Su Xieqiu recounted what he had just said at the machinery factory. The debt of 500 yuan increased to 700 yuan, which was worse than what he had said at the machinery factory.
She looked at the union members with sympathy, sobbed twice, and said with red eyes:
"Leaders, I feel something is very wrong, so I came to report the situation to you. Now everyone is in love freely, so how can we still talk about dowry? The senior leaders have said that women hold up half the sky. We are not incapable of working, so how can we ask men for money? Besides, you are asking for 1,500 yuan at a time, isn't this selling our daughters?"
When the union people heard her say the bride price was 1,500, the two female comrades' eyes widened.
Although it is a new society now, people will still take a symbolic amount of money as a betrothal gift, but at most a few dozen yuan. Isn't 1,500 too outrageous?
Chairman Huang frowned and asked her, "Comrade Su, do you know which girl your brother-in-law is dating?"
"My disappointing brother-in-law is called Han Zhenmin. He was a temporary worker hired two months ago. The 200 yuan he used to buy his job was borrowed from the factory by my step-mother-in-law who forced my wife to do so."
Su Xieqiu thought about the name of Han Zhenmin's girlfriend, and then quickly said:
"The girl Han Zhenmin is dating is called Li Peilian. I heard that her father is a small leader in the textile factory. I never thought that a leader would have such low ideological awareness that he would actually sell his daughter. How can such a person be a role model for the workers in the future?"
Su Xieqiu glanced at the faces of the few people. She was neither angry nor impatient. She continued:
"Leader, I suspect that Li Peilian's family is using their daughter to make money. This is feudal dregs, so I want to report them. We can't let them go further down the wrong path."
"Although my stepmother-in-law is vicious and my brother-in-law has been stealing and cheating since he was a child, I can't just watch them get cheated. If they get cheated, my wife will be the one who suffers."
Chairman Huang was very angry when he heard this.
He didn't think Su Xieqiu was lying. Since he dared to come to the factory, it was enough to prove that this was most likely true.
Chairman Huang said to a young man at the back, "Xiao Xu, go to the Personnel Department and check which department Han Zhenmin and Li Peilian work in. Call them all over, and then check who Li Peilian's parents are, and call them all over."
The official named Ding said, "No need to check. She should be Li Kaifa's daughter. They live in the same building as mine. I heard some time ago that his daughter Xiaolian is dating someone from the countryside. He should be the Han Zhenmin mentioned by this female comrade."
She hesitated for a moment, and then continued, "At that time, Li Kaifa's wife told me that although her son-in-law was from the countryside, his family was well-off and he had an older brother who was a driver in a machinery factory. But I didn't expect this to be the case."
"Then you should call them over quickly, and tell the political department to send someone from their department as well. If this is true, we must criticize it in the factory."
Chairman Huang slammed the table and said angrily: "It's really outrageous. How can he have the nerve to ask for a betrothal gift of 1,500?"
"Okay, I'll go right away." Secretary Ding said as he walked out.
Han Zhenmin and his team arrived very quickly.
Su Xieqiu was telling the union members about her stepmother's viciousness.
The secretary named Ding led them into the office.
Han Zhenmin didn't know what was going on, but when he saw Su Xieqiu was here, he knew something bad was going to happen.
Before Han Zhenmin could react, Su Xieqiu suddenly ran up to him and accused him with red eyes.
"Third brother, how can you be so cruel? In order for you to go to school, your mother forced your eldest brother to work in the fields at a young age. I won't say more about these, because he is the eldest in the family, and it is his duty to raise you brothers and sisters."
Su Xieqiu blinked, and tears flowed down her cheeks. She looked so pitiful.
She went on to say, "Your eldest brother finally found a job in the city, and you used all the money he earned to buy a bicycle, clothes, and meat. But he ate black-faced steamed bread, and your mother scolded him. The 250 yuan you spent in the factory in the first two months was also borrowed by your eldest brother."
"But it's only been a short time since then, and you want 1,500 to marry a wife. Whose daughter would want such a large amount of money as a dowry? This is not the old society anymore. Do your father-in-law and mother-in-law still make money by selling their daughters?"
Su Xieqiu glanced meaningfully at the Li family behind him, and said sadly:
"Third brother, are you going to force our family of four to death just to marry a wife? My two children are crying with hunger. They are only two months old and can only drink rice soup every day. They are your own nephews. How can you be so cruel? For a greedy woman, you want to squeeze our last drop of blood. Aren't you afraid of retribution for doing such a conscienceless thing?"
Su Xieqiu covered his chest and took a few deep breaths pretending to be in pain. He then said sadly, "We can't pay, so you asked your mother to go to your eldest brother's factory and make a scene in the union. You not only want money, but you also want to destroy our family."
After Su Xieqiu finished speaking, he sat there with his head tilted back and cried.
Han Zhenmin was stunned by her acting skills.
Although he had a lot of bad intentions, he was only 19 years old after all. Faced with this sudden situation, he didn't know how to fight back.
Su Xieqiu glanced at the stunned Han Zhenmin out of the corner of his eye and felt very happy.
She wiped her tears and said angrily, "Your elder brother has been earning money for you since he was ten years old. After we got married, I also went to work every day to take care of your family. But even though we were so obedient, your mother still beat or scolded us every day."
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