Ordinary World: Starting with a divorce from Tian Runye

The next morning, the air in Yuanxi County smelled of coal smoke.

Runye pushed her Phoenix brand bicycle, a 26-inch model, along the stone-paved road leading to the county town primary school. The red plastic bell on the handlebars made a muffled sound as the bike bounced.

As I entered the teachers' office, several female teachers who were filling enamel mugs with hot water were chatting. When they saw Runye come in, they all deliberately lowered their voices.

Runye sat down at her desk and opened her lesson preparation book. At the next desk, Wang Guiqin was taking out a box of body lotion and applying it to her hands; the rich fragrance made Runye feel dizzy.

"Runye, your eyes are so dark... Did Xiangqian drink again last night?" Wang Guiqin leaned closer with concern, her voice low.

Everyone in Yuanxi County knew that Li Xiangqian, the son of the deputy director of the county revolutionary committee, had given his heart to the beautiful girl from the Tian family, but his married life was like being soaked in bitter water.

"No, he goes to bed quite early." Runye smiled, her fingers unconsciously stroking the pen on the table.

Seeing that Runye remained silent, Wang Guiqin stopped trying to embarrass herself and started chatting with the other teachers.

Runye spent the entire morning in a daze. She wrote the pinyin on the blackboard wrong twice, and almost pricked her hand while tying red scarves for the students.

She kept thinking: Did he really bring up divorce last night? He said it himself, and it didn't seem like he was joking.

Runye wanted to talk to someone and get some advice, but who could she turn to?

Should I look for my second uncle? He's busy with the Revolutionary Committee. Should I look for Shao'an? Shao'an already has a family, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to look for him. Should I look for my father? My father still likes this son of an official as his son-in-law; if he finds out I'm getting a divorce, he'll probably be so angry that his asthma will flare up again.

After school, Runye was preoccupied. As usual, she went to the cafeteria to get her food. She was used to being alone and didn't seem to have any friends besides her best friend, Du Lili.

Meanwhile, the former Xixian Transportation Department's family compound.

Two sets of hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Li Xiangqian's father, Li Dengyun, deputy director of the county revolutionary committee, was dressed in a crisp dark blue Zhongshan suit with a Parker pen tucked into his breast pocket. Following behind him was his wife, Liu Zhiying, from the county hospital.

Li Dengyun pushed open the door, and the coldness of the room made him frown instantly.

The cement floor was swept clean, and a thermos decorated with peonies sat on the table, but there wasn't even a teacup. A thin layer of dust covered the sewing machine in the corner.

This doesn't look like the home of a newlywed couple at all; it looks more like a cold, impersonal single dormitory.

"Hmph." Li Dengyun snorted, looking at his son who was still fast asleep in the room, and complained to his wife in a low voice, "Look at this! What kind of life is Xiangqian living? He works hard driving a truck outside, and when he comes home, there's not even a warm breath for him. That woman from the Tian family has a heart harder than iron! What kind of family couldn't they find in the whole county? Why did she have to choose this one!"

As a doctor, Liu Zhiying was naturally tidy, and looking at the messy living room, her brows furrowed. But she felt more sorry for her son, so she lowered her voice and stopped her husband: "Alright, that's enough. Don't put on that official airs at home. It wasn't easy for Xiang Qian either, we have to go along with it."

Liu Zhiying placed the net bag of apples she was carrying on the table and quietly went into the inner room.

"Forward, forward! Mom's here to see you."

Li Xiangqian was woken up and opened his eyes to see a woman with a ponytail, who was his mother, Liu Zhiying.

The county hospital leader's mother and the county leader's father! Two powerful weapons for a "lying flat" policy.

Li Xiangqian sat up, feeling quite relieved.

Li Dengyun glanced at the still-present red mark on his son's face, his eye twitching slightly. His official authority finally gave way: "Were you causing trouble again last night? What happened to your face? Xiangqian, how have I raised you? A man should act like a man!"

"Dad, I'm doing pretty well," Li Xiangqian smiled. "I'm planning to quit that awful job at work and come home to be with you two. Doesn't that mean I'm doing well?"

With these two powerful weapons for lying down, why bother driving? It's practically stealing jobs from the working class, it's outrageous!

"You..." Li Dengyun was so angry that he almost slammed his fist on the table.

Liu Zhiying quickly grabbed Li Dengyun and pushed him towards the outer room: "Get out! Go stand over there! Don't disturb me talking to my son."

Liu Zhiying turned around and stroked Li Xiangqian's head: "Xiangqian, we won't listen to your dad. You lie in the room, Mom will make you something nice to eat."

After saying that, she went into the kitchen. As soon as she entered, Liu Zhiying's heart sank. The flour jar was full, but the cutting board was cold and the stove was bare, clearly indicating that it hadn't been used much.

Liu Zhiying sighed helplessly, rolled up her sleeves, and took out two pieces of fresh pork fat from the cloth bag she had brought.

Soon, sizzling sounds came from the kitchen. Liu Zhiying skillfully kneaded the dough and cut the meat. She wanted to make her son a hearty meal: braised tofu with pork cracklings and two bowls of chewy hand-pulled noodles.

But for Li Xiangqian, who was sitting in the inner room, this kind of "care" that was heavy on oil, salt, and carbohydrates was obviously not suitable for him, as he was a Cantonese soul who was used to congee with preserved egg and lean pork and steamed sea bass in his previous life.

……

The atmosphere in the family quarters of the former Xixian County Transportation Department was eerie.

On the red lacquered square table were several hearty Shaanxi dishes that Liu Zhiying had just prepared: a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions glistening with bright red oil, a bowl of tofu stewed with pork cracklings, which was heavy on oil and salt, and a bowl of steaming hand-pulled noodles.

Liu Zhiying handed a pair of wooden chopsticks to her son, her eyes full of love: "Xiangqian, eat it while it's hot. This is fresh lard that Mom specially bought from the food factory. It smells delicious."

Looking at the tofu floating on the "red sea," Li Xiangqian had absolutely no appetite. As a Cantonese soul accustomed to a cup of light tea and a few baskets of shrimp dumplings in the morning, pursuing the original flavor of ingredients and a refreshing taste, he simply couldn't appreciate the fine, delicate flavors of the North.

"Dad, Mom, since you're both here, I have two things to say." Li Xiangqian put down his chopsticks and said calmly, "First, Runye and I are planning to get a divorce, and we'll go through with it in the next few days."

Li Dengyun, who was sitting to the side, was taking a sip of Fenjiu liquor when he heard this. His hand trembled slightly and his eyes became complicated.

To be honest, he had long since stopped wanting the Tian family as his daughter-in-law. Tian Fujun was currently being ostracized by Feng Shikuan, and his political future was precarious. At this critical juncture, if his son could sever ties with the Tian family, it wouldn't be such a bad thing.

"It's good that you've figured it out." Li Dengyun put down his wine glass and comforted him, "A boy should be able to take things in stride, that's what makes him real."

"Secondly," Li Xiangqian continued, ignoring his father's praise, "I'm not driving that big truck anymore. It's too dangerous, and bad for my legs."

"Not opening anymore?" Li Dengyun looked at Liu Zhiying beside him, and the two exchanged a glance, both looking puzzled.

This precious son had two great passions in life: driving trucks and marrying Tian Runye. He even turned down a well-arranged government job to become a truck driver. And he even changed his hobbies to marry Tian Runye.

How long has it been? Two major hobbies abandoned so easily?

"If you're not going to drive, what do you want to do?" Li Dengyun noticed that something was wrong with Li Xiangqian and asked cautiously.

"Dad, the most important thing in life is to be happy. Driving is too tiring, bad for your back, and dangerous. I don't want to go through all that trouble in my life. I just want to lie down peacefully."

After saying that, Li Xiangqian glanced at the greasy braised tofu, and his stomach acid surged up again.

"I really can't eat anymore. You guys take your time. My head hurts a little. I'm going back to my room to sleep for a while."

Li Xiangqian got up directly, ignoring the two of them, and went back to his room.

"Have you figured it out, Xiangqian?"

Li Dengyun glanced at the half-open door and asked Liu Zhiying with a puzzled look, "But what does 'lying down' mean?"

Liu Zhiying frowned as she looked at her son's untouched chopsticks.

"Dengyun, can you tell something's wrong? Xiangqian... this doesn't seem like he's figured things out, it seems like he's just come to terms with it!"

"Look at his eyes, they're completely lifeless! A couple of months ago, our hospital's second ward admitted a young man, about the same age as Xiang Qian. He also broke up with his girlfriend. First, he said he wasn't going to work anymore and would give away all the food coupons he had saved. Then he stopped eating and drinking. Less than three days later, he hanged himself at home in the middle of the night!"

The more Liu Zhiying spoke, the more frightened she became. Her face turned deathly pale, and she murmured, "Lie down quietly?"

"Lie down?" Liu Zhiying couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. "Old man, lying down is death! Xiangqian wants to live a peaceful life; he's courting death!"

Li Dengyun was half-sobered by his wife's string of professional jargon: "You mean, Xiang Qian's resignation, divorce, and refusal to eat... were all preparations for his death?"

"Definitely!" Liu Zhiying slapped her thigh, tears welling up in her eyes. "Think about it, how much did Xiangqian value that driver's job before? When the county revolutionary committee offered him an administrative position, he absolutely refused, insisting on driving, saying that a man should hold the steering wheel and forge ahead. Now he doesn't even want the steering wheel anymore, his spirit must be broken!"

The couple became increasingly frightened as they thought about it.

"No!" Li Dengyun panicked. No matter how important his political future was, this was his only precious asset. "The one who tied the knot must untie it. The root of the problem lies with that woman from the Tian family! Call her back! Bring her back from school immediately!"