Chapter 4 He Only Looks at the Face
Zhang Guohua carried his luggage and went to the Youth Office of the commune to go through the procedures for returning to the city. The commune official looked at his documents and asked, "Can you show me the acceptance letter and resettlement certificate from the provincial capital?"
Zhang Guohua took out a pack of cigarettes and said, "Comrade, my father is a leader in the factory, and the quota is reserved for other children. Let me go home and wait for an opportunity. You can handle the formalities for me. Don't worry, you will definitely benefit me in the future."
Zhang Guohua was born to make a living by talking.
The official refused Zhang Guohua's cigarettes and said, "Zhang Zhiqing, it's hard to find a job in the city nowadays. The unemployed young people who have returned to the city are making trouble all the time. The authorities are very strict. I dare not process this procedure for you without a receipt certificate. You will be sued. You'd better go back to where you came from and wait for your chance!"
Zhang Guohua returned to Hanjiagou with a lot of anger, wanting to question Huo Qingqing, but when he arrived in Hanjiagou, he became timid. The Han family had many brothers, the second oldest was a team leader, and Han Jianwu was a well-known troublemaker.
If he dared to cause trouble at the Han family, he would definitely be beaten and sent to the camp for criticism and reformation.
In the evening, after settling the two children, Huo Qingqing asked Han Jianwu, "Are we still going to cook tomorrow?"
Han Jianwu said, "Today is the third day, and tomorrow is Lao Wu's turn. What's going on?"
Huo Qingqing said, "Can you take a day off tomorrow? I want to go to the county town to buy some things."
This place is remote and a woman dare not travel far away.
Han Jianwu hadn't recovered from Huo Qingqing's transformation yet. He was always alert. He glanced at her and nodded, "Okay."
Huo Qingqing put the kerosene lamp on the flat cabinet and said, "I'll write a letter to my parents and send it at the post office tomorrow."
Huo Qingqing's marriage to Han Jianwu had nothing to do with love. It was just for self-protection, and Han Jianwu always knew this.
At that time, Huo Qingqing was anonymously reported and faced being dragged to the commune for criticism. Han Jianwu asked his second brother and the team leader to protect her, but the commune still said that they would take her away for detention and investigation, and if she was really innocent after the investigation, she would be sent back to Hanjiagou.
How could Huo Qingqing, who could barely carry a hoe, endure a place like that?
Han Jianwu told the commune secretary that Huo Qingqing was his girlfriend and they were going to get married soon. He was a veteran and had medals for his meritorious service in the army. With the help of various parties, Huo Qingqing was able to avoid being criticized.
After weighing the pros and cons, Huo Qingqing had no choice but to marry Han Jianwu. At that time, she felt that marrying Han Jianwu was not a bad idea. He was a retired soldier, handsome, capable and skilled. He was unconditionally good to Huo Qingqing and even helped her find a job as a substitute teacher in the brigade's primary school.
As for love, she no longer had any extravagant hopes. People still had to live in the present and face reality. That's how she married Han Jianwu.
After marriage, Huo Qingqing only reported good news and never bad news in her letters to her parents, and never mentioned getting married and having children. She felt it was a shame that she sold herself to a rural man in order to survive and even had a child with him. She was just waiting for her parents to be rehabilitated one day so that she could leave here when she had the chance.
Just after the Chinese New Year, my mother wrote to me saying that her problem had been solved. She knew it was difficult for educated youth to return to the city now, but they had a quota for Huo Qingqing to join the army, so they could let her go back first.
In her reply to her mother, Huo Qingqing asked her mother to get her two places and quotas to return to the city. Her mother actually wrote back to her saying yes. This quota was what Huo Qingqing asked for Zhang Guohua.
"Alas~"
Huo Qingqing sighed deeply under the kerosene lamp, crying as she wrote. For the first time, she told her parents the true situation of these years and decided not to return to the city for the time being.
Although the educated youth who went to the countryside also transferred their food relations to the local production team, as long as they had the opportunity to return to the city, the local government would handle the procedures for their return and food relations so that they could return to the city normally. But it would be completely different if she married a local farmer. She and her child would be registered as farmers and included in the Han family's household registration book. Farmers are not allowed to enter the city, let alone return to live in the city for a long time, unless they divorce and abandon everything here.
Han Jianwu walked behind Huo Qingqing, wanting to comfort her, but then retracted his outstretched hand and said, "Why are you crying? If you regret it, you can go through the divorce procedures tomorrow and leave anytime."
Huo Qingqing wiped her tears and said, "I'm not crying because of this. I said I wasn't leaving, and you're still trying to drive me away."
Han Jianwu laughed angrily, "I didn't chase you away. I just saw you crying. If you didn't know, you would think I forced you to stay."
Her heart is not here. Staying here will bring her cold violence, cuckold him and make him a laughing stock of the whole village. There is no other benefit. As for the child, he can raise it.
Huo Qingqing sighed, folded up the letter she had written and put it in her bag, and said, "There are no photos of the two children. I want to send my parents a photo of the children, but there are none."
There was no photo studio in the commune, so if you wanted to take pictures you had to go to the county town.
Han Jianwu said, "How about bringing the baby with you tomorrow and taking a photo?"
Huo Qingqing also thought so, but she didn't know how her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law would react when they heard it.
In the past, she was always ready to abandon her husband and children. She pretended not to see the internal conflicts in the Han family, and avoided them if she saw them. As long as the fire did not burn on her, even if they attacked her, Han Jianwu would stand in front of them to support them.
It’s different now, she wants to live here with this man and their child. I will definitely pass the college entrance examination and return to the city in the future, but I must cherish every day here and cherish every person in front of me.
Huo Qingqing said, "Is it okay?"
Han Jianwu said, "What's wrong with that? I can just tell my dad and mom."
Huo Qingqing said, "Okay, tell them that all the money and tickets I spent were my own, and I didn't spend a penny from my family."
Han Jianwu raised his lips and said, "I have it."
Huo Qingqing took out a large-denomination national banknote and a passbook, "Use mine."
The Han family is now headed by the father, mother and the eldest son and his wife. Everyone's work points are counted in the family's general ledger. Where does their small family get the money?
This is also the reason why the sisters-in-law quarrel every other day. They all want to divide the family, but no one dares to speak up, so they can only fight each other.
Han Jianwu saw that it was still early, so he went to ask for leave from the captain. After coming back, he told his parents that he and Huo Qingqing would take the baby to the county town tomorrow.
The old couple scolded Han Jianwu, still repeating the same old things, the gist of which was that the fourth brother's brain was soaked in dirty water, he didn't care about his dignity as a man anymore, he was played around by her, one moment he wanted to run away with other men, the next he wanted to stay and live with him.
Han's mother couldn't wait for Huo Qingqing to get out of here. With the fourth son's looks and abilities, he could find a wife who was ten times better than Huo Qingqing with his two children.
When rural people look for a wife, they all consider whether she is in good health, frugal, and able to manage the household chores. Who cares whether she is pretty or not?
It's a pity that Han Jianwu is a guy who only cares about appearance.
Han Jianwu didn't say a word when his parents scolded him, but when he heard his mother scolding Huo Qingqing again, Han Jianwu instantly stood up.
"Mom, what are you doing? You're not spending a penny from the family. You're spending Huo Qingqing's money and tickets. She said she wanted to take pictures of the two children and send them to her parents."
Father Han, "Her parents have been rehabilitated?"
Han Jianwu said, "Her mother has been rehabilitated, but her father will take some time, but it will be soon."
Old Man Han looked honest and understood everything. He said, "It should be sent. It's time for grandma and grandpa to see their grandson. Then go! But keep an eye on the child. The human traffickers are very rampant recently."
Han's mother said, "I'm really impressed by your foul mouth."
The old couple of the Han family love children very much. Even though they have so many children, they still love their grandchildren very much. The main reason is that the fourth child is very capable and is very useful to the family.
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