RYEY – Chapter 186 The Day of Awaiting Vindication

“Liguo, if I sign this paper, will you promise not to divorce me?”

Cheng Liguo sneered inwardly, but outwardly he smiled faintly and nodded.

“Really? Comrades, can you all be my witnesses? As long as I sign this paper, I’ll be able to stay with Cheng Liguo, right?”

Seeing Cheng Liguo nod, the others all solemnly nodded as well. Especially Li Bing, whose head bobbed the most vigorously—just hurry up and sign, once it’s signed everything will be over.

Xia Fen still felt something wasn’t right. They had agreed far too readily; could there be some hidden trick? But she trusted Cheng Liguo—he was known to be upright, and his words were always as firm as nails.

She scrawled her name shakily and pressed down her fingerprint. Then another man in a green uniform took out the same document and asked her to sign again.

Although Xia Fen had never been schooled, after living in Huizhou for so many years she had at least learned to recognize a few characters. The words on this paper looked almost identical to the previous one, so she signed and pressed her fingerprint once more.

Li Bing immediately understood why that comrade had wanted her to sign two copies—it must be to guard against sabotage, ensuring they still had a backup.

The two men, documents in hand, exchanged a smile with Cheng Liguo, shook hands with Li Bing, and left. The next time they came back would be to announce Cheng Liguo’s acquittal.

“Comrades from the Civil Affairs Bureau, please come in and handle this matter.”

After escorting the two men out, Li Bing called in the Civil Affairs Bureau staff. They briskly produced two documents and placed them in front of Cheng Liguo and Xia Fen.

“Cheng Liguo, Xia Fen, please sign these.”

Xia Fen glanced at the title—and froze. It was a divorce application. Fury surged in her chest. She had been tricked! Cheng Liguo, that man, had learned to lie as well—too cruel!

“Liguo, didn’t you just promise me we wouldn’t divorce?”

“Not divorcing is impossible. You’ve harmed me, harmed Cheng Qiao, and you still expect me to support you?”

“You liar! You were never truly with me. You didn’t marry me—you just wanted a nanny for Cheng Qiao. You bourgeois! You ought to be dragged out for criticism and struggle!”

“When I married you, didn’t I tell you it was a fake marriage? You would help me raise Cheng Qiao, and I would provide for you and your daughter. When Cheng Qiao got married, our marriage would end.”

Xia Fen froze. Yes—he had said that. And he had even promised that once they divorced, he’d give her a pension and provide Wang Ping with dowry money.

“Liguo, you promised to give me money, and Wang Ping a dowry.”

“Yes, I did. But back then I was deputy director of the steel factory, earning 128 yuan a month. Now? I only get five yuan a month. You personally destroyed everything—where do you expect me to get the money?”

“Don’t you have savings?”

“Savings? I don’t even have a home anymore. Where would savings come from?”

Xia Fen half-believed, half-didn’t. But regret gnawed at her. Why had she listened to Liu Peili, who said Cheng Liguo never truly cared about her—otherwise, why wouldn’t he share a bed with her?

It had been a fake marriage from the start. Yet she had insisted on making it real, and even painted Cheng Liguo as heartless. In the end, she had ruined everything with her own hands.

“Can you promise me one thing? When Wang Ping comes out, will you take care of her a little?”

“No. For six years, everything Cheng Qiao had, she also had. And what did you do? You treated Cheng Qiao like a fool, registered her to go to the countryside while I was busy at work. Worst of all, you brainwashed her.”

Xia Fen fell silent. Denying it now was meaningless. Just as she was about to haggle again, Li Bing drew his gun from his holster and cocked it.

Xia Fen shuddered, quickly picked up the pen, signed her name, and pressed her red fingerprint. If she remained obstinate, this barren desert would become her grave.

“Take her to the next train headed to the Northwest farm. Guard her closely. When she truly realizes her mistakes, assign her the hardest labor.”

Two young soldiers appeared and hauled Xia Fen away. She glanced back at Cheng Liguo—seeing him holding the freshly issued divorce certificate, laughing with relief—her eyes flashed with hatred.

Cheng Liguo, however, felt utterly unburdened. Li Bing, delighted, pulled him along to his office, where there was a telephone.

“Uncle, why don’t you give Cheng Qiao a call?”

“Is that allowed?”

“It is.”

The phone rang. Li Huan quickly answered, and upon hearing a low unfamiliar male voice asking for Cheng Qiao, he instantly knew—it was his father-in-law.

“Dad—no, Father, this is Li Huan, your son-in-law.”

“Li Huan, thank you for treating my daughter well. Is Cheng Qiao there? I’d like to speak with her.”

“Qiao, your father’s on the line—come quickly.”

For the past few days, Cheng Qiao had been sitting in the village committee office with little Cheng Li in her arms, waiting. Li Bing had promised that once things were settled, he’d arrange a call with her father.

“Dad, it’s me. Are you well? How’s your health? Do you need anything? Are you short of money?”

Hearing her rapid-fire questions, Cheng Liguo’s nose stung, but he quickly steadied his voice and answered each one.

“Dad, did Xia Fen divorce you? Did she write a confession?”

“She did, she did. Never thought my old superior would step in to help.”

“Dad, I’ve taken a master—his name is Ye Jun.”

“So that’s it… Dad will wait for the day of freedom.”

“Dad, when you’re free, come here. We can talk like father and daughter again.”

“I know, Qiao. About Xia Fen… I’m sorry. But I swear, I’ve always been faithful to your mother.”

“Dad, I know. It’s all in the past now. You’re divorced—if you meet someone good, you should find a companion, someone to talk to.”

“Nonsense. I already have a grandson. I’ll just chat with him.”

“Dad, now you have two grandsons. One is nicknamed Goudan, his father’s surname is Chen. When you have time, give him a proper name.”

“What’s this about?”

“It’s too hard to explain over the phone. Next time I send supplies, I’ll write you a letter. By the way, what do you still need over there?”

“What do I need… cigarettes? We’re short of cigarettes and liquor here.”

Cheng Liguo noticed Li Bing quickly pull a pack of cigarettes from his drawer—so his superior was a smoker.

“All right, I’ve already secured three cartons. I’ll make it five to send you, along with five bottles of liquor. More than that, I really can’t manage.”

“Good. Take care of your health, watch over the children. Write a long letter—let me enjoy reading it.”

“Goodbye, Dad.”

“Goodbye, daughter.”

“Uncle, your daughte somehow has five cartons of cigarettes and five bottles of liquor. How about giving me two cartons and two bottles? I’ll pay you, since I don’t have ration tickets.”

Li Bing pulled out money from his pocket and stuffed it into Cheng Liguo’s hand. But Cheng Liguo laughed—he couldn’t take it. They were family; what money was there to talk about?

He stuffed the money back into Li Bing’s pocket, urging him instead to save for marriage. His younger brother already had a son—how could the elder brother not even have a wife?

At the mention of marriage, Li Bing smiled. He hadn’t seen Mei Li in two months. With today’s matters resolved, he decided to stop by the cultural troupe and see when the young girl might return.