Chapter 1: Arranged marriage is unfortunate
"I've said it hundreds of times, that's not his biological son, that's the son of his good friend who died."
"He is kind, he is benevolent, he is a good man."
"No matter what you think, I've already registered with him. He and I are husband and wife. This cannot be changed!"
…
In early 1982, a family in the compound was quarreling because the girl in the family insisted on getting married despite the opposition of her elders.
Jiang Yuqin was the girl who had to become a stepmother. Her parents were a married couple, and Jiang Yuqin was born to her father and his ex-wife. Jiang Yuqin's stepmother brought over a son, and after Jiang's father and mother got married, they had another daughter, who was Jiang Moli.
Jiang Moli, 18, is a student at the Nancheng Art Institute, majoring in Chinese opera. She fell in love with the art form at the age of three or four, listening to others perform. She pestered her parents to let her take lessons, and they finally agreed. Jiang's parents initially expected her to complain after a few days, but they didn't expect her to persist. She has even performed on stage, and the response has been quite positive.
Today happened to be Jiang Moli's day off, so she slept in her room for a while longer. Unexpectedly, before Jiang Moli woke up naturally, she heard her sister and her father quarreling.
Jiang Yuqin's stepmother, Jiang's mother, was unwilling to interfere in those matters. Whether her stepdaughter married someone else or not was irrelevant, Jiang's mother couldn't care less. Even if Jiang's mother didn't care, the fire still burned on her.
"Aunt Lu." Jiang Yuqin looked at Jiang's mother. "What about you? Aren't you just my stepmother?"
Jiang's mother saw the mockery on Jiang Yuqin's face. After her ex-husband died, she raised her children alone. She was still young, so she married Jiang's father. Jiang's father's original wife ran away with another man, and his family brought him and Jiang's mother together.
"Can you be someone's stepmother? I can't?" Jiang Yuqin said, "My husband's child is not his biological child. He has never been married, not..."
Slap! Father Jiang slapped Jiang Yuqin on the face.
"Don't hit him, don't hit him." Jiang's mother quickly stopped Jiang's father, "She's not wrong..."
"What's right?" Jiang's father was angry. "I introduced her to someone, but she refused to meet him and instead fell for this awful thing."
Jiang's father didn't want his daughter to become a stepmother. He was wary of his wife, not to mention others, fearing she might give all the family belongings to her ex-husband's son. Jiang's mother's son had gone to the countryside as an educated youth and hadn't returned yet. When Jiang's mother sent things to her son, Jiang's father would sometimes ask about it.
Although Jiang Yuqin did not marry with her child, her husband had to raise the child of a so-called friend. The friend died while building a dam, and his wife was young, so Jiang Yuqin's husband took the child back so that his wife could remarry.
The child was indeed not Jiang Yuqin's husband's biological child, but even if it was not his biological child, then their status and position were different, and someone had to take care of the child.
"Dad!" Jiang Yuqin covered her cheek. Her father had slapped her really hard. "My man is not bad at all. He has a kind heart. He is a good man!"
"you……"
"Anyway, I've already registered my marriage, so we're legally married," Jiang Yuqin said. "No matter what you say, it's useless. If you want to recognize him, then go ahead. If you don't, we won't be here anymore."
"You...you..." Father Jiang was so angry that he couldn't stand.
Jiang's mother quickly helped Jiang's father sit down and let him take a break.
"Everything has been decided. It's pointless for you to talk about the child." Jiang's mother persuaded Jiang's father. She turned and looked at Jiang Yuqin again, "Let your husband come and sit with you some other day. Although you have already obtained the marriage certificate, there are still some formalities..."
"What procedures?" Jiang Yuqin asked, "You don't want a betrothal gift, do you? I don't want one! I'm a woman of the new era, and marriage is not a business."
"..." Jiang's mother twitched her lips slightly, "If you don't want a betrothal gift, then what about the dowry?"
"Dowry, that depends on your conscience." When Jiang Yuqin was slapped by her father, she wanted to run away. But she couldn't run away. Jiang Yuqin knew that her husband's family was now bare and had nothing.
Jiang Yuqin really wanted to bring some things from her parents' home. It didn't matter to her if she suffered a little injustice. What was important was that her husband would be recognized by his family, and she could also bring some things from her parents' home to her husband's home so that her husband could feel more at ease.
Seeing this, Jiang's mother was completely clueless. This stepdaughter had always been arrogant and conceited. When Jiang's mother married Jiang's father, Jiang Yuqin was already five or six years old. Jiang Yuqin was old enough to remember things at that time, and some people around her also said that Jiang's mother was Jiang Yuqin's stepmother, so Jiang Yuqin took note of it.
Those people said that Jiang Yuqin had a stepmother and that she would have a hard life. Jiang Yuqin remembered those words very well, and was afraid that her things would be taken away by Jiang's mother's son, so she fought and snatched them away.
Jiang's mother didn't want her son to go to the countryside, but she had no other choice. She had a job, but she couldn't guarantee that her husband would treat her well in the future. She couldn't give her job to her son. She wanted to buy him a job so that he wouldn't have to go to the countryside.
However, Jiang Yuqin and Jiang's son were about the same age, and the family had to find jobs for both of them, which would have been very difficult. To avoid embarrassing his mother, Jiang's son volunteered to go to the countryside. Jiang's son had no choice but to go, and Jiang Yuqin cried and made a scene at home, determined to make life difficult for everyone in the Jiang family.
It is not easy for Jiang's mother to be a stepmother. She doesn't want to get involved in things, but if she really doesn't say a word, her husband will blame her when he comes to his senses.
"Earlier, I prepared two new quilts for you, as well as a kettle and a washbasin." Jiang's mother said, "You know the situation at home. There are many things that need money. This..."
"You just don't want to give more." Jiang Yuqin rolled her eyes.
"It's not that mom doesn't want to give more." Jiang Moli came out of the room. She couldn't help it and didn't want to listen anymore.
Jiang Moli just came to her senses and realized that she had entered a book!
Cannon fodder's sister...
What is this? Jiang Moli felt like she was worthless.
"Back then, I spent a lot of money to buy you a job." Jiang Moli said, "After you started working, you didn't hand over your salary to your family. You kept it all for yourself."
Jiang Moli knew everything; she had heard it from her parents. Her parents had originally wanted Jiang Yuqin to hand over half of her previous two years' salary, but Jiang Yuqin refused.
To avoid upsetting Jiang Yuqin, her mother didn't push her, and her father didn't say anything. But Jiang Moli could sense that the family's finances had become much tighter in those years. Her brother, who had gone to the countryside, had to send some things, and the money Jiang Yuqin had borrowed to buy a job was also borrowed, and the family had to pay it back.
"Sister, you have saved a lot of money, so you can use that money as your dowry." Jiang Moli said.
Jiang Moli is very pretty, with delicate skin and lively eyes. She sings the role of a female lead in Yue Opera. She learned it when she was in school and now performs in operas. Many people like her singing.
"I think you're worried that if Dad gives me the things, you won't have any dowry." Jiang Yuqin snorted coldly, "How old are you, and you're already thinking about getting married?"
"I'm not you. I'm not thinking about getting married right now!" Jiang Moli said, "Dad has given you enough. Don't even think about taking over anything else in the house."
The family was relatively well-off, with three rooms. When Jiang Moli was little, she lived with her parents. When she was a little older, she shared a room with Jiang Yuqin, and her brother slept in another room. Jiang Yuqin and Jiang Moli slept on bunk beds, and Jiang Yuqin always made trouble for Jiang Moli, so their relationship was not very good.
After Jiang Moli's brother went to the countryside as an educated youth, Jiang Moli and Jiang Yuqin slept in separate rooms. It was fine when the two sisters didn't see each other, but when they did, their conversation wasn't always friendly.
"Those are my father's things, why can't I have them?" Jiang Yuqin asked, "Or do you think all those things should be given to your brother? Who the hell is your brother? He's not my father's biological son!"
"Enough!" Jiang's father really couldn't bear to listen any longer. He looked at Jiang Yuqin coldly. His eldest daughter didn't listen to him and had to say these words to hurt his heart.
Jiang's father and mother had no sons, so they only had one child, Jiang Moli. It wasn't that Jiang's father didn't want a son, but at his age, others still said he didn't have a son and asked if he was considering a stepson as his heir. Others said stepsons were unreliable, saying they had memories when they arrived, and that it was impossible for that stepson to consider Jiang's father his biological father.
The reason why Jiang's father didn't think of buying a job for his stepson was because he felt that his stepson was unreliable.
"Dowry, what a bullshit dowry." Jiang's father said, "Do you really have to marry such a person?"
Jiang's father was heartbroken when his ex-wife ran off with another man, but no matter how heartbroken he was then, it wasn't as painful as it is now. Back then, it was more about humiliation, but now it's more about pain. Jiang's father thought he had treated his daughter well, not taking his anger out on his eldest daughter because of his ex-wife. But his eldest daughter felt that the whole family had let her down.
"Yes, I want to marry him!" Jiang Yuqin said.
"Marry, marry, marry! You and your mother are of the same character." Jiang's father slammed the table angrily. "No one can stop you. Just get married."
"Your marriage to my mother was arranged. She..."
"Give her two quilts and tell her to get out!" Jiang's father couldn't stand it anymore.
Regardless of whether Jiang's father and his ex-wife had an arranged marriage, that wasn't the reason his ex-wife ran off with another man. Jiang Yuqin was bringing up irrelevant issues, and there was no way Jiang's father would allow her to continue. Even if Jiang's father had brought up the topic first, he would still blame Jiang Yuqin.
Jiang Yuqin's eyes were red, she didn't think she was wrong.
Jiang Yuqin once blamed her mother for running off with another man, which made her life miserable in the family. She felt deeply unfortunate when she suffered even the slightest injustice at home. Now, Jiang Yuqin says she understands her mother, believing arranged marriages are unhappy and that women should be with the one they love.
Jiang Yuqin left with a new quilt, a washbasin, and a kettle. Jiang's mother gave them to Jiang Yuqin. When Jiang Yuqin left, she glared at her mother and said, "Are you satisfied? This house will be yours from now on!"
This made Jiang's mother's expression freeze instantly. It was so embarrassing. Jiang's mother got something for Jiang Yuqin, and Jiang Yuqin said this to Jiang's mother.
"Yes, from now on this family is my mother's world, it's my world, okay?" Jiang Moli disliked Jiang Yuqin, then turned to look at her mother, "Mom, why are you so nice to Jiang Yuqin? She thinks you're a vicious stepmother, a stumbling block to her happiness. It's all because of you that she can only have such a small dowry! If it weren't for you, if you hadn't brought my brother here, and if you hadn't given birth to me, everything in this family would belong to her, Jiang Yuqin!"
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