"Girl, what's wrong? What happened?" Aunt Cai quickly poured her a cup of hot water.
Yunling also perked up her ears to listen.
Hu Hanxiu sobbed, “My mother is forcing me to become a stepmother. That man is already over thirty years old. Last year, his wife had a difficult childbirth and left behind two children. The older one is only three years old, and the younger one, who was born during the difficult birth, is only one year old today. Auntie, I don’t want to be a stepmother.”
It would be so much better to use that time to raise your own children.
Aunt Cai was also taken aback for a moment, and said, "Your mother isn't that kind of person."
Although Zhao Chunyan had always hoped that her daughter would marry a city man, she wanted to save face and show off in front of the villagers.
Even if you have sons, they'll still be farmers in the countryside, and they'll never amount to anything.
I didn't have a son, but my daughter married a city man and is on a government-subsidized food supply.
Wouldn't it be incredibly shameful to marry a divorced man with a child?
Would someone as proud as Zhao Chunyan do such a thing?
Cai Shaoyun instinctively didn't believe it.
"Sit down first, and tell me slowly. If your mother really forces you to marry someone like that, don't worry, I will stand up for you."
Hu Hanxiu sat down crying, holding a water glass that brought a little warmth. She said, "Last night when I came back from the toilet, I saw that my parents' room was still lit, so I wanted to talk to them. As soon as I got to the door, I heard them discussing my marriage. They said that a man in the county town was very satisfied with me and wanted to marry me. Since it was a matter of my lifelong happiness, I was very concerned, so I went in directly to ask them about the man."
My mother was silent for a while before telling me that the man was a factory worker, just a bit older, in his thirties. My first thought was that they were hiding something from me; how could someone in their thirties not be married? After my repeated questioning, they finally told me that the man had two children, and his wife had died in childbirth last year. I immediately objected; I didn't want to be a stepmother, I didn't want to raise someone else's children.
"What did your parents say?" Cai Shaoyun asked with concern.
Hu Hanxiu said with a wry smile, "They agreed and advised me that older men are more caring, and even if we have two children, it's fine. We can just treat them like kittens or puppies."
She instinctively didn't believe it; she had always known that her parents wanted her to marry a city man.
But city people aren't blind; why would they choose this country girl over a perfectly good city girl?
So I went on quite a few blind dates that year, but none of them worked out.
When they finally found a match, her mother made it clear during the meeting that any children they had must be boys who would take her surname.
Then she angered the man's family and they left, and she got married right away.
Then her parents went crazy, constantly nagging her to marry a city man so they could save face.
She was speechless, but she couldn't resist their strong demands.
They asked her to meet, so she did. At first, she felt embarrassed when the man refused, but now she's used to it.
It's only been a week since I was last rejected.
Her parents have now found her a city man to marry.
It's as if their daughter's happiness in her later years is not important at all; what matters is that she marries into the city and brings them prestige.
After our argument yesterday, I slapped her across the face.
Cai Shaoyun sighed and said, "Let's go, I'll go talk to your parents now."
Yunling followed behind like a little tail because the system had issued a task.
The small ball responsible for filming appeared and started filming Hu Hanxiu.
She was saying that her job was as a scorekeeper, and she was only busy after work.
The three people came to the field.
Zhao Chunyan was sweating profusely, working very hard.
"Mother, my sister is here!" Hu Xiaoshan exclaimed excitedly.
Zhao Chunyan put down the hoe, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and frowned, saying, "Why are you here? Have you finished the chores around the house?"
She had barely finished speaking when she saw Cai Shaoyun behind her.
Smiling, I asked, "Sister Cai, what brings you here? Is there something you need?"
Cai Shaoyun nodded and said, "Let's talk under the big tree."
Zhao Chunyan's eyes darted around, and she immediately thought of what had happened last night.
She glared at Hu Hanxiu; this girl had grown too big for her britches and was trying to outsmart her.
She was behaving herself when she woke up this morning, and they thought she had come to her senses.
They actually went to Cai Shaoyun to complain.
The group arrived under the big tree, and Yunling also chose a shady spot to squat down.
There were rocks nearby, but they were too hot to sit on.
"Chunyan, are you forcing your daughter to marry a divorced man with a child?" Cai Shaoyun asked bluntly.
Zhao Chunyan was furious, but she smiled and said, "What do you mean I forced her? Since ancient times, marriages have always been arranged by parents and matchmakers. Her marriage should be decided by me. Besides, the man I found for her is not bad. He works in a machinery factory and earns thirty-five yuan a month. Not to mention, he also has a company-provided apartment. Even if he has two children, he is still a very good marriage prospect."
She was initially unwilling, but the man offered a high dowry and promised that if Xiuxiu had a child, one of the children could take the surname Hu, and she could take the child home to raise it.
For the sake of the Hu family line, she had to agree.
After listening to Zhao Chunyan's long speech, Cai Shaoyun frowned so much that it looked like she was about to trap a fly. She said, "This is the new China. Arranged marriages and parental orders are feudal ideas that need to be abolished. Now we advocate freedom of marriage."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
