Chapter 114 Another Good Match
Chen Jiahui's door faces the main room.
The moment the door was pulled open from the inside, a gust of wind rushed in through the newspaper-covered windows, causing the dim light in the main room to flicker.
The lamplight flickered slightly, but when Xiao Songhua saw Chen Jiahui walk out, he felt a raging storm surging in his chest, leaving him quite unsettled.
Chen Jiahui was also experiencing turmoil.
She walked up to the group, clutching the hem of her clothes. She hadn't tied her hair up when she went to bed, and now her long hair was loosely draped over her shoulders, making her small face appear even whiter.
Xiao Songhua glanced at it once, then immediately looked away. As if burned in his chest, he quickly stood up from the long bench, which clattered behind him, making the atmosphere in the main room even more tense.
He seemed to be nailed to the spot, his feet feeling as if they were driven into the ground.
His already tense back straightened even more the moment he saw Chen Jiahui, and even his breathing slowed down. The fearless spirit he had just felt was instantly overwhelmed by tension and trepidation, and his heart was pounding like a drum.
He glanced nervously at Chen Jiahui again, recalling the days when he had taken care of her under the guise of treating her like his own sister. All the thoughts he had carefully hidden deep within him were now discovered by her. His secret exposed, Xiao Songhua felt a little embarrassed, but his face showed more of the toughness of a man of steel.
No matter how nervous he was, his jawline remained taut like a fully drawn bow, displaying the steely resolve he displayed when training new recruits.
He couldn't show weakness, so he clenched his fingers, his eyes following Chen Jiahui with a desperate expectation. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Jiahui, don't be in a difficult position. I know you definitely don't want to, but I have a better way that satisfies both sides."
Chen Jiahui knew that no matter what method Xiao Songhua used, his main purpose in coming today was to keep her in the city and prevent her from suffering in the countryside, and to get a marriage certificate with her.
The intention was for her own good.
Chen Peihui didn't know how to refuse, and felt that refusing Xiao Songhua in this way would be somewhat ungrateful.
The main room suddenly became eerily quiet, with only the tungsten filament of the light bulb humming.
The elderly couple, Chen Shenghua and Wang Shufen, looked back and forth between Jia Hui and Xiao Songhua, their eyes filled with worry.
The elderly couple both hoped their daughter would agree and feared that a single "no" would shatter the hard-won path to survival. Their gaze finally settled on their daughter's slender figure, and they became filled with worry.
Wang Shufen broke the silence by taking her daughter's hand, "Hui'er, Songhua knows you inside and out, and he's truly sincere towards you. Mom thinks you two are a perfect match, if you two..."
"Mom!" Chen Jiahui grabbed Wang Shufen's hand and held it tightly, interrupting Wang Shufen from saying what she was about to say.
She knew that even her mother wanted her to be with Xiao Songhua.
She paused for a moment, her eyes reddening, thinking that her parents would suffer if she stayed in the city, and tears welled up in her eyes.
At this moment, Xiao Songhua stared at her with his whole body tense, afraid that she would reject him at the next word.
Time seemed to stand still.
The air was also frozen.
Chen Jiahui sniffed. "Mom, I want to go to the countryside with you and Dad."
Then, filled with guilt, he looked at Xiao Songhua and said, "Comrade Xiao Songhua, I'm afraid I'll have to let you down. You are an excellent comrade, and I am not good enough for you."
It's not that she's unworthy of him.
Xiao Songhua clenched his fingers tightly.
His face still bore the rugged features of a soldier; his eyebrows remained straight, his lips were not drooping, and he even subconsciously pursed them, maintaining the last shred of dignity. Only his usually sharp and keen eyes, at this moment, seemed like fallen stars, dimming instantly.
His fingers clenched tightly and then loosened suddenly, as if he were struggling with himself or searching for a solution.
After a long pause, he managed a faint smile, his voice much lower than usual, "It's my fault... I didn't think it through."
At this moment, Chen Shenghua and Wang Shufen stood in front of the two, wanting to say something, but they didn't know who to say it to.
As soon as Chen Shenghua called out Jia Hui's name, Chen Jia Hui said resolutely, "Dad, you don't need to persuade me anymore. Comrade Xiao Songhua is indeed a very good comrade. If I knew his feelings normally, I might be willing to try dating him. But right now, you and Mom are going to suffer in the countryside. Mom almost died when she gave birth to me, and she has been sick ever since. You are also plagued by illness, and you still have a gunshot wound in your leg. It hurts terribly when it's windy or rainy. Forget about working in the fields, even walking normally hurts. How can I possibly leave you feeling at ease?"
In the countryside, everyone had to earn work points to exchange for food in order to have enough to eat.
If she sent her parents to the countryside alone, given their health, they would likely starve to death. If they were to fall ill again, they might die even faster.
As she spoke, Chen Jiahui's tears fell like large raindrops.
In my memory, my parents lived a life of glory and never suffered like this.
The atmosphere in the main room of the Chen family seemed to freeze instantly, heavy and oppressive, so quiet that only Chen Jiahui's sobbing breathing and the heavy sighs of the other three could be heard.
It was Xiao Songhua who broke the silence.
He suddenly thought of another idea, “Comrade Jia Hui, I have a way to allow you to accompany Uncle Chen and Aunt Wang to the countryside so that you can take better care of them, while also giving you freedom of movement and preventing you from being implicated.”
"Songhua, do you have any other good ideas?" A glint of light appeared in Chen Shenghua's eyes.
He placed all his hopes on Xiao Songhua, his expectant gaze fixed on her, and urged her impatiently, "Songhua, tell me quickly."
Xiao Songhua quickly said, "Uncle Chen, the best way is for Comrade Jia Hui and me to get our marriage certificate. After that, we should quickly transfer Jia Hui's household registration to our Xiao family, and then apply for exemption from mobilization, so we won't have to force her to move to the countryside with your parents. In this way, Jia Hui will be free to go to the countryside whenever she wants, and even if she stays in the countryside with your parents, she won't have to bear the label of a 'class enemy suspect' being reformed, nor will she have to be subject to the supervision of the production brigade and the militia. She will be completely free. In this way, Jia Hui can take better care of your parents, and if she needs to go to the city to buy supplies and medicine, she won't be restricted in her movements."
Chen Shenghua thought for a moment and said, "Songhua, do you mean that Jia Hui just gets a marriage certificate with you, transfers her household registration to the Xiao family's household registration, and then goes to the countryside with me and your Aunt Wang?"
“Yes.” Xiao Songhua nodded, and when his gaze fell on Chen Jiahui, it was filled with a strange flutter of emotion and heartache. “Comrade Jiahui is worried about the two elders. Only this method can better take care of them.”
Xiao Songhua had personally witnessed how harshly the production brigades and militia members in the countryside treated the "capitalist roaders" and "enemy agents" sent down from the city, even those who were "suspected enemy agents." They would beat and scold these people, put them in cowsheds and pigsties, make them do the hardest work, and give them the fewest work points.
There are actually many wrongful convictions, but once they go to the countryside, there is nowhere to seek redress.
Those days couldn't be described simply by the word "bitter".
This law made Chen Shenghua frown. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Songhua, no way. If you get your marriage certificate this way, what kind of couple are you..."
This is a sham marriage.
If the higher-ups investigate, Xiao Songhua will also be implicated.
Even if they don't trace it back to Xiao Songhua, his wife Jia Hui married him but doesn't fulfill her duties as a wife, spending her days in the countryside taking care of the elderly couple. What kind of behavior is that?
Chen Shenghua wasn't that selfish. "Songhua, our Chen family can't use you like this..."
“Uncle Chen,” Xiao Songhua interrupted decisively, “I have my own reasons for thinking this way. Perhaps in a few years, you will be exonerated and able to return to the city. If Jia Hui is willing then, we can become a real couple. If Jia Hui is not willing, then we can get a divorce…”
"That won't do. Songhua, our Jia Hui can't waste your youth."
This rural reform might take more than a few years.
Who knows, he might never have another chance to turn his life around.
Although Chen Shenghua hoped that his Jia Hui would not be implicated, he was unwilling to waste Xiao Songhua's youth by using such a fake marriage.
He hoped that his wife, Pei Hui, and Xiao Songhua would become a real couple and live a good life together.
If we were to sacrifice Songhua and give Jiahui a new identity as a non-"enemy agent" so that she could go to the countryside to take care of the elderly couple, wouldn't that be tantamount to blatantly exploiting Xiao Songhua?
Wang Shufen pondered for a moment, then her kind and gentle gaze fell on Xiao Songhua. She and Chen Shenghua agreed, “Songhua, if Jia Hui is willing to stay in the city and live with you, we will certainly support her. But if we use your status to force Jia Hui to marry you and then go to the countryside to take care of us, thus wasting your precious youth, your Uncle Chen and I do not agree. You are a good boy…”
"Dad, Mom," Chen Jiahui suddenly interrupted Wang Shufen, "I'm going to submit my marriage application to Comrade Songhua tomorrow."
Chen Jiahui had her own considerations.
Today, Xingyue told her that she was a time traveler from 50 years in the future.
Although it sounded absurd, like something out of a fairy tale, she believed every word Xingyue said.
Xingyue said that in four years, the Down to the Countryside Movement will be completely phased out of history. At that time, there will be no more class struggle, many wrongful convictions will be redressed, policies will get better and better, people will be more and more free, and life will get better and better.
If Xiao Songhua is still willing at that time, they will become a real couple.
She will repay Xiao Songhua properly.
Although Xiao Songhua was not the person she had liked since childhood, nor was he the one she ultimately wanted to marry, he was still a decent and upright man, no less so than Xie Zhongming.
Entrusting one's lifelong happiness to Xiao Songhua would be absolutely worthwhile.
But at this critical juncture, she had to consider her parents first. If she didn't go to the countryside with them, they might not even make it through these four years.
I can only selfishly consider my parents first.
“Comrade Songhua.” Chen Jiahui looked at Xiao Songhua, her voice barely audible, tinged with a sob, “I’m willing to get married to you, but I must stay with my parents. If you’re willing to wait for me, I’ll come back and we’ll be a real couple…”
It should have been a joyous occasion, but instead, such a heavy condition was added on top of it.
A wave of guilt suddenly washed over Chen Jiahui.
She looked at Xiao Songhua, her usually bright and clear eyes filled with so much: the joy of promising to stay together, the concern for her parents, and the guilt she felt towards him.
Which man doesn't hope that after marriage, his wife will stay by his side, and the two of them can live a peaceful and stable life together?
But she could only owe Xiao Songhua.
At this moment, Xiao Songhua was incredibly excited to hear that Chen Jiahui was willing to register their marriage.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and his previously taut shoulders relaxed in an instant.
When their eyes met, his gaze shone with an astonishing brightness, like stars that had been tempered with light. There was not a trace of disappointment, only genuine joy.
He nodded vigorously, "Okay, we'll register our marriage tomorrow morning."
He was a soldier under Chen Shenghua and Xie Jiang.
He then looked at Chen Shenghua and said excitedly, "Uncle Chen, I have finished writing the marriage application report. Can you sign it for me? I will take it to the Political Department tomorrow morning."
As he spoke, Xiao Songhua took out a completed marriage application report from his shirt pocket, and then took out a pen, which he handed to Chen Shenghua.
Chen Shenghua hesitated for a moment, then turned to Chen Jiahui, "Jiahui, if you marry Songhua, you should stay in the city..."
“Uncle Chen, let Jia Hui go to the countryside to take care of you. When I have time, I will also visit you in the countryside. As long as Jia Hui is not under the supervision of the production brigade and militia team in the place where she was sent down, she can take better care of you and also look after Uncle Xie and his family.”
Xiao Songhua spoke with absolute certainty, without the slightest hesitation.
Then he urged, "Uncle Chen, hurry up and sign."
At this moment, Chen Shenghua had some selfish motives. As long as Jia Hui and Song Hua became a couple in name only, even if Jia Hui went to the countryside with them, she would have a better chance of returning to the city. So he firmly signed his name.
After signing, Chen Shenghua looked up at Xiao Songhua, "Songhua, Uncle Chen doesn't know how to thank you enough..."
Before Chen Shenghua could hand the signed marriage application to Xiao Songhua, Xiao Songhua took it himself and looked at it excitedly. He was just waiting for the director of the political department to sign and stamp it so that he and Chen Jiahui could go to the street office to get their marriage certificate tomorrow.
At that moment, his blood was boiling.
"Uncle Chen, thank you for trusting me so much."
In the future, no matter how long Jia Hui stays in the countryside, even if Uncle Chen and Aunt Wang never return to the city and she stays in the countryside to take care of the two elders, he will cherish this hard-won marriage and cherish Comrade Chen Jia Hui.
He made no grand pronouncements or promises.
He was determined to wait no matter how many years he had to wait.
At this moment, he held the marriage application report, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the pages. When he looked up at Chen Jiahui, the corners of his lips couldn't help but turn up, and even the curve of his Adam's apple showed a hint of excitement.
From now on, she will be taking care of her parents in the countryside. Whenever he has free time, he will go to the village to fetch water, chop firewood, repair farm tools, and work in the fields. He can help with any kind of hard or tiring work.
She couldn't bear to leave her parents-in-law, so they decided to settle down in the countryside. Whenever she had time off from the army, she would head to the countryside.
They could also bring her food, clothes, and other necessities from the city.
If she is bullied in the countryside, he will be her strongest support, and no one will be able to bully her in the slightest.
"Comrade Jia Hui, after I finish the formalities at the Political Department tomorrow, we'll go to the Subdistrict Office to get our marriage certificate." Xiao Songhua looked at Chen Jia Hui, his eyes filled with barely suppressed excitement and joy. "This can't be delayed; we have to hurry."
Chen Jiahui nodded, "Okay, thank you for your hard work, Comrade Songhua. I'll be waiting for your news at home all day tomorrow."
"Okay." Xiao Songhua nodded. "It's getting late, you should all get some rest. I'll come again tomorrow."
After saying goodbye to Chen Shenghua and Wang Shufen, he turned and walked away from the main room of the Chen family, his steady and powerful steps filled with joy.
They arrived with heavy steps.
When he left, he walked with the speed of the wind.
The next morning, the sky was still gray and not fully light.
The residential compound, with its blue bricks and red tiles, stands in rows, and the chimneys of every household emit wisps of smoke.
Xie Zhongming got up before dawn. He knew that Xingyue loved sweet potato porridge, so he got up early to peel two sweet potatoes and cook them with rice.
He stirred the porridge in the pot and sat in front of the stove to add firewood.
The firewood was chopped by my older brothers a couple of days ago and piled up neatly in the corner of the stove.
Everyone had hoped that he and Xingyue could live a peaceful and happy life together from now on, but who would have thought that something like this would happen.
He added firewood and was lost in thought when Qiao Xingyue walked into the kitchen.
He jumped up from the stove as if he had done something wrong. "Xingyue, why are you up? Why didn't you sleep a little longer? Did I make too much noise and disturb you?"
"What's in your pocket?" Without saying a word, Qiao Xingyue went up to him and rummaged through the pockets of his military uniform.
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