Chapter 58 Newspaper Advertisement
Song Lubai already knew what kind of people her grandparents were, and she didn't think that her grandmother's promise that "no one will hit her" was for her own good.
Her grandmother finding her a good husband meant that she had already received benefits from other families and was now "selling" her away.
It's not that she's cynical; it's just that past events have led her to make such assumptions.
Her father was a hero and martyr with a military rank. When news of his death came back, the organization gave him a lot of compensation. In addition to the compensation, they also arranged a job for her mother in a food factory in the city.
Her mother almost lost her job because her grandparents wanted her to give it up to her uncle's family.
It was only with the help of her aunt Zhang Lan and her uncles that her mother was able to successfully extricate her from the Song family.
Although the mother and daughter had escaped from the Song family, her grandparents had come to their door many times to ask for favors. If her mother hadn't always listened to her aunt and uncles and insisted on not giving them anything, there would never have been a moment of peace over the years.
She remembered that when she was little, her grandma gave her candy in an attempt to trick her into telling them how much money her mother had saved, how much her salary was, and asking her to take out the family's savings book.
She wasn't stupid when she was younger, and she never let the old couple get away with it.
She still remembers the days when she was treated as inferior to all the other children in the Song family.
When the elderly couple failed to get their way, they started cursing her as a heartless ingrate, using the most vicious words to insult her and her mother.
So when her grandmother held her arm, Song Lubai felt no affection whatsoever.
Song Lubai's patience ran out. She forcefully shook off her grandmother's hand, pulled a long face, and said, "Why are you saying such nice things? You just sold me for a good price. Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Save your breath. Even if I didn't sign up to support the border regions, I won't listen to you and let your plan succeed."
"I'm leaving. You haven't even thought about giving me a penny. You even want to sell me to someone else. Keep dreaming."
She spoke politely before because she didn't want to appear ill-mannered in front of so many people, but this old lady had other ideas, so she couldn't just be nice to her anymore.
She called out to Chang Guangtao, who nimbly stepped over the front bar of the bicycle and started pedaling immediately after Song Lubai jumped onto the back seat.
Chang Zhong and his brother pedaled very fast.
In the blink of an eye, the two bicycles had traveled twenty meters away.
The old lady with bound feet walked very slowly and couldn't run at all.
"Oh my god, oh my god, what a heartless ingrate! I kindly found her a good husband, and this is how she treats me! She's just like her shameless mother. Not only did she not leave my Desheng with any descendants, but she married someone else and had two big, healthy sons. My Desheng risked his life for this job, and she's raising someone else's sons. Desheng won't rest in peace even in the afterlife..."
The old lady with bound feet looked frail, but she had a surprisingly loud voice.
Apart from Song Lubai's aunt agreeing with the old lady, none of the other villagers sitting on the donkey cart agreed with her.
The Song family told Song Lubai that everyone in the village was saying that Song Lubai and her grandparents were dreaming too much and didn't take their granddaughter seriously at all.
She's a city dweller now, and she'll look for a husband from the city. Only someone who's lost their mind or tired of the good life would want to find someone from the countryside.
The elderly couple were only concerned about the benefits promised to them, but they didn't consider their granddaughter at all. It was really too unkind of them.
Judging from Song Lubai's attitude, she didn't care about her own grandparents at all.
It would be strange if this were to succeed.
Song Lubai's aunt helped the old lady onto the donkey cart. The man driving the cart said to the old lady, "Auntie, why are you still going? Everyone else is going to the frontier to participate in construction. They've already signed up. Going there is just a waste of money. You should save your money and go home."
The old lady was unwilling to give up, but she knew in her heart that even if she went, she would definitely not achieve her goal.
The eldest aunt helped the old lady stand there and watched the donkey cart disappear from sight.
Song Lubai and her friends had long since disappeared on those two bicycles.
The old lady wiped away her tears in anger and began cursing Song Lubai and her daughter.
Having shaken off the woman, Song Lubai wasn't worried at all about her grandmother coming to her house in the city.
If someone comes to the house and causes trouble, she's not afraid at all. She'll just fight back. Anyway, they won't let this shrewish old lady get away with anything.
I stayed at my aunt's house for three days. After returning home, I heard from Lin Jianshe that Shen Lingyu had come to see me the day before yesterday.
"What did she say?"
Lin Jianshe scratched his head and said, "She said she's leaving and came to say goodbye."
Song Lubai's face still had many bruises, and she went to Shen Lingyu's house with her face covered in bruises.
A young, unfamiliar woman opened the door. He asked her who she was looking for.
Song Lubai said, "I'm looking for Shen Lingyu, who used to be the daughter-in-law of this family."
The woman realized what was happening and said, "She left yesterday. All the people who signed up to go to the border regions have already boarded the train and left. They left around 7 a.m. yesterday."
Song Lubai felt a little regretful because she hadn't told Shen Lingyu that she had also applied to support the border regions.
Those who reported to the Corps' Commercial Department did not leave with Shen Lingyu and the rest of the main force; those from the Commercial Department left a few days later.
I wonder if they'll be assigned to the same place when they go to XJ. If they do, they can look after each other.
I ran into the street office staff on patrol as soon as I stepped out of the alley.
We're all acquaintances, so naturally we'll greet each other when we meet.
As the group approached and saw the bruises on her face, Xiao Yan asked in a low voice with suspicion, "You weren't targeted by Director Wang for revenge, were you?"
Song Lubai didn't understand why she asked that question.
Why would she want revenge on me?
The group exchanged glances, and Xiao Yan lowered her voice: "Your articles have been reported, published in two newspapers. Yesterday, the secretary and director went to a meeting, and the leaders all said that you are a role model with high awareness. We should promote you and encourage more young people to contribute to the development of the border region."
Zhao Lei glanced around furtively, and after confirming that Director Wang was not nearby, he said, "Secretary Chen was praised because of you, but Director Wang, whom you mentioned in the article, was criticized for not being aware enough. She will definitely not be able to remain a director in the future, and she may even lose her job."
Newspapers are a staple on the desks of every department in government agencies and organizations. Song Lubai used to work in the propaganda office, and she wasn't surprised at all that her articles were seen by higher-ups. She was naturally pleased with the result.
Song Lubai didn't want to appear too petty in front of others, even though what she did wasn't gentlemanly.
Her almond-shaped eyes widened slightly, and she exclaimed in surprise, "I just wanted to try submitting my work, I never expected it to actually be selected and published! I haven't even checked the newspaper for the past few days, I can't believe it..."
"Wouldn't that mean I'd be putting Director Wang in a difficult position?"
Zhao Lei: "She did say those things, and her awareness was never enough. You didn't wrong her."
The other three echoed this, saying that Song Lubai's writing was correct and based on facts.
They were all people who had been reprimanded by Director Wang, and they disliked him from the bottom of their hearts. When they started talking about him now, they didn't hold back at all.
Song Lubai found Zhao Lei quite repulsive, feeling that he was a two-faced person.
Zhao Lei usually serves Director Wang tea and water and smiles obsequiously in the office, but now he's the one kicking him while he's down.
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