The Wang couple were farmers in the truest sense of the word.
They were not thugs or scoundrels, nor did they ever cheat or take advantage of others. They worked hard for 300 out of 365 days a year, digging for food in the soil and earning a penny or two from the fields.
They scrimped and saved, using all their money to support their children, hoping for many descendants and a large family.
Li Jin and Wang Zhenbo respect and understand such people.
"Third Brother, Liu Laonian won't dare to cause any more trouble. Do you think we can agree to change Feng and Erhu's marriage?"
Li Jin lit a "Hongtashan" cigarette for Erhu's father.
Wang Zhenbo helped Erhu's mother rub the corn kernels. First, he used a screwdriver to make several even grooves on the corn cob, and then he could peel the corn kernels off row by row by hand.
"Splash—splash—"
The corn kernels fell into the winnowing basket with a crisp sound.
While shredding corn, Erhu's mother said, "Captain, Accountant Wang, we're all family here, so I won't hide anything. Even if Gaifeng doesn't want a son-in-law, I still don't want my Erhu to marry her! Liu Laonian is a scoundrel, getting involved with widows, and Gaifeng's mother is confused and clingy, unable to tell the difference! If I were to become in-laws with Liu Laonian, being from the same village, I'd feel ashamed."
Wang Zhenbo sighed. Indeed, no one would want to have such in-laws!
"It feels strange to smoke this expensive stuff."
Erhu's father coughed from the choking on the Hongtashan cigarette. He put out the cigarette and lit his own pipe.
“Captain, Liu Laonian and his wife only have one daughter, Gaifeng. If Erhu really marries Gaifeng, then he will be carrying the burden of the Liu family of three! Will my Erhu ever have a peaceful life again?”
In the end, she was still worried about her son.
Li Jin sighed inwardly, thinking how pitiful the hearts of parents are everywhere!
He shouted outside, "Erhu, did you hear me? If you leave, how can you face your parents?"
Suddenly a sound came from the outer room. Erhu lifted the curtain and knelt down on the ground with a "plop". Gaifeng followed closely behind and knelt down as well!
"Father—Mother—"
"Uncle Gui—Aunt Gui—"
When Erhu's mother heard the word "go," and then looked at the small bundles on her son and Gaifeng's backs, what else could she not understand!
She let out a "whoosh" and pounced on her son, grabbing him and starting to beat him!
"You troublesome thing, I should have strangled you when you were born! So you wouldn't have grown up to be disobedient and cause your parents so much worry!"
Erhu's mother cried uncontrollably, and Erhu also hugged her and cried.
For a moment, the room was filled with gloom and despair.
Li Xiangdong separated the mother and son, and then gestured for Erhu to quickly get a towel to wipe his mother's tears.
Erhu's mother took the towel from her son, wiped away her tears, and then sobbed, "It's not that I don't like Gaifeng, it's just that her parents are really unbearable, they're such a worry..."
Once you say that, the matter is pretty much settled.
Gai Feng took two steps forward and said seriously to Er Hu's parents, "Uncle Gui, Aunt Gui, after all, I am the only daughter left for my parents. It is my duty to take care of them in their old age and see them off in their final days. If I really didn't care about them, you would not look down on such an unfilial daughter as me! However, I promise you here that I will never let my parents interfere too much in my and Er Hu's lives!"
Erhu's mother was still hesitant, "Can your word really count...?"
She is someone else's daughter too; daughters are always more likely to be soft-hearted towards their parents.
"Yes! Mom, we can! Or we can write a written agreement!"
Erhu rushed to answer his mother, fearing that things would take a turn for the worse.
After some back and forth, and regardless of whether they were happy or not, Erhu's family finally agreed to the relationship.
After all, given Erhu's unwavering devotion, refusing to change Feng's mind could very well mean losing his son.
After discussing it again, Liu Laonian and Gai Fengniang decided that if they didn't want to find a son-in-law to support them, then so be it, since Gai Fengniang was already annoyed with Lu Zhiguang anyway!
If Lu Zhiguang were to become a member of the Liu family, then my old man and that shameless Lu woman would definitely remain entangled, and there would be no place for her then!
“We should ask for more dowry! With this money, we can take another boy, raise him, and he will be a descendant of the Liu family.”
That's what Fengniang said.
Liu Laonian remained silent, but in his heart he was secretly calculating which village still had young widows, and he was determined to ask the Wang family for more dowry money so that he could have his own child!
So the couple reached an agreement that Erhu would marry Gaifeng, but he would have to pay a dowry of 500 yuan!
Unexpectedly, before they could even tell the Wang family, Lijiapo launched a vigorous legal education campaign!
That day, the streets of Lijiapo Brigade were swept clean, without a single splinter. The brigade headquarters had set up a podium in advance, and square red paper with the sixteen characters "Promote and popularize the Marriage Law, advocate gender equality and free marriage" was written on it and pasted on the wall!
Early in the morning, the loudspeaker started announcing, "Villagers of this village are invited to the brigade headquarters to participate in a legal education activity on the Marriage Law!"
All villagers are requested to attend the Marriage Law awareness campaign at the brigade headquarters!
Everyone must participate!
Everyone must participate!
Today, Li Xiangdong invited Wang Jianguo, Secretary of the Huichuan County Party Committee, Sun Zhili, Director of the Justice Bureau, Chen Yigan, Director of the Public Security Bureau, Yu Wengang, Head of Wudaohe Commune, and Sha Chongxi, Director of the Justice Office, to participate in the legal education activity together.
So the commune members were carrying stools and hurrying towards the brigade headquarters when they saw three jeeps speeding towards them and stopping in front of the brigade headquarters!
That's Li Xiangdong for you, able to mobilize so many people at once!
Li Jin and other members of the brigade leadership team greeted the group at the entrance.
Wang Jianguo was the secretary of Mayor Zhang of Dongfang City. Now he has become the top official of Huichuan County, which can be considered a promotion that is exceptional. This also shows the importance that the higher authorities attach to Zhang Jianguo.
Like Mayor Zhang and Liu Donglai, Wang Jianguo was a person who was keen on reform, so he valued Li Xiangdong highly.
That day, Li Xiangdong came over and said that the village's economy is developing very quickly, but many ideas and customs are still too backward and cannot keep up with the pace of socialist construction.
As the saying goes, "Material civilization and spiritual civilization are two sides of the same coin. We can't have one leg longer than the other. We must grasp both and make both strong!"
These words are fresh, but they also make a lot of sense.
So Wang Jianguo came with the relevant person in charge. This was an experiment, and if it worked well, they hoped to promote it throughout the county!
Without further ado, the meeting was chaired by Wang Jianguo. After he made a few opening remarks, Sun Zhili and Sha Chongxi were responsible for explaining the Marriage Law to everyone.
Of course, the most shocking thing here is what Chen Yi dared to say: "Arranged marriages and the buying and selling of children are illegal acts! If anyone is involved in illegal detention or violent interference with freedom of marriage, then go to the police station to talk!"
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