Chapter 1: The Tyrant

Duanwu Festival, 1990 – Guihua Town

A fresh rain from the night before had washed the branches clean, making the peaches, plums, and apricots even more vibrant. Clusters of fruit, heavy with dew, hung low on the branches, glistening like tiny gemstones under the rising red sun.

Amidst the fading morning mist, a young woman carrying a woven basket on her back emerged from the towering green mountains behind the town. Her rain boots splashed through puddles on the stone-paved road, sending clear droplets flying through the air before landing with crisp, rhythmic sounds.

As she reached the stream, she suddenly bent down, swept aside the floating duckweed, and when she straightened up, she had a handful of large, fresh river prawns in her grasp.

Tossing the plump shrimp into her basket, she turned onto the main road and headed toward town.

At the street entrance, Auntie Sun was curdling tofu in a large pot of sour water. As the young woman passed by, Auntie Sun instinctively turned to glance at her husband, only to find him frozen mid-chop, knife suspended in the air, lips curled in a smile as his gaze followed the young woman’s every step.

But Auntie Sun wasn’t jealous. In fact, her expression mirrored her husband’s—a kind and indulgent smile, like that of an affectionate aunt.

“It’s been almost seven years, hasn’t it? I heard Han Chao is finally coming back from the military,” she remarked.

Her husband shook his head. “That might not be a good thing.”

“Maybe he’s changed after all these years. The military is a place that teaches discipline. I’ve never heard of a bad man coming out of the People’s Liberation Army,” Auntie Sun said hesitantly.

Her husband finally brought the cleaver down on the cutting board. “They say a prodigal son returning home is worth more than gold, but with Han Chao’s temperament? It’s unlikely. Didn’t you hear? When his father died, he didn’t shed a single tear.”

Auntie Sun let out a deep sigh. “Poor Yufeng. Abandoned by her heartless educated-youth father as a child, struggling just to get by… Finally, she had a few years of peace, and now her infamous tyrant of a husband is coming back? Why couldn’t Han Chao have just died on the battlefield? And now he wants Yufeng to move to the military compound with him? If she goes, he’ll beat her to death…”

“Enough with the talk of dying! Shut your mouth!” Her husband suddenly snapped, and Auntie Sun immediately fell silent.

At that moment, Chen Yufeng happened to walk past. The couple quickly plastered on smiles and greeted her warmly.

*

Guihua Town was a small settlement of about a hundred households.

Chen Yufeng’s home was at the westernmost end, right beside the town’s middle school.

As she approached the school gate, she spotted a little girl standing gloomily in the corner, her hair tied into two pigtails. She was holding a cold rice cake in her hands. This was Chen Yufeng’s eldest daughter—Han Tian.

“Why are you only eating the rice cake? I made you a cup of malted milk. Did you drink it?” Chen Yufeng asked.

Han Tian shook her head and softly asked, “Mom, is it true that my dad eats people?”

“Human meat stinks. Your dad wouldn’t eat that,” Chen Yufeng replied.

Han Tian trailed after her mother, still looking troubled. “Then… will he really beat us to death?”

Chen Yufeng was puzzled. Why was her daughter suddenly asking these things?

Just then, faint laughter drifted over from around the corner. Quickening her pace, she turned the corner and saw a group of women squatting in a vegetable patch, plucking onions and peeling garlic.

Among them, Sister-in-law Su Hong had the loudest voice. Laughing as she spoke, she said, “Do you all remember my wedding day? That day, Han Chao went crazy and started a brawl. How many people did he beat up?”

One woman replied, “At least seven or eight. Your courtyard was littered with bodies, all sprawled out in every direction. I was on my way to the outhouse, walked past your yard, and got so scared I pissed my pants!”

“Only someone like Han Chao could go to war. If you ask me, he probably won the entire counterattack by himself,” Su Hong added.

Another woman lowered her voice. “I heard he’s coming back soon. What about Yufeng…?”

“Forget Yufeng—once he’s got no battles left to fight, won’t his hands get itchy? Those two kids of his will probably get beaten to death,” Su Hong sighed.

She turned around and found herself face-to-face with Chen Yufeng. She immediately plastered on a smile and said, “Oh my, look how hardworking our Yufeng is! Han Chao sends you a hefty military allowance every month, but you’re still not satisfied—heading up the mountain in the middle of the night to pick mushrooms. No wonder you’re secretly getting richer and richer!”

Chen Yufeng ignored her, but the woman followed her all the way into her courtyard.

When she lifted the green lotus leaf covering the basket, her eyes sparkled with excitement. “Look at these mushrooms—so plump and tender! And you even found matsutake mushrooms? Come on, give them all to me. You know how much Mom loves these!”

Chen Yufeng’s voice turned cold. “Sister-in-law, were you the one spreading the rumor that Han Chao eats children?”

“What? Han Chao’s got a bad temper and loves to fight. Who in Guihua Town doesn’t know that? Of course, you’re not afraid of a beating. You’ve been in love with him since you were little. But Yufeng, you’re the one who gave birth to those kids. If Han Chao beats them, won’t it break your heart? Do you love him so much that you’re willing to let him hit your children—”

Before she could finish, Chen Yufeng snatched the lotus leaf away and glared at her. “Why don’t you tell everyone that the people Han Chao beat up at your wedding were all those ruffians trying to strip your pants off?”

“Yufeng…”

“I need to make lunch. You should go home, Sister-in-law,” Chen Yufeng said coldly.

The basket full of mushrooms—including those precious matsutakes—remained untouched.

As she stormed out of the courtyard, the woman muttered angrily, “Stubborn fool! With that bad temper, she’s bound to get beaten to death by Han Chao sooner or later.”

Her words were punctuated by the loud bang of the courtyard door slamming shut.

Watching her mother close the gate, Tiantian was still worried. “Mom, will Dad really beat us to death?”

Chen Yufeng and Han Chao’s story began years ago. Her father was an educated youth who abandoned his family when he returned to the city, leaving her mother to raise her alone. Out of sympathy, Han Chao’s mother helped them a great deal, and the two women became very close friends. Since Han Chao and Chen Yufeng were of similar age, the families arranged an engagement when they were children.

Han Chao had always been wild, notorious for his fighting. From the time he was three, when he would kick chickens and bite dogs, until he was sixteen—the year his father died—his violent behavior never stopped. It was only when the government drafted him into the army that he finally settled down.

A few years later, the border conflict was at its peak, and Han Chao was sent to the front lines. Before leaving, he hurriedly married Chen Yufeng and then went off to war.

Normally, the country’s eight military regions rotated troops every two years for the conflict, but for some irreplaceable reason, Han Chao never rotated out. He stayed at the front line throughout the war.

This year, with the victory and full withdrawal of troops, he was finally able to come home.

By coincidence, though she had only spent three days with him after their wedding, Chen Yufeng became pregnant with twins shortly after he left. Now that the war was over, the children were old enough to start school.

Not long ago, Han Chao sent a telegram from the battlefield, asking Chen Yufeng to prepare to join him as a military spouse.

For Chen Yufeng, this meant she would finally start living with her husband for real. After all, they were married, and their children had never even met their father. She was filled with anticipation, eager for him to come back so they could raise the children together.

But the entire town of Guihua was worried for her.

Not just because Han Chao was such a terror in his youth, but also because of his reputation now.

The people of Vietnam were known worldwide for their ferocity and fearlessness in battle. Even the Americans, with their advanced weapons and towering stature, were chased off by them.

But Han Chao was able to defeat them. In the town’s imagination, if he could conquer warriors like that, he must have turned into a monster—a demon king.

The rumors grew wilder by the day. Eventually, people began to speak of him as though he were an otherworldly fiend.

Adults could shrug it off, but to the children who heard such tales, how could they not be afraid?

That’s why Tiantian was trembling as she followed behind her mother.

Chen Yufeng first drew half a basin of water from the well, dumping the still-wriggling river prawns inside to wash off the mushroom residue. Then, pulling her daughter into a hug, she looked her in the eye and spoke slowly, “Your father did like to fight when he was younger, but the government has long since reformed him. He doesn’t hit people anymore—not at all.”

“But… Mom…” Tiantian hesitated for a long moment, then raised a finger and said, “Auntie said Dad has a terrible temper and loves to kick children into the sky. If he kicks me into the sky, I won’t be able to see you anymore…” The child wasn’t afraid of flying; she was afraid of never seeing her mother again.

“That won’t happen. I promise you, your dad won’t lay a finger on you. And when he sees you for the first time, he might even kiss you,” Chen Yufeng said with a smile.

Tiantian had always watched other kids being hugged by their fathers, but she had never met hers. Being kissed by Dad—would it feel as warm and sweet as being kissed by Mom?

A sense of warmth spread through the little girl’s heart, and she gasped, “I really want Dad to kiss me!”

Chen Yufeng playfully patted her daughter’s bottom and sent her off to play.

Squatting by the well, she began sorting the mushrooms she had gathered.

To be honest, when she agreed to marry Han Chao, it wasn’t just because of the childhood engagement or out of gratitude for his mother’s help.

She was only eighteen then, still naïve. When the infamous troublemaker suddenly showed up in a military uniform, his head shaved close, his sharp eyes fixed on her, she was so stunned that she agreed on the spot.

Of course, after the children were born, she had her moments of exhaustion and frustration. She even wrote to Han Chao several times asking for a divorce. Just three months ago, her last letter had still been about wanting to end the marriage.

But having grown up in the same town, she knew one thing about him.

Han Chao never hit women or children.

Besides, she’d recently had a strange dream, where she and Han Chao were merely side characters in a book.

The main story wasn’t clear, but she learned that in the future, Han Chao would become one of the top leaders in the military. From that point on, he would completely change his ways and never raise his fist against anyone again.

Naturally, when Han Chao was young, he only liked fighting with hooligans. He would ride his bicycle to the county, the city, or even the capital just to fight. He built such a fierce reputation that it was said even the hooligans in the capital were terrified of him.

But honestly, why would he hit someone who hadn’t provoked him?

So why did the rumors get so out of hand?

How did it even get to the point where people claimed that Han Chao ate children?

It all started with Chen Yufeng’s sister-in-law, Su Hong.

Han Chao had an older brother named Han Feng who stayed home to farm and run a small business on the side.

The two brothers had already divided their family assets. Their mother stayed with the elder brother’s household, helping to raise the children and managing the small business.

To put it plainly, their mother ran the entire household for the elder brother.

But two months ago, she suddenly lost her eyesight for no apparent reason.

The elder brother took her to the county hospital and even to a big hospital in Beijing, but no cause could be found.

With a blind mother-in-law frequently bumping into things and getting hurt, Su Hong gradually lost patience. She’d already brought it up several times—she wanted to send the old woman to Chen Yufeng.

After all, if Chen Yufeng didn’t leave and stayed behind in the countryside, wouldn’t she be the perfect candidate to take care of her mother-in-law?

See? Wasn’t Su Hong clever?