By the time Yang PeiMin had fetched water to the dormitory and finished cleaning the floor, Luo Dahua came looking for her again to continue talking about the situation downstairs.
"The men from the two families just came back, so things have finally quieted down for a bit."
Yang PeiMin nodded. In the military camp, every Military Wife was conscious of the fact that their own words and deeds could also potentially affect their husbands. Even Mrs. Shen, who hadn’t been at the base for long, fell in line after her son’s repeated persuasions. No matter how fierce the quarrel got, the moment they saw their own men, they would calm down immediately.
She was just a bit curious about Gao Hong and had no idea whether she had been in the room at that time because she hadn’t seen her there earlier.
Right after Luo Dahua mentioned things had quieted down, she started talking about Gao Hong again, "I wonder where she went? Everyone said they didn’t see her leave, so she’s probably still in the room. You know, with all this commotion, it wasn’t even her business, but she got dragged into it. How is she going to face anyone in the future?"
Yang PeiMin also felt that Kong Ya was out of line, but she didn’t know what to say about Gao Hong. People of that era should be more reserved and conservative than modern-day people—that was supposed to be the case. Even she found the situation unthinkable and had no idea what Gao Hong was thinking.
When Luo Dahua mentioned Gao Hong, her face showed the same disdain as most others had earlier, "How could she be so... right, sister-in-law, is what Kong Ya said true? Did you hear anything back then?"
Yang PeiMin shook her head, "No, I didn’t."
It seemed that with such sensational gossip, many people had become as excited as if they had been injected with adrenaline, including Luo Dahua. She continued, "She doesn’t look like that kind of person, but Kong Ya described everything so vividly; I was surprised. Now that I think about it, before Camp Commander Shen moved here, the sister-in-law of Lian family used to live there. They were neighbors for half a year, but outside, I never heard the sister-in-law of Lian family speak a word to Gao Hong. Even if they were brought up together over some matter, she would find a way to keep her distance as if she had touched something filthy. Some people discreetly asked her if Gao Hong was young and inexperienced and had offended her. The sister-in-law of the Lian family just shook her head and said no, yet she got along well with the other Military Wives."
"Thinking about it now, I reckon it must be because of this. And truly, having such a neighbor is quite unlucky. Good thing the sister-in-law of the Lian family was decent enough not to spread this around. This kind of shameless event, even we married women feel embarrassed just hearing it; it’s as if she’s never seen a man before!"
Yang PeiMin felt that Gao Hong’s behavior was somewhat improper. Knowing that these houses didn’t have great sound insulation and that at night, everything would be amplified several times over, it would be strange if others hadn’t heard. But she hadn’t broken the law; what she did as a wife was normal and shouldn’t be subject to such harsh criticism.
"It’s hard to say; we’ve only heard Sister-in-law Kong’s side of the story. After all, the two families were still arguing, maybe one or two nights some noise came out, and she happened to hear it. Now that she’s angry, she might just seize on that to talk about it," Yang PeiMin said.
Luo Dahua shook her head, "But Kong Ya wouldn’t go so far as to harm Gao Hong, would she? After all, her dispute is with Mrs. Cui, not with Gao Hong. To bring her up like that for no reason, that really is malicious. I think it must be true. She must have been upset after hearing that noise, and now that she’s been angered by Mrs. Cui, she’s not holding back."
Yang PeiMin looked at Luo Dahua, and the way she analyzed the situation was indeed reasonable and sensible, leaving her at a loss for words.
She sighed silently, "I guess Gao Hong will be afraid to go out now, huh? With her personality, I don’t know if she can take it. After all, she didn’t actually do anything illegal, and now it’s being spread around the whole compound..."
Luo Dahua glanced at her and also sighed, "Sister-in-law, you have a kind heart. I think when people do something, they should have a sense of propriety, not to cross the baseline. But since it’s done, they should think about the consequences. Maybe if they suffer a loss, they’ll learn from it and become more sensible in the future."
As they were speaking, suddenly a commotion erupted below, and people were shouting loudly, "Someone’s dead... someone’s dead..." The voices were high-pitched, frantic, and urgent...
Yang Peimin was also startled by the sudden noise, exchanging a frightened look with Luo Dahua, who was equally alarmed. They hastily helped each other to their feet, and she said, "Let’s go down and see..."
Luo Dahua had already hurried out, "I’m going to check on my children."
Yang Peimin quickly followed her, not knowing if the children were frightened.
At the second-floor staircase, they ran into a Red Army wife, who whispered to them, "I heard Gao Hong hanged herself."
Yang Peimin felt her heart pounding like a drum. Anxiously, she asked, "Did they save her?" After speaking, she instinctively glanced at Luo Dahua, and when their eyes met again, Luo Dahua too had a look of panic.
The Red Army wife shook her head at them, "I only heard someone shouting from downstairs; I don’t know what happened. You sisters watch the children and don’t go down. I’ll go to see what’s happening and come back to tell you."
Yang Peimin and Luo Dahua nodded.
The Red Army wife hurried off.
Yang Peimin then took the Red Army wife’s two little boys to Luo Dahua’s room so that all the children could be together, which would prevent them from running around.
At the moment, she still felt her heart wildly pounding. It was her first time hearing news of death from so close. Though they had not said Gao Hong was dead, the thought of her hanging herself still shocked her deeply.
Luo Dahua recovered a bit and seeing Yang Peimin’s state of shock, tried to comfort her, "It’s okay, since no such news has come, it means she’s fine." She paused, sighed, and then said, "I didn’t expect her to really be so desperate..."
She seemed to be showing some regret, realizing that it was one thing to talk but quite another when a life was actually at stake.
Yang Peimin thought about Gao Hong’s usually quiet temperament and how she could indeed be driven to commit suicide...
The two of them stopped talking and waited for news from below.
It seemed like half an hour later that the Red Army wife came back upstairs and told them, "She’s not dead, she’s been taken to the infirmary."
Yang Peimin and Luo Dahua finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Red Army wife sat down beside them and let out a sigh, "What a sin. Gao Hong ran to the small woods at the back to hang herself. She got beaten and scolded by Mrs. Cui at home. I just took a glance from afar, and she still had a bloodied gash on her forehead. They said Mrs. Cui hit her with the corner of a chair. She probably couldn’t take it anymore and ran out. Mrs. Cui didn’t have the strength to chase after her because of the fight they had just had... It was Wang Family’s boy who went to pee there and found her, scared out of his wits... Mrs. Cui caused a scene again just now, outright saying Sister-in-law Kong and Sister-in-law Lian caused her daughter-in-law’s trouble and demanded money and all..."