Wang Lingling ran away in the middle of the night. No one knew how she managed to open the window, but by the time it was discovered, it was already the middle of the next day.
Li Chunjuan had been receiving punishment from Wang Yongshun for the past few days. Wang Yongshun complained that she had first lost Wang Ying, their niece, and then spoiled their second daughter’s character. Reporting someone was one thing, but what was worse was that Wang Lingling had been stupid enough to do something so harmful to others without any benefit to herself.
Of course, people in the commune would keep their distance from the Xu family, but equally, if it were exposed that Wang Lingling was the one who had done it, their family could forget about maintaining a good reputation!
Compared to the Xu family, the people in the same commune were even more afraid of encountering someone who would do such reporting.
They were all busy working in the fields, and naturally, they were wary of people who were tricky and manipulative.
Wang Yongshun was not only worried about whether Wang Lingling’s actions were clean or not, but also concerned that this incident might later be exposed. He was also still trying to figure out how to sever ties with the Xu family.
It had to be said that, in this matter, Wang Yongshun and Wang Lingling were truly father and daughter. Their thoughts had surprisingly aligned on this issue.
Wang Yongshun thought that instead of taking the initiative himself and having others think that his family owed the Xu family, it would be better to find a fault with Xu Shuang and threaten him to cancel the engagement. Ideally, he would find a serious weakness in Xu Shuang, so that even if the two families broke off, he could still continue to benefit from Xu Shuang’s family.
Wang Yongshun had been carefully planning. He was preparing to go to the town in the next few days. One reason was to send some things to Yao Zong; things at home had been chaotic recently, and he didn’t want to affect Yao Zong, so sending him a few things would be enough for him to stay at school. Another reason was that he was also planning to visit the state-run restaurant to see if there were any potential opportunities.
He had been thinking about it meticulously, but never expected that Wang Lingling would run away!
She actually ran away!
Wang Yongshun clenched his teeth, almost wishing he could shove this unlucky daughter back into Li Chunjuan’s womb.
Originally, the family was slowly trying to come up with a solution, and in a few years, everything would have been smoothed over. This was how things went in the countryside—every family had its ups and downs, and after some time, no one would mention it anymore.
But at this point, this damn girl had run away without leaving a word!
She ran away, which only confirmed that she didn’t want to marry Xu Shuang!
Li Chunjuan screamed, “My Lingling! Where have you gone?”
Although she had a bit of a motherly heart for Wang Lingling, upon hearing that she had run away, her first reaction was to worry about her daughter’s safety.
Wang Yongshun snorted through his nose, “Why should you care about her? If she wants to leave, let her go! She chose this for herself!”
Li Chunjuan was still crying, her face covered with tears and mucus, “But we still need to find her! What if something happens?”
Wang Yongshun truly didn’t want to search for her. He was afraid that if they found this girl, she would just jump up and say she was going to the Zhao family.
Wang Yongshun couldn’t understand. Was the Zhao family really that great?
Li Chunjuan had clearly told him that the old lady in the Zhao family was troublesome, and there were four sons in the family, along with a bunch of grandkids. They all lived in five rooms, cramped together, with constant conflict between the daughters-in-law and the sisters-in-law.
And then there was Zhao Jun from that family, who was said to be a small platoon leader in the military and very impressive. But Wang Yongshun wasn’t a fool—there were no more wars, and a platoon leader had a company commander above him, and above that, a battalion commander, and then a regiment commander…
Zhao’s son didn’t even have an urban hukou (household registration) and had no strong connections. His education was only up to second grade of elementary school.
What future could someone like that possibly have?
Moreover, he had already lost his wife, and there were two young kids in the family. One was five years old, and the other was just over three.
Wang Yongshun couldn’t understand Wang Lingling. Although he didn’t care for his daughter as much as his son, he wasn’t the type to abandon her altogether.
His son, Yao Zong, would certainly need the help of his two sisters in the future, so Wang Yongshun wasn’t like other families in the village who treated their daughters as if they were servants. He wanted to marry his daughter to a good family, asking for a high bride price, and maintaining good relationships afterward.
Clearly, the Xu family he had chosen for Wang Lingling met those conditions, but Wang Lingling would rather ruin the Xu family than marry into it. This kind of stubbornness and determination completely baffled Wang Yongshun.
Now that she had run away, Wang Yongshun secretly hoped that Wang Lingling wouldn’t come back.
Having such an embarrassing daughter at home, wasn’t it a shame for him and Yao Zong?
The couple exchanged glances. Li Chunjuan was crying uncontrollably, and Wang Yongshun was feeling frustrated.
Finally, Wang Yongshun nodded, “Find her!”
How could they not look for her? News spread quickly in the commune. If they didn’t search for her now, later people would say that Wang Yongshun had deliberately sent his daughter away to avoid the Xu family.
The commune leader, Tian Youfu, was called over. He frowned and asked Wang Yongshun and his wife, “When did the second girl leave? Did she say where she was going before she left?”
Wang Lingling left in the middle of the night, and if she had left during the day, someone would have seen her leaving the commune. As for where she was going, Li Chunjuan only said that she didn’t know.
Li Chunjuan didn’t mention the rumor that Wang Lingling had been determined to marry into the Zhao family.
How could she mention that now?
In the end, Tian Youfu could only send two people with introduction letters to the county to look for her. Other people would help search in the commune and the brigade.
Although the villagers didn’t understand Wang Lingling’s runaway behavior, since they all lived in the same commune, they still offered their help.
“Should we search the back mountain?”
“Not likely, that girl can’t be so reckless. Going up the mountain in the middle of the night? The wild animals in the mountains are hungry this time of year.”
Exactly. The weather was getting colder, and winter was approaching. Every year, wolves came down from the mountains because they couldn’t find enough food. This was the time to avoid going up the mountains, and if they did, they couldn’t go too deep.
“How about… we send a few young men together with some wooden guns to take a look?”
Tian Youfu was also worried about any accidents, so he immediately agreed with the suggestion and selected a few men who had been militia members to go check, with strict instructions not to go too far.
Thus, the entire Seventh Brigade searched from noon until night.
The group that went to the county came back, saying they didn’t find anyone. The group that went up the mountain returned, saying they didn’t find anything unusual.
A few other brigades reported seeing a girl heading towards the city early in the morning, and she resembled Wang Lingling, but they couldn’t see her clearly.
After a whole day of searching, Tian Youfu couldn’t continue to spend all his time on this.
Fortunately, someone had seen her, and that was good news.
Tian Youfu waved his hand and dismissed everyone, then turned to Wang Yongshun, “Yongshun, tell me honestly, why did Lingling run away?”
Wang Yongshun and his wife clearly knew the truth, or else Wang Yongshun wouldn’t have had anger written all over his face.
Li Chunjuan had been crying for a long time. At first, she was worried about Wang Lingling’s safety, but later, she felt embarrassed. Once Wang Lingling ran away, wouldn’t others ask about it today or tomorrow?
What would they say about it at home?
Wang Yongshun was in a difficult position. If he didn’t speak, it would make it seem like he was guilty. If he spoke, Wang Lingling’s actions were truly rebellious.
She had run away to avoid marrying Xu Shuang, just to become a stepmother.
This situation, if spoken about, who would believe it?
Wang Yongshun was quick-witted and soon found an explanation. He wiped his face and said bitterly, “It’s not that the Xu family had an issue, but Wang Lingling didn’t want to be with Xu Shuang anymore. As parents, we naturally couldn’t agree to this, or others would think we’re a family that looks down on the poor and loves the rich.”
“I thought if I kept her locked up for a while, she would come to her senses. But who knew this girl… I don’t know what got into her, but she just said she didn’t want to marry.”
“Captain, you know me. Even though I might have been a bit unfair to the third girl before, it was only because I didn’t notice. I’m not the kind of person who would sell my daughter. Even though something happened with the Xu family, I think Xu Shuang is a good guy. Even if there were some difficulties, I’d still support Lingling marrying Xu Shuang to get through them together.”
Wang Ying, listening from behind the door, admired her uncle’s survival wisdom.
He really was ruthless.
First, he tried to blame others, and when that didn’t work, he immediately decided to abandon his daughter to preserve his own face.
Now, even if Wang Lingling came back, she would be labeled as someone who only cared about wealth, adding insult to injury.
Captain Tian Youfu had already suspected that the issue was related to the Xu family. Now that Wang Yongshun had admitted it, he no longer believed Wang Yongshun was entirely innocent.
When the Xu family was doing well, Li Chunjuan stuck to them like a fly.
Xu Shuang often stayed at the restaurant, so Li Chunjuan would visit the Xu family elderly woman frequently. Though the Xu family didn’t have much money, their standard of living was high, and Li Chunjuan had benefited a lot from the elderly woman.
Now, seeing the Xu family’s situation, Li Chunjuan didn’t even visit them anymore. Wang Yongshun and Wang Lingling were the same.
It was as if there was something filthy in the Xu family’s courtyard, and everyone avoided it.
Now that Wang Lingling had run away, whether it was good or bad depended entirely on Wang Yongshun’s words. He had completely shifted the blame onto others.
Captain Tian Youfu snorted, “No matter what, you have to give Xu Shuang’s family an explanation. Tomorrow, I’ll send people to the county to look again. If we find her, that’s great. If not, you’ll have to go to the Xu family and speak properly.”
Wang Yongshun didn’t want to go. Although he had many schemes and calculations, he didn’t want to get involved in things that required apologizing.
And he wasn’t brave enough. The Xu family’s situation was already bad, and if he went to visit them now, others would think he was going to discuss marriage, what would he do then?
He was about to retort when Captain Tian had already turned and left.
Wang Yongshun could only grit his teeth and think of a countermeasure.
Two days passed, and Wang Lingling still hadn’t been found. There were already rumors in the village. Some said Wang Lingling ran off with her lover, others said she was out of her mind and went to the mountains, and some said that Wang Yongshun and his wife had hidden her just to avoid dealing with the Xu family.
Xu Shuang was at home drying meat. His family was having a lot of problems recently, and he couldn’t leave the elderly woman alone at home, so he had to run errands between the restaurant and his house.
He knew that people in the village were looking at his family in an awkward way, so he didn’t go out to face the cold shoulders. He often went up the mountain early in the morning to hunt for wild rabbits and brought them back.
Winter was approaching, and once the heavy snow arrived, he wouldn’t be able to go up the mountain anymore.
Winter was also when people got hungry easily. If he didn’t store some food now, he would only have thin coarse grain porridge to drink in winter.
Xu Laotai, the elderly woman, was inside the house groaning. She wasn’t pretending; the more she thought about it, the more hopeless she felt.
Her eldest son originally had a promising future, but now his situation had completely changed, and he was detained far away. Her youngest son’s job was uncertain, and the most frustrating thing was the attitude of the people around them.
During this period, except for her elder sister from her maiden family who came to visit her once with a cane, none of their other relatives had visited.
Even the family of her youngest son’s fiancée, who had once been visited by Li Chunjuan up to seven or eight times a day, hadn’t come by recently. In fact, they hadn’t even walked past the courtyard.
Xu Laotai couldn’t quite figure out how she felt. She considered herself not a failure as a person. She had always been enthusiastic about village affairs, but now, at the end, people were avoiding her as if she were contagious.
And Xu Shuang, back when all the best girls in the commune were available for him to choose from, he could have picked anyone. There were even a few educated youths from big cities who were interested. But she thought her son was a quiet and reserved person, so she needed to find a more lively person to take care of him.
Plus, she had some ties to Li Chunjuan’s maiden family, so she decided on Wang Lingling as the daughter-in-law.
Her eldest son had a good future, so his wife would probably be chosen from the city. Xu Laotai lived in the countryside, so she naturally wanted a daughter-in-law who could get along with her.
But in the end, this was who they chose.
Even if they had come to her directly and said that the marriage proposal was off, at least there would have been some clarity. But now, not even visiting the house, it really made her feel disheartened.
Xu Laotai thought for a while and called Xu Shuang into her room.
“Son, I need to talk to you seriously. Our family’s future doesn’t look good. We don’t know when your brother’s situation will be resolved. I think the Wang family no longer wants to have anything to do with us… I don’t want you to be held back because of your brother’s situation.”
Xu Laotai went through the potential candidates in her mind, eventually narrowing it down to a few people. She was ready to tell her son one by one, “Our situation only has two options. One is that I find you a wife from a family with three generations of poor farmers, someone with deep roots, and we’ll pay a little more for the bride price and bring her home.”
Xu Laotai was reluctant, not because she was disdainful of poor families. Actually, everyone was almost the same now. If she had to speak of poverty, it was the same for everyone. But given their situation, any family that truly cared for their daughter wouldn’t let her marry into such circumstances. The only women who would marry into a family like hers were those who didn’t value their daughter as a person. If she found such a wife for her youngest son, they would have to deal with the in-laws for the long term.
If they ran into a family that insisted on bringing their daughter’s family into the marriage, it would cause more trouble than it was worth.
“Or the second option is… I’ll pick a family for you, and we’ll let you marry into their family.”
Xu Laotai is not someone with a rigid mindset. On the contrary, she was quite wise in life, having managed to send one son to university and the other to become a cook.
She also knew the importance of knowing when to bow her head.
“I know this will definitely be hard on you, but I don’t want you to have a difficult life,” she said.
Last year, and the year before, she had heard that the neighboring commune had dealt with someone harshly, with the family of a “rightist” being persecuted to the point of death.
Xu Laotai wasn’t sure if their family would be next, but thinking about the attitude of the commune leader, Zhao Zhichun, she was really scared.
It was obvious that the authorities wouldn’t stand by them.
Moreover, every commune had one or two “backward elements,” whether landowner descendants or relatives of those labeled as such. When no one else was available for persecution, these people were often the ones who took the blame.
Their commune leader, Tian Youfu, although fair-minded, couldn’t hold up the situation when it came to the crunch.
Xu Laotai looked at her upright son and couldn’t help but resent him for being too straightforward. As an elderly woman, she couldn’t ask for much from the team, but her younger son would likely suffer because of his older brother. Their two sons had a strong bond, so the older one certainly understood the younger one, but the reality was that they still had to find a way to avoid living with the stigma of being related to a rightist.
Xu Shuang remained silent, and Xu Laotai couldn’t bring herself to press him further at this point. Whether it was dealing with a difficult in-law or joining another family by marriage, it was all embarrassing, and she didn’t want to add more weight to her son’s already heavy heart.
Xu Laotai’s thoughts wandered to the dried rabbit meat hanging in the yard, and she couldn’t help but ponder.
The search for Wang Lingling had been a focus of the commune for two or three days, but by the fourth day, everyone was tired. After all, it wasn’t like they were looking for a mischievous child; she was an eighteen-year-old young woman. If an adult woman wanted to run away, who could easily find her?
Tian Youfu, the commune leader, couldn’t do much either. On the first day Wang Lingling went missing, he had told the militia to pay attention during patrols and bring her back if they saw her.
After that, there wasn’t much else he could do.
Meanwhile, Wang Yongshun and Li Chunjuan had already adjusted their mindset. Wang Yongshun even felt a bit relieved. It was better that this crazy girl ran away than to stay at home and bring shame to the family.
But the most troublesome part was the betrothal money, which was tied to the marriage arrangement with the Xu family. The idea of not pursuing the marriage with the Xu family was what really hurt.
Wang Yongshun was worried about it, but he was also calculating. The bride price for his eldest daughter was one hundred yuan, and the family savings were a little over two hundred yuan. He had around three hundred yuan stashed carefully in different places in the house—this was his lifeline. This was also why Tian Youfu had failed to find it during the house search.
This money seemed like a lot, but in both rural and urban contexts, it was not enough to buy a job.
Wang Yongshun thought for a while and realized the key to solving this problem was with Wang Ying.
Zhao Grandma had been harsh enough, slashing the bride price to thirty yuan, but Wang Yongshun wasn’t one to back down. He thought that on Wang Ying’s wedding day, he would have Li Chunjuan cause a scene, forcing Zhao Grandma to add another twenty yuan to the betrothal.
Though asking for more money before leaving was not proper, Wang Yongshun felt that he couldn’t care about that now.
Wang Ying’s bride price was fifty yuan. With what little they had left, it could barely cover the expenses.
Wang Yongshun turned to Li Chunjuan and asked, “What about that old woman from the Zhao family? Didn’t she say she was bringing the kids over to our house to meet us? Why hasn’t she shown up these past few days?”
Li Chunjuan, with a worried face, had been greatly affected by Wang Lingling’s disappearance. These days, she had become unusually quiet, a stark contrast to her usual noisy self. “How would I know? Should I go ask?”
Wang Yongshun said urgently, “Go, and make sure she brings the two kids with her.”
When the kids call Wang Ying “mom,” the situation would be complicated. Even if Wang Ying didn’t want to, she would have to consider it.
Li Chunjuan took half a day off and sneaked over to the Zhao family.
When she arrived, she found the Zhao family’s door tightly shut, with a big lock hanging on the outside.
Li Chunjuan hurried back and reported to Wang Yongshun, “The Zhao family said that their youngest son got injured on the way back and is staying in the county town. His mother went with the family to visit him.”
Wang Yongshun felt that things were slipping out of his control. He asked in a daze, “Did they say when he’ll be back?”
Li Chunjuan replied, “No, they just said she left this morning to pick him up.”
Wang Yongshun breathed a sigh of relief, “Alright, then when he comes back, we’ll meet the man together.”
He instructed, “Don’t go to work tomorrow morning, go there again.”
The sooner Wang Ying’s matter was settled, the sooner he could relax.
However, Wang Yongshun never expected that the very next morning, someone would appear at his doorstep.
Wang Lingling had returned!
The entire commune gathered around.
“Lingling, where have you been these past few days? Your parents have been looking for you everywhere!”
“Who are these two kids with you?”
“Why are you wearing new clothes?”
A barrage of questions hit Wang Lingling, but she didn’t seem embarrassed at all. On the contrary, she was very open about it.
“I’m getting married. I came back today to get the introduction letter. These two are my husband’s children—one is Zhao Dong, the other is Zhao Xi.”
“What? You’re married?”
“Who are you marrying? Isn’t it supposed to be the Xu family’s son…”
“These kids are his? You’re their stepmother?”
“Do your parents know?”
Wang Lingling looked down on everyone around her, almost as if looking at them from a divine perspective. Many of them had their mouths twisted in disdain, and some didn’t even bother hiding their unkind comments. But Wang Lingling was already lost in the sweetness of her own happiness, completely indifferent to what these people thought.
