The local street office staff simply ignored Yi Zhonghai, as his reputation was already infamous. In their eyes, Yi Zhonghai was beyond redemption.
They tied Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu up and took them directly out of the courtyard. Such blatant promotion of feudal superstition required a severe reprimand and education. Then, their thinking would be gradually reformed.
Yi Zhonghai was taken to the street office and subjected to a trial. Even Jia Dongxu was not spared, but fortunately, Jia Dongxu had performed meritorious service recently, so he did not suffer as badly as Yi Zhonghai.
Even so, Jia Dongxu returned with numerous injuries. Yi Zhonghai's condition was even worse; without Jia Dongxu's support, he might not have been able to walk back to the courtyard house.
As soon as they returned to the courtyard house, Yi Zhonghai lay down on the bed. Seeing Yi Zhonghai's appearance, Jia Dongxu couldn't help but feel a little disgusted. If it weren't for his desire to learn the skills from Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu would have loved to kick his stepfather out.
If it weren't for Yi Zhonghai's terrible idea, he wouldn't have had to suffer like this. Thinking about what he had gone through over the past week, Jia Dongxu couldn't help but shed tears.
I risked my life to cleanse myself of this stain, but now it's stained again. Getting promoted will be harder than climbing to heaven.
But what's done is done, and even kicking Yi Zhonghai out won't change the outcome. To recover as quickly as possible, Jia Dongxu could only lie down and rest in bed, just like Yi Zhonghai.
Seeing Yi Zhonghai and his son in their current state brought great joy to many people in the courtyard. Those who had grievances against Yi Zhonghai and his son, while not celebrating wildly, were still quite happy.
Liu Haizhong and Yan Fugui had spoken ill of Yi Zhonghai to everyone in front of others. They practically dragged everyone out to discuss the matter in front of their homes. This infuriated Yi Zhonghai, who roared incessantly at home. But his roars only earned him more criticism from others. It had absolutely no effect; everyone continued their rant and rave.
Only Qin Huairu felt that each day was like a year. She had originally thought that Yi Zhonghai could help with the tutoring, but since Yi Zhonghai came to the Jia family, he not only did not provide any help, but also caused trouble every few days.
Looking at Yi Zhonghai lying on the bed, Qin Huairu felt a hint of disgust. But in order to maintain her image as a good wife, even though she disliked Yi Zhonghai, Qin Huairu had no choice but to serve Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu well while they were lying on the bed.
Jia Dongxu was doing alright; after resting at home for three or four days, he returned to work at the steel rolling mill. However, Yi Zhonghai's condition hadn't improved much. Not only had his new injury from the past week not healed, but his old injury was also showing signs of infection. Watching Yi Zhonghai lying in bed, clutching his lower body and groaning in pain, Jia Dongxi was powerless to help.
Left with no other option, Jia Dongxu could only request a period of leave for Yi Zhonghai. As a man, Jia Dongxu could understand Yi Zhonghai's feelings at that moment.
Jia Dongxu knew how much of a blow this incident had been to Yi Zhonghai. So, he generally wouldn't bother Yi Zhonghai unless it was absolutely necessary.
While Yi Zhonghai was recuperating at home, Xu Damao, encouraged by his parents, was preparing to take advantage of the eldest daughter of the Lou family.
Xu Damao's mother and Lou Xiao'e's mother had a good relationship. When they learned that the Lou family wanted to find Lou Xiao'e a home with an ordinary family, they immediately began working on Mrs. Lou.
After learning about Xu Damao's situation, Chairman Lou's wife finally agreed to let them meet first. The current situation is not particularly friendly to capitalists.
Chairman Lou was also unsure about the current situation. To have more options, he wanted to find a husband for his daughter from a working-class family. Knowing his wife had already agreed to marry someone else, he didn't object.
Knowing that the Lou family had agreed to take the matter, the Xu family immediately bought a lot of things and brought Xu Damao to Loujia.
Xu Damao may not have many other skills, but his ability to charm women is absolutely top-notch. Seeing the elegant and sophisticated Lou Xiao'e, Xu Damao used all his charm. The naive and inexperienced Lou Xiao'e was completely captivated by Xu Damao's flattery.
It's no wonder Lou Xiao'e fell for him so quickly; Xu Damao was simply too skilled. Having never met someone like Xu Damao before, Lou Xiao'e was completely unprepared. In less than a month, Xu Damao had her hooked.
Xu Damao was more clear-headed than anyone else. If the situation hadn't changed, he wouldn't even have the right to see Lou Xiao'e, given his status. Even though the situation wasn't good, the Lou family was still not someone the Xu family could afford to offend.
Marrying Lou Xiao'e would be entirely beneficial to the Xu family. Perhaps in a few years, the Xu family could rise to prominence thanks to Lou Xiao'e.
In order to change the fate of the Xu family, Xu Damao devoted all his attention to Lou Xiao'e, showering her with meticulous care.
Lou Xiao'e, who had just turned 18, had never seen anything like this before. Under Xu Damao's sweet talk, she quickly offered herself to him.
Knowing that his daughter had been "spoofed" by Xu Damao, Chairman Lou had no choice but to accept the marriage. Although he acknowledged it, Chairman Lou wasn't particularly happy, since it was his own daughter who had been "spoofed."
He harbored some resentment towards the Xu family's actions. If the current situation weren't so dire, Chairman Lou wouldn't mind teaching the Xu family a lesson. He would let them know that even though the Lou family wasn't well-liked, they weren't someone anyone could easily manipulate.
But for the sake of her daughter, Chairman Lou could only keep all this to herself. After all, her daughter had long been taken advantage of by Xu Damao, who even talked about Xu Damao all the time.
To avoid gossip, Chairman Lou had no choice but to urge the Xu family to expedite the wedding. He didn't want his daughter to marry while heavily pregnant.
When the news from the Lou family reached the Xu family, the entire Xu family was extremely excited. Xu Fugui immediately hired a matchmaker to personally propose marriage to the Lou family.
Even with the current unfavorable situation, Xu Fugui dared not disregard these formalities. As a long-term worker for the Lou family, his son marrying a young lady from the Lou family would be a source of immense pride and honor for the family.
After the matchmaker and the Xu family finalized the details, Xu Fugui personally took his son to visit Chairman Lou and his wife.
"Fugui, you're practically a member of the Lou family. You're aware of the current situation to some extent. Let's keep the wedding as simple as possible!"
"I have only one request: since you want Xiao'e to marry into the Xu family, you must treat her well from now on. If I find out that you dare to mistreat my daughter, you should know the consequences."
"Don't worry, Master. Now that Miss Xiao'e has married into our Xu family, we will treat her well and never dare to let her suffer the slightest grievance."
"Now that the marriage has been arranged, you don't need to call her 'Miss' anymore. She will be your Xu family's daughter-in-law from now on. If she does anything wrong, you can hit her or scold her as you see fit. Just don't mistreat her for no reason."
"Master is joking. It is the result of our Xu family's good fortune to marry Miss Xiao'e. How could we dare to mistreat her?"
"Father-in-law, please rest assured. I will definitely treat Xiao'e well in the future and will never let her suffer any grievances."
“Xu Damao, you said it yourself. Since you want to marry Xiao’e, you need to know some things. Xiao’e has never done any housework in our family. You need to be prepared after you get married. From now on, washing clothes and cooking will basically be your responsibility.”
"Father-in-law, please rest assured. I will take care of the laundry and cooking from now on."
Hearing Xu Damao's words, Lou Xiao'e's eyes sparkled with emotion. Chairman Lou, seeing his daughter's reaction, said nothing more. He simply felt that girls are naturally inclined to be fickle; even before marriage, her heart was already set on someone else.
Seeing that the Lou family had agreed, Xu Fugui told Xu Damao to quickly get a letter of introduction the next day. Lou Xiao'e also took her own letter of introduction and went to the Civil Affairs Bureau with Xu Damao. Soon, the two received their marriage certificate.
Due to the circumstances, Xu Damao and Lou Xiao'e's wedding was not a grand affair. Apart from their parents, there was no one else present.
Not only was there no lavish celebration, but there wasn't even a decent dowry, at least not in the eyes of outsiders. Lou Xiao'e's dowry consisted of only two locked boxes, and only Xu Damao's family and Wei Hua knew what was actually in her dowry.
Wei Hua couldn't help but marvel at the Lou family's wealth. Although there were only two small safes, they contained a fortune that ordinary people couldn't accumulate in several lifetimes. Not only were there over ten kilograms of gold, but also more than ten thousand yuan in hidden cash. Besides these, there were nearly half a safe filled with gold and silver jewelry and various ornaments. All of this was worth at least tens of thousands of yuan.
It's only 1959 now. With today's purchasing power, tens of thousands of yuan would be enough for everyone in the courtyard house to live on for decades.
When Xu Fugui and his wife learned about Lou Xiao'e's dowry, their eyes lit up with greed. With such a large fortune, the Xu family could live a life of ease, without worrying about money for three or four generations.
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