Zhao Ru returned home in a trance.

Niu Quangen had already prepared dinner at home.

Cornmeal porridge and multi-grain pancakes.

With the extra work points she earned as a broadcaster, Niu Quangen's family's food has improved a little.

At least the cornmeal porridge is much thicker than before.

There was only one intact stool in the house, and the children had no one to sit on it. Some were squatting, some were standing, and two were sitting on the kang.

Zhao Ru sat down mechanically, and Niu Quangen promptly placed the bowl and chopsticks in front of her.

So poor.

This family is really poor.

Looking at Niu Quangen again, he is a man in his thirties. Although he is still strong, his face looks very haggard.

If you stand with her and tell her that you are father and daughter, people will believe you.

He has a mouth full of smoke-yellow teeth, which is disgusting to look at.

Zhao Ru closed her eyes in disgust, and hated Hu Wenwen even more in her heart.

The banknotes stuffed into the socks felt a bit uncomfortable on her feet, but when she felt this, hope rose in Zhao Ru's heart.

Hu Wenwen said that if you have money you can get a train ticket, and she has money now.

"By the way," Zhao Ru said calmly, "Chen Tieshu from Chenjialiang is going with you to Lijiagou to repair the dam tomorrow?"

In winter, when there is no farming work, some public works will be carried out in this season. The river water volume in Lijiagou is large, so a hydroelectric power station is to be built. Strong laborers from several nearby communes are welcome to go.

Niu Quangen actually wanted to go a long time ago, but he just couldn't let go of Zhao Ru.

Seeing that the Chinese New Year was only half a month away, he gritted his teeth and prepared to set off in order to let his family have a good New Year.

Chen Tieshu is an acquaintance he has known for many years. They are about the same age, but he is still single.

In addition to being poor, the reason is also related to Chen Tieshu's personality.

Niu Quangen is a hard-working man after all. He likes to smoke, but he won't completely neglect his family for the sake of smoking. He can just make ends meet.

But Chen Tieshu lost his parents when he was young and had no one to discipline him. He started to gamble with money when he was a teenager and couldn't save a penny in his pocket.

Moreover, Chenjialiang is far inferior to Haowan Village. The terrain is high and even getting water is difficult. People there cannot take a bath once a year.

Chen Tieshu is over 30 years old and still hasn't married. He is almost going crazy wanting to find a wife. There was even a scandal about him molesting a widow. It is said that he failed and was beaten up by the widow's family and was also beaten up.

There was no other way, he could only make up his mind to stop playing around with money for the time being, earn some money, and see if he could get married.

Chenjialiang is more than ten miles away from Haowan Village. In order to set off with Niu Quangen, but not wanting to get up early and walk the extra ten miles, Chen Tieshu decided to come here this afternoon and stay at Niu Quangen's place for one night.

Zhao Ru was originally extremely unhappy, but now she took the initiative to bring up the matter, and her expression did not show any unhappiness.

Niu Quangen was a little surprised.

It seemed that something was wrong with her after she came back from the commune. Xiao San said that she went to the educated youth camp after she came back.

Niu Quangen became alert.

He looked at Zhao Ru calmly, from her hair to her heels, looking back and forth countless times.

Suddenly, Zhao Ru stood up after finishing her meal, and her feet moved, and her trouser legs moved with them.

In just a moment, Niu Quangen seemed to see a bulge in Zhao Ru's socks.

But as Zhao Ru stood up straight, her trouser legs covered her feet again and she could not see anything.

Niu Quangen retracted his eyes and gulped down the cornmeal porridge in his bowl.

After dinner, he sent all his sons away and pretended to go to the toilet.

Peeping out from the outhouse beside the courtyard, I saw Zhao Ru stealthily closing the door of the cave.

Niu Quangen walked over quickly and lightly and poked a small hole in the paper covering the window.

Looking through the small hole, I suddenly saw Zhao Ru taking out a stack of big unity bills from her socks and putting them into her box.

The box is locked.

But such a small lock is not difficult to open, just a hammer.

***

Chen Tieshu arrived after it was almost dark, and when he saw Zhao Ru, he glanced at her as usual.

Niu Quangen also looked down on Chen Tieshu, but Chen Tieshu's father had given his father half a bun when there was a famine.

When his father was alive, he took good care of Chen Tieshu. Before he died, he still held his hand and asked him to continue to repay his kindness.

Niu Quangen had no choice. He couldn't even protect himself financially and couldn't help Chen Tieshu, but in other aspects, he really couldn't break off his relationship with Chen Tieshu.

Niu Quangen stood in front of Chen Tieshu with a murderous look on his face, and said sternly: "I've sent the three older boys to their uncle's house, and you sleep on the same kang with the younger ones."

Chen Tieshu was still sensible. He smiled and didn't glance at Zhao Ru again.

Who knew that after a while, Zhao Ru actually came to find him!

Chen Tieshu's heart almost jumped out of his chest as he stared at Zhao Ru.

Zhao Ru suppressed her disgust and said straight to the point, "Brother Tieshu, you are so old, don't you miss your wife?"

"I do!" Chen Tieshu slurped his saliva, "How can I not think about it?!"

Zhao Ru said, "How about I introduce one to you?"

Chen Tieshu thought he had heard it wrong and stared at Zhao Ru in a daze.

Zhao Ru said, "Go to the abandoned old house west of Chenguan Commune before nine o'clock tonight. There is an educated youth from a big city waiting for you."

Chen Tieshu was still stupid, as if he didn't understand what Zhao Ru said.

Zhao Ru said to herself:

"Don't worry, she is a person who made a mistake and ran away. As long as she is not seen by others, no one will come to trouble you."

"But you have to take good care of her after you get her married. Don't let her run away, or you'll be left without a wife again."

As if she had already seen the miserable life Hu Wenwen had lived, Zhao Ru was so excited that her eyes turned red.

Chen Tieshu was shocked by Zhao Ru's behavior.

***

Chen Tieshu was walking on the way to the commune.

It gets dark early in winter, and it’s hard to see the road clearly now.

However, he often gambled until midnight and was accustomed to walking at night, walking at a very fast pace.

He also wondered if this was a trap, and if Zhao Ru was teasing him.

But then I thought, he is a bachelor without parents, why would anyone want to harm him?

More importantly, he wanted a wife so badly that he would go through mountains of swords and seas of fire as long as there was a one in ten thousand chance of getting a wife.

By the time the old house was abandoned, there were only a few stars in the sky.

Chen Tieshu estimated that it was still early, so he hid in the dark, his eyes moving around smartly.

I don’t know how long it took, but a woman really came over from the bright place!

Chen Tieshu suppressed his excitement and remembered Zhao Ru's instructions not to mistake the person. He approached the woman from the darkness and called out, "Hu Wenwen?"

The woman agreed reflexively.

Chen Tieshu pounced on her, put his arm around her from behind and covered her mouth with the other.

How could Hu Wenwen's physique possibly defeat Chen Tieshu? After struggling for a while, she lost her strength and her hands and feet became limp. Chen Tieshu then took out the rope he had prepared long ago, tied her hands and feet, and stuffed her into a sack.

After being stuffed into the sack, Hu Wenwen gradually began to react.

The bitch Zhao Ru set a trap for her!