Chapter 31 Deng Dazhu
"My brother is lying in bed and can't move. You know that. What's wrong with you going to help for a few days?" Zhang Chuntao said confidently, "Shuangping is about to get engaged to Deng Zhiming. After the engagement, we will be relatives. He will definitely be able to help us in the future. Uncle Deng Zhiming works at the county police station."
Gu Jiancheng sneered, "They're about to get engaged, but they haven't gotten engaged yet. Besides, when Deng Zhiming and Yimin got engaged, I was their uncle, but I didn't see Deng Zhiming show me much respect."
"How can they be the same?" Zhang Chuntao said.
"It's different," Gu Jiancheng said sarcastically, "Back then, Deng Zhiming was begging for an engagement with Yimin, and now Deng Shuangping is begging for an engagement with Deng Zhiming, and they haven't even gotten engaged yet."
In Gu Jiancheng's heart, Gu Yimin is naturally closer to him than Zhang Shuangping.
Zhang Chuntao was shaking with anger. She pointed at Gu Jiancheng and said, "Okay, you're not going, right? Then don't even think about asking my big brother to help you in the future."
Gu Jiancheng is not afraid of this kind of threat at all. What can Zhang Shugen do to help him?
Zhang Chuntao had no choice but to ask Gu Xueqiang to help the Zhang family plant the land. The Zhang family was left with no one to work. Zhang Shugen had been beaten so badly that he couldn't get out of bed, and Zhang Shuangping had been called away by the Deng family to work. The Zhang family's daughter-in-law was pregnant again, leaving only Zhang Tiefeng and Ge Fenglian at home.
A large family has nearly ten acres of land to work on, and two people would probably be unable to get out of bed after finishing the work.
The Deng family has had a much easier time this year. In previous years, Deng Erzhu and Zhao Fenglan were the only ones doing the work, but this year there's an additional person, Zhang Shuangping.
Moreover, Zhang Shuangping was not their biological child, so they did not feel bad about using him. For example, heavy work like pulling the plow and carving the wood was something most families would not let women do, but Zhang Shuangping pulled the plow for the Deng family for two days and was so tired that she collapsed on the bed and could not get up.
But she fell on the bed very skillfully, she fell on Deng Zhiming's bed. As a result, she worked the land during the day and was worked by Deng Zhiming at night.
What’s amazing is that when Zhang Shuangping got up the next day, although he was crying, he didn’t look tired at all. He even acted in front of Deng Erzhu and Zhao Fenglan, saying that he was too embarrassed to live.
Things have come to this point, and even if Deng Zhiming is unwilling, he has to get engaged to Zhang Shuangping as soon as possible.
The two families moved very quickly. A few days later, Zhang Chuntao went to Gu Siqing's house to show off: "The Deng family specially hired a matchmaker to propose to Shuangping, and Zhiming also went. He and Shuangping are really a perfect match standing together."
She looked so proud, as if Zhang Shuangping had married into the palace and become the queen.
"That's really great news," Wang Yueju said after hearing Zhang Chuntao's boast. "When Yimin broke off his engagement with Deng Zhiming, he held a knife and threatened to commit suicide. We were scared to death. Now that he's engaged again, we're relieved."
After that, she casually asked, "How much is the engagement gift?"
Zhang Chuntao's face, originally beaming with joy, became a little distorted by Wang Yueju's words. She opened her mouth several times before saying, "It's not fashionable to give too much betrothal gift these days."
Wang Yueju casually said "oh" and didn't say anything else. However, Zhang Chuntao couldn't show off anymore and could only leave in disappointment.
When Deng Zhiming and Gu Yimin got engaged, he gave them 66 yuan, which means "six sixes are auspicious." Compared to other engagement gifts, 66 yuan isn't much, but it's definitely not a small amount either.
But this time, Deng Zhiming and Zhang Shuangping were engaged, and the betrothal gift was thirty yuan, less than half of the sixty-six yuan. The Zhang family was naturally unhappy, but what could they do? The land had already been cultivated.
After Zhang Chuntao left, Wang Yueju patted Gu Yimin's hand and said, "They are not having a good life."
Gu Yimin smiled and said, "Mom, don't worry, I'm fine. Whether they are doing well or not has nothing to do with me." Gu Yimin said this with absolute sincerity. He had no feelings for Deng Zhiming in the first place, and now he has none at all.
"Dad, are you leaving for the provincial capital tomorrow morning?" Gu Yimin changed the subject. Wang Yueju hummed, "Get up early tomorrow morning and boil some eggs for your dad, and make some pancakes for him to take on the journey."
Gu Yimin nodded in agreement.
The next day, before dawn, Gu Yimin and Gu Erhui got up. Gu Siqing drowsily opened her eyes and struggled to get up. Dad was going to the provincial capital to investigate the market. This was a crucial step in the transformation, and she couldn't miss it.
"Why are you getting up? Go back to sleep." Gu Yimin saw that she sat up without even opening her eyes. He smiled and was about to push her back down, but she said, "It's an important moment. I have to see our dad off."
"Okay, then you get up." Gu Yimin ignored her and went out with Gu Erhui.
Gu Siqing put on her clothes and looked at Gu Sanjing, who was sleeping like a pig. After thinking about it, she decided to wake her up. If four little girls were to send him off together, Dad would definitely be more powerful.
The two of them entered the kitchen, which was bustling with activity. The second sister was lighting the fire, the eldest sister was rolling out pancakes, and the mother was standing in front of the stove, flipping the pancakes back and forth with a spatula.
Gu Siqing looked back around the yard and saw her father cleaning the 28-inch bicycle. She walked over and squatted beside him, "Dad, be careful on the road."
In the 1980s and 1990s, society was still quite chaotic, with robberies occurring in many places.
Gu Jianguo's heart warmed up again, and he touched the little girl's head with his big hand, "I know."
The family had an early breakfast. Wang Yueju wrapped the pancakes and eggs she brought for Gu Jianguo in layers of cloth and put them in his black bag.
Gu Jianguo hung the black bag on the handlebars, waved to his wife and daughter, and rode away. His heart was both warm and heavy, as he was traveling with the hopes of his entire family.
After meeting up with Han Deyi, they rode their bikes to town. Once there, they took a bus to the county seat. There, they bought train tickets to the provincial capital, and the two of them waited in the waiting room, munching on some dry food.
After sitting for a while, I saw several people in police uniforms come in and walk around in the waiting room, apparently they were investigating a case.
"Is that Deng Dazhu?" Han Deyi looked at the policemen and asked Gu Jianguo in a low voice.
Gu Jianguo glanced over there and hummed. Deng Dazhu was Deng Zhiming's uncle who worked at the county police station. He had met him twice, so they were considered acquaintances.
"What's going on with Yimin and Deng Zhiming's engagement?" He had heard about the breakup of Gu Yimin and Deng Zhiming's engagement, but he didn't know why such a good marriage was called off. In his opinion, Deng Zhiming was a very good marriage candidate.
Gu Jianguo didn't want to talk about the Deng family's affairs and dealt with it vaguely. But at this time, Deng Dazhu walked towards them.
"Brother Jianguo, it's really you!" Deng Dazhu greeted him warmly, and Gu Jianguo could only stand up and greet him.
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