People who eat melon are in 70 - Chapter 38

Jiang Yutao and the others didn’t know what had happened, but they followed along, and Zhao Yonglan went with them as well.

The male youth from their group, except for Zhou Zhenfeng, also followed them.

Wang Shanxi asked again, and Li Yunying was on the verge of tears: “Six years ago, the last time I saw Wang Yuan, we had a big argument. When I was leaving, she softened and said that if anything happened to her one day, she would have someone bring me a message, asking me to visit her no matter what.”

Over the years, Wang Yuan never had anyone bring a message to her. They only met on rainy days or on days when there was a market in the commune, and sometimes they didn’t even speak to each other. Just seeing each other made them feel at ease.

And every time they met, she was always with her three daughters. Jiang Yutao had said that this morning when she met Wang Yuan, she was only with the youngest, but what about the two older ones?

Wang Shanxi’s face also grew serious: “Let’s hurry.” The two of them started running, and Jiang Yutao and the others followed.

Wang Yuan’s husband, Zhang, was from the neighboring Zhangjia Village Brigade, which was closer to the commune. They passed through fields between two villages before they arrived.

Zhangjia Village Brigade didn’t have any intellectual youths, so as soon as Jiang Yutao and the others entered the village, they attracted a lot of attention. Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei lagged a few steps behind to catch their breath, when a strong-looking elderly woman caught up with them.

“What are you two doing? Are you heading to Zhang Xingzhu’s house?” The elderly woman appeared to be in her fifties or sixties, but her steps were incredibly fast.

Jiang Yutao said, “If his family has a son named Zhang Zhihui, then that’s him.”

The elderly woman clapped her hands: “That’s it! That’s it! You’re friends of the third daughter-in-law from Zhang Xingzhu’s family, right? All intellectual youths? Oh, I was wondering why you didn’t come a couple of days ago. Zhang Xingzhu’s family is really wicked. Zhang Xingzhu’s fourth and fifth sons haven’t been able to find wives for ages. A few days ago, they heard somewhere that the reason they couldn’t marry was because of the three daughters from the third family.”

“The old woman from Zhang Xingzhu’s house took advantage of the situation and sent the two children to the back mountain’s back ridge, where wolves are known to roam. When the third daughter-in-law came back and went looking for them, all she found were the children’s torn clothes.”

The elderly woman had a sorrowful expression. Jiang Yutao and Gu Nianwei stopped in their tracks, and so did Wang Shanxi and Li Yunying. After the elderly woman finished speaking, Li Yunying’s legs gave way, and she almost collapsed to the ground. Wang Shanxi quickly supported her.

Zhao Yonglan had never heard such a horrifying story, and her face turned pale. “Beasts! How can such beasts exist?”

Jiang Yutao took a few fruit candies from her pocket and handed them to the elderly woman: “Auntie, do you know any children who know the way to the commune? Could you ask them to go to the police station and report the case for us? We’ll reward them handsomely once it’s done.”

The elderly woman looked at them, sighed, and said to Jiang Yutao, “Girl, I’m telling you this out of pity for the third daughter-in-law, but we absolutely won’t report it. Our village is different from others. We’re all surnamed Zhang, and if you trace back three generations, we all come from the same ancestor. You’ll have to go yourselves. As for the candy, I don’t want it. Give it to the third daughter-in-law to sweeten her mouth. It’s so pitiful, truly heartbreaking.”

With a sigh, the elderly woman walked away. Liu Yingjun said, “I’ve practiced sprints at school, I’ll go. You all try to stall for time.”

After saying that, Liu Yingjun ran off. From Zhangjia Village to the commune, it would only take about ten minutes to run there.

But in Zhangjia Village, which is so close to the commune, the horrific incident of abandoning a little girl in the mountains to be devoured by wolves had occurred, and it seemed like it had been going on for quite some time without a whisper of it leaking out. What a terrifying concept of clan loyalty, what a terrifying clan village!

Jiang Yutao tightly grasped Gu Nianwei’s hand, and they both looked around.

There were quite a few people from Zhangjia Village standing on either side of the road, watching them expressionlessly. Jiang Yutao suddenly felt that this village was like a monstrous beast that could swallow them whole.

Gu Nianwei patted Jiang Yutao’s hand, signaling her not to be afraid.

When the people of Zhangjia Village saw Jiang Yutao and the others staring at them, a middle-aged man, who seemed to have some authority, spoke up: “You may go ahead. People from Zhangjia Village still have a sense of conscience.”

Zhang Xingzhu’s family’s actions had long angered the people of Zhangjia Village. How hard is it to find a wife these days? If the poisonous influence of Zhang Xingzhu’s family isn’t removed, which woman would still be willing to marry into Zhangjia Village? Who can guarantee that the child they have will definitely be a son? Who wouldn’t be afraid that their daughter might be abandoned under such absurd reasons?

Jiang Yutao and the others didn’t speak but quickened their pace toward Zhang Zhihui’s house.

Li Yunying had been to Zhang Zhihui’s house before, so she took the lead.

The gate to Zhang Zhihui’s house was tightly shut, and now everyone’s faces turned even graver. A bad premonition hovered in their hearts.

In the countryside, it’s uncommon for someone to close their courtyard door during the day.

Li Yunying took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Wang Yuan was sitting in the yard wearing the same clothes she had worn when she first came to the countryside. Li Yunying immediately recalled the way Wang Yuan had looked when they had met earlier.

That summer had been very hot. Wang Yuan had worn a light yellow short-sleeved shirt, her black hair braided into two pigtails that hung in front of her chest, the ends tied with two red ribbons. Her big, round eyes sparkled, and when she smiled, two small dimples appeared on her cheeks.

She was one year younger than Li Yunying, and called her “Sister Yunying.”

Now, Wang Yuan was still wearing those same clothes, but they hung loosely on her body, not fitting at all—like she was wearing someone else’s clothes.

“Sister Yunying, you’re here,” Wang Yuan greeted, still calling Li Yunying “Sister Yunying” just like many years ago. Her expression was unexpectedly gentle. “I knew you’d come today, so I changed into the clothes we wore when we first came to the countryside. Do I look good?”

Wang Yuan stood up and twirled around. Li Yunying covered her mouth and nodded vigorously. Wang Yuan smiled, but as she kept smiling, tears began to fall. “Sister Yunying, I regret it so much. I should’ve listened to you back then and not let myself be fooled by a man’s sweet words. I often think, if I had listened to you, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

The little child next to Wang Yuan tugged at her pants. Wang Yuan bent down, picked her up, kissed the child’s cheek, and pointed at Li Yunying. “Shu Ning, this is your Aunt Yunying, the one I often talk to you about. Do you remember her?”

Shu Ning looked at Wang Yuan, then at Li Yunying, her confused and innocent expression tugging at their hearts, making them feel especially heartbroken.

Wang Yuan kissed the top of Shu Ning’s head and gently said, “Why don’t you go let Aunt Yunying hug you? Aunt Yunying hasn’t hugged you yet.”

She put Shu Ning down on the ground and gently pushed her toward Li Yunying. The child was very obedient and well-behaved. She hesitated as she walked toward Li Yunying, turning her head to look at Wang Yuan. Wang Yuan smiled at her, her eyes filled with encouragement.

Shuning slowly made her way to Li Yunying’s side. Li Yunying quickly bent down and picked her up. “Wang Yuan, what exactly are you trying to do?”

Not only Li Yunying but also Jiang Yutao and the others felt that something was wrong.

Wang Yuan shifted from crouching to sitting, and she spoke with a breathless tone, as if holding the child just now had taken a lot of strength. She didn’t answer Li Yunying’s question but instead lifted her head and started talking about the past.

“I know, you must think I’m heartless. You came to visit me with good intentions, but I was so cruel to you. Not only did I kick you out, but I also said a lot of harsh things. You must hate me. I know, I know.”

“But back then, you didn’t know, did you? Zhang Zhihui’s fourth brother was also at the stage of wanting to get married. I overheard his family saying that the next time you come, they would drug you and make you sleep with his fourth brother. You’re my best friend, my best sister. I had already entered the hell that was the Zhang family. How could I pull you into this mess too?”

After getting married, Wang Yuan realized that the man who used to sweet-talk her and take her out to pick beautiful flowers was actually cold-hearted and indifferent. He married her simply because he was of age, she was young and spoiled by her family, naive and easy to deceive, plus she had money and education.

And the Zhang family was a beast that devoured people. Zhang Zhihui’s two older brothers were difficult to get along with. The two smaller families fought each other for a little bit of resources. She married into this family, and it unified them, with all of them turning against her.

His two younger brothers, who were around the same age as him, always looked at her with lewd and sinister eyes. She told Zhang Zhihui about it, but he didn’t blame his two younger brothers. Instead, he blamed her, saying it was because she was too naive, that’s why they had inappropriate thoughts about her.

She wanted a divorce, but Zhang Zhihui refused and even used Li Yunying to threaten her. He said that if she divorced him, he would go to Liushu Gou and shut down the youth commune, making all the young people there pay the price for their marriage.

Wang Yuan knew Zhang Zhihui was capable of doing this. He was a madman, and she became afraid.

Her eldest daughter, Bo Ning, was barely out of the month-long confinement when Wang Yuan overheard Zhang Zhihui and his family conspiring. Wang Yuan was shocked and scared at the time. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t, let Li Yunying into the Zhang family.

Li Yunying had thought of many reasons for Wang Yuan’s changes, but she had never considered this one. She looked at Wang Yuan in shock. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Wang Yuan still wore her usual smile. “If I had told you, would you have just left me to deal with it on my own? I was afraid, afraid of dragging you into this too.”

“Yunying, in my life, I’ve wronged many people. I’ve wronged my parents. They spoiled me as I grew up, but for a man, I broke off with them. All these years, I haven’t written them a single letter. Sometimes, it’s not that I didn’t want to write, but I didn’t know what to say even if I did.”

“I’ve also wronged my three daughters. I brought them into this world, but I haven’t been able to give them even a single day of happiness. In this family, they’ve lived worse than cattle or horses. It’s all my fault.”

“The day they were sent to the mountains, I had gone out to work in the fields because if I didn’t earn work points, the four of us would starve to death. I hadn’t been working long when someone came to tell me they had been sent into the mountains. I went after them like a madwoman, but it was too late. Yunying, do you know? There’s a ravine in the back mountains, full of sharp stones, and there are many wild wolves nearby. There are also vultures flying above.”

“When I got there, the stones were dark red, and their clothing pieces were scattered around them. The fabric of their clothes was from the water-pink floral fabric you sent last year. I made them two dresses from it, and they loved them so much. They even said they wanted to thank Aunt Yunying in person.”

“But when they really saw you, they became too shy to speak, completely different from me.” Wang Yuan covered her face with her hand, and tears slid from her fingertips.

Wang Shanshi and the others were all crying. Jiang Yutao leaned on Gu Nianwei’s shoulder, her tears falling slowly. Even the people from Zhangjia Village, who had come to watch, were wiping their eyes.

Li Yunying cried silently.

“Yunying, did you go to the police?”

Li Yunying nodded with difficulty, her voice choked with sobs. “Yes, Liu Yingjun went. You haven’t met Liu Yingjun, have you? He’s the young man who just came to the countryside this year.”

“That’s a nice name, though I wonder if Liu Yingjun is as handsome as his name suggests,” Wang Yuan wiped away her tears, as if she was just making small talk.

Li Yunying didn’t dare ask where Zhang Zhihui and the others had gone, and neither did Jiang Yutao and the others. The people from Zhangjia Village had guessed, but no one said anything.

Wang Yuan sat in a daze, and no one spoke. Although the yard wasn’t large, it was filled with many people, yet it was as quiet as if there were no one there.

Finally, Liu Yingjun arrived with three police officers, and Yang Ke, the head of the local young intellectual office, was with them. They had come in a hurry, their hair messy and their breathing heavy.

Wang Yuan’s gaze fell on Liu Yingjun. Smiling, she said to Li Yunying, “Yunying, he really is as handsome as his name. Quite good-looking.”

She didn’t wait for Li Yunying to respond and instead turned her attention to the police officers. Pointing to the door behind her, she said, “You can go in now. The Zhang family is inside.”

The three officers exchanged glances, feeling a sinking sensation in their hearts. With serious expressions, they went to open the door.

Inside, the Zhang family didn’t make a sound upon hearing the arrival of so many people. They had already formed some grim assumptions.

The door opened.

In the center of the room was a round wooden table with food still placed on it. Over twenty members of the Zhang family were lying around the table, some lying horizontally, some vertically, filling the entire room.

There was still white foam at the corners of their mouths. Several of them had been stabbed multiple times, and bl00d flowed from their bodies, reaching the door. A pile of ash and wood lay by the door, the bl00d soaking into it, mixing with the ash. The room was filled with a strong smell of bl00d.

An older police officer crouched down to check the neck of the nearest person, shaking his head at the others, “No breath.”

Everyone’s gaze turned to Wang Yuan, and some of the more timid ones took several steps back.

Wang Yuan still sat on the doorframe in that position, her expression one of relief and ease.

“At noon today, that whole family asked me to cook. While I was cooking, they were still insulting me. Zhang’s wife said I was a worthless person, a tramp, and that my three daughters were also worthless, that they were the reason her fourth and fifth sons couldn’t get married. She said they should have been drowned at birth. The fact that they’ve lived these years is already a result of her mercy. She said I should give her the third one. Only if I threw my third child into the back mountains like the others, could her fourth and fifth sons marry.”

“She also said that I’m still young, I can still have more children, and since they’re all worthless, it doesn’t matter if they die. It would be their honor to contribute to the family. My husband didn’t say a word. When his mother asked his opinion, he said he would listen to her.”

“His fourth brother said it was all my fault. If I hadn’t stopped them back then, he would have had a wife by now. His fifth brother said that if they couldn’t get wives, I should bear children for them. My husband agreed.”

“Isn’t it laughable? In a civilized society, how could such a family exist? You’re probably wondering why they got what they deserved, but why did Zhang’s eldest and second sons also have to die?”

“Because it was their wives who suggested throwing my daughters into the back mountains to be fed to wolves. My Bo Ning, Zhong Ning didn’t provoke them at all, but they still wanted them dead. Tell me, what purpose do such vicious people serve in this world? Since they killed my children, shouldn’t their children also go to their graves with mine? That would be fair, wouldn’t it?”

Wang Yuan’s face was filled with madness. When she mentioned her two daughters, she finally broke into tears. “My Bo Ning, my Zhong Ning, my heart hurts so much, so much.”

The police said nothing, and cries could be heard from around them.

Having killed so many people, Wang Yuan never thought of running away. She didn’t want to live anymore. While no one was paying attention, she took a packet of powder from her pocket and swallowed it, then pulled out a candy.

It was the candy that Jiang Yutao had given her in the morning. Now, she used it to mask the bitterness of the rat poison.

She chewed the candy, looked at Jiang Yutao, and smiled. “Thank you for the candy, it’s very sweet.”

Wang Yuan’s life had been so hard. She hadn’t tasted sweetness for a long, long time.

In the morning, on her way back from the commune, she sucked on a piece of candy. The sweetness entered her heart from the tip of her tongue. But she didn’t plan to stop. She just looked at her Shu Ning and decided not to let her eat the medicine.

Her daughter had never tasted sweetness from the time she was born. Her sisters were already gone, and she shouldn’t go so soon too. She was still so young and had never seen the grand and colorful world.

She looked at Li Yunying. “Sister Yunying, in my life, I’ve only asked you for one thing, and that was when I had someone pass on a message to you, that you’d come to see me. Now, I want to ask you for a second thing—please send a telegram to my parents, asking them to come and take Shu Ning away. My parents will take good care of her, but before they come, could you please take care of her for a few days?”

Li Yunying quickly placed Shu Ning in Wang Shanxi’s arms and rushed over to pull Wang Yuan. “Don’t say that anymore. Come on, I’ll take you to the clinic. We need to make you spit out the medicine quickly. You still have to take care of your child. She’s so young, how could you leave her like this?”

The crowd automatically parted to make way.

Wang Yuan followed her, saying, “It’s no use. Before you all arrived, I already took the medicine once. By now, the medicine must have entered my organs. There’s no saving me. Sister Yunying, you’re the one I trust the most. Please promise me, okay?”

Wang Yuan collapsed to the ground. Her nose and gums began to bleed. Li Yunying used her hands and clothes to wipe it off, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t clean it up.

Wang Yuan stared at Li Yunying intensely. Li Yunying cried as she nodded. Wang Yuan smiled. She turned her head to look at Shu Ning in Wang Shanxi’s arms. Shu Ning was terrified by the change and was crying loudly, while Wang Shanxi frantically tried to comfort her.

Wang Yuan’s smile was gentle at the corners of her mouth.

“My Shu Ning, when you grow up, don’t listen to men’s sweet words like I did. It’s just bitter medicine wrapped in sugar. Once the thin sugar coating is gone, all that’s left is bitterness.”

“My Shu Ning, I hope that your life will be safe, happy, healthy, and joyful.”