Corn 

When Lin Miaoyin got up, her parents had already returned. 

As the team leader, Father Lin first went to the secretary to discuss the issue. Meanwhile, Mother Lin, feeling sorry for her frightened daughter, went to their private plot to pick some tender corn to cook. 

Following the faint sweet aroma in the air, Lin Miaoyin made her way to the kitchen. 

It was the season for eating tender corn, and the Lin family’s private plot had a good harvest. Mother Lin is busy in the kitchen. Corn is bubbling in a big pot. There are also cucumbers, eggplants, and a small piece of pork belly on the chopping board. 

Mother Lin was cutting the meat skillfully while Cui Fen was making a fire. 

Seeing Lin Miaoyin coming in, Mother Lin said happily, “You woke up just in time. The corn is almost ready; you can scoop some for yourself and share it with Yuanzheng.” 

Lin Miaoyin paused, “He’s here too?” 

“He’s sitting in the main room.” 

Lin Miaoyin sat down in front of the stove, “I don’t want to live with him anymore. I want a divorce.” 

Mother Lin and Cui Fen both stopped what they were doing and looked over. “Why are you getting a divorce when things are going well?” 

According to her daughter’s character, her son-in-law had saved her life, so no matter the past quarrels, it shouldn’t matter. Normally, she would have rushed to cling to him. Why would she suddenly want a divorce? 

But Lin Miaoyin is not like the original owner. She is tough only when she wants to be, and at other times, she is completely soft- hearted and lacks principles. 

Why would she want to stay married to a scumbag and compromise her own life? 

However, Mother Lin and Cui Fen clearly didn’t think this way. First, Meng Yuanzheng had saved Miaoyin’s life; second, during this time, it was hard for divorced women to remarry, and those who did often had a tough life and had to endure rumors from others.  

Besides, it was Miaoyin who cried and begged to marry him in the first place. Now talking about divorce could just be a moment of anger. Young people are impulsive, and it will be too late to regret it later. 

That’s why Mother Lin and Cui Fen both persuaded her not to divorce, and let Meng Yuanzheng deeply reflect on his mistakes and focus on treating Miaoyin better in the future. 

“Yinyin, men sometimes make mistakes in relationships. In the past, some had three wives and four concubines. Yuanzheng didn’t do anything too outrageous with Zhang Hui. Since he is willing to change this time, why not give him another chance?” Mother Lin advised earnestly, speaking from experience. 

The eldest sister-in-law also added, “Yes, also these days, once you get a divorce, it becomes hard to marry again. You’re still young, and you don’t understand.” 

Mother Lin recalled something, “It’s all because of Zhang Hui. She’s always so coquettish. Perhaps Yuanzheng wasn’t interested in her at first, but she shamelessly pursued him.” 

Cui Fen agreed, “Absolutely! Zhang Hui isn’t even as pretty as our Miaoyin, and she doesn’t know how to do any work. She’s all skin and bones; with hardly any meat on her, she clearly can’t give birth to a son.” 

Lin Miaoyin “…” 

It wasn’t about Zhang Hui’s looks; it was about Meng Yuanzheng being a scumbag. He welcomed any woman, and while he seemed polite to the girls in the village, who knows what dirty thoughts he had in his mind?  

It seemed that before the reform and opening-up, rural women’s thoughts were still quite feudal. 

“Mother, sister-in-law, your ideas are backward and ignorant. The Marriage Law clearly states monogamy. If either party has improper thoughts, it is a violation of the law; a corrupt ideology, and promiscuous behavior between men and women must be criticized and punished.” 

Then she added, “In some places where the crackdown is strict, those who commit crimes will be shot.” 

Mother Lin and Cui Fen looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Mother Lin sighed, “Yinyin, didn’t you cry and shout that you wanted to marry him? Your father and I disagreed, and you even threatened to jump into the well.” 

Lin Miaoyin also sighed in her heart because the original owner was stupid. She remained composed and said frankly, “Because Meng Yuanzheng is a hypocritical man, he’s good at disguising himself. I only realized his true face after marriage. Through this incident, I made up my mind to divorce in order to correct my previous wrong thoughts.” 

“I think you’ve lost your mind a bit. If you won’t follow the advice of your elders, you’ll suffer the consequences. You can’t get a divorce just because you want to. Your father and I will not agree. As long as he doesn’t issue a certificate, you can’t get a divorce.” Mother Lin stretched out her finger and tapped her forehead, persuading her to give up the idea. 

Seeing that Mother Lin and her sister-in-law were both determined to persuade her, Lin Miaoyin remained silent. 

She also knew that divorce was very troublesome in this era. It required proving various things from the ground up, and sometimes one needed connection. It could take a year or two to finalize. 

It’s now the late 1970s, not far from the time of reform and opening up. In the 1980s, divorce would become less complicated. 

Suddenly, she remembered something: in the original story, when the educated youth returned to their hometown, the original owner was abandoned by Meng Yuanzheng, who left for the city without a second thought. 

Counting it up, it’s only about two years from now. 

Moreover, before he left, he had made a passionate confession to the female protagonist, and the original owner begged him not to go, but he had kicked her aside. 

Seeing that she was silent, Mother Lin thought she had stopped making trouble, so she urged her, “Go quickly. Do you hear me? Don’t quarrel with Yuanzheng.” 

Unable to resist, Lin Miaoyin stood up, scooped out the corn, and placed it in a strainer to cool. She then carried the strainer to the living room There was an enamel basin attached to it, which she placed on the table. She said coldly, “Go wash your hands, or you’re not allowed to eat.” 

Meng Yuanzheng was sitting on a bench, staring at the straw hanging on the earthen wall. He came to his senses after hearing her words, said okay, and got up to fetch water from the well. 

He was born from the city. Both his parents are intellectuals. He was well brought up since childhood. He is tall and has long legs. Every move he makes is very elegant. He has a good-looking face and dresses very stylishly. If he were put in the Hong Kong star circle in the 1990s, he would have been able to debut as the center. 

However, he was the perfect example of the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” 

At that moment, something came to his mind. He entered the kitchen and said to Mother Lin, “Do you have a water bucket? I want to fetch some water.” 

Mother Lin was busy and just pointed to the two buckets under the chopping board. Meng Yuanzheng picked up two, then thought for a while, put down the other one, and walked out of the door with a hunched back. 

The kitchen door was quite low. At 1.8 meters tall, Meng Yuanzheng had to bend down to avoid bumping his head. 

Cui Fen was washing vegetables near the well when she saw Meng Yuanzheng carrying a bucket. He quickly removed the lid of the well, tossed the bucket in, and with a little effort, pulled up a bucket of water. He carried it to the kitchen and soon returned with an empty bucket. After going back and forth several times, he finally squatted down to wash his hands. 

As if she had seen something unbelievable, she stood up and wiped her hands on her apron, then went into the kitchen and said to Mother Lin, who was also equally surprised, “Did Yuanzheng just fill up the water tank?” 

Mother Lin also found it strange. This son-in-law, who came from the city, was pampered and delicate, even more so than a maid, and had never done any work. Why was he so diligent today? 

“Maybe he has realized his mistake. We should give him a chance to correct it.” 

The two nodded in agreement. 

Lin Miaoyin, who witnessed Meng Yuanzheng fetching water from the main room, was chewing on a corn. When she saw Meng Yuanzheng coming over and reaching out to take the corn, she quickly moved the strainer away. 

Meng Yuanzheng looked at her with a confused look, as if complaining about why she didn’t give him food, since she had just asked him to wash his hands before eating. 

“Meng Yuanzheng, let me ask you, what exactly are you planning?” Lin Miaoyin asked him coldly. 

Meng Yuanzheng looked even more innocent. His eyes fell on the strainer. “Didn’t you tell me to wash my hands and eat corn?” 

“Are you trying to win over my family so we won’t get a divorce?”  

Meng Yuanzheng frowned and said in a low voice, “No.” 

Lin Miaoyin didn’t give him a pleasant look. “You’re still pretending to regret, trying to win sympathy, and continuing to rely on the Lin family for food.” 

Surprisingly, Meng Yuanzheng did not quarrel with her or call her an ignorant woman as he did before, nor did he say nice things to coax her. He just stood there and said, “I might have done many things wrong before, but from now on, I will only do what I am supposed to do.” 

“You think I would believe that?” Lin Miaoyin replied sharply before walking away with the corn. 

What does a villain do? Besides causing trouble, she wouldn’t give him a chance to take a detour. 

Author’s Note:

Small theater

Meng Yuanzheng: I want to eat some corn. 

Lin Miaoyin: Eat what? You’re not getting any!