Ordinary people's rice bowl

Chapter 6 Changes in Marriage
Chapter 6

Although the trumpet of Sanxia has not stopped yet, for Lao Mu's family, the good news of his son's entering a higher education undoubtedly brought great impetus to the family's enthusiasm. I feel that whatever I do is worth it.

The three summers are coming to an end, and the laborers at home have already finished planting. Lao Mu, who went to the field after breakfast, looked at the fields that had not been planted, and estimated that it would take two days to finish work.Lao Mu thought to himself, I don't know how busy my sister's house is?She will definitely come to help herself after she is busy.While thinking about something, Lao Mu, who was busy with farm work with his head down, raised his head and wiped his sweat. Suddenly, he saw seven or eight people standing on the ground, all of whom were neighbors in the village. They all jumped over the ditches on the side of the road and stood in their own neat fields.

"You guys are all done, come help... come help me." I don't know if it was the excitement at the time, or the lack of mental preparation, Lao Mu spoke incoherently.

"Brother Mu, we have already discussed these few days, and I will come to help you when we are done with our work!" It was Mu Houren, a younger brother of the same clan who was two years younger than Old Mu, who was speaking.

"Look, this is exhausting you again!" Lao Mu thanked the group of folks from the bottom of his heart.

"You are too polite. We are in the same village. If we don't help, who else will help? One year's crops can't be missed." Wang Haoran's daughter-in-law answered quickly.

"Let Lao Mu go to the market to buy some vegetables at noon, and have a few drinks at home!" Xiuhua felt that it was normal for everyone to come to help in such a hot day, and let everyone have a meal at noon.

"It's so hot, don't keep you busy, just go back to your home for lunch!"

It's not easy for Lao Mu to say anything, everyone is busy in the field step by step.

It really shows the strength of a large number of people. With the help of this group of people, the work that would have taken Lao Mu at least two days to complete, in less than two hours, the open space that was still unplanted in the morning has become green. , which moved Lao Mu and his wife very much.Lao Mu asked a few helpers to go to his home to have a drink and rest. After a few polite words, they went back to their own homes.

After returning home, Lao Mu didn't have time to wash his face, so he rode his bicycle to the market where the commune was located, bought all kinds of dishes, brought them home and arranged for Xiuhua and his wife to prepare lunch as soon as possible.Lao Mu was busy going from house to house to ask the neighbors who helped him to come over for dinner. Everyone said, "It's the right thing to do for neighbors and folks. Why do you have the nerve to go to dinner and cause trouble for you?"

Although Lao Mu who came home alone did not invite any guests to dinner, he felt warm in his heart. This kind of neighborly help is priceless, and the harmony of neighbors is the most precious. In the era when Xi’s family gave clothes, although the lives of each family were tight at that time, no one forgot his existence, especially during the days when my sister got married, when he returned to his home alone from school holidays, he never forgot his existence. He has never touched the stove by himself, and there will always be neighbors who ask him to eat. This kind of inseparable affection from neighbors is better than the warmth given by the sun in winter.Especially for the three houses I built when I got married, when the old branch secretary, Mr. Wang, greeted him, a dozen strong laborers from the whole village immediately came to help prepare the soil and pull the materials. The scene is still vivid in my mind, and I am grateful Yu, Lao Mu connected with his own teaching. What Xiaowangzhuang lacks is not the virtue of friendliness, but the spirit of mutual assistance. What the village lacks is knowledge and culture. Although the school has been established for decades, However, those who have achieved something in their studies left the village and did not return. The neighbors who stayed in the village with traditional virtues but still lived in poverty need to go out, and their future generations need to go out to see the wonderful things outside. In this world, as a farmer who has cultivated for generations, if he really wants to go out of the countryside and open up a new life, the first thing he needs to bear the brunt of is knowledge. Only by arming himself with knowledge can he have the opportunity to go out and see the world.Without knowledge, everything will be impossible to talk about. Without knowledge, how can we get out of this small circle and change our fate of facing the loess and turning our backs to the sky.Although there are many channels for acquiring knowledge, the most important channel is education, which is inseparable from running a school.The school in the village is the hope for the children to enter the wonderful world, and it is also the hope for everyone in the village to go out and see the world. In order to allow more people in the village to go out, we should do our best to educate the children in the village to learn knowledge and encourage They acquire more culture and let more descendants go out of Xiaowangzhuang to experience a more colorful life. Only in this way can they be worthy of the support and help from the villagers.When Lao Mu thought of this, his steps became more determined and powerful. He suddenly felt that the work he was doing was the greatest and most noble cause in the whole village.

When I got home, I saw a table of delicious dishes prepared by Xiuhua. She said it was a table of delicious dishes, but in fact it was just a big pot of stewed chicken with eggplant and some vegetables.Lao Mu shook his head helplessly at Xiuhua: "Everyone says that it is right to help. There is no need to invite guests to dinner and cause trouble. If you can't invite them, there is nothing I can do!"

Xiuhua didn't say anything, just smiled. From her smile, it was not difficult to see that it was a smile from the heart, it was a smile that was sweet from the bottom of my heart, and I could only express everyone's mutual help with laughter.

When Lao Mu's family was immersed in the happiness of helping each other in the village, an unusual thing happened in Lao Mu's house in Liu Village, ten miles away from Xiaowangzhuang.

Old Mu Gu, who had just finished lunch, was preparing to maintain her farm tools in the yard when three unexpected guests suddenly stood in the yard.An older woman, who looks to be in her 50s, is over 1.6 meters tall, has a round face with thick eyebrows and big eyes, slightly chubby, her hair is neatly combed, a bun is tied behind her head, and she wears a blue shirt on her upper body. He wears a jacket, blue coarse cloth pants, and black cloth shoes made by himself.The man is a young man in his 20s. He is at least 1.8 meters tall and has a small crew cut. He looks a bit like an older woman. People can tell at a glance that he is a mother. The young man has fair skin and a high bridge of nose. , with piercing eyes, looks energetic, coupled with the white short-sleeved shirt, light blue trousers, and shiny leather shoes under his feet, it is enough to show that he is not an ordinary citizen.The most eye-catching thing is the girl who is about 1.7 meters tall in a white denim jacket, dark green trousers, and pink sandals. Coupled with the small cherry mouth, with this height and appearance, no matter where you stand, you will attract the attention of others.

Before Old Mu Gu could react, the young woman asked Old Mu Gu: "Your son proposed to break up, do you care or not?"

Old Mu Gu was so questioned that she didn't know how to answer, she stared at the girl, and before she could speak, the girl continued to babble: "What did he say back then, let me wait for him for three years, and in these three years, I will knit sweaters for him , to give him tuition, but now he says he disagrees, do you still have a conscience?"

The girl who asked the question was Huiqin, the daughter-in-law of Old Mu Gu who had never been married. Old Mu Gu understood immediately after hearing this. Judging by this posture, it must be because her son wanted to resign these days and came to fight.

Old Mu Gu didn't say a word, and hurriedly called Wei Hong, the eldest daughter who was eating steamed buns, and whispered a few words in her ear, and then said to Hui Qin: "I don't know why you came here, I don't know what happened, why did you just come here?" Do you disagree? Sit down and talk about it in detail, and then take care of it."

"What are you talking about, did you let me say it?" Huiqin continued to question unreasonably.

"Why don't you tell me, besides, our two families also have a matchmaker, so we should ask the matchmaker in advance, and it's not too late to make a fuss! Otherwise, what's the use of a matchmaker?"

"The matchmaker is also yours. Why don't I go to you directly to reason with the matchmaker?"

The two were arguing in the courtyard, and the shouting in the courtyard immediately attracted the neighbors in the village to gather around and watch.Those who are close, some are holding bowls and putting food into their mouths, and those who are far away are those who are holding steamed buns and eating green onions, and those who are carrying water glasses to watch the fun, it is less than a cigarette, the old The courtyard of Aunt Mu's house was full of people.

Old Aunt Mu was originally a knife-mouthed bean curd heart, and she spoke clearly and quickly. Although Huiqin was young, she was also eloquent and could speak well.

"Everyone commented. At that time, she said that she was afraid that her son would not be able to be a daughter-in-law, so she asked my cousin to use the matchmaker. Later, when my son was admitted to school, she told me that this marriage would not be regretted because he was admitted to school. First go to my house for a sit down. In the past few years, our family has supported him a lot. If we are short of money, I will send it to him. Want to break up with me, does he have a conscience?" Huiqin said so much in one breath while gesticulating, standing there looking very angry.

"As the saying goes, 'Your son can't help you'. When a son grows up, he can't talk about being a mother. There must be a sequence of things. I don't know what's going on. If you make troubles about the future, it won't do anyone any good. Good! Don’t you think so?”

Huiqin's mother saw that the future mother-in-law didn't know the truth, so she didn't answer, and let her daughter argue with her.

Perhaps in the eyes of the villagers, this is a family matter, and others can't get in the way, so no one in the crowd standing and watching spoke. Everyone listened to Huiqin's speech and looked at her angry face. It's even more charming, and it's as enjoyable as watching a big drama.

The conversation was divided into two parts. Besides, Wei Hong went out of the house, borrowed a bicycle from a neighbor's house, left the village, and went directly to Lao Mu's house in Xiaowangzhuang.Although the weather was a bit hot, Wei Hong didn't dare to neglect for a moment, so she rode very fast on the road. When she met acquaintances who greeted her, she didn't care to answer half a sentence. As soon as she entered Lao Mu's courtyard, she shouted Get up, "Cousin, something serious happened!"

Lao Mu, who was eating, immediately put down the bowls and chopsticks in his hand, and quickly came to the door of the main room, "It's so urgent, what's the big deal?"

"Go and see our house quickly, and talk as you walk, bring your cousin with you!" Wei Hong said, taking a look at her cousin standing inside the house.

"She has to go to Yangliu Village to pick up Mu Bao after dinner, I'll just go with you!" Old Mu didn't know what was going on, and felt that it was nothing to ask his wife to go, so he went to have a look first, so he asked his wife As he spoke, he pushed the bicycle in the yard, and rode towards Liu Village together with Wei Hong.

"What's the matter, tell me quickly!" Lao Mu asked as soon as he left the hospital.

"We were eating, Huiqin brought her mother and her brother into our house and yelled, saying that my brother is going to divorce, so my mother asked me to come to you, and she is yelling at home now!" Wei Hong was a little panting Said.

"Is it the old cousin who wants to return or the aunt's meaning?"

"I don't know the details, but it's probably what my brother meant, and maybe my mother knows!"

"Didn't my aunt say anything else when she asked you to come?"

"No, just let me find you to have a look!"

"That's good." After speaking, the two of them were speechless all the way, and in about ten minutes, the two arrived at the entrance of Liu Village. They saw a few people muttering at the entrance of the village, and they got out of the car.

"I don't want this to happen to my wife. If I have an iron rice bowl, I won't look down on our mud legs!"

"That's not a big deal. This woman is really one in a million. She is very handsome in terms of appearance. It is not so easy to find another one like this."

"Da'an is good-looking, and looking at the woman's brother, he doesn't live in a peasant family, so he can be called a well-connected family!"

An elder who saw Wei Hong approaching pouted at the other speaker. The speaker turned his head to see Wei Hong who was walking behind him, and said nothing. In fact, Wei Hong and Lao Mu heard what he said.

Wei Hong pretended not to hear, said hello to everyone, and hurried into the gate of her own courtyard. There were many people crowded in the courtyard. When she saw Wei Hong coming back, she took the initiative to make way.

"Cousin, come into the room and say, it's inappropriate to stand here! Everyone is polite!" Lao Mu who entered the hospital first greeted the middle-aged woman who came there.This middle-aged woman is Xiuhua's cousin, and Huiqin is Xiuhua's aunt. A few years ago, when Old Mu asked Xiuhua to introduce someone to her son, Xiuhua introduced her aunt to this old Mu. cousin.

"You're here, you should be fair as a matchmaker! Don't be partial!" Huiqin's mother whispered.

Seeing her cousin's husband coming, Huiqin was about to talk, but suddenly stopped, staring at Lao Mu, and asked Lao Mu to glance at her, not daring to make eye contact with her, and directly let everyone into the room to discuss.Brother Huiqin handed Lao Mu a cigarette, and Lao Mu took the cigarette, took Brother Huiqin's hand and said, "Big brother is here too, hurry up, come in and talk, let people see the joke outside!"

Brother Huiqin never said a word. At this moment, he looked at the girl and said, "Go into the house! It's not the place to solve things outside!"

After saying that, he followed Lao Mu into the house. Old Mu Gu simply cleaned up the dishes, poured water into the cups, and asked everyone to sit down and talk.

"It's not an option to make a fuss about this matter. I'll get back to you when I understand it, okay?" Lao Mu tentatively said to his aunt.

"Besides, relatives are important. Once they become relatives, they are a family. A family does not speak two languages. Now this kind of trouble is not good for anyone except making people laugh. What do you think?"

Brother Huiqin interjected: "When I came, I only heard from my sister that she had received a letter from Da'an, saying that she was about to break up. How can my sister's personality hold back this tone? This doesn't allow me to come here with my mother and talk about it." Said, we don't know the specific situation, so brother-in-law has to persuade your cousin not to be too self-assertive!"

"Okay, I'll ask, and then I'll send you a letter. At that time, you can go directly to him!" Lao Mu's words, which were intended to comfort him, aroused Huiqin's anger, "This is your As I said, if I don't handle it well, I will go to school and let everyone know that he is a thief!" Huiqin deliberately emphasized the last word "thief", making it look like a thief.

Lao Mu didn't answer, looked around at the people in the room, and was silent for half a minute. Lao Mu felt that he didn't understand what his cousin meant, and everything had a reason.So in order to break the border situation, he said flatteringly to his aunt: "You haven't eaten yet, it's not convenient at home, let's go to the commune restaurant to have a light meal, and talk while eating, first to talk about the ins and outs, and second to discuss and discuss solutions The way to do it.” After speaking, he stood up, and what Lao Mu said firstly eased the tense atmosphere, and secondly, it also gave everyone a step up. Everyone in the room understood that if this quarrel continues, there may be no results. Well, maybe this marriage was ruined immediately, so everyone agreed with what Lao Mu said, so they also stood up and walked outside the house together. The people in the yard might think that there was no joke to watch, and left automatically There were many, only a few women who were doing good things were there and looked into the house from time to time. At this time, seeing everyone get up and go out of the house, they all dispersed.

Old Aunt Mu called Wei Hong, and quietly slipped him two ten-yuan bills, "Let your cousin go, so he won't have to spend the money!"

The five rode to the Commune Restaurant, ordered four side dishes, and ordered ten steamed buns. Because Lao Mu and Wei Hong ate some at home, they just ate with them out of courtesy.

At the dinner table, everyone was thinking about their own thoughts, and they just said a few polite words on the surface, and then they ate quietly. After eating, Huiqin's mother took Lao Mu's hand: "Nephew and son-in-law, we are relatives, I have a few words to remind you , your old cousin did something wrong, if you correct it, you are still a good relative, if you don't correct it, then you are an enemy!" Although these words are not many, they are not light, and Lao Mu knows the old lady's temper, so he has no words, only slightly Nodding his head, he agreed with the old man's words.

After Lao Mu returned home, he told Xiuhua what happened just now. Xiuhua said anxiously after hearing this: "How can this be done? If you don't agree, it's fine if you don't agree to the marriage at the time. I'll wait three years before going back on my word. Holding an iron rice bowl to find a wife, the cousin still has to take care of her reputation, if this is the case, she would have known and not introduced, so that we would not be left behind!"

"Why not, our girl doesn't know about it yet. It seems that the matter happened to the old cousin. It is necessary to talk to him face to face. I will tell your cousin that I have figured it out and I will call him back, so I will discuss it with you when I come back. , I really want to retire, I need you to go for a run."

"That's not going to happen. If it doesn't work out, let me lose this person. I must convince the old cousin, otherwise the two of us really can't get along with each other, and we will offend relatives in the end. In the future, I will marry a relative and become a Everyone hates it! Trying to make your cousin change his mind is a serious matter! You should discuss this matter with Gu and see what Gu thinks before you talk about it."

Old Mu thought about it carefully: "This cousin was also a good-looking talent back then, so after graduating from high school, he was recommended to work as a correspondent in the commune. A flower, whoever sees whoever likes, so the two met at a glance. Even when the college entrance examination was resumed later, when the cousin was nominated for the gold list, he still couldn't forget it. He came to the house specially. At that time, his wife joked with him about hugging If you don’t have an iron job, you will look down on mud legs. My cousin has repeatedly said that he will not, especially when it comes to marriage. In addition, he has been studying in university for the past two years. My cousin has always been the monitor of the class. The matter of retiring the engagement was not mentioned, every festival, whenever there is an opportunity, the cousin will always go to the cousin's house to sit down, which shows that the cousin and the cousin still have feelings for each other. If the divorce is proposed now, there must be a reason for it, and this matter must be face-to-face Go ask your cousin, if it is possible, you must never let her divorce, unless the cousin is determined and there is no room for negotiation, then you can only resign yourself to fate and let the cousin make trouble!"

Old Mu thought for a while, sighed, and then got up and rode his bicycle to Liu Village.

Old Aunt Mu was packing up things in the yard. When Old Mu entered the yard, she called out "Ma'am". His aunt stopped her work and turned her head to answer her: "Come into the house and talk! Xiaohong, pour some water for your cousin!"

Old Mu asked as he entered the room: "When will Uncle come back?"

"I sent him a letter before I started working, saying that the mine was too busy to get away. Even though the responsibility system has just been implemented this year, it seems impossible to expect him to come back to help the family."

"Then you don't have to be too nervous, everyone will help you after you finish your work!" Lao Mu said something reassuring.

Lao Mu and his aunt entered the room together, sat down, and Lao Mu began to ask about the morning's affairs.

"Do you know what happened in the morning?" Old Mu asked looking at the girl's face.

"At first, I really didn't know what was going on. After Huiqin talked about it, I realized that she received a letter from Da'an yesterday, which mentioned that she wanted to break up with her, so today's trouble My family is here, and Daan has never told me about it, so today I have been wrong for a year, so I asked Xiaohong to call you, after all, you are still relatives!"

"That's true, but you have to figure it out, otherwise how can I get you to call back?" Old Mu said with certainty.

"Just to take advantage of the busy farming season, let's see if he can take two days off to come back! Send him a telegram to see if he can come?" Lao Mu put his hands on his knees, looked at his daughter who was pulling the wire outside the door, and said: " Xiaohong, I will go to the commune with your cousin to send a telegram to your brother." Xiaohong agreed, and pushed the "Old Long March" from the side room.

"That doesn't stop, girl, I'm going to telegraph now!"

Old Aunt Mu stood up, opened the drawer and took out the phone number written on the paper, and asked Old Mu to copy it on a cigarette pack, then walked out of the house, followed Wei Hong out of the house and went straight to the post office where the commune was located.

On the way, Lao Mu thought about it, "Now send a telegram to my cousin. If it is said that it is busy farming, the school will not let him come back unless there is an urgent matter, so the telegram will say 'return home urgently'!"

Lao Mu made up his mind, and when he arrived at the post office where the commune was located, he sent out the telegram he had drawn up in his mind.

When Lao Mu returned home, it was past four o'clock in the afternoon, and he saw Xiuhua sitting in the courtyard in a daze, and Mu Zhen coaxing his younger brother to play in the courtyard.

"Why worry?" Lao Mu comforted him while parking the car.

Xiuhua ignored him and sighed.

"We can't have our wish on this matter. Everyone agreed at the time. As for the change of status, people are also changing. It's a big deal!"

"You put it lightly, making a scene is a trivial matter, how can I hold my head up in front of my relatives?" Xiuhua retorted.

"I have already sent a telegram to Da'an. As for what to do, we can only know after seeing him, so we can't take it too seriously. After all, it is not our decision!" Lao Mu comforted.

"That's true! Why bother yourself?" Xiuhua said to herself.

"Let's put this aside for now, and we'll talk about it when we see the old surface."

After Lao Mu finished speaking, he went into the room and poured water for himself to drink.

(End of this chapter)