Chapter 88 Confrontation

The captain said: "Quiet, it's not your turn to speak yet! Old Xu, are you finished? If not, continue."

Aunt Xu said, "It's not over yet."

She sighed and continued, "Wu Mei was only 18 and hadn't experienced much. She was alone in the county town and was robbed, which scared her. Zheng Lao San's behavior also made her feel very disappointed. Wu Mei turned back and said she would come back to talk to me and ask me to cancel the engagement. Although she respected soldiers, she couldn't let herself be so lowly.

Zheng Laosan still didn't take it to heart. Wumei walked back by herself, and he was still taking Zheng Lanping for a stroll in the county.

After coming back, Wu Mei told me that Zheng Lanping called her to Zheng's house to play that day and she washed clothes and diapers all day.

The eldest and second child of the Zheng family had just had a baby and had a pile of diapers, so they called Wu Mei to wash them. They also had a pile of clothes for the family and asked Wu Mei to wash them. Wu Mei wanted to use warm water, but the Zheng family refused, saying she was a spendthrift and a waste of firewood.

Not only did she have to wash clothes and diapers, she also had to fetch water. The three older men in the Zheng family were all idle, as were Li Aiyun and Zheng Lanping. No one in the family was willing to help, so they left it to my daughter to do the work.

Finally, they told her, "We are very satisfied with you. When you marry into our family, we will treat you well."

They've already tormented me, and now they're giving me a sugar-coated bullet. My silly girl, she didn't even tell me when she got back. If she had, we would have called off the wedding that very day!

I was furious when I heard this today. The Zheng family didn't treat my daughter as a human being. They weren't marrying a wife, they were looking for a free maid. In the old society, maids in landlords' families were paid, but this family is even more cruel than the landlords.

Yes, I admit, I was a bit impulsive today and shouldn't have hit anyone. But I'm a mother, and I feel really bad for them torturing my daughter like this. I can't swallow this anger!"

As Aunt Xu spoke, she started crying again.

She said, "I have nothing to say now. I'm breaking off the engagement. We dare not enter the Zheng family's door. I'm afraid that within two years, my daughter will be tortured to death by them!"

When we got engaged, their family gave a betrothal gift of 60 yuan, with the matchmaker as a witness. Today, I will return the 60 yuan to them. Everyone bear witness to my statement that from now on, I will have no further connection with the Zheng family!"

Yan Guixiang said, "Marriage is free. Once you're married, you can get a divorce. Once you're engaged, you can cancel it. I'll write you a letter of cancellation. With so many people as witnesses, it's all cancelled today."

Aunt Xu sniffed and said, "Thank you, everyone, and thank you, Director Yan. I've let out my anger. The marriage is off, so I have nothing more to say. Yesterday, Zheng Laosan came to my house and brought a bottle of wine and a bag of hard candy. Liumei, go back home and bring the things over and return them to the Zheng family."

"Why."

Xu Liumei agreed and ran out to go home to get something.

The captain said, "Okay, the Xu family has finished speaking. Now it's the Zheng family's turn. We're impartial, and both sides have a chance to speak."

The Zheng family’s spokesperson is of course Li Aiyun.

She walked to the loud speaker and sat down, looking completely fearless. It was obvious that she had just prepared herself mentally.

Aunt Xu made way with an expressionless face.

Li Aiyun said: "Whose daughter-in-law doesn't work? We asked Xu Wumei to help for a day, and you call it a waste? My eldest daughter-in-law and the second daughter-in-law just had a baby and are in confinement. I am too busy to handle it. What's wrong with asking her to help?

She will be marrying into our family soon, I just got married a few days earlier.

Which daughter-in-law doesn’t work?

It was the same thing when we went to the county this morning. Lan Ping is still young and she likes the atmosphere. What's wrong with wanting to go to the county with her brother and sister-in-law? Is there any need to make such a fuss?"

Aunt Xu immediately got angry. She rushed to the loudspeaker and slapped Li Aiyun's face to the side with a "pop" sound.

The men from the Zheng family reacted quickly this time. They quickly stood up and tried to cause trouble for Aunt Xu, but the patrolmen standing behind them held their shoulders and pushed them back down. "Calm down! The captain said no one can cause trouble."

Zheng family: "..."

Didn't you see Ma Xiaoyan causing trouble? She actually hit someone!

Several brigade officials had turned a blind eye to Aunt Xu's actions, but Li Aiyun's remarks had infuriated everyone. If this kind of thing happened to their own daughter, any parent would be furious!

According to her, there will be no good life once you enter her house, but she doesn't think there is anything wrong with her.

"All daughters-in-law have to work" sounds correct at first glance, but it is actually completely wrong. The correct statement is "Everyone has to work". Why do the three men in your Zheng family not work, the mother-in-law doesn't work, and the sister-in-law doesn't work, but you let a daughter-in-law who hasn't even married into the family do it?

That doesn't make sense!

That’s what Aunt Xu thought. She shouted into the loudspeaker, “Bah! It’s easy for you to say that, but why don’t you do it yourself? Why doesn’t your daughter do it? It seems that other people’s daughters are not human beings in your family, right?

What's wrong with going shopping? Why does she have to go today when she can't? She can go if she wants to, but she has to drag my daughter along, and my daughter can't refuse to go.

Wu Mei said at that time that since the bicycle could only carry one person, she would not go today. She asked Zheng Laosan to take Zheng Lanping out for a stroll and she would go another day.

She and her boyfriend went to visit the county town, but her boyfriend rode away on a bike first and she chased after him. What happened?

As a result, Zheng Lanping cried and said, "Sister Wu Mei, don't you like me? I just want to go shopping with you." What did you do at that time?

You have the nerve to tell my daughter to give way to her sister-in-law. You also said that we are all family and should go shopping together.

Fuck you!

Your Zheng family looks prosperous on the outside, but I didn't expect it to be rotten inside.

Zheng Laosan earns all the money to support the family, and his wife has to take care of the whole family alone. I just want to ask, is Zheng Laosan your biological son? Did you steal him? If he were your biological son, why would you treat him like this? You want to harm him alone, right?

Not only do she have to serve her parents-in-law, but she also has to serve her two sisters-in-law. So, is Zheng Laosan's wife a slave in your family?

What girl would be so unlucky to marry Zheng Laosan and have a mother-in-law like you, three blood-sucking brothers and sisters, and your family?

I think you should stop arranging marriages for Zheng Laosan, stop letting him get married, and stop letting him bring trouble to other girls. Isn't it better for him to adopt a child from his two brothers in the future?"

Aunt Xu is worthy of being a people's performing artist. The tone of voice she imitates Zheng Lanping is so artificial that it makes people's scalps tingle and gives them goose bumps.

The last sentence stirred the Zheng family's hearts, and they began to make plans. Aunt Xu's suggestion was a good way to maximize their interests.

Li Aiyun couldn't express her inner thoughts, but on the surface she was still panting with anger, and she shouted, "Don't talk nonsense, the third child is my biological child, and the midwife can testify to that. It's only natural for a daughter-in-law to serve her parents-in-law. We haven't split up the family, so it's only natural that the third child's salary should be given to me.

Xu Wumei doesn't want to get married, but there are plenty of girls who want to. My Zheng family is doing well, and my son is capable, so why should we worry about not being able to find a wife? But you, you broke off my family's engagement, and I wonder what kind of man your daughter can find!

Xu Wumei said in a cold tone: "Don't bother with that. Just take care of yourself."

Aunt Xu sneered, "What if Zheng Laosan is capable? I don't care. When it comes to life, you can't just look at the surface. No matter how much he earns, you won't be able to live well if you marry him. In my opinion, it's best for him not to get married and just stay with your family. It will also avoid conflicts."

The captain said, "You both have finished speaking, and there are still a few insiders who want to say a few words. Yan Yuying, you go first."

"Why."

Yan Yuying agreed and said into the loudspeaker, "After the autumn harvest this year, Wumei and I participated in militia training together. We lived together at the time. It was Wumei's first time participating, so we asked her why she wanted to participate this year. She told us that her boyfriend was a soldier, and her mother wanted her to experience military life so that she would be more considerate and sympathetic to her boyfriend in the future.

We also told her that caring for others is mutual. If you care about him, you have to let him care about you. Wu Mei is very capable and has a very good temper. She never fights or argues with anyone, is not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and cares about others. We all like her very much.

Xie Yun and the others came up to the loud speaker and shouted, "Yes, we all like her. The Five Beauties are so great!"

Then, Wang Qingli stood up and said, "This morning, I met Zheng Laosan and Zheng Lanping at the department store. They were buying clothes, and Zheng Lanping said she wanted to use up all of Zheng Laosan's cloth coupons and not give them to Wu Mei.

She also said that Wu Mei had no ambition and no backbone. They rode their bikes and asked Wu Mei to walk, but Wu Mei did not make a fuss. It was obvious that she was a soft persimmon that could be squeezed at will. Even if they didn't buy her clothes, she wouldn't make a fuss and could be bullied at will.

Zheng Lanping said that the reason they did this was to give Xu Wumei a warning so that she would be obedient and do whatever they asked her to do when she entered the Zheng family in the future.

Zheng Laosan hesitated for a moment, and Zheng Lanping ran out in a tantrum. Zheng Laosan chased her, which led to the incident of asking Wumei to watch something and attracting the robber.

Everything I said is true. The salesperson at the department store can testify to this, as can the two older women who were buying clothes. They all couldn't stand Zheng Lanping's behavior and even spoke harshly to her. Zheng Lanping even had a few arguments with someone inside.

Xie Yun added: "I went to the county town today and happened to see Wumei being robbed. Many locals came to help and caught the robbers.

After Zheng Laosan and Zheng Lanping came out of the department store, they complained about Wumei. Zheng Lanping's words were particularly harsh. She said that Wumei was useless and could not even see things properly, and she even ran around everywhere. She came out and didn't see anyone, so she thought Wumei had run away with the things.

She told Wumei to stop dreaming, as none of these things were bought for her.

The military representative from the county's political and legal affairs team can testify to this incident. After the robber was apprehended, someone went to fetch the military representative, who was present for everything that happened. After the robber was taken away by the military representative, Wu Mei announced she wanted to break off the engagement. Zheng Laosan and Zheng Lanping ignored the incident and went to a state-owned restaurant for dinner. Wu Mei then returned on her own.

Wang Qingli said, "There's one more thing Aunt Xu didn't mention just now. Wu Mei went to the county town today and brought some dry food with her. Aunt Xu told her that Zheng Lao San's salary was earned with his life's work and that he couldn't spend it carelessly. He had to save money. She asked Wu Mei to bring some dry food with her and not buy food outside if possible. He had to be frugal and manage the household well." Wu Mei also took Zheng Lao San's portion with her.

The five beauties were robbed, but Zheng Laosan didn't even say a word of concern. The five beauties were really heartbroken."