This kneeling startled everyone in the room!

Zhao Sufang looked at the two young men covered in dust on the ground and quickly tried to pull them up. "Erhu, Gaifeng, what are you doing!"

When they came in, Li Xiangdong was telling Li Yan a story from "A Guide to Antiques" compiled by Zhao Ruzhen, and asked Li Yan, "This is called cloisonné, or more formally, copper-bodied cloisonné enamel. Don't you think it's beautiful?"

Zhao Sufang couldn't lift the two of them with her two hands at all. Li Xiangdong realized what was happening and quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed), using both hands to help Erhu up.

Erhu hadn't expected Li Xiangdong to be so strong; his hands were like pliers, pinching Erhu's arm muscles until they ached.

"Brother Erhu, what exactly happened?"

Li Xiangdong had a vague suspicion in his heart, after all, they had just discussed these two hasty marriages at the dinner table.

After Erhu stood up, Zhao Sufang easily helped Gaifeng up. She helped Gaifeng to sit down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and had Li Lan throw a hot towel over Gaifeng's face to wipe it. "Poor thing, your eyes are all swollen from crying."

"Xiang Dong, my father is forcing me to marry my sister-in-law's cousin! Gai Feng's father is forcing her to find a son-in-law to live with her family!"

Erhu gripped Li Xiangdong's hand tightly, like a drowning person grasping at a last straw.

Gai Feng started sobbing again, about to cry, but Li Ping frowned and said, "What's the use of crying! Explain yourself clearly so we can help you!"

Gai Feng choked, realizing that Li Ping's words made sense. She had already discussed it with Erhu, so why was she holding back these few drops of cat pee?

“Auntie, Xiangdong, my dad wanted Erhu to be my son-in-law in my old age, but we disagreed. So he went to the house of Widow Lu in Yangguandian and found me a son-in-law in his thirties!”

As Gai Feng spoke, she grew angrier and angrier, forgetting all about crying. "This Lu Zhiguang is Widow Lu's younger brother. He's ugly and short, and his family is dirt poor. He and his parents rely on his widow sister working as brothels to make money!"

"His ex-wife was beaten to death by him during her postpartum period, and he also abused her newborn child to death!"

Erhu chimed in, "I've heard that Lu Zhiguang is a piece of trash in Yangguandian Brigade. Nobody wants to associate with him! Last time I went to Yangguandian, I heard him bragging to people, saying that he'd be a member of Lijiapo in the future, just waiting to eat well and drink well, and even get a share of the profits at the end of the year!"

"When others mocked him for even losing his family name, he shamelessly said that once his parents died, it would be up to him to decide whose surname the children would take!"

Erhu witnessed the entire scene.

The man was indignant at Lu Zhiguang's boastful nature. He sneered, "You think you can call the shots? If you dare to change your surname, do you think the people of Lijiapo will agree? Stop bragging without thinking!"

Lu Zhiguang's small eyes darted around. "So what if my son doesn't take my surname? Have you ever heard of the three-generation lineage? My grandson will definitely still be a member of the Lu family!"

The practice of "returning to the ancestral lineage after three generations" is also known as "returning to the ancestral lineage after three generations." For example, if Lu Zhiguang marries into Liu Gaifeng's family, he will also change his surname to Liu and be called Liu Zhiguang. The children he has with Gaifeng will also have the surname Liu. However, when they have grandchildren later, the grandchildren will not have the surname Liu, but can have the surname Lu again. This is what is called "returning to the ancestral lineage after three generations."

To put it bluntly, this is a breach of trust. After the man rightfully takes over the woman's property, he changes the surname to his own, which is a disguised form of taking advantage of her.

When Wang Erhu heard Lu Zhiguang say such ambitious words, he told Gaifeng about it when he got back. Gaifeng was overjoyed, thinking that as long as she told her parents, they would no longer insist on her marrying Lu Zhiguang.

Who knows!

After listening to Gai Feng's words, Gai Feng's parents remained silent for a long time. Then, Gai Feng's father went out, smoking his pipe. Gai Feng's mother, with red eyes, sighed helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. Anyway, your father and I are grateful that we're still alive to see our grandson with the surname Liu. As for whether he'll be surnamed Liu or Lu after that, we can't control that!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Gaifeng nearly vomited blood.

Seeing that both sides were making wedding preparations in full swing, the two of them couldn't sit still any longer. They arranged a time to go together to Li Xiangdong for help.

Erhu wiped away his tears. "Xiangdong, I know I've put you in a difficult position. This is a family matter, after all. Asking you to help us means you've offended my parents. Sigh! If it really doesn't work out, we'll just run away!"

run?

Since reform and opening up haven't started yet, where can we go?

Were they mistaken for vagrants and sent back to their hometowns?

Wang Erhu and Liu Gaifeng were naturally aware of these potential consequences, but regardless of the outcome, they still wanted to take the gamble.

They were fed up with letting others control their fate and marriage.

Li Xiangdong watched the two of them in silence.

The room fell silent for a moment.

The glimmer of hope in Liu Gaifeng and Wang Erhu's eyes grew dimmer and dimmer, until it disappeared completely.

"Brother Erhu, Sister Feng, look what this is!"

Li Xiangdong turned around and took out a stack of books from the cabinet. He then picked out a thin book and handed it to the two of them.

Erhu and Gaifeng looked at each other, their big eyes scanning the book cover with confusion. "This, this, we can't read!"

Li Xiangdong sighed, "Xiao Wu, read the Marriage Law aloud!"

"Why!"

Li Ping gave a crisp reply, took the book, opened the first page, and began to read.

"Chapter One, Principles, Article One: Abolish the feudal marriage system of arranged and forced marriages, male superiority over females, and disregard for the interests of children. Implement a new democratic marriage system that promotes freedom of marriage for men and women, monogamy, equality of rights for men and women, and protection of the legitimate rights and interests of women and children."

......

Chapter Two, Marriage; Article Three, Marriage must be based on the complete free will of both the man and the woman, and neither party shall be forced by the other or interfered with by any third party.

Article 4. Men must be 20 years old and women must be 18 years old to be eligible for marriage.

......”

The book was thin, and Li Ping finished reading it quickly. Wang Erhu and Liu Gaifeng grasped the meaning between the lines, and a glimmer of hope rekindled in their eyes, growing brighter and brighter.

After Li Ping finished reading, Li Xiangdong said earnestly, "This is our country's Marriage Law, promulgated in 1950. Don't you know that? It stipulates that arranged marriages by parents are prohibited. Also, Erhu, you're not old enough to get a marriage certificate yet!"

The two were both surprised and delighted. But after a while, Gai Feng started to worry again. Er Hu was underage, but she was already old enough!

What if her father wants to find her a son-in-law to support her in her old age?

After all, this marriage law is far removed from the emperor's reach, and it doesn't carry as much weight as her father's words!

Li Xiangdong knew Gai Feng's concerns, and it seemed that it was imperative to properly popularize the Marriage Law!