“Old Kang, don't just bluster here. Everything in this world comes down to one principle. If you want this job, then properly bury my brother-in-law and his family. If you don't, just say the word, and we'll handle it our own way!”
Su Laoda, understanding his son’s intention, immediately chimed in to support him. His words were full of confidence.
Although Kang Rende was not a good person, he had a job; the living were cared for, and the dead were buried. The Kang family was being too greedy. They surely knew this, yet they still wanted the Su family to fork over a sum of money. Having met so many people, they had never encountered such an unreasonable family; they were truly shameless, utterly shameless!
“What do you mean by that? Can that job be named after someone else?” Kang Renxian retorted, his neck stiff.
Su Laoda let out a cold snort and remained silent.
Kang Renxian, perhaps thinking of something, suddenly spoke, “Don’t tell me your family has also set your sights on my third brother’s job?” As he said this, Kang Renxian felt even more convinced that he had stumbled upon the truth.
Even the usually good-tempered members of the Su family were angered to the point of spitting blood by the Kang family’s shameless behavior. Grandpa Su’s face turned ashen.
“Our Su family is not so shameless!”
Su Xiaotian leaned closely against Grandpa Su, using her small body to support him, and whispered comfortingly, “Grandpa, don’t be too sad. Don’t let them upset you. Tiantian is scared!”
Indeed, Grandpa Su calmed down considerably due to his granddaughter’s soft murmurs. He said wearily, “Laoda, leave this matter to you. Your mother is not well, I’ll take her back first…”
He had seen his daughter for the last time, but Grandpa Su felt it would have been better not to have come. This meeting had only increased his sorrow! These people from the Kang family were truly despicable!
“You can’t just leave like this…” Kang Renxian hurried to stop them, giving Kang Zhao a meaningful look.
Kang Zhao also quickly stepped forward to block Grandpa Su from leaving. It was a joke; they hadn’t gotten the money yet, how could they let them leave? Although Kang Rende had some funeral expenses, there was this whole family to consider, and even just the coffin boards would cost a lot.
Grandpa Su glared furiously at the Kang family, about to start an argument, when Grandma Su suddenly woke up. Seeing the bodies lying haphazardly on the ground, her maternal instincts kicked in. She slowly walked step by step towards the body that was presumed to be Su Manxiang. The bodies were all scorched, making identification difficult, only a general outline could be discerned. Grandma Su was sure it was Su Manxiang because it was the most robust body.
“Xiang’er, how could you leave your mother behind?” Grandma Su squatted beside the daughter whose original appearance was unrecognizable, weeping softly.
“Mother, please don’t be like this. Xiang’er has already passed. Let’s not disturb her peace, okay?” Su Manxiu, with tears in her eyes, tried to persuade her. As a daughter, she was the most suitable person to advise Grandma Su.
Liang Xiu couldn’t bear to look at Su Manxiang’s gruesome remains any longer and turned her head away. However, at that very moment, Liang Xiu noticed something amiss. Not far away, two people lay embracing each other, and judging by their size, it was a man and a woman. She suspected it was the elder Kang couple, but upon closer inspection, she realized it wasn’t. The woman’s abdomen was slightly protruding, making her look pregnant. They were clear about the members of Kang Rende’s family; who was this woman? Liang Xiu instinctively counted, and indeed, there was an extra person! What was going on? Liang Xiu suddenly stood up. She walked a few steps to the two embracing corpses and stared intently, forgetting her fear.
Seeing his wife suddenly walk towards the two corpses, Su Laosan also hurried over. “Wife, what’s wrong?” Su Laosan asked.
“What’s the situation with these two people?” Liang Xiu couldn’t bear to think about it.
“Is this Kang Rende?” Su Laosan asked, suppressing his anger after a glance. His cold gaze swept across the scene, making all the members of the elder Kang family shiver. Not only the Kang family but also the onlookers were stunned.
Soon, before the elder Kang family could speak, someone familiar with the Kang family spoke. “There’s an extra person!”
“Could it be that the young widow is really at Old Kang’s place?”
“Who knows? Kang Rende isn’t even hiding it anymore.”
“This… it should be, right!” Kang Renxian’s tone was somewhat off as he answered. He knew, of course, that this was Kang Rende. He also knew that the pregnant woman who died while being protected by Kang Rende was the widow Kang Rende had been having an affair with. This widow had previously lived outside, and on New Year’s Eve, she had moved into Kang Rende’s home. Of course, it was not publicly stated that she was Kang Rende’s mistress; instead, she was introduced as Kang Mu’s distant niece, whose husband had died and had come to seek refuge with relatives.
The Su family members understood everything now.
“Good for you, Old Kang family, bullying our Su family as if we are all dead?” Even though Su Laosan was not prone to outbursts, he was utterly enraged at this moment. Not to mention Su Lao’er, who had always been hot-tempered; his eyes were already red, and he glared at Kang Renxian as if he wanted to devour him.
“Kang Rende, you son of a bitch!” Su Lao’er cursed, and feeling it wasn't enough, he rushed forward to desecrate the body.
Grandma Su, who had been about to say a few words to her daughter, was suddenly confronted with this scene. She looked at Su Manxiu, then at the two figures tightly embracing, and suddenly felt it was so heart-wrenching! She had felt unbearable pain back then, let alone Manxiang witnessing this scene before her death.
“My ill-fated daughter…” Grandma Su’s suppressed cries finally intensified.
“Mother, please don’t cry. Xiang’er will not rest in peace if she sees you like this!” Su Manxiu supported Grandma Su, her eyes filled with tears. The scene before her reminded her of her own past. Wang Gouzi had also protected another woman in the same way. Why were both sisters so unfortunate in life, encountering men worse than beasts? She still had a chance to start over, so why had Manxiang passed away like this?
After crying for a while, Grandma Su’s anger and grievances were mostly vented. She wiped away her tears. Now was not the time to cry; crying would not solve anything. She could not let her daughter die feeling wronged.
“Laoda, I’ll make the decision. Let your sister divorce Kang Rende!” Clearly, no one around expected Grandma Su to say such a thing, including the Su family members. The person was already dead, how could they divorce?
“Mother, Manxiang…” Su Lao’er tried to remind his mother that their sister was no longer alive.
“Kang Rende is not human, to humiliate my daughter like this. Even in death, I won’t let her be a ghost of the Kang family!” Grandma Su said word by word, gritting her teeth. She and Grandpa Su had encountered Kang Rende and the young widow together in town before, and she had argued with Kang Rende at that time. She never expected that these two would insult Manxiang like this even in death. She wondered how Manxiang had endured it!
“Mother…” Su Manxiu called out softly. She felt that Manxiang’s not returning to her maiden home under such circumstances was probably because she didn’t want to give up her home to others. Perhaps she herself was truly willing to be a ghost of the Kang family. In this world, there were not many women who could divorce and find freedom.
“They’re both gone, why care about these things?” Grandma Su, at this moment, seemed to have aged several years.
Su Xiaotian walked over and stood beside Grandma Su, saying, “Auntie, just listen to Grandma! Kang Rende doesn’t deserve it!” Su Shouwen also immediately expressed his agreement. With these two in agreement, the other members of the Su family quickly came to their senses.
“I must report this to the commune. The Old Kang family is defying the law, openly taking a concubine. They are bullying us, thinking the state law cannot touch them!” Grandma Su, in her extreme grief, could not shed a single tear, only hatred remained in her eyes. She hated herself for not helping Manxiang over the years; she hated that she had been blind back then and married Manxiang to someone like Kang Rende; and she hated Kang Rende, that shameless scoundrel!
When Grandma Su said this, even the shameless Kang family members were startled. How did it escalate to defying the law? Moreover, at most, it was just an affair, how could it be called taking a concubine?
“In-laws, you can’t say that…”
“What you’ve done, we’re not allowed to say?” Liang Xiu retorted indignantly.
The Su brothers were even more furious. When Su Manxiu had had trouble before, they could at least vent their anger. But now, the entire Kang family, old and young, was gone, and even their house had burned down. They had nowhere to direct their anger.
“Actually, they didn’t do anything. This woman is not what you think; she’s just my sister-in-law’s distant niece, come to seek refuge with relatives,” Kang Zhao, at Kang Renxian’s signal, quickly explained. But as he spoke, he himself felt his words lacked conviction, and he even cast a look of disdain at Kang Rende. This beast, even in death, couldn’t let everyone rest.
“Your old man was kind to everyone his whole life and never lied. Before the New Year, my wife and I came to town, and we saw these two scoundrels being intimate!” Grandpa Su finished speaking, tears streaming down his face.
“In-laws, you’ve misunderstood. She’s truly a distant cousin.”
“Oh, not only is it taking a concubine, but it’s also a close relative! I’m going to report this. Uncle Kang Er, don’t say anything else; anyone who isn’t blind can see it,” Wang Xianghua said, standing before Kang Zhao with contempt. The Kang family members also knew that not only the Su men but also their eldest daughter-in-law, Liang Xiu, was someone who could speak to Director Qian.
“On New Year’s Eve, I heard Kang Rende and Manxiang fighting, saying he wanted a divorce and to marry this young widow.” Someone suddenly spoke up.
With the first person speaking, another soon followed. Moreover, everyone in town knew about Kang Rende and the young widow. As more and more people testified that Kang Rende had indeed been involved with a young widow from town, and this young widow was indeed Kang Mu’s niece, Kang Zhao, Kang Renxian, and Kang Renci could only grudgingly accept it. After all, these two shameless individuals had to die embracing each other.
The Su family went to the commune to file a complaint and then brought Su Manxiang back to Hongxin Brigade for burial. According to custom, a married daughter could not be buried in her maiden home. However, the Old Su family now held significant influence in the brigade, and no one was willing to offend them over such a minor matter. Furthermore, Kang Rende’s affair was now known throughout the commune, and the people of Hongxin Brigade deeply resented Kang Rende for being a scoundrel. Although Su Manxiang had made some mistakes in the past, she was ultimately a pitiable woman. It was truly cruel for a man to protect his mistress even in death. Besides, Hongxin Brigade had produced Su Manxiu and Su Taohua, both divorced women, and nothing bad had happened to them. Now, many members of the brigade no longer felt that divorce was something shameful! Therefore, when the Old Su family advocated for Su Manxiang to divorce and be buried at her maiden home, they tacitly agreed. Some even went to help.
At the commune, the duty officer, encountering such a troublesome matter during the New Year, was quite fed up. The death of a person was already infuriating, and then to have an affair involved, it was naturally infuriating. However, since both parties involved in the affair were dead, there was no way to prosecute them, so they had to find a solution elsewhere. The commune leaders did not find it unreasonable for the Su family to request that the deceased couple be divorced. Such a man, even in death, should not lie in the same coffin; it was only proper! To appease the Su family, the commune decided that the supply and marketing cooperative would allocate one-third of Kang Rende’s funeral expenses for Su Manxiang’s burial. The Kang family members were not satisfied with the commune’s decision, but they could only suppress their dissatisfaction. Kang Rende had acted improperly, but the other members of the Su family were not without fault. No one had said anything when Kang Rende brought the young widow home, as the Kang family looked down on Su Manxiang, a country bumpkin, and even Su Manxiang’s own three children felt the same. Even if the Kang family wanted to resolve the matter peacefully, this incident was the biggest event to happen in the commune in many years, and it had already spread like wildfire. Moreover, even though the people were dead, the Su family still insisted on a divorce. Such a matter, if it spread, would inevitably attract attention.
This matter was blown out of proportion, and almost everyone knew that the Kang family was not human, that the entire family had bullied their daughter-in-law and allowed a slut to enter their home. Originally, Kang Renxian and Kang Renci’s families felt that it had little to do with them, but on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, people started showing up at their doors. Kang Renxian’s son, who had just had his engagement arranged, was jilted by the other party. The reason for the broken engagement was vaguely stated, but the implication was clear: they feared their daughter would have to suffer the presence of a concubine if she married into the family. Kang Renxian was furious but could only curse and grumble at home. “Let them break it off, let them break it off! In a few days, when my son becomes a cadre at the supply and marketing cooperative, he’ll have no shortage of good girls!” Kang Renxian’s wife pounded the table and cursed.
At the same time, a similar situation occurred at Kang Renci’s home. The engagement of his daughter had been called off by the groom’s family, without even a reason, just a notification.
[Author’s Note]
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