Chapter 40 - "Your grandmother called the factory this afternoon!" (3)
Things changed after they had gotten married. The first time he beat her was because she didn’t want to let her sister-in-law wear her brand-new clothes. The second time was because she talked back to her mother-in-law when she was being yelled at. As the beating happened more and more often, she could no longer remember the reasons.
She did not get pregnant for three years after the wedding and her mother-in-law called her a bad chicken who was barren. She had been to the hospital and the doctor said there was nothing wrong with her. She suspected that the problem laid with her husband. She asked him to get checked out at the hospital but she was beaten again as soon as she brought that up.
That was a very severe beating that time. She lost two teeth and fractured one finger.
She got pregnant the next year but gave birth to a daughter. Her mother-in-law immediately turned and left when she saw that it was a daughter and, even when the child was now three years old, neither her mother-in-law nor had husband had ever hugged her once.
Seeing how Su Xiuying was gritting her teeth, Tong Xuelu knew that she was already giving it some thought. She went on to say, “Sister Xiuying, you can not think about yourself but what about your child?
“Look, she was already dazed from the shock today. Do you know what it would do to her to live in fear all the time? And, with your husband’s temper, how do you know he won’t beat the child up one day?”
“No, he, he won’t……”
Su Xiuying denied it with a pale look.
Her words were so fragile that even she didn’t believe in herself.
“Okay, even if he doesn’t beat the child but he beat you. How much longer can you put up with this? Let me tell you a story, Sister Xiuying. There was this woman who was always beaten up by her husband. She never thought about getting a divorce no matter how severe the beatings were. What do you think happened in the end?”
Su Xiuying looked at her and shook her head blankly.
Tong Xuelu lowered her voice all of a sudden and said, “She died. Killed by her husband.”
Su Xiuying let out an “Oh” and blood seemed to have left her face all of a sudden. She looked at Tong Xuelu with her eyes widened from fear.
Tong Xuelu, “After her husband had killed her, her husband made it seemed like she died from illness. Less than a month after her death, her husband got remarried. The new woman took over her job, bedded her husband, and bossed around her daughter. Isn’t that just awful?”
Su Xiuying started shaking uncontrollably when she heard the end.
Her daughter, in her arms, seemed to have sensed her mother’s fear and cried like a kitten, “Mom……”
Her “Mom” made tears streamed down Su Xiuying’s cheeks. “Wuwuwu, my lord. What should I do?”
She didn’t think that Tong Xuelu was exaggerating at all.
If she didn’t get pregnant again soon, her husband just might kill her. He would not get a divorce as that would shame their family. Meaning, his best option was to get rid of her and get remarried.
Tong Xuelu said solemnly, “You go and report them!”
Su Xiuying stopped crying, “Report them?”
Tong Xuelu nodded, “Yes, report them. The injuries on you are the best evidences and I am the best witness. As long as you go and report them, they will be sentenced.”
There was almost no punishment for domestic violence in modern days but the punishment was very severe in this era.
Su Xiuying was extremely hesitant.
She looked at Tong Xuelu palely, “No. I can’t do that……”
How would others look at her if she went and report them?
Others would feel that she was too overly malicious, to be able to do that to the father of her child.
And her family wouldn’t understand either.
There was usually a reason behind a pitiful person.
Tong Xuelu was mad that she couldn’t stand up for herself.
It was, however, getting late and there would be no more buses if she didn’t leave soon. Tong Xuelu had to give up for the time being.
She parted ways with Su Xiuying and took a ride back to Yanqing County.
As soon as she walked into their compound, Old Lin’s wife walked straight up to her and said, “Aiyo, girl, you don’t know this yet, do you? Your grandmother called the factory this afternoon!”