Falling into the Water 

It was June, and summer had already arrived. There was a restless warmth dancing in the air.

Outside the row of classrooms, there was an open space, and under a huge tree, children were playing with jumping ropes. The children were of different heights, but they all wore old patched clothes and were covered in dirt. 

It was time for their break. Suddenly, a woman with twin braids, dressed in a dark blue hand-stitched dress and cloth shoes, began talking to the children playing outside.

After they finished talking, the woman took out a few candies, stepped aside, and wiped her tears. She then walked determinedly toward the office.

With a loud bang, the old wooden door was roughly pushed open, suddenly revealing the two people inside the room. 

A man sat in a chair, grading papers, while a woman in a crisp white shirt leaned over, her arm resting on the back of his chair. Her mouth hovered near his ear, creating an intimate scene.

The woman’s breath caught in her throat as she clenched her fists, her face twisting in frustration.

Hearing the noise, the two people who were leaning against each other were startled and quickly separated. The woman in the white shirt raised her eyebrows, “Who are you? Don’t you know how to knock before coming in?”

The man, still holding a pen in his hand, was also wearing a pure white shirt and black trousers. The hem of his shirt was tucked into his trousers, and he was wearing leather shoes. This outfit made him look like a city dweller. 

“Miaoyin? What are you doing here?” He stood up suddenly, hitting his leg on the table. Feeling both embarrassed and annoyed, he gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn’t pretend nothing had happened after being caught in such an awkward situation by his own wife.

He had had a fight with her a few days ago, and he said a few nice words to coax her into calming down. He thought he could enjoy a few peaceful days, so why had she suddenly shown up at the school today? 

“Knock? I’ll knock on your ancestor’s door, you shameless woman!” Lin Miaoyin ignored the man but stared at the woman, rushed forward, stretched out her hand, grabbed her hair, and slapped her twice. 

“Are you so short of men that you’re trying to climb up to married men with no shame? Today, I’ll ruin that pretty face of yours and show you, you shameless woman, how shameless you are!” She continued slapping her with both hands.

Her hands were rough and strong from years of farm work. So, when she slapped the soft face of the educated young woman from the city, it instantly turned red and swollen, with blood at the corners of her lips.

The woman in white shirt was stunned and felt like a rag doll in Lin Miaoyin’s hands. Her mind went blank. In the city, people valued civility and manners, but she hadn’t expected to be attacked so suddenly by this rural woman. She, an educated person, was no match for such violence. 

Lin Miaoyin did not let her go and dragged her out by her hair, “Come on, follow me to see the Secretary, and hold a criticism meeting. You two are having an affair; you should be punished! Even shot!” 

“Ah! Let go of me! You shrew! Let go!” The girl in the white shirt felt a terrible pain in her scalp. She grabbed her hair and screamed, “Teacher Meng, save me!” 

Meng Yuanzheng hesitated. He knew that although his wife had a hot temper, she was also soft-hearted and was willing to listened to him. If he said a few nice words to coax her, maybe everything would be fine. He didn’t want to be convicted of having an affair. 

It was better to coax her and say a few nice words. 

He just forced a smile and was about to step forward to apologize. But before he could say any nice words, Lin Miaoyin spat at him. 

“Shut your filthy mouth! I already heard from the kids outside, you two have been fooling around behind my back for days! Do you think I’m stupid?” 

“We didn’t do anything!” He felt ashamed by Lin Miaoyin’s vulgar words. 

Lin Miaoyin refused to listen and dragged the woman in the white shirt out by her hair. Meng Yuanzheng was so anxious that he had no choice but to follow her, holding her arm and saying nice things to her. 

Because he still had to go to college, he couldn’t afford to be criticized and reprimanded for his improper actions. He also didn’t want to lose his job as a primary school teacher, and he definitely didn’t want to go back to farm work. 

“Miaoyin, Miaoyin, I was wrong. I promise I won’t do it again. From now on, I will only be good to you!” 

Meng Yuanzheng was almost on his knees when Lin Miaoyin glared at him fiercely and kicked him in the crotch. He immediately let go and groaned, covering his crotch with his hands. He squatted down with a pained expression and shouted, “Shrew, you ruthless woman!” 

“Aren’t you afraid of going to jail for hitting someone?” the woman in the white shirt shouted. 

“Bah, jail? Why would I be afraid? Anyway, you two will take the blame for me!” 

The children playing outside saw that the teacher had not come yet and ran out to see what was happening. They asked in confusion, “What happened to Teacher Zhang?” 

An older child said, “Sister Miaoyin is Teacher Meng’s wife. My mother said that if you have a wife, you can’t be with another woman, or it’s called improper relations.” 

“Oh~” 

The children gathered around to watch the fun. Meng Yuanzheng and the girl in the white shirt were ashamed and mad, but there was nothing they could do. Nothing was more important than avoiding punishment. 

“Miaoyin, Miaoyin, you’ve misunderstood. We have a purely revolutionary partnership; I have no thoughts about her at all!” Meng Yuanzheng forced himself to stand up, ignoring his discomfort, and rushed over to plead. 

“Misunderstood? Your mouths are practically glued to each other, and you call that a misunderstanding?” Lin Miaoyin spat on his face, holding the girl’s hair tightly with her hands, ” We country folks don’t understand your city ways. Is it a misunderstanding? Let’s go ask the secretary to judge and see what you’ve done—these kids all saw it!” 

“Miaoyin, Miaoyin, I’m begging you! I was wrong! I promise this is the last time, I swear, ah!”  

Lin Miaoyin kicked him in the chest, and the kneeling Meng Yuanzheng fell down like a weak shrimp. 

“Lin Miaoyin! You shameless woman! You’ll never find a man in your life!” the woman in the shirt shouted. 

Lin Miaoyin didn’t listen to what the woman in the shirt said at all. She grabbed her hair with one hand and held her neck with the other, dragging her towards the secretary’s house. The woman kicked her feet on the ground, her face turned red, and she couldn’t even swear. 

Passing by a pond, this group of people quickly attracted the attention of those working in the fields, and they all asked what had happened. 

Seeing the girl in the white shirt being dragged by Lin Miaoyin, they quickly understood what had happened. 

“I’ve said before, this educated youth, Zhang, isn’t honest. She dresses up and doesn’t seem like someone who came to the countryside for serious work. She attracts the attention of the male team members, and I’m really worried that my son will be influenced by her!”

“Meng Yuanzheng is not a good person either. He’s already married, but he still often talks to girls in the village.” 

The harsh voices around her reached the woman in the white shirt, making her heart race and her face turn red. She couldn’t be taken to the brigade secretary! She didn’t want to be criticized!

“Oh, you’re still glaring at me?” Lin Miaoyin grabbed her hair tightly, causing the woman in the shirt to scream in pain again. 

Suddenly, she noticed something and looked closely, her eyes widened as she shouted, “Meng Yuanzheng, you bastard! This cloth was given to me by my cousin at my wedding; you actually stole it to make clothes for this shameless woman!”

Meng Yuanzheng trembled. “No, Miaoyin, let me explain.”  

“Take it off! Take it off for me!” Lin Miaoyin’s eyes were red, and she was stripping the shirt girl’s clothes like crazy. The buttons broke instantly, revealing the undergarments underneath. The girl resisted desperately, and people around her came over, pretending to persuade Lin Miaoyin to stop, but actually reaching out to help tear off her clothes. 

“Ah! Help! You shrew! Meng Yuanzheng, save me! Save me! Ah!” 

The woman in the white shirt felt pain all over her body, and she kicked Lin Miaoyin on the calf with all her strength. Lin Miaoyin let go of her, and the woman took this opportunity to push her hard, regardless of the consequences. Lin Miaoyin was caught off guard and screamed as she was pushed toward the pond. Behind her was Meng Yuanzheng, and as a result, the two of them fell into the pond together.