Divorce?
Li Chunfen was startled.
In people's minds nowadays, there is only death, not separation while alive, especially in rural areas.
In the surrounding villages, I've never heard of a wife who's been divorced. Let alone divorce, if a wife is sent back to her parents' home by her husband's family for a short stay, she and her family will be the subject of gossip and slander from the neighbors.
Therefore, no matter how angry she was at her husband's lack of ambition, Li Chunfen never considered divorce.
Xiang Bei looked at her mother's trembling eyes and suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"So what if you get a divorce? If you don't, once my dad is behind bars, your son, grandson, and even great-grandson will have a hard time getting jobs in the city, let alone going to school."
Li Chunfen's face turned pale, and her lips trembled as she stammered, "Is it really that serious?"
"Remove the word 'truth,' and look at which of the bad elements sent down from the city didn't implicate their families?" Xiang Bei spat on the ground, then pulled his mother toward the village chief's house.
“Why can’t Father fall seriously ill at this time? If something were to happen to him, the villagers wouldn’t make things too difficult for a dying man, considering the years of friendship they’ve shared.”
Li Chunfen's eyes flickered, shocked that her son would have such a rebellious idea.
Well, it's the father's fault for being incompetent. The son harbors resentment. Thinking about it, thinking about it can't hurt.
The mother and son walked around the edge of the field. It was the time for work, and there were few people on the road. When they arrived at the village chief's house, Hu Bin was sitting in the yard, happily feeding his mentally challenged son bite by bite.
Hu Dabao had a gourd-shaped face, slanted eyes, and arms as thick as an average woman's calves. Although not all of them were muscles, he was still strong and powerful.
"Oh! Sister-in-law and Xiao Bei are here. Come on, sit in the yard."
Perhaps Hu Bin looked up to greet the guests and his hands were too slow, so Hu Dabao raised his hand and banged open the rice bowl, sending the aluminum lunchbox flying straight toward the north-facing head at the courtyard gate.
Xiang Bei turned his head and took a step back, the lunchbox fell to the ground, and a lot of soup and water splashed on Xiang Bei. Hu Dabao immediately clapped his hands.
"I'll beat you to death, so you can come to my house and freeload off me."
When it gets cold, people from the north come to his house to eat a frozen pear. Hu Dabao still remembers it to this day, and every time he sees him, he either fights or makes a scene.
Hu Bin gave the mother and daughter an awkward smile, got up, picked up the lunchbox, rinsed it with water, and made half a box of sweet potato porridge, feeding it to his son little by little.
His actions and expression showed no sign of impatience, which made Xiang Bei feel a pang of sadness.
If Uncle Hu were his father, he would surely do everything in his power to nurture him, right?
After gathering her thoughts, she sat down with her mother on the long bench in the courtyard, her eyes fixed on Hu Bin as he finished feeding her half a box of porridge.
He called his daughter over and took Hu Dabao to the backyard to play with digging wood.
He then sat down opposite the mother and son, observed their expressions, and sighed deeply, "Old Xiang still refuses to admit his mistake?"
Li Chunfen gets angry when this is mentioned, "Admit what? I told him to put the blame on those educated youths. Didn't you see the look in his eyes that looked like he wanted to eat me alive?"
What? A few outsiders are more important than his wife and children? He's really bewitched.
Hu Bin chimed in with a few words, then his eyes flashed as if he were earnestly advising, "Sister-in-law, I have an idea."
"I tried to pull him up, but I couldn't. However, I can make sure you three get out of the mud."
Li Chunfen's eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked, "What's the solution? Tell me."
Hu Bin pretended to be troubled for a while, whetting the mother and son's appetite before saying, "To uphold righteousness, one must put aside one's own family."
"As long as we wait for the higher-ups to come and visit, my sister-in-law will insist that my brother conspired with the educated youth to embezzle village funds. As his wife, your words carry the most weight."
Seeing that Li Chunfen's expression changed and she was about to retort, Hu Bin waved his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, let me finish what I have to say."
When that time comes, I will plead with the leaders on behalf of my brother. Without concrete evidence of embezzlement, my brother won't be imprisoned; he'll just lose his position as brigade leader.
You've seen what my brother has done all these years since he took office. To put it bluntly, your family's life isn't even as good as Li Dazui's family.
As the brigade leader, I dare not say anything else, but you've seen how I've treated my own people over the decades.
"Once the two kids are married, we'll be a proper family. Do you think I'll mistreat you, sister-in-law?"
Li Chunfen fell silent. Regardless of Hu Bin's character, he was truly good to his family. If he received something good, he would take it to his father-in-law's house without his wife having to ask.
If Xiang Hongjun had even a fraction of Hu Bin's competence, their marital relationship wouldn't have deteriorated to this point.
Seeing that she was softening, Hu Bin's eyes flashed as he looked at Xiang Bei, who was standing silently with his head down beside him.
"Sister-in-law, you don't think about your own family or yourself, but don't you think about Xiao Bei?"
My brother is foolish; he gave money to a girl to support her through high school. Da Bao is simple-minded. If I had a healthy son, I would sell everything I own to buy him a job in the city.
"With a government job and a city wife, why worry about not having a good life in my old age?"
These words struck a chord with Xiang Bei, and he called out softly, "Mother."
Li Chunfen was even more moved by that "Mother" from Hu Bin. Hu Bin picked up his cup, took a sip of water, and concealed the glint in his eyes.
"I can't promise anything else, but I promise you, sister-in-law, after I take over as the brigade leader, I'll give the work of recording work points to Xiao Bei."
In families like ours, sons are meant to carry on the family line and provide for us in our old age.
How can a grown man like this, who hasn't gotten married yet, be made to work in the fields every day like people who can't even afford to eat?
"If you keep going like this, you'll ruin your health at such a young age."
These words were the last straw that broke the camel's back. The only thing the family's stubborn man had ever done was to get Xiang Nuan a job as a scorekeeper.
She had offered the job to Xiao Bei many times, but he always refused, saying he was "unworthy of the position."
They don't even consider that Xiang Nuan's high school diploma is beneath her; even being a scorekeeper is a waste of her talent. Putting Xiang Bei, who didn't finish elementary school, in this job is the real abuse of power.
From Xiang Hongjun's interactions with Ruan Xianxian, it can be seen that he is not a rigid, socially inept stubborn person.
If a father's own son truly possesses such talent, how could he not plan for him?
"Let me think about it again, let me think about it carefully."
Stepping out of the Hu family compound, Li Chunfen was distraught. No matter how eloquently others spoke, nothing was as respectable as her own husband being the brigade leader.
But seeing that her husband had angered the public and was about to step down, she had no choice but to think about herself and her two children!
As soon as Li Chunfen left, Wenrou and Ye Guo walked out of the front room of Hu Bin's house with smiles on their faces.
Hu Bin put on a smile and said, "Girl, spread the news as you said, and these ignorant peasants are indeed making a huge fuss."
"Can your partner really get the boss to side with us?"
"Of course, my boyfriend is already a platoon leader at a young age."
The brigade leader was at fault first. If the evidence is conclusive, wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable for him to speak to the county authorities, and for the capable and virtuous Uncle Hu to take over as brigade leader?
Hu Bin nodded repeatedly, his eyes crinkling with a smile. His gentle tone suddenly shifted, and he said with a deeper meaning:
"It's just about Ruan Xianxian framing us for stealing her money..."
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