Prelude
Meng Songying also raised her hand to touch the corner of her mouth, and her fingertips met those of Wang Shuitao, who was caught off guard.
"It doesn't hurt."
Wang Shuitao felt that Meng Songying was unusually enthusiastic tonight, although he still spoke little and his face remained expressionless.
He had never walked so close to her classroom at night school before to wait for her after class.
There were many people around, so she didn't ask any questions in detail. She simply walked back to the factory with him.
He carefully recalled the meager information about Zhang Pingkang from the original plot, ignoring the excited expressions of the seven people beside him.
The drama focuses very little on Zhang Pingkang; clues can only be found in the original owner's complaints about her in-laws other than him.
All the complaints can be summed up in one sentence: job grabbing.
After Zhang Pingkang died, the original owner of his work intended to sell it for money and leave it to their son.
Because his son has inherited his father's poor health, he probably won't be able to find a good girl without a bride price.
However, she couldn't win against her in-laws, as the job was originally found for their youngest son.
In the end, it was Zhang Pingkang's brother-in-law, Zhang Ping'an's eldest son, who got the job.
He should have taken over from his mother, who was also the original owner's sister-in-law, but he didn't have to after Zhang Pingkang's death.
As Zhang Ping'an's second son grew older, his job at the sugar factory, originally belonging to the original owner, was also targeted.
While the actors' appearances in the drama couldn't undergo drastic changes, Sun Miao's concern that the original owner was losing weight too quickly and it would be bad for her health suggests that she was under immense pressure in the Zhang family.
It was alright that Zhang Pingkang's parents-in-law took away his job, since the second son's family only had one grandson, who could inherit his daughter-in-law's job when he grew up.
Later, she even tried to take away her second daughter-in-law's things, which was wrong. This was the only thing she and her child could rely on.
Therefore, there is only one possibility: this elderly couple only cares about their eldest son and doesn't care about their second son at all.
The second son, along with his future daughter-in-law, were all prepared as blood bags for the eldest son's family.
Some time ago, Aunt Zhang sent a matchmaker to visit, probably because she was interested in Wang Shuitao's job.
Thinking of this, Wang Shuitao asked the people around her, "I remember Zhang Pingkang said he had an older brother who worked in the sugar factory workshop, right?"
One of the male students nodded and said, "Yes, he's in the same workshop as me."
Wang Shuitao pleaded with him, "Could you please help me find out why his brother is bothering me so much?"
The male classmate readily agreed: "Sure, why not? Comrade Wang, just focus on your work and don't let these little romances bother you!"
He really hoped the factory could earn foreign exchange.
Wang Shuitao was filled with respect. Perhaps this was the difference of the times; it turned out that people nowadays were so enlightened.
A married older man next to the male classmate whispered a reminder: "Be more tactful, don't ask directly."
A hero is not afraid of not having a good wife. He guessed that Zhang Pingkang had some problems. They were all family, and Zhang Ping'an must know something about it.
Saying nothing means you're harboring bad intentions.
When Wang Shuitao reached the door, she was still thinking about going to the glass factory to inquire. When she lay down on the bed, she thought about going to the Zhang family's neighborhood to inquire.
She couldn't just leave Zhang Pingkang alone. In this era, even the most virtuous woman can be swayed by persistent suitors, because damage to one's reputation can be fatal.
The next day, seeing that she seemed distracted, Li Yuanhong took over the task of going to the glass factory to inquire about information.
Then he met Jiang Manyun again, and Jiang Manyun patted his chest and took on the task of scouting around the Zhang family.
Sun Ming then said, "Xiao Wang, don't worry about your personal life. Everyone will help you. Go and get back to work."
Wang Shuitao nodded.
Li Yuanhong acted swiftly, heading straight to the glass factory to confront their union chairman.
Do you know a worker named Zhang Pingkang in your factory?
She hadn't held out much hope; she just wanted to use this opportunity to get this person to introduce her to the workshop director she would meet.
To everyone's surprise, the union chairman showed a hint of surprise, which he quickly concealed, but Li Yuanhong still noticed it.
"What happened? How could he have gotten into trouble with your sugar factory?"
Li Yuanhong shook his head: "Let's not talk about that. Just tell me about this person."
After hesitating for a while, the union chairman still gave Li Yuanhong face.
It turns out that Zhang Pingkang was not in bad health before, but he became too ambitious after joining the factory and drank too much alcohol, which ruined his health.
His original goal was to become the workshop director, but after his health deteriorated, he started trying to join the trade union.
The union chairman, having met many people, could see at a glance that this person harbored resentment, but instead of pointing to the source, he could only vent it in all directions.
They refused to let him join the union, fearing it would ruin their reputation.
Li Yuanhong pressed further, "Your health is ruined? How bad is it?"
Union Chairman: "He vomited blood, he urinated blood."
Li Yuanhong: "When?"
Union Chairman: "One year ago."
Jiang Manyun strolled over to Xiangyang Street, where the Zhang family lived in the first half of the street.
Several children wearing open-crotch pants were running around happily in the street.
At the door of each household sat elderly men and women who were no longer able to work, warily watching every unfamiliar face.
Jiang Manyun scratched his head, no longer needing to act; he naturally appeared honest and simple.
She randomly picked a kind-looking old lady and offered her some candy as a bribe: "I want to ask you something. Do you know the Zhang family, who have two sons, one of whom is married and the other is childless?"
Another person inquired about the Zhang family. The old lady's face softened even more upon seeing the candy.
"I know, you're here to ask about the youngest son, right?"
Jiang Manyun clapped his hands: "Isn't that right? Isn't he looking for a wife? Tell me about his family, are his parents easy to get along with, are his brother and sister-in-law easy to get along with, is he easy to get along with?"
For the past year, the Zhang family has been inexplicably eager to find a wife for their youngest son. Everyone on the street has been asked this question; they're used to it.
The other households looked away without interest, while two or three elderly people, eyeing the candy, gathered around.
Jiang Manyun was generous and shared some with them.
The group started talking, one sentence at a time; that's why gossiping gets exciting when there are lots of people around.
Neighbors should have been saying nice things to each other, but somehow, they suddenly started competing to see who was more capable and knew more.
All their privacy was completely exposed.
Zhang Ping'an was ten years older than Zhang Pingkang. When his younger brother was born, he even made a boastful statement that he would throw his brother into a cesspool to drown him.
At this point, an old man mysteriously added, "Who knows whether it actually happened or not."
The others also gave meaningful looks.
Jiang Manyun felt a little nauseous; the smell was too strong.
One was a son they had raised for ten years, and the other was a newborn. The Zhang couple both favored their eldest son.
Zhang Pingkang lived like a grandson at home, even though he had a sister-in-law who married into the family later and was ranked below him.
After his sister-in-law gave birth to four big, healthy grandsons for the Zhang family, he became the lowest-ranking member of the family.
The old lady, who had lost many teeth, was quite old and experienced. She wanted to remind the person who had come specifically to inquire about her future son-in-law: "It was fine before, but a year ago she suddenly became anxious to find a daughter-in-law, as if she had to solve a troublesome problem."
"It's as if you're going to kick Kangzi out of the house."
Someone made a sarcastic remark.
Jiang Manyun left in a hurry with a dark expression.
Several elderly people also went back to their own homes, squatting on small stools at the door, staring intently at their own children.
They're all old birds; who wouldn't see through the Zhang family's shady dealings? It's truly a tragedy. Let's warn as many as we can.
Once the new bride enters the Zhang family, they won't care about her anymore.
Jiang Manyun hadn't even left Xiangyang Street when a woman blocked his way.
He was thin and frail, with eyes that bulged out like a hungry wolf. He wore glasses with a frame hanging from his nose, the temple of which was broken in half and was wrapped with a strip of cloth and hung on his ear for the time being.
“I’ve seen you before. You know the woman Zhang Pingkang is clinging to.”
Inside the workshop, the male student was listening to Zhang Ping'an talk at length about how ungrateful his younger brother was.
Zhang Ping'an was indeed frustrated. With Zhang Pingkang's frail body, how dare he complain about this and that? He hadn't found anyone he liked in over a year.
"He met more than a dozen girls in a year. They were all good girls that my older brother and my parents carefully selected for him. Even if they were from the countryside, they were the daughters of the brigade leader. He was still not satisfied. Sigh."
As he spoke, he sighed, looking like an exhausted older brother who was annoyed by his ungrateful younger brother.
The male student was astonished. He had only casually mentioned something negative about Zhang Pingkang and thought he was about to be exposed. Who knew that his older brother, Zhang Ping'an, would resonate with him so much and immediately launch into a long and detailed explanation.
I really hate my brother.
In the evening, Wang Shuitao had already gathered the information brought by Li Yuanhong and the male classmate, but Jiang Manyun was still nowhere to be seen.
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