I became a cannon fodder and watched the drama in the period novels.

Chapter 22 Struggle

Bai Meijuan hurriedly pushed her bicycle out of the factory. On the way home, she saw that a new newspaper had been published, so she bought one and took it home.

After arriving home, she saw that dinner was not ready yet, so she put down her bag, opened the Dongfanghong newspaper, and saw an article in it that was different in style from the previous ones.

Bai Meijuan read it carefully. The title of the article was: Struggle Record

The article begins by describing how in the past, people were hungry and cold, and when poor families gave birth to baby girls, they could not afford to raise them, so they either drowned them or gave them away.

It was not until the founding of the New China and the people were able to have enough food to eat that there were no more cases of girls drowning.

In a place called Lijia Village, Li Fugui's family gave birth to a girl named Li Xiaohua. She was smart and clever since she was a child, and her family loved her very much. Later, her family gave birth to a younger brother and sent both of them to school.

Li Xiaohua has excellent grades, but her younger brother is very playful and has never done well in his studies. Usually, it is Li Xiaohua who tutors him.

When they were supposed to go to junior high school, the family was poor and could only pay for one person's tuition, so they let her younger brother go to school and Li Xiaohua stayed at home to work.

Li Xiaohua's grandmother said: "Xiaohua is just a girl. What's the point of reading so many books? She will get married in the future anyway."

Xiaohua's parents also think that their daughter only needs to know a few words and there is no need to continue reading.

Li Xiaohua was not convinced. She cried and said, "I study very well. My teacher said I can definitely get into high school."

Xiaohua’s father advised her: “There is no money at home, so we can only support your brother to study.

You have been to school and can read, which is much better than other girls in the village, many of whom have never been to school."

Later, Li Xiaohua's younger brother went to school, and Li Xiaohua stayed at home to work, but Li Xiaohua, who had already learned to read and study, was unwilling to give up.

She would go to the town every month and help the old man at the scrap yard in exchange for books. No matter what the books were, Li Xiaohua would take them back and read them carefully.

This study lasted for five years. After her younger brother entered junior high school, he could not keep up with the studies. After two years of study, he failed to get into high school and returned to the village.

Because she only had a junior high school education, the village arranged for Li Xiaohua's younger brother to be a scorer. Li Xiaohua thought that if it were her, she would definitely be able to get into high school, but her family disliked her because she was a girl and would have to get married in the future, so they were unwilling to support her studies.

That day, Li Xiaohua's family picked a young man from the same village for her to marry. The man was good, down-to-earth and capable, with a handsome appearance and a good family background.

Li Xiaohua's grandmother said that Li Xiaohua was blessed, and her mother also said that the family was good.

Li Xiaohua was familiar with that person. He liked her and she didn't mind him, but she always felt a little empty inside.

One day, when she was going to the supply and marketing cooperative with her family to buy red cloth for her dowry, she came across a small truck stopped halfway.

The car seemed to have broken down on the way and could not be driven. A leader nearby anxiously asked the driver: "Can you drive?"

The driver was a newcomer and didn't know how to repair a car: "Director Zhao, I'm just a driver and I don't know how to repair a car."

Seeing this situation, Li Xiaohua thought of the repair books she had read and wanted to give it a try.

So she walked forward, looked at the leader and said, "Can I try?"

The leader was a little unconvinced and asked her, "Can you do it?"

Li Xiaohua said honestly: "I have learned it from books, but I have never tried it myself. Why don't you let me try? You don't have any other way now, right?" Li Xiaohua's grandmother and mother wanted to stop them, but the leader agreed and let Li Xiaohua go forward and try.

Later, Li Xiaohua repaired the car. The leader was very surprised and asked Li Xiaohua which school she was from.

Li Xiaohua said that she stopped studying after graduating from elementary school and she taught herself all these things.

Afterwards, Li Xiaohua began to prepare for her marriage at home. During this period of preparation, she discovered that her boyfriend was having an affair with a widow in the village, and she told her family about it.

The man knelt down and apologized to Li Xiaohua at her home. After receiving the betrothal gift, his family did not want to cancel the engagement and continued to persuade Li Xiaohua to marry him.

Li Xiaohua was unwilling, but was forced by her family to compromise.

She locked herself in the room all day, crying.

On the other side, in the machinery factory, in the director's office, Director Zhao, whom Li Xiaohua had met last time, was preparing to ask Li Xiaohua to come to the factory for an exam.

He was deeply impressed by Li Xiaohua's performance last time. He admired such a studious and capable young comrade very much and wanted to allow her to enter their factory as an exception.

Director Zhao asked around and found out where Li Xiaohua's home was, and then went to Lijia Village.

In Lijia Village, Li Xiaohua put on new clothes and was preparing to get married.

The article ends here and the following content should be in the next issue of the newspaper.

"Oh, how come it's gone?" Bai Meijuan grumbled in dissatisfaction. At this time, Bai Meijuan's mother came over and said, "What are you doing? I called you so many times but you didn't respond. Come and eat quickly."

Bai Meijuan enthusiastically told her family the story she had just read at the dinner table. After dinner, the family was still discussing what happened to Li Xiaohua until before going to bed at night.

Du Lan was also reading this story at home. Seeing that the author's name was "Fei Xiang", Du Lan asked Shen Feifei: "Is this your pen name?"

Shen Feifei said yes, and Du Lan calmed down to read the article. As she read, she suddenly slammed the table and said angrily, "This is too much! That man is having an affair with a widow, and her family wants her to marry him."

After she vented her anger, she continued to watch the film, and after finishing it, she asked Shen Feifei: "Fei Fei, what happened to Li Xiaohua later?"

Shen Feifei smiled and said, "As for what will happen next with Li Xiaohua, of course we have to wait until the next issue of the newspaper comes out to find out. It would be boring if mom knew in advance. Otherwise, you can guess first, and then see if the content later is different from what you thought."

Although Duran really wanted to know what happened next, since Shen Feifei wouldn't tell him, he could only wait for the next issue of the newspaper.

Song Qingfei was away from home these two days because he had a mission. Du Lan told Chief Shen, Shen Yueru and Shen Yaoyang about the story written by Shen Feifei. Everyone in the family was fascinated by the story, even Shen Yueru, who had never liked Shen Feifei. After listening, she took the newspaper and read it again.

After Shen Yaoyang finished listening, he pestered Shen Feifei: "Second sister, tell me about it. I want to know what's next."

Shen Feifei did not spoil the plot. She knew that the article would be published in the newspaper in parts. Unexpectedly, the editor-in-chief was quite good at choosing the timing. In fact, this article is a refreshing story about the heroine's struggle. It will often appear in the future market, but it is still very attractive now.

Many people who bought newspapers today were discussing Li Xiaohua in the article. They all wanted to know what Li Xiaohua's fate was.

The next morning, Editor-in-Chief Sun was working in the office of the Dongfanghong newspaper. A man knocked on the door and entered. His brisk footsteps and excited expression showed how excited he was.

He took out a report and handed it to Editor-in-Chief Sun: "Editor-in-Chief, yesterday's newspaper sales were 20% higher than usual."

(End of this chapter)