When Liang Bingan didn’t return home on time, Liu Fang wasn’t worried.
Recently, Liang Bingan had been trying to make a good impression at work, arriving early and leaving late, sometimes even working overtime.
When her mother-in-law called, Liu Fang had no idea what had happened. Upon arriving at her in-laws’ home, Father Liang immediately berated her: “A wise wife prevents her husband’s misfortune! Why did you have to arrange a marriage connection with the Fan family? You’ve gotten Bingan killed!”
Liu Fang was completely bewildered.
Her in-laws’ attitude had changed too quickly. Previously, when there was talk of marrying Xia Xiaolan to Fan Zhenchuan, Father Liang hadn’t objected.
But circumstances changed dramatically. When disaster suddenly struck Fan Zhenchuan, the elderly Liangs trembled in fear of being implicated. Only after Liang Bingan swore he had no deep connection with Fan Zhenchuan did his parents feel slightly relieved.
Liang Bingan had wanted such a connection, but Fan Zhenchuan had never considered him worthy of his inner circle.
Liang Bingan was lucky that he hadn’t managed to board Fan Zhenchuan’s ship before it sank.
When nothing happened for over ten days, it seemed Fan Zhenchuan’s case wouldn’t implicate Liang Bingan… But the Liang family’s celebration proved premature. When Father Liang received news that Liang Bingan had been publicly taken away, Liu Fang couldn’t believe it.
How was this possible? They’d just been saying his promotion to bureau chief was practically certain.
In an instant, she learned not only would he not become bureau chief, but he’d been arrested.
Father Liang gasped for breath, “Where did you hear he was getting promoted? Tell me honestly, how many things has Bingan brought home these years? Before they come to search the house, quickly get rid of anything suspicious!”
Father Liang thought that even if his son had taken improper advantages, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to admit it.
As long as he held firm and didn’t confess, while his position might be affected, he should be able to keep his freedom.
The prerequisite was Liu Fang’s cooperation. Father Liang had urgently summoned his daughter-in-law because he knew that after all these years, Liu Fang hadn’t grown wiser – arrogant toward the poor but unable to keep secrets when faced with investigators! If Liu Fang spoke carelessly, she could destroy his son.
Sure enough, Liu Fang began trembling. If her in-laws hadn’t been watching her like hawks, she would have gladly fainted.
Fainting would be better than facing this situation.
Liu Fang’s mind was in chaos. What things weren’t they supposed to accept? They had over thirty thousand yuan in savings, and whenever Liang Bingan brought money home, she never questioned its source. After all, Liang Bingan told her to just spend it – why should a woman ask so many questions?
They didn’t have many other valuable items, just a few gold rings and two gold necklaces.
Their family lived well, with better living standards than average urban households, but calculating Liang Bingan’s salary, a family couldn’t cover expenses and still save over thirty thousand yuan. No, without giving that ten thousand to Xia Xiaolan, they should have had forty thousand in savings.
Being a housewife for many years didn’t mean Liu Fang was ignorant of other families’ incomes. In well-performing work units, a couple could earn two to three hundred yuan monthly, saving a few thousand annually if they spent nothing. But that was assuming they spent nothing – who could avoid spending their entire salary? Given their years of service, those earning high salaries typically had elderly parents and young children to support. Even Grandet couldn’t feed a family on thin air.
While having savings from earnings was possible, having tens of thousands in savings from wages alone in 1984 was simply impossible!
Liu Fang couldn’t afford to play mind games with her in-laws. She honestly revealed their assets, and Father Liang immediately knew these savings had questionable origins. He hadn’t expected Liang Bingan to be so bold. His heart tightened – a wise wife prevents her husband’s misfortune indeed! If Liu Fang hadn’t become a housewife upon marriage, not earning money but loving to spend it, would his son have needed to bring home so much money? Grandmother Liang immediately slapped Liu Fang:
“You harbinger of doom! If my son dies because of you, don’t expect to live well either!”
Liu Fang broke into tears.
Liang Bingan never told her about work matters, how could she have harmed him?
Too guilty to argue back, she wondered if this was still related to the Fan family affair. Liu Fang was panicked and suspicious that this was revenge from Xia Xiaolan’s military officer boyfriend, but she dared not mention this in front of her in-laws. If her in-laws knew she was connected to this, she’d likely face more than just a slap.
Father Liang wanted to strangle his stupid daughter-in-law but had to control his anger. If Liu Fang hadn’t handle this properly, Liang Bingan would have suffered more:
“Bring over the bankbooks, jewelry, and other valuables. We can’t leave the house empty of money – a few thousand yuan would be reasonable. If anyone asks about Bingan, say you know nothing!”
Father Liang wanted to teach her more but questioned if she had the wit to understand.
If Liu Fang’s story didn’t match Liang Bingan’s confession to the organization, that would truly destroy him.
“Don’t tell Liang Yu. Bring the child here. The same goes for Huan – let her attend school as usual. If anyone asks about her father, she should say she knows nothing!”
Liu Fang nodded at each of her father-in-law’s instructions.
The elderly Liangs didn’t keep her long, telling her to quickly gather the items and bring them over. Liu Fang ransacked the house, afraid of forgetting valuable items in some corner. Fortunately, Liang Bingan wasn’t stupid – the money he brought home could be used for daily expenses, but he didn’t let Liu Fang make the house too luxurious.
Electronics were certainly valuable. Liu Fang was now extremely grateful that although she’d felt envious when hearing sister-in-law Li Fengmei bought a 19-inch imported color TV and wanted to replace their old television, she hadn’t had time to do so.
Valuables could be hidden at her in-laws’, but a 19-inch imported color TV would have been too conspicuous!
Such a large television couldn’t be disposed of quickly enough.
Father Liang’s judgment proved correct. The day after Liang Bingan was taken away, someone came to question Liu Fang.
Following her father-in-law’s instructions, Liu Fang claimed ignorance about everything. When pressed, she emphasized her role as a housewife, unfamiliar with Liang Bingan’s work: “My husband is dedicated to his work, often working overtime. Even during holidays, he remains at his post when the unit needs him…”
Every investigated official and their family said the same things. Some performed even better than Liu Fang, putting on a complete show, but those who cried the hardest often turned out to be the guilty ones.
The visitor looked around the house:
“Your family seems well-off, even having a washing machine. We understand that you don’t work, Comrade Liu Fang?”
Liu Fang’s heart nearly jumped out of her throat:
“We saved from Old Liang’s salary, plus supplements from his parents – they both have decent retirement pensions.”
Both elderly Liangs received pensions. Father Liang retired as an official, and Mother Liang as a worker. The Liang family’s good circumstances weren’t just from salaries. When Father Liang had power, he acquired many good things for the family. As time passed and Father Liang retired safely, those things became the Liangs’ property.
The Liang family was wealthy. The elderly Liangs couldn’t understand why Liang Bingan needed to grab money for home – they weren’t short of money, and after their passing, everything would go to him anyway.
Liang Huan was still dreaming of being a bureau chief’s daughter when suddenly her father was arrested. The dream was shattered like being slapped awake, leaving her lost and confused.
Her grandfather told her to attend school as usual, but how could Liang Huan maintain such composure?
Even before anyone questioned her, she was nearly having a mental breakdown, lying listlessly on her desk during class to hide her distress.
Fan Han smirked. Yesterday when Liang Bingan was arrested, her grandmother had clapped with joy at home… Grandmother Fan didn’t believe her son Fan Zhenchuan was wrong – the fault lay with the Liang family who had tried to make connections, with Xia Xiaolan’s boyfriend, with the people who came to take Fan Zhenchuan away.