Chapter 49: Cutting Ties

Chapter 49: Cutting Ties

After a day of rest, Lin Zhijin went to work at the Women's Federation with a radiant complexion. She'd barely sat down when Wang Xiaoyao came rushing in, bag in hand.

Without even setting her bag down, she leaned in close and whispered in Lin Zhijin's ear, "That murder case we helped with last time is closed. I just ran into Li Bing, and he told me the victim didn't kill herself, and it wasn't the stepfather we'd guessed either—it was her biological mother who poisoned her."

Chen Qiuqiu put down her pen, asked, shocked, "The victim's biological mother?"

"That's right." Wang Xiaoyao returned to her seat and set down her bag. "She found out the victim was pregnant with the stepson's child and was insisting on marrying him. Worried it would ruin the family's reputation, she poisoned her own daughter."

For the sake of reputation, a biological mother gave her daughter rat poison, killing both mother and child. You really don't hear about stuff like that.

"That old lady is over seventy now. She apparently has a serious illness and doesn't have long to live. Plus, the victim's children chose to forgive her, so she was released after being held for two days." Wang Xiaoyao said, a little wistfully.

Over seventy, seriously ill, family forgiveness—talk about stacking the deck.

Lin Zhijin couldn't help but sigh. "To poison her own daughter over so-called reputation—that's cold-blooded."

Chen Qiuqiu glanced at her. In times like these, who wasn't a little ruthless to survive? Even swapping kids to eat wasn't unheard of. Sometimes she wondered how Lin Zhijin had turned out so principled—she had such high moral standards, which didn't fit a girl from the countryside who'd never been to school.

The whole thing caused a big stir. After all, a biological mother killing her own daughter, and the daughter carrying the child of her half-brother from the same mother—a story so messed up and wild that even passing dogs would stop to listen.

Gu Yan was busy today and didn't come to pick Lin Zhijin up from work. She biked home alone and ran into Li Bing on the way, so they chatted a bit more about the case.

"I still owe you a thank-you, Comrade Lin, for your help," Li Bing said politely. "Otherwise, we wouldn't have cracked the case so fast."

"I didn't do much. It was your hard work burning the midnight oil that brought justice for the innocent. Are the victim's kids doing okay?" Lin Zhijin thought of the victim's youngest daughter, only eleven years old. After going through all that, she didn't know what would happen to her.

"With something this big happening in the family, unless they move, people are gonna point fingers no matter what." Li Bing sighed softly.

Unlike a few years down the line when household registration would be locked down tight, moving was still pretty easy now. Take Boss Du from Willow Lane—his whole family moved to Hunan, supposedly to the same city as that counselor.

Only a businessman would have that kind of foresight. Later, during the nationwide movement, that area stayed relatively stable.

"That's up to them to figure out. The adults can handle it, but I'm mainly worried about the kids. Aren't you headed home, Officer Li?" Lin Zhijin noticed Li Bing wasn't walking toward his own place and asked curiously.

"I've got a case to look into on Anhe Street." Li Bing paused, then let a bit of info slip to Lin Zhijin. "You might know the person connected to this case. Last name Sheng."

Lin Zhijin's first thought was Sheng Huaimin, since he was the only Sheng she knew. Coincidentally, he had a sister married over on Anhe Street. But hadn't his family's case already been wrapped up?

She couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't it already closed?"

"It's closed, but something still feels off to me. I want to go ask a few more questions." Li Bing trusted his gut—it had helped him out and saved his ass more times than he could count.

Lin Zhijin didn't dig any deeper into the case and instead changed the subject to the upcoming trip to the countryside.

Because of the last incident, this time they'd have several police officers along with the military.

"Heard you're going too?" Lin Zhijin turned her head to ask.

"Yeah, it'll be easier with us along. You going?" Li Bing couldn't help asking.

This time they were going to Anping Township, the original body's hometown. She didn't really care—the original body's parents had already sold her off, so they were nothing to her now.

Even if she bumped into them, no big deal. But Su Jianhong had said no. The villagers were already on edge from the last incident, and if Lin Zhijin showed up and got into a fight with her parents, it wouldn't look good for the Women's Federation.

Anyway, for a bunch of reasons, Lin Zhijin wasn't on the list for the Anping Township trip.

"Nah, I'm not going." Lin Zhijin glanced at the fork in the road ahead. "I'll head off now. See you."

Li Bing watched Lin Zhijin's graceful figure walk away and let out another soft sigh. Some people, once you miss your chance, it's gone for good. Tomorrow he was going on a blind date—he was getting up there in years and couldn't put it off any longer.

Around the corner, someone watched them for a moment, then turned and hurried off. After a bit, they stopped at the back door of the Sheng house.

"Boss, that cop Li hasn't given up after all." Liu Yuan said in a low voice.

Sheng Huaimin leaned back in his chair, eyes closed, and said in a low voice, "What's there to fear? The fourth concubine has already committed suicide out of guilt. What can he possibly dig up?"

"This Li Bing is very good at investigating. Boss, should we..." Liu Yuan made a throat-cutting gesture.

Sheng Huaimin opened his eyes and glanced at him sideways. "Don't cause trouble. If we send someone to kill him now and it succeeds, fine—but if it fails, it'll only make him more suspicious. Still, he does have too much free time. Let's give him something to occupy himself."

On the other side, Lin Zhijin was picking vegetables. Looking at Li Yue's belly, which had grown considerably larger, she couldn't help doubting, "Could it be twins? Why does your belly look bigger than others'?"

"No, I asked the doctor. It's just one. Maybe I've just been eating too much lately." Li Yue stroked her belly with a loving expression.

"I think it does look bigger than usual. You should eat a bit less—if the belly gets too big, it'll be harder to give birth." Wang Chunhua leaned in for a look and advised.

"I couldn't eat anything the first two months, but these past two months everything smells delicious, and I get hungry especially fast." Li Yue patted her belly. "I'll try to control myself."

She was, after all, a woman who had participated in the revolution—strong-willed. When she said she'd eat less, she ate less. She could normally finish a big bowl of rice, but today she only ate half a bowl, and much less of the dishes too.

"Eat a bit more. It's fine to eat a little more—you're eating for two now. You'll get hungry tonight." Wang Chunhua, seeing her eat so little, grew worried again.

"It's fine. If I get really hungry later, I'll have some crackers." Li Yue waved her hand and turned to look at Lin Zhijin. "I heard you're not going to the countryside this time."

After hearing the reason, Li Yue nodded. "Director Su's concerns are justified. It's not just in the countryside—some people in the city have quite a bit of resentment toward us, thinking we've led the women in their households astray."

The strongest opposition came from women who were already mothers-in-law. They had endured years as daughters-in-law before finally becoming mothers-in-law, finally able to throw their weight around at home. But because of the Women's Federation, they could no longer beat or scold their daughters-in-law, and even trying to establish rules invited criticism.

"Take it slow. Deeply rooted ideas aren't easy to change." Lin Zhijin thought of later generations. Only after the older generation passed away and a new generation grew up under new thinking could some old concepts be changed.

After dinner, Lin Zhijin had Li Yue sit and rest while she and Wang Chunhua cleaned up the kitchen together. It was still early, and they couldn't sleep yet, so the three of them sat in the courtyard looking at the star-filled sky and chatting.

"Just how big do you think those stars are? If one fell, would it crush someone to death?" Wang Chunhua suddenly asked.

"I've heard stars are very, very big. I don't know exactly how big, but they'd definitely crush someone." Li Yue nodded with certainty.

Lin Zhijin knew the scientific answer, but the original body wouldn't have, and couldn't have. So she just listened with a smile and said nothing, to avoid raising suspicion.

Early the next morning, Lin Zhijin pushed her bicycle out the door and saw Gu Yan waiting there.

"We don't even live along the same route. I can get to work by myself—you don't need to pick me up every day." He was already busy enough, with so little rest time, and he still got up early to buy her breakfast and walk her to work. It really wasn't necessary.

"I'm not tired. I've been getting busier lately, and we don't get to see each other much as it is. I want to see you." Gu Yan handed the steamed buns to Lin Zhijin, his eyes fixed on her.

Lin Zhijin felt the side of her face under his gaze grow hot. She glanced at him and took small bites of the bun with a gentle smile.

Their relationship was steadily progressing. Although Lin Zhijin didn't notice it herself, Li Yue and Wang Xiaoyao all said they were being clingy.

Clingy was fine. This was her first sweet romance across two lifetimes—she wanted it sweet, and she wanted to be clingy.

There were also those who couldn't stand seeing others happy, muttering that they were young now, but after marriage and kids, they wouldn't be so lovey-dovey anymore.

Whatever. The future could take care of itself. People should live in the present—who had time to think about five or ten years down the road?

She thought avoiding Anping Township would keep her away from the original body's parents, but they came to the city to cause trouble again before the busy farming season.

This time they didn't go to the municipal government. Instead, they found their way to the Southern City Street Office, making a scene and demanding to see her, saying she had no conscience for not telling her family about her engagement.

Even the news about the engagement got to them—someone must have tipped them off. Apart from the Chen family, she couldn't think of who else it could be.

The Chen family, really just won't stay gone. She needed to ask Secretary Zhang when they could be wiped out for good.

"Zhi Jin, sit tight and don't move. I'll go out and handle them." Wang Xiaoyao slammed the table and stood up.

"No, they've already made a scene at our doorstep. It wouldn't look right if I didn't show my face." Lin Zhijin took a deep breath and headed for the entrance of the street office.

Chen Qiuqiu and Wang Xiaoyao exchanged a glance and immediately got up to follow her, afraid Lin Zhijin might get bullied.

"Pan Di, Lin Pandi, I know you're in there. Come out! Even if you hide at the ends of the earth, you're still my daughter, my own flesh and blood. Now that you've got money and a government job, you think you can just pretend you don't have parents?"

"Lin Pandi, come out, you ungrateful daughter! You didn't even tell us about your engagement. Did you even get a matchmaker? Did you get betrothal gifts? Without your parents' approval, that engagement doesn't mean anything. You're just a pair of wild lovers—back in the old days, you'd be drowned in a pig cage!"

"Lin Pandi, come out, you heartless thing! You don't even acknowledge your own parents. How can someone as heartless as you become a government official?"

Lin Youtian just stood there watching Li Cuihua hurl insults, not making any move to stop her.

A bunch of people came out of the street office, and people on the street gathered around, pointing and whispering.

"Who is Lin Pandi?" Sister Sun from the office asked, confused.

"No idea. Is there anyone named Lin Pandi working here? Do you know?" Aunt Wang shook her head and turned to ask another.

"That person didn't know either and turned to ask Sister Wu.

Sister Wu's eyes darted around thoughtfully. If she remembered right, Lin Zhijin had changed her name. Could it be her?

She stepped forward a couple steps, frowned, and asked, "There's no Lin Pandi here. Are you sure you've got the right place?"

"Impossible. Our daughter Lin Pandi works right here. Right, her dad? She's at the Women's Federation, isn't she?" Li Cuihua, thinking they might have made a mistake, hastily asked Lin Youtian beside her.

"That's right, at the Women's Federation. We can't be wrong." Someone had brought them here on purpose; there was no way they'd gotten it wrong.

Hearing this, Sister Wu was secretly delighted. The only Lin at the Women's Federation was Lin Zhijin—no doubt about it, it was her.

Pretending to be confused, Sister Wu said, "There's no such person. The Women's Federation only has one Lin, and her name is Lin Zhijin. There's no Lin Pandi."

Li Cuihua slapped her thigh in realization. "That's right, that's the name! This little wretch changed the name we gave her just to dodge us. 'Pan Di' was such a good name, but she had to go and change it to something like... Zhi... Zhi Jin. Yes, that's it. Such a mouthful, can't even say it right. Not as nice as 'Pan Di' at all."

"Exactly. She even changed the name her parents gave her. Ungrateful and disrespectful! Go call her out and ask her if she really won't acknowledge her own parents." Lin Youtian chimed in immediately.

The crowd started whispering among themselves.

"Cadre Lin at the Women's Federation—I've always thought she seemed like a really nice person. How could she possibly disown her parents?" a plump middle-aged woman said, not believing the couple.

"You wouldn't know this, would you? Cadre Lin used to be the Ninth Concubine of Master Chen of the Chen family," a thin woman whispered.

"What? What? Tell me more!" a fair-skinned young married woman exclaimed, looking like she'd just found a juicy piece of gossip.

"You really don't know?" The plump woman suddenly became animated. "It was at the end of the year before last. Master Chen fell gravely ill and went looking for doctors and remedies everywhere. Eventually, he found a master who said he needed a girl with a matching birth chart to do a 'chong xi'—a ritual to chase away bad luck. After looking around, they found Cadre Lin."

"And then? And then?" the fair-skinned young woman urged eagerly.

"What else? Cadre Lin became the Ninth Concubine—she must have been sold by her family to the Chens to be the ritual bride." The thin woman glanced at Lin Youtian and the others with disdain.

The plump woman clapped her hands. "Exactly! I heard the Chen family paid a full 200 silver dollars. If it weren't for the country being liberated, Cadre Lin would still be stuck in the Chen family's backyard."

"So they sold Cadre Lin to the Chen family? Then what right do they have to come find her?" The fair-skinned young woman, whose own parents adored her, felt nothing but disgust for Lin Youtian and Li Cuihua for selling Lin Zhijin to a dying old man for money.

"That's not how it works. No matter what, they're still the parents who gave birth to her and raised her. She can't just disown them, can she?" a man interjected.

"They already sold her! How can they still call themselves parents?" The fair-skinned young woman shot an annoyed look in his direction. Seeing it was her own husband, she reached over and grabbed his ear. "You tell me—after selling their daughter, why should she still acknowledge them as her parents?"

Just then, Lin Zhijin walked out from inside. Her gaze swept across the crowd before settling on Lin Youtian and Li Cuihua.

The couple was still hurling insults and didn't stop even when they saw her—clearly, they hadn't recognized her.

Lin Zhijin let out a cold laugh and walked up to them. "Well, here I am."

"What?" Li Cuihua looked at her, bewildered.

"Weren't you looking for me? What, don't recognize me?" Lin Zhijin looked at them with a mocking smile.

"You... you're Pan Di?" Li Cuihua's voice came out shrill with shock.

Lin Youtian was equally stunned. Their daughter had always been pretty—that's why the Chen family had taken an interest—but was she really this beautiful?

Looking closely, her features did resemble Pan Di's, but her demeanor was completely different from before. Even people who had known Lin Pandi in the past might not recognize her now.

"Pan Di, you finally came out! After you left the Chen family, why didn't you come home?" Once she confirmed that Lin Zhijin was indeed her daughter, Li Cuihua's expression shifted instantly, her face twisting into a look of sorrow.

Lin Zhijin's lips curled with derision as she watched them like a spectator at a play.

"Pan Di, I know you're angry that we married you off to Master Chen, but times were hard then. If you hadn't married him, your father would have died of illness. I had no choice—I needed the money for his medical bills. As a daughter, you have to understand." Li Cuihua reached out to grab Lin Zhijin's hand.

"That's right. If we'd had any other option, we never would have sent you to the Chen family. Regardless, we should thank the country for granting you your freedom. So now, come home with us." Lin Youtian's eyes gleamed as he looked at the current Lin Zhijin.

He'd heard that before Master Chen died, he'd left Pan Di a substantial inheritance—reportedly worth several thousand silver dollars. A young woman carrying that much money was unsafe; she should let them hold onto it for her.

And the man she was with now—he'd heard his family was well-off. Their Pan Di was beautiful and had a job, so they should demand at least two hundred silver dollars in betrothal gifts. Anything less, and they wouldn't agree.

"That's right, Pan Di. Come home with us right away. The whole family is waiting for you." Li Cuihua reached for Lin Zhijin's hand with delight.

Lin Zhijin sidestepped, evading her grasp, and looked at them with a knowing smile. "Waiting for me? Waiting for what? To snatch the little money I have, or to sell me off a second time?"

Her expression hardened, her gaze sharp as she fixed them with a piercing stare. "Since you already signed the deed of sale and pressed your fingerprints on it, Lin Pandi has no connection to you anymore. And of course, my money, my salary, and even the betrothal gifts from my second marriage—none of that has anything to do with you. I've never heard of a daughter being sold twice."

"But you're still our daughter!" Li Cuihua wailed dramatically.

"That daughter of yours named Lin Pandi—you already sold her. A lifelong contract. I am Lin Zhijin, rescued by the state, by the organization, by the Women's Federation. I have no connection to you whatsoever." Lin Zhijin's voice rang out with unwavering conviction.

"Pan Di!" Li Cuihua cried out in a sing-song wail.

"Don't call me Pan Di. My name is Lin Zhijin. Let me make this clear one more time: Lin Pandi is dead. This is a new China, a new society. Lin Youtian, Li Cuihua—you gave Lin Pandi life, but you sold her to the Chen family, and she died there. Lin Zhijin's life was given by the Party and the state. I will devote my life to the Party and the state, serve the people, and help more women like myself. And let everyone here bear witness: I will publish a notice in the newspaper severing all ties with you. It's not that I'm abandoning you—it's that you sold me. From this day forward, my father is the Party, my mother is the motherland, and my brothers and sisters are the countless like-minded Party members."

The crowd fell silent. What more could they say? Her father was the Party, her mother was the motherland. Could anyone accuse her of being wrong? Could anyone stop her from being loyal to the Party and the state?

Author's note:

None.