On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhu Zhengzheng took her younger sister's place and married.
On the first day after the wedding, she made her aunt-in-law so furious she nearly keeled over. At the New Year's Eve dinner, her mother-in-law wasn't even allowed to sit at the table. Zhu Zhengzheng swept her arm out and flipped it over. “That rule ends today!”
When the family split up, all they got was a drafty, dilapidated courtyard. Her sister-in-law was bullied into dropping out of school, so Zhu Zhengzheng rolled up her sleeves. “To hell with that! Your sister-in-law will put you through school!”
Her husband didn't say much, but everything he did told her he loved her.
People said she was capable, and that she'd be better off marrying a rich man. She snapped, “My man is the best there is!”
