Chapter 55
In fact, this couple is smarter than anyone else. They don't want to go back to the past. It has been seven or eight years since the college entrance examination was resumed. Many of the educated youth who came to the village have already left. Most of them left through the college entrance examination. The villagers are talking about it. Even the old uncles who herd sheep know that children from the city have no future in the countryside. Children from the countryside can only have a prosperous future by going to the city and no longer have to quibble about the life of working in the fields. Even many students who used to go to school in the village have been admitted to normal schools. For them, being a teacher in the countryside is a good way out. At least they have a stable job and can get a pension when they retire. They are also respected in the village. No matter whose family this good thing falls on, no family will be unhappy. But the heroine's parents just don't want to. Don't they understand? This couple is smarter than anyone else in private. There is nothing they don't understand. They just want to make a lot of money. After all, a teacher's monthly salary is only a few dollars. In the future, the heroine will get married and have children, and she also has to live. She can't use all her salary to support them. It would be a different joy to marry into a rich family and earn a generous betrothal gift. This time the betrothal gift is not only huge in amount, but also will all go into their pockets. The village chief's family is so rich that even if they don't pay any dowry, the village chief's family will not care. After all, their daughter is healthy and marrying his silly son with a mental problem. Their family already feels that they have taken advantage. If they accept the betrothal gift, the family will not have any complaints. The couple knows this better than anyone else.
Song Zhehao's merciless indirect criticism made the two old people touch their heads awkwardly. They looked at each other, feeling guilty. If it were someone else, they might have turned against each other, but Song Zhehao is different now. He is no longer the bachelor or poor boy. He could not give a good face, scold or drive people away at will before he could. Now he has to think carefully about everything he does. Just now, the heroine's mother brought the bag of gifts into the house. She was so happy. Just because of the bag of gifts, Song Zhehao spoke even more harshly. , the couple could accept it. The two of them tried to make trouble for a long time. Finally, the heroine's father tried his best to wink at the heroine's mother. The heroine's mother understood, uttered a cry, squatted on the ground and started crying: "Nephew, you don't understand the difficulties we old couple have. We are now around 50 years old, almost 60 years old. The 20 acres of land at home are all cultivated by us old couple. In the past, no matter how tired we were, we didn't complain. We just did it. Anyway, we were still young and in good health. We could work hard for a day and sleep well the next day. It used to be loose, but now it’s not possible anymore. I’m old and my body is not as good as before. Now I have to rest for half a day after working for half a day. Twenty acres of land is entirely up to us two old people to cultivate. We are really too busy. My nephew, you are also a villager. You know which family does not have sons to help the elderly. Those families with only daughters have to work much harder. It is not easy for our family. We only have one daughter, and she can’t go to the fields. She has to go to school early every day and come back in the evening. When she gets home, she has to do Homework, we old couple are really overwhelmed. Without anyone to help us at home, we are so busy. If we had a son-in-law, wouldn’t it be easier? You don’t know, your eldest sister is usually very filial and doesn’t want to see the old people working so hard. So even though she says she doesn’t agree, she is actually willing to help us reduce the burden. So don’t listen to the gossip of the villagers, saying that we old couple are obsessed with money and want to sell our daughter to a fool as a daughter-in-law. In fact, that is not the case at all. We have our own difficulties... "
They are indeed the best acting couple in the village. They shed tears whenever they want and feel sad as soon as they say they are sad. In fact, these words are just excuses. The reality is not like that at all. If you say that families without sons live in the countryside, life is indeed harder. Girls are not as strong as they used to be, and they can't do some physical work at all, but it's not to the point of starving to death. Since they are old and can't do it anymore, why don't they plant some fields? In fact, most of the families with sons in the village have separated their families after marrying their sons. Those who only rely on Old people who support themselves, who doesn't have more than ten acres of land? They are all farmers who have done farm work all their lives. Although this work is hard, it is not to the point where they can't do it. Moreover, the heroine is not like what her mother said, that she does nothing at home and only focuses on studying. In fact, the heroine does more work at home than any other girl in the village. Before dawn, she gets up early and goes up the mountain to cut grass for pigs. There are pigs in the pigpen, sheep in the sheepfold, cows in the cowshed, chickens in the chicken coop, and even two rabbits. After everything is fed, the heroine will leave home for school. She is often too busy to eat and goes to school on an empty stomach. Over the years, such days have become commonplace for the heroine. But even so, her mother is often dissatisfied and often scolds her for being lazy and getting up only when her head is almost flattened. She also scolds her for only knowing how to eat and not work. She doesn't worry about the housework at all and leaves it all to an old woman like her, saying it is useless. But in fact, it is not like that. Even when the heroine returns home from school, On the way home from school, the heroine was cutting grass for the family's livestock along the way. When she got home, she had to cook and clean the yard. When she had time, she had to go to the fields. During the busy farming season, she often asked for leave to work in the fields. Sometimes she even had to ask for half a month's leave. She worked hard in the fields during the day, and had to cook and feed the poultry when she got home at night. She also had to light a lamp to read and do her homework in the middle of the night. Sometimes she would be scolded by the heroine's parents, who scolded her for not sleeping at night, wasting the family's lamp oil, and not knowing how to sympathize with her parents. She was simply an ungrateful person.
In fact, the parents do not know how to sympathize with their daughters at all. They think that it is a mistake to give birth to a daughter. She cannot establish a household like a son, carry on the family line, and inherit the incense. In their eyes, a daughter is a money-losing commodity. They raise her from childhood to adulthood, spending time and food, and finally when she grows up, she has to be given away to others. Isn't this a complete money-losing business that loses money? The heroine's parents are very shrewd people. They never do business at a loss and they certainly don't want to let other families get the girl for free. Moreover, the heroine is a high school student. In that era, there were not many girls who could study to high school. She was a hot commodity in the village. When a matchmaker went out to propose, she would be very popular if she met such a girl. You can ask which family would not want to marry a educated daughter-in-law. It is also a face-saving thing to say it out. The thought of letting such a popular daughter be given to other families makes the couple feel as uncomfortable as if the money in their pockets was robbed. They feel at a loss every time they think about it. If they really married the heroine off at a low price, they would wake up crying in their dreams. Naturally, they don't want to do this loss-making business. So they simply go all out and find a rich in-law family for the heroine to make a lot of money in the betrothal gift. It is also a good thing to have no worries in the future.
Song Zhehao listened to the old couple's complaints with a mocking smile on his face. He didn't expect that there would be such parents in the world. They didn't care about their own daughter at all, and they slandered their daughter everywhere, saying that they were worthless. They obviously didn't have this family to pay a lot, but their daughter could never enjoy the fair treatment of her parents. Song Zhehao snorted coldly, and mocked the heroine's parents even more mercilessly, saying: "Oh, after hearing what you said, I thought she had the most reasonable parents in the world. If I remember correctly, she was The reason she went to school was because the town government issued a notice that any family that supports their daughters to go to school would be rewarded with 20 kilograms of flour and 2 kilograms of oil per month. At that time, she was still a child and could not do farm work at all. She could earn more by going to school than by farming. Later, she grew up and did a lot of work at home. Compared with other girls who went to school in the village, she should be the one who worked the hardest. Just ask the old men and women at the head of the village, who has not seen her running home from school to do housework, who has not seen her holding a steamed bun in one hand and eating while going to school The scene, what girl is like her, the clothes she wears are always the leftovers of others, in the past she lived in poverty, it is understandable that she dared not dress well, after all, the clothes of children in other families are full of patches, but later everyone's life got better, not to mention the children don't need to wear patches, even the adults can change into one or two new clothes during the New Year and other festivals, but she has never worn a new piece of clothes, even during the New Year, she wears the old clothes left over by her cousin, not to mention the food, it's either steamed buns or potatoes, she has never eaten anything good, she She didn't dare eat anything good. Other girls could steal eggs from home and trade them for cans of food or a lid of sunflower seeds at the store, but she had never had any snacks since she was a child, and she didn't dare have such extravagant hopes. She lived in a house that was cold in the winter and hot in the summer, with broken windowsills. It was too stuffy in the summer, and she didn't dare open the windows for fear of them falling down. The two quilts were almost like wooden boards, and the cotton inside was lumpy, but she didn't have a new quilt. A neighbor kindly gave her an old quilt that was left over, but you took it away. Do you think you, as parents, did the right thing?"
Song Zhehao didn't even pretend anymore, and was afraid to yell at her in front of him. The heroine's parents' faces turned pale and green, and they were very embarrassed. Song Zhehao took out the money and put it on the table. The heroine's parents' eyes were immediately wide open. Song Zhehao asked again: "Where is Erya?"
The heroine's parents, who were a little unhappy just now, now saw the money with sparkling eyes. They were no longer angry and embarrassed. They wanted to put the money on the table into their pockets immediately. The heroine's mother immediately changed her face and said from anger to joy: "Oh, what are you saying, nephew, you are too polite. Erya is so lucky to have such a good brother like you to help her and care about her. She must be so happy. You don't know, this child usually has you in her heart. When we usually have something delicious at home, she always tries to get some for you. Hehe, in fact, we all know it, especially during the Chinese New Year, when the family kills the New Year pig, she always secretly gets some meat for you. Your uncle and I saw it all, and we kept it secret. "Speaking of which, Erya is so thoughtful. As your parents, we are so happy. Your sister has always been thinking about you. You are the only one left in your family. You usually have nothing to eat or drink, and it's cold and lonely. Erya often goes to your house to sweep the yard, wash your clothes, cook for you, etc. We as your parents know this, but she is still an unmarried girl, so it's not good to make such a big fuss, so we didn't say it explicitly. But nephew, you are thoughtful. You have made so much money now, but you haven't forgotten your good sister. Is this money for Erya? Oh, the child has been crying for chicken recently. Now, I will take the five dollars here tomorrow and go to the market to pick out a big rooster for her to nourish her body!"
The heroine's mother said this while her hand was already reaching for the money on the table. Song Zhehao had a meaningful smile on his face. He stretched out his hand to press down the money on the table, then glanced in the direction of the heroine's bedroom window and said with a smile, "Don't touch this money yet. This is what I left for Erya. She has always been in poor health and often suffers from malnutrition and hypoglycemia. When she was in school, she had to walk more than 20 miles of mountain roads every day. Sometimes she would faint on the way. How could she not faint? She had to do so much farm work every day and ate only watery soup every day. Even a child couldn't eat enough. She was in the period of growing up. She was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, but she was as thin as a stick and had a sallow complexion all day long. I left this money for her to supplement her nutrition. Second aunt, you shouldn't stop Erya from taking it, right?"
These words were like a loud slap in the face, and the second aunt, whose mind and eyes were filled with the more than a thousand yuan on the table, felt like a basin of cold water was poured over her head. The hand she stretched out paused awkwardly in the air, and was retracted with reluctance. She said with a forced smile on her face: "Oh, listen to what you said, nephew. Erya is my own daughter. She is the flesh and blood that fell from my body. How can I not love her? If you give this money to Erya, I will be so happy. This girl is a sensible child. She usually earns money from collecting and selling herbs in the mountains, and all the money she earns is used to supplement our family. Your uncle and I are old, and we want to give Erya a better life. We have the intention but not the strength. Who said we are ordinary people, who have been honest all our lives. What money can we have in our hands? I want to improve my daughter's life. "I have the heart but not the energy to live a good life. Every year, the meat we eat at home is from the New Year pig slaughtered during the Spring Festival. The whole family eats one pig for a whole year. I also want to give her some nutrition, but I really don't have the ability. Nephew, now that you have made a lot of money, you must remember your sister's kindness. She has you in her heart. We are old and can't afford to give her a better life. We hope that you young people can help her and make her life better. If you give her this money, your second uncle and your second aunt will be so relieved. You are a grateful person. You have benefited yourself and have not forgotten the people around you. You are a grateful person who enjoys the blessings yourself and also helps those around you to live a good life. Second aunt also understands it. Your second aunt doesn't care about this money. If you give this money to your sister, we will be so happy."
After Second Aunt finished speaking, she nudged Second Uncle, who was also heartbroken because he had lost over a thousand yuan, with her elbow and winked at him, saying, "Old man, say something too. Do you think so too?"
" "Your aunt is right," said the old man, "we are old, and even if we have the heart to let our daughter live a good life, we don't have the strength. Who as a parent doesn't want his children to live comfortably and happily for the rest of their lives? Who wants his children to live with their parents in poverty and hardship, and to be hungry and cold? But we were born in this poor little mountain village, and look at these two hands digging for food in the fields. The child's mother and I have always lived a tight life. We have never enjoyed any happiness in our lives. We have been working hard in the fields all our lives. If I were an official in the city, or working in an office, I would definitely not want my daughter to suffer with me. Alas, it was Erya who was born in this little mountain village and suffered with the old couple. But now it's good. My nephew, you are very kind to Erya. So good, Erya treats you sincerely from the bottom of her heart, now you are considered rich, and you can take out the money that our peasant family can't earn in a year with just a casual move. With you helping Erya in the future, Erya won't have to think about how hard she lived before, and a big stone in our hearts can be considered to have fallen to the ground. You don't know, seeing other people's girls have food and clothes, doing a little work easily every day, and playing with the little girls in the village every day, we old couple are so happy. We look forward to the day when our family can live such a life. Now it's finally good, with your help, the big stone in our hearts can be considered to have fallen to the ground. In the future, there will always be a day when we are gone, nephew, you are the only one left in your family, all alone, and your sister will have no relatives in the future. If you two can help, we can rest assured in our graves."
They kept talking about their difficulties over and over again, and how they preferred boys over girls and didn't treat their daughters as their own children. Song Zhehao was a little annoyed by what he heard. He didn't want to listen to them nagging anymore. He turned his head to look at the heroine's door and asked, "Isn't Erya out yet?"
As soon as these words came out, the door of the room of the heroine, nicknamed Erya, was opened. She had just had an unpleasant quarrel with her parents. When she came out, her eyes were red, and it was obvious that she had been crying in the room. In addition, it was dark, so she could not see clearly who was sitting in the yard. Until she walked in and heard Song Zhehao call "Erya", the heroine was stunned for a long time, and finally reacted. The sadness on her face was swept away, and she was overjoyed. She hurriedly asked: "Brother Zhehao, why are you here? I didn't expect that you would come to our house. Are you... Where have you been all this time? It feels like more than a year has passed, and no one is at your house. Every time I go to your house to look for you, the door is always locked, and I can't hear your voice in the yard. Since the last time you came back and brought me several cans of food, biscuits, peaches, bananas and other good things, I haven't seen you since. Brother Zhehao, you said you were very busy recently. What were you busy with? Why can't I figure it out? I haven't seen you doing anything in the village, and I haven't seen you leave the house much. What are you doing? Can you tell me about it? "
The heroine was overjoyed to see Song Zhehao. She spoke a lot in rapid succession, and finally realized that Song Zhehao, who had always been disliked by her parents, had actually appeared in her yard openly. Moreover, her parents, who used to scold Song Zhehao whenever they saw him, and even dared not show any expression when they heard Song Zhehao's name, actually allowed Song Zhehao to appear in their yard, and even stood by. There was no longer any look of disdain on their faces, but instead they were smiling and looking at Song Zhehao happily, as if they had seen their own son. After being their biological daughter for more than ten years, the heroine had never seen such a pleasant expression in her parents' eyes, and she was confused all of a sudden. She hurriedly asked Song Zhehao, "Brother Zhehao, what's going on? I don't understand it."
Song Zhehao smiled cheerfully, looking at the bewildered woman. Without saying much, he took out two hundred yuan from the one thousand yuan, handed it to the woman, and said, "Go to the canteen to buy some delicious food, and then go to the butcher shop to buy some fresh meat. I, your brother, have made a little fortune recently, so take this money and spend it as you please. Go! Go!"
This sudden lavish spending not only shocked the heroine, but also shocked her parents. Who could be so kind as to give pocket money and easily take out two hundred yuan? You have to know that according to the prices at that time, it only cost twenty cents to eat a bowl of mutton noodles in the county town, and only fifty cents to eat a bowl of mutton noodles topped with meat slices. Working as a dishwasher in a restaurant in the city for a month would only cost a dozen to twenty yuan. Who would spend money like that?
Seeing the heroine looking dumbfounded, and still asking Song Zhehao where the money came from, the heroine's parents looked worried and insisted that Song Zhehao explain it clearly. They looked at their daughter with a look of disappointment, and kept asking questions like a headless fly, fearing that Song Zhehao would change his mind halfway and take the money away. They were also afraid that their naive daughter would not accept the two hundred yuan. They felt that Song Zhehao's money was not easy to come by. It took him a long time to save such a large sum of money. They were worried that Song Zhehao was crazy to take out so much money. She didn't dare to take it and had to return the money. The heroine's parents were so anxious that they wanted to scold their daughter on the spot. Was this naive daughter their biological daughter? The heroine's father couldn't help but said, "Oh, you are so stupid. "Child, this money is a token of your brother's love. Since your brother has given it to you, you should just keep it peacefully. Why do you have to return it? Wouldn't that hurt your brother's heart? Since your brother has taken out the money, it proves your position in his heart. You should take it peacefully and quickly buy some good things. While the store is still open, buy some nutritious food that you like to eat. Look at you, a girl of seventeen or eighteen, and you look pale and thin every day. Look at your arms, they are like two sticks. Your parents are heartbroken when they see you. Poor parents, they have the heart, but they don't have the ability to let you live a comfortable life. Now that your brother has made money, taking a little money is just a small amount for him. This is a token of your brother's love. You can't let your brother's love go unappreciated, right?"
The heroine's father said a lot, fearing that the two hundred yuan he had obtained would disappear. The heroine's mother also hurriedly said, "Silly girl, don't you know? Your brother Zhehao is very capable. You quietly went to the coastal cities to make a fortune without making any noise. Oh, or I say that I have good eyes. I have seen that my nephew is not an ordinary person. When you were a child, the children in the village were either fighting or peeing and playing in the mud, but you didn't touch those things. You have bigger things in your heart. You are different from the children in the village since you were a child. Your uncle and I know this. Hehe, you have a long-term vision and are willing to give alms. You will definitely have better things in the future. I hope you can remember the good things of your sister. If you have any good things, think of your sister. I We are old, and in a few years we won't be able to do farm work. We are counting on Erya to find a good son-in-law to help us. In the future, when we can't get off the kang, there will be someone to serve us tea and water. When we are sick and can't make it, there will be someone to take us to the hospital. When we die of old age, there will be someone to send us off, wear mourning clothes, and take care of us in our old age. It's not that we are trying to take credit for it. When we were young, life was even harder. More people in the family means more mouths to feed, and it's not easy to feed one more mouth. Your uncle and I really live frugally, and the little we save from the mouths we feed, we all give to Erya. It's not that we don't love this girl. If we really didn't love her, we would have given her away long ago, or exchanged her for a boy who could take care of us in our old age and take care of us in the future. Don’t you think that’s true? The flesh that has fallen from one’s body knows better than anyone how heavy the weight in one’s heart is. We really cherish this girl. Nephew, don’t listen to the gossip of the villagers, saying that we old couple pushed our daughter into the fire pit for money. We are not that kind of people and we can’t do such a thing. We also feel sorry for our daughter. Nephew, you have also worked hard to get rich. You have also lived to the point where you couldn’t afford to eat two more taels of rice. That kind of poverty that seems to have no end is really not something that ordinary people can live through. It is so bitter that your scalp numb. All you know is to work in the fields with your head covered all year round. You can’t eat meat during festivals or wear new clothes. If you have a lot of children, then life is really miserable. I live like that. This kind of life, I have seen people around me all living this kind of life, but Erya is my own daughter, I really don’t want her to live such a life in the future, so I want to find a good marriage for her, so that she won’t have to work so hard in the future and can live a comfortable life. Besides, the village chief’s family is not an ordinary family. Although his son is not very smart, he doesn’t want just any girl who comes to him. It was me who used all my persuasion to negotiate this marriage. Not only did the family give a high betrothal gift, they also promised that after Erya married, they would definitely treat her well and would not let her suffer any grievances. They swore to me that they would treat Erya as their own daughter, so we are really not selling our daughter. Nephew, you must not listen to the nonsense of outsiders."
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