Chapter 41 Sister Wu
Winter break went by quickly, and the Lantern Festival was over in the blink of an eye. It was time for Shen Xuewei to start school again.
When Chu De'an heard that Shen Xuewei was leaving home to go to school, he clung to her and refused to let her leave.
Finally, he got another beating from Chu Fu, and went to cry to his best friend while clutching his buttocks.
Chen Fangli gave Shen Xuewei an extra five yuan in addition to the usual twenty yuan after she took her to town.
"Your second aunt will give you money. Buy whatever you want to eat. If it's not enough, just tell your second aunt later, okay?"
Shen Xuewei nodded obediently, "Okay, thank you, Auntie."
She has always been a worry-free child, and Chen Fangli trusts her completely.
She stood at the school gate, about to leave, when she caught a glimpse of students eating spicy snacks as they passed by, and she felt a little uneasy.
Turning back, she added, "You can eat anything, just don't buy spicy strips, understand?"
Shen Xuewei also glanced at that person, her gaze falling on the spicy strips in that person's hand, and paused.
"Hmm?" Chen Fangli drawled out her words.
As if danger was approaching, Shen Xuewei shivered slightly and quickly assured her, "Second Aunt, don't worry, Weiwei doesn't eat spicy strips."
Chen Fangli smiled and said, "Be good, listen to your teacher at school, and don't daydream in class. Your aunt is going back now. Hurry back to school, your aunt will watch you go in."
Shen Xuewei looked up at her and smiled, then slung her backpack over her shoulder and turned to walk into the school.
Only after seeing her back disappear at the top of the stairs did Chen Fangli leave with peace of mind.
Shen Xuewei continued to study while earning small change, leading a very fulfilling life.
Only a few weeks after the start of the school term, the road-building crew had already reached the vicinity of Xiaoli Village.
Because the road construction workers needed to find a suitable place to stay nearby, Xiaoli Village, which was close by, became their first choice.
With several more people living in the house, Grandpa Chen felt it would affect Shen Xuewei's studies, and it wouldn't be very convenient for her to stay at home, so he told Chen Fangli about it.
During the time she stayed at the road construction team's home, Shen Xuewei did not go home first, but stayed at the Chu family's house for a while.
Chen Fangli was eager for Shen Xuewei to stay with her, so she agreed without hesitation.
During this period, she also picked up and dropped off Shen Xuewei.
Shen Xuewei lives at her second aunt's house, so on Friday afternoons and Sunday afternoons, Wu Yuhong has to walk the mountain path to travel between home and school by herself.
The road construction team stayed in Xiaoli Village for more than two months before finally leaving to work on the next section of the road.
Since this road had just been repaired, not many vehicles passed through it at first; sometimes you wouldn't see more than a few cars for an hour.
However, as more and more people became aware of this road, the number of cars on the road gradually increased.
The black asphalt road has greatly facilitated the villagers in the vicinity.
Among them, Xiaoli Village was the most affected.
This road was built right in front of Xiaoli Village.
The few households in Xiaoli Village can reach the road in just two or three minutes.
Gradually, shuttle vans began to pass by along the road.
Shen Xuewei and Wu Yuhong will no longer need to walk such a long mountain road to go to school.
They could take a bus directly from their doorstep to town, and with the two of them together, Wu Yuhong would be there to take care of them.
From then on, Grandpa Chen stopped picking up and dropping off Shen Xuewei, only occasionally bringing the two of them back when he sold things at the market.
It costs money to take a ride. Because someone had picked her up and dropped her off before, Grandpa Chen hadn't given Shen Xuewei any money for the ride.
The round-trip fare will cost six yuan in total.
As a result, Shen Xuewei's weekly living expenses increased from twenty yuan to twenty-five yuan.
When Chen Fangqiu returned home after some time away, he had lost weight and was unshaven.
Upon asking, I learned that he had assaulted someone and spent two months in jail, only being released two days ago.
Grandma Xi was so angry that she kept wiping away tears, while Grandpa Chen remained silent, took a bamboo whip and lashed it at her.
Chen Fangqiu let him hit her without making a sound.
Grandpa Chen only stopped hitting him when he got tired.
Shen Xuewei hid far away to the side, not daring to step forward or make a sound.
This level of family conflict is beyond her control.
Her grandfather was angry, and her uncle was also upset. If she went over there now, she might become the punching bag.
The Chen family was bustling with activity, and so were their neighbors, the Wu family.
Wu Yuhong's parents had two daughters in total. Wu Yuhong was the younger one, and she had an older sister named Wu Yufen.
Wu's parents had already made up their minds about this when the two girls were still young.
The family has two daughters but no sons. They plan to have the eldest daughter marry into the family and live together. Any children born will take the family name.
However, Wu Yufen recently returned home crying and shouting that she would not take in a son-in-law because she had met someone she liked outside and wanted to marry into his family.
No matter how much the Wu couple tried to persuade him, he refused to change his mind.
Having exhausted all other options, the Wu couple went to the Chen family and asked them to call Chen Fanglan back so she could help persuade the situation.
Chen Fanglan and Wu Yufen are several years apart in age, but they share similar interests and both work in the county, so they get along quite well.
The two thought that Wu Yufen might listen to what Chen Fanglan said.
The Chen family sent Shen Xuewei to Fuxing Village to ask Chen Fangli to borrow a phone to call Chen Fanglan.
After the phone call, Chen Fanglan did indeed go home.
However, her persuasion had no effect. That night, Wu Yufen packed her things and left by car.
Wu Yufen is not old enough to get a marriage certificate.
The groom's family didn't even hold a banquet; they just had a meal together and then had Wu Yufen move into their home, where she would become their daughter-in-law.
The Wu couple were so angry they slapped their thighs and cried, but in the end they had no choice but to swallow their pride and accept it.
Because... Wu Yufen was already two months pregnant at this time.
After this incident, the task of finding a son-in-law for the family fell to Wu Yuhong, who was still very young.
Although Wu Yuhong was only ten years old, she clearly understood what it meant to have a son-in-law chosen.
In just a few days, Wu Yuhong seemed to have grown a few years older, but she also became more and more silent and quiet. When she returned home, she would go to work in the fields.
Shen Xuewei couldn't bear to see her keep everything bottled up inside, but no matter how she tried to comfort her, Wu Yuhong remained sullen, at most managing a forced smile at Shen Xuewei.
Shen Xuewei was at her wit's end, so she finally dragged her to pick loquats to relax.
There are loquat trees on several nearby hills near Xiaoli Village.
These loquats weren't planted intentionally by the villagers, and no one knows exactly how they came to be.
But since it grows on a hilltop, and the hilltop belongs to someone, the loquat tree naturally belongs to that person as well.
It was now May.
The sun hung high in the sky, its scorching heat seeming as if it could set the world ablaze at any moment.
Shen Xuewei put on a straw hat, took a basket, and pulled Wu Yuhong toward the nearest hilltop.
Big Yellow, panting and sticking out its tongue, wagged its tail and followed behind Shen Xuewei and her companion.
By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, the two were already drenched in sweat.
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