Three Women in the Cage

Yang Yu finally suppressed all her emotions. Looking at the mess in the house and her drunken husband, she sat in the yard in the dark for the first time, looking up at the scattered stars in the sky, and sat there all night.

Zhang Erfa used to sit here often. Yang Yu didn't understand why he sat here in a daze, but she understood why she was sitting here now.

Her messy life, her useless husband, and her innocent young son trapped her in the wall of despair. She was unable to struggle and could only rely on daydreaming to temporarily escape from these suffocating troubles.

Yaya in his arms was already fast asleep. He held her in his arms, maintaining the same posture in the darkness. She was submerged in the darkness until the daybreak, when she emerged from it.

The day will eventually dawn, and you cannot escape the darkness. Everything you have to face will not disappear just because you escape.

She rubbed her bloodshot eyes, looked at the rising sun in the sky, sighed, and slowly stood up.

He tied Yaya on his shoulders, then went into the house and cleaned up the mess. He first gathered the clothes that were piled up in the house and put them into the laundry basket, then cleaned the greasy pots and pans in the kitchen, and finally swept the dusty floor.

Zhang Erfa woke up to the sound of rustling at home. He opened his eyes with a tired face and an unpleasant smell of alcohol hit him. He sat up and looked at the bearded and decadent man in the dressing mirror. He was dazed for a moment, wondering how he had ended up in such a mess.

He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled at himself. He was at a loss as to what to do in his life. He didn't love his wife, nor did he like his children. This family they put together was not his home. He had no goals to strive for, no life to pursue, and his wife and children could not give him any motivation to live. He was like an empty shell, alone but bound by the world, and he was in a panic all day long.

The smell of rice coming from the kitchen brought him back to his senses. Following the aroma, he came to the kitchen. Looking at the tidy kitchen, the clean floor, and the hot pots and stoves cooking, he felt a sense of home life for the first time in a long time.

He suddenly felt a little guilty, thinking that he had let down his wife and children.

"You're back, why didn't you wake me up?" Zhang Erfa felt a little embarrassed for the first time.

Yang Yu didn't want to quarrel with him as soon as she came back. She didn't have the extra energy to deal with him, so she glanced at him indifferently.

"Well, I came back last night. You were sleeping so soundly that I didn't wake you up."

Zhang Erfa realized belatedly how ridiculous he had been, but he was still somewhat happy that his wife and children had returned for him. He looked at Yaya on Yang Yu's back, glanced around the kitchen, and asked with a hint of confusion, "Why can't I see Huanhuan?"

Yang Yu thought to herself, you still remember Huanhuan, don’t you think you can’t see anything? I’ve never seen you look at her normally, and now you’re pretending.

But she said without showing it, "Mom and Dad wanted her to stay there for a while longer, and Huanhuan happened to like it there too, so they left her there temporarily."

Zhang Erfa was just asking casually at first, but after hearing what Yang Yu said, he cooperated and said, "That's good, there are people to take care of you over there. After all, you just gave birth to Yaya, and it's really inconvenient to take care of two children."

Yang Yu didn't want to say more on this topic. She was more concerned about the crops outside, so she changed the subject.

"I'll call you when the meal is ready. After dinner, I want to go check on the crops. Thank you for taking care of the crops outside when I was not at home. I'll go and see if there is anything else I can help with."

Yang Yu deliberately said he would help, because he still wanted him to take on the responsibility of the family.

She saw Zhang Erfa's expression change slightly and wanted to see what he would say. However, Zhang Erfa turned around and left without saying anything.

She didn't know what this meant, but seeing that he refused to say, she didn't want to force him to answer. She breathed a sigh of relief, prepared for the worst, and decided to go and see the situation first.

Zhang Erfa was sitting silently in the yard as usual, staring blankly. He would not tell Yang Yu in person that during her absence, he had done nothing but get drunk every day, and even ate plain noodles every day. His life was a mess.

"It's time to eat!" Yang Yu was furious when she saw him standing there in a daze like a door god, but she didn't want to argue, so she called him to eat in a cold tone.

After dinner, Yang Yu cleared the dishes, carried Yaya on her back, and headed for the farm. On the way, she met several neighbors, all of whom teased her about bringing her child to work in the fields right after her confinement. They also said they hadn't seen Erfa Ge in the fields and assumed he was at home taking care of her after her confinement. Along the way, Yang Yu just gave them a fake smile and made some perfunctory comments.

When she arrived at the farmland, she saw that her own field was overgrown with weeds, while the neighbor's field next door had already been planted with seeds. She suddenly felt a dull pain in her chest, dizziness, and her vision began to blur. Just as she was about to fall, a neighbor supported her.

"Second sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, what's wrong with you?"

Yang Yu watched her neighbor shaking his body, and her vision also shook. After a long time, her eyes slowly began to focus. The neighbor helped her sit down and said worriedly, "This is scary. Don't joke. Go back and have a good rest. You just came out of confinement and you're out now. What if the baby on your back gets hurt?"

Yang Yu felt aggrieved. She thought about how she hadn't asked Zhang Erfa to care for her while she was at her parents' home, how he hadn't even bothered to take care of the child, and how she hadn't paid much attention to the mess the house had left. She had thought that during her absence, Zhang Erfa would at least reflect on his situation, at least plant the crops outside on time. But to her surprise, he had done nothing, simply wasting his time, completely unconcerned about her or the child's future. She was overwhelmed with disappointment and heartache, tears welling up in her eyes. Her sobs grew louder, and she sat there, hugging her arms tightly, letting out her grief. Yaya, on her back, seemed to sense her mother's grief and began to sob shrilly as well. The heavy cries of the adult and the shrill cries of the child mingled, filled with endless pain and helplessness. Amidst the desolate land, the scene evoked a wave of pity.

When the neighbor saw this scene, she seemed a little at a loss and could only comfort her softly: "Second sister-in-law, what's wrong with you? Don't cry anymore. Look, the child is crying too!" She tried to ease Yang Yu's emotions through words.

But Yang Yu was still crying uncontrollably, and the neighbor panicked. "Come, let me help you coax the child. You can get through anything. Even for the child, you have to hold on." As he said that, he took Yaya from Yang Yu's back, patted her back, and rocked her to coax her.

Finally, Yang Yu stopped crying, thanked her neighbor, took Yaya from her, and then walked back home in frustration.

When she returned home and looked at Zhang Erfa who was still in a daze and doing nothing, she felt that she would never be able to be on the same page with him in this life. He was reluctant to give her any sunshine of life, leaving her with only endless disappointment. She still fantasized that she could influence and inspire him, but in the end she found that no matter how hard she tried, she could not wake up a person who was unable to wake up.