# c15: proposal

Wang Lingling ran away in the middle of the night, don't know how she opened the window. Anyway, when Wang Ying found out, it was already noon the next day.

Li Chunjuan has been punished by Wang Yongshun. Wang Yongshun dislikes her for losing his niece Wang Ying and spoiling his second daughter's temper. Reporting is a trivial matter, but the key point is that Wang Lingling is stupid enough to do such a thing that harms others and does not benefit herself.

Of course, the people in the brigade would stay away from the Xu family, but similarly, if it was revealed that Wang Lingling did it, then their Wang family's reputation would be even worse!

Compared with the Xu family, people in the same brigade are more afraid of encountering such reports.

They are all busy people working in the fields, so they are naturally wary of people who make many twists and turns.

Wang Yongshun was worried on how to keep Wang Lingling's [hands and feet clean](#user-content-fn-1)[^1], so that no one would find out about it in the future. All the while still thinking about how to disconnect from Xu Shuang's family.

I have to say that on this matter, Wang Yongshun and Wang Lingling are worthy of being a father and daughter pair, and their thoughts actually came to the same point.

Wang Yongshun felt that instead of raising the issue himself and making everyone feel that he owed the Xu family, it was better to find fault with Xu Shuang and blackmail Xu Shuang into cancelling the marriage. It's best to let Xu Shuang have the better deal, so that even if the two families are broken up, he can still take advantage of Xu Shuang's family in the future.

Wang Yongshun thought carefully and prepared to go to town in the next few days. One was to deliver something to Yaozong. The house was in a mess recently. Don't delay Yaozong's education and give something to keep him at school. Furthermore, he also planned to go to the state-owned hotel Xu Shuang works at to see if there was anything he could use there.

He was planning carefully, but he never expected that Wang Lingling would actually run away!

She actually ran away!

Wang Yongshun gritted his teeth, wishing he could stuff this unfortunate daughter back into Li Chunjuan's belly.

Originally, the family was slowly trying to figure out a solution, but it would take a few years to get over it. It's like this in rural areas. Every family has some shitty things, and after a while no one mentions them.

But at this juncture, this damn girl ran away without leaving a word!

If she ran away, wouldn't this confirm that she didn't want to marry Xu Shuang?

Li Chunjuan cried at the top of her lungs: "My Lingling! Where did you go!"

She was somewhat motherly towards Wang Lingling. When she heard that Wang Lingling had run away, her first reaction was to worry about what would happen to her daughter.

Wang Yongshun snorted from his nose: "Don't care about her! If she wants to get out, she can get out! Anyway, it was her choice!"

Li Chunjuan was still crying, her face smeared with tears and runny nose: "Then we have to look for her! What if something happened?"

Wang Yongshun really didn't want to look for her, he was afraid of finding this dead girl, for fear of her jumping up and saying that she was going to the Zhao's house.

Wang Yongshun didn't understand, how good is the Zhao family?

What Li Chunjuan told him clearly was that the old lady from the Zhao family was a troublemaker. She had four sons at home, and a bunch of grandchildren, about 20 people living in five houses. There are also all kinds of drama between the mother-in-law, daughter-in-law and sisters-in-law.

And she said that Zhao Jun from that family was a small platoon leader in the army, how awesome he was. But Wang Yongshun is not stupid, he recognizes this position. Above the platoon leader there is the company commander, above the company commander there is the battalion commander, and above the battalion commander there is the regiment commander...

The boy from the Zhao family is not registered in the city, nor does he have any solid connections. His education level is only in the first or second grade of elementary school.

What future can such a person have?

He also lost a wife, and he has two children at home to take care of. I heard that one is five years old and the other is just over three years old.

Wang Yongshun couldn't understand Wang Lingling from any angle. Although he didn't treat his daughter as well as his son, he wasn't the kind of person who would just sell her and ignore her.

His family, Yaozong, will definitely have to have his two sisters to help him in the future, so Wang Yongshun is not like other families in the village who do all kinds of things to his daughter. He prefers to marry his daughter to a good family, the bride price should be higher, and she will have to move around every day in the future.

Obviously the Xu Shuang family he chose for Wang Lingling met this condition, but Wang Lingling would rather destroy the Xu family than marry her. Such paranoia and determination really made Wang Yongshun confused.

At this moment, the person ran away, and Wang Yongshun secretly hoped that Wang Lingling would not come back at all.

Wouldn't it be embarrassing for him and Yaozong to have such a shameful thing at home?

The couple looked at each other, Li Chunjuan was crying uncontrollably, and Wang Yongshun was also confused.

Finally, Wang Yongshun nodded: "Look for her!"

How can we not look? News spread quickly in the brigade. If he didn't try to look for her now, people would later think that he had some crooked idea and deliberately sent his daughter away just to avoid the Xu family.

Captain Tian Youfu was called over. He frowned and asked Wang Yongshun and his wife, "When did Erya leave? Did she say where she was going before she left?"

Wang Lingling left in the middle of the night. If she left the brigade in half a day, she would definitely have been seen. As for where she was going, Li Chunjuan just said she didn't know.

Li Chunjuan did not even mention the news that Wang Lingling insisted on marrying into the Zhao family.

How dare you say it at this time?

With no choice, Tian Youfu could only call two people, write letters of introduction to them, and let them go to the county town to have a look. The other people helped to look for in the brigade and the commune.

Although the members did not understand Wang Lingling's sneaking away behavior, after all, they lived in the same brigade, and everyone was eager to help.

"Have you looked for her in the back mountain?"

"No way, this girl can't be that careless. If she goes up to the back mountain in the middle of the night, at this time, the wild animals in the mountain are hungry."

The weather is getting colder day by day, and winter is coming soon. Every year in the mountains, wolves come down because they don't have enough to eat. At this time, you have to go up the mountain in broad daylight, and you can't go too deep.

"Otherwise... let's get a few young men to team up and go to the wooden warehouse to have a look."

Tian Youfu was also afraid of any accidents, so he immediately took action and selected a few former militiamen and asked them to go and have a look. He also warned them not to go too far.

In this way, the entire seventh brigade went to search in their assigned places from noon to night.

Those who went to the county seat came back and said they saw no one. Those who went into the mountains also came back and said they saw nothing unusual.

Several people from the surrounding brigades only said that one or two people saw a girl going to the city in the early morning, which was like Wang Lingling's description, but they couldn't see clearly.

After struggling for a long time, Tian Youfu couldn't keep spending his time on this.

Fortunately, someone said they had seen something, which is good news.

Tian Youfu waved his hand to let people disperse, and stared at Wang Yongshun: "Yongshun, tell the truth, why did Lingling run away?"

Wang Yongshun and his wife obviously knew the inside story, otherwise Wang Yongshun wouldn't have such anger written all over his face.

Li Chunjuan cried for a long time. At first she was worried about Wang Lingling's safety, but later she felt embarrassed. Wang Lingling is running away. If others don’t ask today, how can they not ask tomorrow?

What will your family say then?

Wang Yongshun is in such a dilemma. If he doesn't say anything, it always seems that he is guilty and short of breath. Let’s face it, Wang Lingling’s behavior is truly deviant.

In order to become a stepmother, she ran away secretly.

Who can believe this if told!

Wang Yongshun's mind was spinning quickly, and he soon found an excuse. He wiped his face hard and said bitterly: "This is not because something happened to the Xu family. Lingling doesn't want to be with Xu Shuang anymore. Naturally, we parents can't agree with her. If we do this, won’t it make others think that we are a family that dislikes poverty and loves wealth?”

"I thought I'd lock her up so she could figure it out. Who knew this girl... don't know what kind of stubborn mindset she's gotten herself into, she said she didn't want to get married."

"Captain, you know me. Even if I was a little unfair to Sanya before, it was because I wasn't aware. My nature is not the kind of person who sells his daughter. Although the Xu family had something happen, I still think Xu Shuang is good. Even if it’s a bit difficult, I will support Lingling and Xu Shuang to overcome their difficulties together.”

Wang Ying stood across the door and admired her uncle's wisdom in survival.

The heart is cruel enough.

First, he wanted to blame others for the incident, but seeing that it didn't look good, he immediately decided to abandon his daughter to save his own face.

Now, even if Wang Lingling comes back, she will still be labelled as someone who dislikes the poor and loves the rich, adding insult to injury.

Tian Youfu had guessed that it was related to the Xu family before, but now that he heard Wang Yongshun admit it personally, he didn't think Wang Yongshun was that innocent.

When the Xu family was having a good time, Li Chunjuan stalked others like a fly.

Xu Shuang often stayed in the hotel, and Li Chunjuan would come to their house all day long to chat with the old lady of the Xu family. The Xu family didn't have much money, but their living standard was high. Li Chunjuan benefited a lot from Mrs. Xu's hands.

At this moment, they looked strange. After the big commotion, Li Chunjuan had never even been to the Xu family's door, and the same was true for Wang Yongshun and Wang Lingling.

It was as if there was something dirty in Xu's courtyard and they had to walk around when passing by.

At this moment that Wang Lingling was away, a good or bad explanation depends entirely on Wang Yongshun's mouth. He actually excused himself completely.

Tian Youfu snorted coldly: "No matter what, you have to give an explanation to Xu Shuang's family. Tomorrow I will ask people to go to the county to look for your girl. It would be best if she could be found. If not, you have to go to the Xu family with a serious attitude to resolve the situation. This is a wise thing to do.

Wang Yongshun didn't want to go. Although he was very thoughtful and calculating, he didn't want to get involved in things that required an apology.

And he is not very courageous. The Xu family is already like this. What if he comes to the door and makes others think that he is going to keep discussing marriage?

Just as he was about to retort, Tian Youfu turned around and left.

Wang Yongshun could only grit his teeth and think of countermeasures.

After two days of this, Wang Lingling still hadn't been found, and there were rumors in the brigade. Some people said that Wang Lingling eloped with her lover, some said that Wang Lingling ran away to the mountains without thinking, and some said that Wang Lingling must have asked Wang Yongshun and his wife to hide herself, just to have a good relationship with the Xu family.

Xu Shuang was drying meat at home. His family had a lot of things going on recently, and he couldn't leave Mrs. Zhao at home alone, so he ran around every day. After working at the restaurant, go home.

He also knew that the people in the brigade looked at him awkwardly, so he wouldn't go out to get cold looks. Instead, he would often go up the mountain to hunt hares and other things while it was still dark.

It will be winter soon, and when the snow covers the mountains, he won't be able to go.

Winter is a time when people get hungry easily. If you don’t take advantage of this time to stock up on something, you will have to eat thin whole grain porridge in the wintertime.

Mrs. Zhao was in her room. She was not pretending, but the more she thought about it, the more hopeless she felt.

The eldest son originally had a bright future, but now his status has suddenly changed and he is being detained in such a far away place. The youngest son's job is not guaranteed even if it is not good. What is most irritating is the attitude of the people around him.

During this period of time, except for her eldest sister who came to see her once on a crutch, none of her former relatives came to visit her.

Even Li Chunjuan, her younger son's fiance's family, could come seven or eight times a day before. But what happened? In the past few days, let alone entering the courtyard, I'm afraid she hasn't even walked past the courtyard wall.

Mrs. Zhao couldn't describe how she felt. She believed that she was not a failure as a human being, and she was very enthusiastic about getting along with others in the village. As it turned out, just because they were afraid of being implicated, everyone in the brigade avoided her like this?

And Xu Shuang, she was really willing to let him choose among the good girls in the commune. There were also one or two educated youths from big cities who were interested, but she thought that her son was a boring gourd and she had to find someone more lively to take care of him.

In addition, she had a good relationship with Li Chunjuan's family, so she decided to make Wang Lingling her daughter-in-law.

The eldest son has a good future, and he will probably look for a daughter-in-law from the city. Mrs. Zhao lives in the countryside, so she naturally wants to find a daughter-in-law who can get along well with her here.

At the end of the selection, I actually chose this one.

Even if you come directly to tell me that the marriage is over, it is still a certain attitude between us. It's really a bit chilling to not even open the door.

Mrs. Zhao thought about it and called Xu Shuang from the yard to her bedside.

"Yao'er[^2], Mom is going to tell you something serious now. I'm afraid our family will have a hard time in the future, and I don't know when your brother's matter will be over. I think the Wang family doesn't want to have anything to do with us anymore... Mom thought about it, I can’t delay you because of your brother’s affairs.”

Mrs. Zhao mentally eliminated the original candidates for her daughter-in-law several times, and finally decided on a few people, preparing to tell her son one by one: "In our family's situation, there are only two options. One is that I will find you a third-generation poor peasant. Let’s find someone with a good head and a bright face. Let’s pay more as a gift and marry her back.”

Mrs. Zhao was also a little intolerant. It was not that she was snobbish and looked down on people from poor families. In fact, everyone is pretty much the same now. When it comes to poverty, they all have the same type of poverty. But when we talk about looking for poor peasants, her family's situation is that no one who loves their daughter will let her get married, and those who can marry don't treat their daughters as human beings. To find such a wife for my youngest son, I will have to deal with their family for a long time.

If you encounter someone who is not clear-headed and insists on staying with your parents, your life will be even more chaotic.

"The second option is... Mom will pick a family for you, and we can marry into the family."

Mrs. Zhao is not a rigid person. On the contrary, she is very wise in life. She can send one of her two sons to college and the other to be a cook.

Of course, we also know that we have to bow our heads when we should bow our heads.

"I know this must be wronging you, but I don't want you to have a hard time."

Last year and the year before the last, I heard that the commune next door was criticizing people, and they condemned an anti-rightist family member to death.

Mrs. Zhao didn't know if it would be her turn, but thinking about the attitude of commune secretary Zhao Zhichun that day, she was really afraid.

People won't support you if it's obvious.

Moreover, there will be one or two "backward elements" in each brigade, either from the landlords or their family members. When the brigade encounters someone who wants to be approved but no one is available, the higher-ups have to step in.

Although Tian Youfu, the captain of their brigade is a fair man, if trouble comes, he cannot handle it even as a brigade captain.

Mrs. Zhao looked at her upright son and couldn't help but blame him for being too upright. As an old lady, the team couldn't make things difficult for her, but she was afraid the younger son would suffer for his elder brother. Just break it off. Their two sons have a good relationship. How can the eldest son not be considerate of his younger brother?

After the blame and resentment is over, we still have to find a way. We can't live our lives with this unclear label of anti-rightist family members over our shoulders.

Xu Shuang was silent, and Mrs. Zhao couldn't bear to force her son to come up with a decision now. Whether he had a bad in-law or married into another family, it would be embarrassing to tell anyone about it.

As an old lady, I feel there is such a gap, and my son feels it even more.

Xu Shuang's eyes silently drifted to the dried rabbit meat drying in the yard, thoughtfully...

The team had been working hard on finding Wang Lingling for two or three days, but by the fourth day, everyone was tired.

This is not a kid looking for mischief and trouble, this is an eighteen-year-old girl, an adult. If an adult ran away deliberately, who would be able to find them immediately?

Tian Youfu had no choice. The first day after Wang Lingling was lost, he told the militia that they should pay attention when patrolling and bring them back if they saw her.

Tian Youfu couldn't help much else.

Wang Yongshun and Li Chunjuan, on the other hand, have adjusted their mentality. Wang Yongshun is even felt a little lucky. It's better to lose this crazy girl than to be embarrassed at home.

Pity that the originally planned bridal gift is the most uncomfortable thing to bear with, now that there is no marriage relationship with the Xu family.

Wang Yongshun was calculating in his mind and was very anxious. He had a hundred yuan as a bridal gift for his eldest daughter to marry out. The family's previous savings were still more than two hundred yuan. The more than three hundred yuan was his own. He carefully hid it in various places in the house, which is why Tian Youfu didn't find anything when he searched the house last time.

This amount of money seems to be a lot, whether in the country or in the city, it is a lot of money. But if it is used to buy a job, it seems insufficient.

Wang Yongshun thought about it and found that the key to solving this matter lies with Wang Ying.

The old lady from the Zhao family was ruthless enough to cut the bride price to thirty in one go, but Wang Yongshun wouldn't just silently accept it. He thought that on the day of Wang Ying's wedding, if he asked Li Chunjuan to make a fuss, he could ask the old lady from the Zhao family to give them another twenty dollars on the spot!

Although it was unethical to ask for a bridal gift right before Wang Ying left their family, Wang Yongshun couldn't care less at the moment.

Wang Ying's betrothal gift was fifty yuan, plus her few belongings at home, it just barely added up.

Wang Yongshun pulled Li Chunjuan and asked: "What about the old lady from the Zhao family? Didn't you say that she would bring her children to our house to see her? Why hasn't she come these days?"

Li Chunjuan's face was full of sadness. Wang Lingling's sneaking away was a huge blow to her. These days, she has changed from her usual noisiness and became taciturn: "How do I know this? How about I go and ask?"

Wang Yongshun: "Go quickly. When you come, please bring the two children with you."

When the time comes and the child calls Wang Ying mom, the matter will become unclear. Even if Wang Ying is unwilling, she still has to weigh it.

Li Chunjuan took half a day off and secretly went to Zhao's house.

When they arrived at the place, they saw that the door of Zhao's house was closed and a big lock was hung outside.

Li Chunjuan hurried home again and reported to Wang Yongshun: "It seems that the Zhao family's third son was injured on the way back and lives in the county. His old lady was worried about her son, so she took her family to see him."

Wang Yongshun intuitively felt that something was out of his control, and he said in a daze: "Then they didn't say when they would come back?"

Li Chunjuan: "They didn't say anything, only that they left in the morning to pick up the son."

Wang Yongshun immediately felt relieved: "That's okay, I'll meet the man directly when the time comes."

Wang Yongshun instructed: "Don't go to work tomorrow morning. Go there again."

The sooner Wang Ying's matter is settled, the sooner he can feel at ease.

But what Wang Yongshun never expected was that a figure would appear at his door early the next morning.

Wang Lingling is back!

The whole brigade came together.

"Lingling, where have you been these days? Your parents were looking for you like crazy!"

"Whose family do these two children around you belong to?"

"Why are you still wearing new clothes?"

A series of questions hit Wang Lingling, but Wang Lingling did not feel embarrassed, but was extremely frank.

"I'm getting married. I came back today to open a letter of introduction. These two are my lover's children. One is called Zhao Dong and the other is Zhao Xi."

"What? Are you married?"

"Who are you marrying? Are you not marrying a boy from the Xu family..."

"This child is also from his family? Are you a stepmother?"

"Do your parents know?"

Wang Lingling looked at the people around her like a god looking down at the world. Many of these people had their lips curled up, and some of them had it on their faces, and their words were unpleasant. However, Wang Lingling was already immersed in the sweetness of achieving her wish and didn't care at all what these people thought.

A few days ago, she was thinking hard and finally remembered something about Zhao Jun. In her previous life, Zhao Jun didn't have enough vacation time when he came back. He said he had a minor accident in the county town and suffered a minor injury. He stayed in the hospital for two, three days.

Wang Ying, who was his fiance at the time, followed Mrs. Zhao to pick him up. After returning, the two got married in full swing.

Wang Lingling thought about it and decided to take a gamble. She simply climbed through the window and went to the county town. There were only two hospitals in the county town. Wang Lingling found Zhao Jun without any effort.

She lied that she was Mrs. Zhao's daughter-in-law to Zhao Jun, and she shyly served Zhao Jun in the hospital for two days.

It wasn't until Mrs. Zhao arrived yesterday that she revealed it, but it didn't matter. Just from those few days in the hospital, Wang Lingling could tell that Zhao Jun was very satisfied with herself.

Sure enough, as soon as the conversation started, Zhao Jun persuaded Mrs. Zhao to accept her. No matter how awkward Mrs. Zhao is, she can only do what her son says.

Wang Lingling's eyes were full of fantasies, and she sneered at the people around her.

No matter how happy you are laughing now, when Zhao Jun becomes the richest man in the future, it will be useless even if your eyes bulge with envy!

Wang Lingling happily knocked on the door with her two children. The older one was called Dongdong, with impatience written all over his face. The little one had his arms crossed and his mouth was pouting. The younger girl, who is only three years old, named Zhao Xi, has a pair of big, watery eyes. Although she is cute, her expression is exactly the same as her brother's at the moment.

Wang Lingling couldn't get enough of these two children when she saw them, as if they were the meat falling off her own body. She called them Dongdong and Xixi, biting one after the other. If you didn't know any better, you would have thought she was actually their biological mother.

The person who opened the door was Li Chunjuan. When she saw her daughter, whom she had not seen for three or four days, she shouted with joy.

"Her dad! Her dad! Our Lingling is back!"

Wang Yongshun's heart sank, but he still pretended to be excited.

"You damn girl! Where have you been! Do you know how worried your mother and I are..."

Wang Yongshun's mood suddenly stopped when he saw the two little beans at the door, and he had a terrible suspicion in his heart. This suspicion made him look a little ferocious.

But Wang Lingling was still adding fuel to the fire. From the corner of her eye, she saw Wang Ying walking out of the room, and she quickly introduced in a loud voice: "This is Zhao Dong, this is Zhao Xi, both of them are my children."

Wang Ying's face was expressionless, but Wang Yongshun felt that he had never been so embarrassed. His daughter ran away for three or four days, and when she came back, she dragged the two children and claimed that they were hers. Does she know what she is talking about?

It was a shame that Wang Lingling couldn't think of anything else at the moment. All she can think about is the day she returned to her hometown in her previous life.

Wang Ying's arm was linked between the man and her stepson, and the stepdaughter was also very close. The family of four made her envious.

And now, this future is already in her hands!

Wang Lingling's face was full of pride. In a dozen years, she would be able to ride in a car, holding the arm of the richest man, with her two children being filial and obedient, and spending all the money they earned on her!

When the time comes, she must slide slowly in front of Wang Ying in a car, so that Wang Ying can also experience the feelings she once had.

Looking at the proud Wang Lingling not far away, Wang Ying was puzzled.

Is it such an honor to be a stepmother?

Isn’t this sister really just reborn to waste her quota?

Wang Yongshun dragged Wang Lingling into the house and quickly closed the door.

"Wang Lingling, are you crazy?"

Wang Yongshun finally knew where Wang Lingling had been these past few days. He must have gone to the county town to find Zhao Jun. Although she didn't know how she knew that Zhao Jun was in the hospital, it was obvious that Wang Lingling had already hooked up with Zhao Jun.

Wang Yongshun was going crazy: "You really want to marry a divorced person? You just had to find someone with children, right?"

Wang Lingling said confidently: "Yes! If you don't want to help me, I will fight for it myself."

She didn't fight hard enough in her previous life, so she was randomly married to Xu Shuang, and her life ended up like this.

She has learned a lesson in this life and must take her destiny into her own hands.

Zhao Jun is her destiny.

"Dad, it's useless for you to make trouble now that things are like this. I'd better ask the captain to give me a letter of introduction, and I'll go with Zhao Jun to get the marriage certificate."

Wang Yongshun narrowed his eyes: "What a beautiful idea!"

"Even if it's a marriage, what's the matter with the Zhao family making you bring two children here? Do you have any self-esteem for a girl's family? You come back with two oil bottles and ask for a letter of introduction. Believe it or not, I will report you to the Revolutionary Committee that you were having an affair!”

The Zhao family is really good at calculating. The adults don't show up, and Mrs. Zhao isn't seen anywhere either. The idea is to ask Wang Lingling to come back and ask for a letter of introduction and household registration book. The Zhao family has nothing to offer, and they just want to marry a daughter-in-law and go back?

It’s like a spring fever dream!

"Go back and tell your mother-in-law that if you don't have fifty yuan, I won't give you a letter of introduction or household registration book!"

Mrs. Zhao looked at it, and she saw that marrying a daughter-in-law who didn't spend any money was even more cost-effective than Wang Ying's 30 yuan.

Anyway, the daughter-in-law who was taken back was also taking care of the family, just like picking up a laborer for free.

Wang Lingling sneered: "Marriage is free, even if you don't agree, I will still do it."

Originally, I didn't come back to show Wang Yongshun, but just to warn Wang Ying. Now that her goal was achieved, Wang Lingling was too lazy to pretend anymore.

"Zhao Jun and I have a military marriage and are protected. As long as I agree and Zhao Jun agrees, there is nothing you can do."

For the first time in Wang Yongshun's life, he thought that this girl might as well be thrown into the water and drowned after she was born.

How dare she?!

"Okay, okay, get out of here! Don't come back again!"

Wang Yongshun has completely lost his mind at this moment. The Wang family no longer wants such a big-minded girl!

Wang Yongshun opened the door and was about to drive Wang Lingling away. Wang Lingling didn't hesitate and turned around to pack her things.

After packing, she took the two children and left without looking back.

Wang Yongshun almost couldn't take a breath and felt like he was choking himself to death.

Wang Ying watched a big show from the side and couldn't help but want to applaud.

It's true that evil people will have their own troubles, and Wang Lingling's troubles made her own crisis go away.

Just looking at the expressions of Wang Yongshun and his wife, one can tell that there will be turmoil between them for a while.

Wang Lingling briefly came back then left, ruining her marriage with the Xu family without hesitation, and found a divorced man to be her stepmother. Within a few days, the story of the Wang family spread throughout the commune.

Wang Yongshun and his wife almost never go out. Except for seeing people when they go to work, there is no sound even at home on the weekdays.

Wang Lingling was said to be good enough, so she had a letter of introduction written and transferred her household registration to the fifth brigade of Hongqi Commune. The Zhao family boy stayed for two or three days then left, and Wang Lingling stayed in the Zhao family as a stepmother.

"Hiss, you haven't seen how the Zhao family's girl is to those two children. The older one yells heartily every day, and the younger one is three years old but is still held around by her without losing control."

"Could this girl have been bewitched by someone? Why is she so excited about becoming a stepmother?"

"No way, I'm sure she just doesn't want to marry into the Xu family, so find someone else."

"If you don't marry into the Xu family, don't marry. There are many young men in our brigade. Why does she have to go to the commune next door? It's a bit far from her parents' home. It takes an hour to go back and forth."

……

But no matter what, Wang Lingling still got married. Although chicken feathers were left all over the ground, she seemed to be enjoying it.

The Zhao family has a large population, with four rooms crowded together. Zhao Jun, whom Wang Lingling married, is the third child. There are three sister-in-laws in the family. Each sister-in-law had at least two children. The whole family is close together all day long. All mixed together in one pot to eat.

Although Wang Lingling was excited to start a new life, she still felt very uncomfortable.

Perhaps because of the large number of people, the living standards of the Zhao family is not very good. Especially compared with their family's income, Wang Lingling was already complaining just from eating coarse grains that made her throat irritated every day.

She had many financial losses in her previous life, but had never had a loss in portions and quality. Xu Shuang never skimped on food.

After she was reborn, although her family was in troubled times, Wang Lingling knew that her father was thoughtful and that the family's wealth was not what it seemed, so the dinner table was full of coarse grains, but in the end they were mixed together.

Mix some cornmeal into the sorghum flour, and mix some white flour into the cornmeal. Although it is also unpalatable, the taste is much better.

It's not like now. The three eldest brothers-in-law and younger uncles all eat corn flour steamed buns, and the sister-in-laws all eat sorghum flour. My mother-in-law lives an easy life, with corn flour mixed with white flour in her bowl.

The little ones eat the same food as their grandma, but much smaller.

Mrs. Zhao was also responsible for dividing the porridge. The porridge was so divided that people didn’t know what to say. The bowls of several men were all thick and mushy, while the bowls of the grandmothers were just like water.

Among them, Wang Lingling's is the clearest, almost like a bowl of boiled water.

Mrs. Zhao also complained: "A group of female locusts only know how to eat, eat, eat, no matter how much food we have, it is all devoured by you!"

After saying that, Mrs. Zhao waved her chopsticks to scoop up the pieces of food and chattered while eating. The sisters-in-law around her seemed to be used to it, and they all remained silent.

Mrs. Zhao's spit was flying, and her high-pitched voice was the only thing that could be heard in the whole room.

"You, the third child, have just entered the house. I'm sorry to tell you but you should know it yourself. The main thing is that you have to keep an eye on things. Feeding pigs, feeding chickens, sweeping the yard, and fetching water, you sister-in-law Luo can explain. Anyway, I don’t care what you do. If I see that the yard is dirty or the pigs were forgotten to be fed, you all will have to go to my parents’ house together!”

Wang Lingling suppressed a response and comforted herself in her heart,

Hold on, hold on for a few more years, as long as the two children are older and Zhao Jun changes his career and returns home, she will be the Queen Mother in the days to come!

When the time comes, not only will she be eating Laogang[^3] rice, but also ask Zhao Jun to buy all kinds of jewellery for herself! Change one set a day!

This is how Wang Lingling began her married life.

Wang Ying on the other side also recently put something on her agenda.

Considering that the uncle and his wife in the next room would not die anytime soon, Wang Ying was ready to strike first.

She was wandering outside the brigade's educated youth camp. It was said to be an educated youth camp, but in fact it meant that the childless elderly in the village were gone, and their houses had been taken back to the brigade.

There were only nine educated youths living in seven or eight dilapidated mud houses.

In the past few years, all educated youths came to the countryside voluntarily. Only five educated youths came in those five or six years. Those educated youths came with the dream of changing the countryside, but they were dumbfounded after a short stay. Life in the countryside is too hard and difficult. Farming depends on the sky. Who knows when something unexpected will happen, and the food of that year will affect everyone's heart.

Several educated youths among them were clamoring to return to the city. They had been clamoring for two years, but no one was allowed to do so. Not only was it not approved, but this year it was decided directly that young people of working age in the city must go to build the countryside.

Now returning to the city has become a long-distance chore. Among the first batch of educated youths, some of them can't bear it. One female educated youth has already married a commune member in the brigade.

Wang Ying stared at the gate of the educated youth spot, thinking that she should at least choose one that was passable. If there is a [crooked melon and cracked jujub](#user-content-fn-4)[^4]e...

Sorry, she's better off alone.

Wang Ying stayed at the gate of the educated youth spot for two days, deciding on the candidate.

There is an educated youth in the educated youth spot who has been here for three years. He is usually quiet and his name is Wei Qiang.

Wang Ying felt that this man looked normal and seemed to like helping others in his daily work. He seemed to have a decent character.

I just don’t know what this person thinks about starting a family in the countryside.

Wang Ying thought as she walked, and after returning home, she made herself a bowl of egg soup according to the old rules.

The brine bought a few days ago has been used up. Wang Ying also used that bit of brine to make rabbits, and the taste was amazing.

I was thinking about going to the state-owned restaurant again sometime to buy some soup, or maybe just seeing if I could discuss it with the waiter and buy the brine or prepared seasoning directly.

Suddenly, Wang Ying heard a noise coming from outside.

"Bah! We agreed to marry your daughter to our family. How many things have you taken from our family over the years! I won't talk about the two pieces of leather before and after. Your daughter has a hard heart and insists on marrying someone else. But shouldn’t you parents come to our house and tell us? Okay, if you dislike us, then give me back all the things you took from my sister’s house! Otherwise, you’ll have to give us a daughter-in-law!”

"Why are you saying such things! How can that damn girl of ours rely on me for her big ideas? Besides, we were in-laws before and we helped each other..."

"Screw your mutual support! Who is helping your family? Is your family poor unlike other families? Or does your family have gold teeth on the door? What did my sister ask you to help on when she was living a good life?"

"That's not what I said..."

"You guys are ignoring me even if I tell you to go to hell! Stop talking nonsense! Give back everyone who ate from my sister and drank from my sister!"

……

Wang Ying looked out and saw a crowd of people jumping around outside the Wang family's door.

An old lady with gray hair pulled Li Chunjuan and cursed loudly. Next to her stood Wang Yongshun and Xu Shuang, who was supporting an old lady.

Wang Yongshun has been hit one after another recently, first by Wang Ying, then by Wang Lingling pressuring him, and now he is tortured by the mess left by Wang Lingling.

Wang Yongshun's face turned blue as if it were covered with a layer of asphalt: "Wang Lingling and I have severed ties..."

The gray-haired old lady didn't care about this, and her crying voice was high and low: "Then you didn't eat the things she brought home before? Didn't you confiscate the gifts from our boy Shuang? Didn't you take all the gifts before your girl severed ties with you? Are you talking to me about this now? Don’t want to return them to me?”

Wang Yongshun was choked. Since the agreement was almost reached with the Xu family more than a year ago, Mrs. Xu did give a lot of things. The Xu family has the cook Xu Shuang and the eldest son from the provincial capital. Not only did they give him food, but they also gave him canned food and candy twice.

These are hard-to-find items in the countryside, especially canned food, and few people in the city have rations. In other words, Xu Ming worked with a teacher at a good university in the provincial capital, and the school distributed one or two cans.

These things are all available, and you can still pretend that nothing was owed. In fact, Wang Yongshun knew very well that the dimes and nickels his family paid every time was not valued the same as those items, but it can still be confused. The canned food costs several yuan, and a pound of sugar is very expensive.

Wang Yongshun didn't want to pay for it, and Li Chunjuan didn't know her family's financial situation, so she didn't want to either.

Seeing that the Xu family was obsessed with being repaid their things and attracted all the people from the brigade, Li Chunjuan was also distraught and lay down on the ground.

"What use is it talking these things?! My family is unlucky to have a shameless girl. She insists on marrying someone else, and we, as parents, can't help it. Our family gave everything to Wang Ying a while ago. Where is the money?"

"If you insist on money, just ask Wang Ying!"

"Otherwise, I can only beat myself to death to repay you!"

Li Chunjuan was aggressive, but she also knew sensitively that the Xu family did not dare to do anything to her.

The Xu family is now in a situation where everyone in the brigade knows that there is an anti-rightist in their family, so they avoid it if they can. Didn’t you see that the Xu family’s doors have been closed recently?

Even if something happened to Wang Lingling, Mrs. Xu didn't come to ask for an explanation immediately. This time it was Mrs. Xu's sister who came to ask for an explanation.

Li Chunjuan cursed in her heart that these old people were all sisters who had left the house. Everyone is in their own home, yet they still show off like this!

She just bet that the Xu family was bluffing and didn't dare to make a big deal.

This hat of hers has no one to back her up if it gets too big.

The fifth brigade next to them had a landlord there. He said that his family had been robbed, and no one took care of him when he reported it to the commune.

Li Chunjuan lay down on the ground and fell asleep.

Anyway, their family has no face now.

As soon as Wang Lingling caused trouble, the family's face was already lost outside the commune.

Mrs. Xu's maiden name is Su. Her sister stayed in her natal family to raise a wife, so she was called Mrs. Su.

Mrs. Su was so angry when she saw Li Chunjuan cheating her way out by lying down. She couldn't pull Li Chunjuan away, so she simply started tearing Wang Yongshun apart.

She stretched out his hand to slap Wang Yongshun: "You belong to a leech family! When you see the benefits, you move forward, and when you see the disadvantages, you shrink back! My sister even sent cigarettes to your family at that time! You shameless person, you paid for it with a dime!”

As she said that, Mrs. Su kept talking about what the Wang family had taken, including giving them 10 or 20 cents for each incident.

As people get older, they are always willing to remember the things they think are most important.

Mrs. Xu didn't pay attention before, but this was not the case with the sister who often interacted with her.

Mrs. Su remembered clearly before, but now she talks about how much she asked for from the Wang family and the Xu family.

The onlookers were originally watching the show. After all, the Xu family and the Wang family both had foreign surnames and were not related to the common surnames in the village, so everyone generally just watched.

The more they watched and listened, the more astonished everyone became.

"The Yongshun couple are so shameless, giving someone a dime for a pack of cigarettes? How can they really do that?"

"Let's not talk about the cigarettes. In the past, their Lingling often went to Xu's house and said she wanted to exchange for some meat. She would give half a rabbit five cents."

"Who told you this?"

"Who else could it be? Wang Lingling was showing off to our daughter before."

"It's really shameless. Your daughter has married another man. Shouldn't the parents come to their door and give an explanation?"

"They're just bullying the Xu family. They don't think they can succeed, so they don't dare to take advantage anymore."

"This boy from the Xu family...must be at a loss."

"If you feel sorry then why don't you take him in as your son-in-law!"

"…Forget it."

……

Listening to the discussions around her, Mrs. Xu held her son's hand tightly.

Ever since Mrs. Xu found out about Wang Lingling, she knew she had to do this.

Although country people are simple and honest, most of them bully the weak and fear the strong. People were still unsure about their family's social status, and everyone was just waiting to see what would happen.

Although the Wang family did this unintentionally, it was actually a gamble and a test from Wang Yongshun. If this family doesn't dare to stand up when something like this happens that they are rightly justified in, they will be bullied overtly and covertly in the future.

So even for the sake of the future, Mrs. Xu couldn't let it go.

But she definitely couldn't come forward herself. Although she was justified in taking action, if Wang Yongshun was more ruthless, he could take action and accuse her of being low class and petty. So her sister volunteered to argue on her behalf.

Mrs. Xu looked around and sneered.

She didn't care about the things she gave to the Wang family before, but this time she had to suppress the Wang family openly. In this way, she can calm down and think of ways to change their family position.

Wang Yongshun had no face left when the old lady tore him apart, but he didn't dare to fight back. After all, it was Old Mrs. Su who came up to beat him. She was a good person. If he made a move, Old Mrs. Su would definitely sue him.

Li Chunjuan saw Mrs. Su tearing Wang Yongshun apart and quickly came up to fight back.

She cried: "What can I do! I don't have any other daughters at home! If I did have another daughter, I would pay you back with one!"

Mrs. Su sighed: "Who would want someone like you from the Wang family!"

"Compensate me! Before and after, at least fifty yuan!"

The exact value of the items given to the Wang family definitely didn't add up to fifty yuan, but with the addition of those mountain products and meat dishes with vague prices, it is roughly enough.

Li Chunjuan cried when she heard it: "Where can I find it at home?"

She really didn't know the family's financial situation. Although the eldest daughter's bridal price was one hundred yuan, the money was all in the hands of Wang Yongshun. When Wang Yongshun said that the money was gone, she really thought that the money was gone.

Although Wang Yongshun has a fortune of more than 300 yuan, he does not intend to give it away.

Not to mention that everyone in the team would know that he had a lot of money, but just fifty yuan was enough to make his body hurt!

This money must be spent on my son!

Li Chunjuan was crying and howling about her difficulties. She was not thinking clearly and was confused when talking about it.

The previous sentence was about the heartless Wang Lingling. If I had known, she would have been thrown into a urine bucket and drowned. The next sentence was about how she really had no money.

"Why don't you just marry Wang Ying back! My family has no money!"

This voice implicated Wang Ying, who was standing aside watching the show.

Wang Ying curled her lips and said, "Auntie has a strange idea. Even if I marry, our families are separated. You still have to give them the fifty."

Li Chunjuan is now filled with old and new grudges. She feels that her family is in such a miserable state, while Wang Ying lives in her house with a stash of money. She is very nourished. Seeing that her biological uncle's family is in trouble, she doesn't even want to help.

Black-hearted and rotten-hearted thing!

"I have given all my things to Wang Ying! You ask her for them! Ask her to marry you!"

Li Chunjuan made up her mind to drag Wang Ying into trouble.

Before Wang Ying could say anything, a voice suddenly came.

"Can."

Li Chunjuan's hair was messed up because of the fuss. Through the messy hair, she could clearly see the person who made the noise.

Xu Shuang supported her own mother with a calm expression, as if it was not him who had interfered just now.

Wang Ying was originally happy to see the show, but now when Xu Shuang mentioned it, she felt a little confused.

A little annoyed and a little confused.

Xu Shuang helped Mrs. Xu get closer to Wang Ying, so the people around them were not tightly packed. Wang Ying happened to be standing in a shady place.

Xu Shuang said a few words to his own mother and walked by himself over to Wang Ying.

The distance was not far but close enough for everyone to see the two people facing each other, but being unable hear what they said.

Xu Shuang said: "Let's get married."

Wang Ying only found it incredible: "Do you know what you are talking about?"

The topic jumped so far that she simply couldn't catch up.

Xu Shuang took a deep look at her: "I saw you outside the Educated Youth Center."

Wang Ying:......

Xu Shuang: "In your case, you definitely want to find someone to marry. Isn't it because you are looking for an educated youth that your uncle's family will no longer be able to make a fuss about your marriage?"

"You also know the situation of my family. When we get married, to the outside world, I am a wife-in-law and you are the son of a martyr. The composition of my family is no longer a problem."

"If I marry you, you don't have to worry about your family's belongings being eaten by your uncle."

Wang Ying: !!!

Xu Shuang tilted his head and thought for a moment: "My mother and I are the only ones in my family, and my mother is very easy to get along with. If you want to make a decision at home, you can decide. If you don't want to make a decision, you can make whatever other arrangements you want."

Wang Ying: "Uh..."

Xu Shuang: "I can hand over my salary. My family still has savings from before. These will be at your disposal after marriage."

Wang Ying: "Well..."

Xu Shuang pondered for a moment and finally dropped a bomb.

"I am the cook, and I will cook all the meals after the wedding."

[^1]: Hide her involvement in dishonest activities.

[^2]: Youngest child.

[^3]: Premium, high-quality local rice.

[^4]: Physically unattractive or unappealing.


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