◎Third update◎
"Divorce?" Liang Baoying was stunned by these two words.
Half a year ago, Song Jianguo was thinking about returning to the city and proposed a fake divorce, but later he stopped because he listened to Baozhen and wanted to see if he could resume the college entrance examination. If he could, he could go back.
Song Jianguo held his wife's hand and sat on the edge of the bed, frowning with high eyebrows. He was good-looking, with thick eyebrows, big eyes and regular features, but he had worked in the fields for many years, his skin was tanned and he looked a lot rougher. He pursed his dry lips and said seriously.
"Baoying, this isn't a real divorce. Let's get divorced first. I'll bring you and Mengmeng back to town after I've settled down."
"Why do we need a fake divorce?" Liang Baoying didn't understand. Wasn't Song Jianguo already studying seriously?
Song Jianguo smiled bitterly and shook his head, "College entrance exam, going to college? There's no chance of that happening. Baoying, I believed what my sister said before, thinking it would be great if the college entrance exam could be resumed. But who knows if it will be resumed this year? Even if it is resumed, can I pass it?"
In the past, it was fine because no one could go back, and no one had any other thoughts. But once one educated youth returned to the city, the others could not sit still. The thought of returning to the city grew from all over, tormenting their nerves.
"Of course you can!" Liang Baoying had not received much education, but she knew that her husband was a good student and had once been one of the best students in the class. "You will definitely pass the exam."
"That was so many years ago that I almost forgot everything." Song Jianguo had no confidence in something as illusory as the restoration of the college entrance examination, nor did he have confidence in himself.
When he went into the city today, he was deeply hurt again. He was originally a city dweller. After graduating from high school, he either went to a technical secondary school or joined a state-owned factory to become a glorious worker. He received a ration of grain, oil, rice and flour every month, and his salary was just a few dozen yuan, which should have been a good life for him. He was a decent person.
But now, I work hard every day, facing the earth and back to the sky. Instead of believing in the college entrance examination that I don’t know when will come, and gamble on whether I can pass it, it is better to divorce and return to the city with work.
His parents have already found out that they can buy him a job. As long as he gets divorced, he can be picked up by his work unit and successfully return to the city!
Song Jianguo grabbed Liang Baoying's hand and begged bitterly, talking about the hardships and fatigue he had experienced in the countryside over the years, and how his wife had seen all the suffering he had endured, and tears flowed down his face.
"Baoying, you know I used to be a student in school, but suddenly I became an educated youth, carrying a hoe to work every day. I used to hold a pen with this hand, but now I have so many blisters on my hand. The skin is broken and it hurts so much. But there is nothing I can do in the educated youth center. Everyone sleeps in a big bunk bed, and there is no room for their own. What do we eat all day? We can't even have a bed to eat...
I want to go back to the city, not just for myself, I want our family to live in the city. Didn't you see Baozhen today? Look at her, she has changed in half a year after marrying in the city. She wears clothes of all kinds of materials and has a formal job. In the future, the children she and Xu Shengjie have will also be city dwellers, and can go to the best primary school and eat good food. What about Mengmeng? She can only live with us! Don't you want Mengmeng to live a good life? Do you want her to dig for food in the fields like you and me?
I work so hard every year, but I can barely afford a meal, and I don’t get much money at the end of the year! If I go back to the city, I’ll have a job and earn a few dozen yuan a month. Just think about it, won’t my family be able to live a good life then?”
When he got excited, Song Jianguo knelt on the ground and pointed to the sky and swore, "Baoying, please believe me! After I return to the city and settle down, I will definitely come to pick you and Mengmeng up as soon as possible! Please believe me."
Liang Baoying listened to every word the man said and knew how hard it had been for him over the years, especially the last sentence about letting Mengmeng live a good life while she took care of herself as a daughter. Should she go to the city to study and live there, or should she work in the fields like herself in the future?
Looking out the window, Meng Meng was running in the yard, picking up stones and drawing on the ground. She looked cute, but she was in a mess...
——
Song Chunhua didn't know about Baoying and her husband. She was preparing to go out to visit relatives. When she came back, the Xu family had prepared a rich New Year gift for her, including a bag of white sugar, a bag of brown sugar, a pair of enamel cups, two pounds of chicken cake, and a can of fruit. The bag was bulging. When she walked to the village entrance, many villagers saw her and praised her for finding a son-in-law from the city.
At this moment I happened to be going to pay New Year's greetings with a bag of sugar.
Aunt Hu couldn't help but say something sarcastic to her, "Hey, Chunhuaer, you're back from the city? I heard you brought a lot of stuff. What did you get?"
As he spoke, he wanted to get closer.
Song Chunhua dodged and protected the things. She knew that Hu Guifen was a person who loved to take advantage of others. "It's just those things."
"Wow." Hu Guifen rolled her eyes and pointed at the Dong family next door to the Liang family, "Dong Jiayan brought back a lot of stuff. And she married the director of the factory, while your Baozhen married an ordinary worker. There's no comparison~"
"There's no comparison. Our son-in-law is a good man. He has prepared everything for us. I'm very satisfied." Song Chunhua was not willing to be outdone. She protected her own family.
Dong Jiayan heard some voices outside and knew that the Liang family had returned, so she opened the door and went out. She returned to the village on the morning of the third day of the Chinese New Year, wandered around the village with a bunch of things she bought, and then went home. She originally wanted to go to the door of the Liang family, but after standing there for a long time, she heard that the Liang family had actually gone to the city!
So the whole family goes to the city to celebrate the New Year?
Now that they finally came back, she had to go out and show off. After all, half a year had passed, and everyone had almost forgotten the commotion at the time, or no one cared. When she came back, she gave everyone some candy, and everyone praised her for marrying well.
"Auntie Chunhua, are you back from the city?"
Song Chunhua looked at Dong Jiayan and ignored her. This person was so shameless to do such a shameful thing. If it weren't for the fact that her parents had been neighbors with her family for more than ten years, she would have wanted to rush up and give her a slap in the face.
Ever since the last time the head of the Dong family came to apologize, the two families haven't mentioned the matter again, and they have also cut off contact. When they meet each other on weekdays, they act as if they don't know each other.
Song Chunhua felt like she was dirtying her mouth when she talked to Dong Jiayan. She rolled her eyes at her, snorted, and went to talk to Aunt Fulai on the other end.
Dong Jiayan was ignored by Song Chunhua, and she was holding her anger. She took a piece of egg cake from the house and gave it to Hu Guifen, showing it off to others, "Auntie Hu, you eat this. I bought it from the city. My husband cares about our family and spent a lot of money on it."
The money was indeed paid by Chen Siming, but he didn't care about it at all, just wanted to get some money to send Dong Jiayan away. Dong Jiayan wanted to compare herself with Liang Baozhen, who came back to her parents' home on the third day of junior high school, so she bought a lot of food at the supply and marketing cooperative in the city, hoping to outdo her. As a result, she bought everything, but Liang Baozhen didn't come back!
"Jia Yan, you are lucky to have married. Your husband loves you so much that he even bought so many things for your family! Look, other families' things are different. They look so shabby."
Song Chunhua listened and laughed in her heart. Dong Jiayan was really stupid. She tried to bribe Hu Guifen with egg cakes? That was a waste of things. She didn't want to do that. She had good food to eat at home. Why would she try to please that person?
"Of course not. If she doesn't come back, we have to buy something for her." Chen Siming has never set foot in Damian Village since Dong Jiayan got married. He didn't come for her wedding visit or for the Chinese New Year. Every time, Dong Jiayan came back alone.
Song Chunhua's words hurt Dong Jiayan. Aunt Fulai couldn't stand her either, so she said, "That's right. When a son-in-law of an ordinary worker takes his mother-in-law's family to the city for a reunion dinner, they celebrate the New Year with lots of fish and meat, but when a director doesn't even show up, there's a big difference."
Aunt Li, who was eating pumpkin seeds nearby, also thought it made sense. She was cheerful and thought Dong Jiayan's husband was really a nobody. "Jiayan, I have something to advise you. You need to be more careful. It makes a difference whether a man cares about you or not. You've been married for so long, and your man has never been to the village once!"
Dong Jiayan looked at the eyes of several women in the village who were watching the show and felt aggrieved. She also wanted Chen Siming to come, but he was unwilling to come because he thought it was tiring to take the bus. However, in front of outsiders, she had to persevere, "Our Siming is the director and is busy! He is not as free as others."
After saying that, he turned around and went back into the house, leaving only the sound of the door slamming.
The short Spring Festival holiday ended with the long-lost sound of firecrackers.
The sumptuous New Year's Eve dinners in every household in the city were wiped out, the delicious fish and meat disappeared from the table, and cornmeal dumplings and sweet potatoes became the eternal theme on the table.
The meat, grain and sugar coupons saved in a year are used up during the Spring Festival. We have to live our lives slowly in the new year and save money and coupons slowly. We hope that each year will be better than the last, and we hope that there will be more delicious dishes on the family dinner table next year.
Liang Baozhen sat on the back seat of Xu Shengjie's bicycle and went to work in the factory.
It was a holiday and the workers were bound to be a little slack, so a red banner with white letters was hung at the gate of the National Cotton Mill, with the slogan "Grasp the revolution, engage in production, and actively participate in production construction" written on it.
This will mobilize the enthusiasm of the workers and encourage large-scale production and construction.
At the factory gate, groups of people in blue work clothes were walking in, accompanied by the ringing of bicycles, creating a prosperous scene.
However, as they walked, everyone realized something was wrong. The road ahead was blocked and they couldn't move forward.
Liang Baozhen got off the bike and looked ahead. It seemed like there was a group of people gathered there, and there were some noisy noises.
"What's wrong?"
Xu Shengjie held the bicycle with one hand, letting Liang Baozhen hold it steady, and he strode forward to see what was going on.
I pushed through the crowd and squeezed in, only to see the factory director Chen Yong being blocked on the road by three workers, who were talking angrily and spitting.
Liang Baozhen was pushing her bicycle forward with difficulty. She heard the workers beside her talking about something that had happened. When Xu Shengjie turned around, she asked hurriedly, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Xu Shengjie said succinctly, "Chen Siming has been reported."
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