Chen Xingling felt that he had something to hide, so he lowered his voice and asked, "...did something happen?"
When Ma Sanyue came over in the afternoon, he spoke hesitantly, so she couldn't hear clearly. But her friend looked so anxious and embarrassed, obviously she was in trouble.
Ma Dali subconsciously looked at Gu Qi and took the water he handed to him.
"I... I know you guys so well... why don't you... give me some advice. My head is in a mess right now and I don't know what to do."
Chen Xingling urged: "Hurry up and speak!"
Gu Qi handed the remaining cup of water to his son, asked him to go to the corner to play with building blocks, and then sat over.
"Your younger brother - Ma Erli, right?"
Ma Dali smiled bitterly, "It's him... He makes me feel sad and worried all the time! A few years ago, he went to the countryside, in Chaocheng, three kilometers southeast. The economy there is not as good as here in Yucheng, and the countryside is very poor. After they came there, they started to plant tea trees on the mountain and supply fresh tea to a tea factory in the next county, and finally revitalized the local small mountain village. Since last year, many people who went to the countryside have come here one after another. I wrote to him to ask him to come quickly, but he didn't want to come at first."
Chen Xingling had heard this before and asked, "He said in the letter that he found a good way to make money, right? I think you said that."
"Yes." Ma Dali explained: "I wanted him to come and try to transfer to high school, so that he could find a way to enter university and not waste the knowledge he learned before. But he said he was looking for a way to make money and would not come for the time being. I thought he was still growing tea trees, but he was actually digging red sand to sell for money."
"Red sand?" Gu Qi was confused and asked, "What is it?"
After all, Chen Xingling is a local and has heard of him to some extent.
"The sand in the mountains in the southeast region has a high iron content and is all red. I heard from the older generation that the sand there can be sold for money. There are boats along the river bank that collect it and sell it by the pound. The money is paid on the spot."
Gu Qi nodded suddenly.
Ma Dali lowered his voice and said, "It was forbidden to dig for decades. I don't know why, but they suddenly allowed it last year. My brother said that every household, young and old, went out to dig in the mountains, and then carried it down the mountain to sell it by the river. Ten catties could be sold for five yuan, and one catty could be sold for five yuan. Some strong and agile men could earn several yuan a day. My brother and the educated youth around him also went to dig... Who knew it would be discovered later."
Gu Qi and Chen Xingling looked at each other, and neither of them dared to ask.
Ma Dali's eyes were slightly red, and he whispered: "When he wrote to me, I told him that it was very dangerous to go up the mountain to dig soil. He was not a local and was not familiar with the terrain. He must not take risks. But he didn't listen at all. He said in the letter that he couldn't miss the good opportunity to make money, and went up the mountain on his own. The trees and grass on the mountain were cut down and dug up, and the mountain was dug up piece by piece, and collapses occurred from time to time. But it couldn't stop everyone's determination to make money. A few months ago, a long period of digging and heavy rains caused a serious landslide. At the critical moment, my brother's friend pushed him away, but he was buried."
ah! ! !
Chen Xingling hesitated and asked, "Your brother...wasn't injured in the end?"
"He was still injured and stayed in the hospital for more than half a month." Ma Dali said angrily: "The brat thought I didn't support him, and he was afraid that I would be angry and that my family would worry, so he didn't dare to inform my family!"
Gu Qi frowned and asked, "Were the casualties serious? How come I haven't heard of such a serious incident from others?"
"No one dares to say." Ma Dali frowned and explained, "If the newspapers want to report it, they have to have reporters go in to interview. They are all in the mountains, and the place is very isolated. There is no contact with outsiders at all. I heard that the people in the mountains helped each other and pushed the injured into the county town for treatment on unicycles. My brother was just injured and was rescued. His two educated youth friends... were both dead when they were dug out. The one who rescued him... also passed away."
Chen Xingling felt distressed after hearing this and whispered, "Your brother is extremely lucky to have someone to help him when he was in trouble. Otherwise, he would have been separated from his family."
"Alas!" Ma Dali sighed, "I wrote him many letters and even sent him a telegram, but he never sent me any news. I was worried that he didn't have money for the bus, so I sent him thirty or forty yuan twice. The boy was too sad and didn't know what to do, so he stayed there."
Gu Qi said thoughtfully: "After all, he is still young. It is understandable that he can't accept it for a while after experiencing such a tragic love affair."
Ma Dali lowered his head and whispered, "He came here suddenly this afternoon and said that he had applied to return home and would stay in his hometown, Yucheng, to develop his career... He also brought a woman and a baby girl with him."
"Is he his opponent?" Chen Xingling asked curiously.
Ma Dali shook his head: "No, he has never been with her. He said that the woman was the wife of the good brother who saved him. The woman became a widow at a young age and brought a little girl who had just learned to walk. My brother couldn't bear it... He planned to marry her and take care of the girl until she grew up."
Chen Xingling was stunned and could hardly recover.
Gu Qi's eyes flickered and he asked, "Do you disagree?"
Ma Dali and the couple were good friends who could talk about anything, and he did not hide anything from them.
"Yes, I do disagree. His friend saved him, so he should repay him. Whether it's his parents or his wife and children, we must take good care of them. But he and that country sister-in-law... have no feelings for each other, so there's no need to force them to be a couple."
Chen Xingling knew that although he was honest and simple, and his ideas were traditional, he was actually a very affectionate and loving person.
"You think so, but what about your brother? Does he think so too? Did he take the initiative to marry that poor widow sister-in-law, or was it arranged by someone else?"
Ma Dali explained: "The widowed sister-in-law was a villager from the small mountain village where they were sent to work. Her husband died suddenly, and she felt like the sky had fallen. She wanted to go back to her mother's home, but her parents had passed away, and her brother and sister-in-law were now running the household. Her brother and sister-in-law disliked her for being unlucky and did not allow her to stay in her mother's home. The widowed sister-in-law took her daughter to find Erli, saying that they had no one to rely on and could only rely on him in the future. Erli had no way to refuse, so he took them back home together."
Gu Qi and Chen Xingling both heard it, and they also understood why Dali was hesitating.
Chen Xingling said: "If your brother only wants to take care of them, you should persuade him. Building a house for them, giving them living expenses, and helping to raise their children are all responsibilities that cannot be shirked. However, it is one thing to repay a great favor, but whether you should sacrifice your lifelong love for it is something you should think carefully about."
Gu Qi nodded in agreement.
Ma Dali said excitedly, "I think so too. It's not that I don't appreciate them, but there's no need to sacrifice my own marriage. He's still young and has many opportunities to pursue his dreams and future. Besides, he and that widow have no feelings for each other at all. One is repaying a favor, and the other is looking for support. They are barely together, and they will definitely not be happy in the future. He is my brother, how can I bear to see him make mistakes and suffer depression for the rest of his life!"
"Yeah." Gu Qi whispered, "Marriage is a lifelong affair and involves a lot of things. You really have to think carefully about it. Don't just give in for the sake of repaying a favor. If you can't get along in the future, you'll hurt yourself and cause your widowed sister-in-law to be hurt a second time."
Ma Dali kept nodding: "Yes, yes! I think so too!"
"What about your brother?" Chen Xingling reminded: "The most important thing now is that you have to persuade him. Don't make the wrong decision because of guilt. It's right to repay your widow and take care of the child, but there's no need to force them together."
Ma Dali said in a low voice, "He is also very confused... He doesn't have any good ideas in his mind. I told him to go to the farm with me to rest at night. My widow and the baby will stay at my house, and I will ask San Yue Si Fang to help take care of them. I also tried to persuade him, but he hesitated to speak, and finally just sighed and didn't dare to speak."
Chen Xingling guessed: "If he was willing to marry the other party, he wouldn't have to sigh."
"The place at home is too small." Ma Dali said, "No matter what, we must build two houses first."
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