The unparalleled talent of the country started from Harbin Institute of Technology

Chapter 19, Divorce

On the evening of June 14, 1978, in Dahonggou Village, at Wang Duoyu’s home.

"You mean my copycat article got accepted? And yours didn't, and now you want me to keep it quiet. As compensation, you'll give me these two pounds of beef, right?"

To be honest, Wang Duoyu was quite surprised when Sun Shouyi explained his purpose. After all, the other party was willing to spend money to buy two kilograms of beef just for the reputation of "Writer Sun", and the six yuan in royalties still belonged to him, Wang Duoyu. This deal seemed very cost-effective to him.

Wang Duoyu had no idea that the other party had published the article he imitated. After all, the other party came to ask him about writing with a salmon weighing six or seven kilograms. He was really overwhelmed and had no idea where to start. He could only imitate it and write another article.

But Wang Duoyu didn't think about publishing it, let alone earning royalties. He helped the other party revise the article and even imitated it just because the other party was from the same village. Helping each other was a common thing. If it was a bad person like Liu Guihua, Wang Duoyu would definitely not say a word, let alone help.

Sun Shouyi ignored the embarrassment and looked at Wang Duoyu eagerly, asking again expectantly, "Yes, Duoyu, you know I have been persisting in becoming a writer for almost twenty years. Now, by accident, I have finally gained such a reputation. Although it is not my level, but..."

He was probably embarrassed himself, and after hesitating for a long time, he continued:
"But this is a rare opportunity, Duoyu. We are from the same village. Your sixth brother and I have been friends since we were little. Your third and sixth brothers know my past best. I can say that I watched you grow up, so I hope you can help me."

After a long silence, Wang Duoyu finally spoke, "Brother Sun, why are you doing this? You're deceiving yourself. Instead of this, you might as well work hard to calm down, read more, and practice more."

"Duoyu, I really..." Sun Shouyi became angry instantly, but Wang Duoyu didn't want to waste time talking to him. It was a waste of time. He wanted to spend more time on writing his thesis.

After a while, Sun Shouyi left in a daze, and Wang Duoyu no longer paid attention to the matter. He would not say anything to others. If the other party was exposed, it would not be his business.

That night, Wang Duoyu prepared the little wild boar, coated it evenly with salt, and then took it to his eldest brother's house to smoke and roast it together.

His eldest brother had a special smokehouse built with mud bricks. It was not expensive, but very useful. Every spring and summer, when he came back from hunting, he would put the leftover game into the smokehouse so that it could be better stored.

When he was at his eldest brother's house, Wang Duoyu heard a lot about Sun Shouyi from the conversations of nearby neighbors. Many people even asked Wang Duoyu about the revision of his writing. After all, the villagers all knew that Sun Shouyi had brought salmon to his house to ask for advice on writing.

Not only other villagers, but even the usually steady elder brother Wang Shoucheng pulled Wang Duoyu aside and asked him about this matter in a low voice. Upon hearing this, the latter told the truth:

"Brother, last month Sun Shouyi did come to me for advice on writing, and I did revise the article for him. But the truth is, I didn't agree to this. Just keep it to yourself, and try not to spread it around."

Wang Shoucheng, upon learning the whole story, was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He quickly said to his ninth brother, "You were right not to agree to this matter. Even if our relationship is good, it will still cause a lot of trouble. But you are still too young. Leave this matter to me. Don't worry about it."

Sun Shouyi is actually a decent person, but his wife is a tigress who is not very sensible and is petty. This matter will definitely be exposed. If Sun Shouyi's wife asks Wang Duoyu to return the royalties, it will definitely be another troublesome matter.

Six yuan wasn't much, but disturbing Wang Duoyu wasn't a good thing. "Okay, big brother, I understand," Wang Duoyu agreed. After all, his big brother was in his fifties and more familiar with the people and things in the village. He was naturally relieved that he was personally asking about this matter.

That night, Sun Shouyi could not bear the questioning of his wife Lu Xiaoling and confessed everything, and then she got furious.

"Why should I give him the royalties? That article was for you. I won't mention the salmon you gave him before, but consider it as payment. Later, he felt bad and wrote an article for you, and you published it and got the royalties. That's yours, so why should I give it to him?"

Lu Xiaoling's eyes went dark, and she said angrily:
"Sun Shouyi, if you don't get that six yuan in royalties back today, you can forget about going to bed. What are you still standing there for? Why don't you go find him and get the money?"

That's six dollars in royalties. It may not seem like much, but it's definitely not small. It can buy eight kilograms of pork.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Sun Shouyi was confused. He claimed to be a scholar, how could he be so shameless as to say that?

What's more, the reason why he chose to confess to Wang Duoyu was more because of his identity as a scholar. Moreover, this time he benefited from Wang Duoyu's influence and got the title of "Writer Sun". Although the experience of being "Writer Sun" may only last today, it was a dream come true for him.

But now his wife actually asked him to go to Wang Duoyu to get back the six yuan in royalties? Isn't this a slap in his face? Where will he put his face then? He will definitely not be able to hold his head up in the village.

"I'm not going, and you're not allowed to go either. This matter is non-negotiable. If you want me to be unable to hold my head up high in the future, then go ahead and make a scene. Then I'll divorce you!"

hiss!
Lu Xiaoling looked at her husband in disbelief. When had he become so tough? How dare he threaten her with divorce over a mere six yuan in royalties?
"Okay, Sun Shouyi, you've become more capable, right? You actually want to divorce me? Do you have someone else outside? Or have you been influenced by that bastard Wang Duoyu?"

"You don't want to talk, right? You little bastard Sun Shouyi, you're so cruel. You want to divorce me, right? Fine, fine."

At this time, two heads popped out of the door. They were the couple's children. The older one was called Sun Shuwen and the younger one was called Sun Shuting. The brother and sister became angry when they heard their parents quarreling.

"Dad, Mom, please stop arguing, okay?" Eleven-year-old Sun Shuting said with tears in her eyes. Her brother Sun Shuwen also had red eyes and persuaded their parents in a hoarse voice not to quarrel.

But Lu Xiaoling didn't care about that because her husband wanted to divorce her. At this moment, her mind was full of the word divorce. How could she listen to any advice?
As a tigress, Lu Xiaoling saw that her husband remained silent, so she threatened him again to go to Wang Duoyu to get back his royalties. As long as he got the royalties back, she would pretend that his filing for divorce had never happened.

But Sun Shouyi refused to go, so Lu Xiaoling was furious and said, "Okay, if you don't want to go, then I will!"

(End of this chapter)