Chapter 13 I can find you a live-in son-in-law…

After Wan Shuhui finished crying, Cheng Ying said to Cheng Jiantong, "Dad, now that you've seen the true colors of your parents and your brothers, from today onwards, you must stop interfering in their family affairs. From now on, our family will have no further dealings with the Cheng family. I will make the decisions in the family, and you are not allowed to interfere with any decisions I make, including my marriage to Xiaoxue. This is an order, not a request, and not a discussion with you."

Once the Cheng family settles their accounts, I'll go to the town post office and take over your postman job. I'll buy a house in the commune then; you and Mom can move in if you want, or you can stay at home. Once you've recovered, focus on your rehabilitation exercises and don't become bedridden, burdening my mother with caring for you for the rest of your life.”

These words were rather harsh, and Cheng Jiantong felt somewhat hurt upon hearing them. However, he also knew that in his current state, he was indeed no longer in a position to manage the household. Cheng Ying, his eldest daughter, had always been very opinionated and had served in the military. Now that she had returned home, she truly needed to take charge of things. So, he didn't say anything, but nodded, which was considered his tacit agreement with her words.

Wan Shuhui asked in surprise, "Xiao Ying, you're going to buy a house in the commune? Aren't you going to live at home?"

“Mom, I’m going to take over Dad’s job as a mail carrier. I’ll be like Dad, spending six days a week outside. Every time I’m on a mail run, I have to get up very early to pick up the letters and packages. I’ll be staying at home, and all that going back and forth will take up a lot of time. If that happens, I’ll be late for mail delivery and won’t be able to continue as a mail carrier.”

Cheng Ying pulled out a wad of bills from her pocket and said, “When I was in the army, the army gave me corresponding allowances and subsidies every time I went on a dangerous mission. In addition to the allowances I saved over the past four years and the demobilization pay when I returned home, I have about five hundred yuan in my hand, which is more than enough to buy a small house in town. When you and your sister come to town for the market, you can stay there. If your sister finds it noisy at home, she can stay in the house in town to review her study materials and prepare for the college entrance examination.”

The government will not release news until the end of October this year to inform the people of the whole country about the resumption of the college entrance examination. Before that, Cheng Ying had a dream in the hospital and told her family about what might happen in the future.

Even if Wan Shuhui and the others didn't believe what she said, she wasn't worried that they would leak the news and spread these words to others.

They were her closest relatives; they knew very well what could be said and what couldn't.

Wan Shuhui's first reaction was, "If you want to buy a house in the commune, it probably won't be cheap. Do you have enough money? If not, take the hundred yuan that your grandma just paid back. Mom still has some money on hand, enough to get by."

She sighed and said, “Actually, you had a bright future in the army. Why did you have to come back and take over your father’s job? It’s so dangerous for a young woman like you to run that mail route. I know you were worried about me and your sister, afraid that we would be bullied by your grandparents and uncles. That’s why you gave up your promising future in the army and came back to support me. I’m happy that you came back, but the thought that you’ve ruined your promising future because of us makes me very sad.”

Cheng Ying laughed, like a little girl, and threw herself into her mother's arms, wrapping her arms around her slender waist. She said coquettishly, "Mom, I'm your daughter. You raised me with so much hardship. I can't just stay in the army doing what others call a good job while I know you're suffering in the countryside, ignoring your well-being and letting you be bullied and tormented by the Cheng family. What's the point of living a so-called good life that way? I have enough money to buy a small farmhouse in town. Don't always think about giving all your money to my sister and me. You need to keep some for yourself too."

In her past life, Wan Shuhui was unwilling to leave her hometown, unwilling to go to the city with Cheng Ying to enjoy a better life, and also unwilling to let Cheng Ying hire a nanny to take care of Cheng Jiantong, saying that the nanny did not take care of Cheng Jiantong as attentively as she did.

She stayed in the Cheng family's house, taking care of Cheng Jiantong, who was paralyzed on one side, in his eating, drinking, toileting, and sleeping. She developed a lot of health problems from the stress, and finally, at the age of fifty-five, she died of a sudden cerebral infarction due to excessive staying up late.

When Cheng Ying received Cheng Xue's call informing her that her mother had passed away, she was overwhelmed with heartache and regret. The usually strong-willed Cheng Ying couldn't stand up straight and burst into tears. She cried all the way back to her hometown and saw her mother being put into a coffin and buried in that small, cold grave.

The passing of a loved one is a lifelong sorrow. No one feels affection for a pile of earth unless it contains the remains of their beloved family.

During those difficult and challenging years of her childhood, Wan Shuhui raised Cheng Ying and her sister with great difficulty. She always taught them with gentle words, did their laundry and cooked for them, told them stories with a smile, and secretly gave them special meals. These things are still vivid in her mind.

Cheng Ying was unable to give her mother a good life, and her mother passed away. Cheng Ying curled up and lay beside her mother's grave, as if she were lying in her mother's arms. No matter how much Cheng Xue and others tried to persuade her to get up and leave, she refused to leave.

She cried at the grave for three days and three nights, without eating or drinking, until her body couldn't take it anymore and she fainted. Cheng Xue forcibly took her away, and only then did her emotions gradually recover.

Having been given a second chance at life, Cheng Ying resolutely retired from the army and returned to her hometown to take over Cheng Jiantong's job as a postman. A large part of the reason for this was that she wanted to stay by Wan Shuhui's side and take good care of her mother.

Of course, Cheng Ying became a postman, which meant she couldn't stay by Wan Shuhui's side forever. However, she was content to see her mother every week, support her, give her money, talk to her, and feel her mother's warmth.

Just like now, Wan Shuhui was being held by her. She could smell the soap on Wan Shuhui, the unique scent of her mother. She could feel her mother's warm embrace. Her heart, which had been wandering since her rebirth, finally settled down. Only one sentence remained in her mind: "As long as Mom is here, there is a home. If Mom is gone, there is no home, and she will have no place to belong."

No matter how strong and calm Cheng Ying pretends to be in front of outsiders, in Wan Shuhui's eyes, she will always be a child. Seeing her acting so coquettishly in her arms, Wan Shuhui's heart softened. She reached out and gently patted her back affectionately, saying, "You've always been very opinionated since you were little. If you think you have enough money to buy a house, then Mom won't give you any more. You can make up your own mind. Once your uncle, grandparents, and other relatives have paid back all the money they owe us, Mom will save all this money as dowry for you and your sister in the future."

"Mom, I won't get married. I'll stay with you for the rest of my life." Cheng Ying looked up at her and said earnestly, "If you really want me to get married, I can find you a son-in-law who will live with you. So don't even think about marrying me off. Otherwise, if I leave and you get bullied, who will stand up for you?"

Wan Shuhui was both amused and exasperated. "Given our family's poverty, it's not easy to find a son-in-law to live with us. If you could really find one, I would be so proud."

In this era, sons-in-law who marry into a woman's family are extremely rare. Those who can become sons-in-law are either from very poor families who have no choice but to do so, or they are from ethnic minorities who have a tradition of marrying into a woman's family. However, in more traditional Han Chinese villages, having even one son-in-law who marries into a woman's family within a ten-mile radius is considered a sign of the woman's family's capability.

Wan Shuhui only has two daughters, so naturally she has selfish desires and hopes that her daughters can stay with her for a longer time.

However, her daughters have grown up and will eventually get married. No matter how reluctant she is to part with her two daughters, she still has to consider their marriages.

Now that Cheng Ying brought it up, Wan Shuhui suddenly felt that it wouldn't be a bad idea to hire a son-in-law to live with her family. After all, her eldest daughter was about to take over her father's job as a postman, which was considered a cadre position with a decent salary. Even starting from the bottom, she would earn more than thirty yuan a month and receive a fixed amount of more than thirty kilograms of grain every month. Supporting a son-in-law would not be a problem at all.

Moreover, if the eldest daughter can find a son-in-law to live with her family, she won't have to marry into another family and suffer from the mistreatment of the man's parents, brothers, sisters, and relatives. She can stay at home and protect herself. The children she has can even take their surname. She won't have to worry about her daughter being bullied by the man... Thinking about it this way, finding a son-in-law to live with her family has many advantages.

Wan Shuhui immediately had an idea. She planned that when she had some free time the next day, she would ask around among her friends and aunties to see if there were any young men of good character and good looks who would be willing to come to her door.

Wan Shuhui's eldest daughter is already twenty years old this year. If it weren't for her joining the army, when she turned eighteen, Wan Shuhui would have been like other parents in the countryside, busy finding a good young man and a good family for her daughter to marry.

Before the falling out with the Cheng family, Huang Cuizhi, as the grandmother, kept looking for a husband for Cheng Ying from the age of eighteen. She agreed to meet any man, no matter how ugly or ugly he was, and kept boasting to Wan Shuhui about how good the other family was.

Although Wan Shuhui is gentle by nature, she is very firm in her stance on her daughter's marriage. She firmly disagrees with letting her daughter marry into the families Huang Cuizhi mentioned and insists that her daughter choose a suitable family herself. That's why Cheng Ying has never been pressured by her family to get married.

Cheng Xue was more concerned about the college entrance examination. "Sister, is what you said true? Will our country really resume the college entrance examination at the end of October?"

“It’s true.” Cheng Ying nodded and said, “I was injured on a mission in the army two months ago. My wound got infected and I had a fever. I had a series of dreams. In the dreams, it was like I lived another life and experienced a lot of things. When I woke up, I found that many of the future things in the dreams could be confirmed and happened. The college entrance examination is a sure thing. Xiaoxue, you have good grades. You should prepare for the college entrance examination. I believe you will definitely get into your ideal university.”

Whether in her past life or this one, Cheng Xue has always had excellent grades, consistently ranking among the top three in her class.

In her past life, because Huang Cuizhi arranged a marriage for Cheng Xue, causing her to marry a scumbag, she neglected her studies, did not take the college entrance examination, and suffered a lifetime of hardship.

In this life, Cheng Ying will not let that kind of thing happen again. Naturally, she hopes that Cheng Xue can continue to take the college entrance examination, get into university, and live a life different from her previous life.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xue became excited. "If the college entrance examination could be reinstated, that would be wonderful. Then all the educated youth in our village could take the college entrance examination and return to the city. I could also apply to my ideal university and study with those educated youth."

After she finished speaking, she didn't forget to ask Cheng Ying a few questions, such as how serious her injuries were when she was in the army.

Cheng Ying replied with a couple of sentences, saying that it was all in the past, but she was thinking about it. She remembered that there was a male educated youth in their village who was the second man Cheng Xue married in her previous life. They had developed feelings for each other in the countryside and went through many twists and turns before finally getting together.

As a result, less than two years after their marriage, Wei Muchen killed his brother-in-law as revenge, causing Cheng Xue to live a life of depression from then on and never remarry.

Judging from Cheng Xue's tone now, saying she wants to study with the educated youth, could it be that the two of them had something going on at this time?

It seems she needs to find some time to ask Cheng Xue what's going on.

A note from the author:

----------------------