14
After Chu Thư Ngôn and I divorced, Ôn Như Ngọc moved into the house.
At first, everyone was very pleased.
Chu Thư Ngôn got to be with the woman of his dreams, just as he’d always wanted, and Chu Vũ Kiệt thought Ôn Như Ngọc was considerate.
What’s more, with a housekeeper to care for his mother and do the housework, everyone was happy to dote on the ethereal “fairy” Ôn Như Ngọc, untouched by the world.
Everything had been going well, but then Ôn Như Ngọc started making things difficult for the housekeeper. She insisted that tea be brewed with morning dew and rice cooked with spring water. She even forbade the housekeeper from using the bathroom inside the house… Eventually, the housekeeper got so angry she quit.
Every housekeeper they hired was driven away by Ôn Như Ngọc, but his mother couldn’t do without someone to care for her. Relying on Ôn Như Ngọc was out of the question. Aside from putting on an act at first, she wouldn’t even set foot in his mother’s room.
Left with no choice, Chu Thư Ngôn had to take care of her himself every day.
He got up early to make breakfast, rushed home at lunchtime after work to make his mother’s lunch and change her diaper, then had to make dinner, wash her, and change her clothes when he got home at night.
He was busy all day and utterly exhausted.
Not knowing the whole story, Chu Vũ Kiệt asked Ôn Như Ngọc to help pick up and drop off Thanh Thanh. Ôn Như Ngọc smiled and agreed.
Who would’ve thought that one day his daughter-in-law would come home early and discover Ôn Như Ngọc hadn’t gone to pick up Thanh Thanh?
Ôn Như Ngọc declared with complete confidence:
“Four in the afternoon is the perfect time to nourish your energy and work on your health. Don’t worry, Auntie paid someone to pick her up.”
But how could anyone feel at ease when a stranger came to pick her up and drop her off every day?
Besides, I’d taken more than half of Chu Thư Ngôn’s money in the divorce. I couldn’t let her spend it like this.
Chu Vũ Kiệt complained even when I spent money, let alone over an “unnecessary” expense like this.
And so the fairy’s halo shattered.
He started missing his “free housekeeper”—me.
15
Chu Vũ Kiệt came to beg my forgiveness again and again, but I sent him away without mercy every time.
I had more important things to do. I didn’t have time to deal with him.
Earlier, I’d posted my grandmother’s story online, and it had made quite a splash. Several publishers had even contacted me.
After discussing it with Grandma, I traveled all over the country, doing my best to get in touch with surviving veterans.
Sadly, many of the old folks had already passed away, so I could only write their stories based on what their descendants told me.
When I discussed publication with the editor, she asked whether I wanted to use a pen name.
I said there was no need—we could use my real name.
Chu Thư Ngôn thought I knew nothing about literature, but he’d forgotten that I’d once placed first on the entrance exam for the Chinese Literature Department.
The Chinese Literature Department doesn’t train writers, but the elders’ stories didn’t need fancy technique. Their truth had a weight all its own.
The book was soon published without a hitch, and in no time it was famous all over the internet.
【Respect! The old society bound their feet, but it couldn’t imprison their will to pursue freedom and independence.】
【Thank you, author. I’d never known about this period of history before.】
【They worked so hard, walking a hundred thousand miles on their tiny feet, so that many women wouldn’t have to keep walking on tiny feet.】
Chu Thư Ngôn and Chu Vũ Kiệt soon found out that I’d published a book about Grandma and her fellow soldiers.
They came to my door looking pale, the book in their hands, still unable to quite believe it:
“How can this be… How could Grandma have been a veteran?”
“Thanh Tang, I had no idea you could write so well…”
With Grandma’s permission, I took out the paint-chipped mooncake tin.
The military merit medals lay silent inside. Sunlight fell on them, and the reflected gleam momentarily dazzled them.
Chu Thư Ngôn’s eyes reddened as he remembered how he’d once looked down on and insulted Grandma in front of me. His lips moved, but in the end he could only manage one sentence:
“I’m sorry…”
I said coolly, “I’m not the one you should apologize to. It’s my grandmother.”
Watching Chu Thư Ngôn and Chu Vũ Kiệt bow their heads in shame, I enunciated every word:
“You think they were ignorant and backward. But it was their unyielding spirit and their struggle that won us the laughter and freedom we have today.”
Chu Thư Ngôn left in a daze.
I knew what he was thinking.
He’d looked down on me, thinking I was just an ordinary housewife. He hadn’t expected me to publish a book, while the poems and essays he submitted in his spare time all came back rejected.
He’d also looked down on Grandma, thinking she was a remnant of the feudal era. He hadn’t expected her to be a decorated veteran. If she hadn’t kept her identity hidden back then, she might have risen even higher than he had.
He couldn’t bear being surpassed by a country woman he’d always looked down on.
But I didn’t see the crafty glint that flashed in his eyes just before he left.
16
One morning, Grandma woke up and said the mooncake tin was missing.
Grandma and I searched the whole house, but couldn’t find it.
Then I suddenly remembered that Chu Thư Ngôn had brought the whole family over the previous weekend.
For Thanh Thanh’s sake, Grandma and I hadn’t turned them away.
When they left, Chu Vũ Kiệt carried a pile of clothes, sneaked into the car, and drove off.
I hadn’t paid attention at the time.
I’d never imagined they would use Thanh Thanh to work together to steal Grandma’s military merit medals!
My anger flared like a raging fire.
Chu Vũ Kiệt had said Chu Thư Ngôn was at a critical point in his promotion, and all the candidates were equally qualified.
In that situation, what if his family had a centenarian veteran with a distinguished record of service?
Grandma’s military merit medals had become an invisible asset for him.
How could he…
He looked down on Grandma’s bound feet, yet clung to her to leech off her accomplishments.
How dare he!
Grandma and I stormed over to Chu Thư Ngôn’s office. As soon as we got close, we heard Chu Thư Ngôn’s voice:
“My grandmother fought for our country and earned countless honors, but she’s always been indifferent to fame and fortune. I’ve always admired her greatly.”
“It’s just that the old lady doesn’t have much time left. She’s always supported my work, so she wants to know if she can donate them to our Hall of Honor. They’d surely become a legend…”
At home, the man who always had the final say faced someone more powerful than himself outside and fawned over him like a dog.
I knocked hard on the door twice, and everyone in the office turned to look at me.
Among them was a familiar face—the man who had mocked Grandma outside the hotel last time.
Chu Thư Ngôn bent slightly toward his displeased superior, but someone else spoke up first:
“Who are you? What are you doing here?”
I smiled. “We’ve come to take back what belongs to us.”
Chu Thư Ngôn clutched the mooncake tin, his face deathly pale.
“Chu Thư Ngôn, why did you steal my grandmother’s military merit medals?”
His lips trembled as he looked at Grandma, his eyes pleading.
“Grandma gave them to me…”
I cut him off. “We’re divorced. She’s not your grandmother.”
The office erupted in whispers.
Leaning on me for support, Grandma staggered over to Chu Thư Ngôn and began pinning the military merit medals onto his clothes one by one.
Today, she had deliberately dressed in her finest clothes.
“You cheated for twenty years, and Thanh Tang didn’t want to hold it against you. I never imagined you’d stoop to stealing, too.”
“I’m just a useless old woman, but I have to stand up for my Thanh Tang and see that she gets justice.”
“I’m going to ask the police what the punishment is for stealing a veteran’s military merit medals.”
Grandma glanced around the office, waved her hand, and turned to leave.
The senior leader’s face had gone pale, too.
The leader glared at Chu Thư Ngôn, repeatedly insisting he truly knew nothing about it and promising to deal with Chu Thư Ngôn severely.
Chu Thư Ngôn stood there, at a loss. Not far away, the middle-aged man who had once mocked Grandma as a “remnant of the feudal era” had gone pale, too.
I knew Chu Thư Ngôn’s career was over for good.
17
After the leader respectfully escorted Grandma and me out, Chu Thư Ngôn came after us.
“Lâm Thanh Tang! You people are vicious! I spent thirty years working my way up to this position, and you’ve ruined it all!”
Now that things had come to this, Chu Thư Ngôn no longer cared about appearances or pretending. He recklessly vented his anger at us.
I sneered. “If you hadn’t stolen them, we could’ve divorced peacefully. How would any of this have happened?”
Chu Thư Ngôn sneered:
“If these military merit medals were in my hands, I could put them to far better use instead of leaving them in some shabby, dusty box!”
“You women know how to hoard treasures, but not how to use them. As expected, a woman’s place is at home, cooking, cleaning, and serving her husband for life!”
“Lâm Thanh Tang, you used to claim you were the perfect wife and mother in front of me. So what? You never once mentioned anything that could’ve helped my career all these years!”
I slapped him across the face, my chest heaving.
But Grandma didn’t even spare him a glance. She pulled me away.
She said calmly, “When you chose to be a full-time homemaker, I warned you.”