"Let me tell you, even if they don't agree, can't you think of a way? During the New Year, find an opportunity to seduce the woman, and she'll have no choice but to marry him!"
The mother and son discussed this in hushed tones as they turned and headed toward the state-run restaurant.
Behind the two, a middle-aged woman wearing a thick, old cotton coat and carrying a small basket looked at the backs of the Lin mother and son with disdain.
She hadn't paid much attention along the way, but the middle-aged woman only noticed it when she heard the two mention Captain Chen's name.
She sells melon seeds at the movie theater and is related to Xu Yufen, who sells roasted chestnuts. Xu Yufen even taught her how to make caramelized and spiced melon seeds.
This heartless mother and son were calculating that since it was Captain Chen's family from Nanshan Brigade coming, they had to tell Xu Yufen.
She followed the Lin mother and son at a distance, and after listening to their stories, she went to the movie theater instead.
In front of the movie theater, it was already dinnertime, and the movie theater was at its busiest. Xu Yufen was carrying a basket of roasted chestnuts and loudly hawking them, while Chen Zhang followed behind her, offering her water and chestnuts in a fawning manner.
Xu Da Sao didn't have time to nag anymore and quickly stepped forward to join the hawking team.
The vendors had sold more than half of their basket of melon seeds, the movie had started, and all the customers had entered the theater. They could finally take a break and have some water.
Sister-in-law Xu drank half a glass of water in one gulp to moisten her dry throat before beckoning to Xu Yufen: "Yufen, come here quickly, I have something to tell you, it's about your father-in-law."
Xu Yufen had her back to Chen Zhang with a cold face, completely ignoring his attentiveness.
Upon hearing this, she hurriedly came over: "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Why are you so late today?"
"On the way here, I encountered two scumbags who followed me the whole way."
Sister-in-law Xu quickly whispered what she had overheard to Xu Yufen: "...I only noticed it because I heard them mention your father-in-law's name. Don't forget to remind him to be careful when you get back."
"By the way, I heard them say that not only are the women of your Chen family being targeted, but that old woman also said that even if the girls of your Chen family don't want to marry a divorced man, there are several other girls from your brigade who work in the city, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yufen couldn't help but sneer: "She's married and already thinking about getting a divorce to ruin the young girls in the village, how shameless! Do you think any working girl would even want her?"
"She said her son is a college graduate and is in high demand even in divorce cases. The old woman also said that she would find a way to get the girl married, so she wouldn't have a choice but to marry him."
Xu Yufen narrowed her eyes. A college student? Isn't Lin Haodong the only one in the entire brigade?
A while ago, his wife tried to take advantage of Chen Zhang, but now that she's failed, she's turned to Chen's daughter.
The Chen family had no daughters of marriageable age, but when Sister-in-law Xu mentioned several girls who had gone to work in the city, she thought of Qiuyu, the daughter of her second uncle, Chen Wanshui.
Chen Qiuyu came to the city with Chen Jing; Chen Jing brought several other girls from the brigade who also came to the city.
Twice a month, during holidays, they would come back and hear that they had gotten jobs in garment factories in the city, earning at least thirty or forty yuan a month, which was higher than the wages at the supply and marketing cooperative!
The Lin family mother and son are truly shameless. They used to cling to Ji Xia, but as soon as she got into university, they had an affair with a female educated youth. Now that they've discovered the female educated youth isn't a good person, they've switched to wanting a young girl from the brigade who can make money.
This news must be told to the in-laws, and not only that, the girls who go out to work must also know, so as to prevent them from being harmed by scumbags.
After thanking Sister-in-law Xu for the reminder, Xu Yufen hurriedly returned to the brigade that evening after selling all the chestnuts, carrying an empty basket and riding her bicycle.
Captain Chen was sitting in the living room, leisurely smoking a hookah, while his mother was peeling corn and keeping her grandchildren company. Hearing the car bell outside, she smiled happily and said, "Your mother is back. I can finally rest easy now."
Chen Xiaoxu immediately jumped off the chair: "Mother—"
The little body rushed out and bumped right into Xu Yufen who was entering.
Xu Yufen rubbed her cold hands before picking up her son, looking at his red and swollen eyes with suspicion: "Mom, what happened? Why are you crying?"
"It's because people were gossiping this afternoon, saying that you weren't coming back, which scared him."
While glaring fiercely at her eldest son, Chen's mother chuckled and explained, "He cried all afternoon after you left. I was so worried about him."
"Mother went out to sell chestnuts, but she didn't leave you behind."
Xu Yufen rubbed her son's head, then smiled slightly at her daughter, whose eyes were red: "Mother won't leave, don't worry. It's too cold now. When it gets warmer, Mother will take you to sell chestnuts and go to the movies."
"Okay, let's go see a movie."
After their mother comforted them, the two children finally felt at ease and went back to sleep.
After coaxing the two back to bed and into sleep, Xu Yufen returned to the living room and said to Captain Chen, "Dad, I heard some bad things last night, and I want to tell you about them."
"What bad news? Are you worried about the eldest brother and Liu Zhiqing's affair?"
Captain Chen then pulled his son aside for a reprimand before comforting his daughter-in-law, saying, "He has no affair with Liu, the educated youth. He was just too soft-hearted and was easily fooled. Don't worry, he will never dare to have any contact with that woman again."
"Dad, that's not what I wanted to talk about. My sister-in-law heard some bad news on the way here."
Xu Yufen smiled faintly and told her parents-in-law about the schemes that her sister-in-law had overheard on the way.
Upon hearing the plans of Granny Lin and her son, Captain Chen's expression changed, turning gloomy and unpleasant.
Chen's mother said angrily, "Have you no shame? This mother and son are utterly shameless. They were just coaxing the eldest son to make money for his wife, and now they want to take advantage of innocent young girls. Don't they even know what kind of good person their son is?"
Captain Chen gave a cold laugh and said to Xu Yufen, "I understand. I'll handle this. You go back and rest with your child."
Xu Yufen told her father-in-law what had happened, then put her mind at ease and went back to her room.
Just as Chen Zhang was about to follow him inside, Captain Chen said, "Boss, you know that there are a few girls from the brigade working in the city, right?"
Chen Zhang nodded: "I know, it was all because A-Jing called them out to work at the garment factory."
"Okay, go out for a bit and call the head of each family over. Also, please invite your Uncle Ji to come along."
Chen Zhang responded and quickly turned to leave.
Half an hour later, the parents of seven or eight girls, shivering in the cold wind, arrived one after another in the Chen family's living room. Secretary Ji also came over, wearing a thick military overcoat and with his hands behind his back.
Seeing Captain Chen's serious expression and the seven or eight middle-aged men around him, he asked suspiciously, "What's going on? Why are we having a meeting so late?"
"There's something very important."
Captain Chen smiled and responded, then glanced at everyone present before asking Chen Zhang, "Is everyone here?"
“Except for the Hou family, who have no adults at home, all three of them live in the city. The others have been notified.”
"Hmm, I'll find Hou Fang another day and let him know."
Secretary Ji asked suspiciously, "What's going on? These families?"
He suddenly realized: "Are they all families with young girls who came to the city to work? Did something happen to them?"
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