Chapter 8 8
The educated youth site in Chaoyang Brigade was a long adobe house with five rooms from east to west. Half of the westernmost room had collapsed, and there was a big hole in the roof. Since no one lived there, no one repaired it. They only piled some farm tools and firewood against the intact corner of the wall.
Over the years, some of the educated youth have married, some have returned to the city, and now only two couples and their children remain here. The arduous life has long since worn away their original ambition and innocence, and their appearance and accent are almost indistinguishable from those born and raised here.
Seeing Liu Ru moving out of the Zhao family, they did not ask too many questions, but instead allocated a room for her.
After packing up, Xu Meili glanced at her new brother-in-law and went home. Fang Zhiwen was about to follow, but Liu Ru stopped him and said, "Don't go."
"Why can't I go? I can help share the burden." Fang Zhiwen frowned. In his opinion, husband and wife should always discuss things. In her past life, as in the present, Shanshan always worked alone. Wasn't he trustworthy?
Liu Ru didn't answer Fang Zhiwen's question, but asked, "Comrade Fang, your family is well off, right?"
"Yeah, so I can help share the burden."
"You can't share it."
"Why can't I share the burden? I can contribute labor and money, I can do it."
"Young comrade, it's too early for you to speak. You should stay in the village first and see more and you'll understand. But Shanshan is very kind to you and cares about you very much."
"Shanshan has had a hard time these past few years. Don't hold her back."
Seeing Fang Zhiwen's hurt expression, Liu Ru smiled and said, "How about I tell you something about Shanshan's childhood?"
Fang Zhiwen immediately became interested. Liu Ru said, "When I went to the countryside, Shanshan was only 11 years old. She was skinny and small, and looked no more than eight. But despite her age, she was a hard worker. She could do everything from planting rice to carrying manure and chopping firewood."
"When she was little, she was very independent. Her parents only cared about their nephew. She secretly got some mountain products and traded them for food. She was hungry sometimes and full sometimes. She was the one who half-raised her two younger sisters."
"Comrade Fang, since you're willing to come to the Chaoyang Brigade, it seems you're really sincere about Shanshan. This child has had a hard life, so be nice to her in the future. As for her family connections, just listen to her."
Fang Zhiwen frowned when he heard this. Shanshan had never complained in her previous life. When he met the Xu family 90 years later, he saw that they were quite respectful to Shanshan.
"Sister, can you tell me more?" How did he live in his previous life? How come he doesn't know anything?
Fang Zhiwen almost wanted to slap himself twice.
Seeing Fang Zhiwen's concern, Liu Ru was genuinely curious. Where did Xu Shanshan find such a detached young man?
However, Liu Ru was happy for Shanshan because she was happy. She did not continue to play the victim for Shanshan, but talked about other things.
In fact, what Liu Ru admired most was not Xu Shanshan's hard work and progress, but her ambition.
Ambition is something that is very rare in the village.
In this brigade, the girls were all obedient and willing to compromise. Few girls would fight for their own interests. For many girls, even asking for benefits from their brothers was embarrassing.
Although Xu Ruyi has a bad temper, her temper is just to vent her dissatisfaction and confront adults, not for her own ambitions and goals.
Xu Shanshan is different. Whether she loses her temper or becomes obedient and hardworking later on, it is all for the purpose of making her life better.
When Xu Shanshan first said that life in the city was great, Liu Ru knew her ambition.
The other side
Although Boss Xu was reluctant to give up Zhou Kai, his nephew-in-law from the city, he was not happy to marry him without spending a penny.
After thinking it over, he simply asked Xu Laoer to delay it for a while and asked Xu Shanshan to think of a solution.
Yang Dani had already made up her mind, predicting that Xu Shanshan and Zhou Kai would most likely not get married. She asked, "Shanshan, your dad said you went out to bring something for the family? You got the money, but where's the stuff?"
"Something was stolen from the car."
"What? You silly girl, are you kidding me? You were robbed? How come you weren't robbed?" The second eldest daughter had five daughters, and the middle one was the most cunning. She had said at the time that this girl was unreliable, and her family didn't believe her. What happened now?
Seeing that the aunt was about to settle the bill, Xu Meili immediately said, "Sister, you went to the city. Tell us how it is in the city. Is the food good? Is the clothing good?"
Yang Dani's son and daughter-in-law were also curious about the city, so the topic suddenly changed. Xu Shanshan didn't hesitate and praised the city highly.
That's the truth. The roads in the city are smooth and clean, the buildings are tall and straight, and the things in the Friendship Mall are really new. Oh, and the big TVs in the city are also interesting.
"TV set?"
"Well, you can watch any movie."
"Can you see the tunnel warfare?"
“Yes.”
Boss Xu listened silently and suddenly asked, "Shanshan, Zhou Kai's mother doesn't like you, so what about your job?"
"Sure. Zhou Kai asked me to transfer the food supply as well this time."
"real?"
"Dad, there's no need to lie about this kind of thing. I must have a job to improve my food situation."
Xu Jun and Xu Yang's eyes lit up, and they immediately said, "Isn't work much better than a betrothal gift? Oh, I tell you two to get married right away. Don't delay things."
Xu Laoer glanced at his eldest brother and said nothing. Zhao Xiaohe sighed, "Zhou Kai is a really good kid."
Xu Meili thought of her new brother-in-law who lived in the educated youth camp, shook her head and smiled, "He's a nice guy, so he's definitely popular. If I don't hurry up, someone else will snatch him away."
Yang Dani still couldn't believe that Xu Shanshan could have such a good thing. A job? This is a stable job, how could anyone be willing to give it to her?
Boss Xu thought about it and decided to take Shanshan to the brigade to get a certificate. And Xu Shanshan really took out the acceptance letter from the TV factory.
"Hey, Rainbow TV Factory? This is a nationally renowned brand. This factory is incredible."
"Leader, why is this factory so powerful?"
"Of course I'm not impressed! My cousin waited in line for half a year to get a TV, but she ended up spending an extra hundred yuan to jump the queue and buy one. The Rainbow TV Factory is a key national institution; ordinary people can't get in. Hey, why is the surname Fang on it?"
"Oh, the director of this factory is named Fang."
"Oh, I see." The clerk had only handled incoming transfers of grain, and this was his first time handling an outgoing transfer. He had no idea what was right or wrong. He only knew that the stamp on it was correct and there was no way it could be wrong.
"Great, great, this is amazing. Our Xu family now has a stable job." The eldest brother Xu was really happy. He asked Yang Dani to get two taels of wine, saying that he wanted to have a drink with the second brother in the evening.
Xu Meili and Xu Ruyi were also happy as their sister's wish had finally come true.
But they were also sad and really didn't want their sister to leave.
"Call the elder and second sisters back tomorrow to get together."
"Okay, I'll go and shout."
"Sister, don't you care about my new brother-in-law?"
"No matter what, don't get too close to him."
......
After hearing Liu Ru's words, Fang Zhiwen consciously observed Xu Lao Da's family. What was wrong with them? Didn't they have any hands? Why did they always order Shan Shan's family around for everything?
Liu Ru pointed at Qiang Zhijie and Qian Ping and said, "Those two are Shanshan's brothers-in-law, and will soon be your brothers-in-law. See? They have to work as soon as they come in. Even an old ox needs to breathe, but they can't."
"Shanshan treats you well. She can't bear to see you suffer like this."
"When Xu Daya got married, she was already married, but Yang Dani asked for five kilograms of rice. But when she returned home, she didn't even have anything to eat."
"Comrade Fang, are you able to handle these?"
"For Shanshan, I can do it too." Fang Zhiwen felt that as long as he could use money, the problem was not a problem at all.
"Haha, one or two days is fine, but what about a year or two? You don't look like someone who has endured hardship, so don't brag like that. Shanshan isn't taking you home for your own good. The Xu family is just a leech, drinking human blood. No matter how well-off your family is, can you manage the affairs of his descendants for eighteen generations? If you can't, then don't brag!"
Fang Zhiwen looked at his brother-in-law who was working hard, and he really couldn't tell what he looked like as a small boss in the future.
In his previous life, when he met Shanshan's family, they had all become quite prosperous. Furthermore, Boss Xu's family had always been praising his brother-in-law. How could they be in such a state now?
"I know what Shanshan means. She's afraid I'll get stuck. But this kind of thing is a two-way street. If I don't agree, what can they do to me?"
"I still believe a husband has the right and obligation to share things with his wife."
Liu Ru looked at Fang Zhiwen in surprise and said, "Shanshan has a good eye this time and didn't choose the wrong person." It's rare to find a man who volunteers to be a blood bag, no wonder Shanshan also wants to protect him.
After two lifetimes, Fang Zhiwen finally understood Shanshan's thoughts.
I also feel deeply sorry for her.
But there is also a lot of anger.
"Is Fang Zhiwen a person who is untrustworthy? A person who cannot solve problems? Can't he just share weal and woe with me?" Fang Zhiwen muttered to himself.
"Have you done anything that makes Shanshan feel that you can be relied upon? After all, you two haven't known each other for long."
Liu Ru’s words really hit the nail on the head.
Fang Zhiwen thought about it, and realized that in his previous life, he got angry because Shanshan didn’t take him back to her parents’ home, and he even went out to drink out of anger. It seemed that he was not so trustworthy.
He slapped his head and gritted his teeth, "Never again."
If I were to live my life again and make the same mistake again, I would be a complete fool.
As the two were talking, Xu Shanshan found an opportunity and ran over. She looked up at Fang Zhiwen and asked, "Is everything going well here? Are you adjusting?"
To be honest, Xu Shanshan was really afraid that Fang Zhiwen couldn't stand the environment in the village and ran away early in the morning.
"Shanshan, your hometown is beautiful. I saw a lot of mushrooms in the mountains. I love eating mushrooms. Can you take me to pick some?"
"I, just in case someone else saw it, this..." Shanshan said with some embarrassment. She really didn't want to cause any trouble at this critical moment.
Fang Zhiwen smiled, then deliberately called out to the two girls from the educated youth's family, saying, "Xianghui, Miaomiao, uncle wants to get some mushrooms to take home. You two can pick them with uncle. How about 50 cents a pound?"
"real?"
"Well, uncle, the money is ready."
"Comrade Xu, do you want to come and make money too?" Fang Zhiwen asked gently with a smile.
Xu Shanshan frowned: "Didn't you hand over the money? Where did the money come from?"
"My grandparents gave it to me."
"Well......"
Xu Shanshan still frowned, so Fang Zhiwen quickly added, "Comrade Xu, you won't lose money. If you sell these mushrooms in the nearby market, you can make several times the profit."
"But mushrooms are everywhere in the mountains, are they really valuable?" She had done it before, but couldn't make any money at all. People only did it to get food out of pity for her.
"Why aren't they valuable? Not only are mushrooms valuable, chestnuts are too. Let's go to the nearby market and set up a stall selling sugar-roasted chestnuts. We'll definitely make a lot of money. Besides, people have always valued delicacies from land and sea. What do you think delicacies are? Aren't they just these mushrooms and fruits?"
"If you don't believe me, ask Sister Liu Ru."
Liu Ru nodded and said with a smile, "Fang Zhiwen didn't lie to you about this. As long as we can get it out, we will definitely make money."
Xu Shanshan was really interested when she heard that she could make money. But how could she get it out?
"Don't worry, these are not a problem. I will find a way."
"Okay, I'll go get some help, you wait for me." Since she could make money, Xu Shanshan immediately became motivated. She went back to her sister and nieces and said, "Comrade Fang from the city is looking for people to pick mushrooms and chestnuts. Mushrooms are 50 cents a pound, and chestnuts are 20 cents a pound. Let's go make some money."
When Yang Dani heard this, she immediately drove her children along to go and earn money.
Ouch, where did this sucker come from? He actually spent money to buy these things that no one wants.
All of a sudden, the whole village was in an uproar.
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