Chen Xi nodded: "What is it that you can't decide?"
Yesterday, I confessed everything that could be confessed.
Zheng Hongfang bowed and said, "Commander, Su Erya insists on seeing you."
"Hmm?" Shen Xi asked curiously, "Didn't I tell you to make proper arrangements for her? Why did she want to see me?"
Zheng Hongfang shook his head: "She refused to say, saying she would only tell him when she saw the leader."
Shen Xi glanced at Ge Congshan and said, "I'll accompany Lord Ge to the stage, and then we'll deal with this matter."
"Yes." Zheng Hongfang prepared to leave. He had already arranged for someone to interrogate Wei Xiaowei and others with Xiang Shaoan, and he had also arranged for someone to talk to the two female candidates who were unable to participate in the job interview, as well as their families and the village chief. He himself was going to preside over the recruitment process.
Ge Congshan laughed and said, "Chief Shen, please go and handle your business. I can just go to the platform; I'm already very familiar with it."
Shenxi was not particular about formalities and arranged for Cui Guang to accompany Ge Congshan.
When Shen Xi arrived at the conference room, Xing Xiuyan brought tea and stood quietly to the side.
Zheng Hongfang needed to preside over the recruitment event first, and he would need to be there at least for the opening. So he could only send one of his men to call Su Erya over.
Su Erya was brought before Chen Xi with her two children.
She knelt down very politely and said, "This humble woman, Su Erya, greets the leader."
The two children were a little timid, and seeing Su Erya's actions, they knelt down as well.
Shenxi quickly ordered someone to help him up: "This is not a courtroom, there is no need to kneel."
He then ordered someone to bring over three stools: "Sit down, it'll be easier to talk to you this way."
Su Erya sat down slightly, gesturing for the two children to sit down as well.
Looking at Su Erya, who looked to be about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, Shenxi couldn't help but sigh: "She's only in her early twenties and already has two children. Does that mean she had children when she was sixteen or seventeen?"
People are getting married so young these days.
Su Erya twisted her rough hands hard, her head down, looking very uneasy.
Shen Xi gave Xing Xiuyan a wink, and Xing Xiuyan immediately understood. She poured Su Erya a cup of tea and said, "Miss Su, don't be nervous. My leader is very well. Have some tea first."
Su Erya nervously took the tea, drank two sips, and her nervousness indeed dissipated considerably.
Although Shenxi is not very old, people outside say that this leader is quite authoritative.
Shen Xi then asked, "Mayor Zheng said you insisted on seeing me. Is there any special reason?"
Su Erya raised her head slightly, but upon seeing the imposing guards beside her, she lowered her head again.
She bit her lip, her voice low but firm: "Sir, I just want to ask, can a woman really start her own household and get custody of her children after a divorce?"
Although she had inquired about it, she still couldn't be sure if it would really happen.
For the sake of her and her child's future, she had to give it her all, find out the details, and make a final decision.
Shenxi had already learned from Xiang Shaoan that Su Erya was a decent person and had previously considered divorce.
He wasn't surprised at all by her words, and instead said, "The document has already been issued, so it must be true."
Su Erya bit her lip again, but couldn't help asking, "When you start your own household, can you choose between your parents' family and your husband's family? Or can you settle down somewhere else?"
Chenxi was taken aback. This question was indeed not written in the document. According to custom, once a woman marries out, she becomes a permanent resident of her husband's village, and her children are naturally permanent residents there as well. Even if they establish their own households, they will basically stay in their husband's village.
If you set up a new household elsewhere, the procedures are complicated. The original village needs to release the new household, and the other village needs to accept it.
Chenxi couldn't help but ask, "Are you planning to settle down with your child at your parents' home or somewhere else?"
With tears welling up in her eyes, Su Erya almost rolled down her cheeks: "I definitely can't stay here with my husband's family anymore. My in-laws will never allow it, and my relatives will never allow me to establish my own household in the village."
“My family would certainly not allow me to start my own household; they would most likely remarry me off.”
Su Erya slowly raised her head, her tone becoming firm: "I'm wondering if it's possible to settle down in another village?"
Chen Xi frowned: "Have you thought this through? You've lived in the village, so you should know that every village is very xenophobic. If you go to another village, a lone woman with two children is more likely to get into trouble."
Su Erya was stunned. She was only thinking about escaping that hellhole and her parents' home to avoid the trouble of remarrying, but she hadn't considered whether the other village was suitable for living.
Overwhelmed with sorrow, tears streamed down her face.
When Wei Xin and Wei Bin saw their mother crying again, they panicked.
"Mother, don't cry, we will protect you."
They didn't understand much, but they knew their mother must be heartbroken again.
Xing Xiuyan immediately handed over a handkerchief and gently reminded him, "Don't cry. The leader saw you and raised this question for you, so he must have a solution. It's not good to cry here. The leader likes people who are assertive and strong."
Su Erya wasn't stupid. Upon hearing Xing Xiuyan's words, she immediately wiped away her tears and straightened her back a bit: "Please, Chief, show me the way."
Seeing that Su Erya had shown a strong side, Shenxi couldn't help but smile.
Even if she helps resolve this issue, there's no guarantee the same thing won't happen again.
Like Xianglin's wife, if it weren't for her inner demons and the shackles of feudal superstition, she would have collapsed on her own in the end. With her hardworking and simple skills, it certainly wouldn't have been difficult for her to live a good life.
Everyone suffers from various hardships. If you don't break the shackles in your heart, you will be trapped by them one day.
In these difficult times, we should be more self-reliant and strive for self-improvement.
Shenxi asked Xing Xiuyan to take the documents, which were newly drafted documents concerning marriage.
It mainly targets freedom of marriage; last time it was about freedom of divorce, and this time it's mainly about freedom of marriage.
Actually, the freedom of marriage was mentioned last time, which means that parents cannot force their children to marry.
However, it did not specify the legal responsibilities for forced marriages, as that is illegal.
Ordinary people may find it difficult to accept or change slogans in a short time, but if you say that something is illegal and that someone will be arrested, as long as it doesn't involve a matter of life and death, they can quickly accept and implement it.
"Can you read?" Xing Xiuyan asked Su Erya gently.
Su Erya shook her head: "I don't know them very well."
How could her in-laws possibly let her learn to read? She learned a little bit in secret.
Xing Xiuyan said, "Let me read it to you."
When Xing Xiuyan read out that parents, relatives, village chiefs, and outsiders have no right to interfere in marriage, including the right to force their children to marry, divorce, or separate, and that anyone who interferes should be punished by law, Su Erya was taken aback.
She couldn't help but look at Chen Xi: "Chief, is this true?"
Shenxi nodded: "These are the documents that will be issued tomorrow."
Su Erya's eyes welled up with tears again, this time from excitement and joy.
Now, she was no longer afraid of her parents and relatives forcing her to remarry.
Su Erya wiped away her tears again, a smile returning to her face: "Commander, may I make another request?"
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