Song Da Niu picked up the cooked herbs, walked to the bed, and helped the pale-faced Song mother up: "Mom, it's time to take the medicine."
Mother Song took the medicine bowl with trembling hands, closed her eyes and drank the medicine in one breath.
Song Danniu helped her wipe her mouth, put her back on the bed, and comforted her: "Mom, take the medicine and have a good sleep. You will be fine when you wake up tomorrow." After that, she picked up the bowl of medicine and was about to leave.
Song's mother held her daughter's hand and said tremblingly, "Big girl, Mom may not get better. If I follow your father and die, what will you and your sisters do when you are left alone..."
Song Daniu looked at her mother, whose face was covered with tears. Her heart ached and her eyes immediately filled with tears. She suppressed her grief and said, "Mom, what nonsense are you talking about? It's just a minor cold. You can get better by taking medicine and lying down for a few days. Why are you saying such depressing words?"
Song's mother's illness was not serious. She was just too sad about her husband's death. It was a heart disease. What's more, her husband died and she still hadn't given birth to a son, which made her feel ashamed to face the ancestors of the Song family... Under the double blow, she was so sad that she felt like she was dying even from this minor illness.
"Mother is so sorry for your father! I was unable to give birth to a son for your father until his death! It's all my fault. I am the sinner of your Song family..." Mother Song cried and said, "I was unable to give birth to a child for your father. I am sorry for the ancestors of the Song family..."
Song Da Niu suppressed her sadness and comforted her, "Mom, even if you don't have a son, don't you still have me and my three sisters? We will take care of you in your old age... Isn't it said that men and women are equal now? It doesn't matter whether you have a boy or a girl. Mom, don't worry about your son anymore. What a son can do, a daughter can do too..."
"It's different! How can a daughter be the same as a son? You will all get married in the future and will be outsiders... Without a son, the Song family will be cut off. The Song family will be destroyed in my hands. I feel so sorry for the Song family..." Song's mother was still wailing. She had never been to school and didn't understand anything. She only knew that women from generation to generation had to give birth to sons to carry on the family line for their husband's family. Otherwise, they would not be qualified women and would feel so sorry for their husband's family.
When Song Da Niu heard her mother say this, she felt sad and angry. She couldn't help but ask loudly, "Is your son so important? You're dying! Do you still remember that you have three young daughters to raise?"
"They are all money-losing goods! Why raise them? They will belong to someone else's family after you raise them..." Song's mother was also angry. She spoke in a hurry and suddenly started coughing. Song Da Nv was so scared that she hurriedly patted her back to help her calm down.
"Mom, don't be angry. I said the wrong thing. I will never say these things again." Song Danniu was afraid that her mother's anger would worsen her condition, so she had to compromise.
Mother Song's face turned red from coughing. It took her a while to stop coughing and catch her breath.
"Don't blame mother. She is thinking about our Song family. Without a man in the family, people in the village will look down on us. Everyone can step on us and bully our family. Who made us have no man in the family?" Song's mother said softly, her eyes red and swollen.
She sighed and said to her eldest daughter, "Let's agree to your cousin's request and adopt his youngest son into our family. After all, he has the surname Song."
When Song Danniu heard this, she thought of her cousin's youngest son, who had learned to act tyrannically at a very young age. He bullied boys and girls in the village, snatched other children's candies, and beat people with his fists from time to time. He was arrogant and willful.
Song Danniu immediately became anxious and said, "Mom, my cousin's youngest son is already eleven or twelve years old, and his personality is still rude and overbearing. He is not a good person at all. No matter how we adopt him, we can't raise him well."
Song's mother sighed and said, "He is the most suitable one. Your uncle is only willing to adopt him, but he refuses to adopt his other sons."
“Look, even his own father dislikes him, so we can’t have him. He usually talks back to his own parents, and he will definitely be more arrogant after being adopted... What if he doesn’t respect his mother and doesn’t support us sisters in the future, then wouldn’t it be a waste of raising him?” Song Danniu would also consider the future interests of her family.
Song Da Niu racked her brains to dissuade her mother from adopting her cousin. Suddenly, a light flashed in her eyes and she said, "Mom, we don't have to adopt her cousin. I won't get married in the future. I can find a man to marry into the family. If the child is born, the surname will be Song. Wouldn't this also be a way to continue the Song family line?"
When Song's mother heard this, she was immediately excited. The more she thought about it, the better she felt her eldest daughter's idea was. She grabbed her daughter's hand with shining eyes and said, "Big girl, do you really not want to get married? Do you want to find someone to marry into your family?"
Song Danniu looked at her mother's face which seemed to have come alive all of a sudden, and nodded with gritted teeth, saying, "Yes! I will find a man to marry into our family and support our family, so we don't have to adopt someone else's son."
"Okay! Mom will immediately ask around to see if there's a suitable man to marry into the family." Song's mother said excitedly. Her pale face turned red and she looked full of life. She was completely different from the dying patient who seemed to be about to pass away at any moment.
Song's plan to find a husband to marry into her family was more effective than taking medicine. In just one day, Song's mother went from being bedridden to being full of energy. She had hope of living again and no longer said those desperate words. She spent all day thinking about which young man in her own village or the neighboring village was suitable to marry into her family.
However, marrying into the wife's family is not a glorious thing after all. Unless the man's family is so poor that he can't even afford food, few men are willing to leave their own homes and "marry" into their wife's family, because this will make people look down on him, and think that he is cowardly and useless, and he will never be able to hold his head up for the rest of his life, and even his future children may look down on him.
There are also some men who are willing to marry into the Song family, but they are disabled with broken arms and legs, or they are second-rate gangsters and other people that no woman is willing to marry. Disabled men cannot do heavy physical work, and Song's mother does not like them; second-rate gangsters have character problems, and Song's mother is afraid that her family cannot suppress them and will instead let a wolf into the house... So this eliminates another part of the men.
There were very few left to choose from. Song's mother was extremely anxious. Her previous excitement had long since disappeared. She didn't expect that even if her daughter wanted to marry into the family, she wouldn't be able to find a suitable candidate.
Just when she was so anxious that bubbles appeared at the corners of her mouth, she suddenly saw Ji Mingtao, who was bending over to dig sweet potatoes in the field. Ji Mingtao was tall and handsome, and he worked very hard and never slacked off. He earned full work points every day, and he was the only one left at home with no other relatives!
Song's mother's eyes lit up immediately. Isn't this the best candidate for marrying into the family? Ji Mingtao is not disabled, and his character is fine. He is solemn and taciturn, but he will help others when they are in trouble. Although the villagers alienate him because of his class background, they all know that he is reliable. The team leader will take him with him when he goes to the city to buy fertilizers, seeds, and pay public grain, because he knows that he will not suffer any loss if he takes him with him. This shows that he is smart and capable!