Struggle Life in the 1970s

She responded indifferently, lowered her head and continued to entertain the child in her arms. The bell in her hand rang, and the child's clear eyes suddenly curved into crescents.

Chu Ye's heart suddenly softened.

Just as she said, after giving birth to Gao Xing in her previous life, Chu Hua gave birth to several more children in succession, but they were all daughters. Her parents-in-law, who had been very kind to her, gradually became impatient and finally even encouraged their son to divorce her.

Because of this, Chu Hua became more and more obsessed. On the one hand, she had no ability to make a living. She came back to work for the family before she finished elementary school. After getting married, she didn't know what else she could do except revolve around the family.

On the other hand, she complained that she could not give birth to a son, and was considerate of her parents-in-law's desire to have a grandchild, so she turned to vent all her pent-up anger on her daughters.

Although Gao Xing is fair, tender and cute now, as the first grandchild of the Gao family, she was indeed spoiled in the beginning. After a few years, when younger sisters were born one after another, as the eldest sister in the family, she was forced to grow up quickly and take on responsibilities that did not belong to her.

In her previous life, Chu Ye went to the town to find her parents-in-law, hoping to take her son back to raise him. After being rejected, she walked down the street in despair, and met Gao Xing, who also came to the town to find her grandparents. Her purpose in coming was to cry and say that she didn't want her parents to be separated.

These words were obviously taught by Chu Hua. The happiness she had that day completely disappointed the mood of the Gao family when they named her. Her skinny body was covered with stained clothes, and her trouser legs were a little short, revealing most of her ankles.

It is not known whether Chu Hua deliberately made her look pitiful or whether she was already in such a situation where her parents did not love her at home. In any case, Chu Ye felt very soft-hearted after seeing this scene, and unconsciously transferred his love for his son to Gao Xing.

She used the money she had on her to buy food for Gao Xing and also bought her a set of suitable clothes. Lastly, she begged the people who were going back to the village to add some money to have someone send her home.

Later, Chu Ye was too busy to take care of himself and had no time to ask about Gao Xing's life. He just guessed in his heart that she might not be doing well.

Chu Hua was still chattering here, instilling in Chu Ye the idea that women should get married early and have children as early as possible.

Chu Ye was annoyed by what she heard, but was afraid that a direct rebuttal would cause Chu Hua's anger. What if Chu's father and mother came back and knew that Chu Ye had such rebellious thoughts, they might stop her from going to school.

It's no wonder Chu Ye is worried. Although it seems that her father and mother support her to go to a technical secondary school, Chu Ye knows in her heart that their real wish is to let her get a good job through this means, which will help her marry into a well-off family.

By then, not only will the old couple have face and can speak openly in the village, but they can also rely on their son-in-law to help the family, and it would be best if he could also help Chu Guangyao. In this way, the family will be prosperous, and the old couple will not have raised the child in vain.

Therefore, the ultimate purpose of Chu's father and mother supporting her to go to school was to get her married.

If they knew now that Chu Ye did not agree with those who always disciplined women, they would probably lock Chu Ye up at home and then send her away immediately.

So she couldn't let Chu Hua know her rejection. While Chu Hua was saying she was tired and drinking water, she casually mentioned, "Third sister, do you remember when we used to sleep together at night and chat, you said you envied the salespersons who worked in department stores the most."

She suddenly talked about the past, causing Chu Hua's thoughts to stop and her memories to be brought back to the time when she was young and said some foolish things.

Now recalling it, as if in a dream, her lips moved slightly, and her eyes were filled with nostalgia, "Yes, one New Year's Day, when you were still young, I went to town with my parents and saw that the entrance of the department store was crowded with people."

"I was skinny at the time, so I followed the crowd and squeezed in. I was dazzled by the sight of such a large place, which looked bright and clean. Inside were glass counters, and behind each counter was a salesperson. They wore uniform black work clothes and had their hair neatly tied up behind their heads. The counters were crowded with people, but they were not in a hurry. They asked customers with a smile on their faces what they needed."

Her thoughts seemed to follow the sigh, through the long river of time, and return to that year.

The beautiful, enthusiastic and generous salesperson left a very deep impression on the little Chu Hua, so much so that for a long time afterwards, her dream was to become a salesperson in a department store.

She had never told this wish to anyone, not even her parents. Only Chu Ye knew about it, and that was because the two of them slept together at night and talked about it during casual conversation.

"Third sister, when I went to town a few days ago, I saw that the department store was recruiting two female sales clerks. Do you want to try it?" Chu Ye asked.

However, this sentence was like a fuse that ignited the barrel of a cannon. Chu Hua raised her voice and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? I can't do that! I just gave birth to a child and I have to take care of the child at home!"

She seemed to be trying to find a thousand excuses to make up for herself, "Besides, I haven't given birth to a son yet, your brother-in-law and my mother-in-law are both in the village, how can I go to the town to work by myself?"

"Besides...besides, I'm already old, and the sales clerks are all young girls who know how to dress up. How could I...how could I be chosen?"

Chu Hua's words exploded like firecrackers, fast and dense, as if to convince herself, as if in this way, the wish she made when she was young would no longer exist, and as if in this way, she had proved her loyalty to the Gao family.

The wishes she had when she was young had long been overshadowed by the trivialities of the family, and she was no longer the girl who could make wishes at will. She had her parents-in-law to serve, as well as the man at home, and her newborn daughter who needed her to be coaxed to sleep every night.

After saying that, she calmed down, and seemed to blame Chu Ye for such a bold statement, complaining in a tone, "You are really wild. In my opinion, studying has made you a fool. Listen to me, marrying a good family is the right way."

"Look at me. I am living such a good life now. When my father-in-law retires, your brother-in-law will take over and bring me and the children to live in the city. Who won't envy me then?"

Chu Hua's eyes already revealed a longing for future life, as if she could move into the city tomorrow and become "a superior person".

But sister, you didn't give birth to a son, and your parents-in-law are very unhappy with you. Although your third brother-in-law did go to work in the town, he was too cowardly to resist his parents, and he also planned to divorce you.

At that time, you were living a very painful life, even a little crazy.

Chu Ye lowered her eyes. The experiences of Mu Jiajun and herself in taking the college entrance examination made her believe that the future is not predetermined by fate. If she rises up and resists, she can change her future.

It's just that she forced herself to change because she knew what would happen in the future, but Chu Hua was different. She knew nothing about her future.

Even if Chu Ye told her now, she would probably think that this was an excuse Chu Ye made because he wanted to go to school, or even a curse on her.

She was afraid that Chu Hua would yell at her, or even turn around and leave, never to contact her again.

Isn't this what happened in her previous life? Chu Hua stubbornly believed that her unhappy life was all because she was not motivated enough and could not give birth to a son, but she never thought that it was not her fault at all.

If you want to change Chu Hua's future, you must let her break it herself. No matter how much others say, it will be useless if she won't listen.

After a moment, Chu Ye asked a question that made her fall into deep thought, "Third sister, when you move to the town in the future, the expenses of the family will be high. When the children grow up and go to school, they will need money. I am afraid that you can't save much just relying on your brother-in-law's salary. Don't you have to think of a way to find a job? When both of us in the family earn money, how can we live a bad life?"

Chu Ye considerately thought from her perspective and arranged a life for her in which both husband and wife worked in the town, their children grew up happily, and the neighbors envied them.

Chu Hua was obviously very pleased with this idea, and even felt that life was getting better and better, thus ignoring Chu Ye's hidden condition - she also had to go to work.

However, Chu Ye did not expect to change Chu Hua's rigid thinking with just a few words. She just quietly opened up another path in Chu Hua's thoughts which revolved around family.

When Chu Hua is suffering from family difficulties one day, this route may really allow her to take a desperate step and make changes.

Chu Hua came and went quickly. She arrived home in the morning and had lunch with her parents. In the afternoon, she hurried back to the next village, saying that she was worried about her husband and mother-in-law at home and wanted to go back to cook for them.

Chu Ye didn't say much, he just accompanied her to the village entrance. Finally, Chu Hua suggested getting married early, and Chu Ye nodded with a smile.

The next day, a piece of important news spread like a hurricane to several nearby villages.

Zhao Xuesong, who was one of the richest men in Zhaojia Village, was taken away by the police early in the morning!

According to his neighbors, the man was still sleeping in bed when he was awakened by the banging on the door. When he opened the door, he saw three policemen standing at the door. After confirming his identity, they handcuffed him on his wrists and took him away.

"Bah! You deserve it! When he was pestering Xiao Ye before, I knew he was not a good person. Fortunately, you didn't let Xiao Ye go on a blind date with him, otherwise, she would be full of bad luck!"

Aunt Wang was the most indignant. She sat in the field with Chu's mother, spitting into the soil and cursing.

"Who said it wasn't? I saw that his family was well-off and he had feelings for Si Ya. I was confused at that time. When the matchmaker came to propose marriage, I was quite satisfied. But who would have known that only a few months later, he was in jail, and I don't know what crime he committed." Chu's mother also agreed and became more and more shocked by Chu Ye's prediction.

She looked towards Chu Ye and met Chu Ye's gaze. Seeing her nodding with a smile and a look of indifference, Mother Chu felt a little relieved.

And the disaster that befell Zhao Xuesong was brought to him by Chu Ye.

(End of this chapter)