socalfunplaces Chapter 152 Shen Zhaodi's Decision
Chapter 152 Shen Zhaodi's Decision
It was getting darker.
In Shen Laonian's house, two men were sitting in the main room smoking silently, while Shen Zhaodi was leaning against the wall with her head down and keeping silent.
Shen Shugen really wanted to help, but he had no money and there were not many people in the village who could come up with money. The creditors would come to collect the debt tomorrow, so where could he get several hundred dollars? Although Li Dahe said that he was willing to help pay it back first and they didn't have to rush, it was not a big deal.
What you owe to others will always be owed to you.
But no, are we really going to let Zhaodi marry that idiot Zhu?
"Alas, it's a peaceful and prosperous time now, but I didn't expect there is still a wicked person like Huang Shiren! If you can't do it, go and report to the police!" Shen Shugen sighed, with the intention of scolding Li Dahe as well.
Shen Laonian also sighed and said, "It is only natural to pay for a life and a debt. The Zhang family did nothing wrong. When the child's mother was ill, they were willing to lend me the money without interest. They have done their utmost. No matter which dynasty or generation, the government can't intervene in this matter."
"Yes!" Shen Shugen had no other choice. The Zhang family was not lending money at high interest. They didn't charge interest for the loan. They just wanted Zhaodi to marry their son. It didn't matter if she didn't want to. She just had to pay back the money. They didn't force her to do it. If they reported it to the government, what could the government say? They couldn't stop Lao Nian'er from paying back.
"Dad, Uncle Gen, stop talking. I'm going to marry. Didn't Uncle Li just say that his nephew works in the city and is a cadre. After all, he's not stupid or useless. It's better than me marrying a fool! Maybe he can even help our family in the future." Seeing that her father couldn't make up his mind, Shen Zhaodi made the decision on her own.
Shen Shugen looked at this distant niece in surprise: "Zhao Di, have you really thought it through? This is a family of three. Your life will not be easy after you marry into this family."
Shen Zhaodi looked around the dilapidated house with bare walls and said with a wry smile, "How hard can it be? If I can help pay off all the family debts at once, our family will be better off and Lai Di, Pan Di and Xiao Bao can have enough food to eat, then I am willing to endure the hardship."
Ever since her mother fell ill, Shen Zhaodi has been responsible for taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. In the past, her father, Laonian, was the only one in the family who earned 10 work points, and she only earned 8. Why didn't she get married? It was because if she got married, the family would get even less food.
In a normal year, each person in a family with more labor force can get about 300 kilograms of food on average, which is not enough for each person to have one kilogram per day. But in her family, each person can get 200 kilograms on average, which is considered enough for the village to take care of them.
Don't think that one pound of food a day is a lot. People nowadays are not like the fairies in later generations who can be full after just two bites. Nowadays, most people have no oil or water in their stomachs. Both men and women have a big appetite. Even an adult man may not be full after eating two pounds of food a day.
I originally thought that my eldest sister Shen Lai Di was 18 years old and an adult, so she could get more, but then the disaster happened, so she got even less.
"Okay, since you've made up your mind, let's do this. Tomorrow I'll call Master Wu to come over to your house to support you, so that people won't think that there's no one in charge of our Shen family!"
"Thank you, Uncle Gen."
"It's okay, it's getting late, I'll go back first!" After saying that, Shen Shugen stood up and prepared to go home.
After sending him away, the father and daughter returned to the house. The old man looked at his daughter, sighed and said, "My daughter, I'm sorry for not being able to find you a good family. It's all my fault!"
Shen Zhaodi forced a smile and said, "Look at what you said. This is better than marrying a fool. Maybe I can help our family in the future. It will be fine when my little brother grows up! Okay, you drank a lot of wine, go back to your room and sleep."
He helped Shen Laonian back into the house and laid him down, then covered his younger brother Xiaobao with a quilt before turning around and going back to the west room.
In the west room, two girls were wrapped in quilts, looking at their sister with their eyes wide open.
"Sister, you really have to get married!"
Shen Zhaodi smiled bitterly and sat on the edge of the kang, reaching out to stroke her sister's hair: "Yeah!"
"You haven't even met that Li, how can you agree to this? What if he treats you badly?"
"Whether it's good or not, it's my fate. I don't care. As long as you can get better, that's enough." Looking at the two sisters covering themselves with thin quilts in this cold day, the clothes on top of the quilts were also tattered.
Shen Lai Di sat up and said seriously, "No, you can't marry me. I'm too weak. If I go there, I'll be bullied by them. If you want to marry me, marry me! No one dares to bully me."
Shen Lai Di, who just turned 18, has a tomboyish and aggressive personality. She knows that her elder sister has to keep her sufferings to herself. If she really gets married and her husband's family treats her badly, she will probably endure it silently.
She didn't want her sister, who had taken care of her since she was a child and suffered countless hardships, to continue to suffer after getting married.
"How old are you, and you're already thinking about getting married!" Shen Zhaodi smiled happily for a rare moment, and then pushed her sister back into the bed: "I'm the one who chose the girl, how can you marry for me? Come on, go to sleep quickly. Our family has suffered enough, and I will bear it all by myself. You two must be well in the future!"
After saying that, he blew out the oil lamp, went up to the kang, took off his clothes, and got into the quilt.
The two sisters hugged her arms, one on each side, with tears dripping down their cheeks: "Sister, we can't bear to leave you!"
"It's okay, it's okay. Be good and go to sleep!" Shen Zhaodi comforted her two sisters.
In the blink of an eye, it was dawn.
After the three sisters got up, they asked their two younger sisters to make breakfast, and Shen Zhaodi picked up the broom and started cleaning her own yard. Even if the house was shabby, since someone was coming, she had to clean it up thoroughly so that people would not think she was a lazy person.
After everything was packed up, all we had to do was wait for Li Dahe to arrive.
As for Li Dahe, he told his wife about what happened today after returning home last night: "I think that girl is pretty good. It would be a good choice for Xiaowen to be her wife, so I'll make the decision myself. What do you think?"
Third Aunt also nodded: "Yes, it is indeed difficult to find such a family, but 400 yuan is a bit too much, how many wives would that require!"
Although the family has earned a lot of money during this period, the total savings is only about 1,800 yuan. Half of it will be spent on marrying a wife. Third Aunt is somewhat reluctant to spend it. You know, now in the village, marrying a wife only requires a dowry of three or five yuan. If you include the wedding banquet and purchase of things, it is only a few dozen yuan. This is many times more.
"Our family's situation is different from others. Qiao'er is in trouble because her father is such a jerk. Otherwise, who would be willing to let their daughter marry into our family? How can we do that without spending a lot of money?"
This made sense. If anyone asked about their family's situation, no one would be willing to do it. Aunt San just accepted it reluctantly: "Okay, I can make money later anyway! My wife is more important."