Yonghe Road

Chapter 3 Escape from Marriage
Lin Yingying cried in her bed all night and fell asleep at three or four in the morning. When she opened her eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky.

She has been pregnant for two months and is troubled by dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, loss of appetite, picky eating, nausea, and vomiting.

Before she started eating, she ran to the bathroom and vomited violently. She vomited white water, bile, and the last bit of vomited liquid was streaked with blood, which scared her to death.

She had already had two miscarriages before, and this was her third pregnancy. The doctor said that if she had another abortion, she might never be able to get pregnant again.

Lin Yingying yearns to be a mother and a wife. From a young age, she embraces traditional life, pursuing a life of finding a loving partner, raising children, and growing old together. Unfortunately, the man she falls for is Zhong Ziwang, the eldest son of a poor family who lost his father at a young age. His family consists of his honest and useless widowed mother and a pair of younger siblings. As the eldest son, Zhong Ziwang naturally endures greater hardships than his peers.

Being a good helper to his widowed mother and a protective umbrella for his younger siblings, he had already carried three burdens on his shoulders at an age when he could barely walk steadily. He ran all the way, stumbling and getting bruised and bloodied in the ups and downs of life.

Growing up in such a living environment, Zhong Ziwang is honest, sincere, gentle and considerate, which is the type of person Lin Yingying likes.

She has an older brother named Lin Dangdang. His personality is completely different from Zhong Ziwang's. Lin Dangdang has been spoiled by his parents since childhood and has a self-centered personality. Unlike his other brothers, he never cares for or cherishes his sister. Instead, he treats Lin Yingying like a maid, ordering her around and making her do whatever she wants.

Lin Yingying and Zhong Ziwang have been together for five or six years. At the beginning, Lin Dangdang was extremely opposed to it. She asked Zhong Ziwang to go to KTV and asked Zhong Ziwang to pay the bill. Then she kicked Lin Yingying in the stomach in front of Zhong Ziwang, and directly kicked away Lin Yingying's first child.

At that time, Lin Dangdang didn't know that Lin Yingying was pregnant, and Lin Yingying and Zhong Ziwang themselves didn't know either. The child came and went unexpectedly, which made Lin Yingying and Zhong Ziwang very sad for a while.

Fearing that Zhong Ziwang would send her to jail, Lin Dangdang could only persuade her parents to allow Lin Yingying and Zhong Ziwang to be together temporarily.

When Lin Yingying was pregnant for the second time, Lin Dangdang persuaded her parents to agree to their marriage. Lin's parents doted on their son very much, and their son's opinion determined their own opinion. They agreed to get married, but the bride price could not be less.

So, Lin Dangdang went to Zhong Ziwang to discuss the matter and said, "Our Lin family is not as poor as your Zhong family, who has to rely on our daughter's betrothal money to marry our son. However, betrothal money was a custom in ancient times, and it is a kind of respect in modern times. The more betrothal money is given, the more respect the husband has for his wife, and the in-laws have for the wife's family. In the future, our Lin family will not accept a single cent of the betrothal money. We will use it as a dowry and let my sister take it to your Zhong family."

Based on the understanding that Lin Yingying and Lin Dangdang had been siblings for more than 20 years, they knew that Lin Dangdang's words were just for show. Once the money was in his pocket, it was impossible to ask him to return it. However, the other party's words were nice and beautiful on the surface, and Zhong Ziwang could not find any fault with them, so he had no choice but to accept them.

Zhong Ziwang asked Lin Dangdang how much dowry the Lin family wanted, and Lin Dangdang stretched out a palm.

Fifty thousand is not a lot.

But Lin Dangdang turned her palm over, and the palm that was originally facing upwards suddenly faced downwards.

One hundred thousand is actually acceptable.

But Lin Dangdang turned her palm up again, and then turned it down again.

Two hundred thousand is not a small amount of money for the Zhong family. Not to mention two hundred thousand, the Zhong family can't even come up with fifty thousand in cash.

"You don't even have 50,000 yuan, and you want to get married? You, Zhong Ziwang, are destined to be a bachelor for the rest of your life. Who told you not to know how to reincarnate?"

Lin Dangdang insisted on forcing Lin Yingying and Zhong Ziwang to break up, and even mixed mifepristone and misoprostol tablets into Lin Yingying's food. Lin Yingying was already past the 49th day of her first trimester when she mistakenly took these two medications, which caused her to suffer from unbearable abdominal pain and persistent redness. Terrified, Lin Dangdang rushed her to the hospital.

Lin Yingying, who had lost her child again, threatened to send Lin Dangdang to prison on her hospital bed. Lin Dangdang begged for mercy and apologized, so he had to agree that Lin Yingying and Zhong Ziwang could continue to be together, and reduced the betrothal money by half.

Zhong Ziwang had to collect the 100,000 yuan betrothal money no matter what, otherwise he would be too unworthy of Lin Yingying's efforts for him.

So he borrowed money from relatives and friends, and scraped together 100,000 yuan. He was planning to send it to the Lin family when Huifang suddenly fell seriously ill. Not only did the surgery cost all the money, but the family also went into debt.

The matter of marrying Lin Yingying was delayed again.

Lin Yingying couldn't bear to see Zhong Ziwang depressed all day long about their marriage, so she said, "Why don't I just steal the household registration booklet and go to the city to get a marriage certificate? Then we can make it a done deal."

How could Zhong Ziwang let down a good girl like Lin Yingying?

There are girls in the surrounding area who, because they cannot agree on the bride price with their own family, steal their household registration books and marry their lovers. However, they end up abandoning their lovers and ultimately do not have a good ending. Either they cut off contact with their own family, or they are not respected by their husband's family.

Zhong Ziwang didn't want Lin Yingying to fall into such a situation.

"I will definitely save enough for the betrothal gift and marry you." Zhong Zi looked at Lin Yingying and promised.

Zhong Ziwang is a hardworking and frugal young man. In order to repay the debt owed by his mother for medical treatment and to save enough for the bride price, he works two jobs in the village industrial park. During the day, he does heavy physical work of carrying sand and gravel in the material factory, and at night he goes to the white tea factory to pack tea.

However, as if things were not bad enough, the white tea factory had problems with its warehousing, logistics and sales channels. In addition, it encountered market fluctuations and price issues in the white tea industry. The overall average price of spring tea leaves dropped by nearly 20% compared with the same period last year. Except for the market sales price of high-end tea which remained strong, tea farmers and white tea companies selling mid- and low-end tea were facing great operating pressure. The white tea factory where Zhong Ziwang worked was in danger and on the verge of bankruptcy.

So the boss and his family tightened their belts, and everyone, young and old, men and women, stayed up late to pack tea themselves, and Zhong Ziwang was fired.

Zhong Ziwang's income was cut in half, but Lin Yingying gave birth to her third child at this time.

Without a betrothal gift of 100,000 yuan, don't even think about marrying Lin Yingying. The Lin family would rather have a funeral with two lives than have the whole village laugh at them for trying to marry off their daughter.

Lin Dangdang said that since Lin Yingying was an extra child at the time, she should not have come to their Lin family as a daughter, and their Lin family would just treat this daughter as if she didn't exist.

Zhong Ziwang made up his mind and decided to commit suicide with Lin Yingying and the child in her belly. Huifang was anxious and came up with the idea of marrying her daughter in exchange for a dowry.

When the Zhong family was at their wit's end, the Lei family extended an olive branch.

Lei Sheng has always liked Zhong Chunshui, since he was a child. No matter how Zhong Chunshui scolded him, despised him, and drove him away, he would stick to her like a dog-skin plaster.

With just one word from Zhong Chunshui, Lei Sheng immediately offered 200,000 yuan as a betrothal gift and married Zhong Chunshui.

Lei Sheng's parents are quick-witted. When Secretary Wang Kai returned to Baile Village as secretary and decided to lead the entire village in a major effort, they immediately followed him closely, investing where necessary and contributing where necessary. Now, they own shares in everything from the village's industrial companies to the Rural Revitalization Hotel. Every year, they sit at home and count their dividends, bringing in 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. Furthermore, they learned economic acumen from Secretary Wang, and they use their dividends to invest in more businesses. Money begets money, and there's no end to it. Their only son, Lei Sheng, is getting married, and they couldn't be happier.

If they could find a woman to take care of their son as soon as possible and give them a few grandchildren, the old couple would finally have solved one of their worries.

However, the old couple was not very happy about the fact that their son fell in love with the youngest daughter of the Zhong family.

Because Lei Sheng's parents became wealthy people in the village, they had seen many big scenes in the past few years following Secretary Wang Kai, and had met many dignitaries. They felt that they were superior to others in the village and hoped that their son could marry a girl from a family of equal status to help his future.

They invested in some industries for Lei Sheng. Lei Sheng was only in his twenties, but he had already been named one of the top ten young farmer entrepreneurs in the city. If he could marry into a family that could support his son's career, and his son could become a representative or committee member in the future, his life would be taken to the next level.

Lei Sheng's parents had a good idea, but their son liked the youngest daughter of the Zhong family.

What kind of family is the Zhong family? A widowed mother raising three children. They used to be a poor family in the village, and their situation is not much better now. Although the three children have grown up, they have not achieved much. The two sons are tall and strong, but they cannot afford to marry a wife.

Such relatives would only treat the Lei family as a blood bag and Lei Sheng as their cash cow.

Lei Sheng's parents despised the Zhong family, but they couldn't resist Lei Sheng's affections. Lei Sheng pursued Zhong Chunshui for years before the Zhong family relented. Lei Sheng always thought he would wither in the desert of love, but unexpectedly he encountered an oasis.

This is the opportunity for his love tree to sprout, bloom and bear fruit. How could he give up this opportunity?

So after trying to negotiate with his parents but to no avail, he finally resorted to tactics like going on a hunger strike and becoming a monk. Finally, his parents agreed to the marriage.

Lei Sheng took out the 200,000 yuan betrothal money from the bank, in bundles, like solid red bricks, carefully wrapped it with a large piece of red paper, and then put it in an exquisite red leather suitcase, and took it to the Zhong family happily.

Because they are all She ethnic group, "song" is an element that runs through the She ethnic group's wedding customs. From marriage proposal to wedding completion, She songs are the carriers of expressing feelings, making friends, and expressing feelings.

Lei Sheng brought a group of She ethnic brothers, carrying the betrothal money in a red leather suitcase, and holding gifts such as tea, candy, cakes, chicken, fish, meat, and wine, and sang all the way to the Zhong family, attracting countless passers-by to stop and watch.

In She ethnic tradition, chicken, fish, and meat are important betrothal gifts. Chicken symbolizes good fortune, fish represents abundance, and meat symbolizes a prosperous life. Wine, on the other hand, is an indispensable beverage at She rituals and celebrations, as the saying goes, "No feast is complete without wine." Giving wine on the betrothal day is a sign of respect and gratitude to the woman's family. Tea holds an even more special place in She culture, being presented as a valuable gift on important occasions.

The wine prepared by Lei Sheng is red yeast rice wine brewed by every She ethnic group household. It is also known as "Sanha Wine" and is a specialty of the She ethnic group with a history of more than 2000 years. It is brewed with fine glutinous rice, clear mountain spring water and ancient brewing techniques. It is mellow and rich, clear and sweet, with a long aftertaste.

The tea is Baihao Yinzhen carefully selected by Lei Sheng. A load of aged Baihao Yinzhen is very expensive, and the market price is no less than the betrothal gift.

Baile Village is located in the tea-growing area of eastern Fujian. People in this tea-growing area have the custom of giving Baihao Yinzhen tea as a dowry when their daughters marry off, to show their love for their daughters, their regard for their sons-in-law, and their blessings for their marriages. Therefore, Baihao Yinzhen is also known as "Happy Tea" and "Fu Tea".

The Zhong family couldn't afford such an expensive dowry for Zhong Chunshui, so Lei Sheng bought it for her. This load of Baihao Yinzhen was delivered to the Zhong family today as a betrothal gift, and later brought to the Lei family as a dowry, which was a wonderful thing.

Lei Sheng not only provided Zhong Chunshui with betrothal gifts, but also bought her dowry including cloth and jewelry.

The cloth is made using the She ethnic group's indigo dyeing technique. Historically, the She people were good at growing indigo and ramie. They used the ramie they grew themselves to spin, weave and dye indigo or blue cloth through multiple steps, including breaking ramie silk, twisting, spinning, drawing ramie, pulling thread and weaving. They used techniques such as picking and embroidery, and combining weaving and embroidery to embroider exquisite patterns of birds, beasts, flowers, birds, insects and fish.

This blue dyeing technique is on the verge of being lost, and because it is rare, it is valuable and therefore very expensive.

The silver forging technique of the She ethnic group was introduced to Fujian by Wang Shenzhi during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period. It is represented by the five essential techniques of "manipulating, chiseling, lifting, untying and covering". Through more than 30 manual processes, the purity of the silver material and the thickness of the silver sheet are controlled to improve the ductility of the silver. Then, special chisels are used to carve out the blanks to create silver products with distinctive shapes, natural and bright surfaces, and vivid colors.

Lei Sheng spent a considerable amount of money to purchase blue-dyed cloth and dynamic silver sculptures from inheritors of the She ethnic group's intangible cultural heritage in other counties and cities in eastern Fujian as a betrothal gift and dowry for Zhong Chunshui.

In particular, the "Double Dragons Playing with a Pearl" silver bracelet designed by Zhuhuatang is the most eye-catching.

Lei Sheng led his relatives and friends, holding the betrothal gifts, and stood in front of the Zhong family's gate, singing She songs excitedly. He imagined Zhong Chunshui wearing a phoenix costume and opening the Zhong family's door and walking out:
The collar, lapel, skirt and even cuffs of her coat were embroidered with patterns of flowers, birds, dragons and phoenixes. The black cloth skirt was embroidered with patterns of phoenixes and peonies. The phoenix dress, phoenix belt and phoenix waistband symbolized the neck, waist and feathers of the phoenix respectively. Her hair was tied into a bun with red velvet and coiled behind her head. She wore a pointed crown with four pearl belts made of hundreds of white pearls and fixed with silver hairpins. Under the crown was a red lotus three feet wide and one foot long. On her feet she wore a pair of phoenix shoes inlaid with colorful lace patterns.

On her wedding day, she will wear this phoenix costume and a pair of silver bracelets with "double dragons playing with a pearl" on her snow-white wrists. She will definitely look like the most beautiful bride in the world.

At this moment, the door of the Zhong family was opened.

But it was not Zhong Chunshui who came out, but the brothers Zhong Ziwang and Zhong Ziqi.

It was only natural that his two brothers-in-law came to greet him.

As a bride-to-be, Chunshui must have shyly hidden away in her room, even though this didn't suit her personality. In the past, when he'd pestered her, she'd used the most savage language to call him shameless. But once a woman becomes a bride, she'll surely retract her sharp claws and become a delicate, shy little white rabbit.

Lei Sheng held a red suitcase in one hand and raised the other hand high. Behind him, the people's She songs stopped abruptly.

Lei Sheng held the red suitcase and walked happily towards his two future brothers-in-law.

The expressions of the two future brothers-in-law were in stark contrast to his joyful face: Zhong Ziwang had a face full of bitterness and resentment, as if he was not going to marry his sister, but his sister had died; and Zhong Ziqi had a face full of anxiety and anger.

"Stop singing, it's so annoying." Zhong Ziqi said.

In fact, the courtship songs had stopped long ago. Although there were crowds of people in front of the Zhong family’s house, it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, as if the movie had been paused and the picture was frozen.

People stretched their necks, like audiences in a movie theater, holding their breath, waiting for the arrival of a good show.

The story has reached its climax, and a dramatic turning point is revealed at this moment.

The pause button of the movie was restored, and the story continued like flowing water, not a gurgling stream, but a raging torrent:

"Chun Shui ran away from the marriage!" Zhong Ziqi roared at the thunder.