Chapter 23

Xu Wen agonized over these questions for a week

Even on Monday, she had the urge to rush home

In fact, she had borrowed the bicycle and had the leave slip in her hand, but she hesitated when she left the school

Withdrawal was easy

With Lu Yuanzheng’s temperament, he wouldn’t give her a hard time

If she found an excuse to say that she had learned about the college entrance exam by accident, the Xu family wouldn’t blame Xu Man

But what about after the annulment?

Even if Xu Man can successfully enter the university, the only one who can fly out of the poor Wei Zhuang is herself

Even if she doesn’t have to pay tuition fees, the Xu family is still in dire straits

When she came back for summer and winter vacations, there would still be seven, no, eight members of the family crammed into one bed

Before she graduated, the family was still poor

Although the subcontracting of land to households began in 1979, the reform will not be completed until 1983, and in a small, remote place like Weizhuang, the earliest reform will be in 1982, right?

And then there’s Dongsheng

If she refuses to be Ma Ma for Dongsheng, Dongsheng will be very sad

Dongsheng is a very understanding child, from the age of three years old, especially good at reading people’s words and coaxing them

It seems to be very rare, but if you think about it, these coquettishness is the self-protection of insecure children

Lu Yuanzheng said that Dongsheng has never called any other lesbian mother before

In the past, a sister-in-law in the compound teased Dongsheng and asked him to recognize himself as his mother, but Dongsheng refused to say anything, saying that the sister-in-law was not his mother

No matter how much he told Dongsheng that Xu Wen is not his mother, Dongsheng still insisted that Xu Wen is his mother, and always said that Xu Wen has the smell of his mother

Xu Man’s heartache Dongsheng also like Dongsheng, now has been prepared for more ready-made son of the psychological preparation, really have to make a decision on the contrary, she is a little reluctant to give up

Most importantly, Xu found that even though she had enough reasons to withdraw from the marriage, even though she didn’t need to sell her marriage in exchange for Lu Yuanzheng, she still had some hesitation

As rational as Xu asked, she couldn’t figure out the reason for her hesitation

So she gave up on rushing back, wanting to wait until she thought it over before deciding

This thought led her to the end of school on Saturday

As soon as she left the school gate, she saw Lu Yuanzheng waiting at the curb, and the boredom in her heart that had been blocked for a week was inexplicably dissipated the moment she saw him

The bicycle was parked on the side of the road, and Lu Yuanzheng was leaning on it, one foot curled back, his fingertips clasping his eyes, his head half hanging down, and his gaze sweeping this way from time to time

When he saw Xu Wen from afar, he stubbed out his cigarette with his fingertips and waved his hand toward her with a smile The lines of his small arms were smooth, and the steel watch band on his wrist was somewhat reflective in the sunlight

When Xu Man arrived, Lu Yuanzheng looked her up and down, she was wearing the white short-sleeved blouse and bustier skirt he had bought, and complimented her, “Very pretty!”

I don’t know whether to praise the person or the clothes

Xu Wen snorted lightly, “Comrade Lu often buys clothes for lesbians, right? He’s quite good at picking them out, they look good and fit well”

“I’m so wronged! First time in life ” Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, just personally measured her waistline, he lowered his head to look at Xu Qian’s waist and frowned: “You’ve lost weight Your face is also a bit haggard, didn’t rest well or are you tired from work?”

Xu Wen shook her head, “A bit of bitter summer, I guess”

Lu Yuanzheng glanced at her, didn’t say much, holding onto the handlebars and using his footrests to drive the car, patted the backseat and said, “Get on the car, take you to buy clothes Don’t I still owe you two sets of clothes?”

Xu Man shook his head, “Go home first, okay? I’m a bit tired and don’t want to go shopping”

Lu Yuanzheng turned back at her words, looked deeply at her, nodded and said nothing

Xu Wen sat sideways on the back seat, holding onto Lu Yuanzheng’s waist

The two of them were speechless on the road

When they were almost at the commune, Xu Wen still spoke, “Lu Yuanzheng”

“Uh-huh”

“If I mean if, I repent my marriage now, will you agree?”

Lu Yuanzheng was silent for a while before speaking, only asking, “Have you thought about it?”

Xu asked, “”

Although she had thought that Lu Yuanzheng wouldn’t blame her, she hadn’t expected him to be so calm

So calm that he was directly going to carry out the step of withdrawing from the marriage

Xu Man was inexplicably a bit unpleasant

It’s like a girlfriend asking her boyfriend, “If I break up, will you agree?”

Male friend head said: “OK, then you take care of yourself in the future”

It’s like always waiting for this sentence

“What do you mean?” Xu Man tried to probe from one side to see Lu Yuanzheng’s expression

Still staring ahead, Lu Yuanzheng raised his hand against Xu Man’s head and gently pushed it back, “Sit tight, don’t fall” After a pause, he replied to Xu Man, “I mean, if you’ve decided, then I’ll go and open up to cancel the wedding”

Relatives and friends had all been notified, and if they canceled, they would have to notify one more family

His vacations were getting fewer and fewer

Xu Wen has always been a particularly rational person, and even in her previous life, her classmates gave her the title of “earthly sobriety”

However, at the moment, Xu felt that the difference between her rationality and that of Lu Yuanzheng’s was about the difference between a silver and a king’s For a while, Xu didn’t know what to do with herself

For a while, Xu Wen didn’t know whether she should be glad that Lu Yuanzheng was so nice to talk to her or be angry that he was so indifferent

Feeling more and more stifled, Xu Man asked him, “You don’t care that much? You don’t seem surprised at all”

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, “I care The first time I saw you just now, I realized that you hesitated Although I don’t know why you want to repent your marriage, if you really have to decide, I respect your choice So, have you thought about it?”

Xu Wen didn’t think about it

Instead, his heart became more confused

Because of his glib remark, his heart was inexplicably sour

“Will you be sad if I really withdraw from the marriage?”

Lu Yuanzheng replied, “It doesn’t matter Sometimes being sad doesn’t change anything”

For example, it wouldn’t be because he would be sad that the war would be avoided Nor would his comrades not have sacrificed because he was sad

Similarly, he didn’t think that Xu Man wouldn’t withdraw from the marriage if he really wanted to, just because he was sad

So he was more interested in taking care of things properly before he got sad

“It’s important”

Lu Yuanzheng seemed stunned and spoke softly, “A little bit”

Xu Wen knew that when he said a little bit, he wasn’t really a little bit, it was just an introverted expression

“Give me another day to think about it, and I’ll tell you when I’m done Also, thank you for being so tolerant of me”

When Xu Man arrived home, the Xu family surprised him with another relatively hearty meal

Xu Wen: “”

She was clear that this meal wasn’t meant to entertain her, and took the snacks she brought to Xu Che to him and ran to wash her hands

Zhu Meizhen stood up and probed towards the door, asking Xu Man, “You came back by yourself? Where’s Xiao Zheng?”

“He had something to do and went back first” Xu Wen lied without changing her face

In fact, it was Lu Yuanzheng who felt that her heart was in turmoil right now, and that it wasn’t appropriate for him to come back to the door

“This child! What’s so urgent? You’re already at the doorstep and you still don’t come in to have a bite to eat” Zhu Meizhen walked back to the table with a bit of loss

She had specially made a table of dishes!

It was Xu Wen who stared suspiciously back and forth at Xu Man and asked tentatively, “Did you have a fight with Lu Yuanzheng?”

“No” Xu Wen denied that it really wasn’t a quarrel

“No quarrel, to Lu Yuanzheng’s character can not come out over the old man’s door still do not enter the thing!”

Xu asked: “”

You really are my own brother

Xu Wen did not have an appetite, hastily grilled a few mouthfuls of rice, on the pretext of sleep and ran back to the house

After a while, Zhu Meizhen chased into the house, sat on the side of the bed, touched Xu Man’s head, and spoke: “Ask, is there something difficult?”

Xu Man’s eyes immediately became sore, and she choked back a sob and called out “Mom”

“Silly girl, you were born to me, I still don’t know you? As soon as you came back, I could tell that something was wrong with you What’s wrong? Did you really have a fight with Xiaozheng?”

Xu Man shook his head, raised his hand and wiped his eyes, sat up, crossed his legs and asked Zhu Meizhen, “Mom, what exactly did Lu Yuanzheng say to you and my dad that day? Tell me, will you?”

Zhu Meizhen sighed softly, pulling Xu Man’s hand and patting it lightly on the back of her hand, “There’s nothing that can’t be said, it’s just not very nice Your dad and I feel indebted to you That day ”

That evening, Lu Yuanzheng just entered the door, Xu Qiushi and Zhu Meizhen still a little unhappy, think Lu Yuanzheng a little rude

In the morning followed the matchmaker to the door, and then in the afternoon on their own to the home even matchmakers do not bring, which will be spread out to ask how to find objects in the future

In view of the occupation of Lu Yuanzheng, Xu Qiushi and Zhu Meizhen are not good to directly drive people, cold face to let Lu Yuanzheng sit down, and even did not give him a cup of tea

Lu Yuanzheng didn’t come to drink tea, and the first thing he said was: “Uncle, auntie, this time I came by myself because I have a few words about Xu Man that I want to talk to you two Do you know that Xu Man has insomnia? That is, he can’t sleep for nights and nights”

Xu Qiushi and Zhu Meizhen looked at each other, and both of them shook their heads blankly, neither of them knew about it

Lu Yuanzheng told the story of his acquaintance with Xu Man

Xu Qiushi stood up abruptly, his hand clenched into a fist and was about to hit Lu Yuanzheng

Lu Yuanzheng’s face was frank, not flickering or avoiding

Xu Qiushi’s hand stopped in mid-air

Xu Qiushi’s hand stopped in mid-air He’s trying to save the day

But don’t hit him? It was also a fact that he had let him get away with it

Xu Qiu Shi’s fists pinched and clacked, and finally slammed the table, grunted and sat back down, turning his head

Zhu Meizhen, who has been on guard against them fighting, saw Xu Qiushi put down his hand, slightly relieved and hastened to ask: “Comrade Lu, why did you say ask insomnia? This child playing small mind heavy what are stuffy in the heart do not like to say”

“The first few times I saw her, she had red wires covering the whites of her eyes, blue under her eyes, and her face was haggard Hair loss is also a bit serious My comrades and I were in a similar state to her every time we stayed up late for a long time She looks like she didn’t rest well Later on, I side-stepped and inquired, and she revealed that she only sleeps during the day”

Every night was torture for Xu Man Lying straight on the kang for seven or eight hours without speaking or moving, anyone with a poor mental quality would have collapsed

Zhu Meizhen cried at once, “This child this child we are all long hair, although the ground hair more also did not expect all her She this girl in the end why into the night into the night can not sleep ah?”

Lu Yuanzheng fell silent and pointed to the location of the inner room, “I came in the morning and inadvertently saw your family house and found that there is just this one bed I guess it should be a family that sleeps together, right?”

When these words came out, Xu Qiushi was still slightly confused, but Zhu Meizhen understood at once

There was no extra room in the house, and it was inconvenient to ask a twenty-something year old girl, not to mention sleeping, to change clothes and take a shower on weekdays

Zhu Meizhen wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and muttered, “Why doesn’t this child say anything?”

Yet, she also knew that it was useless for Xu Man to say anything, and that the family couldn’t change into more rooms

“It’s me who’s useless Let the child suffer” Xu Qiushi raised his hand and slapped himself, “It’s thanks to meeting Comrade Lu If I had met an unsuspecting man, then ask this life would have been ruined!”

Zhu Meizhen cried out, “Ask why she didn’t say anything She even said that she drowned and was saved by Comrade Lu”

Xu Qiushi patted Zhu Meizhen’s back, “That girl is afraid that we will feel bad if we find out”

Just like now, she feels that she has dragged her children down

“I married Xu Man, besides wanting to be responsible, I mainly felt that I was quite suitable for her” Lu Yuanzheng pulled out a pad from his pants pocket and handed it to Zhu Meizhen, then said, “Uncle, Auntie, you’re Xu Man’s parents and know her better than I do You should be able to tell that she doesn’t really want to find a man to marry when she wants to get married She just doesn’t want to be a burden to her family, yet she wants freedom And those, I can give her”

“I have a couple of houses and I’m away from home a lot, so she’ll live on her own after the wedding That way she won’t have to hide over at the cemetery to take a bath It’s out in the middle of nowhere, but it’s not safe in the end, and if anything happens it’ll be too late for anything The problem of changing clothes and sleeping can all be solved too I promise that I won’t touch her for the next year, and if she meets someone of her choice or simply wants a divorce, I promise”

Zhu Meizhen wiped her tears and disagreed: “That won’t do! Marriage is not like playing house, there is no such thing as divorcing after getting married That will not be poked and prodded?”

In this township, the two couples hit the street, no one divorced

There is no one who is planning to get divorced before they are even married

“Xu Man doesn’t care about that reputation, and neither do I”

“We care” Zhu Meizhen disagreed

“Auntie, I’m saying the worst case scenario would be like this Of course Xu Wen is truly with me, then I definitely won’t fail her”

Xu Qiushi pondered for a while and asked one last question, “You’re not afraid that Ask won’t be a good stepmother? Besides, how can Ask bring up your child when she’s still in school?”

Lu Yuanzheng shook his head, “My uncles can help bring them up I’ll make these arrangements and won’t let Dongsheng drag down ask”

Xu Qiushi closed his eyes and clapped his hands, “Good! I agree to your marriage”

Zhu Meizhen sobbed with red eyes, “Xiao Zheng instructed us not to say this in front of you”

Xu Wen’s eyes were also wet, so it turned out that Lu Yuanzheng knew everything

This man can really poke her heart

Zhu Meizhen wiped her eyes and wiped Xu Man’s eyes again, “What? Why are you suddenly asking this?”

“Just a little curious”

Zhu Meizhen looked back and forth at Xu Man and said suspiciously, “Ask, you don’t want to marry Xiaozheng, do you? We don’t do that! This marriage has been contracted and friends and relatives have been notified, if you want to renege now, then it will really become a joke in the entire commune”

Xu Wen hmmm, “will marry!”

The voice was not loud, but unusually firm

Zhu Meizhen stared at Xu Man for a while, nodded, and said tentatively, “Then don’t go sheep herding when you wake up, go to Xiao Zheng’s house and call him and the child to come home for dinner”

“Good”

“Are you very sleepy? If you’re sleepy, go to sleep first, and I’ll leave some food for you If you’re not that sleepy, why don’t you eat your meal before going to sleep?”

Xu Man was in a better mood, and was still a bit hungry, following Zhu Meizhen down to the outer room to eat

Mother and daughter had just sat down when they heard someone shouting outside the door

“Excuse me, is Comrade Xu Man at home?”

Xu Wen happened to be close to the door, got up and lifted the curtain, outside the door stood a few strangers

“And you are?”

A man in the front row pulled out his ID and flashed it at Xu Man, “We’re from the Speculation Office, please come with us”