Chapter 66
After three days and three nights on the train, Ye Qingzhi felt a little dazed when she got off. Thinking of her cheap father, Ye Shuiping, she did not rest and prepared to go directly back to the commune.
But it was already past three in the afternoon, and there was no bus back to the village. He Qiming had Ye Qingzhi wait by the roadside with the children while he went to find a car to take them back.
After about half an hour, a small car stopped in front of them, and He Qiming got out.
The driver’s door opened right after, and a chubby man got out. He was all smiles and enthusiastically came over to help with the luggage.
“Hello, Sister-in-law. I’m Old He’s classmate. You can just call me Gangzi,” Li Gang said, looking at He Jingyan and He Jingyang, who had grown a lot taller. “Are these Jingyan and Yangyang? I haven’t seen you in over a year. You’ve grown so much! Are these Anmin and Anjie? They look like you, Sister-in-law. They’ll surely charm a lot of little girls in the future.”
“So much nonsense. Hurry up and move the things,” He Qiming said, patting his shoulder hard.
Li Gang rolled his eyes. He had just said a few more words to his wife. Was it necessary?
“Hello. Thank you for your trouble today,” Ye Qingzhi said, waiting for the three older ones to call him “Uncle.” She patted Yangyang. “Call him ‘Uncle’.”
“Hello, Uncle,” Yangyang said obediently.
“Good, good. You’re all good children,” Li Gang said, bending down to pinch Yangyang’s small cheek. “Sister-in-law, hurry up and get in the car. It’ll be hard to drive when it gets dark.”
Li Gang was He Qiming’s classmate and also a very good friend. He was the one who had helped He Qiming inquire at the hospital last time, so he knew why He Qiming and his wife were in such a hurry to come back.
“Sister-in-law, your dad passed away at eight that night. Your mother and your few brothers took him home overnight. I asked around. The funeral was yesterday,” Li Gang said in a low voice.
Beside her, He Qiming held Ye Qingzhi’s hand. “Don’t be sad.”
Since they had already rushed back from thousands of miles away, how could they go to the Ye family looking neat and clean?
“Qiming, I want to go to Daye Village now, and the four children too,” she said. They had to go looking travel-worn and in a grand procession, so that everyone would know.
“Alright,” He Qiming said. He instantly understood Ye Qingzhi’s meaning. After a word with Gangzi, they went directly to Daye Village.
It took more than two hours to drive to Daye Village. It was almost six when they arrived, just when the villagers had finished dinner and were out for a walk and a chat.
“Oh, where did this small car come from?” an old man asked, his hands behind his back. Seeing the small car drive in, he peeked over curiously.
“Yes, do we have someone in our village who drives a small car?” another old man asked, equally curious.
“Gangzi, just stop here. Thanks for today. I’ll have to trouble you to come and pick us up again tomorrow,” He Qiming said, thanking him. He got out from the front passenger seat, turned to open the back door, and let Ye Qingzhi and the children out.
Li Gang got out of the driver’s seat. “Why are you thanking me? Where is your father-in-law’s house? I’ll help you carry the luggage over.”
“No need. We don’t have much. We can do it ourselves. You should hurry back. The mountain road is not easy to drive at night,” He Qiming said, patting Li Gang’s shoulder. “With our relationship, I won’t be polite with you.”
Li Gang nodded, greeted Ye Qingzhi, and drove away.
“Who are you? What are you doing in our village?” an older woman asked, coming forward.
Ye Qingzhi looked up and searched the original host’s memories. She seemed to be the original host’s grandaunt.
“Grandaunt, it’s me, Qingzhi. This is my husband, He Qiming. These are our children,” Ye Qingzhi said, as if she had thought of something. Her eyes reddened, and she said in a choked voice, “I received a telegram from Auntie Ye at the base and knew that my dad was in trouble. My Qiming immediately asked for leave, and we traveled for four days and four nights to get home. Grandaunt, my dad… he… how is he?”
“Oh my, you’re Qingzhi? I haven’t seen you in so many years. You’ve changed so much I can’t even recognize you,” the grandaunt exclaimed, instantly attracting everyone else.
“Is this Qingzhi? She has changed a lot, younger and more beautiful. I heard you remarried a regiment commander. Is this Regiment Commander He? Oh my, what a fine-looking man. He and our Qingzhi are a perfect match, a match made in heaven,” Second Aunt came over.
“Is it really Qingzhi? She has changed a lot. If you hadn’t said it yourself, we really wouldn’t have recognized you,” Second Aunt squeezed out from the crowd and even took Ye Qingzhi’s hand. She touched her fair and tender hand. She had really become an official’s wife. Look at how tender her hand was. It didn’t look like someone who had worked.
The grandaunt was not happy to be pushed aside by Second Aunt. She immediately pushed her aside and held Ye Qingzhi’s other hand. “Qingzhi, your dad has already passed away. The funeral was yesterday. We all went to send him off. Don’t be too sad. It’s normal for you not to be able to make it back from the Northwest.”
Thinking of Ye Shuiping, everyone did not feel it was appropriate to continue to get close to Ye Qingzhi and the others.
Second Aunt wiped her eyes. “Those animals from Fangtian Village, relying on the fact that they are upstream, they always cut off our village’s irrigation water. But without irrigation water, the rice won’t grow. Without grain, we will starve. We really had no choice. Who would have thought they would be so ruthless, to directly hit your dad’s head with a hoe?”
“Yes, Qingzhi, you don’t know yet, do you? Your dad is already gone, and those people from Fangtian Village are still slandering him, saying that your dad started it, and they were just fighting back. They also said that the injury on your dad’s head was not from them at all, but from our own villagers. Qingzhi, your dad died a wrongful death!” Granduncle popped out from somewhere.
Nearly a hundred people were in a group fight that day. It was a chaotic mess. To be honest, it was really hard to find out who had done it.
Of course, if they investigated carefully, it was not impossible to find out. But for this kind of villager group fight, the cadres of the commune and the police station in the city would mostly not investigate strictly.
But this time, the situation was different. Not only had someone died, but the deceased also had a deputy regiment commander as a son-in-law.
Even if Ye Qingzhi was not close to Ye Shuiping and had not even notified her parents’ family of her marriage, they were still father and daughter. And as a son-in-law, would He Qiming really sit by and watch?
A deputy regiment commander was not much in the army, but in a small county town like theirs, he was already very powerful.
So after Ye Shuiping was sent to the hospital, the city had sent a few policemen to see him and had also gone to the village to investigate. The whole thing was made to look very grand.
But since He Qiming and Ye Qingzhi had not come back this time, it was probably just a formality, and the matter would be left unresolved.
Now that they were back, the situation would be different.
Second Uncle was the village accountant, and Granduncle was a party member. They often went to the commune for meetings, so they understood the deep meaning behind it.
Seeing He Qiming come back with Ye Qingzhi, they were all very happy. They had to take this opportunity to use He Qiming’s hand to suppress Fangtian Village.
Ye Qingzhi frowned. Many things could not be said clearly on the phone. She really did not know about these situations.
“Who started it? And those people from Fangtian Village who were fighting, how did the police handle them?” He Qiming asked.
Second Uncle’s eyes lit up. To be able to ask questions meant that he was willing to get involved. This was a good thing.
“Fangtian Village cut off our village’s irrigation water. We really had no choice but to go and find them. The people from Fangtian Village were all arrested by the police, but they all denied hitting Qingzhi’s dad. If we can’t find any evidence, they will definitely be released in a few more days. Sigh, Regiment Commander He, Qingzhi’s dad died so young after being beaten to death. It was a real wrongful death. He is your father-in-law. You can’t let him die in vain.”
Ding Aixian and Ye Qingshan and the others, who had rushed over at the sound of the voice, saw Ye Qingzhi, He Qiming, and the others surrounded by the villagers and wailed.
“Old Ye, Qingzhi is finally back. You wanted to see her before you died. She’s finally back. Open your eyes and see!”
Hearing Ding Aixian’s piercing cries, Ye Qingzhi felt a tightness in her chest. She clutched her chest and leaned against He Qiming, sobbing, “Dad, your unfilial daughter is back. Why did you just leave like this? I didn’t even get to see you one last time. Dad, I didn’t even attend your funeral. I’m so unfilial!”
Second Aunt held one of Ye Qingzhi’s hands and patted her arm to comfort her. “You can’t be blamed for this. Who would have known such a disaster would happen? You’re far away. It’s already not easy for you to come back so quickly.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Everyone knows you’ve joined the army in the Northwest and have rushed back as fast as you can. Sigh, the heavens were not kind. It’s been sunny these few days, so the body couldn’t be kept. Otherwise, we would have kept it for a few more days and had the funeral after you came back to see him,” Second Aunt said, patting the back of Ye Qingzhi’s hand with pity.
Just then, Ding Aixian came to Ye Qingzhi with a few children. Seeing that Second Aunt and Second Aunt were holding Ye Qingzhi’s hands from both sides, she snorted coldly in her heart. To be so attentive for no reason is either to be a traitor or a thief. Does she think I don’t know? They want to get close to her son-in-law through Qingzhi. Pfft, in their dreams.
She went forward and pulled their hands away from Ye Qingzhi, then pulled Ye Qingzhi into her own arms and hugged her tightly.
“Qingzhi, you’re finally back. Your dad died a tragic death. He was so young, and he was beaten to death. Qingzhi, why did your dad die just like that? What will I do in the future? Old Ye, why did you just leave like that? Qingzhi, my life is so bitter. I’ve worked so hard to raise you siblings, and just as I was about to enjoy my life, your dad was beaten to death. Old Ye, you should take me with you. Without you in this family, what will we do in the future~~”
Seeing her cheap mother putting on a big show, Ye Qingzhi steeled her heart, closed her eyes, and cried even louder than her. “Dad, why did you just leave like that? Look how sad Ma is. She even wants to go with you.”
Ding Aixian’s cries stopped for a moment. This damn girl, she was just saying it. Who wanted to go down with that damn ghost?
Suddenly, she felt a chill down her back. It would be the seventh day soon, the night of the return of the soul. Old Ye wouldn’t really come for her, would he?
Ding Aixian pushed Ye Qingzhi away and looked around in fear. Seeing that there were so many people, her courage suddenly grew.
She blew her nose, wiped it on her clothes, and was about to hug Ye Qingzhi again, which scared Ye Qingzhi back a step.
Her dirty hand that had just blown her nose, she must not touch her.
“Little Zhi, didn’t I call you? Your brother-in-law is busy in the army. It’s not easy for you to come back. You don’t have to rush back,” Ye Qingshan said, holding Ding Aixian and looking at Ye Qingzhi.
Without an explanation, the villagers would think that they hadn’t notified Ye Qingzhi and had let her miss her father’s funeral, which would have become their problem in the end.
“Dad has passed away. How can I, as a daughter, not come back?” Ye Qingzhi wiped her tears. “It’s already dark. Let’s go home first. The children have been on the road for several days and haven’t had dinner yet.”
“Yes, let’s go home first. The children must be starving,” Ye Qingshan’s wife, Wang Guqiu, said quickly.
Seeing this, Ye Qingfeng and his wife were annoyed. How could they have been beaten to it by their older sister-in-law? The two of them quickly went forward to help with the luggage.
“Brother-in-law, I’m Little Zhi’s second older brother, Ye Qingfeng. You must be tired after traveling for several days, right? Let’s go, let’s go home first. I’ll have my wife make you some noodles,” Ye Qingfeng said, his tone a little fawning.
Ye Qingzhi acted as if she was too sad to walk. He Qiming also cooperated and supported her. The few children followed behind obediently.
Second Aunt looked at their backs and sighed with emotion, “Qingzhi has always been very filial. It’s a pity that Shuiping and his wife are too biased towards their sons and don’t treat their daughter as a person.”
The grandaunt nodded. “That’s right. Qingzhi is such a good child, honest and hardworking. I didn’t expect her to be so beautiful now. Although she was good-looking before, she wasn’t so radiant, was she?”
“She couldn’t even eat her fill before. She was as thin as a grasshopper, and her face was sallow. Of course, she wasn’t good-looking. But now it’s different. She’s a regiment commander’s wife. In the past, she would have been an official’s wife. Hey, I heard that a regiment commander’s salary is over a hundred a month,” Second Aunt said in a low voice.
Everyone exclaimed in amazement. Over a hundred a month, how could they spend it all?
“Not only is his salary high, but he’s also good-looking, more handsome than a movie star. And that waist, tsk, tsk, that girl Qingzhi is lucky,” the grandaunt suddenly changed the subject.
“Alright, alright. Shuiping has just passed away. What are you gossiping about? Hurry up and go back,” Granduncle said, waving his hand.
Meanwhile, as soon as Ye Qingzhi and the others entered the house, Ding Aixian started to question them.
“Qingzhi, why didn’t you tell us about such a big thing as your remarriage?”
“A married daughter is like spilled water. You said it yourselves back then. You told me not to look for you even if I died. And when Wei Jiancheng’s funeral was held, I notified you, but none of you came. Then why should I notify you when I remarry?” Ye Qingzhi asked, standing next to He Qiming, her tone indifferent.
“You…” Ding Aixian almost cursed out loud. Seeing He Qiming next to Ye Qingzhi, she swallowed her words. “You must be tired after traveling for so long. Rest for a while. I’ll go and make you some noodles.”
“Ma, no need for you. You and Fourth Sister haven’t seen each other for so long. You must have a lot to talk about. I’ll go,” Wang Guqiu said, speaking before the second son and his wife again, which angered them to death.
Ye Qingzhi clutched her head. “I’m not feeling well. Is there a bed for us to sleep in? We have to stay here for a night. We’ll go to my dad’s grave tomorrow morning.”
Ding Aixian and her son and daughter-in-law exchanged a look. There was only one bed in the house. Ye Qingzhi and her husband with four children would definitely not be able to sleep.
“You also know the situation at home. How about this, your third uncle’s house is newly built and has an extra room. You can stay there for a night tonight. Guqiu, you go and cook the noodles. I’ll go and talk to your third uncle,” Ding Aixian said, then turned and left in a hurry.