Chapter 10: Has Jiazhen been taken back?

Liu Chunsheng, a clerk at the rice shop who had worked there for many years, hurried over to Jiazhen and said, "Miss, you should listen to your father and come back with us."

Jiazhen knew her father well; she realized that refusing today would be impossible. Without much debate, she simply replied, "Let me go inside and pack." She turned and headed into the house, returning a moment later with a bundle. Addressing her parents-in-law, she said, "Father, Mother, I am leaving now." She then stepped into the bridal sedan chair.

"Jiazhen!"

At that moment, Xu Fugui rushed back. Having heard the news from villagers as soon as he came down from the mountain, he had run the entire way.

Seeing him approach, Chen Baotian immediately stepped forward to block the path to the sedan chair, determined not to let this scoundrel see his daughter again. He scolded, "You wretch, you’ve finally shown your face! I thought you were deliberately hiding from me. Since you’re here, it’s perfect—let me make this clear today: my daughter was snatched away by you to be your bride. I never consented to this marriage. Today, I am taking her back."

He gestured around them. "Do you see this? This procession is far grander than the one you provided. I want everyone to see that you, a lowlife, were never worthy of my daughter. From this day forward, our two families have no connection. If you dare to show your face in town to harass her, I will break your legs."

"Father..." Jiazhen, unable to listen any longer, lifted the curtain to speak.

"Shut your mouth!" Chen Baotian snapped immediately.

Xu Fugui remained calm and said, "Father, I know you hate me. The things I did in the past were indeed despicable; calling me a wretch is letting me off easy. Take Jiazhen back—I won't stop you. But one thing will never change: Jiazhen is my wife, and the child she carries bears the Xu name."

Chen Baotian snorted. "Don't call me father. I don't have a scoundrel for a son!" He turned on his heel to leave.

"Father, wait!" Xu Fugui insisted.

"What? Regretting your decision already?"

"No," Xu Fugui said. "Father, could we have a word? Just one sentence."

Chen Baotian frowned. "What are you up to now, you wretch? Don't try any tricks; it's useless."

"Father, this is genuinely important," Xu Fugui said. "Let’s step aside. It will only take a minute. If you agree to this, I promise I will never come to town to bother Jiazhen again."

Chen Baotian followed him to the side and asked coldly, "Speak. What is it?"

Xu Fugui lowered his voice. "Father, are you currently helping those men in the yellow coats gather grain?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Father, you must not get involved in this," Xu Fugui warned. "Those men in yellow are bound to be defeated sooner or later. When the Liberation Army enters the city, they will investigate. If they find out your rice shop helped the 'yellow coats' gather grain, what kind of fate do you think awaits you? You must stop. If they force you, don't tell them you have nothing, but don't give them everything either—just string them along and do the bare minimum to appease them."

"You make it sound so easy!" Chen Baotian retorted with disdain. "They have guns! Do you think I can just 'string them along'? That’s a death sentence. Those men have planes and artillery and are vast in number; how could they possibly lose? Where did you hear such nonsense? From your gambling friends at the brothels? You don't need to worry about this. Let me put it bluntly: if you dare come to my shop to cause trouble, I will not be polite. Hmph!"

Watching his father-in-law storm off, Xu Fugui felt a sense of helplessness. It seemed the man's eventual fate of being sent to labor reform was inevitable. Yet, the old man was right—when those armed men demand grain, how can one refuse? In these chaotic times, human life is as cheap as grass. If they shoot you now, you're dead; there's no point in worrying about the future.

It was a true dilemma. The best course of action would be to sell the rice shop and become a poor peasant like everyone else, perhaps avoiding disaster that way. But his father-in-law was not his own father; he would not be easily persuaded. He would have to try again later.

The sedan chair was lifted once more, and the gongs, drums, and suonas began to play as the procession prepared to leave.

"Fengxia!" Xu Fugui called his daughter over.

Fengxia ran over and chirped, "Yes, Father!"

"Fengxia, your mother is in that sedan chair. Go tell her something for me... hurry now!"

"Okay!" Fengxia nodded and trotted over on her short legs. The others did not stop her. Reaching the sedan chair, she said, "Mother, Father told me to tell you that we will come to the city to visit you in a few days."

Jiazhen stroked the child's head tenderly. "Alright, Mother knows. Be a good girl, Fengxia. Listen to your grandparents and your father."

"Okay!"

The sedan chair gradually moved away, the sound of the music fading until it disappeared from their sight. The villagers dispersed, sighing at the sight—a perfectly good family, now fallen apart, with the daughter-in-law taken away.

"Father!" Fengxia grabbed her father’s pant leg. "Mother left in the sedan chair. Why did she go to the city? Is she coming back?"

Xu Fugui patted his daughter's head. "Fengxia, your mother is going to stay with your grandfather in the city for a few days. She'll be back after your little brother is born. Then you'll be a big sister, understand?"

"A big sister!" Fengxia paused, then jumped for joy. "Oh! I'll have a little brother to play with! Father, I'm going to look at my rabbits!"

Too young to grasp what had happened to the family, she ran off happily to watch her white rabbits in the stone pen in the courtyard.

Xu Fugui went to his parents and comforted them, "Mother, we already discussed this. Please don't be too sad. Jiazhen going to the city to rest during her pregnancy is best for her and the baby."

His mother nodded. "I know, but I can't help it. You saw how firm your father-in-law was. I fear Jiazhen may never come back."

"She will," Xu Fugui assured her. "Mother, you know what kind of person Jiazhen is. Even when I snatched her for our wedding and everything was so rushed, she was still willing to marry me. Fengxia is still here; Jiazhen will definitely return."

"Sigh... I hope so."

His father asked, "Fugui, what did you say to your father-in-law just now?"

Xu Fugui pulled his father aside and briefly explained the situation, then asked, "He wouldn't listen. Father, do you think he would be willing to sell the rice shop if I pushed him?"

His father shook his head. "Fugui, if our ancestral home and those hundred acres of tribute land hadn't been squandered by you, even if I knew landlords would be denounced later, I don't think I would have been able to sell them easily. They were left behind by the Xu ancestors; you cannot just throw them away. Do you understand what I mean?"