CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 35: FAMILY INTERACTIONS (PART 3)

"No, back then even a blade of grass was precious, and you only got straw shoes in winter, and that was considered good. Many adults had never worn shoes, let alone children. Now, you see, there are still a few families in the village whose kids are barefoot. You haven’t wandered much around the village; you’ve only played with those from well-off families. If they’re from a poor family, they don’t have time to play around with you; they all have to work in the fields. In our village, several families share one cotton-padded jacket when they go out in winter. That little buddy of yours, Dogzi-next-door’s uncle’s eldest son, he’s already 25 years old, too poor to get married. He traded his 15-year-old sister in an arranged marriage to get a new wife. His little sister looks at most 12 and was exchanged with a 30-year-old widower. On their wedding day, they borrowed clothes from our house to wear.

Our village is considered better. In winter, why do you think no one is around? It’s because they have no clothes, cotton-padded jackets need cloth tickets and cotton tickets. Generally, daughters don’t have cotton-padded jackets, at best patched layers of clothing. Inside the layers of clothing, there’s some old cotton stuffed with straw bits. The worst off are villages like Xialin Village and Chen Family Village, who can’t even pay their taxes and are always in debt year after year. You tell me, where’s the money, where are the tickets? They can’t even fill their stomachs. There are so many bachelors in those two villages that they practically have to share a wife. Except now, in the new society, no one dares do this openly. No one dares to marry girls from those two villages, and girls don’t dare marry in there either. If they marry in, they’re too poor to support their own family; if they marry out, they don’t even know if it’s safe. What do they do? They resort to arranged marriages."

The second brother finished speaking and kept laughing, looking at Xiao Wu who was also laughing so hard that Zhang Guoqing felt his scalp tingling, "Dad, look at Second Brother, his laughter is making my skin crawl."

"Dad, you see, he’s still so muddle-headed that if someone put a sack over his head one day, he wouldn’t even know why." The second brother laughed meaningfully again. "Do you know why yesterday, when you went to Xialin Village, no one broke up the fight? You used to be the kingpin around here,"+

Zhang Guoqing wasn’t stupid; his eyes lit up, "Damn, I wondered why someone dared to ambush me, were they jealous of me? Jiao Jiao is my girl I’ve raised since childhood, what does that have to do with them?"

Mr. Zhang patted his forehead, "Silly boy, what do you mean your girl since childhood? If you went to join the army, that little wife of yours would be gone. Let your second brother tell you the rumors about the Zhou Family?"

The second brother cleared his throat, "Since Zhou Xiaozheng, your father-in-law, married the daughter of General Lin, Old Sir Zhou hasn’t worked in the fields, and with their salaries and your father-in-law’s wages, the whole family relied on the eldest son doing 6 work points a day. The Zhou Family married Huang Zhaodi of the Huang Family, and thanks to the daughter’s looks, the Huang Family, even though none of them work in the city, now have better conditions than city folk. They were once too poor to even eat. Now even the grandson has married a girl from a good family. After Jiao Jiao’s two cousins married, their wife’s families also brought wealth with them, and coupled with the fact that Jiao Jiao’s eldest cousin Zhou Xue married Wang Youlin from the Wang Family, how much dowry did they bring over?

Now there’s a lot of talk, people saying the Zhou Family sucked wealth from five families thanks to the Third Sister, with one Jiao Jiao feeding five villages in the whole district. Haha.... Which five families? Let me tell you again: the Huang Family from Huang Zhaodi, the Li Family from Zhou Liru, the natal families of the two cousins’ wives, and a Wang Family from Zhou Xue.

A lot of people are watching how the Lin Family will react, all waiting to see the show. Mainly because the Zhou Family members are too arrogant. Do you know what Zhou Xue said outside? She said my family lacks everything except money and tickets. My little aunt treats me more dearly than a daughter, and if we hadn’t gone back to the Northeast, the whole family would have planned to go to Beijing instead of staying in this backwater place. If my grandfather stomped his foot in Beijing, the whole city would shake thrice."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Guoqing’s face turned livid, veins popped on his hands, and his teeth clenched tightly. Eldest and second brothers were startled. "Xiao Wu, don’t be angry; no one’s talking about our family. People also know our family’s conditions are pretty good. What’s more, with Jiao Jiao’s dowry transferred over, the Zhou Family’s already become a joke to others."

"I’m fine. It seems if I don’t make a move, others will think I’m spineless. If these people are so shameless, then I’ll strip their skin. Dad, was there nobody looking for you while I was out today?"

Mr. Zhang also rubbed his head, "I wasn’t home all afternoon. No one came looking for me in the evening either."

The eldest brother chimed in confusedly, "Someone was looking for you, actually there were two people. Dad wasn’t at home, so I told them. One was our brother-in-law’s dad, and the other was our uncle; both said they had something to discuss with you and would come to find you tomorrow since you weren’t home."

Zhang Guoqing looked at his dad, "Dad, I think we should sever ties with this family once and for all. Otherwise, it’ll only cause more trouble in the future. Did you hear what they said? It’s like hearing my grandfather stomp his foot in Beijing, and the city shakes thrice. If this rumor spreads too much, people might think Jiao Jiao said it. Isn’t this courting disaster?"

Mr. Zhang glanced at his other two sons, then at him, took a sip of wine, "Don’t rush. Calm down first, decide how to handle it properly, and also consider Jiao Jiao’s side; after all, she is a member of the Zhou Family."

The second brother, puzzled, looked at his dad and then at Xiao Wu, "Dad, is there something you’re hiding, should we all know about it?"

"It’s better not to know just yet; in a few days, the truth will come out. Talking about it now is pointless. What’s important is making this rumor as widespread and beneficial as possible, so in the future, if something happens, even if our family doesn’t directly involve itself, no one will gossip.

Those things they’re using, they’re all Jiao Jiao’s. They were hidden by them. Isn’t there a signature at the post office? Jiao Jiao didn’t know, and Xiao Wu found it out. Early in the morning at the Zhou Family, Xiao Wu exposed it, which means they’ve torn their faces. Old Sir Zhou wants to find someone to talk, otherwise, why would your brother-in-law’s dad and your uncle come looking for me today?"

"So you’re saying that the watches and clothes they’re wearing, along with the bridal dowries, were sent to Jiao Jiao by the Lin Family, but were hidden by the Zhou Family so that Jiao Jiao didn’t even know, only for Xiao Wu to discover it at the post office? And now after the Zhou Family found out that Jiao Jiao knows, they’re afraid the couple will report it to the Lin Family?" The second brother could hardly believe such a shameless thing was possible.

The eldest brother caught on, "Now the Zhou Family can’t bear to part with the stuff, yet they’re also worried Xiao Wu will report it to the Lin Family, so they’ve called in favors?"

Mr. Zhang nodded, but didn’t respond further; he was afraid of letting something slip. Nothing should be revealed until the Lin Family arrives. He looked at Xiao Wu, without any worry. His own son is playing a big game here.

"Dad, I’ve thought it through. This must be publicly exposed right now. Jiao Jiao is in confinement; if she could come forward, it would be better, but there’s no time for her to appear since everything’s happening at once.

If only Jiao Jiao had gone to the Wang Family and slapped Zhou Xue in front of everyone, then explained the situation, everyone would know, and we could push things along when word spreads. But now you’re stirring things before the baby’s full month, so why didn’t you say anything earlier? The consequences will leave few sympathizers.

Second Brother, this calls for Second Sister-in-law’s help. She’s got those girlfriends in the village to spread the word, and then I’ll ask my buddies in the county to spread it too. Though this might affect Second Sister-in-law’s reputation, can we see if it’s feasible for her?"

The second brother nodded, "It’s fine, this is fact, it won’t affect your Second Sister-in-law. After all, she and Jiao Jiao are family. You explain, and I’ll tell your Second Sister-in-law when we go back, have her talk about it tomorrow."