Chapter 5 — The Wife I Rescued In The Snow

He stopped, his eyes glanced over me, finally stopping on Hua Tue's face. His eyes were extremely complicated. There was surprise, there was scrutiny, and there was also a subtle bit of relief.

“Finally found you.”

He spoke, his voice very polite. He paid no attention to me. Like I'm just a tree or a log in the yard. I stepped forward, blocking Hua Tue's face.

"Who are you? Why are you looking for her?"

I asked, my voice hard. Only then did the man look straight at me. He assessed me from top to bottom, frowning slightly. There was undisguised contempt in his eyes.

“It's none of your business here.”

He said.

“Get out of the way.”

“She is my wife.”

I said.

“Her story is also my story.”

The man seemed to hear a big joke. He laughed.

“Your wife?”

He looked at me and shook his head.

“Young people, if there are things that don't belong to you, don't touch them.”

“If you touch it, your hands will burn.”

After speaking, he stopped paying attention to me and looked back at Hua Tue.

“Follow me.”

He said.

“The boss misses you very much.”

Chief. A word that makes me even more insecure. Hua Tue's lips pursed into a straight line. She didn't answer. At that moment, from the other end of the village came the roar of an engine. Everyone stretched their necks to look. A black car slowly drove into a poor village in the mountains. It's a Shanghai brand car. The car's body is shiny, reflecting dazzling light under the sun. People in the village had never seen such a vehicle in their entire lives. The children ran behind the car. The adults stood at a distance, whispering to each other, their faces full of fear and panic. The car plowed through the dirt road and drove straight to our front door before stopping. The man wearing the officer's uniform from earlier immediately ran over and opened the back seat door. A clean leather shoe without a speck of dust stepped down first. Then, a man over fifty years old, with neatly combed hair, stepped out of the car. He wore a smooth dark gray officer's uniform, with no expression on his face. But the natural majesty of his body immediately made the entire space silent. After getting off the bus, his eyes passed through the crowd, through me, and stopped on Hua Tue. Hua Tue's body was tense at that moment like a string about to break. The man looked at her for more than ten seconds. Then he spoke. The voice was not loud, but clearly transmitted to everyone's ears.

“Hua Thanh Chi.”

He called a name I had never heard of.

“If you've played enough, you should go home.”

Hua Tue, no, it's Hua Thanh Chi. She closed her eyes, a clear tear sliding down the corner of her eye. When she opened her eyes again, all the weakness on her face was gone. Only coldness and fatigue remained that had penetrated to the bone. She turned her head to look at me. Those eyes seemed like they were saying their final goodbye.

“Tham Son.”

“They're here.”

07

The man called the leader is Hua Thanh Chi's father. Hua Huong Quan. The head of the province. That was something I found out later. He looked at my wife, there was no gentleness in his eyes as a father looks at his daughter. Only cold. It's like looking at something The item did not listen but was forced to withdraw it.

“Get in the car.”

He gave the order. Hua Tue stood in place, not moving. She just looked at me, her eyes filled with tears. The man named Hua Huong Quan finally turned his eyes to me. That look was like a knife.

“Are you Tham Son?”

He asked.

“Yes.”

I stood straight.

“For the past six years, Thanh Chi has been causing trouble for you.”

The words sounded polite, but the tone was noble and noble. He took out an envelope from his pocket. The envelope was very thick. He gave it to the man dressed as an officer standing next to him. That person walked up to me and held out the envelope.

"Inside there are five thousand dong, also some food stamps and cloth stamps."

Hua Huong Quan's voice rang out again.

“Consider our family compensating you.”

“Take the money, don't have any contact with Thanh Chi in the future.”

Five thousand dong. Five thousand dong in 1984. Enough to buy a large house in the district. Enough so that for the next half of my life I don't need to do anything to be able to eat well and be warm. The people standing in the yard simultaneously took a deep breath. Their eyes were all glued to the envelope being held towards me. Like a pack of hungry wolves seeing meat. I don't accept. I looked at Hua Huong Quan and said word by word:

“She is my wife, not an item that can be bought or sold with money.”

Hua Huong Quan's eyebrows slightly raised. Seems a bit surprising. The man wearing an officer's uniform next to him immediately frowned and shouted:

"Insolent! Do you talk to your boss like that?"

“I'm just telling the truth.”

I looked at Hua Huong Quan.

“Six years ago, I carried her back from the snow.”

"We went to the commune to register our marriage and also worshiped heaven and earth."

"She is my Tham Son's wife."

“No matter who she was in the past, who she is now, who she will be in the future, this will not change.”

My voice wasn't loud, but everyone there heard it clearly. Hua Tue's body suddenly trembled violently. She looked at me with disbelief.