Tang Ning’s voice was not loud, but to Lin Shengwen, it sounded like a thunderclap.
Her gaze was steadfast, her expression earnest; from head to toe, there was not the slightest trace of a joke.
This was a farm girl who had traveled no further than the county seat, who had only attended the local village primary school, who had been sold by her parents and abused by a family of fools, yet who was still struggling to live with indomitable spirit.
Lin Shengwen did not believe she could truly grasp the scale of his ambition.
To double grain yields and rid the world of hunger—the weight of such words…
Though she might not fully comprehend it, Lin Shengwen was nonetheless moved by her simple yet grand ideal.
"Good. You are a good girl."
…
The Lunar New Year in Zhu Family Village was truly a dismal affair.
Zhu Fugui, over fifty years of age, had never spent such a depressing New Year. He wanted to teach Tang Ning a lesson, but he lacked the courage.
He feared that if this stubborn, crazy girl caused any more trouble and drew further attention from the Public Security Bureau, his days as the village party secretary would be numbered.
On the first day of the New Year, relatives from Zhang Miao’s maiden family arrived to take her away.
Word had it they had arranged a match for her to remarry. As for whether Zhang Miao was willing, she naturally was.
She liked having a son, but that was because a woman needed to bear a son to stand tall; it did not mean her love for her son was all that deep. The bitterness of dragging a child through life while one's husband was in prison was beyond words. Most importantly, after witnessing Tang Ning’s ruthless side, she had completely abandoned any thought of bringing her daughter back home.
What was the fate of those who crossed Tang Ning?
What did it matter that she was her biological mother? She had sold her once; who could guarantee that Tang Ning wasn't harboring a grudge, waiting for a chance to take revenge?
Zhang Miao thought back to what her sister-in-law had mentioned a while ago, sent word to her maiden family overnight, and the next day, she packed her bags and returned to her family home to wait for her remarriage.
As for Tang Tianbao? Since Old Fourth Liu’s family wanted him, and since she—a woman alone—could not easily remarry with a son in tow, she simply accepted more goods from Old Fourth Liu’s family and let them adopt Tang Tianbao.
Tang Ning felt no ripple of emotion. Zhang Miao’s choices were logical; given her nature, there was nothing to be surprised about.
The firecrackers set off on New Year’s Day sounded gloomy. The usual activities that children loved most—paying New Year visits and eating candies and pastries—were dampened, and children were kept indoors by their parents, forbidden from running wild.
It was all because of the corpse Tang Ning had dug up on the back mountain, forcing some families in the village to hold funerals on the very first day of the New Year!
If children ran out and ran into something "unclean," how terrifying would that be?
Tang Ning, however, remained unaffected. She ate her pork and green onion dumplings with great relish. She felt that her body was still growing; she was always hungry and her legs cramped, so she needed to eat more meat to supplement her protein and micronutrients.
At Sun Peng’s home in the county, they were also eating dumplings, though Sun Peng had been scolded by his wife for nothing after he accepted those vermicelli noodles but never saw the person who promised them show up.
Lin Shengwen was currently visiting the principal of the County No. 1 High School. Since Tang Ning had told him seriously about her ideals and goals, regardless of how things turned out in the future, at the very least, helping her get into school was worth it.
It was normal to fail at one’s goals, but it was always good for a girl to read more books.
Moreover, judging by her conversation, Tang Ning was a girl with a sharp mind and a firm will. Such a person, regardless of gender, was bound to accomplish things once she set her mind to it.
Lin Shengwen brought out the New Year gifts he had received from Beijing, which so excited the principal of the County No. 1 High School that he opened a bottle of fine wine. The two men began to drink, and before long, they were calling each other brothers and patting each other on the shoulder to build their connection.
On the second day of the New Year, wives returned to their maiden homes.Most married-out daughters in the village returned to their maiden homes to visit on this day, and Zhu Dani naturally went back to Zhu Family Village as well.
Li Guilan was happy. Her daughter hadn't brought any food or money home for a while. Even though they were getting by, her husband was in prison and her son had a mental disability, so she desperately needed some capital to solidify her standing in the village.
"Oh, my Dani is back! Why did you come back so early? Are you cold? Have you eaten? I've been getting ready since early morning—"
Li Guilan raised her voice. When Zhu Dani walked through the door, Li Guilan saw that her son-in-law wasn't following behind, and Zhu Dani was only carrying a small bag. The smile on her face instantly froze.
Then, thinking about how Zhu Dani usually rode a bicycle when she came home, but today her cotton shoes were covered in snowy mud and slush, and there was no joy on her face, how could she not understand what had happened?
"Mom."
Zhu Dani felt chilled to the bone by her mother's examining gaze and called out uneasily.
Li Guilan walked over and slammed the door shut with a bang to block out the neighbors' prying eyes, completely losing her previous high-profile enthusiasm.
"Dani, is this really how you came? Where is Li Bin?"
"He was busy."
Zhu Dani handed the small bag to her mother. "I've been busy lately and haven't had time to come home and check on you..."
Li Guilan opened the small bag and saw that there were only two catties of brown sugar inside. Her expression turned ghastly.
"What did Li Bin's family say? Do they want to end the marriage? My daughter gave their Old Li family a big fat grandson, and now that the maiden family has run into a bit of trouble, are they going to turn hostile and pretend they don't know us?!"
"Mom, Mom, don't yell."
Zhu Dani's tears fell straight down. "Mom, you don't know what kind of life I've been living... The job fell through, and my mother-in-law was already unhappy that I kept helping out my maiden family. This time, she seized on the excuse that our family roots are bad and we're bound to raise the kids wrong, so she took my son away to live with her."
"And what about Li Bin? Didn't he say anything?" Li Guilan put her hands on her hips, wanting to curse a blue streak but holding it back.
"He goes straight to his mother's place after getting off work, eats dinner and plays with the kid, and he doesn't hand his wages over to me anymore either. From the looks of what his mother wants... she wants him to divorce me."
"Crying, crying, all you know how to do is cry! How could your mother give birth to such a good-for-nothing?! That's your son and your husband, how can you let yourself be controlled by some old hag?! Was your brain for nothing?!"
Li Guilan was so angry she felt her lungs would burst, poking and jabbing her finger at Zhu Dani's head.
"You should make a scene, risk it all, grab your son and refuse to let go! Let's see if their Old Li family cares about saving face!"
"You think I didn't make a scene?!" Having grown up watching Li Guilan's ways, how could Zhu Dani not know how to make a scene? "I made a scene, it did no good, and I got beaten for it besides... The neighborhood already knows our family has a madman ***** criminal who bought a bride and abused her. People are just itching to spit on me, nobody is going to speak up for me."
Even these two catties of brown sugar were squeezed out of her grocery money.
Mother and daughter stared at each other in dismay, suddenly realizing they had reached a dead end. What on earth were they going to do?
"I've thought and thought about it, and the root of this matter still lies with Tang Daniu. As long as Tang Daniu forgives us, our family will be in the clear. Maybe Dad can even be released."
"She's wishing for our deaths, you have no idea what she's capable of doing."
Li Guilan said with bitter resentment.
"Mom, this isn't the time to be stubborn and hold grudges. Think about it again."
Back then, Zhu Dani had been able to marry a city man, give birth to a son, secure her footing, and leap to become the most glorious presence among the daughters of Zhu Family Village—she wasn't completely brainless.
To get things done, you couldn't care about saving face. That was her life experience.