On the twenty-third day of the first lunar month, my father hired some bricklayers to clean up the house, and Qiangzi and my father worked as small laborers for the craftsmen. It took several people four or five days to smooth the rough wall with cement, and then whitewash the wall with white lime. The father and son worked very hard, especially Qiangzi, he knew how important it was to tidy up the house, and people his age had already married daughters-in-law, and the babies were all hugged, saying that he didn't want women, that was a lie. After painting the walls, they removed all the plastic paper from the windows and installed them with transparent glass. Before, only Qian's room and kitchen had doors, and the main house and room in the back had no doors. My father called for a carpenter and closed the doors of the rooms. During this period, Fei gave Qian's father another 1,000 yuan, and one after the other, he had already given Qian's family 2,000 yuan, which was really a lot of money for a rural family, and the family was naturally grateful.

After more than 20 days of hard work, the house was cleaned up, looking at the spacious and bright new house, the family felt that the mood of living in it was extraordinarily beautiful, the food was fragrant, and they slept more solidly than before. Qiangzi carried his mother on his back with his sturdy body and turned the house from front to back, and his mother looked at every corner of the house, touched and touched, and wiped tears from her tears happily. When my father was uninhabited, he often touched the lacquered wooden door with his rough hands, and he couldn't put it down. After a lifetime of hard work, he could only barely make a living, and he never dared to think that he could live in such a good house. Qiangzi looked at the new house, and felt as if there was hope for the future, his daughter-in-law would definitely be able to marry, and the doll would also be there, and he would be more energetic in his work.

The joy of the new house diluted the parents' previous concerns, and they did not forget, but they did not mind so much. Fei still comes back with Qian from time to time, just like a normal couple. Qian has been taking care of the barber shop, Wei did not change jobs again, stayed in the shop steadily, gave Qian a hand, became an apprentice, and Fei would pay him a salary every month. Everything is in order, and everyone's life is peaceful.

Now Qian and her family's greatest wish is to quickly find a partner for Qiangzi. They asked their relatives to pay attention to suitable girls and introduce them to Qiangzi. Fei knew that Qiangzi needed a blind date, so he specially bought Qiangzi a new set of clothes from top to bottom, as well as a pair of new leather shoes, and gave them to Qiangzi. Qiangzi was overjoyed to see the new suit and new leather shoes, and after putting them on, he hurried to his parents' room to let them see. These clothes are worn for the first time, especially when he wears new leather shoes, he feels that the whole person is different, he takes two steps and the horn sounds, his spirit is very high, his back is upright, and his legs are not procrastinating. He walked up and down the room over and over again, happy as a child. Parents and Qian saw Qiangzi's happy appearance, they were even happier, and parents couldn't help but feel that this poor family was dragging their children back.

Rumors are like dirt, and they slowly fade away after a long time. At first, people pointed fingers and made irresponsible remarks, but as time went on, they became less intense, and they felt that it was no longer news. But there are more terrible things than rumors waiting for Qian. Qian suddenly found that she had become a negative teaching material for those mothers-in-law who had daughters at home to educate their own women, and they could often be heard in the village saying such things: You can't be like that Qian, no skin and no face, what do you see, just live with other men, make it like you can't get married, and you are ashamed of your ancestors. "The thirteen, fourteen, fifteen or sixteen-year-old girls in the village will stay away from her when they see Qian, I don't know if they were taught by their families, or if they heard what others said. At first, Qian didn't care about the rumors, but later there were more such things, and she had ideas in her heart, and she began to slowly think about the way forward.

One night, Qian and Fei were lying in bed, and Qian told Fei how the people around Fei used themselves to educate their babies and how to insult themselves. After hearing this, Fei comforted Qian not to take it to heart. But now simple comfort can no longer calm Qian's complicated feelings. She asked Fei when he would tell his family about the two of them. Fei is also very embarrassed, he is afraid to say, what if the woman's family wants too much? These two things made the family sad again. The local countryside pays attention to not marrying a girl in the mountains, and those with good conditions have this habit. Only those whose families are poor and in poor conditions will marry their daughters-in-law from the mountains. Because the locals think that the people in the mountains are barbaric and have never seen the world. There is also one of the deepest and most important reasons, which is that there are too many bride prices.

Parents can't make up their minds, and the strong son is also useless. I can only consult with Qian. Qian and her parents have been together for a long time and have no clue. Qian told Fei again, Fei is not very old, but he has experienced a lot of things in the factory, except for Qian, he can carry other things clearly, and he is not flustered about major things. Fei listened to this, thought about it for a while, and told Qian, no matter who goes, Qian's father will definitely go, his father is the head of the family, and his father is present, which seems sincere. If Qian's father goes alone, he is too weak and weak, and he has to have someone to go with him, and there is a discussion in case of trouble. Now it's all about who goes along. Fei and Qian sat together and thought about it for a long time, but they didn't have a suitable person. In the end, Qian had a wit. Mysteriously said to Fei, "I know who followed!" ”

Fei asked, "Who?" Qian pointed at him.

Fei pointed to himself and said, "Me? That's not quite right, is it? ”

Qian: "Why is it not appropriate! ”

Fei: "It's for your brother to tell me about my daughter-in-law, I'm young, and it's a bit bad to talk about my identity." ”

Qian: "What's that?" You're younger than my brother, but you're sophisticated. Besides, what's wrong with your identity, no one in their family knows. ”。

Fei hasn't gone through this kind of thing, he is still a little unsure, in case things are messed up, it's hard to say. Qian coquettishly pulled him to grind hard bubbles, and he couldn't stand Qian's "sugar-coated cannonball" so he could only agree. Qian pulled Fei to her house to tell her family about this idea. Qian gathered the family together and discussed it together. The strong son didn't say a word, the father was at a loss, he smoked dry tobacco and had no clue, and his mother was lying on the kang sickly, feeling weak. Everyone thinks it's inappropriate, but that's the way it is.

This matter is sooner rather than later, and after discussing who will go, it is now necessary to pick a good day to go to the mountains as soon as possible to talk about things. Qian's parents took a look at the day, and the sixth day of the third month was a good day, that is, two days later. In advance, Qian prepared a lot of gifts according to her mother's instructions, including things for her aunt and other women's homes.