Chapter 42 Hanging
Song Lubai was exasperated with her mother: "What do you mean I have no complaints? You mean I have to happily accept whatever they want? Li Guangming's family is well-off, but can't our family have some backbone? Mom, where's our backbone?"
Zhang Cui pinched her, "What do you know? It's not easy to find a good partner. The fact that his family is so eager to date you means that the boy likes you. He's good-looking, likes you, and comes from a good family. Your life will be good from now on."
Song Lubai tried to bring her mother back to reality from the Li family's comfortable life: "Mom, after what happened, don't you feel uncomfortable?"
Zhang Cui pinched her, "Why are you so insensible? Being awkward? Awkward about what? Would I harm you? If it were like the family next door, with more than a dozen people crammed together, would you be content?"
Song Lubai ate her cornbread and cold-dressed lichen in a sullen manner.
Because of that dream, she had mixed feelings about Li Guangming and never expected that their relationship would end successfully.
Li Guangming survived, but why does he still have to look at her?
She didn't speak, but Zhang Cui kept talking the whole time:
"You've had too much of a good life and want to suffer a bit. Why did Liu Mei come up with that crooked idea? Wasn't it because she saw that Li Guangming was a good catch?"
Song Lubai retorted, "She wanted Liu Xingchun to find someone from the city; Li Guangming was just a coincidence."
Zhang Cui: "You actually know that! Even city dwellers have different living conditions, good and bad. Between the neighbor's family and Li Guangming's family, even a fool would know which one to choose!"
Song Lubai: "How do you know that Li Guangming's family isn't a dozen people crammed together?"
Zhang Cui rolled her eyes. "I've inquired. His brother and sister-in-law each have their own rooms. They don't live together."
Song Lubai admired him.
Her mother is incredibly fast at gathering information.
Zhang Cui's face was practically right in front of Song Lubai's. "What exactly are you unhappy about?"
Song Lubai said truthfully, "I'm only eighteen, and you can't wait to kick me out of the house."
Zhang Cui was taken aback, and her previous enthusiasm waned somewhat.
Lin Dahai, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "What's the rush? It's not urgent to wait two more years before getting married. Be more selective. Marriage shouldn't be rushed. You have to compare a lot when looking for a partner."
Staying home for two more years will allow me to contribute more money to my family, so my family won't lose out.
Song Lubai felt like the sun had risen in the west today.
Lin Dahai was so understanding just now.
Song Lubai asked sincerely, "Uncle, I almost don't recognize you anymore. Have you been possessed by some kind of demon?"
Lin Dahai glanced at her and said, "If I had known I would run into someone like Liu Mei, I would have been better off not getting married. Now that we're married, she's not close to me anymore. She believes everything Liu Mei says. I'm really upset about this."
Under the lamplight, tears seemed to well up in Lin Dahai's eyes.
Song Lubai couldn't understand his feelings, but Zhang Cui did—he was both distressed and secretly pleased.
The worse the relationship between Lin Dahai and Lin Shuhong becomes, the more he will care about their family in the future.
Previously, she was forced to be a good stepmother, and she had no one to talk to about her pent-up resentment. Now, given the opportunity, Zhang Cui will not hesitate to stir up trouble whenever she wants.
"Alright, alright, it's been so many days, what's there to be upset about? Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Shuhong is not young anymore, how long are you going to keep worrying about him? He has a job, a family, and children now, whether he lives a good or bad life depends on himself. If you interfere too much, he'll think you're meddling. You also have two sons to raise, you should be careful that these two boys don't become like Lin Shuhong, unfilial sons who forget their fathers after getting married."
Song Lubai corrected, "Mom, you're wrong. Your focus shouldn't always be on the children. They will all get married eventually. You two should focus on living your own lives first."
Zhang Cui disagreed: "What kind of twisted logic is this? You don't understand anything all day long. If we eat and drink well, how can we not care about you? If you are not doing well, how can we sleep peacefully? You talk a lot of nonsense all day long, I don't know who you have been listening to."
Song Lubai didn't know what to say.
She discovered that many of her thoughts were different from others, especially after having that dream.
Previously, her ideas differed from others, and she always felt something was wrong, but she couldn't express it clearly. Now, however, she can clearly express her thoughts. The fleeting experiences in her dreams have given her a wealth of new life experience.
Outside the tenement building, Old Lady Liu and her eldest daughter-in-law, who had been beaten out by Lin Dahai, were still around.
Overwhelmed with grief, Liu Mei's sister-in-law wept bitterly.
Old Lady Liu wasn't much better off; she was crying so much that she could barely open her eyes.
"What should we do, Mother? They won't help. Xingchun and her father can't get out. What are we going to do? I can't go on living like this."
"It's all Liu Mei's fault. If she hadn't come up with this terrible idea, none of our men would have been arrested."
Liu's sister-in-law used to fawn over her sister-in-law who had married into the city, but now she hates her sister-in-law. She never imagined that when Liu Mei proposed this idea, she didn't object at all and even dreamed of having a good life with a city son-in-law after her daughter Xingchun married into the city.
Now things have gone wrong, her husband, eldest son, and daughter are all in jail.
The police said her eldest son and his husband had premeditated murder and attempted murder, and her daughter had committed hooliganism. Several people were implicated, which really cost her her life.
After the few members of the Liu family directly involved were taken away by the police, the remaining members of the Liu family never saw them again.
A few days ago, the Liu family women asked the commune police station and learned that Li Guangming's father had specifically come to the police station to make a request.
These past two days, they came to the city to inquire, and finally found out the Li family's address. But no matter how much they begged and pleaded, the Li family wouldn't even glance at them.
Seeing Li Guangming's father arrive at Lin Dahai's house with gifts, they naturally developed hope for the Lin family.
But who would have thought that Lin Dahai showed no regard for family ties and beat them up again.
"Mom, what should we do?"
Old Lady Liu cried until her eyes ached. After crying for a while, she stood up abruptly, gritting her teeth, "Go find Shuhong. If he doesn't help us, I'll hang myself at his doorstep!"
Sister-in-law Liu felt a renewed sense of hope.
Seeing that the Li family and the Lin family have an unusual relationship, and who knows, the two families might even become in-laws. If the Lin family is willing to help, there is still room for maneuver.
Under the cover of night, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, both with empty stomachs, went straight down to the county town.
The subdistrict office has been quite busy lately. Hu Xiaoqing's death is still under investigation, and the subdistrict is also carrying out propaganda to support the border areas, encouraging everyone to sign up to go to Xinjiang Province for construction, preferably young women.
However, the publicity efforts were not very effective, and very few people signed up.
That afternoon, the neighborhood organized a free movie screening for residents of the area, which took place in a park within the neighborhood.
The people showing the movie in the afternoon set up in the park, and Song Lubai and several other staff members from the street office also went to put up promotional slogans.
"Our great motherland is vast and boundless, and the sons and daughters of China aspire to travel far and wide."
The red cloth with large white characters was hung behind the movie screen, making it eye-catching and easily visible to everyone who came to see the movie.
This isn't a free movie screening; it's a mobilization meeting with a clear purpose.
In a time when entertainment options are scarce, free movie screenings are a rare treat, which is why there were so many residents here today.
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