Chapter 1: The Abandoned Wife's Door is Full of Right and Wrong
"You're a young widow, what are you doing flirting with the men? Who do you think you can seduce? I'm telling you, if you don't pay back the money, we'll take your house as collateral and kick you out of Xiaozhang Village!" A loud voice shouted.
"Locust flower sister, please be kind, Ni Ni has just recovered from her illness and needs to nourish her body. Can you wait two more days? I'll definitely repay it then, okay? Please?" Another weak voice said.
"You think I'm a Bodhisattva, running a charity at home? If you don't pay back the money, don't even think about leaving this door. Just look at your sly face, it's obvious you're trying to seduce men. Why don't you find some man to help you pay?"
Outside the door came the sound of pushing and shoving, through the paper-pasted window, a tall and sturdy figure was pushing a frail figure, while the frail figure didn't even dare to raise its hand.
Song Jie knew why that figure didn't resist, it was all because of her.
Song Jie was originally an orphan, living to the age of 33, still just a clerk, barely considered a white-collar worker, unable to afford a car or a house, and without any relatives.
The company laid off employees due to the economic crisis, and Song Jie, who had no background, was laid off. She thought that telling her boyfriend of many years would bring comfort, but what she got instead was the shocking news that he wanted to marry his boss's daughter - isn't this a plot only found in books?
Song Jie only felt that all her thoughts were gone, the whole world seemed to have left her alone, a huge sense of loneliness overwhelmed her, although she had no parents, but she always tried hard to live, trying not to let life abandon her, who knew in the end she still had nothing.
What can be done? Song Jie couldn't persuade himself to get up again, it was really too tiring. Then let's splurge and get drunk for once.
Song Jie carried a bottle of baijiu, drinking as she walked, staggering and swaying until she arrived at the Huangpu River. She climbed onto the bridge railing and sat down, crying and guzzling wine, hiccuping with each gulp, her nose bright red.
"Sit still!" A shout came from behind, Song Jie's brain filled with alcohol reacted slowly and turned his head, only to see a handsome guy rushing over.
"I..." Before I could finish my sentence, Song Jie was pushed off the bridge. "Damn it! I must remember that handsome guy's face, even as a ghost I won't let him go." Song Jie was still gritting her teeth in anger before she died.
Song Jie, who was supposed to be dead without a doubt, came to the winter of 1978 and became a four-year-old little kid, her name is also Song Jie.
Mother Zhao Juan was a sent-down youth, Father Song Changlin was a classmate of Mother's at the time, because they were assigned to the same rural area in Shandong Province as sent-down youths, the two fell in love and got married, and had Song Jie a year later.
Good scenery is short-lived, Song Changlin returned to his hometown due to the relationship between his parents in Beijing. The promise to bring his mother and daughter back to Beijing also became a bubble, after hearing that Song Changlin was going to marry another woman, Zhao Juan proposed a divorce and wanted to raise her daughter alone.
What a rare thing it was for a divorced woman at that time.
Zhao Juan was originally beautiful, with a pair of phoenix eyes that seemed to hook people, which further sparked the gossip of busybodies. They all called her "little widow" behind her back, but only women who had lost their husbands were considered widows. However, no one dared to scold her like this in person. Among them, Zhang Yougen's wife, Wu Huaihua, was the most notorious for her gossiping.
When Song Jie first arrived, she was very unaccustomed and her emotions were depressed for a long time, making Zhao Juan think that it was a relapse of her old illness with high fever, so she borrowed money to find a doctor for Song Jie.
As soon as she thought of this, Song Jie couldn't help but want to slap herself twice. You say you're being pretentious, if you don't pretend, you'll die.
Because of borrowing money, Zhao Jie's mother was pestered by Wu Huahua, who came to demand debt every other day, scolding and cursing. Song Jie listened on the side, her face flushing with shame, but Zhao Jie remained silent, bearing everything for her sake.
No one had ever given her such warmth, was this the power of motherly love? From then on, Song Jie wholeheartedly acknowledged this woman as her mother and secretly vowed to make this 24-year-old mom's life better in the future.
Looking out the window, Song Jie hated her short stature for the first time. She couldn't help with anything and even struggled to retort back, feeling utterly powerless. This inability to protect herself or her loved ones was more depressing than losing a job or being dumped by her boyfriend.
Xiao Zhang village was not big to begin with, and from the head of the village, you could see all the way to the end. With Wu Huaihua's loud voice, someone should have come out to mediate already. However, Wu Huaihua was a notorious shrew in Xiao Zhang village, and no one dared to intervene, fearing that they would bring trouble to their own doorstep.
Perhaps hearing his wife's scolding, Zhang Yougen came out to check. Unlike his wife, Zhang Yougen was an extremely honest and kind person who was always willing to help others. Zhao Juan had borrowed money from him, which made Wu Huahua even more resentful and eager to pick a fight.
Only to see the couple pulling and dragging each other, Wu Huaihua was dragged away by her husband, still scolding as she went.
Zhao Juan dragged her tired body, pushed the door and walked in. As soon as she opened the door, Nini was already awake. She quickly changed to a smiling face: "Nini woke up, are you feeling better?"
Song Jie's eyes were sour, this woman could bear all the grievances for her, and still not show a hint of sorrow in front of her daughter. The blows of many days, plus the emotions in her heart, all came flooding up at once. Song Jie, who had never shed tears under so many blows before, was now wailing loudly.
Zhao Juan rushed forward and hugged her daughter, anxiously asking: "Nini, what's wrong, where does it hurt? Is it a fever or did you hear some noise that scared you?" After saying this, she touched her daughter's forehead and only felt at ease when she found no high temperature.
Song Jie felt embarrassed, a 40-year-old woman still being so childish. She stopped crying and said with a runny nose: "Mom's not here, I miss Mom."
At this time, Zhao Juan finally breathed a sigh of relief, and couldn't help but laugh and cry: "You little rascal, you scared Mom to death." Looking at her daughter's bright red apple face, she loved it so much that she couldn't bear it, and before she knew it, she kissed her, making Song Jie giggle uncontrollably, filling the small room with laughter.
In the late afternoon, neighbor Li Shu came to their home. Since Zhao Juan moved here, Li Shu had taken great care of them, often sending things over. It was she who discovered that Song Jie had a fever and saved her life. This time, it's unclear whether she came because of what happened during the day.
Zhao Juan asked Li Shu to sit on the only stool in the house and said, "Li Shu, I haven't thanked you properly yet. If it wasn't for you, our Nini would have been in danger."
Aunt Li felt a bit apologetic: "Don't say that, this is what should be done. When Wu Huahua came during the day, I didn't help either, and my heart wasn't feeling good about it. Don't blame me."
"How can I blame you, Aunt Li? You're not unaware of how formidable Wu Huaihua is. Even big men are intimidated by her. If you were still involved with me, I'd be even more embarrassed."
Aunt Li also smiled bitterly after hearing this, every family has its own difficulties. She carefully took out a handkerchief from her pocket and opened it, inside were some torn and tattered ration coupons and grain tickets, as well as a few coins.
