Chapter 4 4
September 15th, sunny weather
Fang Zhiwen put on someone's favorite white shirt with dark patterns again. He spent an hour in the bathroom getting his hair done, leaving his mother, Peng Shuya, speechless. She asked, "It's just like that. Is it not okay to comb it left or right?"
"Mom, you don't understand."
"I don't want to understand. I only know that it's Zhou Kai who's getting married today, not you. There's no need for you to dress up like this and spray my perfume on yourself. Hey, what's going on? Are you going to steal the bride?"
Look at this kid, he's like a peacock spreading its tail.
Suddenly, Peng Shuya thought of her son's secret crush. She said in surprise, "Zhiwen, you don't like Liu Xin, do you?"
"Are you really going to grab the bride?"
Zhou Kai paused and said speechlessly: "Mom, you think too much. Also, what I have to do today is much more important than robbing the bride." He had to let the woman intuitively feel the gap between Zhou Kai and himself.
Please ask her to wash her eyes!
Meanwhile, the Rainbow Television Factory's residential complex was bustling with activity. The children, knowing today was Zhou Kai's wedding day, had rushed to his house early in the morning to say auspicious words and get some wedding candy. Neighbors stood at the doorway admiring the handsome groom and then went to help Qian Fang, each one praising her. Zhou Kai was truly ambitious; not only had he passed the exam and returned to the neighboring city, he'd also married someone who was about to own a house.
"Old Qian, your Zhou Kai is the only one in our family building."
"Oh, you guys are exaggerating. Haha, please sit down for a while. I'll go downstairs to borrow some dishes."
Qian Fang went downstairs happily, thinking that all the children in the TV factory were no match for her second son. Even Fang Zhiwen, the factory director's son, was just born into a better family.
Listening to these words of affirmation, Zhou Kai became more and more glad about his choice.
He put on his military cap, chatted and laughed as he rode his 28-inch bicycle with a big red flower tied on it to pick up his bride. A long line of children chased after him, the older ones jumping on and off the back of his bicycle like playful monkeys.
Xu Shanshan hid in the corner of the alley and clearly saw the huge smile on Zhou Kai's face. She felt nothing in her heart, but snorted coldly and said, "Men are really unreliable."
Fortunately, I knew it before and was not easily fooled into falling in love.
Otherwise, I would be like those women in the brigade who were abandoned by the educated youth, living in a daze and shedding tears.
Seeing Xu Shanshan staring blankly at Zhou Kai's back, Fang Zhiwen really wanted to shake her shoulders to sober her up. Could this woman stop being so love-sick?
Is a scumbag like Zhou Kai worthy of making her sad and worried?
After a short silence, Xu Shanshan calmed down and headed towards the family building. How could she not go and congratulate Zhou Kai on his wedding?
"Hey, hey, hey, girl, where are you from? Why haven't I seen you before?" The aunties who were gathered downstairs chatting saw a strange girl entering the yard, and immediately asked her vigilantly.
"I'm looking for Zhou Kai." Although Xu Shanshan spoke in dialect, these four words were not difficult to understand.
The aunties exchanged glances, thinking that it was a big problem for such a beautiful girl to come to a gay man's house.
Qian Fang borrowed some dishes and was about to go upstairs when a neighbor pushed a girl beside her. They smiled mysteriously and said, "Old Qian, we're looking for your son."
Qian Fang looked up in surprise, and then was shocked. The girl in front of her was so beautiful, just like the monsters on TV, and such a beautiful girl called out her second son's name.
Xu Shanshan?
Qian Fang immediately thought of it. Holding the dishes in her hands, she smiled stiffly and said, "Relatives, relatives, here for the wedding banquet." As she spoke, she elbowed the person into a corner and said, "Are you Xu Shanshan? Why are you here?"
"Yes, Aunt Qian. Zhou Kai told you about me." Xu Shanshan looked so shy and embarrassed that it made Qian Fang's head explode.
Oh my god, what the hell is that bastard Zhou Kai up to? Also, why is this girl in Lin City? Did she know Zhou Kai was getting married today?
"Shanshan, isn't farming busy these days? Why are you in the city?"
"Zhou Kai wrote to ask me to come. Well, he even sent me a train ticket." Never mind, let's just blame it on Zhou Kai first.
Qian Fang held the dishes in her hands and leaned over to take a look at the ticket Xu Shanshan had taken out. It was true. When the second son came back, he said he had found a girlfriend in the countryside and was clamoring to get married at home, and asked for another room to be used as a wedding room.
Because of this incident, the family was in turmoil for more than ten days. The eldest daughter-in-law and the third daughter-in-law were complaining to everyone, saying that the second son was not smart enough. He had passed the exam and returned to the city, but was still thinking about the country girl. He was a useless and hopeless person.
She didn't talk to the old man and actually didn't agree with the second son marrying a country girl.
Later, I finally persuaded him to change his mind, but I didn't expect that he would secretly send a letter to the countryside.
Qian Fang naturally didn't doubt Xu Shanshan's words. After all, she had heard Zhou Kai talk about the Xu family's poverty. Xu Shanshan's clothes were from a large shopping mall in the nearby city. Who else could have sent them if not Zhou Kai?
"Shanshan, come back to the house first." Qian Fang didn't want to cause any trouble on such a big day. She thought she would take the girl back to the house and coax her first, and then let Zhou Kai and Liu Xin finish the wedding banquet.
Xu Shanshan didn't make any trouble, but walked obediently behind her. The Zhou family lived in the innermost part of the second floor, and because they were having a family banquet, they borrowed the public corridor to set up the table.
Walking down this short corridor made Qian Fang's scalp tingle and her heart beat faster. Everyone was saying:
"Fang, who is this girl? She's so pretty."
"Girl, do you have a partner?"
Just as Xu Shanshan was about to answer, Qian Fang immediately said, "Relatives, relatives." Then she called over her eldest daughter-in-law, Wei Le, and her third daughter-in-law, Lin Xiaoyu, and said, "You two take care of the banquet. I have something to do."
"Mom, who is she?" She's dressed so beautifully? That yellow polka-dot Dacron dress she's wearing isn't cheap; it costs thirty-eight yuan at the mall without a ticket. And those leather sandals are even more expensive. She'd seen them at the Overseas Chinese Department Store; imported calfskin sandals cost fifty or sixty yuan a pair.
This girl has enough money on her body to pay for several months' salary.
"We're from the Chaoyang Brigade." Qian Fang whispered in her daughter-in-law's ear, and then quickly pulled Xu Shanshan into the house.
Wei Le was stunned. "Chaoyang Brigade?"
"Sister-in-law, this is the land where my second brother went to the countryside."
"She, she is that Xu Shanshan?"
"Eighty percent."
"Then how come she, a country girl, dresses so well?"
"It must have been bought by my second brother."
"Where does he get the money if he doesn't work?"
"Who else could have given it to me? My parents always say that they've treated my second brother unfairly. Haha, they've been saving up to subsidize him."
Wei Le and Lin Xiaoyu huddled together, their anger building. If it weren't for the support of their relatives and neighbors, they would have been furious. After Zhou Kai got married, they would definitely go talk to his parents-in-law.
It is true that the second son went to the countryside, but his family also sent a lot of things to him. So, to be fair, the second son did not suffer any loss.
On the other side, Qian Fang pushed Xu Shanshan into her room and was thinking about how to ask her to leave.
Xu Shanshan leisurely surveyed the Zhou family's house. It wasn't big, perhaps around thirty square meters. But the cement walls and floor looked spotless. Their brigade office wasn't as impressive as the Zhou family's.
It's hot today, so he has an electric fan in his living room.
This was the first time she had seen such a strange thing.
"Aunt, why are there so many wedding characters on the wall? Is my younger sister getting married? No wonder Zhou Kai sent me a letter asking me to come over."
Qian Fang gritted her teeth and said directly: "Shanshan, it's Zhou Kai who's getting married."
"How is that possible? Zhou Kai promised to marry me, otherwise why would he ask me to come to the city? Auntie, you are not trying to fool me, are you?"
"It's really Zhou Kai getting married, you don't believe it? Then listen to me yell and see." Qian Fang shouted into the living room, "Did Zhou Kai bring Liu Xin back?"
"How can it be so fast? I just left the house and won't be back until at least 11 o'clock."
"Girl, listen, I didn't lie to you. Today is really Zhou Kai's wedding. Hey, hey, girl, don't cry, I know you're upset, but things have come to this, you should go back."
"I won't reply. I have to ask Zhou Kai for clarification. He's so weird. He's sending me things and letters even after getting married? I don't believe it. I have to ask him for clarification."
"What's so good about asking this? If you ask, won't you embarrass yourself? Think about yourself, then think about Zhou Kai. Are you two a good match? Girl, a marriage between people from different social backgrounds will never be happy. My Zhou Kai is a college student, and what about you? Besides being a little good-looking, there's nothing special about him, right? You two are really not a match."
Xu Shanshan pretended to cry, and snorted in her heart after hearing Qian Fang's words. Yes, she was indeed beautiful in name only, but it was Zhou Kai who pursued her relentlessly in the beginning.
"That doesn't make sense. I'm a country girl, but I'm not someone you can easily bully. Everyone in our brigade knows he and I have been dating for over four years, and now he's going back to the city to break off the engagement. That's not going to happen."
"I just don't believe there's no place in the city where people can seek justice."
Qian Fang saw that soft tactics didn't work, so she resorted to hard tactics. She was just an uninformed country girl, and she couldn't control herself?
Qian Fang's face darkened, her voice cold, and she snorted, "Girl, I've made everything clear, and you're still pestering me. You're shameless. What's the matter? You can't sell it in the countryside, so you have to cling to my Zhou Kai?"
"What's wrong with dating? Who says dating means you have to get married?"
"You better leave now. Linshi is not the place for you."
Qian Fang's words were truly disgusting, and the contemptuous look in her eyes made Xu Shanshan clench her fists. This wasn't the countryside, Zhou Kai had said. The city was open and tolerant, unlike the countryside where clans and gender were paranoid.
In the countryside, there is no place to reason, but in the city, as long as you are right, there is nothing to be afraid of.
"Auntie, what's the point of selling it or not? You're so bullying." Xu Shanshan suddenly burst into tears. Fang Zhiwen, who was waiting in the living room, stood up immediately after hearing it.
What’s going on? Why is Xu Shanshan crying?
What's there for an old woman to be afraid of? She can just curse back, fight back. This woman only knows how to be tough on herself. She's always bullied when she goes out.
As soon as he thought of this, Fang Zhiwen became worried again.
What will happen to this woman if she leaves him?
He stood at the door and paced back and forth, not leaving. If there was no one in the living room, he really wanted to press his ear to the door to listen clearly, or break in and take the person away.
But in order to make Shanshan give up completely, he had to endure it a little longer.
"Hey, hey, hey, what are you yelling about?"
"Your words are so disgusting, how can I not scream? Zhou Kai lied to me for four years, I must find someone to talk to. These are the love letters Zhou Kai wrote to me over the years. I don't believe that the woman would still be willing to marry Zhou Kai after reading these?"
"Hey, what are you doing? Don't do anything stupid. Think about it yourself. My son is a college student, so why should he worry about getting married? How difficult will it be for him to find a city girl in the future?"
"But it's probably not easy to find someone who can share a room with you, right?"
Qian Fang was anxious when she heard this. How did she know? At this moment, Qian Fang finally came to her senses. This Xu Shanshan was not here with good intentions.
At this moment, two firecrackers were heard downstairs, and Zhou Kai brought Liu Xin back.
Xu Shanshan immediately showed signs of wanting to go out and cause trouble. Qian Fang was so anxious that she had to ask the old man to come in and help.
Zhou Liguo had heard from his two daughters-in-law about Xu Shanshan's coming, but he didn't expect that the old woman still hadn't dealt with it.
Fang Zhiwen saw Old Man Zhou enter the room. He was afraid that Xu Shanshan would suffer a loss, so he knocked on the door from time to time and said, "Uncle, call the female comrade out for a drink of water."
Zhou Liguo immediately gave up the urge to tie the man up and gag him, then snatch the love letter and throw it away, and instead prepared to spend money to avoid disaster.
Xu Shanshan was sensitive to Zhou Liguo's change of expression and breathed a sigh of relief. She recognized the voice of the chatterbox outside the door and silently thanked him.
If it weren't for him, I, a female comrade, would definitely suffer.
It was at this moment that her heart began to pound.
Xu Shanshan accepted the money. It was what she deserved. But she also said, "Now everyone in the village knows that I'm going to marry in the neighboring city."
"I will never go back no matter what I do."
"I can't lose this person."
"You're not going back? Do you have to wait for Zhou Kai?" Qian Fang asked anxiously.
Zhou Liguo was smart. He said, "Marry someone from the neighboring city? Okay, we'll find one for you."
Xu Shanshan stopped talking, obviously she was very satisfied with the proposal.
Qian Fang was dumbfounded. What was wrong with this girl? How could she be persuaded so easily?
Hadn't she been dating Kaizi for four years? Could they just end it like that?
It seems like her son is not that important.
Qian Fang felt uncomfortable instantly.
"Okay, then I'll leave my lifelong happiness in the hands of uncle and aunt. Aunt, don't try to fool me, I know which way the gate of Zhou Kai's school faces. Since I came to Linshi, I didn't plan to go back barefoot." Xu Shanshan said lightly.
"You, you, you've been together for four years, how could you be willing to ruin Zhou Kai's future?"
"He is unkind and I am unjust."
"Okay, I will definitely keep my promise to you. But you know your own situation. We are matchmaking for you, so don't blame us if you are not successful." Zhou's father said coldly.
"That's enough for me. Oh, by the way, that gay man in the living room wearing a white shirt and black leather shoes. Is he single too?"
"Haha, him, do you really dare to imagine? He is not something a country girl like you can imagine. His father is the director of the Rainbow TV Factory, and his mother is the former president of the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University and now the president of Linshi University of Science and Technology." Qian Fang, who was full of anger, immediately opened her mouth and sneered. This country girl really has a lot of imagination.
"There are so many people who want to marry him, will it be your turn?"
"People from the country always talk big."
"If you marry him, our whole family will take your last name."
......
Zhou Kai came back with Liu Xin in high spirits, but he didn't expect that when he opened the door, he would see Xu Shanshan, whom he had been thinking about, standing at the door of his parents' room and smiling at him.
Zhou Kai blinked hard and closed his eyes, thinking that he was dazzled by missing her too much.
"Zhou Kai, congratulations on your marriage." Xu Shanshan smiled generously. Since she had reached an agreement with Zhou's father and mother, she would definitely not default on her debt.
Zhou Kai instinctively wanted to hold the person in his arms and coax him into pampering.
"Zhou Kai, Liu Xin, congratulations." Fang Zhiwen immediately stood between the two of them, congratulating loudly, and deliberately mentioned the matter of Liu Xin's house.
Zhou Kai took a step back with a painful expression on his face.
It's as if I was forced into marriage.
When Xu Shanshan saw it, she felt speechless.
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