Xu Keke and Chen Jianguo, and Hu Zi and Xiu Zhi, were the two couples who held their weddings together in the brigade.
Because Bailu's uncle was also there, almost all the leaders of the commune were present.
The wedding was simple, with no banquet. Tea was served instead of wine, and both families provided some melon seeds, peanuts, candy, and cigarettes. A small ceremony was held that was both simple and formal.
Later, a reporter from the commune wrote an article about the wedding, which was published in the local newspaper. It became fashionable and was imitated by newlyweds from several surrounding villages.
After the ceremony, everyone in the village rushed to Chen Jian's house.
It turned out that Bailu's uncle felt that since the other party was present, he should at least show his appreciation for his nephew's wedding.
Xu Keke and Chen Jianguo were unaware of this. When the driver returned to the village with the goods, they were startled. It was too late to refuse.
In Chen Jianguo's yard, there were two brand-new bicycles, one a men's 28-inch model and the other a women's model. There was also a sewing machine, on which sat a radio and two watches.
The villagers were in an uproar.
Widow Wang stood behind the crowd, feeling incredibly envious, but she couldn't say anything to anyone. She turned to Wu Wanyi beside her and said regretfully, "Back then, Xichun almost married Bai Zhiqing."
Wu Wanyi thought disdainfully, "These things didn't exist in my previous life. If it weren't for Chen Hong and her group of idiots, Bai Lu's uncle wouldn't have come, and Bai Lu wouldn't have had these things."
Hearing Widow Wang still muttering incessantly, Wu Wanyi couldn't help but say, "Xichun doesn't need to marry her to have these things. As long as he..."
Widow Wang didn't like listening to her talk about these things. She turned to walk back, but unexpectedly, Xichun was standing behind them, her eyes filled with confusion.
He glanced at Wu Wanyi and said, "Tomorrow, let's go to town together."
Wu Wanyi's eyes lit up; it seemed Chen Xichun had finally figured it out.
Chen Xichun's seemingly random remark terrified Widow Wang. "Xizi, you didn't believe her, did you? Your leg... how could it be like this if it weren't for her?"
Chen Xichun shook his head, wondering if it was because Wu Wanyi had been nagging him every day these past few days.
He's been having a lot of dreams lately. In his dreams, he doesn't marry Wu Wanyi, but rather Bai Lu. He earns a lot of money. Just like Wu Wanyi said, he lives in a huge house, surrounded by young women. Many people bow and scrape before him.
In his dream, making money was initially easy. A man gave him an envelope and told him to go to a dormitory building. He then gave the envelope to several people living there, who gave him a lot of money. He then gave the money to the man, who then gave him a large portion of it.
He didn't know where to find the man, but he clearly remembered what the dormitory building looked like.
In Chen Xichun's eyes, Wu Wanyi was not on his side and was not very bright. So he did not tell her about his dream.
But the next day, he took Wu Wanyi to town. The reason he took Wu Wanyi was because he was illiterate.
Chen Xichun wandered around the town for two days before finding the dormitory building. He went to the building every day to wait, and finally, after three days, he saw the man downstairs. He followed the man into the room, but was then beaten up by the men.
His leg was bad, so he couldn't run. Wu Wanyi, seeing the situation was serious, ran outside and called the police.
When the police arrived, they discovered it was a ticket scalping den. They then arrested all the people involved.
Although he couldn't give any specific details when asked, the police, considering he had unintentionally done a good deed, didn't pursue the matter further after understanding the situation from his account.
However, his already weak leg was completely broken by those people.
Chen Xichun and Wu Wanyi returned to the village, and Widow Wang burst into tears again. She chased after Wu Wanyi and beat her throughout the village. If Ma Yuying hadn't stopped her, she would have beaten Wu Wanyi to death.
Having failed twice, Wu Wanyi was in a daze. She herself began to doubt her memories of her past life. She no longer dared to encourage Chen Xichun to go to the city.
Gradually, Chen Xichun stopped having that dream. Only occasionally, when he saw Xu Keke, he would feel a little dazed, as if she were his wife. Once, after being scolded by Xu Keke while following her, he began to actively avoid her.
Those who owed money came every few days, and she was still required to work every day; neither Widow Wang nor Chen Xichun ever gave her a friendly look. Before long, Wu Wanyi truly went mad.
In 1977, the national college entrance examination was reinstated. Chen Baoguo and Chen Xiuhong both went.
Chen Xiuhong was admitted to a teachers' college. After graduation, she returned to Chenjia Village to continue teaching. At that time, Xu Keke was already the principal of Chenjia Village Primary School.
Chen Baoguo took the military academy entrance exam, but was wounded during the Sino-Vietnamese War and was demobilized and returned to civilian life. He worked in a town and married a nurse at the town hospital.
In 1978, educated youth began to return to the cities on a large scale.
Of the six educated youth from Chenjia Village, four were sentenced and imprisoned in Northwest Prison.
Wu Wanyi went mad. Her family came, paid back the money she owed, and took her back to the city. Chen Xichun and his mother didn't try to keep her, mainly because Wu Wanyi eventually became unable to take care of herself.
Chen Xichun is disabled and has been barely making a living by relying on the disability hardship allowance applied for for him by the village.
Xu Keke gave birth to a daughter in the second year of her marriage. Although Bai Lu's uncle wrote to her many times, urging her and Chen Jianguo to go to the city to work, and the government also arranged several jobs for her according to policy, Xu Keke refused them all.
She worked as a teacher at Chenjiacun Primary School, later becoming its principal, until her retirement.
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