The two knew that under the current circumstances, if they stayed in the Chen family, they would definitely starve to death. The food rations were limited, and they were just free labor in the eyes of their stepmother, so there was no way they would get a chance to eat.
The eldest and second girls knelt in front of Chen Tiezhu, saying that their eldest brother was like a father and asked him to find a good marriage for them. Chen Tiezhu thought about it for a whole night and finally agreed.
So when Chen Dazhu returned to Xiangyang Village, he just happened to catch up with Chen Danniu's wedding. Chen Danniu married a young man from the neighboring village. The man gave her a dowry of 50 yuan and two sets of spring and autumn clothes.
Chen Shuigen was jealous of the fifty yuan betrothal gift and wanted to keep it all for himself, but when he saw Chen Tiezhu looking at his other son Chen Daming with a cold face, all the words he wanted to say died in his throat.
"Girl, out of the fifty yuan betrothal gift, I'll give you twenty yuan and give dad ten yuan. Leave the remaining twenty yuan with me. I can still help you with anything in the future."
"Brother, I listen to you,"
Chen Danniu took her 20-yuan betrothal gift and the bedding she had used for more than ten years and happily got married. She finally got rid of her scumbag father and stepmother and started her new life.
Erniu looked at her sister enviously as she left in her brand new wedding dress, her little fists clenched tightly. She also wanted to get married and stay away from this cannibalistic family.
"Second girl, if you have done your part and daddy still won't give you food, then come to my brother. I don't believe a widow can abuse my sister."
When Chen Tiezhu saw Erniu’s worried and envious expression, he knew what she was thinking. When their mother died, they were still young and had no power to resist, but it was different now.
"Brother, you are right. From now on, we two brothers should live our own lives well. When my younger sister gets married, I will never set foot in the Chen family again."
Chen Dazhu took out a few white steamed buns that he had secretly brought back from his pocket and handed them to Chen Xiaoniu, telling her not to be afraid and to come to him if she had any problems. After all, she was his own sister and he would definitely help her if she had any problems.
Chen Shuigen looked at the deep affection between the three brothers and sisters and curled his lips. They were all ungrateful people. When they grew up, they would bite their own father.
Chen Weidang watched coldly, and after they all sat down, he took out paper and pen and began to write the documents for division of the family property. Compared with Chen Dazhu, Chen Tiezhu still got something.
At least the house they lived in was kept, the living room was shared, the kitchen and the woodshed were also shared, and they also got two mu of land as their own plot in the backyard.
But Chen Shuigen learned his lesson this time and asked his eldest son to give him pension every year. It wasn't much, just twenty yuan a year. After bargaining, they finally agreed on ten yuan a year. But after they had a house and moved out, they wouldn't have to give him the ten yuan anymore.
Chen Shuigen wanted to say something, but Chen Tiezhu pointed at his two half brothers and asked them to contribute to his retirement as well. They were already teenagers, but if they couldn't even support themselves, what was the point of living
Chen Shuigen shut up immediately, but he had already decided in his heart that starting tomorrow, he would let the two boys find food, otherwise this winter would be difficult.
"Village chief, my house is about to be put up for construction. Can I invite you to drink wine to celebrate the construction?"
When Chen Dazhu saw Chen Weidang finishing writing the family division documents and about to leave, he quickly stopped him and said with an embarrassed look on his face that he really did not have the financial strength of a second-rate guy, so the wine for the first beam was indeed a bit shabby.
"Okay, you pick a day."
"The day after tomorrow, I checked, the day after tomorrow is an auspicious day, no, it's a good day."
"Okay, I'll call some people over for you, but don't be stingy with the money you should spend, otherwise it will affect your family fortune in the future."
"Thank you, village chief. I know. Also, can I apply for an advance payment for the river construction? Otherwise, I will have to get married after the wedding banquet, and the money I have may not be enough."
Chen Weidang nodded. Chen Dazhu only earned about 100 yuan a year. After buying food and building a house, he probably didn't have much money left in his pocket.
Two days later, Chen Dazhui's family held a beam-raising wine party, and Li Huan went there happily. When his family held the beam-raising wine party, Chen Dazhui gave him ten cents, and his family got almost thirty cents, and also had a good meal.
So when Chen Dazhui took the dime from Li Huan's hand, he looked a little unhappy. This guy, is it necessary to be so petty? He is so stingy.
When the villagers heard that Chen Dazhui was also going to host a party to raise the beam, they all came with great joy. However, compared with Li Huan's party to raise the beam, Chen Dazhui's party to raise the beam was not shabby; it was quite knock-back.
As the future hostess, Xu Laidie was too embarrassed to face anyone, especially the educated youth at the educated youth site. They didn't even have the interest to bend down and pick up a small, roasted, dry lump of sorghum flour as big as a fingernail.
On the second day after the beam was put up, Chen Dazhu came to the educated youth site carrying 20 kilograms of flour and a piece of red cloth, and also gave a betrothal gift of 50 yuan.
"Brother Lai, this is all the money I have. Don't despise me. When life gets better in the future, I will buy you nice clothes."
When Chen Dazhu saw Xu Laidi frowning, he knew that she was not satisfied with the gift he gave. Compared with the gift Li Huan gave, there was a huge difference.
Xu Laidi took a deep breath and accepted Chen Dazhui's betrothal gift. There was no other way. She had promised the marriage with her own mouth, so there was no way she could not go through with it. At most she could divorce him later.
When Chen Dazhu saw that she accepted the betrothal gift, he felt relieved and told Xu Laidi with a smile that he would come to marry her tomorrow.
"What? Tomorrow, Brother Dazhu? But you haven't bought anything for your family yet. You have to wait a few days."
Xu Laidi rolled his eyes and quickly declined.
"No need, the kang is already heated. You must have quilts and other things here, so get ready. You must bring everything you need. I'll go to the village to ask for help."
Xu Laidie stared blankly at Chen Dazhui as he left. She seemed not to believe that she was really going to marry Chen Dazhui tomorrow. Suddenly, Xu Laidie felt that the money in her hand was no longer interesting. She sat on the doorstep and began to think.
But after thinking about it, there is no way to escape unless she goes back to the city. But is it so easy to go back to the city? It seems that she can only marry Chen Dazhu first.
The next morning, the villagers who got the news stood at the gate of the educated youth center, wanting to see Xu Laidie's dowry. They still remembered how generous Cheng Qiao's dowry was.
However, when Xu Laidie went out carrying a large backpack, no one believed their eyes. The obviously worn-out bedding in the basket was Xu Laidie's dowry.
"Brother Dazhu, you're at a loss this time."
The men from the same village all shook their heads, but Chen Dazhui didn't care. He was looking for something in the crowd. When his eyes met Cheng Qiao's, his eyes immediately lit up.
Cheng Qiao tried her best to hide the pleasure in her eyes and said a few words in Li Huan's ear. Li Huan nodded repeatedly and squeezed towards Xu Laidie.