Chapter 55 Chapter 55
Brother Bao said something to Shen Moer and dragged Fu Mingze out of the house. There was a piece of wasteland outside the back door and there were no houses around, so they were not afraid of being overheard when talking.
Bao Ge looked around, and even though he knew there was no one around, he still tried to keep his voice down: "No, you didn't tell your wife the truth, didn't you? You're already married, and you're still hiding it. Are you planning to keep it a secret from your wife?"
Seeing Fu Mingze didn't say anything, Bao Ge thought for a moment and said, "But it's right for you to keep it a secret. These days, there are many cases of sons reporting their fathers and wives reporting their husbands. As the old saying goes, you can know a person's face but not his heart. It's better to keep it a secret than to wake up one day and be arrested and taken to the Revolutionary Committee."
Fu Mingze looked at him and frowned: "Mo'er is not that kind of person."
Bao Ge choked and asked, "Then why did you hide it from others?"
He clearly has money but pretends to be poor, and still eagerly gives him one pound of meat coupons, two pounds of grain coupons and ten yuan. I don't know who he is making fun of.
In fact, Bao Ge didn't expect Fu Mingze to get married so soon. Many educated youth who went to the countryside to work couldn't stand it and got married in the local area. But Fu Mingze had only been there for less than a year. Besides, he was a grown man, so even if the work in the fields was hard, he could do it. Yangliu Brigade was considered good in the surrounding area, and the village cadres were fair and would not deliberately assign difficult work to the educated youth.
So it can only be that he really likes the girl.
Thinking back to the last time when Fu Mingze specially went to the commune to put a sack on Wang Jinbao, Brother Bao had actually guessed something at that time.
The girl is indeed outstanding and good-looking. I heard that she even took her child to the provincial capital to participate in some competition. Anyway, she is quite amazing.
Since it is the girl he truly likes, Brother Bao doesn’t understand. They are already a couple, why would they hide things from each other?
Bao Ge looked Fu Mingze up and down and said suspiciously, "In the past two years, some educated youth have returned to the city. Their families have found a receiving unit for them, or they deliberately damaged their health and returned to the city for medical treatment. I heard that some people actually had a partner in the countryside and kept it a secret. When they returned to the city, they lied to their partners and said they would find a way to bring them to the city to live. As a result, they disappeared without a trace after the person left. I think you are not thinking of such a bad idea, leaving yourself some room first, and then when the situation changes, you abandon your wife and become Chen Shimei?"
Fu Mingze: “…”
I sincerely advised: "The book your uncle mentioned is very good, but I suggest you listen to it less."
Bao Ge's great uncle used to be a storyteller, but now that he can't do this job anymore, he hides in the village and tells stories to his family. Fu Mingze heard it once and thought it was really good, but Bao Ge was obviously not suitable to listen to it, otherwise he felt his brain would be damaged.
After thinking for a while, Fu Mingze explained: "My wife wants to find a poorer man, I am afraid of complications. Besides, I am also afraid that she will feel psychologically burdened if she knows about it, and will be worried all day long. It is better for her to know nothing."
Although Bao Ge didn't understand why Shen Moli wanted to find a poorer partner, it was true that she was worried all day long because of her bad family background. He often wandered around the villages and occasionally did business with those who were sent down to the countryside. He heard some people say that their life was not easy before they were sent down to the countryside. They worried about being caught every day and hadn't had a good night's sleep for half a year.
In a case like Fu Mingze's, it's okay that his wife doesn't know about it and doesn't need to worry about it.
They talked for a few words and then went back to the house. Chen Moer and Qiaojie bought a few buns, wrapped them in oil paper and tied them with straw ropes. Fu Mingze went over to take them, turned around and thanked Baoge expressionlessly, and invited him and Qiaojie to go to Yangliu Brigade for the wedding banquet.
Bao Ge twitched his lips and said, "Okay, I'll definitely go when the time comes."
Shen Moer and Fu Mingze pushed their bicycles out of Qiaojie's house. They hadn't walked a few steps when they saw a middle-aged woman with a lot of white in her eyes standing in front of a small bungalow with a pomegranate tree at the door, looking at them. Shen Moer thought that this person looked familiar, and the woman cursed: "You said you didn't go to Niu Qiaoqiao's house to buy buns. You are speculating and digging into socialism. You are not a good person!"
Shen Moer remembered that this was the woman she met when she and Shen Yinyin came to buy buns last time. She kicked her down that day. Could it be that she was holding a grudge and still remembered it after such a long time?
"We are registering our marriage today and coming here to give some wedding candy to our friends. Who are you to accuse someone of speculation without any reason? Come on, let's go to the Revolutionary Committee and talk it out!"
Shen Moer rolled up her sleeves and pretended to go over and grab the man. The woman had suffered a loss at her hands last time, so this time she reacted particularly quickly: "I was just saying it casually. I'm not talking about you. You, you, you better not do anything rash!" She quickly hid behind the small bungalow and slammed the door shut.
You give up so quickly.
Shen Moer put her sleeves down again.
Fu Mingze looked at the small bungalow thoughtfully and asked, "Do you know this person too?"
Shen Moer told the story of the last time and asked doubtfully, "Does this person have a grudge against Qiaojie?"
Fu Mingze briefly told Qiaojie's story. Qiaojie's husband used to be in the security department of a textile factory. When he was on duty at night, there was a fire in the factory. He died while trying to protect the machinery and equipment, leaving behind a large family of orphans and a widow.
Originally, she still had a job, but her husband died suddenly. The two elderly people in the family could not bear the shock and fell seriously ill. The children in the family were young, and there was no one to help them. Qiaojie had to sell her job to pay for the medical treatment of the elderly. Later, the illness was cured, but it cost a lot of money. The family could only live on the small pension given by the factory.
The factory understood that their family had a hard time and did not take away the house allocated to them. However, living in the commune, they had to pay for every onion or garlic, and the family could not make ends meet. The old man simply took the three children back to his hometown in the countryside, and Qiaojie stayed alone in the commune to do odd jobs to earn some money.
But there are old and young people in the family. Even if the rural expenses are low and they can grow some vegetables in their private plots, the food is still far from enough to eat without a few work points.
Qiaojie secretly collected eggs, dried vegetables, cotton and other things from the village and sold them in the commune. It was during this process that she met Baoge.
Bao Ge could get flour and meat, and Qiao Jie happened to have a room in the dormitory of the textile factory, so Qiao Jie simply collected eggs and other things and made buns to sell directly.
In fact, many people in the textile factory knew about Qiaojie selling steamed buns, but her husband died to protect the factory equipment. How could a family of old and young survive without making some extra money? Besides, if her husband hadn't put out the fire and protected the factory equipment, it would be unknown whether their factory could continue to operate, so basically everyone turned a blind eye.
Moreover, Qiaojie has good cooking skills and her buns are made with real ingredients. Many people like to eat them. She doesn’t just charge money, she can also exchange eggs, cloth, and daily necessities.
She made a few buns at home and exchanged some small amounts with relatives and friends. Strictly speaking, this was not as serious as her previous business of collecting eggs, cotton and other things from the village to sell.
As for why this neighbor was always staring at her... Fu Mingze frowned and said, "The son of this family was admitted to the textile factory two years ago. I heard that there were too many people in the family and they couldn't find a place to live. They have been waiting for the factory to allocate a house for their son to marry. The factory has no vacant houses for the time being, so they set their eyes on Qiaojie's room."
This family complained to the factory many times, saying that Qiaojie and her family were no longer employees of the textile factory and were no longer eligible to live in the factory's house.
However, the house was originally obtained by Qiaojie's family with the help of the trade union and the Women's Federation. The factory kept a written record of the meeting, allowing them to live there until the first child turns eighteen. Now Qiaojie's eldest son is only ten years old.
Things that have been decided by the government will naturally not be changed easily.
So the family started to find another way to report Qiaojie for speculation, but Qiaojie had never had a good relationship with their family, so it was naturally impossible for her to sell their buns. They didn't find any evidence, so they could only stare at her like a black-eyed chicken every day.
Shen Moer frowned: "It's really annoying to be stared at all day like this."
The speaker may not have intended it, but the listener may have taken it to heart. Fu Mingze lowered his eyes slightly. Compared to how Qiaojie was being stared at by her neighbors, there were actually more people in the capital staring at their family.
Forget it, let’s not talk about it.
The hands of those people in the capital are not so long that they can't reach into this remote area, but it still makes people worry.
Fu Mingze let out a long breath, took Shen Moer’s hand, and said very coldly and ruthlessly: “Don’t worry about them, Brother Bao will worry about these things.”
Shen Moer glanced at him, rubbed her fingers gently in his palm, smiled and whispered a reminder: "It's outside."
Fu Mingze felt itchy in his palms, and his ears turned slightly red, but his face was not showing it. He looked at the bag in front of him calmly and confidently, "We have a marriage certificate. We are a legal couple. What are we afraid of?"
As they were talking, an old lady with bound feet wearing a red armband suddenly jumped out from the other end of the alley, pointed at them and shouted, "What are you two doing? Are you guys swatting hooligans in public?!"
Fu Mingze's body froze. Shen Moer chuckled and quickly pulled her hand out. Fu Mingze jumped into the car and stepped on the pedal: "Hurry up and get in the car."
As soon as Shen Moer jumped onto the bicycle while smiling, the bike immediately rushed forward at lightning speed.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop right there!" The old lady with bound feet chased after them, "Stop, explain yourself clearly, and accept the lesson!"
Facing the brisk autumn breeze, Shen Moer smiled and shouted, "Aunt, we just got the marriage certificate today."
“Even after getting the marriage certificate you can’t touch or move in the street…” the old lady with bound feet shouted, and chased after him for a few more steps, but finally slowed down and stopped chasing.
Shen Moer couldn't stop laughing, and she grabbed the corner of Fu Mingze's clothes and asked, "Don't we have a marriage certificate? We are a legal couple, so what are you afraid of?"
Fu Mingze got angry and started to talk nonsense: "That's right, we are a legal couple, what are you afraid of? Next time I will go to that alley and kiss you."
This time it was Shen Moer's turn to get angry. She slapped Fu Mingze on the back and cursed: "Lecher!"
It didn't hurt, oh, not really, it was like being tickled by a soft feather on the tip of my heart, making my heart itch. Fu Mingze curled his lips and accepted the name: "Well, I'm a lecher, you're a little girl, let's get married."
Shen Moer leaned on his back and whispered, "Well, Lecher, let's get married."
In a blink of an eye, it was the day when Dengtuzi and Xiaojiaoniang got married.
Early in the morning, when it was still dark, Aunt Chen, Aunt Cai and others came with their wives and daughters. Some of them began to prepare food for the whole day, while others dug Shen Moer out of the quilt and began to comb her hair.
Shen Moer asked sleepily, "Why did you come so early?"
It's not like their Daliang, where the wedding process and rituals are extremely complicated, especially for the royal family, who have to go to the ancestral temple early in the morning to offer sacrifices and report to their ancestors, and also go to the palace to kneel and thank the emperor. There are so many rules. Shen Moer still knows this world, which advocates thrift and diligence, and the same applies to marriages, and try to simplify everything that can be simplified.
Aunt Chen smiled and took the comb and carefully combed Shen Moer's hair: "It's getting late, it will take some time to dress up, the guests will come soon, you have to entertain the guests from your mother's family, you have to go to the commune at noon, you have to go out in the morning, oh, time is very tight."
According to the custom of Jiangbei County, the wedding banquet is held at noon by the bride and at night by the groom. However, the situation of Shen Moer and Fu Mingze is special. Fu Mingze has no relatives coming, only a few friends, so they simply prepare to set up two tables in the state-owned restaurant.
It would definitely not be appropriate to set up this table at night, so the couple discussed it and decided that Fu Mingze would bring people to pick up the bride in the morning and take her directly to the commune. Then the people who sent the bride and picked her up would have a meal at the state-owned restaurant in the commune, and then they would send her back to the Shen family courtyard.
Although the bride was finally sent back home after a long journey, at least the ceremony took place, and a group of people went from Yangliu Brigade to the commune, and then from the commune to Yangliu Brigade, which made the ceremony lively and grand.
It's better than taking it to the educated youth point and then sending it back.
Aunt Cai continued, "That's right. When I left, I saw that Second Shen's family was already getting ready. We can't let them outdo us. I don't know what they were thinking. They clearly said they would get married before you, but they delayed it for a few days and held it on the same day as yours. Cousins holding weddings on the same day is something I've never heard of in the area. Oh my, so where are our relatives going to get married?"
Aunt Chen glanced at Shen Moer, and seeing that she didn't care, she said, "What do you think? Don't think so."
In terms of relatives, there are six living brothers and sisters in the old Shen family, but only Shen Yinyin has the same father and mother as Shen Laoqi. The others in front are of the same blood, so if I really have to choose, I will definitely choose to go to Shen Laoer's house.
In terms of marriage partners, Fu Mingze is just an ordinary educated youth, while the son-in-law of Shen Laoer's family is a skilled worker in a textile factory. Although they all think Fu Zhiqing is good, handsome, educated, and the couple has a good relationship, outsiders always think that Shen Moer did not marry as well as Shen Lingling. It would be better if they did not get married on the same day. If they get married on the same day, they will inevitably be compared.
Aunt Chen really looked down on Shen Yongjun and Tian Fang. She had always thought that Tian Fang was pretentious, and the things that happened this year made her see through this family.
"Don't make any signs. Their son-in-law is a skilled worker, but Lao Qi is still a cadre. When Lao Qi is about to retire, he will give the job to Xiao Fu. Isn't Xiao Fu also a cadre?"
Shen Shaoyuan, who just came in to see how his daughter was dressed, said: "..."
This sounds like he is very old.
Aunt Cai didn't think there was anything wrong with what she said: "Seventh Brother, am I right?"
Shen Shaoyuan responded vaguely, took a closer look at the bun that Aunt Chen had put on Shen Moer, and then went out.
When he was in Daliang, he had thought that when his daughter got married, he would have to hold the most grand wedding in the capital, with a ten-mile long red wedding dress, and marry his daughter off with great fanfare. However, he never expected that when the day really came, his daughter would just wear a simple bun and a bright red corduroy jacket before getting married.
Shen Shaoyuan felt a little melancholy.
Shen Moer had just finished dressing up and had some breakfast that Li Xinmei had helped to prepare when Shen Yinyin's family arrived. This time, it was not just Shen Yinyin and her two sons who came, but also Shen Yinyin's man Zhao Xingguo and their daughter Zhao Tingting.
Zhao Zhengyang looks and looks like his father. Together with Zhao Zhenghui who also looks very similar, the three of them, standing together, look like three strong men of different ages.
Fortunately, Zhao Tingting looks like Shen Yinyin. Although her skin color is also a little dark, her eyebrows and eyes are very delicate. She is a pretty and cheerful girl.
In fact, it is normal that people don't bring their entire families to a banquet these days, but when Shen Shaoyuan sent someone to deliver the message, he specifically asked them to come with their entire family. Anyway, the second Shen's family was also holding a banquet on the same day, and it was estimated that not many people from the old Shen family would come, so the place would be just right for Shen Yinyin's family.
Shen Yinyin heard that Shen Laoer's family was also holding a banquet on the same day. This was obviously a way to make trouble. What's more, Shen Shaoyuan also asked the messenger to say that he had been promoted to a regular employee and didn't need the guests from their family to attend the banquet. Shen Yinyin slapped her thigh and decided that the whole family must go to support her brother and niece!
My younger brother has become an official in the kiln factory, I must go and congratulate him!
Well, the family came carrying a wild boar leg.
"Cousin, you are so beautiful." Zhao Tingting rubbed against Shen Moer and looked at her with sparkling eyes.
The original owner had a pretty good relationship with Zhao Tingting. After all, she was her closest cousin by blood. Zhao Tingting was outgoing, but not loud. She was definitely not like her eldest aunt Shen Xianghong's two cousins, who looked down on people all day long.
However, the two villages are far apart, and people only see each other occasionally during festivals and holidays. It would be difficult to say that they are very familiar with each other.
Shen Moer liked Zhao Tingting's simple and honest character. She smiled and touched a handful of candy to Zhao Tingting. Zhao Tingting widened her eyes in surprise and shook her hands repeatedly: "No, no, cousin, I'm sixteen after the Chinese New Year. I'm not a child anymore. I don't eat candy."
After the 16th day of the lunar year, we are almost old enough to get married, so we are definitely not children anymore.
"This is wedding candy. What does it have to do with how old you are?"
Zhao Tingting was quickly persuaded by Shen Moli, and she happily took the candies and put them in her pocket. At first, she put all of them in her pocket. Not long after, she quietly took out another one, peeled off the candy wrapper, put it in her mouth, and immediately smiled.
This is an expensive candy. She only ate half of it by chance several years ago. At that time, she wondered when she could eat half of it again. But today, not only did she eat it, she ate a whole one. Not only did she eat a whole one, she even had several in her pocket!
Zhao Tingting was so happy.
Shen Moer couldn't help laughing when she saw that she looked like a mouse that stole oil, and said that she was not a child, and her expression was exactly the same as Maomao and the others' when they ate candy.
The guests who came to see off the bride arrived one after another. In addition to the Shen family members who were of the same clan as Shen Laoqi, Zhou Mancang and other brigade cadres who were close to Shen Moer and her daughter, there were also some parents of students taught by Shen Moer, especially some who had previously gone to the city to participate in competitions. Except for Zhou Zhaodi's family, no one came, the other families all sent generous gifts.
Shen Yinyin's family helped to greet the guests, and Aunt Chen and Aunt Cai, who were close to Shen Moer, also took the initiative to help serve tea and water, and distribute melon seeds and candies. The small courtyard suddenly became very lively.
In the village, there is the big blue brick and tile house of old Shen’s family.
Tian Fang led her two daughters-in-law to entertain the guests. Normally, the guests who came to see the bride should be given some melon seeds and candies. The problem was that the Zhang family only sent two kilograms of candies in total, and the candies had to be distributed at the table later, which was obviously not enough. Tian Fang naturally did not want to pay for more candies, so she simply weighed some melon seeds, put them on a plate in the main room, and poured everyone a bowl of sugar water.
It is called sugar water, but in fact, there is only a few grains of white sugar in it, and it is almost as light as plain water.
The second son Shen Jianshe's wife was boiling water in the kitchen while muttering to the eldest son Shen Jianye's wife: "Isn't Lingling's boyfriend a skilled worker in a textile factory? He gets such a high salary, why is he so stingy?"
Jianye's wife is an honest person, and she tells the truth: "The man usually gives two kilograms of candy."
Her eldest son, Shen Minbing, is also seventeen years old. If he hadn't been imprisoned for stealing bricks from Shen Laoqi's house, he should have been looking for a partner this fall. The Jianye daughter-in-law had already inquired about these customs and etiquette. It was normal for the man to give two kilograms of sugar when getting married. It was usually like this. She must have given her son Minbing the same thing when he got married.
Jianshe's wife almost rolled her eyes: "He is just an ordinary member of our cooperative. Can a textile factory technician be an ordinary person?"
Jianye's wife was stunned and stopped pouring water. That was actually true.
Jianshe's wife: "Also, he is a skilled worker from a textile factory and he got married and moved in with us. What do you think of this? It's not like he's recruiting a son-in-law, nor is it like he married an educated youth. Even if the Zhang family has a small house, it doesn't make sense for them to kick someone out just because their son got married, right? It's not like our family has many houses. Your Minbing is going to find a partner soon. Originally, if your sister-in-law moved out, we could all live in a more spacious room. But now, after Minbing got married, he can only live in the smaller half, and his married aunt lives in the larger half."
Jianye's wife's face suddenly turned unhappy. She had actually thought about this matter in her mind a long time ago. The problem was that the sister-in-law and the parents-in-law discussed it directly, and they, the brothers and sisters-in-law, had no chance to express their opinions at all.
"Forget it, there's still a few dollars of rent left." Jianye's wife could only say.
Jianshe's wife: "That's just a few dollars."
In fact, it is not a small amount in the countryside. After all, who would rent a house in the countryside? But considering the other party's status, a skilled worker in a state-owned factory, he only paid this little to live in his wife's house. Jianshe's wife felt that her parents-in-law were too superficial.
"Mom, mom, I want candy, I want wedding candy!"
"I want some candy too, Mom!"
Shen Minda, the younger son of Shen Jianye, and Shen Lanlan, the eldest daughter of Shen Jianshe, ran in together.
When she heard the naughty child asking for candy, Jianshe's wife had a terrible headache and scolded her daughter: "What candy? Can't you see your mother is busy? Besides, if you want wedding candy, go find your grandma or your aunt. What's the point of looking for me?!"
Shen Minda said: "Grandma and my aunt both said no, but Maomao said that Grandpa Qi's family did share candy, and it was very, very delicious milk candy. Mom, I want to eat milk candy too."
Shen Lanlan nodded: "Yes, Xiaoye and Meimei also got candy. They laughed at us for not having any candy. Mom, can we go to Grandpa Qi's house to ask for wedding candy?"
Jianye’s wife: “…”
Construction Wife: "..."
What kind of talk is this!
Jianshe’s wife glared at Shen Lanlan: “If you dare to go to your seventh grandfather’s house to ask for wedding candy, be careful that your grandma will beat you to death!”
After thinking for a while, she pulled Shen Lanlan to her side and said, "Go find your grandma and tell her about the candy distribution at your seventh grandfather's house. Don't say you're going to your seventh grandfather's house to ask for wedding candy. Just say that Xiao Ye and the others laughed at you and you want to eat candy too."
Shen Lanlan's eyes rolled and she understood: "Okay, I'll go find grandma first, and then go find my aunt and tell her again." Then she ran away like the wind.
When Shen Minda saw it, he quickly followed.
Jianshe's wife curled her lips, "What do you think they are thinking? They have to hold the wedding banquet on the same day as Shen Moer, and they want to show off. They don't even think about Shen Laoqi's personality. If you dare to starve his daughter to death, he will dare to strangle you with a rope. It's not easy for his daughter to hold a wedding banquet, so he has to make the scene look good even if he has to sell everything he has! He has been promoted to a cadre of the kiln factory. Even if he has suffered a lot of famine, so what? He will be back in a few months. I think today's signs may be nothing else, maybe it will make a fool of himself."
Jianye's wife: "Speak less, be careful not to be overheard."
Jianshe’s wife: “Just watch if you don’t believe me.”
Over there, Shen Lanlan parroted what Jianshe's wife had taught her, and Tian Fang was immediately furious: "It really makes them look bad, showing off their poverty!"
There was actually still half a pound of sugar left at home. Tian Fang thought about it, gritted her teeth and said, "Go ask your aunt for it. Just tell her that grandma asked her to take out half a pound of sugar to share."
So the two naughty kids ran into Shen Lingling's room.
Naturally, there were other people in the bride's room. Shen Lanlan was smart enough. She ran over and leaned over to whisper everything that Jianshe's wife and Tian Fang had said. Shen Lingling's originally smiling face suddenly turned dark. She was extremely angry, but she had to control her expression and maintain a stiff smile.
Shen Chunfang, the eldest daughter of Shen Laosan's family, glanced at Shen Lingling and deliberately asked, "Lingling, what are you two talking about in secret?"
Shen Chunfang married into an ordinary family, an ordinary member family of an ordinary brigade in Liuqiao Commune. She was fed up with Shen Lingling's exaggeration of Junliang just now. Now seeing that Shen Lingling's face was not very good, Shen Chunfang suddenly became curious.
Shen Lingling forced a smile, took out a paper bag from her bag beside her, and said, "My mother asked Lanlan to remind me to give everyone some wedding candy."
The nephews and nieces looked at her eagerly, so Shen Lingling could only grab two and hand them over. However, when the two naughty kids saw the candies in her hands, they showed disgust on their faces. Shen Minda even directly knocked the candies away, sat on the ground, and started howling -
Next to the bushes not far from the Shen family’s house.
Maomao, Shun'er, Zhou Zhaodi, Xiaoye, Meimei and a group of primary school students squatted there, observing the house of Shen Laoer not far away, until a loud cry came from inside, "I want milk candy, I don't want this broken candy", and the children all laughed at once.
Maomao said proudly: "I knew Shen Minda and Shen Lanlan would go back and make trouble, hehe."
Shuner licked the candy in his mouth and gave his good brother a thumbs up. At the same time, he asked in confusion: "Didn't they say that Teacher Lingling married a very capable worker? How come their family doesn't even have candy?"
The furry little devil said: "They are stingy. My grandma said that Second Aunt Shen is actually very stingy. Teacher Lingling's boyfriend's family is not easy to deal with either. Also, they deliberately held the wedding banquet on the same day as Sister Mo'er. They have no good intentions. We must protect Sister Mo'er today!"
A group of elementary school students immediately straightened their chests and said, "Protect sister Moer/teacher!"
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