Chapter 30: Scheming

Chapter 30: The Scheme

Li Aiguo wiped away his tears and said hoarsely, "I don't want to be angry either, but look at them, Leader—they moved in together before even getting divorced. They don't treat me like a person at all."

Ling'er couldn't stand seeing him like this—no spine at all. She turned her head away, refusing to look at him.

"Comrade Ling'er, you don't want this dragging on forever either, right? You've gotta sort this out clearly so you can both move on," Chen Qiuqiu chimed in.

The three of them each pulled up a stool and sat down. Ling'er looked at Li Aiguo seriously and said, "Li Aiguo, even if you're not into women, I can't accept you secretly wearing skirts and lipstick. You... in short, let's end this amicably and get the divorce done ASAP."

Li Aiguo looked at Ling'er with tearful eyes and sobbed, "Can I change? Ling'er, I swear I'll change."

"Li Aiguo, it's not just that. The way you talk, the way you act—I can't put up with any of it." Ling'er felt creeped out seeing that pitiful look on his rugged face. "Li Aiguo, I'm begging you to let me go. Find someone who can accept you."

Lin Zhijin roughly understood what Li Aiguo's problem was—cross-dressing. He was straight, but he liked wearing women's clothing.

Not to mention this era, even in later, much more open generations, many people still couldn't accept it.

Li Aiguo was bawling his eyes out. "Ling'er, I don't want a divorce."

Chen Qiuqiu patted his shoulder. "Comrade Aiguo, since Comrade Ling'er can't accept your situation, forcing this won't do either of you any good. You'll be miserable, and she'll be miserable too, right? Take it from me—you can't force these things. You're a man, so act like one. Be a man about it, let her go. Don't worry, I'll find you someone who can accept your situation. That kind of life will be much more comfortable, don't you think?"

Seeing Li Aiguo stay silent, Lin Zhijin added, "The Women's Federation hosts mixers all the time. Give me your address, and I'll let you know when the next one is."

"That's right, find someone who can accept you," Ling'er's new man chimed in, nodding eagerly.

Ling'er kicked him, signaling him to shut up so Li Aiguo wouldn't flip out and refuse again.

"I need to talk this over with my folks," Li Aiguo said, sniffling.

"Where do you live? We'll go pay them a visit," Chen Qiuqiu said, standing up as well, planning to have a word with his parents.

This wasn't a personality clash or a simple mistake—it was about the husband having an unusual quirk that the wife couldn't accept. There was no way to mediate; divorce was the best option.

Li Aiguo's parents were pretty easygoing. Perhaps they already knew about their son's situation, so when they heard that the officials were willing to help introduce someone to him, they immediately started pushing Li Aiguo to divorce Ling'er.

"Ling'er has turned this house into a circus, and now she's moved out to live with some other man. The neighbors are all laughing at our family. Son, you might as well divorce her and let the officials set you up with someone good."

Li Aiguo bit his lip and finally nodded, eyes red.

Ling'er was notified, and the two got divorced that very afternoon. The next morning, Ling'er and her current man got their marriage certificate.

"There probably aren't many women willing to accept Li Aiguo's situation," Sister Li said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Why not check with Lianhua and the others?" Lin Zhijin recalled meeting Lianhua and Lanhua a few days ago—they seemed grounded and gentle.

Sister Li looked at Lin Zhijin in surprise. Lianhua can't have kids anymore, so she'd be a good fit for a widower with children. But Lanhua was different—she really wanted to settle down and have a kid of her own. Unfortunately, with her background, finding a good match was tough.

Aside from his little quirk, Li Aiguo was genuinely a decent catch. His parents were both alive and kind, he had a nice brick house with three rooms, and he had a job. Though he wasn't very masculine, he also wasn't a chauvinist—he was gentle and considerate. In short, anyone willing to accept his quirk would have a good life with him.

"When you get a chance, go talk to Li Aiguo about Lanhua. If he's okay with it, then go ask Lanhua. Given their unique situations, set up a private meeting. If it works out, that'd be best," Sister Li said, tapping her finger on the desk with a smile.

Lin Zhijin planned to visit Li Aiguo after work, just as Sister Li suggested—if it worked out, great.

More couples came in one after another wanting divorces. These cases should've gone to the police station, but they were swamped, so marital disputes were passed to the Women's Federation to lighten their load.

"Why do you want a divorce? Arranged marriage? Divorce is fine, but you can't move another woman in before the divorce is final. The marriage law requires monogamy—you know that's illegal, right?" Lin Zhijin glanced at the timid-looking woman. "I remember you came here before?"

The timid woman shrank back and whispered, "Yes."

The man glanced at her, then said to Lin Zhijin with a smarmy smile, "Don't worry, ma'am. Even if we divorce, I won't kick her out. She can stay at my place, and I'll feed her too. We were married once, after all."

Lin Zhijin had already pulled up the woman's file. Good grief—not only had the husband gotten his mistress pregnant, he'd brought her home to give birth and made his wife wait on her after the birth. Combined with what he just said, he clearly wanted to use his ex-wife as a free housemaid.

"And you? Are you willing to divorce? Don't worry about having nowhere to stay—the Women's Federation has temporary housing, and we can arrange a match for remarriage." Lin Zhijin ignored the man and asked the timid woman directly.

"Hey, ma'am, what do you mean by that?" The man caught the implication in Lin Zhijin's words and grew anxious.

Lin Zhijin glanced at him, then turned her gaze back to the woman, waiting for her answer.

The timid woman didn't dare look at Lin Zhijin. She cautiously glanced at the man and said, "I... I can stay at home."

"Of course you can. After all, we were husband and wife once." The man sat back down, satisfied, even shooting Lin Zhijin a smug look.

Watching the woman follow the man out like a shadow, Lin Zhijin angrily threw down her pen. She'd told her clearly that the Women's Federation would arrange housing and find her a better match—so why did she still go back with that man to be his housemaid? It infuriated her.

"Angry?" Chen Qiuqiu chuckled lightly. "Don't be. It's not worth it. If she won't stand up for herself, nothing you say will help."

"Her ex-husband is using her as a free housemaid—doing laundry, cooking, raising the kids, all for a bit of food. I really don't understand how she thinks." Lin Zhijin felt her head buzzing.

"Alright, pack up and head home. You'll see plenty more cases like this—are you going to get angry over every one?" Chen Qiuqiu shook her head with a smile. Lin Zhijin was still too inexperienced; there were far more infuriating cases than this.

Under the big tree at the corner, Yang Su was already waiting. Seeing Lin Zhijin approach, he handed her a green tangerine.

"A farmer was selling tangerines just now," Yang Su said. Noticing the lingering anger on Lin Zhijin's face, he asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Let me tell you..." Lin Zhijin rattled off what had just happened.

Yang Su comforted her gently, "One's willing to give, the other's willing to take. Getting upset won't change anything."

Lin Zhijin clicked her tongue. She knew it was useless, but she still couldn't help being angry.

"Hungry? Want me to treat you to dinner?" Yang Su changed the subject.

Lin Zhijin shook her head. "I need to go to Li Aiguo's place."

"So here's the situation—they're all good women, just unlucky. They were sold to brothels by their parents and suffered a lot. Now they've undergone ideological reform and support themselves through handicrafts. If you're willing, we can help make the connection, arrange a meeting somewhere, and have a chat. If it doesn't work out, we'll keep looking for you," Lin Zhijin said truthfully.

Li Aiguo was already teary-eyed, covering his mouth as he said, "That's so pitiful. I don't mind at all—but would she mind me?"

"I'll explain the situation clearly. Don't worry. It's getting late, so we'll be going now. Goodbye." Lin Zhijin stood up and left with Yang Su.

Eating her tangerine, Lin Zhijin chatted casually with Yang Su. She did most of the talking while he was more reserved, but he responded to everything she said, never making her feel like she was talking to herself.

"Zhijin, I'm heading back to the army tomorrow. Here's my address and phone number—come find me if anything comes up." Yang Su handed Lin Zhijin a piece of paper with an address and phone number written on it.

She suddenly remembered that Yang Su's leave was almost over. Taking the paper, she nodded softly. "Okay. Stay... stay safe."

When she got home, Li Yue was actually cooking. Lin Zhijin went over to peek—the vegetables were clearly overcooked.

"Zhijin, quick, help me salvage this!" Li Yue shoved the spatula into Lin Zhijin's hands.

Lin Zhijin shook her head and clicked her tongue. "Stop trying. It's beyond saving."

Li Yue bumped Lin Zhijin aside with her hip. "I'll do it myself."

Lin Zhijin snorted lightly and handed the spatula back. "Brother-in-law is being transferred back?"

"Yeah, transferred to the Southern City Military District. You little liar—Sister Qian told me you're going to the Southern City Street Women's Federation. Too bad you're too young and don't have enough seniority, or you could've gotten a deputy position this time. No matter, take it slow. With all your contributions, you'll get promoted sooner or later." Li Yue said with a meaningful look.

"Merit? What merit?" Lin Zhijin looked at Li Yue with confusion. Seeing that she didn't answer, she knew it was something she couldn't say.

A big merit? And she couldn't say it? Lin Zhijin thought of Jinshi Mountain. Could it be that they really found a gold mine?

At the Chen Mansion, Second Master Chen slammed his fist heavily on the desk, his heart aching as he said, "The old man really lost his marbles, actually giving Jinshi Mountain to the Ninth Concubine. Now look, such a big gold mine, all donated to the state."

Fourth Master Chen calmly took a sip of tea and said lightly, "The old man wasn't muddle-headed at all. After the founding of New China, the state issued land reform. Our family is a big name in Nancheng, so we were bound to be targeted. No matter who got Jinshi Mountain, it would stick out like a sore thumb. Only giving it to the Ninth Concubine was the safest. She's a concubine who lost her man, with no children, her life in the palm of our hands. Saying it was given to her, in the end it would still be ours. Unfortunately, the old man didn't expect Nancheng to be liberated so soon, nor did he expect the Ninth Concubine to donate everything to the state."

"This Ninth Concubine is really troublesome. We tried to buy it from her, but she wouldn't sell, and instead donated it to the state. She's not playing with a full deck." Fifth Master Chen snorted.

Fourth Master Chen shook his head, "She's sharp as a tack. I'm afraid we've all been fooled by her."

Second Master Chen was no fool. He immediately understood the deeper meaning and his face darkened. "Indeed, very clever. Knowing she couldn't keep it, she simply donated it to the state to gain its protection. I heard she's found herself a military officer as a partner?"

"That old lady of ours is still thinking of controlling her, planning to marry Lin Zhijin to her good-for-nothing brother. Hmph, Fifth Brother, when the old lady schemes against the Ninth Concubine, you give it a nudge behind the scenes, and then we'll sit back and watch the fireworks." Fourth Master Chen said with a smile.

Fifth Master Chen revealed a playful smile. "Just wait and see."

Lin Zhijin, about to go to sleep, shivered, getting the creeps. She glanced at the window and the front door, thought of Li Yue living across the way, and others living to the west and at the back door, including a battle hero, and her courage immediately grew.

No fear. No ghosts or monsters would dare come to this place. Sleep, sleep.

Author's note:

None.