Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The young widow is really good at chatting
Sun Xiufen went to Chen Qiaoxiang's house early in the morning to pay her respects, eager to establish a close relationship with her. However, in her haste, she made a mistake and stepped in cow dung, forcing her to go back and change her shoes.
Li Laoer had an asthma attack last night and wheezed for most of the night. Finally, he couldn't bear it anymore and went to knock on the door of Doctor Liu from the brigade.
Dr. Liu's family, three generations of veterinarians, began treating patients under the collective's authorization. The needle was thick and large, and it hurt everyone who got it.
After the injection, he regained his strength and went to the old tobacco dealer's house, exchanging sorghum for two pounds of dry tobacco leaves.
As I reached the door, I saw Sun Xiufen talking to someone. She was usually very sharp-tongued, but today she was acting strangely. She stood in the courtyard, her face flushed, and she was so excited that she couldn't speak.
"We're rich, we're rich." Sun Xiufen didn't care about the person who announced the good news. She hurriedly grabbed Li Laoer's arm and threw his pipe to the ground: "Let's go and collect the betrothal gifts!"
"What are you doing? I just bought some good tobacco!" Li Laoer was puzzled. "If I'm not going to give a gift, why would I accept one?"
Sun Xiufen said, "The young widow has hooked up with the Gu family! More than 20 boxes of betrothal gifts have been brought to the dilapidated house! Let's go there quickly and don't give her time to hide!"
Li Laoer couldn't believe his ears. He turned around, stepped on his pipe, and walked out in a daze: "Is this true? Am I dreaming? Who told you that?"
"Who cares who said it? It's absolutely true!"
Sun Xiufen didn't have time to explain everything to him. She regretted it so much that she walked on cow dung. Otherwise, it would have been much better for her to receive the betrothal gift directly in the dilapidated house.
The two old men walked towards the dilapidated house like the wind.
The dilapidated tiled houses were located south of the village pond, separated from them by a dirt road. Going around the pond and across the dirt road, you could see a row of tiled houses.
Those in the village who were living in poor conditions all lived there. Their family also built this bungalow last year with the betrothal gift for their youngest son's marriage.
He had kicked Qingmei out, giving her nothing and leaving her to live in a dilapidated house. Qingmei's father gave her a twenty-yuan dowry and also gave her his own mother. Qingmei took care of his frail grandmother, and he only needed to live happily with his second wife in the city, without any troubles.
As Sun Xiufen walked along, she encountered many people who greeted her. She was a petty and gossipy person, so not many people got along well with her.
Seeing this scene, Sun Xiufen and Li Laoer became even more certain that the young widow had been favored by the Gu family.
But as they walked, the sky turned cloudy and then cleared up, and everyone looked at them with a look that seemed to indicate something was wrong.
When she arrived at the dilapidated house, Sun Xiufen looked at the empty courtyard and became furious.
"Where's the money?! Where's my money?!"
She rushed into the house and saw that there was nothing inside either, only a bamboo bed and a three-legged stool.
Qingmei knew she was coming and told her grandmother not to be afraid. The mother and daughter watched her rummage through the drawers and cabinets without stopping her. It's not that you're afraid of thieves stealing, but you're afraid of thieves thinking about it. If she can find it, it's a sign of her ability.
Qingmei and her grandmother sat on the bamboo bed, watching her crazy behavior with cold eyes. Li Laoer realized that the betrothal gift was not here, and immediately looked over to Chen Qiaoxiang's house next door.
Chen Qiaoxiang's door was closed, there was no guest at all, and it was eerily quiet.
"You were deceived. You never proposed to me."
Qingmei saw Sun Xiufen taking a break and couldn't stop breathing heavily.
Qingmei said calmly while showing disdain: "Do you think it's possible? A family like them would want me to be their daughter-in-law? He's the head of a regiment, what kind of female comrade can't he find? Forget about the educated youth, wouldn't it be better to find a female soldier? A family with two military members is better than me?"
"Nonsense! How could someone lie to me when they saw it with their own eyes?" Sun Xiufen said, "Aunt Zhou said it herself was carried here."
Qingmei said, "You've said so many bad things about Aunt Zhou behind her back, and you took her joke seriously once. Now I don't know how to laugh at your wild imagination. Ask yourself, do you believe a widow can be a soldier's wife?"
These words were like a bolt from the blue, making Sun Xiufen and Li Laoer quiet down.
Sun Xiufen plopped down on the stool and nearly fell to the ground. She tossed the three-legged stool aside, stood up straight, put her hands on her hips, and said, "I think you're trying to climb the social ladder, and it's because they don't like you!"
Qingmei didn't want to refute at all. She gently held her grandmother's hand and said with a smile: "You are right. I am a widow and no one wants me. I can only rely on your Li family. From now on, I won't do any work. When I am hungry, I will knock on your door to ask for money. When I am thirsty, I will fetch water from your water tank. When I am cold, I will put on your cotton-padded jacket-"
Sun Xiufen didn't expect Qingmei to be so shameless, and immediately said, "Do you think I will spoil you?!"
Qingmei said with a fake smile: "Anyway, I am a widow, and the captain loves me. If you don't give me money to spend, I will make trouble with you. The bare feet are not afraid of the ones wearing shoes. Let's see who will live longer, you two old people or me. You have dignity, but I don't."
Grandma suddenly said, "When I die, I will run to your doorstep and lie down!"
Li Laoer rushed up to hit them, but Qingmei suddenly stood on the bamboo bed, raised the kitchen knife and slashed it at his neck!
The blade grazed his neck, and he felt a trace of blood with his hand.
Li Laoer's legs went weak and he suddenly knelt on the ground. He pointed at Qingmei and said tremblingly, "You, you dare to pull a knife on me? Go, kowtow in front of my son's grave! I want you to kowtow!"
"Okay. Grandma, you wait for me at home." Qingmei quickly got down to the ground and put on her shoes, swearing fiercely as she did so: "Come to think of it, I've forgotten where that dead guy is buried. After I kowtow to you, I'll dig up his grave and make you two old bastards lie in it too!"
This was the first time Qingmei disobeyed them since she got married.
The cautious and timid Qingmei disappeared.
Sun Xiufen was like a dehydrated fish, gasping for breath in anger.
Seeing that Li Lao Er was also rolling his eyes in anger, he quickly ran over and pinched his philtrum, shouting, "This is outrageous! A widow is trying to bully her parents-in-law! Is there any justice in the world?"
It would have been fine if she hadn't said that, but after she did, Qingmei got even angrier. It was she who had no sense of justice, so she was so reckless!
Today, Zhao Wuhe reminded her that the more afraid she is, the less likely she is to accomplish anything.
If you don't resist when you're being bullied, are you just waiting to be put into a camphorwood box and beaten to death? She didn't want to endure the humiliation she had to endure in her previous life at all in this life. At least she'd be struck by lightning, come on!
"I won't give you a penny." Sun Xiufen saw Qingmei walking out and chased after her: "Where are you going? How dare you dig up my son's grave!"
Qingmei walked into the yard, smiling sinisterly: "You've been rummaging through my house, so I have to find your money. Oh, I was wrong, your home is my home. Don't you often say that when I marry into your family, I am yours in life and yours in death. You can't take your money with you when you die, so I'll go find some money for Huahua first."
"...The widow has gone crazy." Sun Xiufen ran to the courtyard, grabbed Qingmei's arm and said, "The widow has gone crazy! Someone, the widow has gone crazy!"
Suddenly, Chen Qiaoxiang from next door rushed out, pointed at Qingmei and said, "She's not crazy! She's still dreaming of marrying into the Gu family. I'm the only one who can get in! She's trying to get people to come over, but they won't go. If she's not crazy, who is?"
Qingmei was so angry at her twisted words that she laughed and asked, "Then where is the person who proposed to you today?"
Chen Qiaoxiang is worthy of being the heroine of this book. She firmly believes that she will definitely be the daughter-in-law of the Gu family. She looked at Qingmei with contempt and said, "Today is not a good day. Can't we do it another day?"
Qingmei took advantage of the situation and said to Sun Xiufen, "Mom, did you hear that? I can't get into the Gu family at all. How could you believe such lies? I'm going to live with your family for the rest of my life. It's too cold here at night, so I'm packing up and moving back home."
She thought for a moment and then dropped another bombshell on Chen Qiaoxiang: "Oh, my uncle is still home, right? If you don't let me go back today, I'll just knock on your door in the middle of the night and no one will be able to live in peace."
"You are not allowed to go!" Sun Xiufen was really about to collapse. She didn't even dare to think about what Qingmei meant by asking about her eldest son!
Li Laoer was clearly overwhelmed by Qingmei's unfinished words. He pointed at Qingmei and said, "You are not allowed to enter my house. Absolutely not!"
"How can that be?" Qingmei revealed her sweet dimples and said softly, "I belong to your family in life, and in death, you are the ones who—"
"Our family can't accommodate a big Buddha like you." Li Laoer picked up a wooden stick, and while he was afraid that Qingmei would suddenly attack him with a kitchen knife, he supported his shaky body and said, "Let's go to the brigade headquarters."
Sun Xiufen immediately understood what Li Laoer meant. She still wanted to get the betrothal gift for Qingmei's second marriage and was still looking for a husband for the widow.
When Li Laoer saw Sun Xiufen trying to stop him, Qingmei wanted to chop him with a kitchen knife, but Sun Xiufen didn't have one.
He slapped her across the face, causing Sun Xiufen to groan in pain, covering her mouth. She'd been beaten often when she was young, but now that she had a son and a daughter-in-law, she'd been beaten less often. She was completely taken aback by the suddenness of this.
"You are so stupid!" Li Laoer said, "If we don't let her leave our home, it will definitely lead to unrest in our family!"
The beautiful young widow was always a source of reverie wherever she went, and this was also part of the reason why she was kicked out. His eldest son, Li Xianjin, would look at Qingmei with explicit eyes whenever he drank. As a man, he understood it too well!
What rural people care about most is their face. Good news doesn’t travel far, but bad news travels far and wide. Such dirty and disgusting things must never happen and must not be delayed!
Captain Jin sent Zhao Wuhe away after she finished her phone call, and then he called Li Laoer and Sun Xiufen, who were very angry, into his office.
The young widow Qingmei was crying behind them, wiping her tears. The first thing she said was a twisted argument: "My parents-in-law want to separate from me."
Li Laoer and Sun Xiufen did not refute, but sat by the wall and sulked.
Captain Jin and others were suddenly confused.
Oh, Zhao Wuhe wants to marry Qingmei. Is it possible that Qingmei is not happy about this? Instead, it is the parents-in-law who want to make it happen?
The sun rises from the west, right?
"I really want to support them, but they can't tolerate me."
Captain Jin really wanted Qingmei to wake up. Legally, widows have no right to support their parents-in-law, but in rural areas, widowhood is considered a substitute for filial piety.
Now that the New Marriage Law and women's rights are being implemented, according to her attitude, she should support the separation of the family.
Qingmei was invited to the next office, where Wang Lei, a female cadre, tried to persuade her with kind words. Everyone knew that Qingmei's in-laws had treated her harshly, and that being able to leave was a great blessing.
"Don't be so depressed, really. Why would you stay with such a good family? You follow your husband. If your husband is gone, you can just find another one. We should be women of the new era and not be poisoned by rural feudal ideas."
Qingmei suddenly raised her head and smiled sweetly at Wang Lei: "You are right."
Wang Lei, who still had a lot to say, choked up and said, "...Yes, as long as you think it's right."
This ideological work is so easy to do.
Qingmei reached out and pulled her messy braids to the front, quickly re-braiding them. She said with a smile, "Thank you, Comrade Wang. I agree to the division."
Wang Lei: "...You're welcome."
On the other side, Li Laoer lit up his pipe.
There was an elderly official here who was trying to persuade them: "After all, you are also old, and with her by your side to serve you——"
Li Laoer said grimly, "I could die sooner."
Secretary Qian: "...You can't say that."
Sun Xiufen: "My son's grave is covered with cuckolds."
Secretary Qian: "You can't say that."
Secretary Qian thought Sun Xiufen was talking about Qingmei and the Gu family. He thought about trying to persuade her, so he said, "That was consensual, and the relationship is free."
"Freedom?! Let me tell you, are you free if I hit you?" Li Laoer suddenly stood up and waved his pipe at him!
"Separate the family, I must separate the family!"
Secretary Qian covered his right ear, which had been hit, and was furious. He was stopped by a nearby secretary and angrily said, "Isn't this a good thing? How can you be so ignorant! If you hit anyone again, I'll call for help. Don't think I can't handle you just because you're old!"
Li Lao Er: "Then you have to speak human language."
Secretary Qian said excitedly: "Isn't what I said human language?!"
Li Laoer took a puff of his pipe and said, "No."
Secretary Qian: “…” I’m so angry.
Finally, Captain Jin made the decision and had them sit at opposite ends of the desk after they calmed down.
For fear of being entangled by their childhood sweetheart, Li Laoer and Sun Xiufen specially asked Captain Jin to write a document of separation, and both parties signed and sealed it.
"From now on, we are just strangers. We have nothing to do with each other." Li Laoer glared at Qingmei and said, "Don't show up in our house. We don't need you to serve us. You go your way, and we go ours."
In front of a room full of brigade officials, Qingmei said miserably, "If you get sick or old..."
"We still have a son, we don't need your concern." Sun Xiufen stood firm with the brigade cadres making the decision.
Qingmei added fuel to the fire and said, "What if this one dies too?"
Everyone present: “…”
The young widow is really good at chatting.
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