4

Through the failed schemes of her past, Taohua had now perfected her manipulative skills to a fine art. “Lao Wu,” her husband, had never been particularly kind to his parents, but Taohua was even worse. On the day of their child’s full moon celebration, she made up a story, accusing her father-in-law of trying to deceive them. She claimed that the boy’s clothes had been bought as if they were for a girl, and she threw a massive tantrum. She shouted, “We were young and didn’t know any better. But you’ve underestimated us! At your age, you can’t even tell the difference between boys’ and girls’ clothes. How could you show your face in public like this?”

The child’s background was already something hard to explain, and with a worthless son like “Lao Wu” and a troublemaking daughter-in-law like Taohua, her father-in-law couldn’t take it anymore and hanged himself in despair. Afterwards, her mother-in-law moved in with her daughter, severing all ties with her husband.

Whenever relatives or friends gathered, Taohua and “Lao Wu” would definitely get into a fight. Once, Zhang Jun, one of “Lao Wu’s” friends, came over. The two were having a pleasant chat when Taohua returned home and, for no reason, started a fight. She accused “Lao Wu” of never cleaning the house, saying he was just wasting everything. This embarrassed Zhang Jun, and their meeting ended in awkwardness.

Some people advised them to make up and continue living peacefully, suggesting they have another child, no matter the gender. But Taohua knew better. She had learned from her past experiences and was determined never to have another child with “Lao Wu.” That would only tie her down. To control “Lao Wu” and do whatever she wanted, she approached Wan Lin, a businessman who now owned a company in the county.

When she met Wan Lin, she greeted him with a bright smile and said, “Look at you, now so successful. Surely you haven’t forgotten your past, right?”

Wan Lin replied coolly, “If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t bring up the past.”

Taohua responded, “It’s nothing much, I just want to ask if you could give him a job at your company, so he can earn a living. Do you think you could help with that?”

Wan Lin agreed, saying, “Sure, but let me make it clear, him working here has nothing to do with the past.”

Thanks to their past connection, Taohua arranged for “Lao Wu” to work at Wan Lin’s company. Not only did “Lao Wu” end up being cuckolded, but he also ended up working for someone else.

But deep down, Taohua knew “Lao Wu” was no fool. The job was just her “safe haven.” People’s natures are hard to change, and as soon as anything went wrong at home, they would argue. The fights didn’t stop in private, they continued on the streets, with no regard for what the neighbors thought.

“You, Taohua, don’t care about your home or your family, always drifting around. What’s the point of living like this?”

Taohua retorted, “I married a man to have food and clothes. If you don’t make money to support the family, am I supposed to live off of just my own earnings? I barely make enough for myself.” In reality, Taohua never contributed a cent to the household. Even when the child ate snacks outside, it was “Lao Wu” who paid. As for the family’s living expenses or socializing with relatives and friends, all of that was left to him.

Whenever there was a need for money, Taohua would make up excuses, saying she had errands to run, leaving all the mess for “Lao Wu” to clean up. By the time she returned, the situation would already be resolved. When their child was five or six years old, “Lao Wu” became a full-time stay-at-home husband, doing nothing but gambling and drinking.

Taohua soon hatched a new plan. She threatened “Lao Wu” with divorce in order to pressure him into doing what she wanted. But “Lao Wu” wasn’t as naïve as she thought. He said, “Divorce is fine, but I want to keep the child.” This was his way of preventing the divorce. However, Taohua didn’t care about the child or the family—her primary concern was always manipulation. Competing with others and outwitting them was her forte. She quickly agreed, “You can keep the child, and I’ll leave the house to you. How’s that?” Faced with no better option, “Lao Wu” reluctantly agreed to divorce.

Things didn’t go as planned after that. Taohua found another potential match. She was only interested in the family because they owned several rental properties and worked as civil servants, which would allow her the freedom to live as she pleased. However, “Lao Wu” caused another scene, and the family, who were decent city folks, didn’t want to deal with the drama. They didn’t want their son’s future partner to cause trouble, so they rejected Taohua, and the whole thing ended before it even began.

The same thing happened with several other potential families. “Lao Wu”find a family that was even worse than “Lao Wu”—a family where she could act with more freedom and still maintain some semblance of dignity. She knew well that finding such a family wasn’t like shopping for goods at a store, where you could just pick what you like. Even if she was looking for a dress, it had to fit her perfectly. Otherwise, it would be a wasted effort.

Taohua explained to people that her past mistakes were simply due to her youthful naivety and high ambitions. But now, she had learned her lesson. She knew her limits and was no longer as naive as before. Time was running out, and she was determined to live her life with a new sense of purpose, trying to maintain a respectable appearance.

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