NOVPUB
Chapter 274: Chapter 264 The Fate of Shen Yingxue
Shen Yingxue had not yet celebrated the end of the Chinese New Year when she came home crying, pregnant. The reason was that her elder brother was caught red-handed stealing at work and was taken to the police station. In the end, upon interrogation, the root of the issue surprisingly involved Shen Yingxue, and subsequently, on the seventh day of the first lunar month, she was also summoned to the police station for investigation.
Actually, the incident was not a big deal. Which worker, given the opportunity, would not take advantage of their position to bring some items home for personal use? It was a common practice, and even if leaders saw it, they usually turned a blind eye. However, this time Shen Yingxue’s elder brother had hit a snag. When he tried to take some good things home for the New Year’s celebration from the cafeteria, he was caught by a leader. Normally, such matters would be resolved with an internal reprimand, but for some reason, that leader was unusually upright and directly handed Shen Yingxue’s brother over to the police station, demanding that the police handle the case with severity.
Once the police took the matter seriously, Shen Yingxue’s brother spent the New Year in detention. Upon learning of this, Shen Yingxue pleaded with her father-in-law to get him out but before she had any success with her father-in-law, she herself was arrested.
At the police station, they didn’t question her about her brother; instead, they asked about her father-in-law, and the questions were such that she didn’t understand, leaving her completely confused. She didn’t know how she made it through that day. The next day, on the eighth, her father-in-law, former vice-chairman of the Hongqi Production Brigade’s Revolutionary Committee, was clanked into prison as well.
Upon seeing his daughter-in-law, Vice Chairman Zhao looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, and Shen Yingxue became even more bewildered. Why had her father-in-law also been taken in, and who would then be able to save her now? Rely on her own husband? Shen Yingxue was the first to shake her head. That man only had a good father and no real skill of his own.
The days passed amidst endless questioning, and then suddenly she was released. As she walked out of the police station, she saw Zhao Dahai at the entrance, and then with a slap, she received a heavy blow to the face.
"Shen Yingxue, you really are something. So you pushed all the blame onto my father, didn’t you? Are you even human? Tell me, were you forced by my father to work in the cafeteria? Was it my father who told you to strut around there with so much authority? Today I see you for who you truly are. Shen Yingxue, you and your brother had better stay far away from the Zhao Family. If you show your face around our family again, I’ll beat you every time I see you," Zhao Dahai bellowed with bloodshot eyes.
Zhao Dahai was truly frantic. He owed his current status to his father. If his father was indeed sentenced, then he was nothing, and the good life he enjoyed would be completely destroyed by this woman and her family. How could he not be furious, even if the woman was carrying his child?
Shen Yingxue, stupefied, took a long while to grasp the sequence of events. It was a case of pulling out a radish to bring up the mud—after the siblings were taken in by the police, it seemed someone wanted to deal with her father-in-law. Combined with his own shady background, once they started digging, they found enough to detain him. Somehow, the word got out that she, as the daughter-in-law, had reported her own father-in-law to seek leniency. Only because of that were the Shen siblings able to walk free from the police station, or so the story went.
When Shen Yingxue heard this news, she was dumbfounded. It wasn’t true at all; she hadn’t said anything. No, that’s wrong—she didn’t know anything, even if they asked her, she wouldn’t know what to say.
But Zhao Dahai did not believe her, and neither did the entire Zhao Family. Thus, with a child still in her womb, Shen Yingxue was kicked out of the Zhao home.
Before the Chinese New Year was even over, she found herself carrying a small bundle, sobbing as she returned to her maternal home. Her mother, already angry at her eldest son’s imprisonment, vented all her frustration on her daughter as soon as she arrived.
With a broom in hand, her mother administered a good beating—the mother and daughter both let out cries, almost as if they were venting, before they realized the predicament they were in. Then they began to weep and embrace each other again.
That day, what the Shen Yunfang couple heard was the sound of Shen Yingxue and her mother causing a commotion in the courtyard.
Shen Yunfang secretly clicked her tongue upon hearing the news. Although Shen Yingxue may have deserved it, the child was not yet born, and to be chased out by her in-laws so soon, it seemed likely she could not reconcile with Zhao Dahai anymore. What would become of the child in her womb?
She had not realized that ever since she had a child herself, she could not bear to hear anything bad about children, even other people’s. Now, thinking that Shen Yingxue’s child might grow up fatherless in those times, subject to the contempt and bullying of others, made her eyes grow warm.
"Ah, the old folks always say that the blessings one enjoys in life are predetermined. If you revel too much in the early years, you’ll have to tighten your belt later on. I always knew that girl Shen Yingxue was heading for trouble. What’s wrong with living in the countryside? She just had to run off to the city. Look at her now, not so great, right? She got kicked out by her man, and raising a child by herself is going to be tough," mused Old Lady Shen, with both sympathy and a hint of schadenfreude in her heart.
Back when Shen Yingxue got married, her mother didn’t miss any opportunity to make snide remarks to Old Lady Shen, boasting that while the team leader’s daughter married only an ’educated youth,’ her daughter managed to snag a city man. This meant one thing: Shen Yingxue’s mother was more capable than Old Lady Shen.
This infuriated Old Lady Shen at the time, and with Big Second Lady and Shen Yunfeng stirring the pot, she was so angry she had nowhere to vent and had to swallow it. Now, hearing that Shen Yingxue’s life had taken a turn for the worse left her feeling conflicted. After all, Old Lady Shen wasn’t a cruel-hearted person.
"Did Shen Yingxue and that man ever get their marriage certificate?" Shen Yunfang inquired.
"What?" Old Lady Shen didn’t quite understand.
"I mean the marriage certificate. Did they get one when they married?" This was a crucial point. If they didn’t, Shen Yingxue would just have to chalk it up to bad luck for not seeing the man’s true colors. But if they had a marriage certificate, even if they divorced, Shen Yingxue could claim some property, right?
Of course, Shen Yunfang was thinking like a modern person, not even sure if there was a marriage law in place at this time.
"Why bother with that thing? I’ve never heard of anyone in our village getting one," replied Old Lady Shen, echoing traditional beliefs passed down from older generations. A wedding ceremony and a shared wedding banquet were considered enough to confirm a marriage. There wasn’t much else to say about it.
Shen Yunfang fell silent, knowing that Old Lady Shen’s views weren’t going to change with just a word or two from her. It seemed Shen Yingxue was indeed out of luck.
Meanwhile, Li Hongjun and old man Shen discussed arranging for Shen Yunfang’s military service relocation.
"Is there still time to get the paperwork done?" asked old man Shen.
"I filed a report with the unit as soon as I got back, so there’s no issue on that end. It all depends on us here," Li Hongjun had it all figured out.
"Alright, let me know if you need anything, I’ll go run the errands for you," old man Shen was still a good comrade.
In fact, there wasn’t much left that old man Shen needed to help with, as Li Hongjun had nearly completed all the necessary paperwork. However, these weren’t things that could be settled in one go. More would need to be mailed from his unit later on, and that’s when old man Shen’s assistance would be required.
As for moving, that was the easy part, given that there wasn’t much at home—just a few quilts and a large wardrobe. Everything else was available at the unit, so it didn’t matter much whether they brought it along or not.
However, they did have many pets at home, all of which Shen Yunfang intended to bring to the unit, including Taxue the dog. Hence, taking the train was impractical. Li Hongjun had already hired a big Jiefang truck in the city. When it was time for them to return to the unit, the truck would come over and carry everything in one go. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
