Chapter 72: We Can't Get a Divorce!
Not long after Shen Yuzhu left the educated youth settlement, Liang Manxiu returned. She had spent a long time on the mountain that day and had dug up a lot of wild vegetables and mushrooms. When she returned, her steps were light, but she paused slightly when she saw Shen Yuzhu's angry back.
He put down his basket and went inside to find Qiao Wangshu. When he learned that someone had been harassing Shen Yuzhu, he immediately became furious.
The female educated youth dormitory was immediately thrown into chaos. Meanwhile, in the male dormitory, Wang Jinxing listened, smacked his lips, and turned another page of his book.
“Wang Zhiqing, they’re practically fighting over there, aren’t you going to go and see?”
"It's all about the women tearing each other apart. What are we male educated youth supposed to do there? It's not appropriate!"
"That's not quite right. Minor squabbles are fine, but if things escalate and someone gets hurt, we'll be in trouble too if the higher-ups ask."
Wang Jinxing frowned upon hearing this, put down his book, and was about to get off the kang (a heated brick bed) to take a look when Yu Xiaolin chimed in.
“I’ll go with you. You’re too soft-hearted. Don’t let your good intentions backfire and you end up getting scolded.”
"Hehe... Okay, thank you, Yu Zhiqing."
Feng Zhengyang looked up at Yu Xiaolin as he listened, then turned over and went back to sleep. They were all educated youths who had gone to the countryside together, and he disliked Yu Xiaolin the most. Her smile was fake and hypocritical, but Xia Zhenzhen couldn't see through it. She was a big idiot with no brains.
Not long after Shen Yuzhu returned home, Lü Guangzhi came over, entered the main room, and started cursing.
"That old hag has done something terribly wrong. She's run off with an old man from another village and still comes to our village to show off. Doesn't she feel ashamed? Her own son is dying, and she didn't run away this fast. Even if I wasn't here today, I would still curse her out."
"Captain, don't be angry. Drink some water and calm down. I'm just too angry. Aunt Zhang scolded my sister like that. I finally found my sister after a lot of trouble. I can't let her suffer any grievances in front of me."
Lu Guangzhi naturally knew this, and he nodded reassuringly.
“Shen Zhiqing, I know about this. I came here today to ask Da Ya… she hasn’t changed yet, please don’t mind, hehehe. I came here to ask Yu Ming what she means.”
Lu Guangzhi felt indebted to Shen Yuzhu, and this matter couldn't be made up for by just one or two small things. Ever since the incident involving their unfortunate son subsided, the Lu family couldn't openly give gifts to express their gratitude, so they helped her get a job as a scorekeeper to make things easier for her.
What's more, later on, Shen, the educated youth, also had a fiancé who helped settle the affairs of the village's five-guarantee households. This was like directly leveling the mountain that had been weighing on his heart with a shovel, and he truly remembered this kindness.
This time, the two Shen sisters finally encountered a major event.
Cough cough cough... It's really embarrassing to say this, but when he and his wife heard it, they were genuinely overjoyed. Finally, they had a chance to repay Shen Yuzhu's kindness.
As soon as Lü Guangzhi returned from the commune, he rushed over in a hurry.
Shen Yuzhu blinked and quickly moved closer to the brigade leader.
"Uncle, I won't lie to you. I've actually wanted my sister to sever ties with the Zhang family for a long time, but she's willing to give up the child. Now that Granny Zhang has come knocking on our door, we don't want the child, the subsidy, or the house. We just want a divorce certificate. Can you help us out?"
"Huh? What, what happened? You got divorced?"
Lu Guangzhi was so shocked he almost jumped up. He had heard about the argument during the day and knew that Shen Yuzhu had told Granny Zhang on the spot that she agreed to the divorce, but he didn't expect that this girl was serious.
"Hey, no way, no way, Shen Zhiqing, you don't know how bad your reputation will be after a divorce. A couple of years ago, there was a woman in Baligou who wanted a divorce. She didn't want anything and just got a divorce, thinking that she could live a good life after leaving her husband's family. But what happened?"
Her family despised her and wouldn't even let her into their house. Her in-laws wouldn't even let her see her children. There was a lot of gossip in the village. She didn't even last a year before hanging herself.
Lu Guangzhi sighed. He had seen it all before. If a woman's family doesn't support her, she'll be drowned in gossip after a divorce.
If you're born and raised on this land your whole life, and you have neither a job nor a house, where are you going?
Divorced women find it difficult to remarry. Everyone who sees you will spit on you. If you are strong-willed, you can still get by, but if not... you'll die sooner or later!
“That’s other people. My sister is different. She has me. I’m her family.”
“Hey, stop talking, Shen Zhiqing. You have a fiancé in the army. Once you get married, you'll be a military dependent, and no one will dare say a word against you. But what about your sister? Where can she go? She'll have to live in Xiangyang Production Team for the rest of her life. The Zhang family clan is all here. If Granny Zhang makes things difficult for her, she won't have a peaceful life.”
"No, if I get married, my sister definitely won't stay here. In short, wherever I go, my sister will go too. Captain, my fiancé has a military rank. When we get married and are allocated a house, I can take my sister with me. Then the sky's the limit, and my sister will only get better and better. But it's not certain that the Zhang family's children will be able to have a better life. What do you think?"
Lü Guangzhi blinked. Shen Yuzhu was right!
She can't take Shen Yuming away immediately after getting married, but once she gets pregnant, she'll have a reason, and he might not come back. Also, if she and Comrade Zhou help smooth things over and help Shen Yuming find a job.
This person will be able to secure a stable job in this lifetime, but the Zhang family members will become like motherless children, spending their entire lives toiling in the fields, with no hope of ever getting ahead.
"Did you understand what I said, Granny Zhang? The Chang family has a whole bunch of children to raise. You only have a few years left to live. When you close your eyes and kick the bucket, you won't know anything anymore. Who will raise your grandchildren then?"
Granny Zhang wrung her hands, not uttering a single word.
Lu Guangzhi was so anxious that he stomped his feet, wishing he could crack open her skull to see if the pig's brain hadn't fallen in, or if the pig had defecated in her brain.
"Let me tell you, your son is comfortably staying in the sanatorium in the county town, with special people taking care of him. It's all thanks to Shen Yuzhu and her boyfriend's connections. Otherwise, do you think just anyone can go to that place? If you really care about your grandson, then put your fingerprint on this. From now on, that house of the Zhang family will belong to Shen Yuming and Zhang Qiancheng and his mother."
Granny Zhang had already been persuaded. She led the Chang family around the Zhang family's house, and all the usable items had been taken away by the educated youth. After returning to the Chang family with the child, Chang Shan simply flung his sleeves and went inside without even glancing at her.
She had already regretted it in her heart. She glanced at the captain and then, with trembling hands, pressed her fingerprint on the agreement with the ink pad. Only then did Lü Guangzhi breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, several shouts from Li Wang came from the intersection.
"Captain, Captain, something has happened in the village, you need to go back right away."
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