In the years that Tang Cuihua and Zhao Di and Pan Di had been with the Tao family, they had earned a total of five hundred dollars. The first payment was three million dollars, which was later exchanged for three hundred dollars in new currency. The last two hundred dollars were given to them by Zhao Lingli when she heard that Tang Cuihua was going back to the village to arrange her household registration and new home. But the three sisters were living and eating at the Tao family's house, so how could they possibly accept it?
It must be said that Zhao Lingli was a kind and considerate person. Seeing that she couldn't get the money out, she simply had Tao Changyi go back to the village with Tang Cuihua. Zhao Di and Pan Di didn't show themselves yet, because the busy farming season had passed, so it was easy to find the village chief.
The news of Tang Cuihua's return to the village spread like wildfire. In just a few years, Cuihua had blossomed into a graceful and poised young woman. Someone secretly calculated her age and found that Cuihua was exactly eighteen years old this year. She was truly at the age of blossoming beauty. No wonder she looked so beautiful!
Logically speaking, neither Cao Amei nor Tang Youtian were particularly good-looking. Tang Cuihua's features were, frankly, quite ordinary. But they just felt that Cuihua was beautiful. Her complexion was rosy and fair, and she was dressed neatly and cleanly. Unbeknownst to them, this was because she hadn't been exposed to the sun for many years, worked hard, and had gained confidence from being well-traveled. Naturally, she looked pleasing to the eye.
The village chief was quite surprised to see Cuihua bring a middle-aged man to see him, especially since the man didn't say anything but simply placed a jar of top-quality wine on the table, which made him even more interested.
"Cuihua, what's going on?"
"Uncle Liu, don't be nervous. This is the benefactor who helped me when I was in trouble. Uncle Tao, this is our village chief."
Tao Changyi gave a brief self-introduction, mainly recounting how Cuihua had suffered misfortune and had been taken in by his lover. Now that Cuihua wanted to come back, he had come back with her. After warmly shaking hands with Village Chief Liu, Cuihua directly stated her purpose.
"Uncle Liu, has my mother's household registration been transferred?"
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Liu immediately understood that the girl had probably already found out everything about her family. He took a puff of his pipe and nodded.
"They moved away, just a few months ago, to a pretty remote village. Sigh, your maternal grandparents' family is really awful, and your mother, even though she's a grown woman, is mentally challenged. How could she let her parents and brothers make decisions for her? When they moved the household registration, she didn't even come; a man who's seven or eight years older than your father came instead..."
“Uncle Liu, since she’s already married, let’s not talk about it anymore. Since my father has also remarried and is happy to have a son, can the three of us sisters move our household registrations out separately and start a new household?”
Village Chief Liu was stunned for a moment, then looked at Tao Changyi: "Brother, does your niece want to be the head of the household herself?"
Tao Changyi nodded. "You heard me right, that's exactly what I mean. She wants to be the head of the household."
“Oh dear, daughter, in our village, women don’t have the right to be heads of households, unless they are married women whose husbands have passed away and they have moved out on their own. In that case, it’s acceptable for them to be heads of households. But you are an unmarried young woman, what kind of head of household would you be? You are not like your mother, you are a child of the Tang family, meaning your household registration is still with the Tang family.”
“No, Uncle Liu, I don’t want to associate with the Tang family. I broke off all ties with them a long time ago. They sold all my sisters. They don’t want them, but I do. I need to be the head of the household so I can bring my remaining sisters home. I’m from this village. In the future, I’ll either remain unmarried or find a husband. I need to be the head of the household.”
Tang Cuihua looked at Village Chief Liu with a determined gaze, eagerly expressing her desire to become the head of the household. Village Chief Liu was stunned by her expression.
Tao Changyi explained from the side: "Village Chief, you must know about the background of these sisters. It hasn't been easy for these girls. They have such parents and such grandparents, and those uncles and cousins who have no conscience. Village Chief, you can count on your fingers whether it's the Cao family or the Tang family, is there anyone who can make these girls feel at ease?"
"Actually, Cuihua didn't do this for any other reason than to protect her daughters' marriages and to let them decide their own futures. Why did Cuihua leave again overnight after returning? It was because she overheard them discussing selling her to some remote mountain village. And look at the result—her mother was sold. As for whether the Cao family was behind it, we really can't say."
After listening to Tao Changyi's words, Village Chief Liu also figured out what he meant: how did Tang Youtian manage to marry a widow?
Even if he is very capable, he can't just marry her like that. And what about Cao Amei? She's such a difficult person, how could she possibly agree?
The more Liu thought about it, the more he felt that Tao Changyi made sense. Who knows, Cao Amei might have been sold by Tang Youtian after all!
No wonder the Tang family keeps talking badly about the Cao family in the village, even saying that Cao A-mei was sold off by the Cao family!
It seems neither of these two companies is any good.
Judging from Tang Cuihua's pretty appearance now, it's quite possible that Tang Youtian will take charge of her and demand a high dowry, making her marry a scoundrel.
Cuihua is so capable. If she were to establish her own household and find a son-in-law, he would stay in the village in the future. For him, there would actually be no loss.
"Well... if we really want to register you as a resident, where would you live?"
Cuihua didn't show it on her face, but she was secretly excited because she realized that there was a chance for this.
“I want to ask the village to buy Grandpa Wei’s house in the middle of the village. Grandpa Wei’s sons sacrificed their lives for the country, and he himself was cared for and buried in the village. This house should belong to the village, right? It’s not suitable for us girls to live on the edge of the village, so I’m choosing the center of the village. It’s also far from our Tang family’s house, and the neighbors on both sides are easier to get along with. Uncle Liu, what do you think?”
"The Wei family's house?" Village Chief Liu recalled the layout of the Wei family's house and nodded subconsciously.
"It seems your daughter has already done her research. I must say, the Wei family's house is really suitable for you sisters to live in."
“Back then, all of Wei’s sons went to join the army. The couple didn’t have a daughter, and their house only had three rooms, which they didn’t extend. After the sons left, the old lady was too heartbroken and passed away. Only Brother Wei was left. He wasted a few years but couldn’t hold on any longer. He died of pneumonia and high fever.”
“However, although the courtyard is large, the house is quite dilapidated and has not been lived in for two or three years. If you are really interested, I will discuss it with the village collective and keep it for you. This money is not something I can decide on my own; we need to discuss it carefully.”
“Uncle Liu, we don’t care if the house is dilapidated. We sisters will repair it when we have money. The yard is great. We can grow some vegetables and raise some chickens and ducks. What we want is the freedom to be in charge of our own lives. After all, my father has a new life now. If we sisters stay, it will be a threat to his new wife. They should be happy that we move out now.”
The village chief shook his head. "Cuihua, things aren't that simple. Even if the village agrees to let you register your household and approve a house for you, the Tang family still needs to agree. If they don't agree, the village won't dare to pull any strings for you."
Tang Cuihua was already confident: "Don't worry, I came here today to resolve my household registration issue. I've already thought of that, and I'll take care of it in a bit. As long as you, Uncle Liu, agree to help me register my household, you don't need to worry about anything else."
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Liu knocked the ash out of his pipe, looked up, and gave Tang Cuihua a definite answer.
“Everyone in the village knows about your family’s situation. This is a new society now, and the old ways don’t work anymore. It’s also forbidden for anyone to sell their daughters. So I can promise you that I can help you with this matter. Don’t worry about the house. It’s quite old and dilapidated, and even the villagers don’t want it. The only good thing is that it’s in a good location and the right size. How much money would the village ask for from you girls?”
The village chief's words undoubtedly reassured Cuihua, who, being a straightforward person, immediately bowed to express her gratitude.
"Uncle Liu, thank you so much. Once my other sisters are found, I'll bring them over so they can all kowtow to you one by one, and we'll discuss their future residency registration."
Upon hearing this, Village Chief Liu coughed lightly, "As long as you can find him, he'll be a member of our Tangjia Village, and we'll put him on your household registration, Tang Cuihua's."
light and spacious!
The village chief was a straightforward person. Tao Changyi suddenly realized that it wasn't a bad idea for Cuihua and the others to settle in Taoyuan Village, just because of this village chief.
From afar, they could hear the old lady from the Tang family cursing as she approached the village chief's house. The village chief naturally heard her too, and said, "Your grandma is here."
“I know, Uncle, you stay here and talk to the village chief for a bit, I’ll go get the household registration book.”
Tao Changyi stood up, still worried: "How about I go with you?"
Cuihua shook her head, "It's alright, I'm strong. Whoever asks me for trouble, I'll do it!"
Cuihua rushed out the door and bumped right into the cursing old lady of the Tang family. Upon seeing who it was, the old lady immediately started cursing.
"You little brat, what are you doing here instead of coming to see me when you get back?"
"I haven't been back for a long time, so of course I had to come and visit Uncle Village Chief. Since Grandma is here, and has brought all your daughters-in-law and granddaughters to see me, I feel quite uncomfortable. I suppose this is Zhang Yanhong, the new stepmother my scumbag father arranged for us?"
Cuihua raised her eyes and saw a woman who stood out from the crowd at the very back of the Tang family women's group. She was the most striking-looking woman among them, no wonder she could charm her father so much that he knew to work. Looking at the chubby-faced child in her arms, no matter how you looked at it, he had absolutely no relation to Tang Youtian. But that wasn't what she cared about. She smiled and walked over, her clear eyes looking directly at Zhang Yanhong.
"Hello, my name is Tang Cuihua. It's a pleasure to meet you, and I'm also glad that you gave my unreliable father a big, healthy son and corrected his bad habits of laziness, inability to distinguish right from wrong, and only knowing how to work for his brothers and nephews. I'm sure your little family will have a better and better life in the future!"
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