Sorry, My Beloved Is The Motherland - Chapter 21.2 - To Dedicate One's Self To The Country

“Pah! Who taught you to do such a despicable thing!”

The hurriedly arriving Erwazi’s mother squeezed her way through the crowd, pushing left and right, and was already shouting insults.

She grabbed a carrying pole left over after picking up tofu and swung it fiercely at Erwazi, shouting, “Look at yourself! What kind of person are you? If you want to marry a wife, you can’t do such shameless things! You fool, you don’t know any better, and now people will say that my Liu family is immoral and disgraceful!”

You brainless fool, whatever dirty, rotten, stinking things others teach you, you just learn them?! What the heck is this ‘Cowher and Weaver Girl’ nonsense? Look here, even dogs know that doing such things are not proper!

What kind of dog nor god is this*! He is the one who was discovered by others!

T/N: implies something is neither here nor there, or questioning the true nature or identity of someone in a sarcastic or dismissive manner. It expresses the speaker’s frustration and disbelief.

Erwazi’s mother was so angry that she was like a Buddha appearing and ascending to heaven*. —— Usually, he just wanders around the village all day, and besides being bullied by others, he has never bullied anyone. Such a useless thing, and now he’s been taught to do this kind of thing?!

T/N: exaggerate someone’s anger.

Self-harm 800, enemy loss 1000.

Erwazi’s mother was indeed furious, cursing non-stop.

Erwazi cried and dodged the stick, not knowing that his mother was also taking the initiative, scolding not only him but also the fool who had deceived him.

But everyone is not stupid; everyone understands.

The way people looked at Liang Huixue changed.

Even a person like a flawless white jade* will always have a flaw.

T/N: In Chinese culture, white jade is considered very pure and perfect.

Everyone experiences jealousy, greed and bottomless desires. The difference lies in how much one can restrain them.

Everyone has ideas that cannot see the light of day, but not everyone can put them into action.

Once you take this step, the further you go, the deeper you sink, and even the white jade turns into a stone in the cesspit.

Ning Fu walked out with her wet hair draped over her shoulders, “Erwazi, did you get it?”

Erwazi cried out, “That’s right, that’s right!” He looked around in panic, afraid that Dahuang was still hiding somewhere. “I know I was wrong, tell Dahuang not to bite me anymore!”

Ning Fu curled the corners of her lips and said, “Where did you go wrong?”

Erwazi froze for a moment. “Wrong, wrong in…?” He racked his brain, thinking hard. “Is it wrong to think about marrying a fairy as a wife?”

His mother just scolded him like this. His moral character is not worthy of a fairy.

Ning Fu shook her head and said, “The mistake is that you only know how to cook raw rice into cooked rice*, but you don’t understand that everyone has a heart made of flesh.” She said concisely, “What if the fairy wants to go home? What if the fairy doesn’t like you? Are you going to lock her up?”

T/N:*to act without considering the consequences

The fool was stunned.

He has never thought about this problem.

The Cowherd… Did the Cowherd ever ask the fairy if she wanted to stay?

The fool fell into his second deep thought in life, not realizing that Ning Fu’s words were not only meant for him.

Her gaze met the eyes of Erwazi’s mother.

Erwazi’s mother was startled, as if she had suddenly been frozen in place.

For just a moment, in that very instant, Erwazi’s mother also had a thought flash through her mind.

—What if, what if Erwazi really saw the female educated youth taking a bath?

—What if, what if at that time there were only the two of them in the room?

—What if, what if the door was locked?

She was startled by this thought, but couldn’t help but momentarily have improper thoughts.

When her gaze met Ning Fu’s, nothing could hide.

Erwazi’s mother only felt that the girl’s gaze was like a dagger, stabbing straight into her heart, hot and bloody.

All at once, take the dirty, unspeakable thoughts and bring them out, exposing them to the full sunlight.

Erwazi suddenly seemed to have an epiphany, and with a sudden movement, he looked up, shouting loudly: “I… I don’t want it! I like the fairy, and I want the fairy to like me. I don’t want unrequited love, and I don’t want to lock her up, because if I do, she’ll never like me!”

When saying these words, the ‘fairy’ was no longer the beautiful girl in the red sweater.

The fairy is Xiao Ming, who threw stones at him; Xiao Jun, who tricked him into eating pig food; his parents, who were always impatient with him; his older brother, who is stronger and smarter than him and looks down on him.

The fool shed hot tears.

He also wants everyone to like him.

Ning Fu softly said, “If they don’t understand how to respect you, it’s their fault. But you can’t learn from them.”

“You are a person. The human heart is made of flesh; if you cannot live happily for yourself, don’t make many others’ hearts hurt.”

The words are not fully explained, because the fool doesn’t understand.

The words are not fully explained, because only those who listen this way will understand.

*

This storm has passed. Erwazi was also dragged by his mother to attend a literacy class. The children in the class were all given a death order* by the party secretary: anyone who bullies the fool will get five slaps on the hand.

T/N: implying a strict command.

Now, even the adults in the village who usually liked to gossip about Erwazi don’t dare to talk anymore.

Erwazi’s mother carries tofu every day. Her back is straight now*. Although she still dislikes Erwazi for being slow-witted and talkative, she occasionally praises her youngest son, who is 24 years old this year, for finally being able to write his own name.

T/N: literally, it means to carry with a pole across the shoulders, which is a common rural image. This phrase implies daily work or chores, often done by women in traditional settings. Her back is straight now means that she is standing more upright, indicating a sense of pride, self-assurance.