Grandfather prepared a valuable New Year's red envelope for the whole family, and it was difficult for everyone to be happy for a while.

The sound of firecrackers outside gradually exploded into a deafening one. The dark and dreary night like a black velvet cloth is embellished with this brilliant color. The entire city was instantly enveloped in smoke. However, this choking smell of gunpowder smoke does not make people feel sad, although it is the same chemical reaction as the gunpowder smoke on the battlefield, it is the opposite of death and disaster, but a symbol of hope and light. In the war that began not long after, the kind Chinese finally understood another odious face of gunsmoke, and paid the price of tens of millions of lives. Of course, that's all for later.

There are still more than four hours before 12 o'clock in the morning, and in order to keep my spirit in a very clear state, I will do all kinds of games to pass the time. Several uncles and aunts accompanied my grandfather to play cards, and my grandfather didn't know whether he had drunk too much wine or was affected by the lively scene of three generations living together, and he always had a satisfied smile on his face; A few sisters from the same generation also joined us in doing small games such as pitching pot guessing puzzles. These little games have been around for thousands of years, but they don't feel outdated and boring.

My third cousin, Zhu Huifen, was a lady who was very satisfied with my grandfather and met the strictest traditional etiquette norms. She hadn't been to school for a day, but she was always up earlier than anyone in the family. At a young age when I was still ignorant, she had already embroidered a good woman and cooked a table of good dishes. In the same way, when I was still playing all kinds of dangerous games behind my eldest brother and second brother like a tomboy, she already knew that men and women could not accept it, and that girls should stay at home as they should do their duty, instead of always thinking about going out. When I was a child, when I saw her, I was often swayed by the emotions of self-shame; When I grew up and saw many things, I felt a lot of sympathy for her. Such a girl is like a canary in a cage, trapped in a small world all her life, never knowing the pity of being in prison, and naturally not knowing the preciousness of freedom.

As early as when she was only eleven or twelve years old, her grandfather made the decision to let her marry the youngest son of a wealthy grain store owner, and waited for the two to marry when they reached adulthood. The grain store owner was the most shrewd businessman I had ever met, and in his eyes, anyone and everything could be turned into a business, and the relationship between people was only between customers and non-customers.

As for the youngest son of the grain store owner, it is a completely different character, I don't know if he was born with a serious illness when he was a child, as his father said, so he fell into the sequelae. In short, this is a child whose spirit and intelligence are different from ordinary people, and he usually looks like a demented person who is not good at words, and if he gets angry, he is a violent person who cares about it. My third sister is so weak, and she never justifies and fights for herself. If you suffer any losses in the future, you can really only bear it silently.

If this were a mother, no matter how insistent the grandfather was, she would carry all the weight on her thin shoulders and would not let her little daughter marry a person of unsound mind. But the second aunt was noncommittal about this, or she pinned all her hopes on the two sons, and never had time to be distracted by the growth of the eldest daughter, as long as she could make her grandfather happy, she would be able to get more benefits in the future when dividing the property.

It's really strange to say, my cousin must be unwilling in his heart, after all, no one is a natural masochist, knowing that the road ahead is bleak, and he insists on feeding the tiger with his body. But since she was a child, she has been accustomed to the education of three obedience and four virtues, so she has never said a word "no" to anyone, even if it is related to her lifelong happiness, even if she is facing her own mother.

But on this night, when everyone drank some wine and was a little drunk, the third sister, who had always been silent, said something that seemed to her to be rebellious through the strength of the wine: "Ranran, I really envy you, you have been a top smart girl since you were a child, and anyone who sees it will like it." Later, you entered the school, understood a lot of truths, and had a completely different life from us. I never dared to think that I could be like you, but I couldn't help but secretly envy you. ”

Because of the lack of alcohol, the third cousin's face showed a faint redness, which made the face of the clear soup and little water show a different kind of charm. "In the future, when you get married, if you are not satisfied with the person your family has set for you, they will not force you to marry him." She sighed, and her apricot eyes seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, hazy, with a little bit of weakness that I saw pity: "If only I could be like you, but I don't have a chance in my life." ”

The eldest brother felt a little sorry for her, so he comforted her in a very gentle tone: "Huifen, you don't need to be so sad. If you don't want to marry Boss Xie's son, you just tell your grandfather. If you don't dare to say it, I'll help you say it. Although your grandfather usually says the same, you are his own granddaughter after all, and he will not go his own way for the sake of your lifelong happiness. ”

I don't know if it was the eldest brother's words that aroused the sadness of the third sister, or his thoughtfulness and gentleness that made the heart that was originally frozen melt instantly, in short, the tears that were still condensed in the eyes suddenly burst the embankment, and the falling form was like a large crystal bead. She hung her head, trying to hide her embarrassment: "I...... I'm fine, this marriage was decided from the beginning, and my mother said that she must not go back. Besides, even if I don't marry him, what way out can I have. It is impossible for a girl who has been divorced to have a good family willing to accept it. She pretended to be nothing, but intentionally or unintentionally stroking her fingers on the edge of the table betrayed her true mood: "Well, girls are born with a hard life, just stay up." ”

The eldest brother's eyes flashed with a complicated expression, and I knew that it was called "mourning his misfortune and being angry with him". He was silent for a long time, and then suddenly said in a majestic voice that was extremely serious, and that no one dared to disobey: "I have never believed that such a thing as obedience can be exchanged for peace. Our nation and our country have always pursued the principle of 'taking a step back and opening up the sky'. But what is the result? Far from bringing peace to us, our concessions have emboldened the enemy, and we have gained an inch again and again. Now, if you don't resist, you can only go down the road of destruction. ”