Stepmother

"The child is her father, you say something, what should we do with Zhao Di's marriage."

"What do you say? Neither the Wang family nor the Zhong family are willing to marry, and I can't force her to marry with a knife."

"But the Zhong family's people are coming soon, and the Wang family is also waiting for our family to ask Di to answer. It's not an option to keep dragging."

"What do you want me to do? Go and call for Di."

…

Song Zhaodi was born on the evening of August 15, 1945, the day Japan surrendered.

In 1963, he was admitted to Binhai Normal University. He was the first and only college student in Xiaosong Village.

In the early autumn of 1963, Song Zhaodi took the village, town and county prize money and her mother to Binhai City.

After getting off the bus, the girls didn't go to Binhai Normal University to report, but walked to a tube building first.

It was noon, and the aroma of all kinds of food was filled up and down the building. Song Zhaodi carefully compared the address in her hand, saw the word "bell" on the door again, and nodded to her mother.

Song mother raised her hand and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door opened, and a woman in her fifties with a ruddy face and a smile on the corner of her mouth appeared in front of the mother and daughter of the Song family. Mother Song raised her face with a smile: "Cousin. Zhao Di, call someone quickly, this is your cousin Zhao—"

"Why are you here?" Zhao Yin frowned, smelled the fishy smell, stepped back, full of disgust, interrupting Mother Song's introduction.

Song Zhaodi's face changed slightly, ready to explain. Zhao Yin spoke again, extremely impatient: "I'm busy right now, and I don't have time to entertain you. I'll talk about it later."

Song mother's face flushed red, very embarrassed.

Song Zhaodi noticed that the people who were cooking in the confectionary were all looking towards Zhong's house and grabbed Song's mother's arm: "Mother, let's go!"

Mother Song staggered a bit, turned her head and found that the girl's appearance was not good, and her chest was faintly stuffy: "Then, cousin, we're going back."

Out of the tube building, Mother Song looked at the two dried eels wrapped in the sack with a very complicated expression: "I wanted to give it to your cousin, sigh, daughter, you take it to school."

"I have money on me, I'll give it back to school tomorrow, you can take it home and eat it yourself." Song Zhaodi looked back at Tongzilou and couldn't help but grit her teeth, "Don't go back to her family in the future. ."

Song mother: "What a stupid thing to say, no matter how you say it, it's your cousin."

"Then I won't tell you!" Song Zhaodi, a girl who went to school in Binhai City, was a hundred miles away from home for the first time, and the whole Xiaosong Village was not at ease.

Mother Song thought that her aunt's daughter would remarry to a family with the surname of Zhong in the city, so she asked the villagers to exchange for two big eels, hoping that her cousin would help her take care of Song Zhaodi for the sake of the eels.

Mother Song heard that the voice was wrong, she turned her head and saw that her daughter's eyes were slightly red, she wanted to cry but held back, her nose was sour: "It's my father and mother's incompetence, which caused my daughter to follow me—"

"Yes, I didn't have a good relative." Song Zhaodi interrupted her mother's apology.

Mother Song was dumbfounded.

Song Zhaodi coaxed her mother, but her heart was heavy, and her aunt Zhao Yin's expression as if she saw maggots always lingered.

Six months of schooling, her dark skin turned white by the sea breeze, her round face, big eyes, and a high nose bridge, Song Zhaodi, who has a long and slender figure, lost her rustic look and pursed her lips and smiled. Back home, Song Zhaodi welcomed the praise of the whole village, nothing more than going to college is really different.

In the first month of 1964, Song Zhaodi looked even better after a good year. Back at school, Song Zhaodi also became a beautiful scenery in Binhai Normal University.

It didn't take long for a daring admirer to talk to Song Zhaodi secretly.

Song Zhaodi was not at all interested in the male classmate's favor, and accidentally learned from the classmate that the other party's family was well-off and had overseas connections. When the aunt's disgusted appearance came to mind again, Song Zhaodi, who secretly vowed to become a superior person, accepted the other's offer.

In the spring of 1966, the second semester of her junior year, Song Zhaodi felt that she had been with each other for two years, and the two had a very good relationship when talking about marriage, Song Zhaodi was full of excitement and planned to bring her during the summer vacation When the subject returned home, the other party suddenly disappeared without a trace.

After inquiring from various sources, Song Zhaodi knew that there was something wrong with the family of her object, and she was afraid that the "red soldiers" would find his home and the family secretly took a boat to the port city.

The object escaped, Song Zhaodi was very sad, and she was afraid that the "red soldiers" in the school would find out that she and the other party were boyfriend and girlfriend. In early May 1966, when the school was closed, she would help He ran back to Xiaosong Village on the grounds that his family was harvesting rice.

At this time, the high school in Hongya Town, where Song Zhaodi was located, was also closed, so there was no doubt that Song Zhaodi would return to the village early. Mother Song noticed that the girl's appearance was wrong, and before she could figure it out, someone gave Song Zhaodi a kiss.

Song Zhaodi just broke up in love and is not in the mood to date others. Because the man's uncle is the town leader, Song's father is not easy to offend, so he said that Song Zhaodi has not graduated yet, and the marriage will be discussed after she graduates.

The other's parents thought that the Song family did not look down on the son who did not graduate from junior high school and was working in the factory. Not only was he not angry, he also felt normal. After all, Song Zhaodi was the only college student in the eight villages of Shili after the founding of the People's Republic of China. When the matchmaker went to the Song family to propose marriage, they did not expect the Song family to agree.

The man's uncle also thought that his nephew was whimsical. Knowing that he was rejected by the Song family, he said that his nephew Toad wanted to eat swan meat, and naturally he did not go to the Song family to make peace.

In the late spring of 1967, classes in universities all over the country were closed, and it was recommended that educated youth go to the countryside for exercise. Hongya Town also welcomed the first batch of college students and high school students who went to the countryside to exercise.

Song Zhaodi couldn't go back to the city again. The Wang family's parents who couldn't stand their son's request again asked someone to go to the Song family to propose marriage. It was also mentioned that once Song Zhaodi married into the Wang family, they would find a relationship to arrange Song Zhaodi to teach in the town.

Song Zhaodi hesitated, but she really didn't like the Wang family, so she didn't let go.

Song's father and Song's mother were not willing to force her to be clever. When she grew up, she was admitted to a university and won honor for her family. Now she is still teaching in the primary school run by the village, and she can give the family a little girl who earns work points.

The Song family pushed the Wang family again on the grounds that Zhao Di was still young. The Wang family also saw that the Song family did not want to marry them.

Wang Degui met Song Zhaodi once in the town and never forgot about her, swearing that she would not marry her. The parents of the Wang family went to beg Wang Degui's uncle to come forward for their son.

September 10, 1967, Sunday, Uncle Wang rode his 28 bicycle to Xiaosong Village.

The villagers laughed when they saw him, and asked if they were here to match Wang Degui.

Uncle Wang's face was flushed, and he wanted to continue walking, but he was afraid that the villagers would think that he was running away. trip.

The villagers told Wang Degui's uncle that the Song family had a guest. It was Song Zhaodi's cousin who came from Binhai City.

Uncle Wang didn't believe it was so coincidental. He pushed the car to the door of Song's house and heard Mandarin from inside. He looked inside through the crack of the door. like a villager. When Wang Degui's uncle saw this, he didn't go in either. He pushed the car and left, intending to come back another day.

Zhao Yin remarried to the Zhong family in Binhai City after her husband died at an early age. When he first married into the Zhong family, Zhao Yin treated his two stepsons very well, and he did not treat the Zhong brothers badly when he became pregnant. When she gave birth to a son, as soon as the confinement was born, the brothers of the Zhong family were sent to the parents-in-law's house. The two brothers of the Zhong family knew it personally.

As the saying goes, half the size of the child eats the poor old man, the two brothers of the Zhong family were growing up and were driven to the grandparents’ house by the stepmother. Because the grandparents’ wages were not high, the two brothers dared not open their stomachs to eat, I often wake up hungry in the middle of the night and pour water.

A year later, the sixteen-year-old eldest of the Zhong family went to work as an apprentice in a state-run garment factory. He didn't get much salary. Anyway, the brothers didn't have to tighten their belts, so they got up in the middle of the night and poured water. And the second child of the Zhong family is also very good. He learns that there is no tuition fee for going to university, and the school pays back the money.

On the day she received the notice, Zhao Yin finally remembered these two stepsons, and immediately took the Zhong brothers home to live. It's a pity that the Zhong brothers have already been heartbroken by their stepmother.

After lunch at home, the two brothers returned to their grandparents' house again.

There is a college student in the Zhong family. Even if they haven’t reported to the school yet, people who used to despise the Zhong family brothers will bring things to the Zhong family to congratulate them.

In a few days, there will be someone who wants to say kiss to the boss of the Zhong family. However, the eldest of the Zhong family shared a house with his grandparents, and he had nowhere to live if he married a wife, so they all refused.

The eldest of the Zhong family bought a plot of land on the corner of the street with the money he saved and the money saved by the second child of the Zhong family at school, and built three mud-tiled houses. Only when the house was completed did he invite others to introduce him to him. .

The second eldest of the Zhong family is very promising. Thanks to his younger brother, the relatives and neighbors of the eldest Zhong family brought gifts or money to congratulate him on the wedding day, including the heartless Zhao Yin.

Unfortunately, the second child of the Zhong family still doesn't like this stepmother, so she went to Shencheng after graduation, far away from home.

College students are rare in the army, so the second child of the Zhong family is a second lieutenant when he joins the army.

Zhao Yin watched his stepson come back in military uniform, and did not dare to treat the boss of the Zhong family harshly, nor to trouble the boss's family. With a smile on his face, he kept cursing in his heart that the second child of the Zhong family died on the battlefield.

Maybe Zhao Yin's curse took effect, and the second daughter-in-law of the Zhong family died on the street, leaving behind three children.

The second child of the Zhong family is a soldier and cannot take care of the children, so he puts the three children in the elder brother's house. The eldest of the Zhong family is willing to help his younger brother look after the children, but they still have two children.

The grandparents of the Zhong family have passed away, and it is impossible for the parents-in-law to help take care of the children. Sister-in-law Zhong looks after five children and cannot take care of them at all. Sister-in-law Zhong, who has more than enough strength but not enough strength, suggests that her brother-in-law should marry again.

The second child of the Zhong family has no objection, but is worried that no one will marry him, and the person who is willing to marry him will not be able to take care of the three children.

Somehow this matter came to Zhao Yin's ears, Zhao Yin told Sister-in-law Zhong that she had a personal choice, but she didn't know if she was married.

The sister-in-law of the Zhong family does not believe that her step-grandmother can do anything good, but when others hear that the second child has three children, they shake their heads and refuse without even thinking about it. As a result, the sister-in-law of the Zhong family can only pin her hopes on the cruel step-in-law. On grandma.

Afterwards, Zhao Yin brought a few catties of vegetables, a catty of pears, a catty of fried fruits and half a catty of pork to Xiaosong Village to say kisses.

Song Zhaodi still didn't forget how much Zhao Yin looked down on when she and her mother went to Zhong's house four years ago, and also felt that Zhao Yin was the weasel this time giving New Year's greetings to the chicken, so he didn't have any good intentions.

As soon as I heard that Zhao Yin was coming, Song Zhaodi ran out of the kitchen wearing a coarse apron without tidying up.

When she didn't go to the primary school in the village, Song Zhaodi would help the family with her work and go to the beach with her mother to pick up sea melon seeds. Song Zhaodi, who had been home for more than a year after being exposed to the wind and sun all day, turned into a black and thin local girl.

Zhao Yin looked at Song Zhaodi and was very satisfied, and then said that she told Song Zhaodi about the marriage, not an outsider, but her second stepson.

The Song family heard from relatives that the second child of the Zhong family was a college student. Mother Song estimated the age of the second child of the Zhong family, and asked him why he was not married yet when he was almost thirty.

Zhao Yin said that getting married means getting married, and her mother-in-law died a few days ago.

Mother Song is neither smart nor stupid. She didn't ask if the second child of the Zhong family had any children, but asked her mother what to do if the child died.

Zhao Yin groaned in his heart, thinking that his cousin knew that the second child had a child, and smiled awkwardly, saying that if there was no child, the second child of the Zhong family would not be able to get Song Zhaodi's turn.

Song Zhaodi sneered, Song's mother Yang got up to see off the guests, because the two were relatives, so she didn't say anything, only said that the family had to discuss it again.

Song Zhaodi had just passed the three-year difficult period when she was admitted to the university, and the life of the common people was a little better. The cautious Zhao Yin was afraid that her mother's family would hit the autumn wind, so she never contacted her mother's family, so she didn't know that Song Zhaodi was a college student, and always thought that Song Zhaodi couldn't even write her own name.

Seeing the unnatural expressions of the Song family, Zhao Yin misunderstood that they could not accept that the second child of the Zhong family had three children. And she felt that even if she had children, Song Zhaodi, a rural girl who could marry a college student, was a blessing from her previous life. When I got home, I told Sister-in-law Zhong that it was done, and told the second child to come back as soon as possible.

On September 23, the Song family received a letter from Zhao Yin from the city, saying that the second child of the Zhong family would be back after the National Day.

Mother Song didn't know how to reply, so she asked Song Zhaodi what she planned.

Song Zhaodi didn't even think about it, and said that no one would marry. But when she returned to her own room, thinking about whether she would marry Zhong Jianguo, the Wang family would come over every three days to ask her if she had thought it through.

Neither the Zhong family nor the Wang family choose? She is twenty-two years old, and she will spend at least two or three years at home, and she will still have to get married after two or three years. By that time, the conditions of the other party may not be as good as that of Zhong and Wang.

As the National Day gets closer and closer, Song Zhaodi, who doesn't know what to do, can't wait to die. But she didn't want to die. While hating myself for being ruthless, I hate myself for being swaying, looking ahead and looking back. On the night of September 30th, I cried in the middle of the night, and the next morning, the core was replaced by Liu Ling, who was a hundred years later.

Looking at the spider web on the roof, listening to the dialect with a strong northern accent across the wall, the person on the bed did not want to admit that she was Song Zhaodi, but her chest was tight and the corners of her eyes were sore. She told Liu Ling that she was no longer a famous fashion designer at home and abroad, but Song Zhaodi, a villager in Xiaosong Village, Binhai City.

Liu Ling was born in the millennium. Before her death, a group of apprentices and grandsons asked her if she had any unfulfilled wishes.

The apprentices wanted to help her too much, so they asked Liu Ling to think again. Liu Ling said that he only hated not getting married, trying to get married and trying to raise a few children. Before the apprentice could speak, she also said that having a baby was too painful, and the mother ran to death and the son ran to life, or she might lose her life, so forget it. All the apprentices, Sun, were speechless by her words, and she also passed away.

The soul came from a hundred years later, Liu Ling looked at the calluses on his hands, sat up on the bed, patted his sleep-deprived, dizzy head, secretly slandered the gods, the one before his death The words were just casually saying: "Father, mother, I'll marry!"

The door opened, and the large hall fell silent.