Chapter 3
After her parents left, Su Miao walked around the old house front and back. Every brick and tile overlapped with her memories, making her so excited that she shed tears.
I'm back! I'm really back! God has given me a second chance! This time I'll seize the opportunity, live a good life with my father, and never let the tragedy of my last life repeat itself!
It is not that easy to get a divorce now. You need to go to the unit to get a certificate. Whether it is the unit or the Civil Affairs Bureau, they will first reconcile the couple. Only when they really can't get a divorce can you go through the formalities.
After Su Miao cleaned the house from top to bottom, seeing that her father had not returned yet, she went into the kitchen to see if she could help with cooking.
Liu Xu never works at home. Su Yuanzheng takes care of all the housework.
Su Miao usually has a good time going to school, as both the school and her mother's workplace have cafeterias.
But every winter and summer vacation, Su Yuanzheng would spend half an hour returning to this small courtyard at the urban-rural fringe after work at noon, cook lunch, eat a bite in a hurry, and then rush to work again.
Just because my mother said that she didn’t like the girl serving food in the theater cafeteria and didn’t like eating in the cafeteria.
I rush back in the evening to cook dinner, and after dinner I have to clean, wash clothes, feed the chickens, water the vegetables, and chop firewood...
Su Miao rummaged around in the kitchen and found a small bag of rice, five eggs and half a piece of bacon.
We raise 8 chickens in the backyard, which ensures that we have eggs to eat every day. The half piece of bacon is a welfare given by the factory during the Dragon Boat Festival. We cut a small piece each time we eat it, and it can last for a long time.
She cooked the rice, picked a bunch of vegetables and a tomato from the backyard, cut a few slices of bacon and stir-fried them together, and then made scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Her father worked in a watch factory and her mother worked in the theater.
Although they are currently only temporary workers, they are considered a dual-income family. Considering their small family size, they should be living a pretty good life.
But that was not the case. She looked at her clothes, which were washed pale and had frayed edges, and the cloth shoes on her feet that were a bit tight, and saw that she was very different from other children from dual-income families in the school.
Because Liu Xu has always paid great attention to her appearance, she has to wear new skirts, lipstick and powder, and she also has to get her hair permed and watch movies every once in a while, and she also has to buy some sad poems.
She spends all her monthly salary on herself, and uses half of her father's salary to subsidize her uncle's family, so the monthly expenses for the family are only a quarter of the family income.
However, she is not as good as the best, but better than the worst. Being able to have enough to eat every meal is already better than many rural families. Every time her father takes her back to her hometown in the countryside, the children surround her and call her a city girl.
After she had cleaned up the dishes and the meal was almost ready, she was just waiting for her father to come back so she could start cooking. However, she waited and waited and it was past six o'clock and there was still no sign of her father.
She sat on the small bench at the gate of the yard and looked towards the alley. It was generally an early dinner time at this time, and some neighbors who had already eaten dinner came out for a walk.
When they saw her waiting at the door, they would come over to ask her. When they knew that the adults were not at home, they would let her go home to eat something.
Su Miao hadn't felt such warm kindness for ten years since she followed Liu Xu to remarry in Yongcheng in her previous life. She smiled and thanked him, but politely declined, saying that her father would be back soon.
It was not until the sun was about to set that Su Yuanzheng appeared at the street corner with heavy steps. His broad shoulders drooped slightly, and he looked very depressed.
He always knew that his wife did not like him because he was uneducated. She married him because she thought his family was simple and well-off, and he could help support her parents' family.
Over the years, he has tried his best to give his wife the best life, but he could never satisfy her and eventually they got divorced.
He looked up and saw his daughter sitting at the gate of the yard waiting for him. The setting sun emitted a fiery red light shining on her, like a little fairy, with a sweet smile on her face, waving to him.
Su Yuanzheng wiped his face, erasing the loneliness on it. Yes! He still had a daughter. There were still people in this world who would unwaveringly choose him!
"Miao Miao! I'm sorry that Dad came back late. You must be hungry. I'll go cook now." Su Yuanzheng bent down and spoke to his daughter in the warmest tone.
"Dad, I've already cooked the meal. Come in and take a rest. I'll stir-fry two dishes and we'll be eating soon!"
Su Miao took her father's hand and went home, then ran into the kitchen and started cooking.
Su Yuanzheng was stunned for a few seconds when he heard the busy sounds in the kitchen. He turned around, closed the gate, and hurried in. His daughter rarely cooked before, so he had to go in to help, lest the kitchen be set on fire!
But my daughter's skillful cooking movements were as if she had practiced them countless times. The little girl waved a big spatula, and the tempting aroma of food wafted out of the pot.
"Dad! Help me serve the scrambled eggs with tomatoes. I also want to stir-fry some vegetables."
"Oh! Okay, wait a minute while I wash the pot. The stove is too high, be careful not to get burned."
Su Yuanzheng came back to his senses and hurried over to help.
The big pot was on high heat, and the food was stir-fried quickly and fragrantly. In less than a quarter of an hour, the father and daughter were sitting at the dinner table.
Normally, the family of three only had two sets of bowls and chopsticks left today. Su Yuan was serving his daughter's meal and felt a little sad when he looked at the empty left side.
Su Miao didn't have such emotions. Today was her rebirth. She put a large egg into her father's bowl with her chopsticks and asked, "Dad, have you and Mom completed the formalities?"
"Well, it's done."
Su Yuanzheng took out a divorce certificate from the pocket on the chest of his shirt, and Su Miao took it and looked at it curiously.
Unlike the hard-cover book that existed more than a decade later, today's divorce certificate is just a simple certificate.
The identity information of the man and woman was written on it in black pen, and the reason for divorce below was the long-term emotional discord between the two parties.
Handling of children: They have a daughter, Su Miao, born in 1974, who will be raised by the man from now on.
Property settlement: The existing residence will be allocated to the man's family and will not be divided. The woman can get the tape recorder, wardrobe, dressing table and chairs.
There was also a family property of 30 yuan, 10 jin of grain coupons, 6 chi of cloth coupons, and 1 jin of meat coupons, which were divided equally between the two parties.
Su Miao looked up and asked, "If Dad and I live together, shouldn't we get more money and tickets?"
Su Yuanzheng rubbed his hands and said, "Miao Miao, after your mother gets divorced, she will have to live with your uncle's family. Life is not easy living under someone else's roof. There is not much left. Let her have some money to rely on so that she doesn't have to worry too much about your aunt's mood."
He carefully watched his daughter's face, afraid that she would be angry, and then said, "This half is enough for us to eat for a while. Dad will get his salary next week, and he will spend all his salary on you. We can buy new clothes and shoes, and we won't be so tight on money anymore."
Su Miao nodded and said nothing more. Without the bottomless pit of her uncle's family, her father's salary was more than enough to support her.
Besides, these are just small amounts of money. The 1980s was a time of great accumulation and development. A few months ago, the Third Plenary Session of the 12th Central Committee systematically raised and clarified a series of major theoretical and practical issues in economic system reform.
The meeting confirmed that China's socialist economy is a planned commodity economy based on public ownership. It is a programmatic document for comprehensive economic system reform. The era of great reform is coming!
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