Chapter 481: An Old Ailment
December passed amidst these rumors.
Wu Sheng was still recuperating and hadn’t returned to work when his supervisor came to visit him.
It was ostensibly a visit to check on his health, but in reality, it was an interrogation.
Wu Sheng had a clear conscience, with nothing to hide, so he simply explained what had happened.
His supervisor knew the kind of person Wu Sheng was and believed his account.
After asking a couple of questions and understanding the situation, he didn’t press the matter further.
These were personal matters, after all, and it wasn’t his place to say much.
No matter what rumors spread, Wu Sheng and Su Li’s life went on as usual.
Around the middle of the month, Wu Sheng had fully recovered and returned to work.
After Wu Sheng went back to work, Su Li’s life also returned to normal. She had missed too many of her practical training sessions and hurried to catch up.
Life returned to its peaceful and quiet state. Su Li didn’t find this tranquil, orderly existence dull; she thought it was wonderful.
At the end of the month, it was Wu Sheng’s birthday.
Su Li racked her brain for a birthday gift, and after preparing one, she celebrated with Wu Sheng.
Now that he was getting older, he shouldn’t have been looking forward to his birthday—he wasn’t a child anymore. However, because he was so excited for the birthday Su Li had planned for him, Wu Sheng found himself eagerly anticipating the day.
As soon as Wu Sheng’s birthday was over, New Year’s Day arrived.
Time flew by, and a new year was here once again.
Su Li had lived through three years of her reborn life and was now entering the fourth.
On New Year’s Day, Su Li and Little Tang Mo were on holiday, and Wu Sheng also had the day off. In the end, Wu Sheng took Su Li and Little Tang Mo skiing.
While Su Li and her family were laughing and enjoying their happy holiday at the ski resort, the phone at home was ringing off the hook.
One ring after another, the phone rang for a full hour before the caller finally hung up.
The one calling Su Li was none other than Miao Fenghua.
In the distant Su Family Village, Miao Fenghua resentfully slammed down the receiver of the village committee’s phone. The loud noise drew even more displeasure from the people nearby.
’To hog the phone for an hour, and then slam it down when no one picks up!’
But no matter how dissatisfied they were, one look at Miao Fenghua’s appearance and her vicious glare was enough to make them keep their mouths shut.
They didn’t dare to speak, didn’t want to speak, and couldn’t bear to speak.
Miao Fenghua was limping, and the corner of her eye and half of her face were black and blue.
Su Dan had done it.
He’d beaten her last night.
Because Su Dan had gotten drunk again.
Ever since the last time Su Dan got drunk and beat both Miao Fenghua and Qin Shanshan, he had apologized profusely and promised to change. In reality, however, it was as if a switch for domestic violence had been flipped. He hadn’t changed; he’d only gotten worse.
After the first time he drunkenly hit them, Su Dan knelt and begged for forgiveness. Both Qin Shanshan and Miao Fenghua chose to forgive him, since his apology seemed so sincere.
After this incident, Qin Shanshan and Su Dan’s relationship actually improved quite a bit.
Qin Shanshan was less than three months pregnant, so they couldn’t have intercourse yet. Su Dan understood the risks and didn’t force the issue.
Because even though they couldn’t go all the way, he was now able to be close to Qin Shanshan.
Once there was a first time, a second and third soon followed.
Su Dan finally got a taste of married life. Feeling content in body and mind, he was on his best behavior for a while after, treating both Miao Fenghua and Qin Shanshan considerately.
Close physical contact is always the fastest way to bring people closer. Qin Shanshan went from inexpressible shame, anger, and repulsion to simple acceptance.
Stuck in Su Family Village and seeing Su Dan every day, with no other external temptations, her feelings for him slowly changed from reluctant disdain to gradual acceptance.
After half a month of peaceful days, seeing how well Su Dan was behaving, Qin Shanshan was finally willing to part with the four thousand in compensation money she had been clutching so tightly.
Qin Shanshan had always been quite clever and willing to put her mind to things. Having spent some time in the Imperial City, if nothing else, her horizons had certainly been broadened.
She had previously made time to visit the famous scenic spots in the Imperial City and even had photos taken—color photos, which made people look incredibly beautiful.
Although Qin Shanshan was already pregnant when she married Su Dan, ruining her reputation in both Xinghua Village and Su Family Village, she was still the object of some envy.
After all, she was someone who had been to the Imperial City! What kind of place was the Imperial City? A single visit was something to be proud of for a lifetime.
Once her relationship with Su Dan improved, Qin Shanshan stopped hiding at home all the time. She started going out to visit neighbors and welcomed people into her home as well.
When people got together, what was there to talk about? Besides gossiping about this and that, it was all about prying for information and showing off.
And when it came to showing off, who could beat Qin Shanshan? After showing off all the new clothes and things she’d bought in the Imperial City, she started showing off her photos.
Everyone looked at them, utterly amazed.
"I’ve lived this long and never had a color photo taken. I’ve only had a few black-and-white ones, just five photos my whole life."
"Isn’t that the truth? I’m afraid the photo studio in the county town is too expensive, so I don’t dare go."
"I wanted to get a photo of my kid for his one-month and one-year birthdays, but I never managed it. The county town is too far, and it’s exhausting to carry a child all that way. The traveling photographers only come by once every two or three years, so if you miss them, you’re out of luck."
"Shanshan really has it good. She’s even been to the Imperial City."
The speakers meant no harm, but the listener paid close attention.
As Qin Shanshan listened, she felt a swell of pride, but it was impossible for her not to take their words to heart.
Back in the Imperial City, she had looked at cameras out of curiosity. At the time, they were astronomically expensive for her, but now, they weren’t entirely out of reach.
Listening to everyone’s chatter, Qin Shanshan’s mind started working.
Qin Shanshan knew about the people the villagers mentioned who came to the village to take photos; in fact, she was very familiar with them.
Every year or two, someone would come to the village with a camera on their back. They’d stay for a day or two, and the villagers, especially those with children, would ask them to take a picture or two.
This was a big, happy event. Everyone would wash up, put on new clothes—or borrow them if they didn’t have any—and even wear their most precious trinkets for the photo.
They’d pose under a fruit tree, where the peas were blooming, or in a wheat field—wherever it looked prettiest.
Getting your picture taken was a major affair in the village. While it wasn’t as big a deal as a movie screening, it was still a major event.
Qin Shanshan had a very deep impression of this from her childhood; she had often gone with her mother to have photos taken.
She had a photo or two of herself from when she was two or three, five or six, and even eight or nine years old.
If a child didn’t have new clothes, whichever family had a new outfit would lend it to the other children for their pictures.
When she was around three, her uncle had bought her a little dress. She hadn’t wanted to lend it to anyone else, but her mother forced her to. She was so unhappy about it that she was pouting in the photo.
It was the same for the adults. They would take turns wearing a single new outfit for their photos. It was quite a lively scene.
Whenever the photographer came, the whole village would rush over. Those getting their pictures taken would pose, and those who weren’t would watch the excitement.
Many of these photographers were from the studios in town or the county seat. Every year, they would travel through the counties, towns, and villages, take the pictures, develop them, and deliver them back, earning a little money.
It was hard work, but they could make some money.
And so, an idea began to form in Qin Shanshan’s mind.
’Photography isn’t that technical,’ she thought. ’I could just buy a camera, take pictures for people, develop them, and make money. It could be a way out.’