Zhou Jinzhu watched the crowd, smiling: "What's going on? What's happened? Is there a performance coming?"
"Not a performance, your wife has died!"
Zhou Jinzhu was stunned and looked at everyone incredulously: "What did you say?"
"Your wife has died!"
"Yes, Sun Chan died from exhaustion while working in the field!"
Zhou Jinzhu was someone you couldn't mess with. Everyone used to keep their distance from him, not saying unpleasant things. But now that Sun Chan was dead, people couldn't hold back. Some were merely watching the spectacle, some expressed pent-up resentment, and some just thought the more dramatic the better, talking about how hard Sun Chan had it, how pitiful she was, dying tragically.
The implication also condemned Zhou Jinzhu. He felt no affection for Sun Chan; she was just a woman, a wild child by the well whose parents nobody knew. Plenty was paid for the bride price back then, and now that she's dead, so be it. Nothing to be done about it.
But with everyone talking like this, it made him feel ashamed: "Enough already! Shut your mouths! My wife wasn't young anymore, everyone faces life and death. Get out of here! Stop looking for trouble! Go, all of you!"
Zhou Jinzhu put on a stern face and drove everyone off, and they left unhappily.
Sun Chan stood on the sidelines, unable to move, only watching him from afar.
Feeling suddenly lonely, Zhou Jinzhu looked at the empty courtyard.
Soon though, he shook his head, forcing himself to reclaim the feeling. She's dead, just find another one.
The small courtyard was neatly maintained, corners planted with vegetables, clothes still wet from morning washing hung on the line. Zhou Jinzhu's parents always bullied Sun Chan but when they died, it was Sun Chan who handled the funeral as Zhou Jinzhu was out gambling and drinking, staying away for quite a time.
Upon returning home, his parents were already buried, and the village chief scolded him severely. In anger, he beat Sun Chan, accusing her of not taking care of his in-laws.
From that day, Sun Chan stopped speaking, her eyes dim, perhaps beginning her walk towards death, yet she persisted for the sake of the adopted son Liangliang.
Now that Sun Chan was dead, Liangliang hadn't returned. The child despised Zhou Jinzhu, having tried to help Sun Chan several times when she was bullied, but being too small, he was beaten. Sun Chan would hold him back, bearing the brunt herself.
Liangliang glared at him fiercely: "Someday, I'll get revenge!"
Zhou Jinzhu sneered: "Revenge? I feed you, you call me dad, you serve me!"
"You've done nothing! Mom did all the work in the house! You're just useless! Why should I serve you!"
In the end, in a fit of anger, Zhou Jinzhu beat him again, even Sun Chan couldn't stop it.
Now Sun Chan's life is over, and Liangliang is nowhere to be found. A boy not even ten, Zhou Jinzhu didn't care. Even if he returned, he wouldn't be cared for, he wasn't brought in by Zhou Jinzhu, his parents forced him to adopt before they died. Might as well sell him, boys get dealt with quickly nowadays!
Zhou Jinzhu didn't handle Sun Chan's funeral cause he's buried in debt, with nothing left, just bluffing.
Zhao Xiuxia and her daughter didn't bother either. Zhao Xiuxia said: "A married daughter is like spilled water, no longer part of our Sun Family, doesn't matter, I can't care."
Sun Lijuan was busy with her own affairs, of course, she would not care.
It was the elderly villagers who couldn't bear it, pooling money to get a thin coffin for burial.
Zhou Jinzhu had been out messing around for days, while Sun Chan's spirit hovered nearby, observing all this. She now understood that this was how things unfolded when she died in a previous life!
Sun Chan really didn't want to reminisce about this! She longed to return to reunite with her husband, avoiding such experiences, yet she had no choice, unable to control, only circling Zhou Jinzhu, watching events unfold.
Zhou Jinzhu finally returned home and went into the house, finding nothing to eat, growing irritable: "Sun Chan! What are you doing, cook for me! Are you looking for a beating?" He then remembered his wife was already dead.
He had no choice but to curse while lighting the stove. But while he was away, people had stolen almost everything from the yard. The vegetable garden was ruined, firewood gone.
He couldn't even cook, was not adept at lighting the stove, struggled with a few pieces of wood but couldn't get it working. Annoyed, he kicked it, and gave up, went to the shop to scrounge a bottle of white wine and some sausages on credit and went back to eat.
The store owner was displeased: "When are you going to pay back?"
He complained: "Once I harvest the crops in autumn, I'll have money to sell grains, won't I?"
The owner scoffed: "Not that I look down on you, have you worked the fields in years? Your wife is dead, who helps you now? The weeds in your fields are taller than the seedlings."
Zhou Jinzhu was annoyed, grabbed the items: "No matter what, I'll pay you then! Stop wasting breath!" He finished
and went home, cursing along the way: "Couldn't you have waited until after harvest to die? What's with this timing? Trying to kill me?"
Sun Chan was furious, raising her hand and striking a slap.
Zhou Jinzhu felt a burning pain on his face, startled, looking around — no one was there! How could this be?
He felt icy cold all over, was this haunting? He hurried off, glancing around, fleeing quickly.
Sun Chan regretted after hitting him, what's the point, if she said she didn't care, why hit him?
Her concern was now for Liangliang, such a poor child, barely ten and wandering. Would he run into trouble?
But she could only follow Zhou Jinzhu, powerless.
Zhou Jinzhu encountered Sun Lijuan while heading home. Sun Lijuan wore a stylish dress, looking pleased, seeing Zhou Jinzhu, wrinkled her brow, and went down another path. Such a useless man was beneath her notice.
Upon seeing Sun Lijuan, Zhou Jinzhu's eyes lit up, and he followed her.
"Hey beautiful, visiting your folks?"
"Hmm." She kept walking swiftly.
"I hear your family's land is to be requisitioned, the government will pay lots, right? Is there any for my family? Can I make money?"
Sun Lijuan looked at him disdainfully: "Pretty much, by this time next year."
"Oh, that's great," Zhou Jinzhu smiled, "when I get the money, how about I go to the city to find you?"
Sun Lijuan chuckled: "Sure! But I suspect, you won't make it to the city before blowing it all. Who doesn't know you?"