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Chapter 122: Chapter 116 Shen Yunxiu’s Romance
"Yunfang, could you please help me persuade your sister Yunxiu?" Shen Da-niang lay on the kang, pulling Shen Yunfang’s hand as tears welled up in her eyes. "That child is like possessed, refusing to listen to anyone’s advice."
Shen Yunfang smiled awkwardly. With the relationship she had with Shen Yunxiu, it would be better if she didn’t persuade her at all. If she did try to persuade Yunxiu, she might just defiantly claim she would marry someone the very next day.
"Da-niang, please take it easy. Yunxiu is not thinking clearly right now. She’ll understand once she has had time to think it over." That was the only consolation she could offer.
"Who are you saying isn’t thinking clearly? Let me tell you, I am perfectly lucid right now, and I don’t need your meddling," retorted Shen Yunxiu. Hearing Shen Yunfang’s comment about her not thinking clearly while she was already keeping an eye on the room provoked her instantly, like a lit firecracker, she dashed over.
Shen Yunfang zipped her lips, reminding herself that it was best to speak less during such sensitive times.
"You shut your mouth and go back to your room! And let me tell you something, you can forget about marrying by your choice. Once next month rolls around, your mother and I will find you a decent family to marry into. You’d best settle down and accept it," Shen Da-ye bellowed, slamming a teacup onto the table while scolding his own daughter.
"No, that’s an arranged marriage! This is a new society. If you force me, I’ll report you to the commune. I demand the freedom to choose my own marriage," Shen Yunxiu shouted fearlessly at her father.
"Damn your bloody gutsy nerve! You think you can threaten me with reporting? Try stepping one foot outside this house, and I’ll see if I don’t break your legs," Shen Da-ye raged, hurling the teacup from the table in her direction.
"Ah!" Shen Yunxiu wasn’t hit by the teacup, but the tea splashed all over her face, causing her to scream piercingly.
Shen Yunfang frowned and rubbed her ears, the place truly unbearable.
"What are you doing? She’s grown up already. What’s the point of beating and scolding her? What if you actually hurt Yunxiu?" Shen Da-niang quickly rose from the kang to hold back the hand Shen Da-ye was about to use to throw more things.
"Go ahead and hit me, hit me all you want," wept Shen Yunxiu piteously, "But marrying is my own business, and I absolutely will not compromise this time. I want to marry Fang Chengjian, and no one can stop me."
"Get out! Go back to your room and stay there. I don’t want to see your face right now," Shen Da-ye shouted loudly.
Shen Yuxiu, not wishing to talk with these people who stood in the way of her happiness, twisted away and ran back to her room with her face covered in tears.
Sitting awkwardly on the edge of the kang, Shen Yunfang felt speaking was futile in such circumstances, and she deeply regretted not picking a better day to visit Da-niang after hearing she was bedridden and too ill to get up. Why hadn’t she thought to inquire about the reason for the illness?
But just sitting there in silence was too awkward, so Shen Yunfang offered a dry piece of advice, "Da-ye, don’t get angry, perhaps you should trust Yunxiu’s judgment..."
Before Shen Yunfang could finish, Shen Yeqing started cursing.
"Judgment? What judgment does she have? If she truly had eyes, we wouldn’t be in this situation. I admit that the educated youth is good-looking and comes from a good family, but that’s precisely the problem. Tell me, what does Yunxiu have? A primary school graduate, just a village girl; granted she looks alright, but that can’t put food on the table. Why would such a fine city lad choose her? She doesn’t even use her brain to consider it. Anyone with eyes can see that he’s only with her to return to the Capital. Yet she still shamelessly chases after him. How did the Shen Family end up with such an ungrateful fool?" Shen Da-ye trembled with anger.
They had painstakingly tried to reason with her, breaking things down, explaining repeatedly, but she refused to listen and was single-mindedly determined. It was maddening.
If you just firmly refuse to let her go, that would solve the problem, thought Shen Yunfang to herself. But she dared not voice this aloud. If anything were to happen in the future, being blamed for it was not worth it.
Actually, the whole affair was crystal clear to onlookers. It involved a young intellectual from Wuxing Brigade called Fang Chengjian, who wanted to return to the Capital. His family was there, but they didn’t have the means to bring him back, so he had to figure out a way himself. He was quite capable, bustling about here and there, and had practically taken care of everything. Now, all he needed was for a production team leader to write him a recommendation, so the brigade could stamp his leave permit. That’s why he scoped out his target and settled on Shen Yunxiu.
He used a few movie screenings at the brigade to get to know Shen Yunxiu and confirm their romantic relationship, hoping that Shen Yeqing would write him a recommendation in consideration of his future son-in-law.
Once Shen Yunxiu knew that he was from the Capital, and that he might go back to the city, she dedicated herself to being with him, hoping to return to the city with him.
However, her family failed to understand her and stood in the way of her happiness. After she and Fang Chengjian’s affair came to light, she sulkily stayed home every day.
But how could Uncle Shen dare to agree to this? Wuxing Brigade had witnessed such an incident just last year, where after an intellectual married in the countryside, he abandoned his rural wife and child at the first opportunity to return to the city alone. This was a bloody lesson, and Uncle Shen was adamant against agreeing precisely because he feared his niece would suffer the same fate.
"She’s my only girl. If anything happens to her, I wouldn’t want to live either," Auntie Shen, feeling downhearted by her husband’s words, lay down on the kang and wept bitterly.
"Crying, crying, and you still have the nerve to cry? If it weren’t for you always going on about marrying into the city in front of our daughter, she wouldn’t have fixed her mind on this one path. What good is crying now?" Uncle Shen lashed out in anger. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓾𝒷.𝒸ℴ𝓂
Shen Yunfang curled her lips. When Auntie Shen spoke like that initially, you didn’t stop her, and now you’re using it as a point of argument.
"Waa, waa, I was also doing it for the child’s sake. I can’t bear to have her lead the same life as me, with her face toward the yellow earth and her back to the sky all her life. Look at Yunfeng from the second elder’s household; she doesn’t worry about food or clothing and leads a life that’s truly a life. Am I wrong to want my daughter to have a good life as a mother?" Auntie Shen also had pure intentions from her love for her daughter, not expecting to encounter such a stubborn girl who would deviate so greatly from the right path.
"Hmph, you only see others when they’re laughing, not when they’re crying," Uncle Shen sighed deeply.
"What’s there to cry about when you’ve got such a good life?" Auntie Shen retorted, unconvinced.
"Hmph, do you think life in the city is that easy? Although Yunfeng married into a cadre’s family, she has to humble herself in front of her in-laws. Just look at the second elder’s couple; they’re practically like grandchildren in the Xue Family. Do you think Yunfeng’s life could be good? Not to mention anything else, you also went last year when Yunfeng gave birth. Do you remember what the old Xue couple said?" Uncle Shen also realized after that visit that Yunfeng wasn’t having as great a time as the second elder’s couple claimed. Sigh, life is to be lived by oneself, and only one knows whether it’s good or bad.
"Well, well, it might be because Yunfeng gave birth to a girl. Maybe it’ll get better if she has a boy next time," Auntie Shen said, struggling to find words.
"You’re also uncertain. Who can control whether it’s a boy or a girl? To me, the Xue Family just doesn’t respect the second elder’s couple at all."
Last October, Shen Yunfeng gave birth to a seven-pound baby girl for the old Xue couple. Shen Yunfang, fearing that her presence might upset Yunfeng, sent Auntie Shen with one yuan as a gift instead of going herself.
But when she returned, Auntie Shen implied, in fits and starts, that the Xue elders had not treated Yunfeng all that well. Upon reflection, it was likely because the child born was a girl. Uncle Shen had thought it through profoundly.
"I’m telling you, we must keep our mouths shut about this. Yunfeng married into the county and it turned out like this. Think about it, if your niece marries into the Capital, could she possibly have a good life? We are rural people; living a peaceful life is better than anything else."
Shen Yunfang quite agreed with Uncle Shen’s words. Although everyone instinctively wants to climb higher, one must know their own limitations. As the saying goes, ’the higher you stand, the harder you fall.’ It’s correct to want a better life, but one must progress step by step with their feet firmly on the ground. Taking shortcuts isn’t impossible, but how many can be confident of walking such a treacherous path successfully?
However, she could not agree with Uncle Shen’s approach of simply locking Shen Yunxiu at home to settle the matter.
They say a single spark can start a prairie fire. Now that the two individuals representing love and freedom had their flames burning so fiercely, how could one expect to just snuff them out without any backlash? Just watch, there was bound to be an even more intense reaction.
