Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Bought Daughter-in-law
Summer is approaching, and not only is the weather getting hotter, but the villagers' lives are also getting busier.
Busy farming, busy working, busy trying to make money and then find a wife for home.
There are many good days in May. Basically, there is a wedding every few days. This year is a good year, so even more people send wedding invitations to the Shen family.
A bag of peanuts and melon seeds, a bag of wedding candy, a pack of cigarettes, the drawer is almost full. Today I am going to Chahe Village for a banquet, tomorrow I have to go to Wulipu, and the day after tomorrow I have to choose between Nanwanbao and Liujia Village...
After eating these meals, Shen Miao gained several pounds.
If it was just eating, there would be nothing wrong, but as soon as she sat down at the table, several aunts would always gather around Shen Miao to ask about her situation.
How old are you this year? Have you ever dated someone? What kind of person do you like? That xxx from xx family is about your age and hasn't found a wife yet. Would you like to meet her some time?
There's nothing I can do about it. She always sits at the kids' table. She's the most conspicuous among the group of kids. It's hard not to notice her.
Of course, it's not just because she's old, but also because she's pretty.
"Your master is a famous doctor in the surrounding villages, your father is the village chief, and you yourself have a lot of skills. With your conditions, who wouldn't want to marry you?"
Wang Dongmei analyzed the reasons for her while cutting vegetables.
Although she was not as wealthy as the girls in the city, nor did she have a university degree, in a village on the edge of the city where the average quality of people was only a primary school graduate, Shen Miao's conditions were already considered a top-notch favorite.
She is beautiful, capable, cheerful and has a good family background.
Before, she seldom went out so the elders didn’t know about her. But now seeing how graceful and well-educated she has become, how can they not want to bring her home as their daughter-in-law?
Sitting aside and picking beans in the basket, Shen Miao vented all her anger on them: "It can't be a dish just by putting them in the bowl. She didn't even recognize them, but she held my hand and asked me to go to her house to play."
When talking about this matter, Shen Miao felt very scared.
Last time she went to a banquet, she couldn't save face so she followed her grandfather to Aunt Liu's house and sat for a while. As a result, she ran into her burly son in the yard, making a bamboo bed with his own hands.
The axe in his hand chopped down again and again, his expression was so ferocious. He was polite when he greeted her, but when she saw his back covered in sweat, with half of his blue shorts sticking out from his waistband, and two pieces of melon seed shells stuck to the corners of his crooked mouth when he was eating melon seeds...
Hiss...it’s scary just thinking about it!
Seeing Shen Miao's exaggerated appearance during the cold war, Wang Dongmei curled her lips, smiled and pushed the cut vegetables into the sink, and asked again: "By the way, how are you getting along with Yao Heng?"
“That’s it,” Shen Miao answered casually, “He doesn’t like me, and I don’t like him either, we just often play together.”
There is no chance for them to be together in this life, it's already good enough that they can get along like brother and sister.
However, her words did remind Shen Miao.
Yes, next time I go to a banquet, I will invite Yao Heng along and ask him to pretend to be my partner. This way, no one will come up to me and introduce me to someone!
Next Sunday, Uncle Zhang’s second son in the village has something to do, so it’s a good opportunity to ask Yao Heng to help out.
When lunch was almost ready, Shen Shansheng also came back from the village committee. In addition to several letters sent to him to be passed on, there were also several red invitations and several packets of wedding cigarettes and candies.
There was no other way. Shen Wanshan had accumulated a very high reputation for his kindness throughout his life, so no matter who was doing business, they would invite him. Shen Shansheng was also the village chief of Qinghe Village, so inviting him would also add some weight to the banquet.
So no matter which village or whose business it is, the Shen family will always have a place.
In the early years, the father and son attended in person, but in recent years, Grandpa has grown old and doesn’t like to be in the crowds, and Mom and Dad are sometimes too busy to spare, so Shen Miao would attend on their behalf.
Of course I was happy to have delicious food, but being forced to listen to strangers arrange blind dates for me was very torturous...
Oh, who could have thought that one day having a banquet would become so "painful and joyful".
"Lu... Hanamura, Li... Shatao?"
The few lines of words on the invitation were written crookedly, which made Shen Miao's eyes hurt. Some of the strokes were particularly loose, and it took a long time to barely guess what the words were.
Seeing that Shen Miao was holding the invitation and reading it for a long time without saying a complete sentence, Wang Dongmei took it and took a look at it.
Well, it’s no wonder that Shen Miao couldn’t understand it, she couldn’t recognize what the several words on it said.
"Whose child is this?" Wang Dongmei handed the invitation to Chen Shansheng and asked.
"Li Quntao, from Mrs. Cao's family. Isn't it written on it?"
It was obvious that Chen Shansheng had not read the contents of the invitation, otherwise he would not have been unable to find the word "group" after pointing for a long time.
Most of the invitations in the village are handwritten, and only families with some money will go to the city to print them. But no matter whether they are handwritten or printed, the invitations represent the host's intentions, so they must be very solemn.
If you can't design flower patterns, just simply draw a few flowers. If you can't write, ask someone educated in the village to write for you. This is the facade and the face, in short, it must be presentable.
But this invitation...
Not only were the words crooked, but even the lines were not aligned. It was a piece of red paper folded in the middle with no pattern or decoration at all, just a little gold powder sprinkled on it, and there was no sign of the intention of treating guests at all.
"Mrs. Cao?"
Wang Dongmei was originally a little disgusted with the invitation, but when she heard that it was from her, she suddenly understood.
Her family's situation is not very good. To put it in a feudal way, there is a problem with the Li family's ancestral tomb.
Mrs. Cao's eldest son died before he was three years old. Her second son was also born with congenital deficiencies. He had been taking Chinese medicine prescribed by Shen Wanshan since he was a child, but he still did not survive the age of ten. Her third son grew up smoothly, but he had an accident in the city. Later, Old Li also passed away, leaving Mrs. Cao alone to raise the children.
Li Quntao is the youngest son in his family and the only one who grew up. Fortunately, Li Quntao grew up without any illness or disaster.
Judging from his age, he should be in his early thirties this year. I heard that he went to the south to work and earn money a few years ago. Since he is going to hold a wedding, it seems that he has returned. But the invitation is so simple, it doesn't look like he has made any money...
It doesn't matter, as long as the person can come back safely.
"Miao Miao probably hasn't seen him, right?"
"No, that's how old Miaomiao was when Li Quntao went to work."
"Then you probably haven't met Mrs. Cao either."
"Yes, Sister Cao held Miaomiao in her arms when she was two or three years old."
"It's okay. This time we go to the restaurant to meet and get to know each other."
Shen Miao: …
It was a rare wedding for the old Li family. Although Chen Shansheng could not spare the time to go, he still let Wang Dongmei go with Chen Miao on his behalf to show respect.
Shen Miao asked Yao Heng to accompany her again, so she was no longer afraid of others asking her to introduce a partner.
Luhua Village is located in the south of Yu City, quite far from the urban area. It took me almost an hour’s bicycle ride to see the entrance to the village.
Usually, when a family has a wedding, they will hang red lanterns at the entrance of the village in advance, and tie some red cloth strips on the road where they live. But their family's situation was not very good. When they walked to the door, they saw two high-hanging red lanterns and firecrackers hanging on the treetops waiting to be lit.
The Li family's yard was not big, and only six or seven round tables could fit. The other tables were temporarily put away in the corner and would be placed on the road outside when the food was served at noon.
The yard was bustling with people coming to congratulate his son on his marriage, while the younger children and female guests crowded at the door of the bride's room and kept looking inside.
"Let me see. Let me take a look."
"So beautiful~ Like a fairy from heaven."
"Shh! Keep your voice down and don't disturb others."
"She can't understand us anyway, so what's the problem?"
"I want to marry a wife as beautiful as her in the future~"
Not only women and children, but even many male guests were secretly looking into the house, wanting to catch a glimpse of the bride's face. Especially the guests who came to the banquet from other villages, several of them had shining eyes.
After registering her name at the door and giving out a red envelope, Shen Miao followed Wang Dongmei to the main house and greeted Aunt Cao who was greeting guests: "Sister-in-law, long time no see, we are here to congratulate you~!"
"Huh? Is that you?"
"What a coincidence?!"
Seeing that Shen Miao and Aunt Cao were looking at each other in surprise, Wang Dongmei asked, “Do you know each other?”
Aunt Cao took the initiative to come over and hold Shen Miao, caressing the back of her hand lovingly, her eyes curved into two crescents with a smile: “Let’s get to know each other! If it wasn’t for your daughter’s help last time, I would have been blackmailed by that little hooligan!”
To be honest, this world is really small!
Last time at the police station, she had not had the chance to thank Shen Miao, and she thought she would owe her a “thank you” for the rest of her life, but she did not expect that God would still give her this opportunity, and she could actually meet her at her son’s wedding banquet.
Not only her, Shen Miao couldn’t help but sigh that there was a fate between them.
Because this Aunt Cao was the woman who stood up for Shen Miao when she saw injustice in Mozhai!
The woman’s name was Cao Yun, and she was only over fifty this year. She was just too tired on weekdays, and life had given her too many hardships, which had turned her hair white and added wrinkles. So according to seniority, Shen Miao could just call her aunt.
"How are you? I didn't go to the hospital with you last time. Did he make you sick?"
"No, no, I'm in good health, just my blood pressure is a little high, it will be fine after taking some medicine."
Holding Shen Miao's arm, Cao Yun was busy introducing her to the people around him, "This is the Ni'er I told you about last time. Fortunately, she is here, otherwise my daughter-in-law and I would have been blackmailed by that gangster!"
After hearing what Cao Yun said, the eyes of all the aunts and uncles immediately shifted to Shen Miao, each one more surprised than the other.
"Ni'er from the old Shen family is really capable!"
"As expected of Ni'er, who was raised by the old man, she is not only good at treating illnesses, but also has a way of dealing with hooligans!"
"Look, I was born with a smart look, I am very blessed~"
Cao Yun must have told the villagers a lot about his deeds, and he probably exaggerated some of the details.
Look at the way they look at her, it's just like they are seeing Monkey King who can transform into seventy-two different forms, and they can't stop praising her in various ways.
"How old are you this year? Are you dating?"
"What kind do you like? Can I introduce a few to you?"
As Shen Miao expected, after just a few words they talked about the issue of partners again.
Fortunately, Shen Miao had prepared for today, so she casually pointed outside, "Yes, we talked, we came together today, and we are talking to someone outside."
"Yes, I have seen that person before. He is very handsome!" Cao Yun chimed in, "How does that phrase go? A talented man and a beautiful woman? That's right, a talented man and a beautiful woman!"
Curiously, he looked in the direction that Shen Miao pointed, and indeed saw a tall and thin figure from behind. Just as Shen Miao said, that person was not only neatly dressed and stood at attention, but also looked very good.
"How long have you been dating? What's the man's family background like?"
"I think he's pretty good, but you have to seize the opportunity and get married early."
"Yes, get married and have a baby while you are still young. Otherwise, you will become an older mother if you delay for a few more years."
Shen Miao: …
She finally realized that these aunts and uncles were not just concerned about whether she had a boyfriend or not.
When they have a partner, they look forward to getting married. After getting married, they look forward to having children. After having children, they look forward to having a second child... As long as she is the center of the conversation, she can always find topics to urge them to move forward.
Fortunately, Wang Dongmei was here today. She took the initiative to block the elders' talk of urging her to get married, and sent her to see the bride, which allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief.
When we arrived at the next house, several sisters-in-law from the village were putting makeup and dressing up for the bride.
"ah……"
Seeing Shen Miao, a light suddenly lit up in the woman’s eyes, and she subconsciously wanted to stand up to greet her.
It is said that a woman is the most beautiful at her wedding moment in her life, and this is absolutely true.
The woman was wearing a hand-made red dress, and the skirt was made according to her size. Although it was not particularly gorgeous and expensive, it made her look very beautiful, like a sunset glow, descending from the sky to the earth. The big red flower pinned to her ear made her face look whiter and more delicate.
Big eyes, small face, fair skin... At this glance, it is even more obvious that the woman is from the South.
Seeing that the woman was very happy to see Shen Miao, the sister-in-law who was putting makeup on her said, “Do you know each other?”
“I’ve seen it before.” Shen Miao replied for her.
The woman nodded and gestured to her thank you using sign language.
Looking up at Shen Miao, the woman smiled happily, then took out a red egg from the basin on the table and handed it to her, indicating that she should share in her joy.
While eating the red egg, Shen Miao looked around their wedding room curiously.
A lot of red dates, longans, peanuts and melon seeds were scattered on the bed, implying the wish for "early birth of a son". The word "happiness" cut out of red paper was also pasted on the walls and windows.
Red candles, red tablecloths, red shoes, bright red can be seen everywhere in the house, but there are no wedding photos of them. But that's normal, after all, their family is not well off, so they naturally try to save as much as possible on expenses like wedding photos.
In order to make the wall at the head of the bed look less empty, they used a large red paper with their names written on it:
Li Quntao, Li Shancha.
Camellia? This name is nice and fits the temperament of a woman.
Well, she is indeed as gorgeous but not coquettish, beautiful but not delicate as a camellia.
“What a coincidence, they have the same surname.” Shen Miao said casually.
The woman who was combing Li Shancha's hair explained casually: "The name Li Quntao gave us is the same surname as mine."
"ah?"
Woman: "She was bought by Li Quntao with the money he earned while working in the south."
Shen Miao: ???
The buying and selling of wives was very common many years ago, especially in remote villages, where it was not a strange thing.
But this is on the edge of Yu City, the capital of Henan Province, not some poor and secluded little mountain village. Human trafficking is illegal and has been severely cracked down on since a few years ago. How dare he buy a wife back here... Isn't he afraid of being caught and sent to jail?
What puzzled Shen Miao even more was that the sister-in-law who combed her hair said it so eloquently without any consideration for her.
“Ah, this…”
Shen Miao blinked awkwardly, looking at Li Shancha and then at her, not knowing what to say.
Another sister-in-law who was searching for lipstick in her bag raised her head and then said to Shen Miao: “Don’t be nervous, she is a minority and can’t understand us.”
The sisters-in-law said that they were also shocked when they first found out that Li Shancha was bought. It was obvious that Li Shancha was so devoted to Li Quntao that she had no intention of running away, so they stopped interfering.
Li Shancha was brought home by Li Quntao before the Chinese New Year.
Li Quntao went to work in the south for many years and never returned home. The beautiful wife he suddenly brought back scared Cao Yun, who was afraid that his son would be arrested by the police for human trafficking.
But unlike other women who were bought and sold, Li Shancha loved this family very much. Even though the family was extremely poor, she would get up early to help Cao Yun grind beans and make tofu. Even if she had to ride a tricycle for more than ten miles to the city to sell tofu, she was happy.
She really considered herself a part of this family.
Of course, Cao Yun also suspected that Li Shancha might be a "fool". After all, she couldn't speak and couldn't understand what was said.
But after getting to know her for a while, Cao Yun discovered that Li Shancha was not stupid at all, but actually very smart. She knew that in addition to selling tofu retail, she could also try to sell it to restaurants. She also knew where to buy cheaper and more affordable vegetables. Only then did Cao Yun gradually accept that she was bought.
Because she was bought, she did not have an ID card and could not go to the Civil Affairs Bureau to register for marriage.
However, in order to give her a formal status, Cao Yun still arranged a wedding banquet for them. At least people would know that Li Shancha was the Li family's legitimate daughter-in-law.
At first glance, there was nothing wrong with it, but maybe it was because she had eaten too many melons, Shen Miao always felt that something sounded strange.
If Li Shancha was bought with money, it means Li Quntao must have earned money by working, but why didn't he bring back any money?
If he didn't make a lot of money, why would he choose to buy a wife?
Strange, really strange.
"Ah~ Look, how beautiful our bride is~"
"Can you put on a little more red lipstick?"
Looking at her made-up face in the mirror, Li Shancha smiled brightly. She really liked the make-up her sisters-in-law had done for her, so she turned around and put her hands together to express her gratitude to each of them.
"How's the painting going?"
As they were chatting, Cao Yun also came over.
Seeing the delicate makeup on Li Shancha's face, Cao Yun's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but exclaimed: "Shancha is so beautiful today! She is like a fairy in heaven."
Although Li Shancha didn't understand, she understood what Cao Yun meant from her expression, so she smiled and tapped her lips with her index finger.
Cao Yun: "Hmm? What's wrong?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Shancha stood up and put the lipstick on her fingers on Cao Yun's lips.
She wanted to share her lipstick with her.
Today is her big day, and also Cao Yun’s big day. Cao Yun never wears makeup, but she cannot go out with a bare face today.
She can't just focus on her own beauty, she also has to make Cao Yun stand beautifully in front of the guests.
The sisters-in-law understood what she meant, and quickly pulled Cao Yun to sit down, and took out foundation and lipstick to put on makeup for her.
"Look, what's the difference between this and a real mother and daughter?"
"Sister-in-law, your new wife cares about you so much. You will definitely be blessed in the future~"
In fact, without them telling her, Cao Yun knew how filial her new wife was, otherwise she wouldn't have gone to the trouble of organizing such a wedding banquet.
"By the way," holding Li Shancha's hand, Cao Yun moved the silver bracelet he was wearing to her wrist, "Our family doesn't have much money. This was passed down to me by his grandmother. I'll give it to you from now on."
Seeing a bracelet on her wrist, Li Shancha shook her head like a rattle and was determined to take it off and return it to her.
Everyone told her that this was a family heirloom, a gift from her mother-in-law, but she didn't understand a word. She only knew that it didn't belong to her and must be returned to her. It was not until Cao Yun made a series of random gestures in sign language to reassure her that she was willing to accept it.
Li Shancha was good to Cao Yun, so Cao Yun naturally felt sorry for her. No matter how she came, she just treated her as her daughter-in-law.
"I remember Miaomiao's medical skills are very good, right?"
While waiting for Cao Yun to put on makeup, another aunt took the initiative to find a topic to pass the time, "How about taking the pulse of the new daughter-in-law? See when she can give birth to a big fat boy for the family?"
"I think Shancha looks very healthy. Maybe she's pregnant."
"Okay, then I'll just show my new sister-in-law a little bit."
Since she had nothing to do anyway, Shen Miao did not refuse, so she pulled Li Shancha to sit down, rolled up her sleeves and placed her fingers on her wrists, and at the same time motioned her to open her mouth to see the condition of her tongue coating.
Well, I'm in good health and don't have any illness or hidden disease.
hiss……
etc?
Shen Miao was a little bit unconvinced of her own diagnosis, so she switched to her other hand to feel the pulse.
Her radial pulse was calm and strong, and after feeling it carefully, it seemed that the pulse was also a little deep...
Is there something wrong with my fingers? Why does it feel like this is a man's pulse?
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