In front of the two stoves, the firewood piled up was almost empty on the west side, but piled up like a mountain on the east side.
It turns out that these days, the Zhao brothers, Honghui and Zhao Honghui, have been coming to the store every evening as if clocking in, sometimes bringing meat, sometimes pastries, and they also do things like chopping wood and carrying water.
"I thought it was a flower from a high mountain, but it turned out to be just an ordinary dodder flower."
Xie Yuyao and Yang Shumei both dismissed it with disdain. The women, with sweet hearts in their hearts, had no mind to argue with irrelevant people.
At dusk that day, a bright, clear moon rose in the sky, its pale, gentle light cascading down like flowing water.
In a secluded corner outside the educated youth compound, Zhao Honghui gazed intently at the serene Xie Yuyao, speaking softly and gently into her bright, clear eyes, each word uttered with boundless tenderness.
"Yaoyao, please marry me, I will treat you well for the rest of my life."
Xie Yuyao's head buzzed, as if countless dazzling fireworks were exploding in her heart, and she stood there dumbfounded.
She saw the man's eyes filled with tenderness; his ink-black eyes seemed to speak volumes, deep and alluring, captivating her completely.
Before she could react, Zhao Honghui gently took her hand in his. Feeling his large, rough hand, Xie Yuyao felt a tingling, electric current surge through her entire body.
Her face was filled with shyness and surprise, and her heart was pounding as if it would burst out of her chest at any moment.
"We're not even dating yet, how did we get to the proposal stage?!" Xie Yuyao's face was a mix of surprise and shock, it was hard to tell.
"I've decided on you!"
Over the past few days, Zhao Honghui had grown increasingly fond of the woman before him. Now that he had set his sights on her, this older man, like a wolf in sheep's clothing, only wanted to bring her back to his den as soon as possible.
As for the disagreement about black market trading, as long as they are together, he will entrust all his money to her for safekeeping. At that time, Yao Yao will not lack money and will naturally stop.
"But marriage is different from dating. What if you decide to get married so hastily and it doesn't work out later?"
Zhao Honghui immediately and firmly replied, "No!"
He had already decided that as long as Xie Yuyao didn't do anything to harm the country or the people, he wouldn't investigate further.
Xie Yuyao regained her fragile rationality, withdrew her hand, and made the unpleasant point clear from the start: "There are a few things I want to clarify first."
"Go ahead," Zhao Honghui nodded seriously.
Xie Yuyao sorted out her thoughts and said one by one: "First, if the college entrance examination is reinstated in the future, I will take the exam."
"No problem. If that day ever comes, I'll earn money to support the family and ensure you can go to school and pursue your studies without worry."
"But I want to wait until I get into university before I get married."
She had seen historical records of educated youth taking exams while heavily pregnant, and in her view, this was a risk to themselves and their children, and she didn't want to end up in that situation.
Zhao Honghui, who had no idea when the college entrance examination would be reinstated, became anxious. "There's no word at all that the college entrance examination will be reinstated. Are we just going to have to wait indefinitely like this?"
Seeing Xie Yuyao remain silent, Zhao Honghui said again, "Are you worried that I will stop you? I swear, I will absolutely support you."
Xie Yuyao trusted his character, but since she couldn't tell him the exact time, she decided to skip that for the time being.
"Secondly, if either of us decides we no longer wish to continue the marriage, the other party must unconditionally agree to the divorce."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Honghui's face darkened. How could someone be thinking they couldn't make it work before even getting married?
He will never let that day come!
"If the conflict is truly irreconcilable, I agree. But I hope that everything will be discussed first, and that we won't give up easily."
Zhao Honghui was seething with anger, waiting to see what other infuriating things she could say!
"Third, I will settle down in a big city in the future and will no longer stay in Qingshantun. Can you accept being separated from your family and leaving your hometown?"
Zhao Honghui breathed a sigh of relief. "It's okay. I'm the eldest son. After the family splits up, my parents will live with me, and we'll go to the city together."
"It's hard to leave your homeland. Your parents may not want to go to the city, or they may drag you to stay in the countryside."
Zhao Honghui waved his hand and said readily, "They can't control me. We'll have more children and let them help take care of them. They'll have no choice but to go."
"......."
Xie Yuyao glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed. Little did he know, she didn't want to live with his parents.
She couldn't serve her in-laws like a typical young wife these days, nor did she want her elders to interfere in her family affairs.
In her plan, even if she were to get married, she would start a small family, maintain clear boundaries with both sets of parents, remain friendly, and not interfere with each other.
Xie Yuyao sighed. She had planned it all out. As long as she stayed here for two years, she could soar to great heights when the college entrance examination came.
But in just one month, she encountered someone who would influence her life choices.
Zhao Honghui disrupted her life plans and may even affect the course of her life.
She was well aware of her own feelings and was unwilling to give up the person in front of her, so she was willing to risk exposing her secrets to stay with him.
But she absolutely does not want to endure the hardship of being a daughter-in-law who eventually becomes a mother-in-law; that would be a devastation to her personality and nature, and this bottom line will never be crossed.
Seeing her gloomy expression, Zhao Honghui frowned and asked, "Is there any other problem?"
"Let me be frank, I'm only with you, only you."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Honghui was completely confused. She had only married him.
Xie Yuyao blurted out all the words she had been holding back: "What I mean is, if we get married, in this countryside, either you build a new house, or you move into my new house in the educated youth compound, and it's just the two of us living together. Later, when we move to the city, I will buy a house nearby for your parents to live in, so that the two generations won't live together."
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