The news that Zhu Yingcai had taken a fancy to the fourth son of the Su family had spread throughout the village. Someone saw him bringing people to the door, and the news spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Soon, the door of the Su family was surrounded by people.
When the matchmaker said the betrothal gift alone was one hundred and ninety-nine, the onlookers all gasped in surprise.
In their Sujia Village, a gift of one hundred yuan is considered a lot for marrying off a daughter. The Zhu family is very generous.
Someone said sarcastically, "Gui Fen is lucky. All her daughters are very useful. Xiang Cui's bride price was 88 yuan, and now Xiang Qin's is even higher. The sum of these money is more than a man's salary. It's really enviable."
When Su's mother heard this, her whole body froze. There was no joy on her face. Instead, she lowered her head in shame. She didn't dare to look at Su Xiangqin at all. She pursed her lips into a line and turned into the bedroom.
Su's mother's departure had no impact on this marriage.
The matchmaker walked up to Su Xiangqin with the marriage certificate signed by Zhu Yingcai, "Su's daughter, you have to sign your name. This marriage is settled."
Su Xiangqin retracted her gaze towards the door, lowered her eyes to look at the marriage in front of her, and said expressionlessly: "It's a new society now, marriage is free. If you don't want to marry Zhu Yingcai, do you want to force me to marry you?"
Zhu Yingcai began to feel that she was indeed strong, but she felt a little embarrassed after being rejected again and again in front of so many people.
He looked gloomy and threatened with gritted teeth: "Su Xiangqin, you've almost had enough. Don't refuse a toast and drink a forfeit. Your patience is limited."
Old Man Su was afraid that he would really anger Zhu Yingcai, so he quickly winked at his two sons. The two brothers Su Jiansheng and Su Jianye stepped forward and refused to sign or put their fingerprints. One of them grabbed her wrist and the other held a red ink pad, saying that they would force Su Xiangqin to put her fingerprints.
Su Xiangqin struggled hard, but her strength was no match for the two mature men. When she was about to press her handprint, she accidentally glanced at Su Xiangqiu who was raising her hand at the back of the crowd, and hurriedly shouted, "You can agree to the marriage, but I have something to ask Zhu Yingcai."
The people at the door stretched their necks to see this scene, extremely excited, but had no intention of stepping forward to help.
Most people think that Su Xiangqin is ungrateful.
Su Jiansheng and Su Jianye looked at each other, not knowing what Su Xiangqin was up to. After hesitating for a few seconds, Zhu Yingcai finally spoke up, "You ask?"
The two brothers then slowly let go of Su Xiangqin.
Su Xiangqin glanced at her two brothers and laughed at herself. She rubbed her swollen and painful wrist and asked, "You want to marry 놖, what about the widow Zhang?"
Upon hearing this, the villagers who were watching looked at Widow Zhang who was squeezed in the front, with contempt but also hidden expectation.
Widow Zhang shouldn't have appeared in such an occasion, but she was afraid that she would completely fall out of favor with Zhu Yingcai, so she came over with a stiff upper lip, looking at Zhu Yingcai resentfully to make her presence felt.
Zhu Yingcai ignored the widow Zhang's flirting and said nonchalantly: "She is just fooling around, don't take it seriously. Now she wants to marry you, this is a normal life. She is a widow with no status, how can she control who she marries."
His words were full of disdain, cold and disgusting, and relying on his father's power, he spoke without restraint, thinking that even if the villagers knew something, they would not dare to spread the matter.
Zhu Yingcai is simply lawless and acts arrogantly in Sujiatun.
Although Widow Zhang knew that her relationship with Zhu Yingcai was based on mutual needs, she still felt very uncomfortable at the moment. She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deeply into her palms, but she didn't feel any pain at all.
Su Xiangqin smiled and continued to ask, "Then will you give those things you took from the community to Widow Zhang in the future?"
Zhu Yingcai was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He didn't expect that Su Xiangqin actually knew that he had taken things from Zhang's house. He felt something was wrong, but looking at the smile on Su Xiangqin's face, he felt that she must like him and her previous resistance was just jealousy.
Hearing that she had distanced herself from Widow Zhang, Su Xiangqin laughed cheerfully. Zhu Yingcai was 100% sure that she liked him.
Zhu Yingcai was a little bit proud, and his confidence was overflowing. "Let it go. Everything in the future is yours. If there are benefits, naturally, they will be given to your family."
The smile on Su Xiangqin's face became more and more intense. She knew the time had come. She turned around and looked at the door. She shouted to the comrades from the Revolutionary Committee and the Town Women's Federation who had been hiding in the crowd: "Report it! He embezzled public property and did not do anything clear with the widow Zhang. He is corrupting the morals!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd exploded instantly. The villagers turned their heads to look behind them and found that there were indeed a few new faces. They unconsciously made way for them.
When Zhu Yingcai saw the person coming, his face turned pale instantly. He waved his hands frantically and yelled at the top of his voice: "Comrade, what you just said was nonsense. It's not true at all!"
"That's right! She slandered you deliberately in order not to marry you. She has no evidence to support her claims. You must not believe her!" Zhu Yingcai was in a panic, his eyes flickering, not daring to look anyone in the eye.
Su Xiangqin said calmly, "You want evidence, I'll give it to you later."
Widow Zhang had never seen such a scene before. She wanted to get the unprocessed materials at home, and did not care about Zhu Yingcai. While everyone's attention was on Su Xiangqin, she sneaked out of the crowd and wanted to go back to hide the things.
Su Xiangqiu had been waiting at the gate of the courtyard with her Revolutionary Committee comrades. She smiled and said, "Where are you going?"
Su Xiangqin glanced at Widow Zhang who was arrested by the comrades of the Revolutionary Committee. She had no expression and walked straight towards the comrades from the town Women's Federation. In fact, Sujiatun had a village Women's Federation because almost everyone in the village had the surname Su and they were of the same clan. The village chief had a lot of say in the village, and the director of the Women's Federation was just like him.
Su Xiangqin then asked her sister to call the county directly and seek help from the county Women's Federation. Fearing that the other party would not take it seriously, she revealed her identity as a soldier and gave the regiment's phone number for them to check.
The people from the county women's federation received the request for help and checked with the army. Knowing that the father and son of the Su family had gone to the army to cause trouble, the director of the county women's federation decided to come to Sujiatun in person. She met the people from the Revolutionary Committee on the way.
When Director Zhu and the others arrived, there was already a commotion in the room. Although she did not watch the whole process, she saw clearly that the Su family father and son forced Su Xiangqin to sign the marriage certificate.
Director Zhu patted Su Xiangqin's shoulder gently, with pity and admiration in his eyes: "Girl, you are right to do this. If other girls can be as brave as you, who dares to bully us women casually?"
As she spoke, her expression froze, and she turned to Su Xiangqin's father and brother, her tone becoming serious: "You are too confused! In this new society, men and women are equal, and marriage is free. You still want to arrange a marriage and force her to marry. This is interfering with her freedom of life, and it is outrageous!"
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