Chapter 25 Renting a House
Shi Wenliang, the village secretary of Shijia Village, got up early in the morning and was blocked at home by Pu Xiang before he could go to work.
"Secretary Shi, this is the situation. I'm going to get my dowry later. I'm worried that if there's a quarrel, the police will be called. With the secretary here, we can all resolve the issue peacefully."
This is still calm.
Shi Wenliang felt as if his chest was blocked early in the morning. What was going on? A few days ago, someone got divorced, and now another one got divorced, and the one who got divorced was his next-door neighbor. Is divorce some kind of contagious disease?
"Hey, you young people, how can you say that you are so good? Why don't you want to live a good life? Third sister, this incident will not end well. Think about it carefully. You still have a child. No matter what, you are still the child's mother."
Shi Wenliang also felt that the Shi family was not fair in locking people up and forcing them to pay money before releasing them, but he also didn't think that Pu Xiang asking him to move her dowry was a good way to deal with the situation.
She should go to her parents' house, negotiate, and move in when it's getting dark and no one will notice.
Give everyone some face instead of asking him to go with you early in the morning.
But in the end he hurriedly ate a few mouthfuls of breakfast, got on his bike and followed Pu Xiang.
He had to go. If the police were called, he would be derelict in his duty.
After Pu Xiang invited Shi Wenliang to join her, she felt completely relieved.
That is to say, they were affected by the reform and opening up early, the status of women was not low, there was no clan power in the local area, and they all supported each other and united against external foes, and each family lived its own life. That was why she could do this.
Otherwise, she would be a single woman, and her family wouldn't care about her, so she wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. It would be a blessing if she had the chance to turn around and run away.
Shi Wenliang has been the brigade secretary and village party secretary for many years, and he is still very fair in doing things.
Not only did he come himself, he also called the women's director Lin Juan along.
Matters like divorce are easier to handle with a lesbian.
Yu Abao called a few aunts with whom she got along well early in the morning, and they all held their bowls and ate and chatted while waiting at the door of her house.
As soon as they saw Pu Xiang, the village party secretary and the women's director riding their bikes down the road and passing by her house, they all ran home tacitly, put down their bowls and chopsticks, and hurried out.
He also did not forget to invite the old sister-in-law and young wife from the next-door neighbor's house to come along.
Go and see what the excitement is, and see if you can pick up any bargains.
But they heard from Yu Abao that Pu Xiang didn't take her dowry home but sold it all at a discount.
Shi Hai has been busy since he got up in the morning, feeding the pigs and making breakfast. It sounds like just two things to do, but he does them all by himself, taking an hour at a time.
Shi Dafu, the unfilial son, worked for a whole day and made a split on the pig manure. He then shook half of his hip and said that he had twisted it and was in so much pain that he couldn't move his strength and he didn't want to go into the pigpen again.
Shi Hai really wanted to hit him with the stick used to mix pig food. How could he be so lazy at such a young age?
This job was thrown to his elderly father, and he really could do it.
After getting married, Shi Hai had been idle for a few years. Now he has to take up this job again. It’s not that he can’t do it at his age, but he feels uneasy when he looks at his son again.
Not only does he not work, but he also drives his capable daughter-in-law away in anger.
This bastard thing!
Shi Hai was already stinking in the morning. He went into the kitchen to make breakfast. He was surrounded by smoke and fire, and his body was covered with ashes and straw.
Shi Wenliang walked in and called out to Shi Hai twice. Shi Hai heard the voice and quickly ran out of the kitchen.
"Hey, why is Secretary Shi here? And Director Lin, what's up so early in the morning?"
Shi Hai and Shi Wenliang are quite familiar with each other, and unlike other villagers, they are not nervous when they see the village party secretary.
He was the first household with a net worth of 10,000 yuan in the village, and he interacted with village cadres more than the average person.
When he saw this situation and Pu Xiang was also there, his heart sank and he uttered a rare curse.
This matter is really not over yet!
Shi Hai usually thought his daughter-in-law was good, but now he began to think that she was too good at finding trouble and felt a little dissatisfied.
Shi Wenliang sighed and said, "Old Shi, I didn't want to come this time, but there is no other way. Third sister has come to visit us. We have to solve the problem. We have to solve it properly. Don't make a big fuss. If we do, we will become a laughing stock in the whole area and we will feel ashamed when we go out."
Shi Hai's heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, what's going on?"
It didn't sound like he was talking about divorce.
At this point, Shi Wenliang said directly: "Your Dafu and Sanmei have already got a divorce certificate, so the marriage is divorced, but big brother, your family forced people to return the betrothal money, the money given for childbirth, and the gold jewelry given for the wedding. It will not be good if this gets out."
If it's like this, after marrying a wife and having a child, you can get a divorce and get all the money back. This man slept with the girl and got a child for free without spending a penny? What kind of thing is this!
If everyone learns to do this, it will be a mess. Who will dare to marry a girl?
If the husband's family wants to force a woman to pay money or divorce, isn't that easy? The simplest and most brutal way is to beat her half to death. How dare she refuse?
Shi Hai became anxious when he heard this.
"What's going on? What money and gold? When did our family force anyone to return the money? That's not the case!"
The two sides had different opinions, and Shi Wenliang looked at Pu Xiang.
Pu Xiang said, "Shi Dafu asked me for the money. I was locked in the room and was not allowed to leave unless I gave him the money. I was afraid that he would rob me and would attack me, so I gave him the money and wrote a receipt. If you don't believe me, just ask Shi Dafu and everything will be clear."
Is there any need to ask?
Shi Hai immediately thought of his son, who had been running outside every day these days and came back late at night. He looked very relaxed. He also saw that he had a new watch on his wrist, and when asked about it, he said he borrowed it from someone who played with him.
He thought at the time, the watch looks brand new, why would people be willing to lend it out? Are they stupid or have a lot of money?
OK, OK, so that’s what’s going on!
"Don't ask him!"
Shi Hai took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Divorce is divorce. Our family won't ask for the betrothal gift back! I'll give you the money!"
Shi Hai lived through that era. People today cannot imagine what life was like for high-class families at that time. It was very difficult to make any progress, so he valued reputation the most. He did things in a decent manner and was determined to be an outstanding member of the people.
When getting divorced, asking the woman to return the betrothal money is really a pain in the ass.
If this matter gets out, their days in the land will be over.
When Shi Wenliang heard what Shi Hai said, he immediately thought it made sense. Shi Hai was such a smart man, he said it was impossible for a person to do such a thing.
His family doesn't lack this little money.
I don't care about my reputation anymore.
His son is notoriously lazy and does not do any work, leaving everything to his wife. His wife, Pu Xiang, is also very capable and is also known for her hard work. Everyone can see it.
Shi Wenliang nodded and said, "In that case, then the money..."
"Secretary."
Pu Xiang interrupted him, "These things are in the past. I don't want to dwell on them anymore. I just want to get my dowry back now. I have already agreed with Shi Dafu on this matter. Can I have someone come and move it now? I have listed the dowry list. Please take a look."
This was listed by Pu Xiang the night before. She wrote down several copies and handed one to Shi Wenliang and one to Shi Hai.
"Uncle, I'll have someone move the things now. I'll have Director Lin come along to watch and make sure they don't take anything that doesn't belong to me."
Having said that, he didn't give Shi Hai a chance to speak again, and pulled Lin Juan out.
She went to ask someone to start moving.
Shi Hai wanted to follow, but was stopped by Shi Wenliang.
"Lao Shi, let them move the dowry. You have taken back all the money. If you don't allow them to move the dowry, don't force them to call the police. If you do, your family will lose face."
Shi Hai looked anxious and aggrieved: "Secretary, I am not that kind of person. You know, I hope that they can live a good life, but even if they can't, I can't take back the money and gold. Is this still a human thing to do?"
He rubbed his hands, stamped his feet, and discussed with Shi Wenliang how to return the money to Pu Xiang.
But Shi Wenliang leaned aside, looked at the increasing number of people gathered in front of the house, and said, "But look at the situation now. If we give you the money, your family's reputation will spread."
Shi Hai was stunned when he saw it.
That's right. The people in the village will make up something out of nothing. What's more, this is a true story. I guarantee that it will be known to everyone in the neighborhood within two days.
What a sin.
How could he have given birth to such a son? He usually didn't give him enough to eat or wear, but he was so short-sighted that he actually set his sights on the money!
This bastard thing!
…
Lin Juan followed all the way without saying much.
If the marriage had not been divorced, she could still offer some advice, but now that the certificate has been torn down, what else can she say?
And when she thought of Pu Xiang's situation, she also felt sympathy.
After the divorce, she can't go back to her parents' home, and her in-laws want to take her money. This is really pushing her to death!
I don’t know how to get through the next few days.
Lin Juan was a careful person. She turned around and called Shi Yufang, the female team leader of the area. It was just like when Mo Yang's family got divorced. For something like this, it would be better for more people to deal with it together than for her to rush in alone.
At this moment, a group of people gathered in the grain drying field outside Shi Hai's house. Basically all the members of their production team were there.
There is no shortage of those who are watching the excitement or those who are looking for bargains.
蒲香決定先從小的開始搬，鍋碗瓢盆一拿到外面，說一句低折出去，有年輕小媳婦還猶豫，那些戰鬥力超強的大媽們可半點不含糊，直接一擁而上，開搶。
“這鍋我要了！”
“這盆我先看上，別給我碰壞了！”
“輕點輕點，我搪瓷杯可磕不起啊！”
……
反正人多，誰也不怕被記恨上了。
石家屋裏，莫阿妹已經傻眼了，這都是她家的東西！這可是她家的，她可沒說賣，她們怎麽能都拿走啊！
到底是蒲香生活了二十來年的家，就算是隔了再長的時間，有些記憶都刻在腦海裏，回到“現場”，這些記憶就都回來了。
她認起自己的嫁妝來，一認一個準。
很快樓下的小家什都搬完了，剩下就是樓上的大件櫃子、箱子、被子鋪蓋。
蒲香手腳麻利，櫃、箱裏的東西都倒到房間的床上，清得空蕩蕩讓人往下擡。
還有她之前沒拿完的衣服，拿一個大床單包着，也給拎了下去。
林娟和石玉芳在旁邊看着，偶爾搭把手。
莫阿妹跟上跟下，就在那邊罵，什麽祖宗十八代，下十八層地獄，一樣不落下地罵到了蒲香頭上。
蒲香只當沒聽見。
核對了一下她手寫的嫁妝單子，沒有落下東西了才下樓。
期間莫阿妹想要拉扯她，她都躲到了婦女主任林娟的身後，看莫阿妹哭天搶地，仿佛氣都要喘不上來的樣兒，林娟也是害怕，擔心她就這麽被氣倒了，趕緊攔着人在那裏安撫。
不過顯然她的安撫并沒有什麽用處，那罵聲就一直沒斷過。
蒲香從樓上下來，石海就在樓下的堂屋裏木然站着。
這一刻，他仿佛一下子就老了很多歲。
他看到蒲香，沉着聲音問：“離了就離了，把場面搞得這麽難看，你有什麽好處？就算不念着往日的情分，不念着佳傑這個兒子，你也不想想你自己，你鬧成這樣，以後還怎麽再找人家？二婚頭已經夠不好聽了。”
蒲香淡淡地說：“不結婚不會死，我也不是奔着再找一個才離這婚，叔，當了你這幾年的兒媳婦，我還是謝謝你的照顧，以後你自己保重身體。”
等蒲香走出石家，她搬出門的那些嫁妝，已經被賣幹淨了。
郁阿寶這大媽還真是一把好手，做事情麻利不含糊，蒲香和她說了是折價賣，她那是半點都不猶豫，自己先挑好的，有用的往家跑。
這事情只要有人領頭，其他人就會有一個法不責衆的心理，反正不是自己帶的頭，出什麽事也不用自己來擔。
再加上蒲香那嫁妝，都是實打實花了錢置辦的好東西，一便宜賣，家裏正好缺的可不就都要麽。
過了這村，哪還有這店啊。
蒲香又去謝了石文良和林娟、石玉芳，這才安安靜靜和石文雅一家走了。
一直到進了家裏大門，石文雅才拍着胸口松下一口氣。
“我剛才真怕石海叔拿着棍子打出來，就這麽沖進去拿嫁妝，可太吓人了！”
蒲香伸手拍拍她的背，說：“他不是那樣的人，別說這些只是我的嫁妝，不是他石家的東西，就是是他石家的東西，他也不會當場發作。”
當年他們家可是富農，沒因此少吃苦頭，他最懂做事不能和大部分人對着幹。
郁阿寶看着已經拿到了家裏縫紉機，又想着還有一塊手表，她轉個手就能掙個幾十塊，心情很好，還替蒲香擔心了一下。
“話是這麽說，但是你這麽做，肯定是把他得罪狠了，他肯定記恨你。”
嘴上說着，又把剛才幫着蒲香賣掉的嫁妝錢給遞了過來。
“你數數，都是按你列的價錢，給你折價賣的，有些用得久了，看着舊了的東西，也都搭着大件送掉了。”
蒲香将錢數了一遍，又對了一下嫁妝單子，确定沒問題，她又從中抽了二十塊錢給對方。
“謝謝大媽了，這點辛苦錢你拿着自己買點吃的，我就偷個懶了。”
有錢進賬，郁阿寶那可是樂得眉開眼笑。
她手頭還有一臺縫紉機和一塊手表呢，到時候都賣了，還能再掙個一點。
“客氣什麽，你和文雅是小姐妹麽，這是應該的……這都忙了這麽久了，中午你在家裏吃飯吧。”
蒲香謝過了對方，但還是拒絕了。
她要做的事情不少，在村裏她可待不住。
拿了自己的那個帆布包，蒲香把錢塞好，這些家什一共賣了一百多塊錢，縫紉機和手表占了大頭，其他東西基本上都算是半送人的。
解決了嫁妝的問題，蒲香現在和石家村唯一的牽扯也就是一個戶口了。
她還得盡快想辦法弄個落戶的地方。
蒲香剛推了車子出石文雅家的門，就看到莫晶晶站在牆角，看到有人出來就擡頭看一眼。
“來找我的？”
蒲香之前的疑惑重新浮上心頭，她車子轉了個方向，走了過去。
莫晶晶看到她，也朝着她走了過來。
“嬸子，你腿沒事了吧？”
小孩的身體，成年人的表情和語氣，蒲香一下子雞皮疙瘩都冒出來了。
莫晶晶也回來了！
活生生看到這種無法用科學來解釋的事情發生在別人身上，比發生在自己身上還要刺激。
“我，沒事。”
蒲香感覺自己嘴唇有點幹，舔了兩下才覺得好點。
“你……”
她想問莫晶晶是怎麽回事，知不知道是怎麽回來的，還會不會再回去，她有太多疑問，不知道要問誰，也不知道能和誰讨論。
但一看莫晶晶那樣子，就知道對方也和她一樣，同樣什麽都不知道。
到了嘴邊的話，她改了內容：“你特地來找我的？有事？”
莫晶晶點頭：“我來謝謝嬸子你救我。”
蒲香搖頭：“謝我什麽，你自己都回來了，沒有我你一樣能收拾周小柔，倒是我要謝謝你，把我從那房間裏背出來，還送到了醫院。”
本來她還想找機會提醒一下莫陽，不要和那個偷狗的人一起去跑船，現在看來也不需要她當這個好人了，莫晶晶回來了，肯定不會讓自己親爸出事。
兩人互相道了謝，都打從心底裏感謝對方。
莫晶晶：“嬸子，你以後住哪裏，我有機會去看你。”
蒲香：“這我現在也說不好，打算是去縣城租個房子先住下來，再做點小生意，等以後有點錢了，就去買套商品房，等地方定下了，我找石文雅，讓她給你帶信。”
莫晶晶點了頭，又說：“周小柔那天走的時候，把我爸當初買給我媽的金耳環和金戒指給偷了，我爸當天下午就去派出所報了案，給了周小柔的照片，昨天警察打電話到村委，讓帶了個信，說人去鎮上找賣家的時候被抓到了，我爸今天就出門去了。”
蒲香驚訝地張開了嘴，偷了東西就敢在鎮上銷贓，她不知道跑遠點嗎？或者時間再放久一點拿出來，她手上應該不缺錢用。
但一想，周小柔幹這事也合理，她要是個有腦子的，就不會虐待小孩，每月拿30塊當保姆可不比偷這點金器來得掙錢？
“人抓到了就好，周小柔這回怕是要進去吧，她那個兒子後來那麽不像樣，這次不在親媽身邊長起來，反倒說不定是件好事。”
蒲香記得周小柔那兒子石傑，後來成了村裏有名的混子，不務正業，因為賣搖-頭-丸蹲了兩年大牢，後來賣二手車扯上了偷竊銷贓的事又二進宮蹲了一年半。
說到石傑，莫晶晶的眼神閃了一下，然後她輕輕“嗯”了一聲。
“還有，我爸他好像已經懷疑我有問題了。”
蒲香：“嗯？”
莫晶晶說：“昨天他說去見個朋友，其實是去見了個‘仙姑’，問我是不是被什麽東西上身了，還給我求了張符，還好沒讓我喝符水。”
鄉下地方，狐仙、黃仙（黃鼠狼）的傳說可不少，信的人也不少。
蒲香：“……噗！”
有個聰明、細心的家人，好像也不是什麽好事情。
她也不知道自己是該慶幸，還是該羨慕，她娘家、婆家這麽多個人，反正沒一個看出來她不對勁，只當她是好日子過夠了發神經。
“你這是小孩子的身體，才四歲，看着确實有點明顯了，大人的話，大家就只當是受了刺激，性情大變而已。”
蒲香也只能這麽安慰對方，“實在不行，你就和他攤牌？”
雖然重生這種事情玄而又玄，但總歸是親爸，看莫陽因為周小柔虐待孩子能幹脆離婚，應該對女兒還是挺有感情的。
莫晶晶證明自己只是重生，而不是什麽妖啊鬼啊上身，莫陽應該是能接受的吧？
莫晶晶皺着一張小臉在那裏思考，這大人味兒實在太足了，她但凡穿到個十四歲，也就不會這麽容易穿幫了。
Pu Xiang: "I think you can give it a try. Tell him that you came back from decades later. It's the 1990s now. The next ten years or so will be the best time to start a business. Let your dad work hard and you can just sit back and relax as a rich second-generation. How great is that."
If her parents were not unreliable, she would have wanted to train herself to be a rich second-generation and just lie back and enjoy life.
Mo Jingjing nodded and finally smiled, a rare smile, no longer looking so gloomy.
"That's what I thought."
She is still too small and can’t do anything, so she can only rely on her father.
Pu Xiang waved at the people and said, "Come on, we've all had a good time this time."
The two of them lowered their voices and spoke quickly, then Pu Xiang rode his bicycle out of the village.
She went all the way to the county town and went straight to the central building. She ate a bowl of noodles in the same noodle shop, and then went to the shop next door that was selling noodles.
The boss was still there, but he turned off the radio when he saw Pu Xiang.
Pu Xiang smiled and stepped forward: "Master Xu, I came to ask about the situation again today."
Lao Xu: "Oh, you even found out my last name?"
Pu Xiang: "Don't I really want to rent it? Of course I have to pay some attention."
Old Xu was also straightforward: "Yesterday I went home to discuss with my family and called my son. We decided to sell the store, but we can rent out the small house we live in. The monthly rent is 30 yuan, excluding water and electricity bills, and it's rented for one year."
His family is from the old city, and the house is theirs, not allocated by the work unit. It is quite old and cannot be sold at a high price, so it is better to keep it. His son said that many cities outside are now starting to develop commercial housing, and if the location of their house is to be renovated, it is estimated that there will be a lot of compensation.
It would definitely not be cost-effective to sell it at such a low price now, so I might as well keep it, sell the store, and then go to Mao City to buy another one with a little extra money, so that I can gain something on both ends.
Pu Xiang's eyes brightened up after hearing this. It would be good if the issue of renting a house could be resolved first.
"Master Xu, shall we go look at the house now?"
The rent of 30 yuan a month is not cheap, but because it is not cheap, Pu Xiang is sure that this family really wants to rent a house, and is not trying to deceive her as a single woman.
So, Lao Xu locked the door of the store and took Pu Xiang to look at houses.
The house is not far from the central building, just two streets away. However, although it is only two streets away, it is much quieter here. The houses are all stand-alone, some are two-story and some are one-story, but they are all squeezed together and look quite cramped.
"That's it. My wife should be home by now. I'll call her."
He raised his voice, and sure enough, a woman's voice responded from inside the room, and she quickly opened the door and came out with a spatula.