"No, at that time, every blade of grass was precious. Only in winter could we wear straw sandals, and that was considered good. Many adults never wore shoes, let alone children. Now you can see that there are several families in the village whose children go barefoot. You haven't been around the village much. The people you play with are all from well-off families. If they are from poor families, they don't have time to fool around with you because they have to go to the fields to work. There are several families in our village who wear cotton-padded jackets when they go out in winter. Your little friend Gou Zi's cousin from the uncle next door is 25 years old. He is too poor to get married, so he exchanged his 15-year-old sister for a new wife. His sister was 15 years old but looked at most 12 years old. She was exchanged for a 30-year-old old man whose wife had died. On the day of their wedding, they came to our house to borrow clothes.

Our village is considered good. Why do we all stay in seclusion during winter? It's because we don't have clothes. A cotton-padded jacket requires cloth coupons and cotton coupons. Most girls don't have cotton-padded jackets. At most, they have patched jackets filled with old cotton and straw. The worst-off villages are Xialin Village and Chenjiazhuang Village. They can't even pay the public grain tax. They are in a state of poverty every year. Where do they get the money and coupons? They can't even eat enough. There are so many bachelors in those two villages that they are almost marrying in communal marriages, but in this new society, no one dares to do that openly. No one dares to marry a girl from those two villages, and no girl dares to marry into their families. If they marry into their families, they will be too poor and have to support their parents. They don't know if they will be safe if they marry into their families. So what can they do? They are popular with them."

The second brother continued laughing after he finished speaking. He looked at the fifth brother, who was laughing again. He laughed so hard that Zhang Guoqing felt his head tingle. "Dad, look, my second brother is laughing so hard that my whole body is numbing."

"Dad, look at him, he's still confused. He might get put in a sack one day and not even know why." The second child smiled meaningfully again. "Do you know why no one came to stop the fight when you went to Xialin Village yesterday? You used to be the king of the kids in this area..."

Zhang Guoqing wasn't stupid. He rolled his eyes and said, "Fuck, how dare someone attack me? Are they jealous of me? Jiaojiao is my wife, whom I've raised since she was a child. What does that have to do with them?"

Father Zhang patted his forehead and said, "Silly boy, what do you mean by your childhood wife? If you join the army, your wife will be gone. Why don't you ask your second brother to tell you about the rumors about the Zhou family?"

The second son cleared his throat and said, "Ever since Zhou Xiaozheng, your father-in-law, married General Lin's daughter, Old Man Zhou has never worked in the fields. Adding their wages and your father-in-law's salary, the eldest son of the whole family only worked for 6 work points a day. The Zhou family married Huang Zhaodi from the Huang family. Because of their daughter's looks, the Huang family is now better off than in the city, except that no one works in the city. In the past, they were so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. Now all the grandsons are marrying daughters from good families. After Jiaojiao's two cousins ​​married two wives, her wife's family also became rich. In addition, how much dowry did Jiaojiao's eldest cousin Zhou Xue bring when she married Wang Youlin from the Wang family?

Many people are saying that the Zhou family absorbed the wealth of the second branch of the family, bringing prosperity to five other families, and that Zhou Jiao alone supported five villages in the township. Haha… Let me tell you which five families they are: Huang Zhaodi's Huang family, Zhou Liru's Li family, my two cousins' families, and Zhou Xue's Wang family.

Many people were watching the Lin family's reaction, waiting to see what would happen. The main issue was that the Zhou family was too arrogant. You know what Zhou Xue said? She said our family lacked everything except money and tickets. My aunt treated me like her own daughter, and that was why she hadn't returned to the Northeast. Otherwise, the whole family was planning to move to Beijing. Who would be interested in this remote place? "When my grandfather stamped his foot in Beijing, the whole city would shake three times."

Zhang Guoqing's face turned pale when he heard this, his tendons clenched with anger, and his teeth clenched tightly. The eldest and second sons were shocked when they saw this, "Xiaowu, don't be angry. No one else has said anything about our family. Everyone knows that we are well off. What's more, if Zhou Jiao's dowry is moved here, the Zhou family will be made a laughing stock."

"I'm fine. It seems that if I don't move, others will think I'm a coward. Since those people are shameless, they will peel off their skin. Dad, I'm not at home today. Is there anyone looking for you?"

Father Zhang also touched his head and said, "I'm not at home in the afternoon, and no one will look for me when I come back in the evening."

The eldest brother was confused and said, "Someone is looking for you. There are two people. Dad is not at home. I told them. One is my eldest brother-in-law's father, and the other is my uncle. They both said they want to see you for something. Since you are not at home, they will look for you tomorrow."

Zhang Guoqing looked at his father and said, "Dad, I want to completely break off this marriage, otherwise there will be more trouble in the future. Listen to what he said. It's like my grandfather stamped his feet in the capital and the whole city would shake three times. If the rumor spreads too much, people will think it was Jiaojiao who said it. He is seeking death."

Father Zhang looked at his other two sons, then at him, and took a sip of wine. "Don't be impatient. Calm down first. Think carefully before deciding what to do. And as for Jiaojiao, she is a member of the Zhou family after all."

The second child looked at his father and then at the fifth child in confusion, "Dad, are you guys hiding something? Tell us all."

"It's better not to know now. The truth will be revealed in a few days. There's no point in talking about it now. Now we have to make these rumors as big and profitable as possible. If there is any trouble in the future, no one will gossip if our family doesn't show up.

Those things of theirs belonged to Jiaojiao and were concealed by them. Didn't the post office have a signature? Jiaojiao didn't know about it, but Xiaowu found out. This morning at Zhou's house, Xiaowu exposed it, which was equivalent to tearing their relationship apart. Mr. Zhou wanted to find someone to pass on a message, otherwise why would your brother-in-law and your uncle come to me today? "

"You mean, the watches and clothes those people wore, as well as the dowry for their wedding were all sent to Jiaojiao by the Lin family, but the Zhou family kept it a secret, Jiaojiao didn't even know about it, and Xiaowu found out at the post office? Now that the Zhou family knows that Jiaojiao knows about this, they are afraid that the couple will tell the Lin family?" The second brother couldn't believe that such a thing could happen. It was so shameless.

The eldest brother understood after hearing this, "The Zhou family is reluctant to part with their belongings, and they're also afraid that Xiaowu will blame the Lin family, so they're asking someone to intercede for them?"

Father Zhang nodded, but didn't say anything. He was afraid to let the cat out of the bag. He couldn't reveal it until the Lin family arrived. Looking at Xiaowu, he wasn't worried at all. Her own son was making a big move.

"Dad, I've made up my mind. This has to be done openly. Jiaojiao should be in confinement after giving birth. Otherwise, it would be best if Jiaojiao showed up. But time is tight and there's no time for her to show up. All these things happened at the same time.

Originally, Jiaojiao could have simply gone to the Wang family and slapped Zhou Xue in front of everyone. Then, once everyone knew about it, word would spread and she could have pushed the issue. But now you're making a scene before the child's third birthday. Why didn't you say anything before? The consequences would have made people less sympathetic.

"Brother, I need the help of my second sister-in-law. She has some little sisters in the village, so we can spread the news. Then I can find my brothers in the county to spread the news. It may affect my second sister-in-law's reputation. Do you think it's okay?"

The second brother nodded. "It's okay. This is the truth. It won't affect your second sister-in-law. After all, she and Jiaojiao are family. You tell her about it. When you get back, tell your second sister-in-law to go talk to her tomorrow."