Chapter 135 It's just a wife, isn't it?
"Mom, let's just forget about it." Xia Damin was silent for a long time, then forced a bitter smile onto his dark face. "I know you mean well."
Seeing that Lin Shulan was about to speak again, he quickly added, "But marrying a wife isn't like buying something; you can't just settle for anything. If you bring her into the house and you can't get along, and there's constant chaos, is that really a good thing?"
He glanced towards the kitchen doorway and lowered his voice: "Have you forgotten Old Lu's family at the east end of the village? They married a fierce wife, and they fight every other day. The noise is so loud that half the village can hear it. Old Lu's hair has turned white from worry. Do you want your son to live that kind of life?"
Lin Shulan was speechless, her eyes reddening, and the apron in her hands twisted into a pretzel. She knew her son was right, but he was no longer a child!
Lin Shulan's voice lowered, tinged with pleading: "Xueying is from the city, she's educated, she's different from the girls in the village..."
“So what if you’re educated?” Xia Damin interrupted her, his brows furrowing even more. “If you’re wicked, no matter how educated you are, you’ll still be a source of trouble. Qianqian is right, we can’t have this kind of troublemaker.”
Xia Qianqian, who was listening from the side, nodded repeatedly and couldn't help but interject, "That's right! Big brother, we'd rather take our time looking than settle for something less than that!"
Seeing her son's determined look and then at her daughter's resolute eyes, Lin Shulan sighed deeply, plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and remained silent for a long time.
Lu Zheng listened for a while and roughly understood what was going on. It turned out that his mother-in-law was worried about her brother-in-law's marriage.
A thought flashed through his mind, and he had already made up his mind.
Lu Zheng stood up and smiled at Lin Shulan, "Mom, you rest first. I'll go with my brother to the kitchen to lend a hand and chat with him. I'll also give him some advice on what he's thinking. Maybe there's someone suitable among the people I know."
Upon hearing this, Lin Shulan's eyes lit up immediately, and she quickly waved her hand, "How could I let you, as my son-in-law, cook! You and Damin talk inside, I'll go cook!"
She turned around and stopped Xia Qianqian, who was about to get up: "You're pregnant, and you're quite far along in your pregnancy. Sit down and don't move! Don't keep going back to your parents' house. When you're about to give birth, Mom will come and take care of you."
Xia Qianqian had no choice but to sit down, while Lu Zheng and Xia Damin started chatting.
Xia Damin was silent for a moment, then said to Xia Qianqian in a low voice, "Sister, you and your brother-in-law don't need to treat this as a burden. I know my own conditions. If no one is willing, I'll stay single for life and won't force it. But if I really want to get married, I have to marry someone with a good heart. No matter how handsome she is, I can't accept someone who is sharp-tongued and gossipy. I'd rather stay single!"
Lu Zheng was picking vegetables on the side. Hearing his brother-in-law's words, he paused in his work and nodded silently.
He sized up Xia Damin, noting that he was as sturdy as an ox, with regular features, and was one of the best workers in the village, earning more work points than anyone else.
He's just too straightforward and blunt, and he gets easily agitated. A couple of years ago, he almost got into a fight with someone over farm tools while trying to help his neighbor harvest wheat, and that's how his reputation for being "impulsive" spread.
Actually, it wasn't that no one was willing; Lu Zheng knew perfectly well what was going on.
When Damin was young, he was also picky. The Zhang family's daughter was too dull, the Li family's daughter was too shrewish, and the Wang family's daughter was too arrogant...
Before long, he had become a "major problem" himself.
Now that he's reached this age, gossip has started circulating in the village, saying that he's "too picky and not very capable" and "has an eccentric personality that makes him unable to find a wife." As a result, young women of marriageable age are even less willing to get involved.
Lu Zheng couldn't help but sigh. His brother-in-law was two years younger than him, which would be the perfect age for marriage in the city, but in this village, he was known as an "old bachelor" who was the subject of gossip.
He put the selected vegetables into the basin, the water splashing loudly, but his mind was already making plans.
Xia Damin, oblivious to his thoughts, continued muttering, "Mom's just too hasty, jumping to conclusions from every rumor. Whether marrying a girl like Wang Xueying will be a blessing or a curse is still uncertain..."
“Brother is right,” Lu Zheng replied, handing him a cigarette. “Marry a virtuous wife. Life is for yourself; there’s no rush.”
Xia Damin took the cigarette, lit it over the stove, took a deep drag, and amidst the swirling smoke, his tightly furrowed brows seemed to relax a little: "My brother-in-law understands me best."
The smoke and tobacco smell from the kitchen slowly drifted out the window. Lu Zheng looked at his brother-in-law's profile, reddened by the firelight, and secretly made up his mind that he had to help him with this.
Lu Zheng was adding firewood to the stove when he heard this. He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Xia Damin: "Brother, have you thought about going to the city to find work?"
Xia Damin suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide open: "Me? Me?"
He pointed to the dark, calloused back of his hand, "What else can I do besides farming? Where in the city can we go? We'd probably starve to death on the streets."
“Brother-in-law, stop joking with me,” he shook his head vigorously, “How could I go to the city?”
Lu Zheng looked at him, then suddenly changed the subject: "Then... what if you wanted to join the army? You wouldn't want to either?"
"Join the army?" Xia Damin's firewood stick fell into the stove with a "thud," his voice trembling with excitement. "That's joining the army!"
He rubbed his hands together, spun around in place twice, then suddenly stopped, drooping his head and sighing: "But I'm just a farmer, I can't read many words, what kind of family would want someone like me?"
Xia Damin scratched the back of his head, a blush creeping onto his dark face: "Brother-in-law, I know you have connections in the provincial capital, but we can't do things that violate the rules!"
He learned the phrase "disciplinary regulations" from Lu Zheng and finally managed to memorize it, but he never expected to use it today.
He grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, which gave him a somewhat endearingly simple and honest look.
Lu Zheng was amused by him: "Brother, what you're saying is true—the army doesn't select people based on who has the best pen, but on who has the strongest fist and who is willing to put in the hardest training!"
He stared into Xia Damin's eyes: "You can earn full work points by farming, and you can carry sacks as well as two laborers. When you get to the army, you might not be any worse than others at bayonet fighting and grenade throwing! On the battlefield, the good soldiers are those who dare to carry guns and charge forward! That's the army's hard standard for selecting people!"
Xia Damin was tempted and looked intently at Lu Zheng.
Lu Zheng patted his arm: "If you're willing, go to the provincial capital to find Peng Fei first. Follow him in a literacy class for two months to learn to write and write your name properly. When the conscription news comes out, he'll definitely be able to help you get in touch."
The border has been rather turbulent lately. I heard that they're going to expand recruitment in the second half of the year. I'll have Peng Fei pass on a message to the armed forces department: with Xia Damin's physique and honest nature, he'll definitely pass the military examination.
Xia Damin was still rubbing his hands together, as if he could see himself in military uniform, and a smile involuntarily crept onto his face.
Lu Zheng added, "Once you join the army, will you still be worried about not finding a wife?"
Hearing this, Xia Damin laughed. It was true. Now that soldiers have a high status, who wouldn't want to marry a soldier?
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