Since Shen Mu Ning's diligence on her first day of work, many families in the brigade have developed a good impression of her.

In the past, whenever new educated youth arrived, they would have a conflict with the people in the production brigade.

Because most of the educated youth in the past were not physically active and knew nothing about farming. More importantly, some of them had a high opinion of themselves and looked down on farmers.

Only after experiencing the hardships of farm work are they taught to behave properly.

Even among the current educated youth in the settlement, or other educated youth who married into the brigade, few are as capable as Shen Mu Ning after so many years of training.

So, while the whole brigade was in harmony, someone started to have designs on Shen Mu.

On a dark and windy night, the moon lazily slept in the soft clouds, enveloped by the fluffy clouds as it moved forward.

Darkness enveloped the earth; such a night was perfect for those with dark hearts to do evil.

In the southwest corner of the Xinshan Brigade, there is a small house with two elderly people and an impatient-looking young man sitting inside.

The young man was the elderly couple's son; he was often away from home.

He just wanted to get a good night's sleep when he got home, but his parents wouldn't let him go to sleep.

"Dad, Mom, I'm so tired, can I go to sleep?" Cao Jin looked at his parents impatiently.

He hadn't been doing well working out there, and he just wanted to rest when he got home, but his parents kept talking to him.

"My dear son, you're already twenty-two. When are you planning to get married?" Cao Jin's mother, Chen Zhaodi, asked, holding Cao Jin's hand.

They didn't necessarily want to ask their son this question at night; it was just that their son was getting old, still unmarried, and often away from home, so they were worried.

“Mother, now that our family is in such a state, everyone in the surrounding villages knows about our situation, and no matchmaker will come to find me a spouse.”

Cao Jin didn't want to get married. Of course he wanted to find a wife to take care of him and his parents, but the problem was that no one was interested in him.

It's not that no one is willing to marry their daughter to him, but these families don't even prepare a dowry for their daughters; they directly demand exorbitant bride prices to sell their daughters.

Although Cao Jin had made a little money outside, his home was mostly filled with old objects, which were not only worthless now, but he also dared not take them out.

Everyone in the surrounding villages knows that Cao Jin's father, Cao Dashan, and his wife, Chen Zhaodi, are notorious troublemakers.

They were two lazybones when they were young, and they loved to take advantage of others.

At that time, Cao Dashan's mother was in charge of their family, and the family had not been divided. Even if Cao Dashan's brothers were unwilling, they had to support them.

Until the particularly terrible drought of 1960 struck, there was almost no food left in the family. His mother felt sorry for Cao Dashan and saved her own rations for him. As a result, his mother was the first to starve to death.

But after that, Cao Dashan not only did not repent, but also shouted every day that it was his older brother who did not feed his mother, which caused her to starve to death.

His brother, Cao Dashu, was so angry that he wanted to separate them from the family. It was only after the clan chief pleaded with Cao Dashu that they reluctantly agreed to wait until the drought was over before being separated.

That was because the Cao clan members thought their child, Cao Jin, was still young and didn't want to give him away and let him starve to death.

And so, Cao Dashan and his family of three stayed at his elder brother Cao Dashu's house for another two years.

Until the drought ended and Cao Dashu had planted all the family's fields, as long as Cao Dashan's family paid a little attention to the crops, they would not go hungry. Only then did they divide the family property under the witness of the Cao clan patriarch.

Unfortunately, the two people who had always been supported by their parents, elder brother, and sister-in-law at home couldn't be taught to be diligent even after the family split up.

On the contrary, since the family separated, no one has been taking care of the couple, and they sleep until noon every day.

If there was food, they would eat it; if there was no food, they would simply sit in front of their elder brother's door and shamelessly ask Cao Dashu for food.

The Cao family was thoroughly annoyed. Finally, Cao's sister-in-law took a firm stance and told Cao Dashu that if he continued to take care of Cao Dashan, she would divorce him and take the children back to her parents' home.

Cao Dashu naturally valued his wife and children more, so he stopped helping them and instead advised them to work harder at farming.

Unexpectedly, Cao Dashu had just finished advising his younger brother and sister-in-law to be diligent when news came that he disregarded brotherly affection and was going to starve their family to death.

Cao Dashu was so angry that he felt dizzy and declared that he would never associate with Cao Dashan's family again. From then on, the two families had no further contact.

Without the help of his elder brother, Cao Dashan's family relied on wild vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, and other wild plants in the mountains to fill their stomachs.

In this environment, Cao Jin naturally didn't learn anything good, spending his days stealing chickens and dogs instead of doing anything productive.

When he grew up, he became a hoodlum in the commune and county town to make a living. As a result, families with good financial conditions looked down on Cao Jin, and families selling their daughters couldn't afford the dowry they asked for.

So Cao Jin's mother thought it over and decided to find a female educated youth for her son, not only without asking for a bride price, but also to get her dowry for free.

Even if her daughter-in-law can return to the city in the future, can she really abandon her family?

“My dear, a really beautiful female educated youth recently came to our brigade,” Chen Zhaodi said to Cao Jin, her eyes shining.

Cao Jin didn't react much to his mother's words; good-looking doesn't mean it's not his family's.

Last year, his mother persuaded him to marry a female educated youth and settle down with her.

He lived in the brigade for a long time, specifically to observe the educated youth at the educated youth settlement.

He had his eye on a wealthy and beautiful educated youth, and originally intended to pursue her through normal means first.

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