Chapter 69
As the weather gets colder, every household is starting to stock up on food for the winter.
Potatoes, radishes, and cabbage are the three essential items for winter, and every household will stock up on them. They can ask the military logistics department for help to bring them back and store them in the cellar. They also stock up on some sweet potatoes. Roasting sweet potatoes in winter is a happy thing and an indispensable part of winter.
Gu Xi also went to the town market and bought some pumpkins, winter melons, and other vegetables. Seeing that eggs were available for sale, she also bought a basket of them.
Seeing the cellar filled with grain, her hoarding desires were satisfied once again.
At this time, another package was sent to them from Beijing. The package contained several brand-new winter clothes, all for Gu Xi, as well as warm wool sweaters and woolen pants.
Gu Xi looked through the contents of the package, feeling a warm glow in her heart. She also sent over the sweaters she had knitted for Feng Min and the others, as well as some local specialties.
The following day, Gu Xi received another package from Xujiatun.
The package contained dried goods from the countryside, winter clothes made for her by her younger sister Xu Yuansheng, and two letters, one from her second younger sister Xu Yuansheng and the other from her youngest younger sister Xu Huaisheng.
After reading the letter, Gu Xi's face turned red with anger. She paced back and forth in the room, her attempts to suppress her temper making one worry that she might get too angry.
"What's wrong?" Shen Mingzheng pulled her over and patted the back of her neck. "Don't be angry, it's bad for your health."
Gu Xi suppressed her temper and said, "Xu...Xu Dagui and He Guihua want to marry my second sister off to a fool in the county town and they want eight hundred yuan as a bride price."
At this point, she became furious.
Shen Mingzheng realized that Xu Dagui and He Guihua were Gu Xi's adoptive parents in the countryside. Gu Xi was switched at birth and spent fifteen years in the countryside. This couple raised her, but they did not treat her as their daughter. From the time she could walk, she had to do housework and was not even fed.
He had no liking for the couple, not only because they were ignorant and sexist, but also because what they did to Gu Xi could be described as child abuse.
Gu Xi said, "This is what my little sister told me secretly."
Xu Yuansheng clearly didn't want to talk to her about this and didn't mention it in the letter, probably feeling there was nothing to say. In her view, her eldest sister had returned to her biological parents' home, was now married, and had her own family, so she shouldn't interfere anymore.
The eldest sister paid for their education, which already made her feel indebted to her, and she couldn't bear to bother her with her own affairs.
But the younger sister, Xu Huaisheng, was very afraid that her second sister would be forced by her parents to marry a mentally challenged man for the sake of the bride price, sacrificing her happiness for the rest of her life. So she secretly slipped a letter into the package and told her about it.
Gu Xi handed him the letter her younger sister had written.
Xu Huaisheng is fourteen years old this year. She has only been to school for a few years, and her handwriting is crooked and messy, which is really ugly. Fortunately, it is still legible. After Shen Mingzheng finished reading the letter written by the girl, he turned to her and asked, "What do you think?"
Gu Xi lowered her eyes and said coldly, "Given Yuan Sheng's temper, she definitely won't be happy and won't listen to them. I'm afraid the rest of the Xu family will force her to marry."
The Xu family was a prominent clan there, and they were related to everyone in the entire commune.
This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it fosters unity and makes people less likely to be bullied. The disadvantage is that, for the sake of profit, even knowing that some things are wrong, people can unite to sacrifice certain individuals, sometimes to the point that even the police cannot intervene.
Even if Xu Yuansheng has a strong temper and dares to resist, if Xu Dagui and the others collude with the rest of the Xu family to force her to marry a fool for the sake of the bride price, or drug her and force her into marriage...
In short, it's impossible to guard against.
Xu Yuansheng is just an ordinary girl, not as strong as her. She won't be able to escape even if she wants to.
Gu Xi finally couldn't hold back any longer, "No, I have to make a call and ask."
She wanted to call Xujiatun Commune to confirm the matter and ask about the situation.
Shen Mingzheng accompanied her to the communications room.
When the female soldiers in the communications room saw the couple rushing over, they thought something had happened and quickly made a phone call to them.
These days, making a phone call is quite troublesome. After you call, you have to wait for the commune to broadcast a message to the person in question, and then call back after the person arrives. You have to wait at the same spot.
**
Xujiatun Commune.
When Tian Qiaolian, the brigade leader's wife, heard the broadcast and learned that she had a phone call, she was a little confused and hurriedly went to the commune office.
After the call was connected, a somewhat distorted voice came from the other end.
“Aunt Tian, I am Gu Xi, the older sister of Yuansheng and Huaisheng.”
Tian Qiaolian was startled and asked in surprise, "It's Xixi! Why are you calling? What's up?"
Phone bills are expensive these days, so Gu Xi didn't mince words and immediately asked if it was true that Xu Yuansheng was forced to marry a fool.
“Well… I’ve heard about that too, but Yuansheng isn’t willing.” Tian Qiaolian sighed. “Don’t worry, Yuansheng isn’t weak. If she’s unwilling, no one can force her. This is a new society now, where marriage is free, and parents can’t interfere with their children’s marriages.”
That being said, Tian Qiaolian wasn't really sure if Xu Dagui's family would do anything despicable for the sake of an 800 yuan dowry.
She had witnessed Xu Dagui and his wife's preference for sons over daughters over the years.
This kind of thing is quite common in the countryside. Daughters are regarded as money-losing goods and worthless girls. Before they get married, they are exploited as much as possible. When they reach the right age, they are married off directly, regardless of whether they marry well or not, as long as they can get the bride price.
Parents who dote on their daughters are relatively rare.
Gu Xi took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Aunt Tian, could you please ask Yuansheng to call me at this time tomorrow so I can ask her about the situation?" After a pause, she added, "Please don't let anyone else know. Let Yuansheng come over herself."
Tian Qiaolian readily agreed, saying, "I will tell Yuansheng, but I won't let them know."
She understood Gu Xi's meaning; she was afraid that if the Xu family knew that Gu Xi cared about this matter, Gu Xi would interfere and prevent Xu Yuansheng from contacting her.
After ending the phone call, Tian Qiaolian couldn't help but sigh.
Back home, Captain Xu asked his wife, "Who called you?"
He was very puzzled. Why would someone call his wife at this time of year, when it's neither a holiday nor a festival? Could something have happened?
Tian Qiaolian didn't hide anything from him and told him about Gu Xi calling her.
Captain Xu was surprised. "Xu Xi knows about this? And she even called to ask?"
“What Xu Xi? She changed her surname a long time ago and is now called Gu Xi.” Tian Qiaolian glared at him. “Her biological parents are from Beijing, not Xu Dagui and his wife.”
Back when Gu Xi was still called Xu Xi, she was taken away by Feng Min. Everyone said she was lucky because she had saved a noble person in the capital and was even adopted by that noble person.
At that time, Feng Min gave the Xu family a large sum of money, and the Xu family released the person very decisively without any hesitation.
Although they were reluctant to part with their capable eldest daughter, they were happy to "sell" her because the sum of money was more than they could have earned by selling their daughter.
Two months later, news came that Gu Xi had actually been switched at birth.
Her biological parents were also from Beijing and were cadres in the family. She should have been a girl living in the city with a guaranteed job, but instead she was relegated to the countryside. From childhood to adulthood, she had endless chores and sometimes went hungry. Her life was bitter and tiring. Compared to the Xu family's biological child who grew up enjoying a life of luxury in Beijing, she was truly pitiful.
Because this event was so dramatic, the villagers had never seen anything like it before, and they talked about it with great interest for several years.
Even now, when people chat, they still mention Gu Xi from time to time. Every time, they say they don't know how she is now, whether she is living a good life with her biological parents, and that Xu's biological child has not come back and is still staying with his adoptive parents. They say he must look down on his parents in the countryside.
Everyone envied the good luck of Xu Dagui and his wife. When Feng Min took Gu Xi away, she gave the Xu family a sum of money. After learning about the mix-up, the Gu family also gave the Xu family a sum of money in order to prevent Gu Yuanxiang from returning to her biological parents in the countryside, which can be regarded as buying out the relationship.
With these two sums of money, the Xu family has been living quite well over the years and has even built a new house.
Because of Feng Min, Tian Qiaolian and her husband also paid some attention to Gu Xi.
When Gu Xi left, she asked Tian Qiaolian to take care of her two younger sisters. She said that when she had money in the future, she would try to send some back to support her two sisters' education and not let the Xu family take the money.
Tian Qiaolian and Feng Min are distant cousins. She had received help from Feng Min before, and out of respect for Feng Min, she naturally agreed.
A few months later, Gu Xi indeed sent money back.
She not only sent money to her two younger sisters for their schooling, but also frequently sent things to Tian Qiaolian. She was very thoughtful, and Tian Qiaolian felt embarrassed to take things for free. She took good care of the Xu sisters in private, and it was through her efforts that the Xu sisters were able to go to school, since it was what Gu Xi wanted.
She also felt that it was never a bad thing for girls to read more books.
Captain Xu couldn't help but praise, "Xu... Gu Xi is a very honest and loyal child. He's so good to his two younger sisters."
Despite having no blood relation, she still cared for her two younger sisters after she left.
Upon learning that the Xu family was going to marry Xu Yuansheng off to a mentally challenged man in the county town, they even called back to inquire.
"You said last time that she got married in August, to your cousin Feng Min's son, the one who's in the army, right?" Captain Xu asked again.
Tian Qiaolian nodded: "Yes, he's an officer in the military now. Gu Xi went to join him after getting married."
"Is her military post far away? It's so far away, even if she knew about Xu Yuansheng's situation, she couldn't help much, could she?" Captain Xu said truthfully, not thinking that it would be of any use for Gu Xi to know about this.
She couldn't possibly run away from the army just for Xu Yuansheng, could she?
Upon hearing this, Tian Qiaolian glared at him. "Whether it's useful or not, at least she has the intention, so she's good!" As she spoke, a look of disgust appeared on her face. "I also don't approve of the Xu family's approach. They don't care about their daughter's happiness for the rest of her life just for the sake of the bride price."
Captain Xu chuckled, “That’s an eight hundred yuan dowry. The Xu family isn’t willing, but there are plenty of people in the countryside who are.”
These days, how much do workers earn? How long would it take to save 800 yuan?
Honestly, for just the dowry of 800 yuan, even if it means marrying a fool to a dying old man, many rural girls would be willing. Moreover, once married, they would be city dwellers, enjoying a stable job and no longer having to toil in the fields.
Tian Qiaolian said angrily, "Then let those who are willing go! They may be willing to live, but they may not!"
Perhaps other rural girls would be willing to marry a mentally challenged man in order to get a job in the city and receive government-subsidized grain rations, but Xu Yuansheng was not willing to do so. She did not need government-subsidized grain rations and could support herself.
"There's nothing we can do about it. The family of the idiot has their eye on Xu Yuansheng. She's not only capable, but she also has a strong temper. Even if her child is an idiot, with a mother like that, they'll be able to protect him."
Captain Xu spoke sarcastically, but he knew perfectly well what the fool's family was thinking.
The mentally challenged man in the county town has normal parents, but I heard that the couple are cousins and are very closely related by blood, so their two children are both mentally challenged, a daughter and a son, and neither of them is married yet.
Fortunately, their family was well-off, and both husband and wife had jobs, which enabled them to afford such a large dowry. Since they couldn't find a wife in the city, they decided to come to the countryside to find a wife with good character and ability so that she could protect their mentally challenged child. Through the matchmaker's introduction, they chose Xu Yuansheng.
Xu Yuansheng is eighteen years old this year. At the beginning of the year, she took over the job of the old tailor in the village. The clothes she made were very beautiful, and many educated youth liked to have clothes made by her.
There are quite a few families in the surrounding area who have taken a liking to Xu Yuansheng.
However, Xu Dagui and his wife had high standards and demanded a dowry of 500 yuan before they would marry off their daughter. As a result, no one dared to come to the Xu family to act as matchmaker. Although city people could afford it, they did not want to find a country wife.
**
A little later, Xu Yuansheng arrived at the brigade leader's house.
Over the years, every time Gu Xi sent something, she would be notified to come to the brigade leader's house to pick it up, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Xu family.
Xu Yuansheng assumed that Tian Qiaolian had sent someone to notify him to come over because his older sister had sent them another package.
But she learned that her older sister asked her to call her tomorrow.
Xu Yuansheng was somewhat surprised, "Is something wrong with my older sister?"
He began to show some concern.
Tian Qiaolian said, "Don't worry, Xixi is fine. She's just worried about your marriage. She's afraid you'll marry a fool."
Xu Yuansheng's expression immediately turned sour. After a moment's thought, he understood how his older sister knew. He gritted his teeth and forced a smile, saying, "Aunt Tian, I understand. I'll call my older sister tomorrow."
“Your eldest sister is just concerned about you.” Tian Qiaolian poured her a glass of water. “Yuansheng, you can’t marry a mentally challenged woman in the county town. You have to be careful.”
She couldn't directly criticize Xu Dagui and his wife in front of the child, so she could only gently tell her to be careful and not to let her guard down just because they were her parents.
Xu Yuansheng nodded, thanked Tian Qiaolian, and went home.
By the time I got home, it was already dark.
As soon as Xu Yuansheng entered the door, her mother He Guihua's voice rang out: "Where have you been, you brat? You've been doing all this housework, are you trying to work your old mother to death? Did Xu Xi send you things again? That brat, she's such an ingrate, we've raised her for fifteen years for nothing, and she doesn't appreciate any of our kindness. She hasn't sent us anything all these years!"
Xu Yuansheng couldn't help but sneer and said impatiently, "Her name is Gu Xi, not Xu Xi. She's not your biological daughter. Why don't you ask your biological daughter for her things?"
He Guihua slammed the wooden basin she was holding onto the table, cursing, "That damned girl is an ingrate too, she doesn't even recognize her own parents, she looks down on us because we're country bumpkins, it's no use going to her... You're all a waste of money, none of you are any good, you're all unfilial, I wasted my life raising you..."
Xu Yuansheng grew impatient; she had heard these kinds of words since she was a child and was already numb to them.
She turned and left, not wanting to hear any more, and went straight back to her room.
He Guihua was left standing there, continuing to angrily scold until her youngest son, who had been playing somewhere all day, came back and started clamoring for food. Only then did she stop talking and quickly go to make food for her son.
The room was dark. Xu Yuansheng had just lit the oil lamp when he saw his younger sister, who was tending the fire in the kitchen, return.
This is the sisters' room. Although it's a newly built house, the room they were given is still the smallest.
Xu Yuansheng looked at his younger sister and asked, "Huaisheng, was it you who wrote to my older sister about my plan to marry a fool?"
Xu Huaisheng nodded and whispered, "Second sister, I don't want you to marry a fool."
"Don't worry, I won't." Xu Yuansheng patted her head. "Don't worry."
Xu Huaisheng was worried, and she said with some fear, "But I heard my eldest uncle, second uncle, grandfather, and father discussing that they must get the eight hundred yuan dowry from the mentally challenged family, and they will even force you to marry into the family if you refuse. If you refuse, they will tie you up and take you there."
Now, everyone in the Xu family is eyeing this 800 yuan dowry.
In order to get a share of the benefits, the eldest uncle, second uncle, and youngest uncle's family were all very willing to help Xu Yuansheng marry into their families.
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