Chapter 32: The Investigation Continues

“That jealous?”

“It’s because she couldn’t give birth to a son—not even a girl!” Old Yang tilted his head back and poured the last of the sauce into his mouth, wiping his lips. “Wouldn’t her mother and son be anxious?”

“Can you beat a son out of her?” Yun Suji thought, what kind of reason is that?

His wife spoke up then. “I heard from the women that Gaifeng’s husband was… not capable, so he couldn’t have a son…”

Old Yang scolded her, “What nonsense are you talking! Spouting baseless women’s gossip, is your backside itching for a beating again?”

Old Yang’s wife was frightened into silence.

Yun Suji said, “Old Yang, that’s not right of you. You just said yourself you don’t beat your wife. Are you going back on your word already? Are you a man or not!”

Old Yang quickly said, “Yes, yes, Chief, I was confused!”

Yun Suji thought to himself that this meal had been very fruitful. He felt that what Old Yang’s wife said was likely the truth; women’s affairs are best known by women. He then asked her, “What else do you know?”

Old Yang’s wife didn’t dare to speak. Yun Suji said, “Don’t worry! I will back you up. I will definitely not let your husband spank you. Otherwise, I’ll have my guards spank him with a carrying pole!”

Old Yang chuckled. “Go on, go on. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear.”

Only then did Old Yang’s wife say, “…I heard it was an illness he contracted while fleeing! It’s a pitiful story!”

“Didn’t he seek any medicine?” Yun Suji thought of Runshitang, an old shop specializing in remedies for yin and yang deficiencies.

“Listen to you, sir. When we farmers get sick, we just endure it. Besides, how could he tell anyone about this kind of illness?”

Old Yang’s wife continued, “He was pitiful, but isn’t Gaifeng even more pitiful? We women often talk amongst ourselves: not only was Gaifeng living like a widow, but her mother-in-law was a cruel woman. When Gaifeng’s late husband was away on labor duty, she would be working in the fields alone during the day. Old Mrs. Cao would… would…”

Although Old Yang’s wife couldn’t continue, Yun Suji was puzzled. “Would what?”

Old Yang’s wife smiled apologetically. “It’s women’s business. It would dirty your ears to say it!”

Yun Suji said, “It’s no matter. Tell me.”

“She would use a needle and thread to sew her pants tightly shut. If a few threads were broken when she came home at night, she would be pressed down on a long bench and beaten! Gaifeng was so scared she didn’t even dare to drink much water. Her face would be blue from holding it in when she came home every day. A few times, she even wet her pants. Ai, what a sin…”

That’s too vicious, Yun Suji thought, stunned. Wasn’t this just a poor man’s version of a chastity belt? He had thought it was something only European nobles played with.

“Old Mrs. Cao came from a poor family too, right? How could she treat her daughter-in-law so cruelly?”

“If they weren’t poor, how could they have a child bride? A child bride in a poor family has a life more bitter than yellow lotus! Truly worse than a servant girl in a small landowner’s house!” Old Yang sighed. “Back in our old home, during the spring famine when we couldn’t get by, someone suggested we give Hei Ni away as a child bride. I said I’d rather let her starve to death at home than let her be abused to death! At least the world has changed now!”

Old Yang’s wife continued, “…After Gaifeng’s late husband died, she was even more afraid that Gaifeng would remarry and watched her even more closely. Not only would she sew her pants shut when she went out, she would even follow her when she ate or went to the latrine at home. At night, she made Gaifeng sleep on the inside of the bed.”

After dinner, Old Yang’s wife cleared the dishes and brewed another pot of jujube leaf tea. Yun Suji asked, “Her son is gone. What does she need a daughter-in-law for? Why watch her so closely? What’s the use?”

“A young widow is valuable,” Old Yang laughed. “Nowadays, marrying a young widow also costs a hefty bride price. Someone like Gaifeng, young and without children, would fetch a price of at least three oxen.”

“If she’s so greedy for the bride price, why not quickly find someone for her to marry? Can she give birth to a grandson by keeping her in her grasp?”

“How long can three oxen feed her?” Old Yang said. “She’s thinking long-term.”

“What long-term plan? Is she planning to find a husband to support her?”

Old Yang slapped his thigh. “Chief, you are truly a prophet! Old Mrs. Cao wants to marry her to a distant nephew from her own family—keeping the wealth within the family.”

Yun Suji laughed. “If she wanted to arrange a marriage, why didn’t it happen?”

“He’s a soldier on Jeju Island. Who knows when he’ll be back?” Old Yang said. “At that moment, Liu Yuanhu took a fancy to Gaifeng…”

“Wait, wait. Didn’t you say Liu Yuanhu didn’t kidnap a widow?”

“He really didn’t. Gaifeng was willing to be with him,” Old Yang’s wife interjected. “Liu Yuanhu has no in-laws, he’s a cadre himself, and a strong young man. How could Gaifeng not be willing?”

Old Yang’s wife then launched into a detailed gossip session: how the two of them met, how they met in secret, how they kissed in the woods, “it was like dry wood and a raging fire”… as if she had witnessed it all herself. Yun Suji thought, A woman’s capacity for gossip is truly extraordinary.

“…About a month ago, Gaifeng gathered her belongings, and when Old Mrs. Cao wasn’t looking, she ran off to Liu Yuanhu’s house. By the time Old Mrs. Cao realized what had happened, the two had already gone to the town to get a ‘marriage certificate’ and came back, making it completely official.”

Liu Yuanhu’s policy awareness is not bad, Yun Suji thought. In the countryside, getting a marriage certificate was often treated with indifference. Even in the 21st century, many couples only had a wedding banquet without registering their marriage. Liu Yuanhu’s direct registration of the marriage legally solidified their relationship. Being a village cadre was not for nothing.

He said, “Old Mrs. Cao must have been unhappy.”

“Naturally. If it were anyone else, this would never have happened! Old Mrs. Cao is a master of making trouble! But Liu Yuanhu is a bachelor with no family, a reckless young man who is used to acting tyrannically in the village. Let alone a lone old woman, I think he would even dare to hit his own parents! What good could Old Mrs. Cao get from making a scene? After losing a few times, she didn’t dare to confront Liu Yuanhu anymore. She went to Fan Shier to complain—but Chief, you can imagine: Liu Yuanhu and Fan Shier are as thick as thieves. Would he help her? Besides, Fan Shier and Old Mrs. Cao had clashed before over the issue of unbinding Gaifeng’s feet. So not only did she not get her daughter-in-law back, she was also given a hard time—sent to the Thousand Women Dike construction site for several months. Old Mrs. Cao couldn’t swallow her anger and went directly to the township to complain…”

“Oh? She went to the township to complain?” Yun Suji thought, So there are petitioners in this era too.

“She went a few times. The township said that since her daughter-in-law’s husband was already dead, she could marry whomever she wanted, and the township couldn’t interfere.” Compared to Old Yang, his wife was much better informed. “When she couldn’t get help from the township, she went to the county to complain, but the county ignored her too. This made her lose her mind. She started going around the village every day, saying the village had embezzled her pension and stolen her daughter-in-law, and she also spread many of Fan Shier’s misdeeds all over the streets…”

Old Yang felt this was not appropriate and gave his wife a look, which Yun Suji noticed. Yun Suji smiled. “What, still have reservations?”

Old Yang was a bit embarrassed. “To be honest, Fan Shier and the others sometimes do things that are not right, they act foolishly! But we are all neighbors, and he has done a lot for everyone. Some things, we didn’t think were useful when he did them, and we all cursed him. Only later did we realize they were really useful, and that we were just shortsighted. If we really get him sent to a labor camp, I would feel bad…”

Yun Suji said, “So you’re saying Fan Shier has contributed to the village?”

Old Yang nodded. “If you say he has no selfish motives and is completely dedicated to the people, he’s not a saint. He has selfish motives, takes more than his share, and often throws his weight around, tying people up and beating them. But without someone like him, this village wouldn’t work. Take the roads inside and outside the village, the irrigation canals, the biogas digesters for composting… without his efforts, none of that would have been accomplished. The surrounding villages all envy us for having such a capable person as our village chief.”

Yun Suji then asked, “What about Old Mrs. Cao’s claim that the village embezzled her pension?”

“Only she would know about that, and Fan Shier probably knows too,” Old Yang said. “The pension was indeed collected from the township by Liu Yuanhu and handed over to the village office. As for whether Old Mrs. Cao received it and how much, it’s a he-said-she-said situation. We can’t be sure.”

“Did Gaifeng ever receive the pension?”

“Could she have touched a single coin?” Old Yang scoffed. “Gaifeng was a slave in her husband’s family—not even as good as a slave. At least a master gives a slave monthly wages and rice. She was lucky to get a few full meals!”

Old Yang’s wife also said, “Since she married Liu Yuanhu, her complexion has improved a lot! She even smiles when she works with everyone.”

Yun Suji now had a general understanding of the situation. It was completely different from what he had originally thought. It seemed that one-sided stories could not be trusted, and that “deep suffering” was not necessarily the embodiment of justice. Although Fan Shier and Liu Yuanhu were not “incorruptible,” Old Mrs. Cao was not “innocent” or “persecuted” either. The truth was always more complex than it appeared on the surface.

He felt he had gained a lot from his visit to Old Yang’s house and continued to chat. Seeing his enthusiasm, Old Yang added another wick to the oil lamp. Before they knew it, the night had deepened.

Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps, “thump, thump, thump,” came from outside. A guard ran in, covered in sweat. Seeing Yun Suji, he didn’t even have time to salute, panting as he said, “Re… report… Chief: Cao… Cao…”

Yun Suji was startled and quickly asked, “Old Mrs. Cao?”

The guard nodded repeatedly. “She… she… she hanged herself!”

Yun Suji shot up from his seat. “Let’s go, quickly, let’s go see!”

When Yun Suji arrived at the village office, he saw a crowd had already gathered at the entrance, all craning their necks to see the commotion. Liu Yuanhu and a few young men were maintaining order. Fan Shier’s face was pale, and he stood at the entrance looking completely lost. Seeing Yun Suji approach, he said in an almost pleading tone, “Chief! Chief! It really wasn’t me…”

“If it wasn’t you, why are you panicking!” Yun Suji said. “Come on, let’s go inside and see what’s going on!”