When Liu Dafu saw the water Qian Duoduo brought him, he politely took a sip. It was sweet, and he immediately smiled: "Oh my, Duoduo has grown up so much! I heard you're studying at a school in the county now, and your grades are just as good as when you were in the village school. You've really made something of yourself."
Qian Sheng smiled and said, "This child just loves to learn."
Liu Dafu smiled. In the first few years, everyone would whisper among themselves that the Qian family was dirt poor because they sent all five children to school. But now, the eldest and second eldest sons send home a fixed allowance every month, and the family has recovered. Some people want to arrange marriages with them, especially since the third son became a propaganda officer in the county. Even more people are interested, but everyone knows that the third son is a slippery character. The marriage proposal has been pushed onto his two older brothers who are in the army. But no one can say anything about it, since the two older brothers are not married, so how could it be his turn?
So more people asked about the eldest and second sons' marriages. Some of the older women who disliked Jin Jinxiu said hurtful things. But now, not only is the eldest son of the Qian family married, but he is also marrying the daughter of a division commander. He has also become a company commander. Suddenly, the Qian family is even more sought after in Beian Village. Everyone's eyes are on the second son who is not at home and the third son in the county. Even the fourth son, who has just come of age, has people asking about him.
Qian Sheng and Liu Dafu talked for a long time about his family's old house. They also had Qian Duoduo write a property transfer statement. Both of them signed it and pressed their red fingerprints. Liu Dafu took the money and left. Qian Duoduo looked at the land deed and the statement he had written and smiled: "Dad, now we have a place to build a house for my older brother and the others."
The next day, Qian Mao went to Yangjia Village early in the morning. After talking with the village secretary, he went to work in the county. When he came back in the evening, he said to Qian Sheng, "Dad, there is a batch of defective bricks in Yangjia Village. Actually, the quality is not much worse than good bricks. However, they are not whole pieces. They are all half pieces or more than half pieces, but the price is much cheaper."
Qian Sheng looked at Jin Jinxiu and said, "What do you think, Mother?"
Jin Jinxiu hesitated and said, "Won't this half piece affect the house?"
Qian Mao shook his head and said, "I asked, and no, if we were building a house normally, these good bricks would cost at least two or three hundred yuan. But we're building a two-room house, which will require more bricks than other people's two rooms. So I think if we used good bricks, it would cost five hundred yuan. But if we use these defective bricks, the price will be half."
Jin Jinxiu thought about her eldest brother's money. Over the past five years, the allowance he sent back every month was more than enough to build a house. She said, "Your eldest brother can easily build a house with the five hundred yuan he sends back."
Qian Rao said, "If we're going to build a house, my older brother and his family will only come back to stay for a few days every few years. I don't think we need to do all that useless stuff. Wouldn't it be better to give the money to my older brother so he can buy something useful for his wife, or use it as a dowry?"
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "Fourth Brother is right. This is the first time my sister-in-law has come to our house. She won't be able to live in this house for long. In addition, we didn't give her anything for their wedding. I think giving her more dowry shows that we value her."
Jin Jinxiu nodded: "Now that they're inside, we should give them more."
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "Also, Mom, don't tell others how much we gave as betrothal money. Although it's all the money earned by our eldest brother, it's not wrong for us to give it to our sister-in-law. But if our second, third, and fourth brothers go on blind dates and they all ask for betrothal money based on our sister-in-law's price, can you and Dad afford it?"
Qian Sheng snorted: "Why can't we afford it? The money you earned from selling hawthorns and wild apples in the fall these past few years, your mother and I haven't spent, we've saved it all for you."
Jin Jinxiu nodded in agreement.
Qian Duoduo said, "Dad, you're really rich and powerful. Aren't you afraid that such ostentation will cause trouble for your brothers? Don't you know what's going on outside? You're in a meeting, don't you know?"
Qian Sheng fell silent. It was a little better in the countryside. He had heard that people were frequently arrested in the big cities. Even a few more people had come to the cowshed. These were people who had been criticized and denounced.
Jin Jinxiu immediately said, "Okay, Mother understands. Besides, when your elder brother and sister-in-law come back, I will treat them well."
Qian Duoduo nodded and said, "Mom, we are all honest people in our family. I think my sister-in-law is not an unreasonable person since my brother and sister-in-law are together. Besides, you understand the saying 'distance makes things better' better than we do. We can't help my brother, but we won't hold him back either."
Jin Jinxiu nodded: "Mother understands. I won't stoop to their level."
Qian Duoduo immediately gave a thumbs up and said, "My mother is really wise. When my sister-in-law came and saw this, she said, 'Oh my, my mother-in-law is such a wise mother-in-law!' Hehe, maybe she'll treat my brother-in-law even better when we get back."
Upon hearing this, Jin Jinxiu immediately nodded: "That's right, it's not easy to find an old woman like me. After your sister-in-law arrives, I will treat her well and make her treat your brother even better."
Qian Mao watched with a smile as Qian Duoduo tricked his simple-minded mother, who was so easily fooled that she was almost completely disoriented.
Qian Sheng looked at Jin Jinxiu's proud expression, lowered his head, not wanting his wife to see the smile on his face, otherwise, if she wouldn't let him get on the bed that night, wouldn't that be a big problem?
Now that the house had been bought, the matter of buying bricks was put on the agenda. Qian Mao and Qian Rao went to Yangjia Village with Qian Sheng. In the afternoon, the people of Yangjia Village drove tractors to transport the defective bricks to Beian Village. The people of Beian Village were in an uproar. Qian Sheng's family had bought Liu Dafu's old house, and they were going to demolish it and build a brick house.
Many families with daughters immediately turned their attention to the Qian family's two remaining sons. They had the money to build a brick house, which showed that the family was very wealthy! The more they looked at the two boys, the better they seemed.
So when Qian Mao and Qian Rao were helping their family build the house, more and more girls came to deliver water. When Qian Duoduo came home from school, this was the scene she saw. However, her two older brothers were too oblivious to the girls' feelings. So many girls were almost fighting, but they didn't even glance at them. Especially Qian Rao, after hearing the story of Liu Zhiqing, he avoided these girls like the plague. He wouldn't even look at them, let alone drink water.
Five days after the house was built, Qian Sheng received a call from the provincial capital while attending a meeting at the commune. It was Qian Feng calling to say that they had arrived in the provincial capital after a two-week journey. They were resting for a day in the provincial capital and the train on the morning of the third day was expected to arrive in the county town around 4 p.m. Qian Sheng immediately said happily, "Okay, Dad will come to pick you up the day after tomorrow in our village's oxcart."
After he got home, he told his family about it. Jin Jinxiu was overjoyed and asked, "Dad, will the house next door be finished in the next few days?"
Qian Sheng said, "The wall on the side they came back from will be finished. I estimate they can put up the beam the day after they get home."
Jin Jinxiu said, "Then what do we do now?"
Qian Duoduo said, "How about this, let my older brother and sister-in-law stay in my room first. I'll stay with my parents for a few days. Once the house over there is ready, my older brother and sister-in-law can move there, and then I'll move back."
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