She paused, feeling chilled by her own words, but now she had to say this: "Tian Zhigao took the initiative to pursue me. He would come back from a faraway construction site every week to see me and bring me these gifts. Although they were not valuable, he put his heart into it, so I felt they were precious. I was moved by him and accepted his sincere confession. My grandfather asked a matchmaker to go to his house to propose marriage, and only after his parents agreed did we hold the wedding banquet!"

He then picked up the two certificates and the marriage certificate signed by both parents on the table and held them up: "All leaders have just seen this, it is stamped with the official seal of our Linshui Brigade. I was young at the time so we didn't get a marriage certificate, but we held a lively wedding banquet and invited the whole village, as well as relatives and friends from the four neighboring villages and eight villages to witness the wedding. After the marriage, Tian Zhigao went to work in the city, and my mother-in-law asked me to move to the Tian family. For four years, I have worked diligently and uncomplainingly in the Tian family, honored my parents-in-law and took care of my brothers and sisters, relieving him of worries... Our brigade leader told me: The state law protects my marriage, even if I move to Beijing, the truth is on my side!"

After saying this, Meng Tao acted like a drama queen again. She looked at Tian Zhigao with red eyes and choked up, "I am a rural girl with low education. It's okay if you look down on me, but you shouldn't deceive an old guerrilla who fought against the Japanese! My grandfather in heaven would be sad to see me abandoned and alone!"

Tian Zhigao's face turned pale, and everyone else present, except Xian Fangfang and Jiang Yushan, became solemn.

A deputy factory director asked, "Comrade Meng Taohua, is your grandfather an old guerrilla who fought against the Japanese? Do you have proof?"

Without saying a word, Meng Tao took out the household registration pages of the grandfather and grandson and the hardcover booklet of Meng Shengli's state subsidies from her schoolbag, which the brigade had asked her to take, and put them on the table and pushed them in front of the leaders: "If these are not enough proof, you can call or send a telegram to our county, commune, or brigade to investigate. If they are false, I am a fraudster, and I am willing to bear the consequences and go to jail!"

After several factory leaders circulated it, their expressions became even more serious.

Then the atmosphere in the conference room changed, and everyone turned to Meng Tao's side. Tian Zhigao lowered his head deeply, Xian Fangfang's eyes turned red, and Jiang Yushan wanted to say something, but was stopped by Deputy Director Yuan's look.

Qianjin Steel Plant was very serious, but they still had to go through the procedures and would only make a formal decision after further investigation and confirmation. Meng Tao was asked to wait for two days. Tian Zhigao had just been promoted to his new position a few days ago, but was stopped because his original position had already been taken by someone else. He could only go back to the workshop to do some odd jobs.

Because Tian Zhigao and Xian Fangfang were married after all, it was not easy for Meng Tao to live in their new house, so the union chairman still arranged for Meng Tao to live in the guesthouse and provided her with high-standard food and accommodation conditions. That is to say, she could continue to live in the high-end single room that Shen Yu had originally opened for her until she didn't want to live there anymore. She didn't have to squeeze in line to buy meals in the cafeteria, but could eat in the small cafeteria for cadres behind the guesthouse, where three meals a day were provided free of charge.

Meng Tao expressed her gratitude to the steel plant leaders for their concern. She finally freed herself from the nagging of the union chairman. When she walked down the factory office building, she saw Meng Zhehan and Shen Yu standing at the entrance of the corridor. Xian Fangfang was with them, crying to Shen Yu. From a distance, Xian Fangfang was wiping her tears with a handkerchief. She looked pitiful, weak and helpless, and was almost leaning into Shen Yu's arms. Shen Yu lowered his eyes and looked at her with an unclear expression.

Meng Tao didn't want to meet them to avoid embarrassment on both sides. Shen Yu and Xian Fangfang had a good relationship, and Meng Zhehan would definitely sympathize with Xian Fangfang and believe that Xian Fangfang was innocent and was kept in the dark. If they asked Meng Tao to forgive that scumbag and bitch, Meng Tao would not be able to do it.

She turned around and walked back, going down the other side of the corridor. It was almost noon and she hadn't had breakfast. Her stomach was growling with hunger. Now that there was a place to eat, she hurried to find something to eat.

The cadres' canteen was indeed high-end, with more than a dozen red-oiled wooden round tables neatly placed in the hall. There were also several small compartments separated by light green screens in the inner part, which could be considered as private rooms in that era, for leading cadres to talk about work while eating.

There was still half an hour before the end of get off work, but the cafeteria was already filled with the aroma of food and everything was almost ready. Meng Tao was the first customer to arrive. The fat aunt who brought her meat soup noodles last night worked here. The two of them smiled and nodded across the glass window.

Auntie Pang walked to the window and asked Meng Tao what she wanted to eat. Meng Tao looked at the several large aluminum basins that the chef brought out: braised pork, braised fish with tofu, Kung Pao chicken... the meat looked so tempting, she wanted to eat them all! As a result, Auntie Pang really gave her a spoonful of each dish, put it on a white porcelain plate, and scooped a bowl of chive egg drop soup. The staple food was two large white steamed buns that had just come out of the oven, three dishes and a soup, a standard reception meal.

Meng Tao ate up all the food. The quantity was a bit too much, mainly because the steamed buns were big, but it was really delicious and she could still eat more even though she was full.

Meng Tao left the canteen and took a walk along a quiet bamboo path to digest her food. She saw a small stone mountain with stone steps winding up. There was a pavilion on the top of the mountain, so she climbed up. She had nothing to do anyway, so she decided to kill time enjoying the scenery.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, Meng Tao returned to the guesthouse and the waiter told her that two groups of people had looked for her: Tian Zhigao and Meng Zhehan.

Tian Zhigao asked the waiter to tell Meng Tao that he would come again in the afternoon and asked her to wait.

Meng Zhehan left a note. Perhaps because he took into consideration her low level of education and literacy, his handwriting was neat and concise: Sister Taohua, I have something to tell you first. You'd better take care and don't run around. Don't be afraid. Brother Shen is still in this factory. He will take care of you. Zhang Guoqing and I will come to see you the day after tomorrow.

Meng Tao curled her lips: Watch her? Or do you want to see the result? This old man from five hundred years ago also likes to join in the fun.

I went back to my room, locked the doors and windows, entered the space to admire the sea of ​​clouds, and lay down beside the stone platform, praying that the seeds in the cracks of the stone would sprout and grow quickly. I played for a while and then came out. I thought that when Tian Zhigao came, I would definitely have another nonsense argument with him. It was a meaningless waste of time. I was even more annoyed to see a scumbag, so I simply picked up my schoolbag and left, going to the factory family living area.

In the evening, Meng Tao came back from the canteen after having dinner. As expected, she heard the waiter say that Tian Zhigao had come again and was very angry because he didn't see her.

Meng Tao thought to herself: It’s right to be angry. It would be best if he were mad enough to die.

She went back to her room, closed the door, took a shower, washed and hung up her clothes, then turned off the lights and went to bed. Maybe she was tired from walking around during the day, she fell asleep after closing her eyes for a while, and was later awakened by a knock on the door. Meng Tao thought it was Tian Zhigao, a scumbag who shouldn't be bothered with, but he kept knocking on the door. In annoyance, she grabbed a slipper from the bed and threw it towards the door. With a bang, the world became quiet, and she continued to sleep peacefully.

The person outside the door was not Tian Zhigao, but Shen Yu.

Hearing someone banging on the door, he looked at his watch. It was only seven o'clock. Was he really asleep? Was he impatient and throwing things when he was woken up? He really had a bad temper... Anyway, after meeting this girl, she didn't behave like she described herself. She had suffered and been abused in the Tian family, so she was not someone who would suffer any loss.

What an interesting little country girl! Shen Yu curled his lips slightly and turned away.

The second update is here.

(End of this chapter)