By Li Zhen
Ling Fan’s father had an affair when she was three years old; her mother divorced him in a fury and took Ling Fan along with her into her second marriage. But her stepfather never liked Ling Fan and would often beat her for no reason at all, terribly wounding little Ling Fan’s spirit. She thought every single day about how she could escape that home that brought her so much suffering while also looking forward to forming her own happy family after growing up. After getting married at 23 years old, she finally had her own home. She thought she’d be able to live in happiness, but reality didn’t turn out as she had imagined.
An Honest Husband Strays
Her husband was more than a decade older than Ling Fan; he was honest in his dealings with others and of good character, plus he was really caring and solicitous of her, always eager to help out with housework and other tasks. He didn’t have much money and they lived a frugal life, but Ling Fan didn’t care at all. She felt that as long as there’s love between a couple and they’re able to live together harmoniously and happily, she was content. Her husband ended up developing high blood pressure and couldn’t do physically taxing work and they needed to fund their children’s education, so the burden of the family fell on Ling Fan. In an effort to earn more money, she hired someone to look after their pig farm while she went out to work in a shoe factory. She worked late every day until eleven o’clock or midnight; her husband would often meet her at the factory to take her home. Even though Ling Fan worked hard and was exhausted for that period of time, she and her husband were there for each other and she felt happy.
