yinghua ran out, “Weizi, what’s going on in your house?”
“Shu… Shuyi, she…” Lin Jiazhen couldn’t get the words out.
Just then, Zeng Qingliang came out, pulling Lin Jiazhen back inside.
With a dark face, he told the others, “Mind your own business.
From now on, I’ll pretend I don’t have a daughter!”
His words only made everyone more curious.
“What do you think? Could Shuyi be pregnant before marriage?” Liu Xiwang gossipingly asked the others.
Shi Yinghua frowned. “Liu uncle, watch your mouth. Shuyi is a good girl. She just had a quarrel with her family. You don’t know the facts but still say such things. If she’s not pregnant, how will she face people later?”
Liu Xiwang retorted, “I’m just asking. Why are you so harsh? We all care about Shuyi.”
“Caring or just pretending, you know yourself,” Shi Yinghua ignored Liu Xiwang and went to the Zeng household to find out what happened.
She learned that Zeng Shuyi was selling popsicles and had a fight with her family.
Shi Yinghua relaxed a little.
“Children can be taught when they make mistakes. It’s not right to kick them out so easily. Look, it’s dark now. A young girl like Shuyi—where else can she go?”
At this point, Zeng Qingliang also felt some regret about kicking his daughter out but couldn’t lose face.
He said, “Her Aunt also lives in Rong City. She must have gone to her Aunt’s place.”
“That’s good if she has somewhere to go. You all better talk to Shuyi properly later. Otherwise, if something happens, you’ll regret it.”
After saying that, Shi Yinghua went to see Wang Juan.
“You have to put yourself in others’ shoes. You have daughters too. If you can’t tolerate your own, how do you feel? Wang Juan, you need to have conscience, or there will be consequences.”
Wang Juan didn’t expect Shi Yinghua to lecture her.
She was stunned for a moment.
When she came to her senses, Shi Yinghua had already left.
Frustrated, Wang Juan went back to her room and complained to Zeng Xiangping, “Don’t you think Shi Yinghua is crazy? I was just trying to stop Shuyi from making bigger mistakes. How did that turn out wrong?”
Zeng Xiangping was busy doing his homework.
Since their argument, he hadn’t gone out to intervene, and now he didn’t want to hear Wang Juan’s complaints.
“Go check the kitchen. Why isn’t dinner ready? I’m starving.”
He had to eat and then go to night school.
Nothing could stop him from studying.
This time, he was determined to get into university.
“You! Why don’t you care about me at all?” Wang Juan sulked.
“How am I supposed to care? Don’t you know studying is the most important thing to me?” Zeng Xiangping said impatiently, putting down his pen.
“All right, all right, I got it. I’ll go check what’s going on,” Wang Juan left for the kitchen but found the rice was burnt and the vegetables not cooked.
Hearing her mother-in-law crying with her father-in-law in the bedroom, she had no choice but to call Zeng Shuyue to cook some noodles first so her husband could eat and study.
The Zeng family assumed Zeng Shuyi must have gone to her Aunt’s house since it wasn’t far, only about a half-hour walk.
Lin Jiazhen had planned to visit her niece but was stopped by Zeng Qingliang, who told her to wait until the next day and to supervise Shuyi properly first so that she would realize her mistakes.
In fact, Zeng Shuyi originally planned to go to her Aunt’s.
Carrying a belly full of anger, she left home but halfway there got hungry and realized she was still carrying a container of Stewed Pig’s Head Meat.
Finding a secluded spot, Zeng Shuyi ate the pig’s head meat while tears streamed down her face.
But she quickly wiped away her tears.
“What’s the use? No crying allowed!”
She refused to bow her head or give up.
Since she had taken the first step, she would never retreat!
After finishing the pig’s head meat, Zeng Shuyi noticed it was getting dark and quickened her pace.
But luck was not on her side today.
No matter how she knocked, no one answered at her Aunt’s house.
It was a neighbor next door who came out and said, “You’re looking for your Aunt? They went to the countryside today and aren’t home.”
Now what?
Zeng Shuyi stared at the rising moon and lingered outside her Aunt’s gate for a long time.
She had no introduction letter, and the guesthouse wouldn’t rent her a room.
Should she just spend the night in her Aunt’s courtyard?
Suddenly, she was glad it wasn’t cold.
As she climbed over the wall, a familiar voice called out.
“Shuyi, what are you doing?” Bai Duoduo looked up curiously at Zeng Shuyi climbing over the wall.
Zeng Shuyi smiled awkwardly and whispered, “This is my Aunt’s house.”
“But it looks like no one’s home. They probably went out for a bit. My house is next door. Why don’t you come over and sit with me? It’s okay. My dad and brother aren’t home. It’s just me and my mom.”
Just as Bai Duoduo finished, she noticed long scratches on Zeng Shuyi’s cheek.
Seeing that Shuyi had been crying, she sensitively picked up on her mood.
“Shuyi, did you have a fight with your family?”
There was no point hiding it now.
Zeng Shuyi briefly explained what had happened.
“By the way, why isn’t your family afraid of being called ‘the family that sells fu ling’?*”
“Because we’re poor. So poor that sometimes we don’t have enough to eat. We don’t care about face,”
Bai Duoduo led the way.
“When my dad was working, his fingers got crushed in the machine. He lost his skills and his salary was halved. Then my mom got sick. I’m telling you this, don’t laugh—back then, I was so hungry I stole food from the neighbor’s trash.”
“Shuyi, you should stay at my place tonight. We’ll talk when your Aunt gets back.”
Bai Duoduo opened the door, and under the dim light, her mother was sewing clothes.
“Mom, Shuyi is here. She’s sleeping here tonight.”
After learning what happened, Zhu Xiawei offered some advice, “Shuyi, find a chance to talk things over with your family. Your mom and dad don’t understand now, but they’re afraid you’ll be talked about behind your back. Over time, they’ll come around.”
She then asked Bai Duoduo to cook noodles.
“Shuyi probably hasn’t eaten. Give her two eggs with the noodles.”
“Aunt, I already ate,” Zeng Shuyi said, having eaten the Stewed Pig’s Head Meat.
“Even if you ate, have some more. You’re a guest, you can’t… cough, cough… can’t go to bed hungry.” Zhu Xiawei squinted as she threaded the needle. Zeng Shuyi willingly helped out.
The simple egg noodles warmed her heart as she ate. Seeing Zhu Xiawei reminded her of her mother.
That night, Zeng Shuyi tossed and turned. The next morning, she went to her Aunt’s house, but the Aunt still hadn’t returned, so she had to go to work first.
That morning, Zeng Shuyi wasn’t quite herself.
Near noon, she heard a voice call out, “Shuyi!”
When she turned to see it was her mother, her lips tightened involuntarily.
Lin Jiazhen ran over, sweating profusely, and gripped her daughter’s hand tightly.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and her whole body trembled.
“Come on, let’s go home. Your dad can’t kick you out. This is my home too. I can tolerate many things, but not this. Absolutely not!”
*“The family that sells fu ling” is a local derogatory term implying a family of low reputation involved in shady trade, contextualized here to convey social stigma.
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