Volume One, Chapter 14: Why Do We Still Have to Be Sent to the Countryside?

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Mother Su’s expression changed. “How could it be this serious? Weren’t we told she hadn’t been harmed? Wait—the Song family. Go and beg them to help. See if they can pull some strings.”

“Pull some strings, my foot!” Father Su snapped. “The authorities are watching this matter closely. Don’t do anything foolish. Whatever ideas you have, keep them to yourself!”

“How did things turn out like this…”

Su Yinwan had been waiting for news that Shen Zhiyi’s reputation had been ruined. She had never expected that someone would rescue her instead.

That wretched girl really was lucky, Su Yinwan thought resentfully.

The truth had now come to light.

Song Huaiyu’s father was demoted one rank for failing to keep his household under control. Father Su received a verbal warning, but he would have no hope of promotion for the next several years.

Chen Shuzhen was dismissed from the Health Office, and naturally, both Song Huaiyu and Su Yinwan lost their jobs as well.

Not only that, they were also to be sent down to the countryside.

When the news came out, Chen Shuzhen naturally refused to accept it.

“Losing their jobs is one thing, but why do they have to go to the countryside too?”

Old Master Song, however, was utterly resolute. They had only two choices: go to the countryside or be sent to a farm.

And so, the matter of Su Yinwan and Song Huaiyu being sent down was settled.

The location chosen for them was Shen Family Village.

The higher authorities also hinted, in no uncertain terms, that Su Yinwan and Song Huaiyu were to suffer a little hardship.

In other words, their families were forbidden to send them money or supplies.

“If anyone secretly sends them anything, they can get out of this family!”

Old Master Song made his position clear: if Song Huaiyu failed to obtain Shen Zhiyi’s forgiveness, he could stay in the countryside for the rest of his life and never come back.

Even though Chen Shuzhen was unwilling, she had no choice but to accept it. Weeping and wearing a long, miserable face, she helped Song Huaiyu pack for the countryside.

Apricot Blossom Commune.

After leaving the Public Security Office, Wang Tieniu was still seething with indignation.

“I never would’ve thought Shen’s former in-laws could be such people!”

“That family was nothing but a den of misery. It’s a good thing Shen never married into it!”

After cursing them roundly, Wang Tieniu noticed that Song Huaichuan’s dark eyes were fixed silently upon him.

“Chief, what is it? Did I say something wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Song Huaichuan withdrew his gaze. No one knew what he was thinking, but he remained motionless for a long while.

Following his line of sight, Wang Tieniu discovered that he was looking in the direction of Shen Family Village.

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Wang Tieniu assumed Song Huaichuan intended to go to Shen Family Village, but the next moment, he heard the man beside him say:

“We’re going back.”

“Huh?”

“We’re not going to Shen Family Village?”

“What for?”

“To find Shen. Aren’t you going to tell her about the case?”

“There’s no need.”

Wang Tieniu seemed about to say something more, but his voice was scattered by the wind.

Unaware of all this, Shen Zhiyi remained in Shen Family Village.

When the moonlight spilled through the windows, a figure carrying a large bundle slipped skillfully into the Shen family courtyard. The sound of the fence gate being pushed open startled those who had not yet gone to sleep.

“Third Brother, you’re back?”

After an excited cry, the dim light in the Shen family’s main room flickered on.

Shen Zhiyuan set down the bundle from his back and glanced around before asking, “Where’s Little Sister?”

“She went back to her room. I don’t know whether she’s asleep yet.”

At that, Shen Zhiyuan untied the bundle he had brought back and pulled out another sizeable parcel from inside.

Then he said to the remaining things, “Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Sisters-in-law—you can divide these among yourselves. I’m taking this to Little Sister first.”

With that, he carried the parcel in his hand to Shen Zhiyi’s room and knocked on the door.

Inside, Shen Zhiyi had only just lain down. When she heard the noise, she was fumbling her way out of bed, but Third Brother Shen moved even faster.

“Little Sister, I brought you some things. See if you like them.”

After more than a month of constant travel, Third Brother Shen looked somewhat haggard, yet his eyes were astonishingly bright.

Seeing the dust and weariness covering him, Shen Zhiyi felt a pang of sympathy.

Instead of opening the parcel he held out to her, she said, “Brother, you haven’t had dinner yet, have you? Go take a bath first. I’ll make you something to eat.”

Shen Zhiyuan did not refuse. He answered with a brief acknowledgment, set down the parcel, and turned to leave the room.

Since it was the height of summer, bathing with water from the household vat was perfectly sufficient.

Third Brother Shen carried more than half a bucket of water into the simple washroom beside the house.

Shen Zhiyi went to the kitchen and considered what she could prepare for him.

Yang Huihui followed her in. “Little Sister, what are you making? Tell me, and I’ll do it.”

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“It’s fine, Second Sister-in-law. You should go rest. I can manage.”

“Then I’ll light the fire for you.”

Saying this, she squatted down at once.

Shen Zhiyi had already decided to make Third Brother a bowl of noodles.

Of the meat she had brought home that day, Mother Shen had set aside half. Shen Zhiyi picked up a knife, cut off a third of it, and sliced it thinly.

Once the water boiled, she added the noodles, then dropped in the meat slices as well. She poached two eggs in the pot, and finally sprinkled chopped scallions over the dish before serving.

Third Brother Shen moved quickly. He had finished bathing and returned before the noodles were done, then took over the task of tending the fire from Second Sister-in-law Yang.

After Yang Huihui left, only the siblings remained in the kitchen.

In the room shared by Eldest Brother Shen and his wife, Li Xiuying said sarcastically, “Third Brother brought back so many things, yet he didn’t even let us look at them before carrying them all to Little Sister. I’d say he doesn’t think much of you as his elder brother.”

“What nonsense are you spouting? Third Brother and Little Sister are twins. Isn’t it normal for them to be especially close? If you think Third Brother doesn’t regard me as his elder brother, then return the things we received tonight.”

Most of what Third Brother Shen had left in the main room was for household use. There was also a small roll of cloth. Mother Shen said she had no use for it, so the eldest and second daughters-in-law divided it between them.

It was not much, but it was enough to make one or two garments. Li Xiuying naturally had no desire to return what had fallen into her hands, though she was still somewhat indignant.

“Third Brother shouldn’t be so partial. Little Sister isn’t the only girl in this family. Little Meng is still so young, yet he never thinks of her, even though he’s her uncle. Besides, everyone says the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother. Whenever there’s something good, shouldn’t I be given priority?”

“Like a mother, my foot! Look at you—do you resemble an eldest sister-in-law at all? Shall I remind you who went around blabbing about Little Sister’s broken engagement? What do you think will happen if Third Brother finds out? Will he give you anything again?”

Eldest Brother Shen gave a cold laugh.

At those words, Li Xiuying did not dare make another sound.

Everyone in Shen Family Village knew that Third Brother Shen was fiercely protective of his own. Shen Zhiyi, in particular, was the one person no one was allowed to offend.

If anyone said a single unkind word about his sister, he could punch them straight into the hospital.

In the early years, Li Xiuying had put on airs as the eldest sister-in-law. When she gave birth to her second child, she had taken advantage of the family being away and secretly dumped both children on Shen Zhiyi, then locked herself in her room to sleep.

Even when the hungry children cried themselves hoarse, she ignored them, saying that they were Shen family children and Shen Zhiyi could figure out what to do with them herself. Though Shen Zhiyi had already completed her confinement, Li Xiuying still ordered her around without mercy.

When Third Brother Shen found out, he exploded.

On the spot, he kicked over the basin in which Li Xiuying kept her clothes, then stormed into Eldest Brother Shen’s room and smashed it into disorder. Finally, he issued a brutal warning:

“If you can’t take care of them, don’t have children! Don’t even think about treating my sister like a servant! If she gets worked to exhaustion and anything happens to her, I don’t care who you are—we’ll all go down together!”

The arrogant are always frightened by those with nothing to lose. After that, Li Xiuying became much more restrained. At the very least, she never again dared put on airs as the eldest sister-in-law in front of Shen Zhiyi.

Third Brother Shen had been away for more than a month, and Li Xiuying had nearly forgotten the days when she had lived under his thumb.

Now that she remembered them, she could not help feeling uneasy.

Then she saw Yang Huihui emerging from the kitchen and could not resist spitting out another insult.

“Ugh, what a shameless sycophant!”

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