There is an outhouse near the back door of Lin Chen's house.
While Ma Huijuan was furtively scouting the location, Jiang Ning returned from outside and spotted her with her sharp eyes.
On a sudden inspiration, she entered the space.
Soon, Ma Huijuan was controlled by an invisible force and fell into the cesspool.
"Help!"
Ma Huijuan raised her head from the sewage and desperately cried for help.
Yu Xiaofeng, who lived next door, came over after hearing the commotion and saw Ma Huijuan struggling in the cesspool.
She quickly grabbed a stick to pull her up.
Jiang Ning kicked her in the butt.
Yu Xiaofeng's plump body also fell into the cesspool, splashing water and making a muffled sound.
It took the two of them a lot of effort to climb out of the cesspool.
Yu Xiaofeng was furious and demanded to know why Ma Huijuan was there.
She casually said, "I just want to find an opportunity to do some chores for Grandma so that she will accept me sooner."
"That's more like it. Alright, come with me. Let's take a shower first, then wash the bed sheets and blankets." Yu Xiaofeng was fooled and dragged her home.
Soon, Ma Huijuan boiled water for the two of them to bathe.
After taking a shower, I started washing the clothes and bedding piled up in the foot basin, forming a small mountain.
Ma Huijuan was dumbfounded, but she had no choice but to do it. She filled a foot basin with water and washed each piece of clothing by stepping on it with her feet. Then she rinsed the clothes basin by basin. In the end, her hands and feet were all wrinkled because they had been in contact with water for too long.
After washing, all the sheets and blankets were hung to dry on bamboo poles in the yard.
She stretched her aching back, and just as she thought she had succeeded, Lin Zhou-shi pointed at the water vat and flew into a rage.
"You spendthrift woman! My husband fetched all the water this morning, and you used it all up in no time! Without water, how are we going to cook lunch? You're such a pampered city girl, you don't know how to save money..."
Listening to her incessant cursing, Ma Huijuan felt so wronged that tears streamed down her face. She looked at Yu Xiaofeng, hoping to seek help.
Yu Xiaofeng sighed and smiled obsequiously at Lin Zhoushi:
"Mom, this is the first time Huijuan has done so much work, so please don't scold her. I'll have her fetch water and fill the water tank right now."
Ma Huijuan froze: "..."
Is this her aid?
Listen to me, thank you!
There's no way around it, she's getting more and more pregnant, if we don't get married soon, she'll be drowned in gossip!
We'll carry water then!
She picked up the carrying pole, attached the rope hooks at both ends to the handles of the two buckets, and began to carry them.
The pond is four or five hundred meters from her home. She can carry the empty bucket without any problem, but once it's filled with water, she simply can't lift it.
Just then, one of Lin Tao's cronies, named Shuanzi, saw this and came over with a grin to help, putting the carrying pole on her shoulder and struggling to lift it up.
She watched Shuanzi's departing figure, feeling touched; there were still kind-hearted people in this brigade.
Unexpectedly, she had only walked halfway back when she stepped on a pebble, lost her balance, and fell.
Her knee hit a pebble, tearing her pants and scraping her knee, causing it to bleed profusely.
Lacking the strength, she tearfully poured the water from the two buckets together and carried one bucket home.
After going back and forth seven or eight times, the water tank was finally filled.
Her hands were blistered and bleeding.
After Jiang Ning returned, he sat at the doorway eating sunflower seeds, watching Ma Huijuan being tormented, and felt quite pleased.
Although I don't know why she came to my back door, she definitely didn't have any good intentions.
Unexpectedly, there was a time when Old Lady Lin shared the same goal as her.
Just then, Lin Tao returned from work.
Upon seeing that Ma Huijuan was at home, he immediately turned pale and cursed her for being shameless, saying that she had even chased men into her home.
Yu Xiaofeng advised him, "Huijuan has had it tough too. Since you've already slept together, try to look on the bright side. She's highly educated, so your future children will be smarter. Plus, she's from the city, so she can help our family a bit."
Lin Tao's expression softened slightly, and he asked:
"If I marry you, how much dowry is your family prepared to provide?"
"What?" Ma Huijuan froze.
She wasn't hallucinating, was she? It's one thing for them not to give a bride price, but they also want her family to provide a dowry.
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Seeing that she remained silent, Madam Lin Zhou began to grumble and curse again.
“We’re both sent-down youth, but look at Jiang Ning next door. Her family sends her money and things. What has your family given you?”
"What a piece of trash! Our Tao Tao is so unlucky to have married you..."
Seeing that the insults were getting increasingly harsh, she had no choice but to swallow her pride and say:
How many do you want?
She would do anything to get married.
A smile immediately appeared on Lin Zhou's face: "Two hundred yuan, or one hundred yuan if you really don't have that."
Yu Xiaofeng quickly put her arm around her shoulder and smiled, "Grandma has agreed, you should write to your family right away."
No, she wouldn't write a letter; instead, she would go to the county town to call home.
She needed to get the money as soon as possible, preferably on the day Jiang Ning got married, so they could get married together.
She wanted everyone to see that she was getting married in style.
The next day, she took a day off and spent more than three hours finally arriving at the post office in the county town.
The call was to Ma Huiwen, the younger sister who works at the cotton mill; her workplace has a phone.
When Ma Huiwen heard that she was getting married, she was furious because she not only wouldn't receive a bride price, but also wanted her family to pay 100 yuan. She scolded her severely.
The phone call lasted six minutes; I was not only scolded, but I also had to pay 60 cents for the call.
Making a call at this time is charged both ways and is very expensive. The first three minutes cost 20 cents, and then 10 cents per minute.
Her eyes were red when she took out the money. Why waste the money on a phone call? Wouldn't it be better to buy some meat buns?
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