"The chopsticks are dirty. Let me get you a new pair." When Grandma Miao saw her grandson drop his chopsticks on the ground, she immediately ran back to the kitchen and got out a new pair of chopsticks.
"Grandpa, I've been staying in the county town these days and I heard a piece of news."
In just a few breaths, many ways of dealing with the situation flashed through Jiang Yilu's mind. However, judging from his family's expressions, it was obvious that they were very satisfied with Xiang Qianjin. Ordinary means could not extinguish everyone's desire to bring together his elder sister and Xiang Qianjin.
Yes, in those days, having a worker's job was very popular. Moreover, according to the information my grandmother had found out, Xiang Qianjin's parents were easy to get along with and kind people, so my eldest sister would not suffer if she married him. There was simply no better match than Xiang Qianjin.
If Jiang Yilu had not found the note in Fan Xiaojuan's clothes beforehand, perhaps he would be the one who was satisfied now.
He really couldn't understand why a good man with a good reputation would team up with Fan Xiaojuan to frame his elder sister without ever meeting her, and use such vicious and despicable means. But he didn't need to figure it out. As long as he knew that his elder sister would encounter such a vicious mother-in-law once she married Xiang Qianjin, he would be completely inspired to break up his elder sister and Xiang Qianjin.
Marriage is a matter of two families. Since ancient times, the problem between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law has been complicated and difficult to resolve. Now that the two are not together yet, Yin Hong has such malice towards the eldest sister. What's more, after marriage, she will have more opportunities and more appropriate reasons to torture the eldest sister. In this way, wouldn't she be repeating the tragedy of the previous life?
"Grandpa, I heard that junior high schools in the county will resume classes after the beginning of the year. My eldest sister only has an elementary school education, so no matter how hard she works, she can only be an apprentice in a textile factory. I think if my eldest sister can go to junior high school with such good grades, it will definitely not be a problem for her to pass the high school entrance exam. In this way, my eldest sister can be assigned a job after graduation. As long as my younger aunt uses her connections when the textile factory is recruiting, my eldest sister can become a formal employee."
Their family did not have a city hukou, so if they wanted to be assigned a job, they had to obtain a technical secondary school degree or above, unlike city dwellers, who could get a job regardless of whether they graduated from junior high school. The vigorous movement of educated youth going to the countryside in the 1960s was also to ease the pressure of job allocation. In recent years, due to some well-known political issues, several factories in the county have not recruited workers for a long time. Now they are short of manpower. Jiang Yilu heard from her aunt that within two years, the textile factory will definitely open for recruitment.
"Junior high school classes have resumed." Old man Jiang, who had been sitting at the top without saying a word, put down his bowl. His focus was all on the first half of his grandson's words.
"Yes, it's spread all over the city now. It is said that the documents from above have come down and it will be announced after the first month of the year." Jiang Yilu said with certainty. This matter has been mentioned several times at the dinner table of the Meng family. Meng Dachang has some friendship with the principal of Yuchuan Primary School, and he probably heard it from the other person.
When the people present heard the news, some were happy and some were dissatisfied. Of course, the young ones like Sanni and Si Ni were heartless and did not realize what this meant at all. For them, graduating from elementary school was still a long way off.
"Dani is already 17 years old. She has studied in junior high school and technical secondary school for five or six years. She is already an old girl in her twenties. It's a waste of money. What's the point of becoming a worker? It's just a bargain for outsiders."
Old Mrs. Miao was very unimpressed by her grandson's suggestion. Instead, she looked at her eldest grandson who was sitting quietly eating and not participating in these topics, and her eyes lit up: "Aiguo is about the right age. When the time comes, I will send him to the city to study in junior high school and he will become a promising worker."
Jiang Aiguo's eyes flickered. He naturally knew what going to junior high school meant. It meant he had the chance to go to high school, and possibly even to technical secondary school. You know, during the years when junior high school was suspended, all the places for technical secondary school students and university students were recommended by the county. The first point they selected was that they had a good family background. Jiang Aiguo and his brother had a father who was sent to labor reform, so they were rejected at the first stage.
Jiang Aiguo bit the chopsticks in his mouth and looked at his somewhat dissatisfied aunt. After all, he was reluctant to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and was reluctant to say something against his will to refuse it.
Jiang Erni, who is the same age as Jiang Aiguo but was not mentioned by the old lady, was a little dissatisfied. She had also graduated from elementary school, so why was she not mentioned?
"Grandpa, I also want to go to school in the county."
Ever since Jiang Erni was officially accepted as a disciple by Bai Fangqiu, Old Man Jiang has looked up to this granddaughter. Now, Jiang Erni is considered the best among all the granddaughters. She has always had a bad temper, and now it has become even more fierce. She says whatever she wants, and sometimes when she irritates the old lady, Old Man Jiang will say something on her behalf to smooth things over.
"Little girl, it's enough for you to learn a few words. Aren't you still learning those flowers and plants with your grandfather Bai? Going to junior high school is a waste of time. It's not worth it."
Old Mrs. Miao refused without thinking. No matter how good her granddaughter's job was, once she got married, everything would belong to the man's family. They worked hard and spent money to support the man, just to make money for other families. That was ridiculous.
Old Mrs. Miao sneered, and her expression meant that there was no point in discussing this matter.
"Grandma, temporary workers only get 15 yuan a month, but once you become a regular worker, your salary will double immediately. As your job level increases, your salary will increase further. My eldest sister said that if she can become a regular worker, she will give half of her salary to the family every month. She will continue to give even if she gets married."
Jiang Yilu blinked his eyes: "Half of the salary would be a lot of money, and I could buy me a lot of delicious and fun things. I see that my cousin has a lot of things at home that I have never seen before, and I want them too."
Jiang Yiliu knew that for the old lady, the future of her granddaughter was not important, money and grandson were her most important. The idea of favoring sons over daughters had been rooted in the mind of the old lady Miao for more than 60 years, and Jiang Yiliu did not think he could change her stubborn idea. In fact, the best way to deal with this stubborn old lady was to grasp her weakness.
"Really?" Old Lady Miao was a little skeptical. Was her granddaughter really willing to pay half of her salary? Even if she was willing, would her future husband be willing? But half of the salary was really a big temptation for the old lady.
Old Mrs. Miao did the math in her mind. The tuition for junior high school is the same as that for elementary school, which is two yuan per year. Jiang Dani now sends ten yuan back home every month. If she wants to go to school, she will definitely not be able to keep her job in the textile factory. In total, she will lose 122 yuan a year. That's six years. The old lady counted on her fingers for a long time and could only work out a rough figure. In six years, she would lose more than 700 yuan. According to her grandson, if Dani handed over half of her salary every month, taking into account the rate of salary growth, she would be able to make back the money in three or four years.
Old Mrs. Miao calculated again and again, her mind becoming confused, and she barely came to a conclusion that this deal still seemed to be a good deal for the time being, and it seemed that sending her granddaughter to school was not so difficult to accept.
"Grandma, from now on I will hand over half of my salary to my family. I also want to go to school." Jiang Erni naturally didn't think that her younger brother was harming them. She knew in her heart that if she couldn't pass the old lady's test, she might completely lose this opportunity to change her life.
If she were in middle school, her future would have unlimited possibilities. If she stayed in the countryside, she would have no chance at all. Moreover, it was hard to say what would happen in six years. She didn't believe that her younger brother would harm them. Since he helped her elder sister to lie, he must have thought of a solution.
She didn't believe that her elder sister, who was as soft as a dough, would come up with such a desperate plan. It must have been the clever younger brother who came up with it himself.
Except for Mrs. Miao who was only interested in money, and Gu Dongmei who had other thoughts, everyone present probably saw through the conspiracy. You have to know that Xiaobao cared about his sisters the most in the past. How could he take half of their salary just for some rare thing? Look at all the delicious food and clothes at home, he has shared them with his sisters.
Gu Dongmei, who was also unable to see through the situation, had very complicated thoughts at this moment.
She felt that her son had changed. Everything in the Jiang family belonged to him, so why did he want to snatch things from his poor sisters? She used to think that her son was very good to his sisters and that his daughters had hope for the future. But now it seemed that it was her son who had ruined her daughters.
Gu Dongmei was worried and didn't know how to help her daughters.
Erni was the same. How could she agree to such a stupid request? Isn't she always the smartest? It's ok that Dani was simply deceived by her son, but how could she be deceived? Being a worker means finding a better partner, but no man can stand a daughter-in-law who has to hand over half of her salary to her parents' home. When Gu Dongmei thought about it, she seemed to have seen the miserable future of her two daughters, and she also had some resentment towards her son Jiang Yilu.
Is this son, who is not related to her by birth, here to collect debts from her?
Gu Dongmei even thought darkly that the money she asked her son to bring to his eldest daughter when he went to his sister-in-law's house might have been secretly taken away by her younger son. She made up her mind that after Dani came back, she would ask her son whether he had hidden the money secretly.
Old Mrs. Miao didn't notice anything wrong with her daughter-in-law and started thinking about her second granddaughter.
Jiang Erni's problem is easier to solve. She is not like Jiang Dani, who still has a temporary job. It is also Jiang Dani's good luck that the accounting office of the textile factory wants to recruit people, and they are temporary workers. Jiang Dazhen wants to keep the fat water in the field and find her niece. Jiang Erni will not encounter such a good thing. Once she graduates from elementary school, the most likely thing is to stay at home like Mo Xianghong, doing some simple chores or working in the fields to earn work points, but she will not earn much money this way.
Old Mrs. Miao calculated that if she sent her second granddaughter to school, she could make a profit in one or two years. This deal was simply a great bargain.
"Okay, I'll send you there. It's just a matter of studying. I'm not a cruel old lady. Since you two kids want to study so much, I'll send you to school."
Old Mrs. Miao was very happy. Each of her two granddaughters handed over half of their wages. In the future, her little grandsons would not have to work and could just lie down and collect wages. If her two granddaughters could be like these two, then her grandson would be able to collect two full wages. Wouldn't he live a more comfortable life than anyone else?
"I'm not forcing you to do this. You all agreed to it. Don't go back on your word when the time comes. So many ears are listening." Old Mrs. Miao felt unsafe, so she added this. She was thinking that she should ask her granddaughters to write a note before they go to school so that there would be a proof in the future, to prevent them from denying the matter after they earn money and get married.
Old man Jiang's shrewd eyes passed across his grandson's smiling face and he admired him in his heart. He didn't care about the little tricks in his grandson's mind, nor did he intend to burst the dreams of his old lady.
Erni was smart, and she understood why Xiaobao did this. As long as the sisters knew how to be grateful, the Jiang family would not suffer any loss by offering them up. If each of the four sisters helped Xiaobao a little, Xiaobao's future would be easier. How could Old Man Jiang refuse such a good thing?
The two old people had completely different thoughts in their minds at this time, but their goals were the same, which was to get some benefits from their granddaughter and return them to their grandson.
"If I send Dani to school, what will I do about the Xiang family issue?"
After Mrs. Miao got over her excitement, she thought about the topic they had just discussed. If Dani went to junior high school, it would be better for her not to find a partner before she graduated from high school. However, Xiang Qianjin was a good candidate. He was not young anymore. Would the boy be willing to wait for Dani for three years?
"Mom, why don't you let Dani go to junior high school?"
Gu Dongmei couldn't be more satisfied with Xiang Qianjin. He lived in the city and didn't live with his elders. His parents were kind and got along well with the other daughters-in-law. Xiang Qianjin himself was a motivated and honest person and earned a lot. Gu Dongmei was really afraid that if she missed this opportunity, her daughter would never find a better match.
not to mention.
Gu Dongmei looked at her youngest son with reproach. With his bad idea, no good family would be willing to marry a traitor. Dani's life was ruined.
Gu Dongmei thought that instead of letting her daughter become an old maid in a few years, it would be better to let her get married now, at least she would have no worries about food and clothing.
"Mom, what are you talking about?" Erni was the first one to jump out to refute. What's the good of getting married? Just like her mother, she would work like a slave for her husband's family all her life and get no benefits at all.
Only when a woman has enough food in her hands can she be at ease and stand on her own feet.
Jiang Erni felt that if a woman as weak as her elder sister met a two-faced husband and a cunning and aggressive mother-in-law, she would be eaten alive. If she could make money, she would be more confident. At worst, we could break up. I can still live well without you. I don't care about the living expenses you give me every month. This is Jiang Erni's ideal attitude towards life.
Although she knew that her eldest sister might not be able to be as free and decisive as she was, if she really did what her mother said, as a woman who did not earn money, her eldest sister would probably have to swallow the grievances she suffered in the future, for fear of being sent back to her parents' home and dragging down her younger brothers and sisters.
Jiang Erni was certainly not afraid of being dragged down by her elder sister. She was just afraid that her elder sister would be unable to get over it, and would endure it and end up causing something bad to happen.
What she thought was absolutely correct. In her previous life, Jiang Dani had been suffering alone. Finally, when she was dying, she was so worried about her baby daughter that she called her sisters over. Before that, her sisters only knew that she was living an ordinary life, but they didn't know that she was living such a hard life.
Gu Dongmei didn't expect that the first person to refute her would be her second daughter. She felt a breath stuck in her throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it down.
This silly girl, she is thinking about them, why doesn't she understand.
Gu Dongmei placed her hopes on her husband, who loved her daughter and would not agree to this absurd decision. But she was disappointed. Jiang Dahai looked at his second daughter with a look of approval.
"If Sister can pass the technical secondary school entrance exam, she will definitely be a worker. Then she can find a partner who is better than Xiang Qianjin. Sister will be in her twenties after graduating from junior high school. There are many girls in the city who don't have a partner at this age. Besides, Sister is not bad looking and hardworking. She can find a partner for anything."
Jiang Yilu spoke in a persuasive tone, instilling in everyone subconsciously the suggestion that once Dani became a formal worker, she would be able to find a better partner.
Erni, who was sitting next to him, finally noticed something strange. Her younger brother, who was very satisfied with Xiang Qianjin at first, seemed to strongly oppose his elder sister and Xiang Qianjin being together after listening to what his grandmother said about Xiang Qianjin's family.
Why? Is there something wrong with Xiang Qianjin's family?
Jiang Erni suppressed the doubts in her heart. Her brother would not harm her elder sister. He must have his reasons for doing so.
"Dani's matter depends on the fate of the two children. After the new year, I will send Dani, Erni and Aiguo to study in the city. I have to trouble my in-laws for the specific procedures and ask them to help." Old man Jiang made the final decision, putting an end to the decision: "The food is cold, let's all start eating."
After putting aside the important matter in his mind, Jiang Yilu felt much better. Even though the cooled spicy and sour fish slices tasted a bit fishy and cold, he ate it with gusto.
******
The next day, Jiang Yiliu got up early before dawn to prepare for Uncle Dawu's test. During the days in the city, he did not stop practicing leg exercises. He tied a two-pound sandbag under each of his thick cotton pants, and only took it off when he went to bed at night. Every day before sending his elder sister to work, he would run around the staff building for half an hour and then squat for a while. He did not relax at all because he left Qingshan Village.
Jiang Yilu was accepted as Huo Wu's disciple as early as last year. Guangpiao and Tiezhu also passed Huo Wu's test and were accepted by Huo Wu together with him.
After receiving the apprenticeship gift and drinking the apprenticeship tea, Huo Wu told them that it turned out that he did not learn all his skills in the army, but learned these skills from the martial arts master of the Ruan family after he was adopted by the Ruan family and was accepted as a disciple.
Their style belongs to Yixingquan, one of the eight major boxing styles of Chinese martial arts, and is known as one of the four major internal boxing schools along with Wudang, Tai Chi and Bagua.
Of course, the real ancient martial arts are not as beautifully portrayed in later TV dramas, where one can fly over rooftops and walls and be omnipotent as long as one practices. According to Huo Wu, he has practiced martial arts for thirty years, but he can only barely feel a trace of Qi and is more agile than ordinary people in his actions, but even so, it is enough for him to benefit infinitely. Moreover, Xingyiquan is swift and powerful, and the speed of boxing is like lightning and thunder. When the boxing skills are slightly mastered, it is not a problem to fight ten people alone.
However, Huo Wu has practiced for more than 30 years, and now he has only achieved a small success. This is because the Ruan family was a wealthy family at that time, and they spared no effort to cultivate these carefully trained servants with all kinds of natural resources and treasures, helping them to build a strong body from an early age.
According to him, their great master has now reached the great success realm, but more than 20 years ago, the great master escorted the eldest branch of the Ruan family to the United States, and several uncles escorted the second branch to Hong Kong City. They have not been able to contact them now. Although they were accepted as disciples by Huo Wu, they have never kowtowed before the great master, so they are not considered true disciples of Xingyiquan school. The secret manuals that can only be passed on to the direct branch cannot be taught to them for the time being.
Huo Wu spent two years strengthening the foundation of their lower body, only letting them do leg exercises. They haven't learned any fist skills at all yet.
"Push harder. Push harder."
From a room in the livestock shed where hay was stored, there came a series of scolding sounds.
Jiang Yilu felt as if his legs were filled with lead, and sweat continued to drip down his forehead. He mechanically kicked the sack full of bran hanging in the air with his legs.
"Okay, take a break."
Seeing that he was really out of strength, Huo Wu asked him to rest aside and let Tie Zhu take over.
Jiang Yilu stepped aside, not daring to sit down and rest immediately. He pinched his sore leg muscles and gasped for breath.
"Bang-bang-bang-bang-" Tiezhu's leg strength was obviously much greater than Jiang Yilu's. Every time he raised his leg, he could kick the heavy bag of bran into the air.
Strangely enough, among the three of them, the one who is most suitable for learning martial arts is not the tough Jiang Yilu, nor the agile Guangpiao, but the stupid and fat Tiezhu, who has the best physique among the three.
Huo Wu had to admit that he had misjudged him at the beginning. This little fat boy might be the one in a million martial arts prodigy that his master had told him about, born to practice martial arts. Therefore, Huo Wu was particularly strict in keeping an eye on Tiezhu.
Although the hope is slim, he still hopes to see his master again in his lifetime, bring his apprentice to his master, and hear a word of praise from his master.
After two years of exercise, the little fat boy's face has become thinner. He has successfully transformed from a little fat boy with three chins and three layers of swim rings to a little fat boy with only a double chin and two layers of swim rings. It is a cause for celebration.
Jiang Yilu was a little puzzled. He felt that he was far inferior to those predecessors who traveled through time in the books. After their rebirth, they had smooth sailing and were successful in whatever they studied. But he wanted to study medicine, and his second sister was more suitable for him. He wanted to learn martial arts, but Tiezhu was more talented than him.
Fortunately, he has some experience and can adjust the gap himself, otherwise he would probably be depressed to death.
Jiang Yiliu comforted himself, diligence can make up for lack of talent, and hard work can make up for it. What he can do now is to work harder than ordinary people to avoid being outdone. Moreover, he believes that everyone has their own shining points. He is not suitable for studying medicine or martial arts, but there must be something he is good at, and he will patiently explore it slowly.
"Uncle Ruan, Uncle Ruan."
When several people were practicing, they heard Mo Dashuan's voice coming from outside the door. Huo Wu stopped Tiezhu's practice and walked out curiously.
"Uncle Ruan went to see Uncle Cheng. Captain, what can I do for you?"
It is the farming off-season now. Every household is preparing for the New Year and there is not much work to do in the fields. Why did Mo Dashuan come here at this time?
"Good news, very good news." Mo Dashuan said happily, "There's a letter from Haicheng, it's from the government."
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