Chapter 3

The room suddenly became quiet.

Xu Wen waited for a while but heard nothing. He quietly opened his eyes and saw four dazed faces.

Xu Qie, who was the least affected, was the first to react and asked Xu Wen: "Sister, why do you want to drop out of school? Don't you usually like going to school the most?"

Xu Qiushi slammed the table and shook his head in retort: ​​"No! I finally got into high school, how can I just say I can't go?"

Xu asked: "..."

You said that my birthday is the most important and you should listen to me no matter what I say?

Zhu Meizhen was focusing on something else. She looked at Xu Wen suspiciously and asked tentatively, "Wenwen, why do you suddenly want to get married? Did you meet someone while herding sheep recently? Wenwen, let me tell you, there are a lot of bad people out there. Don't let them fool you!"

Grandma shook her head, not agreeing with Zhu Meizhen's words: "Ask this girl, she has been very smart since she was a child, how can she be easily fooled? I think she has her own ideas."

"Mom, you can't say that. She's only 20 years old! Even though this girl is so eye-catching, if she meets that young man with a lot of bad intentions... aren't we the ones who will suffer?!" Xu Meizhen was worried.

Xu Qiushi calmed down a little, pointed at Xu and asked, "Tell me yourself, why did you drop out of school? Why do you want to get married?"

Xu Wen bit his lower lip in embarrassment, trying to figure out the right words.

Xu Wen came in from outside with a bowl in his hand, glanced at Xu Wen, sighed softly, and smiled bitterly: "Maybe it's because of me!" He put the bowl on the table and patted Xu Wen on the shoulder, "Wen Wen, just focus on your studies, leave everything else to me!"

When he and Sang Xiaoqing saw the bowl, they knew that the couple's conversation had been overheard by someone at home. At first, they were not sure who it was, but when they arrived at the door and happened to hear these few words, they still did not understand.

Sang Xiaoqing followed Xu Wen into the house, took Xu Wen's hand, and said with shame and guilt: "Wen Wen, did you hear those grumbling words I just said? It's my fault. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sorry, don't take it to heart!"

In her heart, she was indeed somewhat dissatisfied with Xu Wen. After all, Xu Wen was treated like this, and there was no one else in the area. She was not much older than Xu Wen, and she was also getting married and having children, wasn't she?

But she was really just complaining.

Ever since she married into the Xu family, Xu Qiushi and Zhu Meizhen treated her like their own daughter and treated her no worse than Xu Wen.

Xu Wen is also a considerate person and treats her very well.

Apart from the fact that my family is a little poor, there is really not much to complain about.

It was true that Xu Wen spent money but did not earn work points, but she also benefited a lot from Xu Wen. She even envied Xu Wen in her heart.

Xu Wen shook his head, "Sister-in-law, don't think too much. I thought about this for a long time before making this decision."

She is not that great, because she sacrificed herself for a few words from Sang Xiaoqing.

At the beginning of last spring, the county resumed high school education, which had been suspended for several years.

Even though everyone knows that they cannot get into college, there are still a lot of people who want to get into high school, and it is not easy to get in.

The unified examination organized by the whole county was held at the central school of each commune. The junior high school graduates of the previous year, who were as old as four or five years apart in age, competed for the 100 admission places.

In addition to getting excellent grades in the exam, you also need various letters of recommendation or introduction, such as recommendations from junior high school teachers, introductions from the commune, and other additional points.

In the end, there were only eight girls among the 100 freshmen admitted from the entire county.

Xu Wen is one of them.

This is thanks to the Xu family, young and old, who tightened their belts and gave her full support.

Xu Wen had already graduated from a top university in her life, so she would not covet a small high school diploma, but she knew that the college entrance examination would be resumed next year.

She was thinking about going to college next year so that she could reach the end of the universe and work in the system. She also coveted the school's free dormitory.

The school is in the county, far from home, so she usually lives there and only goes home to sleep one night a week.

Although the school was also a big dormitory, there were only eight of them, so it was quite spacious. And since they were all girls, it wasn't that embarrassing to take off all their clothes.

Now that her sister-in-law is pregnant, she can no longer be so selfish and only plan for herself.

If they couldn't go to school, eight people would have to sleep on this three-meter-wide kang. Not only was Sang Xiaoqing unwilling, but Xu Wen couldn't stand it either.

He couldn't work, buy a house, go to school, or even let others know that he was educated and could speak several foreign languages. He didn't have any special skills needed in this era. Apart from getting married, Xu Wen couldn't think of a second way to solve his current predicament.

Of course, she would not marry blindly. At least she would find a man who is ambitious, has similar values ​​and interests to her.

Zhu Meizhen looked at Xu Wen, then at Sang Xiaoqing and asked Xu Wen: "What's going on?"

Xu Wen sighed, half happy and half worried: "Xiao Qing is pregnant!"

The dinner table was quiet again.

"This is a good thing! Why are you sighing?" Grandma said to Zhu Meizhen: "Meizhen, go and boil two more eggs."

Zhu Meizhen responded repeatedly, pushed Sang Xiaoqing back to her seat, and said with a happy face: "Hurry up and sit down! Don't go to work in the afternoon. You have to stay at home and take good care of yourself for the first three months."

Xu Qiushi was also very happy, "Come, let's have a family toast! Today is a double blessing for our family!"

Xu asked: “???” That’s too much of a compliment to her!

Can a birthday be as joyous an event as pregnancy?

Xu Wen picked up the tea bowl and said with a smile, "Then I am really lucky to be following my sister-in-law!"

The whole family raised their wine or water glasses and clinked them together, looking very happy.

After being happy, everyone understood why Xu Wen made these two decisions.

Grandma is over 70 years old and has experienced a lot in her life. She is very open-minded and said with a smile: "More than ten years ago, our life was much harder than it is now! We ate dirt when we were the poorest, but we are still alive and well. People have wealth! A new baby in the family is a happy event, why are you all so sad?!"

Xu Qiushi nodded, "Mom is right! It's a happy thing that Xiaoqing has added a new member to our Xu family! Come, let's eat!" He raised his chopsticks and nodded at Xu Wen, "Wenwen, you go to school, and I'll figure out the house issue. You have me and your brother above you, it's not your turn to make the decision."

"Yes! We have me and dad at home! You should take care of your babies and go to school." Xu Wen took the fish from Song Xiaoqing's bowl and gave her a few pieces of meat. "Xiaoqing, listen to your mother. Rest at home after dinner."

Sang Xiaoqing glanced at Xu Wen, pleading with her eyes: "Wen Wen, don't drop out of school, right?!"

Otherwise she would be too ashamed to stay in this house.

Xu Wen nodded: "Sister-in-law, I'm really not angry, just rest assured and take care of the baby. As for other things, we can discuss them slowly, there will always be a way."

"That's right! Can a living person be suffocated to death by urine?" Xu Wen echoed.

Only then did Sang Xiaoqing nod.

Just like that, the whole family unanimously rejected Xu Wen's request to drop out of school.

As for Xu Wen's wish to get married, Xu Qiushi and Xu Wen pretended not to hear it. In their eyes, Wen Wen was still a little girl, so how could they bear to let her get married? !

However, grandma and Zhu Meizhen both relaxed a little.

Putting aside the issue of dropping out of school, Xu Wen was already 20 years old, which was indeed the age for marriage.

It's not a big deal for a grown girl like her to live with a family of all ages.

Zhu Meizhen was also half happy and half worried, and didn't know what to do. After dinner, she asked for leave for Sang Xiaoqing in the afternoon and asked her to rest at home. She took the scissors and went to the cotton field to prune the branches.

Before she left, her grandmother stopped her and said, "Meizhen, when you gather at the production team this afternoon, tell me that you want to find a partner for Wenwen. We are not in a hurry to marry off a daughter, but we can take our time to choose one, just in case we find a good and reliable young man."

Zhu Meizhen had the same idea and agreed, "Okay! I'll go talk to Liu's wife this afternoon."

Her sister-in-law from the Liu family in the sky was called Liu Xiu'e, a famous matchmaker in the commune.

When Xu Wen heard this, he quickly said, "Mom, when you talk to Aunt Liu, please help me make a request. In addition to being of the same age and having a good character, the man must have his own house."

Zhu Meizhen looked at Xu Wen with a complicated expression, hesitated for a moment, nodded, sighed, and left.

If Xu Wen has another child, his family will have to build another room no matter what.

Not to mention that there is no money to build it, building it where is also a problem.

These two old houses of his family were built when Grandpa Xu, a barefoot traveling doctor, first settled in Taoyuan Village. The villagers renovated two dilapidated temples and gave them to him as his residence.

I didn't expect that three generations would live here until now.

Later, when the border was relocated, Taoyuan Village became Taoyuan Production Brigade, where there were more people and less land. The housing sites in the brigade were very limited, and it was difficult to buy additional housing sites even if you had money, because there was no place.

Besides, Wei Zhuang Commune is a rather special place. All the buildings in the entire commune are ancient and quaint.

It is said that a long time ago, the entire land of Wei Zhuang Commune belonged to a landlord family named Wei, and the current location of the commune was an ancient manor.

Most of the production brigades under Weizhuang Commune were called villages before, and they were named such as Taojia Village and Lujia Village. The village name is the village surname, and at least 70% of the people in each village have the village surname.

It is also said that the ancestors of these village surnames were long-term workers of the Wei family in ancient times.

Regardless of whether this ancient manor was confiscated or privatized over the years, one custom has remained: until now, in the dozens of production brigades of all sizes in the entire Wei Zhuang Commune, all households, regardless of their wealth, build houses with green bricks, red tiles and a hint of antique style.

Xu Wen initially liked this ancient environment, but when it came time to build his own house, he began to dislike this antique building made of green bricks and red tiles. Building a brick house is much more expensive than an adobe house.

The Xu family's current income is just enough for the family's daily life, and they cannot afford to buy a residential plot or build a brick house.

Xu Qiushi spoke in a tough tone, but unfortunately his toughness was useless and could not be converted into money.

The Xu family’s problem could not be solved in a short time, but once the news that Xu Wen was looking for a partner spread, all the young male members of the commune were ready to make a move.

The first to try it out were a family named Wang from the same production team.

This family is not poor. He is the leader of Production Team 7. There are three rooms in the house and he is the only son, Wang Lei.

When she heard that Xu Wen was finally looking for a partner, Wang Lei's mother couldn't wait to visit Zhu Meizhen as soon as she finished work the next afternoon.

Is this man a ghost? ?

Xu Wen swallowed his saliva in fear, remembering his hand on his waist just now, which was very warm. It should be a person, right?

If it's someone else's words, then Xu Wen wouldn't be afraid.

She clasped her hands across her chest and was about to question the man when a small artificial splash appeared out of nowhere on the water surface and the sound of something heavy falling into the water was heard. She turned her head to follow the sound.

A little boy covered in mud and with puffed cheeks was standing on the shore. He grabbed a clod of dirt in his hand and threw it in Xu Wen's direction. However, he was too small and didn't have the strength to throw far. It only caused a small splash on the shore.

When the little boy saw Xu Wen looking at him, he pinched his waist and scolded her angrily: "Bad woman! Daddy saved you, and you hit him... I will hit you!"

When Lu Yuanzheng heard the boy's words, he wanted to turn around, but halfway through he remembered Xu Wen who was not wearing any clothes and quickly turned back, scolding the boy: "Dongsheng, don't mess around!" After a pause, he said to Xu Wen, "I'm sorry, I didn't teach my child well."

Of course Xu Wen couldn't argue with a child who tried her best to throw a clod of dirt over her toes. He also realized that the man probably thought she was drowning and jumped down to save her, and he wasn't really a hooligan.

She slapped someone who saved her.

Xu Wen, feeling embarrassed and ashamed, really wanted to drown himself this time. What was going on?

She calmed down her complicated feelings a little and asked dryly, "Can you please step aside for a while so I can put on my clothes first?"

The man nodded, called a little boy named Dongsheng on the shore, and together they climbed over the small slope and disappeared in front of Xu Wen. He kept his back to her and did not allow the little boy named Dongsheng to look back.

While Xu Wen was getting dressed, he heard a man on the other side of the slope educating a little boy.

"I brought you to bury your grandparents, and you rolled yourself in mud! I brought you to take a bath, and you threw dirt at the lesbians! Do you think you're itchy?"

The little boy was hit a bit, and he cried out, aggrieved, "Who told her to hit you? Besides, if you didn't touch a lesbian, would she hit you? She even called you a hooligan. Shame on you! I'm going to go back and tell Uncle Lian!"

"You dare to talk back?" The man hit the little boy again, and the boy's cries of pain were mixed in his scolding: "You little bastard, you are so brave, aren't you? You also saw her hair floating on the water motionless, and she didn't respond when I called out to her. Should I hurry down to save her? It was an unintentional mistake on my part, but you knowingly committed a crime! Even if you complain..."

After hearing this, Xu Wen completely understood why the man suddenly appeared and "molested" her.

I'm not angry anymore, but I can't help feeling embarrassed.

She bit her lip, hesitated for two seconds, and decided to sneak away.

What else should we say when we meet? Thank you? I’m sorry?

It was wrong for her to hit someone, but any woman would be anxious if she was touched, right?

No matter what, she is the one who suffers.

Ultimately this is a misunderstanding.

What can you say when you meet? You can't ask someone to marry her just because he touched her waist.

Don't say that she doesn't want to. Even if she does, the man already has children. Can she destroy his family?

Then she would become the snake in The Farmer and the Snake.

Xu Wen thought about it carefully and made sure that the two of them did not see each other's faces clearly. Then he packed his changed clothes into a cloth bag with peace of mind, tiptoed around to the other side of the pond and left.