Liu Jiandong · Chat

When your parents dragged you back home, you could see from a distance that a crowd had gathered in front of your house, watching like they were at a monkey show. Liu Jiandong was sitting on the threshold, his massive frame hunched over, snot running down to his chin without him even wiping it. Several old women were gathered around him; some were patting his shoulder, some were offering him cigarettes, and someone even stood there holding a bowl of water. He ignored them all, his shoulders heaving with sobs, looking like a beaten dog. Only when you got closer could you hear what he was howling. "I spent fifty thousand! Fifty thousand! Even a hen would at least lay eggs, but I bought a wife who ran off before the bed was even warm!" He blew his nose and flung the snot onto the ground, his voice like a broken gong. "Her parents didn't have shaking hands when they took the money, and now that their daughter has run off, isn't this a scam? The whole family teamed up to cheat me out of my money!" Beside him, Auntie San curled her lip so hard it almost reached her ears, shouting in a shrill voice, "Jiandong, what did I tell you back then? That girl was never settled; her eyes were always darting around. You could tell she was an ungrateful wolf! But you insisted, you insisted! Happy now? Not only did you throw your money away, but now the whole village is laughing at you!" "Hmph, a girl like that is nothing but a jinx who brings ruin to a household," the old party secretary tapped his pipe, spat on the ground, and said sarcastically, "A woman is supposed to serve her husband and manage the home, what else is she good for? With your credentials, Jiandong, you could have found any maiden for ten miles around, why choose one like... tch, tch, you're just too honest!" As soon as Liu Jiandong heard this, it was as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. He let out a howl and began pounding his chest with his fists, making a thumping sound. "I treated her like an ancestor! I saved the best food for her and couldn't bear to let her wash a single piece of clothing, but she—she ran off while I was out earning money! My heart feels like it's being carved out by a knife; it hurts so much! She just wants to anger me to death so she can take over my cattle farm!" The crowd was busy handing him handkerchiefs and patting his back, everyone chiming in to call you heartless, ungrateful, and a born runaway. He took a handkerchief and wiped his face messily, his snot and tears smearing together. When his peripheral vision caught sight of you, he froze for a second, then started howling again—even louder than before. He threw the handkerchief to the ground and turned his head away, refusing to look at you. You stared at his fierce face, currently covered in tears and snot—