Aunt Shi and the two aunts took Shi Huixian without saying a word and left the Xu family at a speed three times faster than when they arrived.

Xu Yulin wanted to send them back, but Aunt Shi said not to do that, saying that poor people were not worthy of knowing her family. She was not afraid of being laughed at by the neighbors, but she was afraid that the Shi family would be tainted with poverty from then on.

Shi Huixian wanted to look back at Xu Yulin several times. She was unwilling to give up and hoped that Xu Yulin would chase her and then discuss how to solve the problem. However, her aunt and her sister-in-law did not give her a chance and dragged her away.

Wang Cuixi followed them out and saw only their backs as they walked away. She sighed silently: It's true that good things are not so easy to accomplish. The gifts I had prepared long ago, including clothes, fabrics, and red envelopes, could no longer be given away.

There's nothing we can do. Miss Shi is too good and has too many demands. After all, my family is not worthy of her. Just like the kids said, the two of them are not suitable.

This is the only way. I will slowly find someone with similar conditions for my eldest son later.

Over there, Shi Huixian returned home with her two aunts and her aunt. Grandma Shi, Shi's father, Shi's mother, and Shi's aunt were all at home. When they saw them come in, several women immediately surrounded them. The old lady asked Aunt Shi anxiously: "What do you think? Is the boy good-looking? What's the situation at home... Can the mother and brother get along?"

Aunt Shi curled her lips and snorted heavily.

Shi Huixian's eyes turned red, and she ran into the inner room with her head down, threw herself on her bed and sobbed. The two girls who were sitting or lying in the room reading were startled, looked at each other but did not dare to do anything. They quickly stood up and went to the outer room to see what was going on.

My aunt is fat and gets tired easily when walking, so she just found a chair to sit down, took a breath and said, "Keep your voice down and close the door. It's not a glorious thing, don't yell so loud that the neighbors can hear it."

The Shi family lives in a large courtyard with three entrances, which has more than 20 households. It used to be a rich man's house, but now it belongs to the Mingguang Machinery Factory and is allocated to employees to live in. Three generations of the Shi family are employees of the machinery factory, from Grandpa Shi, Dad Shi, Uncle Shi to Shi Huixian. Their family was allocated a whole row of three side rooms, which were wide and large, and others looked at them with envy.

The Shi family was large and prosperous. Before his grandfather Shi died, he left a message that as long as his wife was still alive, the family should not be divided. During the past twenty years, Shi Huixian and her younger brothers and sisters and cousins ​​were born one after another. There were twelve children and five adults, and the three large houses were enough to accommodate them. But when the boys grew up, they had to get married and needed a new house, which was not enough.

Like their neighbors, the Shi family also rushed to occupy and divide the open space in the yard, and built a kitchen and utility room with felt.

Normally, neighbors sit at the door and do some small chores, so they can know any movement in any house. Just now, a group of people walked in and were seen, so the fat aunt reminded them to close the door before talking.

Shi's mother went to close the door, and Old Lady Shi called her granddaughter, "Xiao Liu, go in and tell your sister to stop crying. Xiao Wu, pour a glass of water for your mother and your first and second aunts."

Dad Shi hesitated for a moment. He knew that the man his eldest daughter was dating was the one who saved her. Although he had never met him, he still had some good feelings for the guy and wanted to hear what was going on, so he limped to a corner far away and sat down.

He was injured at work and now works in shifts as the gatekeeper at the factory. The factory also gave him two job openings, which just happened to provide jobs for Huixian and my eldest nephew, preventing them from having to go to the countryside.

Aunt Shi gulped down the water, wiped her mouth, and said angrily, "Forget about the Xu family. Tell Huihui not to worry about them. Damn, they don't treat us as human beings. We sent such a beautiful girl to his house, and he dared to clearly say that he would not give a penny of betrothal money! Do you think we raised a girl for nothing?

His family conditions are not very good, they just have a small courtyard. The man's monthly salary is about 40 yuan, but it all goes to his old widow. Can you think who can get money from a widow? He also has a younger brother in his early twenties who is about to get married, and he will have to spend money soon, so the whole family is very stingy and can't bear to spend anything! Listen to what he said, he said he would only spend 100 yuan on the wedding, buy some cigarettes and candies to give to the neighbors, and set up a table! My God, which family with a daughter would be willing to do this? Is this marrying a daughter? This is simply pushing a daughter into a pit of fire!"

Mother Shi was stunned when she heard this. She never had any opinion of her own and it was not her turn to make decisions on any matters at home. She didn't know what to say for a moment.

Father Shi sighed and fumbled for his cigarettes and matches.

Old Lady Shi and Aunt Shi were very angry. Old Lady Shi said, "This is definitely not okay. It's too bullying. If we had known this would happen, we wouldn't have to go to their house to talk to them."

The fat aunt sighed, "That's right, we made this trip for nothing. But the boy looks quite talented, what a pity."

Shi Gu said, "There are many good guys. Isn't there a young man who just changed his job in the front street? He looks energetic and comes to our gate every day to wait for Huihui. There is nothing to regret!"

"That's right. Not to mention the factory, a large group of young workers all covet our Huihui. Yang Qing, the workshop director of the third workshop, has come to our house several times, and every time he brings cigarettes, alcohol, and candy. How good are her conditions? I took the initiative to ask for a thousand yuan as a betrothal gift, and said in person that I would help my eldest brother become a technician. After being promoted to a technician, his salary will increase immediately. Besides, with this thousand yuan, my eldest brother's marriage will also..." Aunt Shi chattered on and on.

The fat auntie interrupted: "That Yang Qing is already in his thirties and is getting married for the second time, that won't work!"

Aunt Shi: "It's just that his wife died and he has no children. The family assets he saved are there. Once Huihui marries him, she will be the head of the family and have the final say on everything."

"With Huihui's appearance, she can find a good family. There's no need for her to marry a man whose wife has died."

"Okay, stop arguing!" The second aunt, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interrupted them and said with a frown:

"Why do I feel like something is a little off about this? Think about it, Xu Yulin said he didn't have money and could only give a hundred yuan for the wedding, but what did his family give us to eat today? There were several kinds of snacks and fruits, and peanuts and melon seeds, but that's not counting the table of hard dishes. There was also a table of the same kind in the west wing. Isn't that valuable? They were willing to give us food and drinks, so why didn't they have money for the betrothal gift?"

Aunt Shi said angrily, "What's there to think about? How much can we eat? He obviously thinks we are easy to bully. He doesn't even give us money. He wants to marry us for free! What's the new era and new youth? We should respond to the call and do new things. What nonsense!"

Shi Huixian came out of the house and said, "Yulin is not reluctant to leave, but his family is really broke! All their money was used to buy the yard and rebuild the house. You can see that the yard is new from top to bottom, and the furniture in every room is new... His family even borrowed money from abroad! The meal we had was brought by his brother-in-law. His brother-in-law drives a truck all over the country and can get good things.

Yulin said that he couldn't afford the 1,000 yuan betrothal gift and he had to pay off his debts, so he asked me to start a new relationship with him and get married right away. If you don't agree, we'll have to break up."

"Fuck you!"

Aunt Shi was angered by the phrase "new things in new ways" again: "What do you call this? The old people say, 'getting something for nothing'! He just wants to trick you into getting married, hoping to get a wife for free without spending a penny! I tell you, Huihui, this guy is too bad, you can't trust him!"

Shi Huixian burst into tears and said, "But I like him, I don't want to break up! Grandma, Mom, Dad, Aunt, please don't be angry, let us be fine, just consider that we owe the family one thousand yuan, from now on I will give all my salary to the family, and half of his salary will be given, and we will save up enough money to make up for the one thousand yuan..."

"It's not that easy. If you follow him like this, will he still give you money?"

Aunt Shi was afraid that her niece would do something stupid, so she said to Old Lady Shi, "Mom! You have to be careful. Huihui is the eldest granddaughter of our Shi family. She has so many younger sisters. If she is willful and makes a mistake, her younger sisters will learn from her. Then the Shi family will be embarrassed and lose face. Will they still be able to behave like human beings? You have to teach her well!"

Shi Gu also advised her niece: "Silly girl, liking someone is not a meal. There are many good guys out there. Let's just look for another one!"

Old Madam Shi frowned at Shi Huixian and said, "Be obedient and break up with the Xu family right now! We don't want to associate with a family like that. You have to think about this family and your father's reputation. Don't lose your way just because someone says sweet words. You don't even want your parents and relatives. If you are so stupid, we in the Shi family will just pretend that we never gave birth to you!"

Shi Huixian covered her face and cried.

The fat aunt said, "It's better to break up, so don't be sad. Xu Yulin is calculating and arrogant. He won't give the betrothal money if he says he won't give it. You won't be able to hold him back if you marry him in the future! Also, the mother-in-law promised to return to the countryside after you two get married. I'm afraid she just said it in vain. She is just trying to trick you into marrying into the family. Then she won't go anywhere and will just keep an eye on you every day. How uncomfortable is that?"

Second Aunt: "Yes, I think so too. Those two brothers are too filial to their mother. Generally, men who listen to their mother too much are not very good to their wives. Let's forget it. But his new yard is really nice. It's a pity."

Aunt Shi: "What's so great about that? Director Yang Qing's house also has its own gate and yard!"

"Really? Then Yang Qing's family..."

Before the second aunt finished speaking, Shi Huixian stamped her feet and cried, "Don't mention Yang Qing. I will never marry in my life and I don't want to!"

"Hey girl, Yang Qing is so sincere to you, don't be ungrateful!"

The fat aunt comforted her niece: "I'll take a look later. There are a few suitable people in your uncle's unit. Let's look for a good one!"

Shi Huixian was ordered by her family to cut off contact with Xu Yulin. She felt sad and reluctant, and thought about going to find Xu Yulin herself. But then she changed her mind and felt that she should leave him alone and let him taste the feeling of being ignored and neglected.

She was actually very angry and resented Xu Yulin for not being considerate of her.

One thousand yuan is a bit much for the betrothal gift, but it's not so much that he can't afford it. Can't he borrow some from his relatives first? Is she so unimportant in his heart?

He even said that he would only spend a hundred yuan on the wedding. How could he say that? No wonder her aunt and uncle were angry. She herself couldn't accept it. If her colleagues knew about this, it would be such a joke and she would be so embarrassed!

Shi Huixian made up her mind: let's deal with this matter coldly first, she won't go to find Xu Yulin, nor will she write to him, let's see who can outlast who!

(End of this chapter)