take a wife to support the family

Chapter 1 Traveling to the Farmhouse

The sky was dark and overcast.

The north wind rolled fine snow particles, scraping across the short hills like a knife, and the withered and yellow grass blades were also frostbitten, shaking their bodies in the wind.

By the roadside, a small yard was surrounded by some gaps in the fence, and the three dilapidated thatched houses were low. The cold wind did not hesitate to sneak in through the gaps in the doors and windows, and greedily swept away the last bit of heat in the house.

In the dark and gloomy room, on the damp and cold straw mat, lay a woman.Under the old and stiff quilt, there seemed to be only a handful of bones left in her thin body, and only weak breathing showed that she was still alive.

"who am I?"

The woman suddenly opened her eyes, staring blankly at the thatch hanging from the gap in the rafters, as if she lost her soul.

After a long time, she groaned in pain, and finally had a reaction that a living person should have.

"I am... Li Baihe!"

That's right, she clearly remembered that before the accident, she was Li Baihe, a third-grade Chinese teacher in Qingliu Town Primary School.The school organized a spring outing, a naughty little boy fell into the water, she jumped into the river to save him...

What about after that?

Why is it so cold here?

Why does she have a memory in her mind that doesn't belong to her at all?

That memory is like a cactus with thorns, once touched, it tortured her to scream out in pain, but her body is too weak now, even if she cried out in pain, it was only a weak breath, only a little thicker .

Enduring the pain, Li Baihe slowly smoothed out those memories—she had an intuition that only by touching those memories could she understand her current situation.

In my memory, it was another woman named Li Baihe, or a girl.

This Li Baihe was born in Liushan Village, thirty miles outside Qingliu Town, because the village is in the mountains, there are no good fields, and there are no special products, so it is far less prosperous than Qingliu Town.

Her father is called Li Bamboo Craftsman, honest and honest, she can't fart when she is beaten with a stick, she can't flatter others, and she can't win over customers. The girl's name is Lily.

The eldest girl, whose maiden name is Zhu, was brought out by Carpenter Li from a farther mountain when he was young. It is said that the place is worse than Liushan Village. Some families only have one piece of clothing that can cover their bodies. Each of us shared a daughter-in-law... When Li Bamboo Carpenter went to other counties to weave bamboo beds for rich people, he passed by Zhu's hometown and eloped with her.

Zhu Shi looked good when she was young. Otherwise, an honest person like Carpenter Li would not have the courage to take her away from home secretly, but her personality is more prominent than her appearance.

Those who dare to run away with men at a young age for a bite, have ideas when they are young, are competitive, and refuse to convince others.Who knew that the man she married was so cautious that she was afraid of getting into trouble. In the poor village of Liushan Village, this man could make her eat hot food and put on clothes, but it was far from the level of good life she wanted.

Zhu's stinginess and eccentricity are also well-known in the village - she gave birth to three daughters in one breath, and after two of them died in the middle, she managed to give birth to a precious son with great difficulty.

With a son, I can finally straighten my back and speak loudly under the pointers of the villagers.

But the three daughters before, in the eyes of the proud Zhu, were the root of all her misfortunes and hardships, so they beat and scolded day and night, and not being fed was commonplace. Everyone in the village said that Zhu was not like a real mother, It's like a stepmother, who only thinks that the son is her own, and the first three were born by others, and she can't wait to discuss it to death.

Life is tough, but the three daughters have grown up to their teens. Except for the second girl who is smarter, the eldest girl and the third girl have followed their father. They are honest and timid, and they can't even poke them with a needle. .

Seeing her sons and daughters growing up day by day, Mrs. Zhu began to think about saving her son a good family fortune so that he could marry a good wife in the future.The three daughters, Erniu, were able to afford it, and they were sent to Qingliu Town to help the wealthy master Liu's family. They took care of food and housing, and they even got a hundred dollars a month to go home.

Da Niu and San Niu were too shy to meet people, they couldn't even do rough work as maids, so they had to do farm work at home.However, the land in Liushan Village is not fertile, and it faces the loess with its back facing the sky. After a year of hard work, it is not enough for the family to eat.

Every day, Mrs. Zhu scolded at home with a high-pitched voice: "Two free eaters, raising a pig is more cost-effective than the two of you! Pigs grow meat, so what else do you two do besides eat?"

This is also the scene of Liushan Village, a poor and dilapidated small mountain village, a little thing can spread to the whole village, big girl and third girl have just been scolded by their mother, and even people in Qingliu Town know about them Eat lazy at home.

After coming and going, when they reached the age of talking about marriage, everyone in the neighborhood knew that San Niu, the eldest daughter of the Li family, was very lazy, and there were even people who asked about Er Niu, but no one showed any intention of marrying the eldest girl.

They are all from small households, and no one has spare money to raise a daughter-in-law who does not work and only eats. The marriage of the eldest girl will be delayed, and the Zhu family will not like it even more.

Unexpectedly, it just so happened that Song Haonian, a well-known bachelor in the town, wanted to get married, so for some reason, he asked someone to ask Li's family.

As soon as Mrs. Zhu heard that there was a dowry gift of three pennies, she raised her voice and called the two daughters who were hiding under the stove, and said to the matchmaker, "These two of my family have nothing to say about their appearance. They are ordinary, but they work quickly. , who can do housework and work in the field, they are all good hands. You can see which one is suitable, let Song Xiaoge come to propose marriage."

This mother, without even thinking about it, decided to give a daughter to Song Haonian, who has no good reputation, as a wife, which is almost the same as selling a daughter.

The matchmaker was a young woman, and she frowned when she saw the big girl San Niu. She knew San Niu, she was too young for sure, but this big girl, although not as lazy as the rumors said, she seemed timid shrunken...

I still have to say: "I know your daughters, all of them are good, but Brother Song is not too young, so I want to find someone who can live a stable life..."

The matchmaker didn't need to talk too much, Zhu Shi understood, and pointed to Lily: "Then the big girl, she is the boss, and she is used to taking care of her younger siblings."

The matchmaker frowned again, but said nothing, and said a few words to Mrs. Zhu, praised Mrs. Song over and over again, made a verbal appointment, and left.

Da Niu has heard about Song Haonian. When she went to the town to go to the market, she took a look at him from a distance and thought that person was scary. Now thinking about his reputation and his tall and fierce appearance, she was so scared Trembling, he stammered and whispered, "I...I don't want to...marry, marry."

She had never disobeyed her mother, and when she said this, she felt like she was about to stop breathing.

As soon as the words were finished, her mother slapped her on the back, causing her to bend down all of a sudden, and suppressed everything she said.

Mrs. Zhu said loudly and forcefully, "What do you want to do if you don't get married? My mother has raised you for more than ten years, and you want to live for free for more than ten years?"

The big girl was dumbfounded, unable to speak.She has long been used to her mother commanding loudly, and she doesn't know how to express her thoughts at all. Although she can speak, she is not much better than a mute.

Seeing that she was so frightened that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet, Zhu lowered her voice a little, and said earnestly: "Mother is also doing it for your own good. You are already so old. If you don't marry again, how can you have any future?" Good people pick you? If you don’t marry, what about the second girl and the third girl? What about Qingsong?”

Thinking of her two younger sisters and younger brother, Lily compromised, keeping her head down and not speaking.

(End of this chapter)