Chapter 16.3

When the two of them got back from the hospital, they sat down in front of the electric fan as soon as they walked in the door, letting it blow on them for quite a while, talking as they cooled off.

Xu Meng was stunned by what Feng Yanwen had just revealed. “So you’re saying that when you went to the doctor back then, you went alone—and the doctor was someone introduced by that family?”

Feng Yanwen had finally come to her senses. She wiped her face with her hand, and thinking it over now, she realized how foolish she had probably been. Back then, she hadn’t thought much about it. After all, the doctor had spoken so firmly. No one questioned the doctor; they only questioned whether they themselves were the problem.

And besides, that was the 1970s. Good doctors had been sent to labor camps—she might not have even had access to a competent one.

What happened afterward, Xu Meng already knew. But as a junior, she had never felt it was her place to question her mother about such personal matters. If it weren’t for today’s hospital visit, she might never have known that this was how it all began. And really, she couldn’t blame Feng Yanwen for thinking the way she did. Medical care wasn’t advanced back then, and unlike people decades later who could search everything online, the most reliable source of information back then came from professionals like doctors.

If the doctor said the issue was hers, of course she believed it. Was that so strange?

Suddenly, Xu Meng exclaimed, “But if you think about it from a different angle, then it wasn’t your problem—it was his!”

She knew that Feng Yanwen had always wanted to have a child of her own. That had once been such a distant, unimaginable hope for her mother. But if the problem wasn’t with her, then wouldn’t it just be a matter of being with someone else?

This could be the perfect reason to push for a divorce. Get away from that bloodsucking family—only then could life truly get better.

Outside, the three little ones were running around in the courtyard. Feng Yanwen glanced at the pile of watermelons under the eaves, forced herself to perk up, turned off the fan, and stepped out the door.

As soon as the children saw her come out, they immediately started trying to win her over with sweet gestures.

The second child, still as mischievous and eager to show off as ever, came up and said, “Auntie Feng, the lady who delivered the watermelons said they were a bit small, so she told us to take one extra. We took fifteen in total. The water in the bucket is ready too, and the thermos is filled with boiled water, not tap water. Are you going out soon? We can walk you to the gate.”

Feng Yanwen truly liked children, and these ones were especially well-behaved. Hearing what the second child said instantly lifted her spirits.

These kids weren’t particular about things. At first, when she saw them drinking straight from the tap, she had been startled. So she taught them to boil water before drinking. Now, every morning, they boiled a big pot of water. But with the weather getting hotter, even that wasn’t enough to last through the day. Over time, they had developed the habit—every morning as soon as they got up, the first thing they did was boil a kettle of water.

This actually saved the mother and daughter quite a bit of trouble, and Feng Yanwen felt genuinely gratified because of it. Smiling, she said to the second child, “Then I’ll trouble you to help me carry the water.”

Everything else could be stacked onto the cart, but the water had to be carried by hand. The two of them needed clean water for washing their hands while doing business, and at least two buckets were needed to get through a full day.

The eldest immediately jumped up. “Are we heading out now?”

Seeing that Feng Yanwen’s attention had been diverted, Xu Meng also breathed a quiet sigh of relief. She checked over their supplies and then headed out. The eldest and second child helped carry things, while the youngest trailed after them like a little tagalong.

When they neared the train station, Feng Yanwen took a few maps out from their bundle and handed them to the kids to sell.

This was part of a recent arrangement they had made with the boys. Whatever they managed to sell, they got to keep half the profits.

Some kinds of business simply couldn’t be handled by just the two of them—like how these kids could run all over the train station, while the two adults had to stay put to sell watermelons. The children darted around freely, selling at the station’s exit. On lucky days, they could earn over ten yuan, and they were more than happy to do the job.

At the time, schools were actively promoting student work-study programs. Even the neighborhood office encouraged it once they heard about it. With something productive to do, the kids wouldn’t be causing trouble elsewhere.

Xu Meng naturally laid out the rules for the children—clearly defining their range of activity and forbidding them from wandering around aimlessly—before letting them head out. She wasn’t too worried about them, anyway. These kids had grown up near the train station and knew the area inside and out. With that settled, she and Feng Yanwen got started selling watermelons.

Feng Yanwen pulled herself together. Xu Meng had already told her that this business wouldn’t last long—no more than a month, until school resumed. Counting the days, there wasn’t much time left. Right now, they could earn seventy to eighty yuan in profit a day without issue. And with the kids helping out, they could make an extra five to ten yuan. The two women hadn’t planned on keeping the children’s share of earnings either. Part of the money was being used to improve the shared spaces back at home.

Around two in the afternoon, all three kids came back. The eldest pointed to the small bills stuffed in his pocket and said, “Auntie Feng, we sold them all. Here’s the money.”

They had been given a hundred copies to sell, and once sold out, they earned a profit of ten yuan. Feng Yanwen took the money and tucked it into a separate small pouch. Then, she pulled out ten yuan from another place and handed it to the eldest child. The moment he got the money, he ran off joyfully with his younger brothers in tow.

Xu Meng smiled. “I really didn’t expect them to sell so much in a day.”

Feng Yanwen was in a good mood too. “I didn’t expect it either. Say, when school starts, what if I take the maps out to sell myself?”

These past few days, while letting the kids sell the maps, she had been quietly observing. She saw that they were actually selling quite a bit, which gradually gave her a sense of reassurance. She had also made a quiet decision: even if the watermelon business couldn’t continue once school resumed, she could still sell maps at the train station.

“These days I’ve been observing too. The kids can earn several yuan in just half a day. I’m not a greedy person. Once you go back to school, I’ll go to the train station and sell tourist maps full-time. Maybe I can even add a few other things to sell. If I can make ten yuan or so a day, I can live on that. So even if I divorce Xu Jiefang, I’ll still be able to live just fine.”

Meeting her mother’s resolute gaze, Xu Meng’s eyes gradually lit up.

So this was what she had been thinking.

—

“She’s not coming back?”

Granny Xue sat up in bed in shock, her mouth wide open and unable to close.

She didn’t believe it. Could someone really be willing to divorce over trivial household squabbles? What kind of woman would leave her marriage just because she couldn’t get along with her mother-in-law? She was itching to get out of bed right that moment, grab Feng Yanwen by the ear, and demand she think it over clearly—what kind of situation did she think she was in?

“Third son, you go out. I have something to ask your second sister-in-law.”

Xu Jiefang was in a complete mess himself. He still had feelings for Feng Yanwen; divorce had never been on his mind. But seeing how determined she had looked just now, it was clear she was serious about ending the marriage. A vague sense of dread crept into him—if they really divorced, could he ever find another woman like Feng Yanwen again?

In an instant, countless good things about her flashed through his mind.

Feng Yanwen was eight years younger than him, beautiful, and a college graduate.

Back when they got married, she hadn’t even gotten into university yet. Who didn’t say he was lucky when they heard about it? At the time, his family had told him to hold on to her tightly—universities were full of all sorts of nonsense, and what if she fell in love with someone else and refused to come back?

Xu Jiefang walked out of the hospital room, his whole body stiff and numb.

Granny Xue’s face was dark, her arched brows shooting upward as she aggressively demanded, “What’s going on? Why is your brother’s wife suddenly asking for a divorce? Has she got another man out there or something? How dare she even bring up divorce! And what about that little wretch? We raised her for all these years for nothing?”

Wang Meili looked a bit awkward. “Do you think maybe… she found out about what happened back then?”

The way she had spoken earlier—so decisive, even saying she would return the eighty-eight yuan bride price—it was practically a slap in the face.

Some things, well, who in the alley didn’t know? The old neighbors all knew, they just didn’t say it out loud. At most, people had caught wind of some gossip—nothing solid. And these folks were older and familiar with Granny Xue, so they wouldn’t go stirring up trouble by telling Feng Yanwen directly.

Granny Xue’s face grew even darker. “Back then we picked someone from the countryside for your third brother precisely because we wanted a rural girl—honest and hardworking. Turns out she wasn’t so honest after all. Is she seeing another man out there?” She was absolutely convinced that if a woman wanted to leave a man, it must be because she had found someone else.

But the truth was, Feng Yanwen really was capable. They had simply grown too arrogant, too used to treating her like she didn’t matter. It hadn’t started out this bad, but people’s attitudes change over time. Say something enough times, and in the end, even you start to believe it yourself.

Wang Meili shook her head. “We asked around yesterday. The place they’re renting belongs to a few kids—the oldest one is only eight. I don’t think that’s possible. So I suspect she found out the truth.”

Granny Xue’s gaze turned even more vicious. “So what if she found out? At her age, all we have to do is drag this out for a few years. As long as they don’t divorce, she won’t be able to remarry. Give it a few more years, and once she’s past forty, even if she finds someone, she won’t be able to have children. If she plays hard, we can play harder. Go call your third brother back in here.”

Wang Meili let out a sigh. For once, her conscience stirred with a rare flicker of guilt. She thought what her mother-in-law was doing was truly immoral, but she didn’t want to start a fight with her at the hospital, so she left the room to fetch Xu Jiefang.

Xu Jiefang finally walked in, still stiff and wooden. He was surprised to see his mother sitting up straighter than before, even looking slightly better than she had in recent days. He stared at her for a moment longer than usual, only to hear Granny Xue snap irritably:

“What are you staring at? I’m feeling better now, I can get out of bed on my own.”

Xu Jiefang let out a sigh of relief.

Granny Xue lifted her leg with her hand and began massaging it bit by bit. Today was the first time her leg had regained sensation. The doctor had said she needed to keep it moving, or else there might be issues with blood circulation. Now that she was slowly recovering, she was once again a fully battle-ready old woman. If she wanted to wage a long-term war, she needed a strong body. After passing on all the key points of her “battle plan” to Xu Jiefang, she finally said:

“In short, you must insist on not agreeing to the divorce. I don’t believe she has any backup plan. We’ll drag it out a few more years, and once she’s older, she’ll have no choice but to come back and settle down. Third son, among my three sons, the one I worry about most is you. Tell me, what will you do when you get old? You’ll still have to rely on your nephew to get by. You mustn’t be foolish—keep a close eye on the money. She’s not giving you any children, so not a single money should be spent on her. Don’t let her throwing a little tantrum soften you up, understand?”

Without a child between them, there had always been a layer of distance. That was why he treated his nephew far better than he ever treated his wife. In the end, it was the nephew he would rely on for support in old age.

He played a big part in supporting Xu Dawei’s education, giving a hundred yuan a month for his living expenses.

Only then did a satisfied smile finally appear on Granny Xue’s face. She said a few more words of praise to show her trust in him. What she feared most was that her son would grow soft-hearted, and that with a few coaxing words and tears, that woman would worm her way back in and take all the money. She had always watched the finances closely. No matter how much she might want her daughter-in-law to come back, she would never let the money slip out of her grasp.

A son’s money could be spent on a grandson, but must never benefit an outsider!

Xu Jiefang nodded firmly. His income was pretty good at the moment. Driving long-haul trucks earned him several hundred yuan a month, and when work was plentiful, he could even make over a thousand. He had been saving all of it, planning to give a hefty sum when Dawei got married. That way, when he handed over the money in one go, it would show his generosity as an uncle. At that point, Dawei would surely be filled with gratitude and treat him with filial respect for years to come.

As for Feng Yanwen—if she thought she could use money to get a hold on him, she was dead wrong. Sure, she was doing well now, but the day would come when she couldn’t make it out there anymore. When she came crying and begging to come back, unless she lowered herself completely, he’d be sure to teach her a lesson she wouldn’t forget.

With his mind made up, Xu Jiefang nodded firmly.