In the evening, when he returned to the West House, Zhou Chen told his brother what he thought in his heart: "I know that the fourth uncle's daughter-in-law will worry about marrying, and I want him to marry." ”

"Aunt Yufen is very good, I heard that she is diligent, and my mother also said that she will come to trouble, why should she worry about marrying?" Shen Yufen has been to Zhou's house several times since she got engaged to Zhou Chunlai, and Zhou Yang has also had contact with her, and the most important thing is that her mother is very sure of this future fourth aunt.

"She has many brothers, and they are all young, and the fourth uncle will definitely have to help in the future, let's live together as a family, and someone will definitely not stop when the time comes. Besides, Aunt Yufen's mother is a famous 'little abacus', and our family has to include her. Zhou Chen calmly analyzed with his brother, Zhou Wanwan was very strange, Zhou Chen was so young, how could he see the problem so far, he heard from others? If you think about it, it would be too early.

"Then you still want the fourth uncle to marry Aunt Yufen?"

"The fourth uncle thinks Aunt Yufen is lovely." Zhou Chen said a little shyly. I guess I'm a little embarrassed to talk about this topic.

"To marry or not to marry?" Zhou Yang was told by his younger brother, and one thing that he originally thought had nothing to do with him became a dilemma.

"Look at the fourth uncle himself." Zhou Chen was relaxed. There was no place for him to talk, he was just chatting with his brother.

Zhou Wanwan listened to the eldest brother tossing and turning for a long time and couldn't sleep, but the second brother breathed in her ear and fell asleep for a long time, with a black line on his face. Second brother, you did it on purpose, right? It must have been on purpose, right? It's immoral to pass on troubles, you know? How can you bully honest people?

The next day, the air pressure in the Zhou family was very low.

Although everyone knows that this daughter-in-law can't marry now, and she can't afford to marry her, no one will say it, and they will use silence to force Zhou Chunlai to say the word "not marry" by himself. But Zhou Chunlai's tongue seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and he couldn't say it. But if you want to marry, you can't marry, so it's so deadlocked.

Another day passed, Zhou Chunlai's eyes were already bloodshot, and the smell of smoke on his body was comparable to that of Old Man Zhou, and it was estimated that he hadn't slept for a few nights, so he smoked.

There was still silence at home, and no one had any intention of relenting. Mrs. Zhou and Wang Fengying looked at Zhou Chunlai with a little wrong eyes, with dissatisfaction and vigilance, for fear that he would suddenly make something that they couldn't accept.

Zhou Chunlai was still silent, and suddenly went out after breakfast. Zhou Wanwan looked at the fourth uncle's somewhat collapsed back and was silent. She knew that in the end, the fourth uncle still married Shen Yufen, and he married him this spring.

As for how she got married, Zhou Wanwan didn't know, and she didn't plan to interfere. Fifty pounds of wheat, this is really just a matter of raising her little thumb for her, but she can't do anything more, she has done enough recently, in case she gets into trouble for herself because of this matter, and even affects her brothers, she can't afford such consequences. Everyone has their own hardships to carry, except for her brothers, she plans to stand by and watch anyone. Especially the Zhou family, it's good not to fall into the well, but they still take risks for them? That's impossible.

In the evening, Zhou Chunlai came back and brought back the news that the Shen family agreed to get married, and the bride price was owed first, and one hundred and fifty catties of corn would be made up this autumn, and one hundred yuan would be made up in the next two years.

The Zhou family fell silent for a while, and everyone was thinking about the gains and losses behind this condition in their hearts. Zhou Chunlai couldn't sit still, he looked at everyone in the Zhou family one by one, and finally stared at Mrs. Zhou and cried out pleadingly: "Mother! This voice contains too deep pleading and exhaustion, so heavy that it makes people's eyes sour.

Mrs. Zhou turned her buttocks and turned to the window, not looking at her son. Even if you don't want a bride price, the Zhou family still has to raise a big living person for their family! And in autumn, isn't it the same to ask for food and money?

Zhou Chunlai looked at Old Man Zhou with blood-red eyes again, and after looking at it for a long time, Old Man Zhou just smoked his cigarette pouch and pot without giving his youngest son any response. Zhou Chunlai squatted on the ground with his head in his hands, pulling his hair silently.

The Zhou family's family meeting ended silently again. However, unlike the previous times, this time everyone knew it and made a decision silently.

The weather is getting warmer and warmer, and the production team has already begun to work, although the snow has not yet melted, and the farm work in the field cannot be started, but some odd jobs such as composting, repairing farm tools, rubbing straw ropes to make straw curtains, and picking seeds still have to be done. At this time, women and children with third-class jobs do not have to go to work, first, there is not so much work, and second, women also have to take advantage of the lack of enthusiasm to prepare the family's shoes and socks for a year. But Zhou Yang went to work, he now gets a second-class job, if he is serious, he doesn't have to go, but in order not to be scolded by Mrs. Zhou and Wang Fengying's eyes, he still followed his father to compost. Although Zhou Jun, who was two years older than Zhou Yang, was still resting at home peacefully, he still held the third-class merit with peace of mind.

Zhou Wanwan was in a very low mood on the morning when Zhou Yang went to work, although she knew that her eldest brother was warm now, his body was strong, and his mood was happy, but she still felt distressed when she saw her eldest brother, who had just turned fourteen, doing heavy physical work like a group of young and middle-aged laborers. In fact, Zhou Wanwan knew that the main reason why the eldest brother worked so actively was that he wanted to earn a first-class job as soon as possible, and only in this way could their brothers and sisters have a place in this family and be bullied from time to time. It is precisely because he understands the hard work of his eldest brother that Zhou Wanwan is even more sad.

Zhou Chen's heart was also uncomfortable, he hugged his sister and was silent for a long time, and then lifted her up with her little arms, "Nannan, you have to grow up quickly!" ”

Zhou Wanwan also hopes that she will grow up soon, more urgently than anyone else. Even if she can learn to walk quickly, she can help her brothers more and let them worry less about her. So she's learning to walk harder now, and she's improved enough to walk a few steps on her own. Zhou Wanwan felt that her legs were still not strong enough, and the double deficit of congenital and acquired made her unable to meet the standard of a strong child no matter how she scientifically nourished and actively exercised.

One day in the first lunar month, Zhou Chunfa brought back from the brigade a propaganda poster printed with "The poor middle peasants are the heads of the people's commune," with the 1962 calendar printed underneath. Since then, Zhou Wanwan will look at it twice a day, the Zhou family does not have any clocks, and of course there will be no useless things like calendars, they get up and sleep to watch the sun, and farm and work to see the solar terms, and this kind of thing is really useless.

When the time enters March, the first month of the lunar year will also pass, and the sting that indicates the busy farmers is also coming.

The sting thunder arose, and the peasants were busy. In my previous life, I watched my eldest brother arrange farming and life with the solar terms, and I was already very accustomed to these agricultural proverbs. After the sting, the snow on the ground is about to melt away, and the second brother is about to prepare the land for ploughing, and the second brother is also going to be busy.

Before the sting and thunder started, a shocking news spread quickly in the village - the state was about to distribute relief food again! It is said that it is the news from Ling'an County in the north, who and what relatives are the staff of where and where, and the internal information is very accurate. There are several versions of the source, but it does not delay everyone's belief in this news at all.

It is said that several families have started to eat thick porridge, and they will soon have food, so what are they saving? Eat!

The Zhou family also began to become uneasy because of this news. After Zhou Chunlai asked for marriage again, Mrs. Zhou sent Zhou Chunfa to Suilin County, she wanted to confirm the reliability of the news with her eldest daughter, if she really had to send relief food again, then one more person in the family would be able to receive one more. Moreover, Shen Yufen is a good laborer when she marries, and she earns a lot of work in a year, if she does well this year, she will be able to get a lot more food in the autumn, and maybe she can get a little more money. Besides, if you don't give the bride price now, and wait for everyone to enter the door, then whether to give it or not, how much to give, it's not up to her to decide, can she run back again? If you run back, it won't be your own family that suffers!

After settling this account, Mrs. Zhou is still more optimistic about getting her daughter-in-law back.

Zhou Chunfa came back that night. Zhou Hongxiang also heard the news, and heard that the county was also very fierce, but it was not clear when the relief food would arrive, so Zhou Hongxiang did not come back this time, saying that she wanted to inquire clearly and come back when she had a quasi-letter.

With this reassuring pill, Mrs. Zhou made a decision and married her daughter-in-law before the farm was busy!

The next day, Mrs. Zhou moved on her little feet. I went to invite Zhao Simao first, told her about the Zhou family's plans, and gave her two catties of white noodles, asking her to do more about it.

With these two catties of white flour at the bottom, Zhao Simao's action is amazing, and she brought back the news on the same day, the Shen family changed their minds, first give 30 catties of white flour to get married, and then give 100 catties of corn in the autumn, and the bride price is still the same. Mrs. Zhou was angry, how can you say that it will change, your Shen family sells her daughter and brings the price on the spot? Zhao Si Niang persuaded and persuaded again, the Shen family also knew about the relief grain, how could they send a mouthful of food out for nothing? Besides, if the girl is married, how can she not accept any bride price, so it will not become an upside down? No one else can guess what's wrong with this girl, right? If we get married, we won't have a light on our faces.

Mrs. Zhou thought about it, their Shen family can raise the price on the spot, and she can also sit on the ground and pay the money. So Mrs. Zhou waved her arm, fifteen catties of white face, love to marry or not! I still have to feed their daughters for a year!

Zhao Simao hurriedly went to Dagaotun, five miles away, to discuss with the Shen family. Mrs. Zhou sat on the kang at home and spitted and scolded the Shen family, selling her daughter and not looking at the market, just your daughter, do you still want to sell a daughter for the price? Don't marry and pull down! Our Zhou family takes rice and white noodles, and there are no other families without yours, so you can leave your daughter to starve to death at home!

Zhou Wanwan knew Mrs. Zhou very well, but she was still uncontrollably shocked. With such vicious words, can you say that you have a daughter-in-law? Well, Mrs. Zhou also said this vicious thing, and she was so shocked that she really didn't know it. However, doesn't Mrs. Zhou have a good impression of Shen Yufen? In the previous life, among the four daughters-in-law, Shen Yufen was also the most liked by Mrs. Zhou. Why is this scolded like this before you get married?

The Shen family and the Zhou family's approach is right and who is wrong, Zhou Wanwan doesn't want to judge, but for the Zhou family, these twenty or thirty catties of flour can still be obtained, although they will be nervous when they take out the family's rations, but since Mrs. Zhou herself nodded and wanted to marry, why did she react so much when she talked about the conditions? The flour she secretly took for Zhou Hongxiang must have thirty catties, right? Why can't you marry a daughter-in-law?

Zhou Wanwan thought about it for a long time, and could only come up with the fact that in Mrs. Zhou's heart, the daughter born to herself and the daughter born to others is no longer as simple as the difference between inside and outside, but the essential difference between species. What she was born must be a human being—at least above all the people in the Zhou family, she must be blessed; A daughter born to someone else is born a cheap life, working and suffering, and daring to enjoy a little, dare to share a little of what should be enjoyed by her daughter, that is all heinous! Of course, this other person also includes her daughter-in-law, who was born to work and suffer, and even more so her own granddaughter.

This is the incomprehensible logic of Mrs. Zhou's life, her daughter is above all the Zhou family, including the children and grandchildren of the Zhou family, but she takes other people's daughters as mud under her feet, including her daughter-in-law and granddaughter.

Zhao Simao ran back and forth for a few days, the Shen family and the Zhou family finally gave in one step, the Zhou family gave twenty catties of flour, and the Shen family asked for another set of clothes for their daughter, which can be regarded as a marriage. The date is set very close, just after the spring equinox, February 22, three twos, and it is a good day to come in pairs.