The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Zheng Changsheng looked at Zheng Daniu. Although they shared a surname, he did not have a good impression of the man.

When Lin Shuying first came to their village, she was a woman as beautiful as a flower. Many men in the village took a liking to her, including him.

But he knew a man like him wasn’t good enough for Lin Shuying, so he could only admire her from afar, helping her in small ways in secret whenever he could. He never expected that, in the end, Zheng Daniu would use despicable means to make Lin Shuying marry him.

He was furious and resentful when he found out, but what could he do? What was done was done. All he could do was watch.

Later, he went to the city for over ten years. And while his life there wasn’t amazing, it was still much better than in the village. He only returned when his mother’s health began to fail.

He hadn’t married a woman from the city, nor had he returned to the village to find a wife, so he remained unmarried. He was always tending to his ailing mother, leaving no time to find someone, and so he had been single all this time.

Because he had lived in the city, the villagers all looked up to him, which was why they later elected him as the village chief.

To be honest, he didn’t really want the job. There were many things in the village he disapproved of. He had tried to intervene, but few people listened. Whenever a problem arose, the villagers still preferred to consult a few elders or discuss it within their own clans.

He saw Lin Shuying suffering. And though his youthful infatuation had faded, he couldn’t bear to see her live like that. He confronted Zheng Daniu several times because of it, and he helped Lin Shuying whenever she was in trouble. But he never imagined that not only would Zheng Daniu refuse to change, but every time he spoke up, Zheng Daniu would beat Lin Shuying. He even accused Lin Shuying of having an affair with him, when in truth, there was absolutely nothing between them.

Then came the affair between Zheng Daniu and Chang Juhua. He went to Zheng Daniu’s door to confront him, but Zheng Daniu was vile and paid his threats no heed. He even got into a fight with him that time, trying to force him to break it off with Chang Juhua. But he never thought that would only make Zheng Daniu treat Lin Shuying even worse. By the time he looked for an opportunity to speak with Lin Shuying alone, she had already taken her children and returned to her parents’ home.

He had secretly hoped she would never return. He really couldn’t stand to watch her live that kind of life any longer.

But a part of him was always worried. No one from her family had visited in so many years. Now that she was returning with two children, would her family even take her in?

Only today, when Lin Shuying returned with such force to demand a divorce from Zheng Daniu, could Zheng Changsheng finally relax. ’A divorce is for the best,’ he thought. ’At least she’ll be free. Even if life is tough from now on, without Zheng Daniu, she can at least live like a person. As for never seeing her again... as long as she’s living well, I don’t care.’

"It doesn’t matter whether you know what I think or not. All I know is that only by leaving you can Lin Shuying live like a human being. A man like you was never good enough for her. She married you, but did you ever treat her well for a single day? The way you’ve degraded her, she should have divorced you long ago. I’ve been wishing for her to leave you. Only by getting away from you can she finally be free."

Zheng Changsheng stared at Zheng Daniu. He had wanted to say these words for a long time. But before, Lin Shuying had no plans to divorce Zheng Daniu. If he had said this then, she would never have been able to live in this village. The gossip alone would have been enough to drown her. But she wasn’t coming back to this village anymore. She wouldn’t know what anyone here said, so she wouldn’t have to care.

’As for me,’ he thought, ’after saying something like this, maybe Zheng Fuzi and his cronies will stir up trouble and get me removed as village chief. So what if they do? I never cared much for the position anyway. My mother is gone now, and I’m all alone. I can make a living anywhere. If I can’t stay in this village, then I’ll just leave.’

Gu’er hadn’t expected Zheng Changsheng to say that. She was rather surprised. ’Listening to him,’ she thought, ’does this mean there’s more to this story than I knew?’

She glanced at her aunt, Lin Shuying, whose expression was complicated.

"Zheng Changsheng, you inhuman piece of shit! I’ll kill you! You’re after my wife? Are you even human, you shameless old bastard?! No wonder no woman wants you—you’re not a man! Dream on about getting a wife! Maybe in your next life!"

Zheng Daniu shouted curses as he swung his fist at Zheng Changsheng.

Zheng Changsheng watched him charge but didn’t move an inch. Even if Zheng Daniu hadn’t just taken a beating, he would have been no match for him. So, he wasn’t afraid of Zheng Daniu in the slightest.

"That’s enough," Gu’er cut in. "Settle your problems later. If you want to fight, do it after we’re gone. Right now, we’re going to the brigade headquarters."

Gu’er had Sun Jiaming and Li Zhi restrain Zheng Daniu.

Zheng Daniu was still screaming, cursing both Zheng Changsheng and Lin Shuying. Dingzi stepped forward and silenced him with a few quick moves, then hauled him up and tossed him into the military truck.

Squad Leader Shang’s eyes brightened. ’This Dingzi has definitely had special training,’ he thought. ’It’d be fantastic if he could join our unit. What a shame.’

Gu’er went inside with Lin Shuying to gather all the necessary documents.

When they came out, Squad Leader Shang gave a shout, letting Gu’er and her group board the truck first. Zheng Changsheng followed them up. Zheng Fuzi also tried to climb aboard, but Li Zhi knocked him back with a kick.

Once the soldiers saw everyone was aboard, they quickly piled in, and the tailgate was shut.

Zheng Fuzi was about to order people to surround the vehicle, but a loud HONK from the horn made everyone scatter. The truck rumbled away, and Zheng Fuzi swallowed the words he was about to shout.

Dust billowed into the air, and soon, the gossiping crowd faded from view.

With Zheng Changsheng giving directions, they arrived at the brigade headquarters. After hearing the situation, the brigade secretary issued and stamped the required document without a word of protest. He had no desire to offend these people.

With the document in hand, the truck rumbled on toward the city. They arrived at three in the afternoon, before the Civil Affairs Bureau had closed for the day. They accompanied Lin Shuying and Zheng Daniu to the counter.

The moment the clerk saw the bruises all over Zheng Daniu’s face, he knew what was going on. Still, procedures were procedures, so he had to ask the required questions, such as whether the divorce was voluntary and so on.

Zheng Daniu couldn’t possibly say no. Dingzi had been roughing him up the entire trip, and just seeing the man standing behind him now made him shudder.

"I... I’m willing."

Zheng Daniu could barely get the words out.

"Hitting someone is wrong, you know. And you can’t force a person to get a divorce," the clerk said.

The clerk said this with a pointed look at Gu’er and her companions.

"Comrade, don’t you worry, we didn’t force him. He already has another woman at home, so he has to get a divorce. He found a new wife, and she’s about to give birth. Tell me, if he doesn’t divorce my aunt, isn’t that bigamy? Don’t you agree, Comrade? Besides, we didn’t hit him. He did all this to himself because he feels so terrible for how he’s wronged my aunt. If you don’t believe me, just ask him."

After speaking, Gu’er shot a look at Zheng Daniu.

"That’s... that’s right. I did it to myself."

Zheng Daniu nodded. He was afraid of Dingzi, and he was afraid of the truckload of soldiers. The journey here had scared him half to death.