Chapter 77 End of the Year
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The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is Little New Year.
Liushutun held a members' meeting to calculate work points, distribute money, and commend outstanding members.
Not only did Xie Yun's family pay off their overspending, they also received 16.3 yuan. Xie Yun and Xie Shen were like two nouveau riche, grinning from ear to ear, muttering, "We finally don't owe the brigade any money. We're finally debt-free. Now we can all sleep well."
Zhang Renjie asked her, "Why are you under so much pressure?"
Xie Yun said, "Of course not. If we don't pay off the overages, we won't be able to sleep well. We'll dream of working in the fields to earn work points. My mother, in particular, can't even stand up straight because of the money she owes the brigade."
Zhang Renjie laughed and said, "You're too worried. If you can't pay it back, just pay it back slowly. You'll eventually be able to pay it back."
Although Xie Yun was not called upon to talk about her pig-raising experience, she received a big red flower and was awarded the title of "Advanced Pig-Raising Household". She was praised along with several other families who raised second-class pigs.
In addition, those who were praised included "advanced households in fertilizer accumulation" and "large households in work points accumulation".
These two types usually occur in families with many people.
The brigade also recognized "Advanced Individuals," an award Xie Yun didn't even get. The 10 individuals who received the honors had never taken a single day off, earning the highest work points every day. They also didn't rest on their days off, instead doing other work for the brigade.
These are the real iron men. Take Comrade Wang Qingli, for example. She earns more work points than Xie Yun.
In addition to spiritual praise, the winners were also rewarded with an additional 5 kilograms of food.
After this meeting, the year for Liushutun Brigade came to an end. From now until the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, everyone had free time to do whatever they wanted, a rare break from the year.
On the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ruifeng took a rest and the family of three began to clean the house.
At this time, "sweeping the house" is serious, not just a simple cleaning.
They moved out all the movable items in the house and took them to the yard to dry, then cleaned the roof, beams, corners, walls, and every nook and cranny.
After sweeping, Zhang Ruifeng started to paste the wall. She bought some old newspapers from the commune's waste recycling station.
Their house hadn't had its walls painted before, and the wall of the kitchen in the middle had been blackened and looked ugly. This time, it was just the right time to paint it over.
The work lasted from morning till evening before it was finally completed.
Looking at the newly renovated home, all three of them had smiles on their faces.
On the 25th of the twelfth lunar month, Xie Yun took Xie Shen to the county town. He had originally planned to go with Zhang Ruifeng, but the grain store was at its busiest before the New Year, and Zhang Ruifeng would be busy until New Year's Eve, so she would have no vacation.
There was no other way, so the siblings had to go to the county town on their own.
As soon as I left the village, I met the Wang Qingli sisters and Xu Wumei.
Xie Yun asked them, "Are you going to the commune or the county?"
Wang Qingli smiled and said, "Let's go to the county and see the world. My sister and I also split some money, but we're saving it for catching piglets in the spring. We're just going to take a look, not buy anything."
After leaving that home, the two sisters felt a lot more relaxed. So when they had nothing to do, they wanted to go out for a walk and have a look.
Xie Yun smiled and said, "Mumu and I are mainly going out for a stroll. We are now debt-free. Wumei, how about you?"
Xu Wumei didn't look very happy and replied, "I'll talk to you when I get there."
Wang Qingli asked her, "Is your boyfriend back?"
"I'm back."
"Did you speak to him?"
"Yes."
Wang Qingli wanted to ask more, but was pulled back by Wang Qinghong. She motioned her sister to look at other people's expressions. The five beauties obviously didn't look happy, so she stopped asking.
Wang Qingli ignored this. Her boyfriend was back and they were getting married soon, but Wu Mei was unhappy. That must have something to do with her boyfriend. She and Wu Mei were comrades after all, and they had lived together for half a month. How could she not ask for details?
So, she then asked: "Are you getting married before the New Year or after the New Year?"
Xu Wumei looked thoughtful, not knowing how to answer.
Xie Yun asked, "What do you think of this person?"
Xu Wumei said, "He's taller than me, a little over 1.7 meters tall. He's not bad looking. He's a soldier, so he looks very upright. He's more energetic and upright than the men in our brigade. He doesn't talk much."
Xie Yun asked, "When did he come back?"
"The afternoon before yesterday. Yesterday afternoon he came to my house and brought a bottle of wine for my dad and a bag of hard candy for Xu Cheng. He told me that we should go to the county department store together today to buy me a new dress for my wedding."
"What about the others?"
Xu Wumei frowned and said, "Let's take his sister and leave first."
Xie Yun: “…”
Wang Qingli asked, "Is his sister shopping with you?"
Xu Wumei said, "No one mentioned this yesterday. I thought we were just shopping together."
Wang Qinghong said, "Even if his sister is accompanying you, then the three of you should go together. Why does he take his sister away first?"
Xu Wumei said: "He bought a bicycle and rode away with his sister, saying he was going to the county town to wait for me."
Xie Yun blurted out: "He must be sick!"
Wang Qingli said, "He's definitely sick! He's seriously ill! He wants to take his sister out for a stroll. Why not today? Besides, even if he wanted to bring someone along, the three of you should have walked. He and I rode our bikes, and you were left walking alone. How could he do that? You're his girlfriend, and you haven't even married him yet, and he's treating you like this. If you were married, what status would you have in his family?"
Wang Qinghong pulled her aside again, asking her to speak less. Although her sister had good intentions, there was an old saying: outsiders should stay out of other people's affairs; they are family.
Wang Qingli looked at Xu Wumei's expression and said nothing more. It was not because she listened to her sister's advice, but because she was worried that she would hurt Xu Wumei's feelings.
She paused, and Xie Yun continued. She asked, "Did his sister ask him to do this, or did he just want to do this?"
Xu Wumei thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure. When I went to his house, he told me, 'Lan Ping wants to go shopping in the city, but my car can only take one person.' Then his mother said, 'Lan Ping is still young and isn't very familiar with this car. You'll be her sister-in-law in the future, so please be patient and let her go with you. We can also go shopping and visit the department store today. She's never walked to the county town before, so let her take the car.'"
Xie Yun: "So his mother knew about this, and she approved of it. He didn't say anything against it, didn't apologize to you, or said he would go with you today and go with Zheng Lanping another day. He didn't say anything?"
Xu Wumei thought about it and said, "He didn't say anything. His family seemed to think I wouldn't have any objections, or rather, I didn't dare to have any objections."
Xie Yun sighed and said, "This family is so ignorant, they're not even as good as my Mumu."
Xie Shen interrupted her on the spot: "No, sister, if you go out with someone in the future, I will follow you."
Xie Yun: “???”
Xie Shen added: "I didn't get in his car. I ran behind it. I was afraid he would bully you."
Xie Yun: “…”
Wang Qingli laughed heartily. "Your sister is amazing. When we were training, even the male soldiers couldn't beat her."
After being interrupted by Xie Shen, Xu Wumei's mood improved a little.
Xie Yun asked, "Is the Zheng family trying to intimidate you?"
Xu Wumei nodded. "That should be the case. But they made a wrong calculation. Just like Qingli said, I didn't mind her going shopping with us, but they rode away on their bikes and left me alone. I was really unhappy."
Wang Qingli said, "If it were me, I wouldn't go. Let them go shopping."
Xu Wumei raised the corner of her mouth and said, "I thought so too, but I still want to see what other tricks their family can come up with."
Xie Yun asked, "Has there been any other incidents before?"
Xu Wumei: "Both of his sisters-in-law were in confinement after childbirth. The second sister-in-law gave birth, and later the eldest sister-in-law also gave birth. Zheng Lanping came to me and invited me to her home. She said that we would soon be a family. Her mother and the eldest and second sisters-in-law also wanted to see me more and chat. She also asked me to go and see the newborn baby.
My mother thought it would be good to see more of them, so she let me go and asked me to bring back a few eggs. As soon as I arrived, her family was very welcoming and didn't treat me as an outsider. They let me take care of the children and wash diapers.
I worked at her house for a day. The next day, Zheng Lanping called me again, but I didn't go. She's taking me for a fool."
Wang Qingli said, "You're a little silly. The first day they asked you to wash diapers, you should have smeared them in their faces. Why are you so rude? They're ordering you around before you even get married. If you did, you'd be a slave to them. Have you mentioned this to Zheng Laosan?"
"I told him about this yesterday, and he said that his two sisters-in-law were both in confinement after childbirth, and his mother must be too busy to handle it."
"Then what?"
"Nothing more."
Xie Yun asked, "Not even an apology or a thank you?"
Xu Wumei shook her head: "No."
Wang Qingli curled her lips. "This is the best family in our brigade! This is the most promising young man in our brigade! Tsk tsk tsk! Everyone's eyes are not very good."
Xie Yun asked Xu Wumei: "What do you think?"
Xu Wumei said, "I'll try to contact him again today. If it doesn't work out, I'll cancel the engagement. Qingli is right. I haven't even gotten married yet, and their family treats me like this. If I marry them, I'll be a servant. They probably think I'm reluctant to give up this marriage. After all, it's true that the Zheng family has an easy life."
Xie Yun smiled and said, "They live well because everyone sees them doing well. No one knows what they are like behind closed doors. Maybe they are just donkey dung eggs with shiny surfaces."
Wang Qingli also said, "Exactly. Why are they living well? Isn't it because they're spending Zheng Laosan's money? If you marry him, all of Zheng Laosan's money will be spent on his parents, brother, sister-in-law, and sister. How much will he have left for you? Just because they're living well doesn't mean you'll be able to live well too. Besides, he's away from home all year round. If his parents, brother, sister-in-law, and sister gang up on you, can you stand up to them alone?"
Xu Wumei smiled and said, "I understand. So I'm going to go over today to see what more trouble these brother and sister can cause."
Wang Qinghong asked her, "If you want to cancel the engagement, will your mother agree?"
Xu Wumei's previous frustration had already been swept away: "It doesn't matter whether she agrees or not. At worst, I can go find Director Yan."
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