Xiao Shanhe fastened a buckle on the mortise and tenon mechanism box in his hand, raised his head, and looked at Lan Linxiang calmly.
"Comrade Lan, we are divorced."
Lan Linxiang became furious again when she saw how he remained calm no matter what he saw, heard or encountered.
"You are still like this, just fiddling with these broken things all day long. Forget it, just wait and see, you will really regret it. You will regret it even more if you marry Shen Huanxi. She is not a woman who can live a good life."
After saying that, Lan Linxiang frowned as she looked at the device box in Xiao Shanhe's hand, then returned to the car and drove away. She didn't believe that Xiao Shanhe could still have a good life after marrying Shen Huanxi. She was just waiting to see a joke.
The hardware factory is located on the outskirts of the city. A few years ago, before the city began to expand, there were farmlands all around, and this place was still a small village called Guixiang Village.
After the hardware factory opened, people gradually came here to do business, buy land and build houses, but the original people in the village did not move away, and many farmhouses were not demolished.
The big locust tree at the entrance of the village is still preserved, and new buildings are springing up around it, creating a unique scene of the collision between the countryside and the city.
As the city developed, the villagers of Guixiang Village have retained the habit of sitting under the big locust tree and chatting.
Zhang Guifen went to the market and bought a chicken, a piece of beef, a bag of potatoes and a bunch of vegetables.
The people chatting under the locust tree had been talking about Xiao Shanhe's blind date for a long time. Now that they saw the man's mother coming back, they joined in.
"Aunt Zhang, Shen Huanxi is divorced and has two children. Do you really want her to be your daughter-in-law?"
Zhang Guifen nodded with a smile.
"My son is also divorced and has two children. No one is worse off than anyone else."
"Sister Zhang, don't blame me for speaking frankly. Shen Huanxi is a healthy person, and I heard that she can make money. Why would such a person fall in love with your son? Maybe he is a crooked mouth and eyes..."
When Auntie Zhou mentioned this, it coincided with the thoughts of many people, and everyone started talking.
"Yes, maybe he is really ugly, otherwise why would he get divorced? It is difficult to find another partner after a divorce if he is ugly, so he can only find someone like your son."
"He might even have a limp. You can't agree to everything just because your son has a bad leg. Otherwise, you will be the one who suffers when there are two disabled people at home."
"She also said that she likes your son. She may not have even met your son, so how can she like him? I think she said that on purpose just to get married. If she wasn't so ugly or disabled, how could she be so worried about getting married?"
"You bought so many things to treat her, including chicken, beef, and potatoes. Normally, people wouldn't dare spend so much during the Chinese New Year."
…
Everyone was talking one after another, and Zhang Guifen didn't even find a chance to interrupt. Her face turned dark immediately. The new daughter-in-law hasn't even married yet, and she's been spoken of so badly by these neighbors. Anyone would be unhappy.
"Excuse me, how do I get to Xiao Shanhe's home?" Just as everyone was talking at once, a clear and sweet voice came.
When everyone looked over, they saw a tall, fair-skinned woman, about twenty years old, wearing a calf-length dress with a yellow background and white flowers, and a white knitted jacket.
She is young, pretty, fashionable, and has a great temperament, and everyone's eyes light up when they see her.
Zhang Guifen was also stunned for a moment before she reacted.
"Excuse me, are you Shen Huanxi, Xiao Shen?"
Shen Huanxi nodded.
"It's me."
Zhang Guifen went up to them carrying bags.
"Hello, hello, Xiao Shen, hello, good, good, you look so good! Look at me, I was so excited that I forgot to introduce myself. Xiao Shen, I am Xiao Shanhe's mother, you can just call me Aunt Zhang, come on, Xiao Shen, come home with me, our Dashan is waiting for you."
Zhang Guifen was beaming with joy. She carried a lot of bags and walked home with Shen Huanxi. After walking a few steps, she suddenly turned around and looked at Aunt Zhou, who had just said that Shen Huanxi liked the most.
"Sister Zhou, don't you have a group of pigeons at home? The chickens and fish I bought are not enough. Bring me two and I'll give you money."
After saying that, he turned around and looked at Shen Huanxi with satisfaction, which made Shen Huanxi feel a little embarrassed.
"Aunt Zhang, you see, I didn't bring anything with me this time. I feel bad for you being so enthusiastic."
Zhang Guifen smiled and shook her head.
"Xiao Shen, you don't have to be so polite. Maybe we will be a family in the future, right? Oh, by the way, I heard that you have already had a crush on our Dashan. Is that true?"
Shen Huanxi was suddenly stunned.
She just said it casually that day, but she didn't expect that the word would spread. But now that it had come to this, she couldn't deny it, so she just nodded.
Zhang Guifen smiled even more happily.
"Okay, okay, I'm glad you like him. But I want to say something first. My son can't walk and has been sitting in a wheelchair. You know that, and someone must have told you that you married him to take care of him. I can assure you that this won't happen.
My son has a lame leg, but he is very strong and can take care of himself in terms of eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. Even when he is old, he has two sons of his own and will not cause you any trouble. You can rest assured when you marry into the Xiao family. I will not use marriage or love to tie you down and make you serve him.
Anyway, you don't have to worry about anything after you marry me. My two grandsons are very obedient. I'm still young and can help you with many things. You just need to live a peaceful life with him."
"Okay." Shen Huanxi nodded.
She also didn't expect Zhang Guifen to explain all this so clearly so quickly. This was the best. She liked people who were so direct.
Xiao Shanhe's blind date was considered a big event in the neighborhood. People from Guixiang Village were chatting under the big locust tree, and family members of employees from the hardware factory at Xiao's side also came to watch.
Looking at Xiao Shanhe in the yard, many people said it was a pity.
Xiao Shanhe is 33 years old this year and is in the prime of his life.
He was handsome, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a big frame. None of the men standing around him looked as tall and majestic as him. Even when sitting in a wheelchair, he looked very upright.
He is a bit serious, but because of this, he has an aura of authority without even getting angry, and exudes a charm that is not found in ordinary men.
How come such a handsome man with a bright future became lame?
Everyone shook their heads, and then they saw Zhang Guifen coming with Shen Huanxi.
The moment they saw Shen Huanxi, the neighbors who came to watch the excitement were all worried for Xiao Shanhe.
"She's already 27 or 28 years old and has given birth to a child. I thought she wasn't that good-looking. Now she looks like a little girl. I'm afraid she doesn't like Xiao Shanhe."
"Xiao Shanhe is also good-looking, but unfortunately he is a cripple and cannot stand on his two legs. I'm afraid Comrade Shen will be gone soon."
"It's a pity for such a beautiful woman to marry a cripple. I don't believe Comrade Shen will really agree. Isn't Aunt Zhang's happiness in vain?"
…
No one dared to talk too loudly, after all, Xiao Shanhe was right in front of them, and Shen Huanxi was also here.
Zhang Guifen took Shen Huanxi into the yard.
"Dashan, I've brought Comrade Xiao Shen here. You two should get acquainted. You..."
"Bang!" Without waiting for Zhang Guifen to finish her words, Xiao Shanhe pushed the wheelchair into the house and slammed the door shut, blocking out the gazes of Shen Huanxi, Zhang Guifen, and the people watching the excitement.
Zhang Guifen was stunned, feeling embarrassed, guilty towards Shen Huanxi, and even more annoyed.
She casually placed the things in her hand on the table in the yard and ran over to push the door, only to find that Xiao Shanhe had closed the door from the inside.
"Dashan, what do you mean? How can you be so rude! I brought someone here, and this is your attitude?"
"I know it was my own idea to arrange a blind date for you, but now that you're here, you're only in your thirties. Are you going to spend the rest of your life alone?"
"You still have two sons. If you don't think about yourself, you should at least think about Tangtang and Zhengzheng."
"How embarrassing it is for you to treat people like this in public. Does Xiao Shen have no dignity? With so many people watching, how can people say anything about our Xiao family? Isn't this way of treating guests a joke?"
…
Zhang Guifen tried to persuade Xiao Shanhe outside, but he refused to open the door.
Shen Huanxi was also a little confused. Wasn't it Xiao Shanhe who liked her?
The man who had stood guard at her grave for a whole day and night in her previous life, shielding her tombstone from the wind and snow, now refused to even see her face?
Zhang Guifen talked for a long time but got no response, so she went to the woodshed, got an axe, and started chopping at the door lock.
I don't know if it was because Zhang Guifen was so angry that her hands were too strong, or because the wooden crossbar of the door lock was not durable, but the door lock was split open in an instant.
Zhang Guifen dropped her axe and came over to carry the meat and vegetables, and asked Shen Huanxi to go into the house with her.
Shen Huanxi never expected to see such a scene after arriving at Xiao's house, but he had no choice but to go in.
Zhang Guifen put the things on the table and started to criticize Xiao Shanhe again.
"Is it embarrassing for you to do this? The guests are already at home! Aren't you embarrassing Xiao Shen? You are a grown-up..."
Xiao Shanhe lowered his head and fiddled with the mortise and tenon mechanism box in his hand, allowing Zhang Guifen to scold him without saying a word.
Shen Huanxi stood aside feeling somewhat awkward. It was inappropriate for her to say anything at this moment and she could only look at Xiao Shanhe.
In her previous life, when she met Xiao Shanhe, he was already an old man with white hair, but he was the most handsome old man she had ever seen.
Even though his hair is gray, his face is covered with wrinkles, and he has difficulty moving around in a wheelchair, it cannot conceal his outstanding temperament and the handsomeness of his youth that can be imagined from his deep facial features.
What she could not have imagined was that when he was young, he was even more handsome than she had imagined. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was a handsome man of the highest status.
The man who had given her a decent burial in her previous life was now rejecting her.
Zhang Guifen complained for a long time but could not get Xiao Shanhe to apologize to Shen Huanxi. She was finally completely annoyed, especially when she saw Xiao Shanhe fiddling with the device box in his hand with such concentration, she became even more angry.
"All you do is mess with these broken things. I'm talking to you! Xiao Shen is here."
As Zhang Guifen spoke, she snatched the device box from Xiao Shanhe's hand and threw it to the ground, breaking it into several pieces of building blocks.
Xiao Shanhe looked at the pile of parts with a frown. Sitting in a wheelchair, he couldn't bend over and was unable to pick them up.
Zhang Guifen was still angry and was about to say something when Xiao Shanhe looked at Shen Huanxi and spoke.