R70 Chapter 65

Caught Red-Handed, Sent to Reform Through Labor

The Wu family’s small courtyard was adorned with colorful decorations, with eight round tables arranged in neat rows.

Large red double happiness characters were pasted on the main hall door, and strings of red chili peppers hung under the eaves, brilliantly eye-catching in the sunlight.

Mother Wu had been busy since dawn, and now she was directing several aunties to bring dishes to the tables.

“This… this…” Aunt Wang carried a basin of braised pork, her hands trembling. “So much meat—how much must this have cost!”

“The in-laws specially brought it from the military district,” Mother Wu said, beaming with joy. “They said they wanted all the villagers to share in the celebration.”

The most shocking thing was the large water vat in the corner of the courtyard.

In this severe drought year, when villagers had water rations, the Wu family’s courtyard had a large vat filled with clear water, with over a dozen coarse porcelain bowls placed beside it for anyone thirsty to ladle from.

Several children circled around the water vat, staring longingly at the blue sky reflected in the water.

“Drink up, drink up,” Wu Yunzhu said, walking over in her brand-new red wedding dress and personally ladling water for the children. “There’s plenty.”

Cheng Yaoyao stood at the courtyard gate, watching this scene, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

She had deliberately worn a half-new blue cloth shirt today, but standing next to Wu Yunzhu in her festive attire, she immediately looked shabby and dull.

What made her even more jealous was that Yuan Ye was standing beside Wu Yunzhu, with a large red flower pinned to his chest.

“What a show-off!” Cheng Yaoyao squeezed out the words through gritted teeth. “Who knows where she stole all this from!”

“Cheng Yaoyao!” Xie Yun grabbed her. “Don’t make a fool of yourself here!”

The firecrackers announcing the feast startled the sparrows from the trees in a flurry of wings.

On the round tables, braised pork glistened with oil, stewed ribs emitted a fragrant aroma, and in the very center sat a large plate of braised pig’s trotters.

The vegetable dishes were equally impressive—cabbage stewed with vermicelli noodles contained meat slices in the glistening oil, and the cold cucumber salad was drizzled with fragrant sesame oil.

“Good heavens!” Old Man Li held a white flour steamed bun with trembling hands. “This… how much fine grain must this be!”

Father Yuan smiled as he toasted Mother Wu. “Sister-in-law, today we must drink this wedding wine properly.”

Mother Wu’s eyes reddened, her hand holding the wine cup trembling slightly.

She thought of her daughter’s experiences in her previous life, then looked at this lively scene now, and tears nearly fell into her wine.

Cheng Yaoyao sat at the outermost table, chewing her steamed bun without tasting it.

The aunties at her table were all praising the Wu family’s generosity, praising how beautiful the bride was, praising Yuan Ye’s fine appearance.

Every sentence pierced her heart like a needle.

“I heard the Yuan family gave the ‘three zhuan and one xiang’?” Aunt Wang asked in a lowered voice.

(TL: 转 (zhuàn): an old currency unit in some dynasties, like a coin roll or string of coins.

响 (xiǎng): literally “ring,” sometimes used to count coin strings or higher-value coin bundles.)

“More than that!” Aunt Zhang gestured mysteriously. “Sewing machine, bicycle, watch, radio—everything complete! And that transistor radio, I heard it costs over two hundred yuan!”

Cheng Yaoyao slammed down her chopsticks with a “crack” and stood to leave.

“Yaoyao!” Xie Yun shouted sternly. “Finish the rice in your bowl! In these times, wasting grain will bring down heaven’s punishment!”

Xie Yun listened to the laughter and drinking toasts from inside the courtyard carrying out clearly, each laugh cutting into his heart like a knife.

“Why?” Xie Yun muttered through gritted teeth. “How does a broken shoe deserve…”

Suddenly, he heard footsteps from inside the wall and quickly shrank into the shadows.

Through a crack in the wall, he saw Yuan Ye supporting the slightly tipsy Father Wu toward the back courtyard.

“Dad, take it slow,” Yuan Ye’s voice was steady and strong.

“Xiao Yuan,” Father Wu said with a thick tongue, “my daughter… I’m entrusting her to you! You must… you must treat her well…”

Xie Yun clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh without him feeling the pain.

After the two had walked away, he sneaked over to the cellar entrance and gently lifted the wooden board—

A wave of cool, moist air hit his face.

In this severe drought, the cellar was actually damp and cool, with undried water stains in the corners.

Xie Yun’s eyes gleamed in the darkness. He touched the wall with trembling hands and indeed felt a layer of fine water droplets.

“There really is something wrong,” he said, his voice shaking with excitement. “I knew it!”

After seeing Father Wu off, Yuan Ye stood in the back courtyard and lit a cigarette.

In the moonlight, his gaze was sharp as an eagle’s.

He had already sensed someone outside the wall earlier, and now he deliberately said loudly, “Yunzhu, lock the cellar properly. We need to store the leftover meat from today inside.”

“Got it,” Wu Yunzhu responded from inside the house.

Yuan Ye blew a smoke ring and deliberately threw his match to the base of the wall.

With a soft “crack,” panicked footsteps sounded from outside the wall.

Yuan Ye gave a cold laugh and turned back to the house.

Inside, Wu Yunzhu was organizing her dowry.

Seeing Yuan Ye enter, she lowered her voice and asked, “Someone there?”

“Mm,” Yuan Ye nodded. “Xie Yun.”

Wu Yunzhu gave a cold laugh and pulled out a Type 54 pistol from under the pillow, skillfully ejecting the magazine to check it.

The sound of metal clicking was especially crisp in the quiet room.

“Tomorrow I’m going to the commune to report for work,” Yuan Ye held her hand. “You’ll be home alone…”

“Don’t worry,” Wu Yunzhu tucked the gun at her waist. “I’m no longer a soft persimmon for anyone to bully.”

Cheng Yaoyao squatted in front of her family’s stove, pouring the last bit of cornmeal into the pot.

The thin gruel bubbled in the pot, reflecting her distorted image.

“Stealing food again!” Xie Yun slapped her on the back. “You’ve nearly wasted this month’s grain coupons!”

Cheng Yaoyao ignored him, her mind full of scenes from the Wu family’s wedding feast.

That glistening braised pork, those snow-white steamed buns, that water to drink at will.

What bothered her most was the jade pendant faintly visible at Wu Yunzhu’s chest.

“Xie Yun,” Cheng Yaoyao suddenly looked up, “can the Wu family’s grandmother cure illnesses?”

Xie Yun was startled. “Why are you asking about this?”

“I heard,” Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes gleamed, “that the jade pendant Wu Yunzhu wears is a treasure.”

When the moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, Xie Yun crept to the Wu family’s back courtyard again.

This time he brought a sickle, planning to pry open the cellar lock.

Suddenly, a dark figure darted out from the corner of the wall, nearly scaring him into crying out.

“It’s me!” Cheng Yaoyao whispered.

“Are you crazy?” Xie Yun said through gritted teeth. “Scaring me to death in the middle of the night!”

“Cut the nonsense!” Cheng Yaoyao’s eyes flashed with a crazed light. “Is there something wrong with that jade pendant? Why does the Wu family have water?”

While the two were arguing, the cellar lock suddenly clicked open.

In the moonlight, Wu Yunzhu stood at the cellar entrance, the gun in her hand gleaming coldly.

“So fond of my family’s cellar?” Her voice was colder than the night wind. “Why not come in and have a seat?”

Xie Yun’s legs went weak, and the sickle clanged to the ground. But Cheng Yaoyao lunged forward like a madwoman. “Hand over the jade pendant!”

“Bang!”

A gunshot split the night sky.

The bullet flew past Cheng Yaoyao’s ear and shattered a clay pot behind her.

“Next time,” Wu Yunzhu held the gun steadily, “I’ll aim for the head.”

Noisy footsteps came from the front courtyard as Yuan Ye rushed over with several militiamen.

Seeing this, Xie Yun turned to climb over the wall.

“Halt!” Yuan Ye’s stern shout made Xie Yun fall straight down from the wall.

Cheng Yaoyao collapsed on the ground, a wet patch spreading on her pants.

Only then did she truly realize that the Wu Yunzhu before her was no longer the pitiful creature she could bully at will.

Early the next morning, the news spread through the village.

Xie Yun and Cheng Yaoyao had broken into the Wu family’s home in the middle of the night and were caught in the act.

The commune secretary personally came to handle the matter and sent the two to a labor reform camp for reeducation.

Wu Yunzhu stood at the courtyard gate, watching the two being taken away, her expression complex.

Yuan Ye wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. “Regrets?”