Chapter 27: The Woman with a Story

Qiu Tang was from the northern part of China. Although her hometown wasn’t Beijing, it was not far from the capital.

She met, got to know, and fell in love with her first husband when she was in college.

In the 1970s, it was common for men and women to marry early. Just after graduating from university, they entered into marriage.

At first, everything seemed perfect. Her husband came from a family with a less favorable financial situation than hers, but he was very obedient, gentle, and considerate towards her.

Her husband was the eldest in his family, and he had developed a hardworking and resilient character. At first, Qiu Tang thought such a man was reliable, but after marriage, she realized how many conflicts would arise.

Her mother-in-law was from a rural background, and after working hard to send one child to university, she began to hope for returns.

At that time, they were poor, so her husband’s salary was often sent to his parents, which meant less money for the family.

Just the issue of money caused many conflicts, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law’s disputes exhausted most of their marital love.

Her husband was also a dutiful son, caught between his mother and his wife, making it impossible to satisfy both. The more he tried, the less satisfied they were.

It wasn’t until her husband started his own business that the situation improved slightly.

He invested in a factory by exchanging technology for shares, and although Qiu Tang had to borrow some money from her family to invest as well, she got a small share in return.

The year Jiang Mingzhi was born, their finances finally became more comfortable. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stopped arguing about money, but her mother-in-law was disappointed that Qiu Tang had given birth to a daughter. Just when things seemed to improve, her face darkened again because of Qiu Tang’s investment in the business.

Qiu Tang thought that she and her husband could finally live a peaceful and happy life together. But she didn’t expect more conflicts to come.

Her mother-in-law didn’t take care of her during the month of postpartum recovery and constantly found ways to make her angry.

It is often said that the grudges formed during the month of postpartum recovery are lifelong. Those grievances indeed became frequent topics of conversation in the years that followed.

Moreover, her mother-in-law had various relatives who kept trying to get jobs at the factory.

If they were capable, it would have been fine, but some lazy relatives wanted to get in and live off the company.

The factory wasn’t just their family’s, and there were many shareholders.

There were constant arguments until Jiang Mingzhi was five.

At that time, Qiu Tang had considered divorce. But divorce wasn’t common back then, and her husband treated their daughter very well. She also wanted to give her daughter a complete family. After a long conversation with her husband, they reached an agreement. He would provide alimony, but as long as the mother-in-law stayed out of their affairs, they could still continue to live together.

Two more years passed, and Qiu Tang realized how naïve she had been. Her mother-in-law took the money, yes, but she no longer tried to push relatives into the factory. However, she started pressuring Qiu Tang to have a second child.

The pressure had always been there. Since the birth of their daughter, the mother-in-law kept saying, “You should try for another one, having one is no different from having two.”

When Jiang Mingzhi started school, and seeing that Qiu Tang was getting older but still hadn’t prepared for a second child, the pressure became even more intense.

The mother-in-law even went as far as to puncture condoms and force Qiu Tang to drink traditional medicine. If she refused, the old woman would sit outside their door and cry.

She claimed it was for the daughter-in-law’s health, and if the daughter-in-law didn’t appreciate it, she would insult them for interfering in their business.

Qiu Tang knew that her mother-in-law just wanted a grandson. The original agreement with her husband had been to only have one child, regardless of gender.

If she compromised this time, she knew she would have to compromise on everything in the future.

If they didn’t have a son this time, the pressure would continue to build.

Qiu Tang questioned her husband, asking why he hadn’t told his mother they only wanted one child.

Her husband hesitated, then began to persuade her.

“Actually, having another child wouldn’t be so bad. It would give Mingzhi a companion.”

“When we’re gone, at least Mingzhi would have a family member.”

“Our family can afford it now.”

“I’m not biased against girls. I’d be happy even if the second one is a girl.”

Her husband, who had always tried to keep the peace between his mother and his wife, now fully sided with his mother.

In middle age, the passionate love of youth had long dissipated, and life had become increasingly unsatisfactory.

Qiu Tang erupted. She was never one to passively accept things.

She admired strength, and when she first chose her husband, it was because he had qualities that shone, and she admired him for it.

But over time, those shining qualities disappeared, and all she could see were his weaknesses and inaction.

For all this time, she had been the one making concessions, while her husband always acted as though he were suffering greatly.

In reality, he wasn’t suffering at all. He hid behind the superficial pain while enjoying the fruits of her sacrifices.

And those fruits were the result of her devotion, her blood, her flesh, and her soul.

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Her ex-husband had passed away, and the right and wrong of their past seemed to fade into the clouds. When her ex-husband passed, she came.

Looking at the black-and-white photograph on the gravestone, the time they had spent together felt so distant, like it was from a past life.

Fortunately, before her ex-husband’s death, he did one right thing: he gave their daughter back to her.

Qiu Tang placed a white chrysanthemum on her ex-husband’s gravestone. The gravestone was very clean, and there were still some offerings in front of it, which meant that his family had visited the day before.

Jiang Mingzhi also placed the flowers she was holding down. She bent down to carefully look at the black-and-white photo of her father on the gravestone.

It was so unfamiliar. She stared at it hard, trying to etch her father’s face into her memory through her eyes.

There were few things that belonged to her father; only one photograph had traveled with her to Beijing.

The time spent between father and daughter was buried deep in her memory, and even if she tried to dig it out, it had become blurry.

Jiang Mingzhi suddenly felt a sense of panic.

It is often said that when a person truly dies, it is when they are forgotten.

She didn’t want to forget.

Qiu Tang looked at her watch and said to Jiang Mingzhi, “There’s still some time. If you want to talk to him, you can.”

Her ex-husband had passed less than a year ago, and Qiu Tang felt that her daughter surely missed her father.

Qiu Tang walked through rows of tombstones and down the steps, giving Jiang Mingzhi enough space.

Jiang Mingzhi didn’t know what to say. After all, the person was already gone, and no matter how much she said, there would be no response.

She only silently prayed in her heart: I hope that Dad will have a happy and complete family in the next life.

He was a good father, but not a good husband. I hope that in the next life, he won’t have to sacrifice to be a good son.

Many times, one cannot have it both ways.

Jiang Mingzhi tried hard to remember the moments she spent with her father. She thought back to when she was young, and even up to her twenties, when she brought Pei Jinyang to the cemetery to see him and introduced him as her boyfriend, saying they were going to get married.

At that time, she thought her father, if he were still alive, would definitely bless her.

But now, thinking back, if her father were truly alive, he would probably have opposed it.

Her father, who always wanted a harmonious family, could never have allowed his daughter to abandon everything for the sake of love. A family built on such foundations would never be happy.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when Qiu Tang gently called her, “Zhi Zhi, it’s time to go.”

“Let’s go, Mom.” Jiang Mingzhi helped her mother to stand up.

They walked down the steps, and as they left the mountain, there was a small magnolia tree at the entrance of the cemetery, blooming with white flowers on its branches.

This tree seemed to have grown from a seed that accidentally sprouted in the soil, without any special care, but it still bloomed fiercely and beautifully.

Jiang Mingzhi thought of the magnolia tree in her family’s yard.

She had always liked magnolias. When she was little, she had fallen in love with them when she saw them at a scenic spot and begged her father to plant one at home.

Her father had indeed transplanted one for her. The tree wasn’t as large as the ones in the scenic spot, but she heard that it had cost quite a bit.