Zhong Jianguo couldn’t help but think of his childhood. His father only cared about Zhao Yin’s children, ignoring him and his brother. Holding his eldest son tighter, he promised, “I won’t!”
The child held out his pinky. “Pinky promise?”
Zhong Jianguo sighed helplessly. “Pinky promise.”
“Pinky promise, once made, no changes for a hundred years.” The child warned, “If you become a stepfather, I won’t want you anymore.”
Zhong Jianguo laughed. “Alright!”
“Dad, I miss home.” The child clung to Zhong Jianguo’s big hand and looked up at him. “I miss Mom.”
Zhong Jianguo’s gaze flickered. “We’re going home the day after tomorrow. There will be a mom at home.”
“That’s a stepmom.” The child corrected him. “I know, Mom is already gone.”
Zhong Jianguo said, “A stepmom is also a mom. Now you have two moms.”
“I only want my mom.” The child was stubborn.
Zhong Jianguo frowned slightly and set him down. “Go find your mom, I won’t stop you.”
The child stood on solid ground, his face changing slightly as his eyes instantly filled with tears.
Zhong dasao, distressed by the scene, pulled the child into her arms and glared at Zhong Jianguo. “Why are you being so harsh with the child?” She then comforted the boy. “Don’t listen to your dad’s nonsense. Your mom… what happened with her was her own fault. It’s not your dad’s fault. He’s not happy about it either.
“Your dad found you a stepmom not for himself, but to take care of you three boys. If it weren’t for you all, he wouldn’t be in such a hurry to remarry. Dawa, if you behave, your stepmom will love you and your dad won’t have to worry about you being cold or hungry at home. That way, he’ll have the strength to fight the bad guys.”
“Auntie, if I behave, will my stepmom really love me?” The child had often heard his mother say bad things about his father’s stepmother. After coming to live with his uncle, he frequently heard his cousin say that stepmothers were the worst people in the world. Even with Zhong Jianguo’s repeated assurances, he still felt uneasy.
Zhong dasao sighed. “Of course. If she dares to mistreat you, just call your uncle. I’ll give you the number for your uncle’s factory later. If I get a call from you, I’ll come to Wengzhou Island to get you myself.”
“Okay!” The child’s face lit up with a smile.
Zhong Jianguo clicked his tongue. “Dasao, don’t spoil him. Song Zhaodi may be smart, but she’s straightforward and honest. Who knows who will end up bullying whom?”
“Our Dawa would never bully his stepmom,” Zhong dasao said, looking at the child. “Right?”
The child pursed his lips and didn’t answer.
Zhong dasao sighed. “I’m going to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things for your journey. By the way, Jianguo, have you bought the train tickets?”
“I came back today not just to tell you about the marriage but also to buy tickets,” Zhong Jianguo said. “There might not be a direct train to Shencheng this afternoon, so I need to check how to transfer along the way.”
Zhong dasao glanced at the three children, who were curled up on the chairs and then at Zhong Jianguo. “You have a lot of luggage and three kids. Should your brother give you a ride for part of the way?”
“No need,” Zhong Jianguo replied. “Brother just got promoted to team leader. If he takes leave now, the people under him will have opinions. When I see Song Zhaodi the day after tomorrow, I’ll tell her to pack lightly. If we need anything, we can buy it later in Yongcheng.”
Meanwhile, a hundred miles away in Xiao Song Village, Mother Song was both shocked and worried when she saw Song Zhaodi cutting fabric for seven sets of clothes in just the time it took for an incense stick to burn. “Daughter, slow down, we’re not in a rush.”
Neither Mother Song nor Song dajie had ever used a sewing machine. Song Zhaodi knew she couldn’t rely on one either. Since everything had to be sewn by hand and she still had three pairs of shoes to make, she really didn’t have time to slow down. “Mom, I’ll work for a bit, then take breaks. I won’t tire myself out.”
“Mom isn’t worried about you overworking yourself.” Song dajie usually left for the furniture factory after breakfast. Now that she had a bicycle, she and Liu Yang had already cleaned the pigsty and filled the water jars. Estimating that they still had time, they went to the main hall to watch Song Zhaodi cut fabric. “Mom is afraid you’ll waste the cloth.”
Song Zhaodi’s hands paused and she looked up. Mother Song nodded.
“Mom…” Song Zhaodi was speechless. “Am I worth less than a few pieces of cloth?” Then, before her mother could respond, she shooed her away. “Hurry up and get to work.”
Song dajie chuckled, seeing Liu Yang bringing out the bicycle. She pulled on their mother’s sleeve. “Stop watching, Mom. If she messes up, she can just ask Zhong Jianguo to buy her more. He’s got plenty of money anyway.”
“Zhong Jianguo’s money doesn’t fall from the sky.” Mother Song saw that Song Zhaodi had already started sewing and realised it was too late to stop her, so she followed her eldest daughter outside.
Song dajie pointed at the bicycle. “Mom, hop on. Let Liu Yang take you to the fields.”
“I’m not getting on that thing,” Mother Song shook her head vigorously. “I still want to live a few more years.”
Liu Yang was exasperated. “Mom, I won’t let you fall.” He caught sight of his own mother nearby. “Mom, I’ll take you.”
Yang shi looked terrified. “I don’t believe you. When Zhong Jianguo arrives, I’ll have him take me for a ride instead.”
Liu Yang was frustrated. “Wife, let’s go.”
“Slow down,” Song dajie reminded him as they left. “We still have time. We won’t be late.”
Song Zhaodi burst into laughter and called out loudly, “Jiefu, if you drop my sister—”
“Impossible!” Liu Yang replied and immediately got on the bicycle. He turned his head and said to his wife, “Get on.”
Mother Song and Yang shi quickly ran outside, watching as Song dajie wrapped her arms around Liu Yang’s waist. Liu Yang trembled all over and the bicycle wobbled uncontrollably towards the village entrance.
Mother Song was worried. “He won’t fall, will he?”
“Probably not…” Yang shi replied unconvincingly, feeling uneasy for the rest of the day.
That evening, Song Zhaodi finished making clothes for Mother Song, Father Song and her two nephews. Just as the sound of a ringing bicycle bell came from outside, before she could even ask if Song dajie had returned, she saw the frail Yang shi dash outside at lightning speed. She couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Jiefu, where did you hurt yourself?” Song Zhaodi stretched lazily as she walked to the door and asked directly.
Without thinking, Liu Yang answered, “My arm.”
“You really fell?” Yang shi was shocked. “Is the bicycle okay?”
Liu Yang was about to say it was fine but then realised his mother was asking about the bicycle, not him. He was utterly speechless. “Mom, your son is a living, breathing person! Am I really worth less than a bicycle?”
“Don’t complain. I’m not even worth a few pieces of cloth.” Song Zhaodi patted her brother-in-law’s shoulder. “Where’s my sister?”
“At the brigade office, watching our family’s pig being slaughtered.”
At this time, distribution was still based on labour. Even though villagers were allowed to raise their own livestock, they had to contribute a portion to the production team when slaughtering an animal. After all, raising livestock could interfere with their regular work.
Since the wedding was on the ninth, they needed to prepare the ingredients a day in advance. But everyone had to work during the day, leaving no time to slaughter the pig. So, after finishing their work, the villagers gathered at the brigade office to handle it together. This also allowed them to hand over the required portion of pork to the production team.
By now, everyone in Xiao Song Village knew that Song Zhaodi’s partner was a military regiment commander. Although they understood why she was getting married in such a hurry, there were still plenty of envious and jealous people making snide remarks.
The moment Song dajie arrived at the brigade office, she was bombarded with insincere congratulations. Carrying the pig’s head, she followed her parents home but couldn’t help asking, “Dad, do you think Wang Degui will come on the ninth?”
“He doesn’t even know Zhaodi is getting married.” Liu Yang pulled his eldest son closer. “Look at the clothes your aunt made for you—aren’t they nice?” He started dressing the boy in them.
“His skin is delicate. Wash them before he wears them.” Song Zhaodi reminded.
“Give them to me.” Song dajie took the clothes but continued her conversation. “He doesn’t know now, but if someone deliberately tells him, he’ll find out.”
“Who would tell him?” Song Zhaodi asked, puzzled.
“I don’t know. But I do know that many people would.” Song dajie said. “Back when you got into university, plenty of people told our parents that no matter how capable their daughter was, she’d still belong to someone else in the end.
“Mom told them that university tuition was free and that the school even provided money. They didn’t believe her. It wasn’t until the educated youth in the village mentioned that the state funded normal university students that they were convinced.
“Back then, when the Wang family came to propose marriage, the same people who told Dad not to send you to university were also saying that no matter how well-educated you were, you’d still end up marrying Wang Degui, who didn’t even finish middle school. Now that you’re marrying Zhong Jianguo, a regiment commander and a university graduate, those people will definitely try to cause trouble.”
Song Zhaodi scoffed, “If Wang Degui dares to make a scene, Zhong Jianguo will throw him out.” She paused, then added, “Dajie, do you think Zhong Jianguo became a regiment commander just because he’s a university graduate? Let me tell you, he has seen his fair share of blood.”
Song dajie’s eyes widened. “Are you saying he’s… killed people?”
“Of course.” Song Zhaodi replied. “If he hadn’t, his soldiers wouldn’t respect him. Besides, even if he didn’t want to kill, Old Jiang’s soldiers would have forced him to.”
“Oh my god, why didn’t I think of that?” Liu Yang shuddered. “He was teaching me how to ride a bike yesterday and I actually complained about him… Zhaodi, meimei, do you think he’ll—”
Song Zhaodi rolled her eyes. “You’re overthinking it. Don’t scare yourself. Dajie, look at Mom and Dad. They’re not worried at all. Learn from them.”
“Your father didn’t think of it either.” Father Song, who had been concerned about Wang Degui causing trouble, finally understood the meaning behind Song Zhaodi’s words—“The Wang family wouldn’t dare offend Zhong Jianguo.”
Since Song Zhaodi’s partner was a ‘killing god’, the Song family had nothing to fear. The next day, life continued as usual.
Soon, the ninth arrived. In the morning, Liu Yang took Song Zhaodi to the county town to meet Zhong Jianguo.
Under Liu Yang’s witness, Song Zhaodi and Zhong Jianguo got their marriage certificate. The three of them then bought some sweets and started walking back to Xiao Song Village.
By the time they returned, it was past eleven and all of Song Zhaodi’s relatives had already arrived. Everyone knew Zhong Jianguo was a soldier. Though they initially thought he was too old, the fact that he was a regiment commander and a university graduate quickly overshadowed any concerns about his age.
However, Mother Song’s maternal family knew that Zhong Jianguo had been married before and had children. Noticing that the other relatives were unaware, they pulled Mother Song aside to question her.
When asked why she would marry Song Zhaodi to a man with children, Mother Song hesitated to mention that her daughter had been in a relationship before. Instead, she explained that the Wang family had been pressuring them. Because of Wang Degui, no young men from the nearby villages dared to propose to Song Zhaodi.
Since Zhong Jianguo wasn’t afraid of the Wang family and was otherwise a good match for Song Zhaodi, they had simply decided to go ahead with the marriage.
Mother Song’s relatives knew about Wang Degui’s obsession with Song Zhaodi and didn’t doubt her words. After cursing the Wang family a few times, they went back to helping with the wedding preparations.
“Teacher Song, someone outside is looking for you.”
Song Zhaodi had just been introducing Zhong Jianguo to her relatives and neighbours when she turned around to see one of her former students. After a moment’s thought, she immediately guessed what was going on.
“Tell him I’m busy.”
“Teacher Song, he said if you don’t come out, he’ll come in.” The young boy hesitated. “He’s behind our school.”
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