Digging Her Own Grave

When Huang Qimei heard that Jiang Hongmei had come looking for her, she was quite surprised. She thanked the messenger, then got up and walked out of the brigade compound, where she saw the other woman standing by the roadside some distance away, smiling and waving at her.

Huang Qimei glanced at the slap marks still lingering on her face, and a flash of schadenfreude passed through her eyes. She quickly composed herself, strode over, and pointed at the injury on her face with feigned concern. "Hongmei, wh-what happened to your face?"

Jiang Hongmei turned her head away to avoid her hand and said awkwardly, "N-nothing."

Then she added, "Qimei, I have something to tell you. Let's talk somewhere else!"

After saying that, she walked ahead without waiting for Huang Qimei to agree. Huang Qimei sneered silently and hurried after her.

The two walked all the way to the Reed Marsh before stopping. Returning to this place again filled Jiang Hongmei with incomparably mixed emotions. She hated Huang Qimei for betraying her, yet she could not stop wondering whether her headlong decision to be with Zhao Jianguo had been the right one.

Over the past few days, she had come to see that Zhao Qiancheng and Qin Fengying were even more profit-driven than she had imagined. As for Zhao Jianguo, though he treated her well, at crucial moments... Ah! Forget it. She should settle the matter before her first!

She gathered her thoughts, crossed her arms over her chest, and, under cover of the gesture, pinched herself hard beneath the arm. Tears instantly welled from her eyes, followed by soft sobs.

Hearing her cry, a flicker of irritation passed through Huang Qimei's eyes before vanishing at once, replaced by the concern and affection of a friend. "What's wrong? Have you been wronged?"

She took out a handkerchief, stepped forward, and gently wiped away the other woman's tears. "Don't cry. Have you run into some trouble? Tell me, and I'll see if there's anything I can do to help."

"Thank you. You're still the one who treats me well."

Jiang Hongmei smiled through her tears, but sorrow and grievance climbed back onto her brow in the next instant. She choked back a sob and began, haltingly and pitifully, to speak of her suffering.

"Jianguo and I should have been happy to be together, but because of what happened that day, his parents blamed everything on me. From the moment I entered their home, they beat me several times."

She pursed her lips and sniffled, tears falling one after another like pearls from a broken string. "If Jianguo hadn't protected me so fiercely, Qin Fengying would probably have clawed my face to pieces.

"And Zhao Xiufen too. I treated her like a real younger sister, thinking that once I married into the family, I'd introduce her to Gu Yu..."

Her voice paused. She looked up at Huang Qimei, whose face was "calm," and said angrily, "But she, she not only refused to help stop them when I was being beaten, she even kicked me when I was down. I hate her to death. I don't want to give the marriage arrangement to her anymore."

Huang Qimei gave nothing away on her face, but inwardly she was beside herself with excitement. Pretending to ask casually, she said, "Hongmei, what marriage arrangement are you talking about? What do you mean, giving it to her? You've talked me in circles. I don't understand what you mean."

Keep pretending!

Jiang Hongmei mocked inwardly, though a trace of difficulty appeared on her face. "If I tell you, you can't go around spreading it everywhere."

"Don't worry."

Huang Qimei patted her chest in assurance. "I definitely won't tell anyone."

"Mhm! I believe you."

Jiang Hongmei nodded. After thinking for a moment, she told Huang Qimei the story she had prepared in advance. "Gu Yu's father is not doing too well over in the Northwest...

"Jianguo and his family said they wanted Zhao Xiufen to take my place, and that they would make their move at our wedding banquet.

"Originally, it was nothing. We're all family, and family should help each other. But after the way Zhao Xiufen treated me, I've really been chilled to the bone. I don't want to help her anymore.

"And honestly, even though I don't like Gu Yu anymore, that doesn't mean he isn't an outstanding man. I'd feel uneasy letting a venomous woman like Zhao Xiufen marry him."

She turned to look at the lake, her words steeped in melancholy. "Gu Yu may have a bad class background, and his family may have fallen on hard times, but a camel starved to death is still bigger than a horse.

"Besides, his aunt and uncle are still there holding things up for him. Zhao Xiufen is just a little village girl, barely able to recognize a few characters, and she isn't even as pretty as you. What virtue or ability does she have to marry Gu Yu!?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Qimei became even more excited. Was Jiang Hongmei hinting that she should replace her future sister-in-law? That was indeed the sort of thing Jiang Hongmei would do.

On the surface, Jiang Hongmei usually appeared considerate and kind-hearted, but in truth, she was selfish and self-serving. Before Zhao Xiufen had offended her, she could hand over the marriage arrangement just to consolidate her position in the Zhao Household, without caring whether Gu Yu would be willing to accept it.

But now that Zhao Xiufen had gotten her beaten, Jiang Hongmei would definitely ruin the marriage for her. Wasn't that exactly what Huang Qimei wanted?

Huang Qimei's heart instantly burned hot. She drew a deep breath and fiercely suppressed her excitement, trying her best to appear calm before finally looking up at Jiang Hongmei.

"From what you've said, Zhao Xiufen really doesn't deserve your kindness. But now, her parents, including Zhao Jianguo, all want you to help make this good thing happen. An arm can't twist a thigh, so you can't change anything..."

"Who says I can't!"

Jiang Hongmei raised her voice and interrupted her. Putting on an arrogant, willful air, she gave a cold, disdainful laugh. "I'm not going to collide head-on with them. As long as I use the right method, there's nothing that can't be done."

Huang Qimei swallowed nervously. "What method?"

"You!"

Jiang Hongmei turned to look at her and bent down to whisper in her ear, "You're a middle school graduate, you're from the city, and you're pretty too. You and Gu Yu are a handsome man and a beautiful woman, a perfect match."

"Y-you shouldn't talk nonsense."

Huang Qimei's face flushed bright red, and even her breathing grew hurried. A flash of mockery crossed Jiang Hongmei's eyes before she spoke earnestly.

"I'm stating a fact, Qimei. To put it bluntly, your family circumstances aren't good. Even if you return to the city, the man you marry could never have a family as good as Gu Yu's.

"His class background may be a little poor, but he has an uncle-in-law who's a high-ranking official looking after him. How bad could his life possibly be? If you're lucky, he might return to the city in a few years, and then you'll be a phoenix that has flown onto a branch!"

She straightened up and looked seriously at the deeply flushed Huang Qimei. "Qimei, although I'm doing this out of selfish motives, it brings you enormous benefits. Do you understand what I mean?"

Huang Qimei froze slightly and looked quietly at her for a long while before smiling and nodding. "I understand."

Hearing that, Jiang Hongmei finally let out a breath of relief. Then she put on a smile and spoke again. "Then let's put our heads together..."

"Okay..."

The two had reached an alliance and were discussing how to secretly switch one dragon for another when the Zhao Qiancheng father and son, still in the dark, suffered a setback before even winning their first battle.

The reason was simple. Zhao Manjiang had been tempted after hearing their proposal, but his wife, Lin Manqing, was firmly opposed.

In her view, no matter how good Shen Jianan was, his home was far away, and he would definitely return to Hai City in the future. If her daughter married him, she would surely have to go with him. Wouldn't that mean she might not see her child for a very long time?

Zhao Qiancheng was annoyed, thinking the woman had rocks in her head, but he still patiently persuaded her. If her niece married Shen Jianan, not only would she live better than most people, her two younger sisters would be able to benefit as well.

Shen Jianan was excellent at writing articles, and his tailoring skills were second to none. If his two nieces could learn the trade from him, then even if they did not enter a factory for work in the future, they would not have to worry about money merely by making clothes for others.

One had to know that tailors were an extremely sought-after profession in this era. Besides, if Shen Jianan and his niece could settle things between them, they could completely encourage him to make a home in town. Then why would she have to worry about not seeing her daughter?

After Zhao Qiancheng said that, Lin Manqing's heart softened somewhat. But she was still afraid that Shen Jianan might not be worthy of her daughter, so she said they should first go to the production brigade and see what kind of person he was before making a decision.

Zhao Qiancheng agreed without a second thought. With Shen Jianan's looks and family background, anyone who wasn't blind would basically be unable to refuse him.

"Then it's settled."

Zhao Manjiang said with a smile, "It's too late to go back to the village now. Why don't you and Jianguo stay here for the night? Tomorrow, we'll pick up Jiaming and head back to the village together."

Lin Manqing nodded in agreement. "Yes! Second Uncle, stay the night here!"

Zhao Qiancheng and his son were both flattered and amused. This was the first time the woman had ever invited them to stay at her home. In the past, she could not wait for them to say whatever they needed to say at the door and leave immediately.

Otherwise, after Old Master Zhao had been injured by hail and there had been no one at home, Zhao Jiaming would not have kept living at the town school instead of coming to his eldest uncle's house. Heh! It could only be said that people were realistic.

"Then we'll trouble you."

Zhao Qiancheng pulled himself from his thoughts and thanked the couple. Zhao Jianguo followed with a word of thanks as well.

"Why be so polite? We're family."

Zhao Manjiang waved his hand happily, then turned to his wife. "Go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperative and see whether they have any meat. If they do, buy some back, and get a bottle of liquor too. Qiancheng, Jianguo, and I will have a good drink."

"Alright."

Lin Manqing nodded readily, got up and returned to the room for her handbag, then called her second daughter, Zhao Xiaojun, to leave with her. On the way, she told her about what had just happened.

Zhao Xiaojun showed no reaction after hearing it, only asking, "Mom, if you meet that person tomorrow and think he really is as good as Second Uncle says, do I have to marry him?"

"Silly girl, what do you mean, have to? You must seize the chance to marry him."

Lin Manqing smiled and tapped her on the forehead. "A family this good is hard to find even with a lantern. You must cherish it properly."

"Mhm!"

Zhao Xiaojun answered, lowered her head, and said nothing more. Lin Manqing simply thought she was shy and paid no attention, continuing onward with her.

However, early the next morning, when they were preparing to set out to pick up Zhao Jiaming before returning to the production brigade together, they discovered that Zhao Xiaojun was not in her room. Several items of clothing were missing from the wardrobe as well.

Zhao Manjiang was furious and asked Lin Manqing what she had said to their daughter yesterday. Lin Manqing was angry and aggrieved too. The daughter she had raised had actually played little tricks on her.

Seething with anger, she questioned the other two children about whether they knew where their sister had gone. The third child, Zhao Xiaoqi, shook her head like a rattle drum and repeatedly said she did not know.

But the youngest child, Zhao Xiaobei, saw her parents getting angry and tremblingly pulled a letter from her pocket before handing it to them.

The two hurriedly opened it and read it. Their vision instantly went dark, and they nearly fainted from rage. Zhao Xiaojun had actually said that she had had enough of her parents favoring sons over daughters and despising her for being a girl. Now they even wanted to use her to "sell for money."

She did not want to become a bargaining chip for Zhao Jianguo, the Zhao family's eldest son and legitimate grandson, to climb the dragon and cling to the phoenix. So she had decided to leave this suffocating home and never return.

After Zhao Qiancheng and Zhao Jianguo heard the contents of the letter, they felt incomparably awkward. Though that was indeed what they had been thinking, Zhao Xiaojun had suddenly torn through the window paper. Wasn't she making things difficult for them?

But it was useless to talk about that now. The most important thing was to find her first. After all, she was only eighteen and had never gone farther than the city. If something happened to her, Lin Manqing would probably fight them to the death.

The matter was delayed by Zhao Xiaojun's disappearance. Zhao Qiancheng could only have Zhao Jianguo take his younger son home first, then return to continue searching with him and the Zhao Manjiang couple.

But they searched from daylight until night, looking everywhere Zhao Xiaojun might have gone. They even questioned her schoolmates, yet did not find the slightest clue. Afraid that something might happen if they delayed any longer, they had no choice but to report it to the police.

As it happened, Zhang Dayong was on duty that day. He asked why the child had run away from home. Zhao Manjiang was too embarrassed to say that they had found a match for his daughter, she had been unwilling, and so she had run away. He only said she had argued with her mother, been slapped twice, and then run away.

Lin Manqing was both angry and anxious. At a time like this, Zhao Manjiang was actually framing her just to save face. She immediately started shouting.

"When did I hit her? It was clearly you two brothers using my daughter as a sacrifice for your own nephew, forcing her to marry that Shen Jianan! She couldn't resist, so she ran away from home. How can you blame it on me!?"

The moment Zhang Dayong heard that familiar name, he became wary. He then asked coldly, "Then did that educated youth join you in forcing Zhao Xiaojun as well?"

The four froze. How were they supposed to answer that? Were they supposed to tell the Public Security Bureau that Shen Jianan did not know anything about this at all? How embarrassing would that be?

They would rather die than tell him that, so they nodded awkwardly. "Mhm! He did."

Zhang Dayong saw it all and snorted coldly in his heart. Well, well! They dared to play tricks and frame someone right in front of the Public Security Bureau? If he did not properly deal with these parasites of society today, then his name was not Zhao Dayong!

Smack!

He raised his hand and slammed it hard against the desk, making all four of them jolt and look up at him. Then Zhao Dayong raised his voice and berated them.

"Outrageous! What kind of society is this now, yet you're still clinging to that feudal leftover, forcing a child into marriage!?

"I'm telling you, the child has personal freedom. She is not an object for you to dispose of however you please!"

He shot the four red-faced people a contemptuous glare, then pointed at the registration book on the desk. "Zhao Manjiang of the Textile Factory, Zhao Qiancheng of Chaoyang Production Brigade, and Zhao Jianguo, correct?

"I will report this matter to the relevant departments and have their leaders give you a proper ideological education. As for your child, Zhao Xiaojun, we will send people to look for her as well."

The three were embarrassed and furious, wishing they could beat Lin Manqing up before finding a crack in the ground to crawl into.

But before the Public Security Bureau, they did not dare show any dissatisfaction. They could only nod and bow repeatedly, admitting their mistakes again and again, begging him not to report it upward. Otherwise, not only would they lose face, they might even be disciplined.

Then Zhao Manjiang tearfully said that it was not an arranged marriage either. Shen Jianan was a handsome and talented young man with good family circumstances, and he had merely thought his daughter would have a better life if she married him, which was why he had agreed to Shen Jianan's proposal, and so on.

Zhang Dayong became even angrier upon hearing that. What kind of person was Shen Jianan? Everyone in the Public Security Bureau knew perfectly well. How could he possibly take a fancy to a child from this sort of family?

Besides, he was not even eighteen yet. How could he be thinking of getting married? Even if this family wanted to fabricate nonsense, they ought to know when to stop!

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. If he had not discovered and exposed this matter today, that child, under the coercion of a production brigade secretary and a Textile Factory director, had no idea how much grievance she would have suffered. He did not want to waste any more words on them, so he immediately called for his colleagues to contact the relevant departments.

Then he had someone go to Chaoyang Production Brigade to bring Shen Jianan over. Since he had been falsely accused, as the victim, he ought to come and see what should be done.

Zhao Manjiang and the Zhao Qiancheng father and son were dumbfounded. It had only been such a small matter, so how had it become this serious? Now they were even going to summon Shen Jianan.

How would they face him in the future? How could they continue getting by in their respective positions? Thinking of this, all three immediately panicked and begged Zhang Dayong for mercy.

Unfortunately, before they could say anything, he had already strode out of the office and shut them inside with a backhanded swing.

Their faces instantly turned white as paper. It was over.