Chapter 91: Abandoning Wife and Children
1968.
A group of educated youth came to Heishui River. They were scholars from big cities. They were fair-skinned and fragrant, attracting the attention of the young girls and wives in the team.
The original owner was the captain's youngest daughter. She wasn't very pretty, but she was considered a pretty girl in the surrounding villages.
The original owner had a childhood sweetheart who was serving in the army. The two had a very good relationship and their family had already arranged a marriage for them. They were just waiting for his sweetheart to come back from the New Year holiday to get married.
The original owner was looking forward to her childhood sweetheart's return, but she didn't know that a poisonous snake had been targeting her in secret.
The man's name is Ning Yuan. He was an educated youth who came to Heishui River to work in the countryside in 1968. He has a square face, which is the type of appearance most popular among girls at that time.
Ning Yuan has been in Heishui River for five years and has been looking for a way to return to the city. He learned that the Heishui River Brigade had a place in the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. With this place, not only would he not have to stay in the village to do farm work, but he could also go to study in the city and get a stable job after graduation.
So, Ning Yuan set his sights on the original owner.
But the original owner had someone in her heart and was engaged, so she was not tempted by him at all.
Therefore, Ning Yuan plotted against the original owner. Together with other educated youth, they invited the original owner to the pond and pushed her into the water. Ning Yuan then went down to rescue her, while the others were responsible for calling the villagers over. The division of labor was clear, and it was confirmed that the original owner had lost her innocence and could only marry Ning Yuan.
They used this tactic to trick many people.
After the original owner married Ning Yuan, Ning Yuan kept trying to please the original owner's father, the captain, in order to get a place in the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University.
The original owner's father naturally saw through his little thoughts and kept trying to stop Ning Yuan from returning to the city until the original owner gave birth to the child.
In the eyes of the original owner's father, the child is also a bond that binds Ning Yuan. No matter whether he will abandon the original owner in the future, he will not ignore his own child, right?
After all, even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs!
But the original owner and his father both underestimated Ning Yuan's cruelty. After Ning Yuan returned to the city to attend college, except for sending letters asking for money in the first few years, there was no news from him afterwards.
The original owner was quite open-minded. Even though her husband was gone, she could still marry and take her children with her.
Just thirty years later, Ning Yuan found the original owner and the child again, asking the child to take care of him in his old age.
The child was also an ungrateful person. He thought his father was a city person and followed him happily.
Until the original owner died, he never saw the child again and had no idea whether he was alive or dead.
……
*
"Comrade Zhang, I have something to tell you. Can you come with me?"
A girl with two pigtails whispered in Zhang Shan's ear.
The girl's name is Jiang Qing. She is from the same hometown as Ning Yuan and also their neighbor. She has a crush on Ning Yuan, but because she is "not worthy" of Ning Yuan, in order to make Ning Yuan live a good life, she cooperates with Ning Yuan to plot against the original owner.
In her previous life, Jiang Qing became Ning Yuan’s fourth wife and nanny.
"Comrade Jiang, everyone is busy. If you have anything to say, just say it here."
Zhang Shan did not stop and continued to do the work in her hands.
"I really have something important to do, Comrade Zhang, please understand and forgive me."
Zhang Shan rolled her eyes in her heart. She couldn't understand at all.
"I want to understand you, but I still have so much work to do. My mother is going to visit my niece. I have to finish the rest of the work, or I won't be able to go home."
Jiang Qing gritted his teeth and said, "I'll ask the men from the Youth Academy to help. Is that okay?"
"They have all been doing this job for three years. I believe in their ability to plant rice."
Come on then!
Jiang Qing went over and found Ning Yuan. They got together and discussed something, but they all came over after a while.
Seeing that they were all planting rice in their own fields, Zhang Shan straightened her back and put the seedlings in her hand into Jiang Qing's hand, "Thank you for your hard work. I'll go upstairs and take a rest. Call me when you're done."
Zhang Shan went to the shore to rest, and from time to time she had to use her mouth to direct the educated youth to plant rice. The sun was getting bigger and bigger, and Zhang Shan wore a straw hat to cover her little face.
There is strength in numbers. The land assigned to Zhang Shan was soon filled up. Zhang Shan called the scorer over and felt relieved only after the full work points were recorded in her name.
In the past, cows and horses only needed a cup of coffee, but now cows and horses only need a piece of pancake!
"Comrade Jiang, is there anything you need my help with?"
"Take a step to speak."
Jiang Qing lowered her eyes, not daring to look into Zhang Shan's eyes, fearing that Zhang Shan would see the resentment and unwillingness in her eyes.
How could a country bumpkin like this marry Brother Ning Yuan?
Jiang Qing took Zhang Shan to a pond. The pond was a long strip that stored water in the rainy season and could be used to irrigate rice in the dry season.
"Now that there's no one around, you can speak now."
Zhang Shan faced Jiang Qing, with a distance of less than one meter between them.
"Brother Ning Yuan likes you, do you like Brother Ning Yuan?"
"Comrade Jiang, are you kidding me? I'm already engaged. When my fiancé comes home during the Chinese New Year, we'll get married. What nonsense are you talking about?"
"You mean if you didn't already have an engagement, you would marry Brother Ning Yuan? Do you like Brother Ning Yuan?"
"If you were planting rice in the paddy field just now and got water in your brain, I don't mind pouring the water out of your brain."
"You just like Brother Ning Yuan! There is no one who doesn't like Brother Ning Yuan. Why don't you like Brother Ning Yuan?"
Brother Ning Yuan is so good, why does Zhang Shan have the right?
What made Jiang Qing even more angry was that Zhang Shan didn't like Brother Ning Yuan, but she could still marry Brother Ning Yuan. This really made her unwilling!
"Why should I like him? My fiancé is a hundred thousand times better looking than him. He's handsome and capable. He's definitely better than Ning Yuan!"
"I don't allow you to say that about my brother Ning Yuan!"
Jiang Qing reached out and pushed Zhang Shan.
Thinking of her purpose today, she became ruthless and pushed Zhang Shan hard again, pushing her directly into the pond.
Zhang Shan was quick to grab Jiang Qing's hand and pull her into the pond.
Today she will let Jiang Qing know what it means that poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people!
The villagers of Heishui River were polite to them, but they dared to take advantage of them. Maybe they were tired of their good life!
"what!!"
The name of this brigade is Heishui River, which means there is a lot of water here and there is a big river. There is no child in the brigade who cannot swim.
The original owner could swim, so there was no possibility that he fell into the pond and was rescued to shore by a landlubber.
There were water plants in the water. Zhang Shan moved flexibly, pulled Jiang Qing into the water plants, and took off her clothes and pants.
Although it's a bit unethical, this is what Jiang Qing deserves!
Jiang Qing couldn't swim at all. He couldn't open his eyes in the turbid water and drank a bellyful of dirty water.
In order to give Jiang Qing a deep memory, Zhang Shan drove all the leeches in the water onto Jiang Qing.
He made another trap using water plants.
All this took only a minute.
When Ning Yuan brought people over and jumped into the pond to rescue people, Zhang Shan pulled the water plants and pulled Ning Yuan down. Seeing that something was wrong, the others also jumped in and rescued Ning Yuan.
Jiang Qing had been suffocating in the water for too long and was no longer breathing when he was pulled out.
It's not surprising that several people die in the Blackwater River every year.
In 1968, the educated youth had just arrived and they refused to listen to others’ advice and insisted on going down to the river to fish. They never came back alive.
Two years ago, there was an educated youth who was washing clothes by the river. His clothes were washed away by the water. He reached out to grab them, but he also fell into the river and died.
Three or four educated youth alone drowned, not to mention the local villagers.
"Where's my little sister? Didn't you say my little sister fell into the pond?"
The captain did not immediately pay attention to Ning Yuan, Jiang Qing and others, but started looking for Zhang Shan in the water.
Zhang Shan swam over from the corner, held her breath and lay down, and was found by the captain.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way, Zhang Xiaomei has been found!"
The captain carried Zhang Shan to the shore and pushed his knee into Zhang Shan's stomach, and Zhang Shan spat out a mouthful of "dirty water".
"Dad! Wuuwu~ Jiang Zhiqing pushed me! She pushed me!"
Everyone looked indignantly at Jiang Qing, who was lying on the ground in only shorts and a short shirt, breathless.
The entire team is related to each other. Although there are constant conflicts on weekdays, as long as one of their own is bullied, they will unite to face the outside world.
Ning Yuan and his companions were so frightened that they dared not make a sound.
The captain was also angry, "Call the police!"
"Captain, we are going to select the Red Flag Brigade this year. If we..."
A middle-aged woman whispered that she was married into the village from another village and did not have a strong sense of belonging to this village. She just wanted to earn work points in exchange for food to send to her brothers from her mother's side.
If she wasn't selected into the Red Flag Brigade, her family would get ten pounds less of food, and her younger brothers would have much less to eat, which really distressed her.
"What are you thinking, bitch? If you dare to push Zhang Xiaomei today, you will dare to push Dabao and Erbao tomorrow. If you want Dabao and Erbao to drown, then you should protect them!"
Dabao and Erbao are her lifeblood, and the woman immediately shook her head.
No one else dared to object, but what about the educated youth?
They are suspects, but no one will listen to them.
The police and people from the Youth League Office arrived soon. The educated youth were called in for questioning one by one, and the truth soon came to light.
When Zhang Shan thought that Ning Yuan and others would be sent to a farm for reform, someone stood up to take the blame for Ning Yuan.
"You took the blame for me, and I'll give you all this money. I know your sister is seriously ill, your family is on the farm, and your identity has not been checked. You will know what to choose, right?"
"Okay, give me the money first and write a letter of guarantee so that you don't regret it and slander me."
He couldn't trust a scheming man like Ning Yuan.
Ning Yuan didn't say anything, he just wrote a letter of guarantee and gave him the money.
He had earned this money through hard work, and he was reluctant to spend it, but to avoid disaster, only by giving can one gain.
If he doesn't find someone to take the blame, he will be sent to the farm and have a stain on his name. What future will he have?
Of the nine educated youth, one died, one was sent to a farm, and the remaining seven were detained for a few days, given a lecture, and then released.
"Dad, they were too free before, we can't let them go easily this time!"
"Don't worry, Dad knows what's going on."
After the seven people from Ningyuan came back, they were assigned to the dirtiest and most tiring work. In the past, they would move a small stool and sit in the fields to plant rice seedlings. They would be very slow and would have to plant rice all day long. It was a manual job.
Now they not only have to remove feces, but also move stones, dig ditches, and do all the dirty and tiring work. Not only is it tiring, but they don't get many work points.
After Ning Yuan's one-month visit to prison, he no longer went to the Youth League Office for justice on every matter.
When you ask someone to do something for you, you need something, either money or a gift.
Moreover, the fate of the educated youth whether they could return to the city was in the hands of the team leader.
They no longer dared to have any ulterior motives.
This year's Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University has been given to the original owner's third brother. Because something happened in the village, the Heishui River Brigade will not be given any places at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University for the next two years.
In the previous life, one of the two places was given to Ning Yuan and the other was given to Ning Yuan’s good brother Wu De.
One of them is the son-in-law of the team leader, and the other is the son-in-law of the team accountant. There is no suitable candidate in the village, so who else could it be if not them?