Chi Yin returned to her room. The six-foot wooden bed, the solid wood wardrobe with red lacquer, the nightstand, and the vanity—these were all part of the dowry Zhou Lanhua had provided her years ago.
Three hundred yuan. It had wiped out almost every cent the elderly couple had scrimped and saved over half a lifetime.
All in the hope that Wei Chengliang would treat her well.
Experience had proven that marrying a "phoenix man" didn't just mean a lifetime of misfortune; it would cost her her life.
Chi Yin took her marriage certificate from the cabinet and retrieved the baby carrier she had hidden beneath the quilt. She turned and walked out with firm steps, without a shred of hesitation or attachment.
Passing by Zhang Xiufen’s room, she could hear Wei Chengliang’s wailing, sharp enough to pierce her eardrums. "Mom, I’m so full of regret. I shouldn't have told you..."
Chi Yin suppressed the sneer at the corner of her mouth. Say what you will, this beast in human skin was a master at performing the role of someone heartbroken.
It was a pity. Having lived once more, she could see clearly exactly what kind of monster he was.
Wei Chengan was clearly also bothered by the noise, his brow furrowing slightly. "Brother, please, stop crying. You need to take care of yourself."
That only made Wei Chengliang’s performance more melodramatic. With a cry of "Mom," he let tears hang from his eyes, looking as shattered as a person could possibly look.
Afraid of disturbing Zhang Xiufen further, Wei Chengan reached out to steady him, but Wei Chengliang clutched at him and pulled away.
Wei Chengan tried to remain patient. "Brother, stop crying. Mom isn't dead yet."
Wei Chengliang glared at him with red-rimmed eyes. "You don't understand. Mom has always loved me the most since I was a child."
Wei Chengan stepped out of the room, agitated. As he lifted his eyes, he happened to catch sight of Chi Yin crossing the living room threshold, the baby carrier in her hand.
The children had already been coaxed into the yard to play with the dog. Seeing the carrier, Xixi tilted her head and asked curiously, "Mommy, where are we going?"
Chi Yin crouched down, patted her daughter’s fuzzy little head, and smiled gently. "Mommy is taking you both to the county seat."
Xixi asked again, "Where in the county seat?"
Wanwan chimed in first. "You're a dummy, it’s obviously Grandma’s house."
Chi Yin froze for a moment. She would have preferred to take the children and leave without a backward glance, never stepping foot into the Wei household again. But the children were three years old now; they were no longer easily fooled. She didn't want the foreseeable future to be filled with their tears and tantrums.
She pulled her twin daughters in front of her, her expression serious. "Mommy is taking you to the county seat, but not to Grandma’s house. From now on, the three of us will live together. How does that sound?"
Xixi’s little face looked worried. "Aren't Daddy and Grandma coming with us?"
Wanwan blinked her watery eyes, looking blank and uncomprehending.
Chi Yin shook her head. Seeing this, Xixi actually calmed down. They often went to Yanhe County to stay with their grandparents and had heard plenty of gossip about couples fighting; they generally understood what it meant when a husband and wife didn't live together.
Playing mahjong was Zhang Xiufen's primary occupation; only when she was too tired to play would she occasionally look after her granddaughters. As for Wei Chengliang, he and Chi Yin lived apart more often than together. His assignments at the textile mill took him away for three or four months at a time; he hadn't even been present when Chi Yin gave birth. By the time the children were three, he had barely carried them a handful of times, and whenever he came home from work, he would just eat his fill and lie on the bed listening to the radio.
Of everyone in the Wei family, the children were much closer to Chi Yin. If Mom and Dad were divorcing, they would naturally go with Mom.
Wanwan thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously without hesitation. Seeing her sister agree, Xixi answered almost without thinking, "I want to be with Mommy forever and never be separated."
Chi Yin’s mouth curled into a beautiful smile. She hugged the children tight and kissed each of their little faces.
No longer delaying, Chi Yin put on the two carriers, one in front and one behind, and walked out of the yard.
The yellow dog followed them to the gate with a chicken claw in its mouth, as if it sensed that the three of them were leaving for good. Its tail hung low, looking very sad.
Stepping over the threshold of the Wei house, Chi Yin felt a sense of calm she had never known before, even a hint of relief at having led her children out of the devil’s lair.
The dog followed the mother and daughters for a long way, its nose constantly sniffing Chi Yin’s pant leg. In the end, she couldn't bear it. She stopped, looked down, and urged it, "Go back. Once I'm settled, I’ll come to the village entrance to pick you up."
The dog seemed to understand; it tucked its tail between its legs and immediately sat down.
On her back, Xixi looked back at their home, which was shrinking into a small house, her soft voice tinged with uncertainty. "Mommy, will we starve to death?"
Chi Yin kept walking, her tone firm. "No. Without Daddy and Grandma, our lives will only get better."
The twins had been born prematurely and were smaller than other children their age; they were picky eaters and remained light as feathers at three years old. Together, they didn't even weigh forty pounds, so carrying them wasn't much of a burden.
The surroundings were quiet, with not even the sound of insects or dogs.
In less than forty minutes, Chi Yin arrived at the Yanhe county seat. She walked toward the County Committee Compound and chose a hotel that looked clean and hygienic to check in.
After getting the twins settled and asleep, Chi Yin headed back out, moving without pause to go door-to-door inquiring about house rentals.
In 1987, there were quite a few public housing units for rent in the county, and the rent was low, but one had to wait in line for a spot. There were also private homes for rent, though they were few and far between, mostly concentrated in the old district.
The County Committee Compound happened to be in the old district, which was why Chi Yin had chosen to stay at that hotel—it made scouting for housing easier.
Things went smoothly enough. A family that had built a two-story red-brick house in the new district agreed to rent her their vacant one-story mud-brick house in the old district. Chi Yin asked the elderly couple to help clean up the yard, promising to return with the money to sign the rental agreement.
It was eleven o'clock at night when she reached the Chi family home. Chi Yin tiptoed to her room, familiar with the layout, and felt her way toward the wooden nightstand.
She had calculated the costs: ten yuan for rent, plus money for food, pots, pans, and other daily necessities. Altogether, the savings she had tucked away should have been enough.
But after feeling around for a long time without finding the money pouch, Chi Yin began to panic. She immediately knelt on the floor, thrusting her arm deep into the cabinet, groping left and right. Nothing.
Cold sweat broke out on her skin. She pulled the entire drawer out with a clatter. The diary where she hid her money under some clothes was still there, but when she opened it, it was completely empty—not even a scrap remained.
Chi Yin’s legs went weak, and she slumped onto the dirt floor.
For the past four years, whenever she had a sore throat or a cough, she had suffered through it, never wanting to spend that money on medicine. At first, she had slaved away to ease the financial burden on Wei Chengliang, and now that money was supposed to be the bedrock for her and her daughters to leave the Wei family.
But now, it was all gone. Fifty whole yuan!
No one in the entire Chi family, and certainly not the Wei family, knew she kept money in the diary inside her drawer. There were many thieves in this era, but Zhou Lanhua rarely socialized and barely ever left the house, so the odds of a thief targeting the Chi home were low.
The only possibility was Chi Qiang.