Chapter 204 - 139: The Most Lovable People of Those Years
"Because in my eyes, you haven’t changed a bit. You’re still as beautiful as you were back then, as if you’re glowing." Zhou Yi cupped her face, his expression earnest as he said, "I’d recognize you in an instant, always."
Zhang Shufen smiled, tears streaming down her face. Then she threw her arms around him and kissed him.
Standing by the door, Zhou Yan quickly slipped out, doing a quick calculation as he went.
’Well, I’ll be. His dad was conceived on this very day.’
...
「Suji Stone Bridgehead. January 8, 1944, 11:00 AM.」
A few scattered customers approached the braised meat stall.
They were all discussing a major event.
The previous night, a huge fire had broken out at the Wang Family Mansion. The hundred-odd members of the Wang Family, along with their servants and maids, had all burned to death.
Some said they had heard gunshots.
Others claimed it was bandits who had murdered them, set the fire, and stolen their wealth.
Still others said it was the work of a warlord who had his eye on the Wang Family’s silk factory.
In any case, the Wang Family, the most prominent household in Suji, was gone overnight.
When Zhang Shufen heard the news, she was distracted and unsettled all morning.
As she was packing up her stall, she finally broke down, covering her face and crying, "The master and mistress of the Wang Family were good people. They didn’t deserve this... And all those children... Those goddamn killers should burn in hell!"
The Wang Family had been major customers of her braised meat stall. Even after Wang Yu left, the family still had her deliver meat to their mansion every day—large orders when they had guests, and a catty of braised beef on normal days.
Her children often delivered the meat to the mansion and would frequently receive pastries and snacks from the mistress as a reward. They also got along well with the young masters and misses of the Wang Family.
Who could have imagined that just yesterday she had delivered meat to the mansion, only to hear this news this morning.
The horse-drawn cart had traveled a ways toward Yang Pier when she turned back. She didn’t dare... she didn’t dare to look, and she couldn’t let her children see such a scene.
...
The scene shifted again. The streets of Suji were filled with cheering crowds.
「September 3, 1945.」
The War of Resistance was won.
Zhang Shufen also came out onto the street, holding a baby in her arms with three older children trailing behind her.
"Mama, what are they shouting?" Zhou Han asked.
"We’ve defeated the Japanese devils!"
"We’ve won the War of Resistance!"
"We won!"
Zhang Shufen’s voice was hoarse, and her eyes were already red-rimmed.
Wasn’t everyone else on the street the same, laughing through their tears and crying through their smiles?
They had waited too long for this moment and sacrificed too much!
Watching the cheering crowds, Zhou Yan smiled too.
This was the rebirth of the Chinese nation!
Better to die fighting than to live as a slave to a foreign power!
...
The faces, laughing and crying, gradually blurred.
The scene shifted back to the Suji Bridgehead.
「January 8, 1946, 12:01 PM.」
"Have you heard? The Wang Family’s fourth young master, Wang Yu, is back! They say he’s become a high-ranking official! Yesterday, he led a team and wiped out the bandits at Gao Miao!"
"I heard it was a river of blood! He used the heads of his enemies to honor his family on the anniversary of their deaths!"
"So satisfying!"
"It’s a shame, though. Young Master Wang and Miss Qiu used to be engaged."
Zhang Shufen was in a good mood today. She went to the Knife Maker’s and had him cut a piece of pork belly, which she used to stir-fry a plate of Twice-Cooked Pork.
The children were all delighted as they ate.
...
The scenes began to accelerate, flashing by like a spinning lantern.
Zhou Yan saw the founding of the nation in ’49, and his grandfather returning to Zhou Village in glory, a large red flower pinned to his chest.
A smile finally appeared on Zhang Shufen’s face.
Wang Yu was captured and brought back to Jiazhou to stand trial. He refused to plead guilty, claiming to be an undercover agent whose handler had already been sacrificed.
After Zhou Yi heard about this, he went to see Wang Yu once.
After returning, he began to collect evidence to clear his name.
But with the outbreak of the Korean War, he could only entrust the information he had gathered to Zhang Shufen, having her submit it to the organization on his behalf before he hurriedly rejoined his unit and headed north.
Zhang Shufen never found out what happened with the matter afterward.
The final memory stopped at the entrance to Zhou Village.
A plaque honoring him as a First-Class Merit Honoree was escorted to Zhou Village by leaders of all ranks and a crowd of people who had gathered spontaneously.
A light drizzle was falling that day. Zhang Shufen, with a black cloth tied around her head and a pregnant belly, led four children dressed in sackcloth and mourning to receive the plaque.
This time, she didn’t cry.
But the light in her eyes was gone.
...
-----------------
PS: 12,000 characters. I wrote the entire memory sequence in one go!
All so you could enjoy reading it in one sitting!
I kept my promise, so please give me your monthly tickets!