The living room was finally quiet. The door creaked open, and a tall man walked in, his face dark. His gaze fell on the woman, whose chapped, dark face, wide eyes, and puffed-out cheeks made her resemble a toad. A wave of disgust washed over him. "Zhu Yun, I know you've been wronged these past few years. I apologize on behalf of my family."
"But Lin Jin and the child in her belly are innocent. Can you please stop making a scene?"
"I'll give you two options. First, I'll send a telegram home and have my mother adopt you as a daughter, then marry you off with a grand dowry. Second, you find someone here to marry and live a quiet, peaceful life."
"If you take the family's money and ration coupons again, or try to harm Lin Jin, I won't care about our years of history. I'll haul you straight to the police station!"
Zhu Yun glanced at him, her voice hoarse from the fever. She scoffed, "You look like a human, so why don't you act like one?"
"Zhu Yun! This is the machinery factory, not the village! You can't just say whatever you want." Wang Xianbing was so angry that he clenched his fists. 'This woman is so vicious to my face; I can't imagine what she says to Lin Jin behind my back.'
"Oh? You've spent a decade out there, and now you really think you're a city boy? Too delicate to hear a single word of truth? Your mother curses my ancestors back eighteen generations every single day," she said languidly. "You don't have to threaten me. I don't care how much power you have or what your wife's family does. If I'm not happy, I'll report all of you!"
"Unless you kill me!"
The great turmoil hadn't started yet, but the higher-ups were very strict about public conduct and ideological education. They wouldn't tolerate the appearance of any black sheep.
Wang Xianbing was furious. He asked in a rough voice, "What the hell do you want? I've already married Lin Jin, and we have a child on the way. There's no future for you and me."
Zhu Yun laughed, infuriated. "You've really got some nerve, flattering yourself like that. Do you really think you're a pile of cow shit attracting a swarm of flies?"
She saw the veins on his forehead bulging and the muscles in his arms twitching. She figured that a few more venomous words, and she would be pounded to death by his iron fists.
She knew when to quit while she was ahead. She said coolly, "As the saying goes, it's easier to invite a god than to send one away. I slaved away for your family for seven years. I didn't get any bigger; I just lost weight. I was deceived, my reputation was ruined, and I wasted the best years of my life. My health is now worse than your own grandmother's. This isn't something you can just send me away with by promising a generous dowry."
"To put it bluntly, you want money?" Wang Xianbing's expression was grim. "Just name your price. But you have to promise you'll have nothing to do with the Wang Family from now on. And you can't go after Lin Jin or my child!"
Zhu Yun's eyes darted. She held up three fingers. "Three things. As long as you agree to them and follow through, I'll accept your terms. But the prerequisite is that your family doesn't come looking for trouble with me."
"Speak," Wang Xianbing nodded, watching her coldly.
"First, I want to buy a house and get registered as a resident here. Second, I want a light, official job. These two are my compensation. Third, even though we never got a marriage certificate, we had a de facto marriage. I want half of all your subsidies, salary, and bonuses from the past seven years. If I get that, I'll consider my years of hard labor settled."
"Miss even one condition," Zhu Yun sneered, "and I will absolutely turn both of your families' worlds upside down. Just you watch!"
Wang Xianbing frowned. He suppressed his impatience and said with a serious, sincere tone, "Your conditions are a bit harsh. I can arrange a job and residency for you, but buying a house is very difficult. Right now, everyone lives in the welfare housing provided by their work units. There's no right to buy or sell them privately."
"However, I can help you apply for a spot in the single-staff dormitory."
"During my four years of college, the school subsidies weren't much. After I graduated and married Lin Jin, what was left after mailing money home went to daily expenses. I shouldn't have much saved up."
"I'll do my best to borrow from here and there and scrape together five hundred yuan for you."
She raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Alright, I get it. Are you trying to dismiss a long-term laborer?"
"A long-term laborer at least gets paid every month, with food and housing provided. But I haven't seen a single cent, and I've practically had to carve flesh from my own bones to feed your whole family!"
"I'll go to the leadership myself and demand justice. I'd love to see how you two manage to survive at this factory—one of you despising his dutiful, parent-serving, nanny-like wife at home, the other meddling in someone else's marriage as a third party."
"If the leadership protects you, I'll go to the newspapers. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to criticize certain people with corrupt motives—people who use the excuse of 'eliminating feudal dregs' to satisfy their own selfish desires, casting aside their old, ugly wife who saw them through poverty to marry a young, beautiful woman from a performance troupe."
"And don't you dare talk about 'love.' It's disgusting!"
"Anyway, I'm a barefoot who ain't afraid of no shoes. I wonder if you're brave enough to gamble with your future."
"Believe me, the moment you're sent back to your village, that wife of yours who can't live without you will divorce you in a heartbeat, take your kid, and marry someone else!"
Once again, Wang Xianbing was so enraged that his muscles tensed up. He wished he could strangle this ugly, venomous shrew.
He came from a peasant family. He had clawed his way up to this position through his own effort and ability.
'How could I let someone destroy all of it?'
He had never expected a village woman to be capable of saying such things, or to know to use the newspapers as a threat. But he truly didn't dare take the slightest risk.
Wang Xianbing took a deep breath, his face dark as he looked at her. "You'll keep your word? As long as I meet your conditions, you'll explain to everyone that there was never a real marriage between us. You'll take the generous compensation and have nothing more to do with my family."
Zhu Yun smiled and nodded. "Of course, of course. With money, a house, and security, why would I be foolish enough to cause more trouble for myself?"
Wang Xianbing thought about it. 'That makes sense. Even a rabbit will bite when cornered.'
'Zhu Yun has no man now, and she doesn't want to go back to her hometown to be bullied, so her only option is to stay here.'
'Once she explains the situation to everyone, cuts ties with me, and starts working, she'll have to be more careful.'
'She must have been severely provoked this time. Otherwise, how could a village woman who's been oppressed for seven years change so completely? Once this is all settled, she should go back to living a quiet life.'
'Later, I'll have some of the other wives introduce her to a potential match. Only then will Zhu Yun be truly, fundamentally torn away from the Wang Family!'
After he left, Zhu Yun dazedly fell asleep. When she woke up, she had no idea what time it was. It was already pitch-black outside.
Although the high fever had subsided, her whole body was sore and weak. Lying in bed, she still felt a sense of vertigo. She was sweating constantly, and the sour stench of it filled her nostrils. Her stomach, not wanting to be left out, began to rumble.
Her eyes darted. She grabbed the enamel mug from the table and hurled it at the wooden door with all her might.
The sudden BANG in the night, in a building with such poor soundproofing, was like a great drum beating right next to one's ear. It startled the person in the next room, who sat bolt upright.