He Laosi is the old couple's late-born son and their treasure. Most of the filial gifts from their sons are spent on him every year. In addition, the daughter-in-law they married is a sweet-talker and a coaxer, so the old couple wish they could give all their family fortune to the fourth son.
The He family has five main rooms, one for each son, one for the old couple, and one for their only daughter. Two boards were simply placed in the old couple's room to create a small one-meter-wide space for her to sleep in at night.
Because they had no money to build a new house, the family still lived together even after they separated. If anyone cooked something good, they had to bring a bowl to the old couple, and He Laosi and his wife always took advantage of this.
Of the four daughters-in-law of the He family, the eldest is timid and dull, the second is sharp-tongued and mean, and the third is greedy and stingy. None of them are liked by Mrs. He. Besides, the first two sons are not her biological sons, so she cannot like her daughters-in-law either.
But the fourth daughter-in-law who came in last was the one she liked the most. She was quick-witted, sweet-spoken, and good at talking. She was good at acting like a good girl, which made Old Lady He very happy. She felt that this fourth daughter-in-law was the best one she had married.
Therefore, the fourth daughter-in-law has the highest status among Mrs. He's two daughters-in-law, not to mention in front of the other two.
She is pregnant again now. According to the villagers, her belly is pointed and it looks like she is expecting a boy. Old Mrs. He praises her like she is the most important thing.
Old Mrs. He was unhappy to see Gao Huijuan leave in a hurry. She turned around and glared at the fourth son's wife, but for the sake of her belly, she didn't scold her.
The fourth son's wife quickly smiled apologetically, "Mom, don't be angry, I did this for a reason. I did it for our family and for my sister Jinzhi!"
Jinzhi, whose full name is He Jinzhi, is the only daughter of old lady He. The girl is only sixteen years old this year and is very good at housework. Old Mr. and Mrs. He are lazy and all the housework depends on this sister-in-law!
Old Madam He spoke in a bad tone, glanced at the fourth daughter-in-law, and said with suppressed temper, "Tell me what you have to say."
The fourth son's wife glanced around and saw the children playing in the mud staying far away. Then she leaned over and whispered, "Mom, I know you've been worried about the fourth son's job lately. It's all our own fault. We're not doing enough. We're not young anymore. Not only have we not earned a fortune, but we've also made you two worry and worry. We really feel so unfilial!"
After hearing these kind words, Mrs. He's expression softened slightly. "Why are you still stopping me? I'm doing this for you. Why don't you understand my good intentions? Let me tell you..."
The fourth son's wife quickly interrupted her and continued, "Listen to me first. I've inquired about this militia. It looks glamorous, but the monthly subsidies have actually been cancelled. Now the members are all voluntary. If anything happens, they are all requisitioned for free. If the fourth son goes there and encounters any danger or an accident, how will I survive?"
Speaking of the safety of the fourth child, that was Old Lady He's lifeblood. She hurriedly asked, "Is it really that dangerous?"
"It's absolutely true, Mom. If you don't believe me, you can ask around. They even followed us to Qingshan Village when we were catching Special Agent W last year. And he had a gun!"
What the fourth brother's wife said was half true and half false. Last time when Qingshan Village was trying to catch Special W, the militia was not sent there at all. It was the People's Liberation Army who went there. Even if Special W had guns, the People's Liberation Army had more guns.
However, these half-truths and half-lies are easier for Mrs. He to believe than those that are completely true or completely false.
Old Mrs. He believed it most of the time, and she gave up the idea of letting He Laosi join the militia. She wanted her son to go because she wanted him to get a position in the brigade, not to risk his life.
Seeing that Old Lady He believed her, the fourth son's wife quickly took advantage of the situation and said, "Mom, yesterday my sister-in-law sent someone to tell me that there's a temporary job opening at the county machinery factory, and they're willing to sell it for 120 yuan."
When Mrs. He heard that it was a temporary worker, she frowned. Besides, a hundred yuan was too expensive, so she said, "What's the point of being a temporary worker? It's just a matter of someone saying whether they want you or not."
"That's right, mother," the fourth son's wife continued, "They say this is a temporary job, but it's actually an apprenticeship. They'll definitely be regular employees in the future. If the family wasn't sick and in urgent need of money, they wouldn't be willing to sell it. And with my sister-in-law's connections, that's why it's so cheap!"
Nowadays, people are proud to be workers and eat commercial grain. Whenever a factory is interested in recruiting workers, a large group of people will come as soon as the news is released, and they will fight for their spots.
You know, if you want to get this job as a regular, you can’t buy it for 120 yuan, it will cost 1,800 yuan!
So when the fourth son's wife said this, Mrs. He was tempted. A worker, her fourth son had the height and good looks. If he had the identity of a worker, he would be able to walk sideways in the village in the future. But when she thought of the 120 yuan, Mrs. He felt a pang of pain in her heart. "How can we have 120 yuan at home? You know we just divided the property, and those two ungrateful people took away all our coffin money."
The fourth son's wife didn't believe that her mother-in-law had no money. Given her personality, how could she give all the money to her first two sons? She was just crying poor.
But she couldn't say that, so she said, "I was worried when I heard about this yesterday. If our fourth child didn't catch this opportunity to become a worker, we would regret it so much in the future!"
Old Mrs. He didn't say anything. Even though her fourth son was the treasure of her heart, he was not so precious that she would take out the coffin book.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, the fourth son's wife turned away angrily and rolled her eyes. Then she turned around with a worried look on her face. She bit her lip and said hesitantly, "Mom, what do you say about us marrying off my younger sister? My parents can give me some money, and then add it to my younger sister's betrothal gift, and the fourth son's job will be done. But if we do this, I'm afraid my younger sister will be wronged."
Although the fourth son's wife also likes to have someone work for her, and her sister-in-law is timid and cowardly, and usually has a low sense of presence and only knows how to work silently, she wants her man to become a worker. At that time, her back is completely straightened, and she is more confident in front of her sisters-in-law.
Old Mrs. He still didn't say anything. She was thinking about what the fourth son's wife said. Although this daughter was her only daughter, she was very patriarchal and had always beaten and scolded her daughter since she was a child. Fortunately, the child was sensible and knew how to help with housework, so she didn't abandon her.
Moreover, she kept this girl, on the one hand so that she could work for herself, and on the other hand so that she could choose a family that was willing to pay a betrothal gift. When the time came, she would ask for a high price and then marry her off. However, she could not take any of the betrothal gift with her.
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