Winner in life

As the course progressed and he added learning tasks in private, Ruihe was too busy to think about things. Time flies. One day after school, Li Dashui is waiting for him at the school gate. Ruihe is very surprised. It takes half an hour to walk back to Shangmei Village from school.

Li Dashui took his hand and took the initiative to explain: "Today, the leader of the factory is going to the city for a meeting, and asked a few workers to bring the best finished products with them. Hey, I went too. If I don't come back, the leader said he would give me leave. , I'm here." He took out a bag of things from his backpack, "These are the sweet potatoes I just roasted in my spare time. You can eat them."

Ruihe patted Li Dashui on the shoulder, took it and took a bite immediately, giving a thumbs up: "It's delicious."

Speaking of which, Li Dashui is still working in the bamboo factory. Rui He could coax him to take the primary school graduation exam and get a primary school diploma, but he was not qualified to decide the path that the other party would take in the future - coaxing him to persuade him to give up his current job in a bamboo factory with a stable income and go to middle school with him. Possible things. What's more, Li Dashui doesn't like reading.

He was distracted for a moment, and Li Dashui said happily after hearing his affirmation: "That's right, I have been roasting sweet potatoes since I was six years old, and I can control the heat very well!"

Ruihe came to his senses, took two bites of the sweet potato and handed it to Li Dashui: "Help me take it, I'll get you something to eat - Dashui? Brother Dashui?"

Li Dashui came to his senses and took the sweet potato. When he saw Ruihe unboxing his schoolbag and starting to take out something, he waved his hand quickly: "I don't want it, I came here when I was full."

Because he is growing, Ruihe always gets hungry very quickly, so he often brings snacks to school, sometimes sweet potatoes and corns that he steams at home. Today at noon, his eldest sister Zhang Ping came to see him at school and specially brought him snacks. Made dry fried loach.

"I had one for lunch that was very delicious, but it's a bit fishy now that it's cold. Do you want to eat it?" Everything tastes delicious when you're hungry.

It's just that Li Dashui didn't seem to hear him and was in a daze. Rui He asked with concern: "What's wrong with you? Have you encountered any difficulties?" The sudden silence of a person who is usually silly and cheerful made Rui He worried.

Li Dashui sighed heavily and frowned: "Forget it, you will know sooner or later anyway. Brother Zhang is getting married, and it is said to be on the eighth day of next month."

"This is a good thing!" Rui He's first reaction was that they were finally married. He remembered that Zhang Tianci and Zhang Cuili had already met their parents last year, and their daily interactions were much more generous and no longer secretive. The two of them are not too young. Sister Cuiberry is twenty-two years old this year, which is already the marriageable age in rural areas.

"It's a good thing to get married. Why do you look so ugly?"

Li Dashui let out a sigh: "Do you think Brother Zhang is marrying Sister Cuiberry? No! The bride is someone else!"

Rui He was shocked: "How could this happen?"

Li Dashui explained the cause and effect, which made Ruihe marvel at the tricks of nature. It turns out that last year he quit his job to go to school, and Zhang Tianci was unhappy and dissatisfied for a reason. The main reason was the reduction in wages, but the reason why Zhang Tianci suddenly showed no support for his resignation was because of Zhang Cuibei's parents.

"The betrothal gift is very high, it costs three hundred yuan in cash, a bicycle, a sewing machine, a watch and a radio. Those things can't be purchased with money, not to mention that Brother Zhang doesn't have that much money. "Li Dashui returned the bowl of loach to Rui He and was not in the mood to eat. He took Rui He and squatted on the side of the road to explain, "So at that time, Brother Zhang was not very happy about your resignation, and he was not targeting you. It’s just, it’s just... it’s stressful! Don’t blame him.”

"I never blamed Brother Zhang." The mystery was finally solved at that time, but Ruihe didn't feel relaxed. He asked: "Then what? They separated? But last month when I saw Brother Zhang, I still listened to him. I mentioned Sister Cuiberry, and it seems that the relationship between the two is quite good!"

Li Dashui said with a bitter face: "We just broke up this month! Brother Zhang told me that he has many brothers and sisters in his family, and it is impossible for him to spend all his money just to get married. Although the monthly salary is not low, the family can eat There were so many people, there were so many things to buy, the brothers and sisters were getting married, etc., so he made an agreement with Sister Cuiberry that he would not get married until he had enough money, and he said he could buy things slowly. He can understand the requirements of Sister Cuiberry's parents, and he is also willing to buy those things. They are decent, practical and good things, and they are not a loss. Brother Zhang bought a bicycle at the beginning of this year and just bought it last month. It was a second-hand watch, and I was happy for him, but for some reason the two of us suddenly broke up.”

"The relationship has fallen apart?!" How can it still fall apart when the person you're talking to is about to get married?

"I don't know, I just know that when they were at work, both of them had dark faces and didn't talk, and they didn't look at each other. They broke up at the beginning of this month, and Brother Zhang was transferred to another group. This morning, Brother Zhang He told me that he was getting married next month, which scared me! He said he was introduced by relatives and he planned to get married if he thought it was suitable. "You don't know, but when I turned around, Sister Cuiberry was standing there. , Don’t mention that look! Fortunately, the leader is about to leave, so I’ll leave quickly.”

After hearing the cause and effect, Ruihe also felt that the world was really unpredictable. Li Dashui, who has been with Zhang Tianci day and night, felt even more deeply: "I don't know how I will face Sister Cuiberry at work tomorrow. Alas! How did they get to this point!"

"Yeah, it's so unexpected." The bamboo factory can be said to be an important stop for Ruihe to integrate into the world and support himself independently. The people there, such as Zhang Cuibei and Zhang Tianci, are also good comrades who have struggled together and have a deep friendship. Unexpectedly, the two of them could not have a good result.

"I'm so depressed, ugh."

Ruihe patted Li Dashui on the shoulder: "Their affairs are their business. Where is our relationship? You can enlighten Sister Cuiberry more. I will go to see them on holiday tomorrow."

After returning home from school the next day, Ruihe was about to go out to Zhang Tianci's house to sit down. He waited for Zhang Tianci's visit first. He told Ruihe about the specific time and place of the wedding banquet next month. Ruihe counted the distances. It's only seventeen days now. He couldn't help but ask: "Why are you in such a hurry?"

Zhang Tianci looked very tired, but the joy in his eyes was not fake. He smiled: "Everything is in place. My partner has seen it and said it is very good. There is no need to buy it again. I just need to buy the vegetables and meat for the banquet as soon as possible. I have a lot of people in my family, so I can just help you." It's done." Seeing that Rui He was hesitant to speak, he reached out and patted Rui He on the head, apologizing and saying, "It was Brother Zhang's fault before. He was under great pressure and couldn't speak clearly. I hope you don't blame me."

"How could I blame Brother Zhang?" Ruihe quickly comforted him, "I was young, and you and Sister Zhang took care of me after I entered the factory. I am very grateful to you."

Zhang Tianci's eyes were filled with sadness, and he said nostalgically: "It was so good back then. As long as we worked hard, we could make money. We lived like gods. No matter how much we sweat, we were happy. But people can't live just for themselves. Just like I want to make money. To support a family, you, Sister Berry, also have parents and younger brothers at home. You can’t just live for yourself.”

There were too many meanings in these words. Ruihe seemed to have looked away when he looked at Zhang Tianci, so he only wished him well and promised to go to the wedding, without asking more about the dispute between him and Zhang Cuibei.

However, after the wedding, Li Dashui finally knew some "inside information" and told Ruihe: "My mother told me. She knew that I knew Sister Zhang. Yesterday she went to my cousin's house for tea and heard what my cousin said He reminded me of a girl in her village. When my mother heard the name, she felt familiar, so she told me about it when she got home. "

"It turns out that Brother Zhang and Sister Zhang broke up because of Sister Zhang's parents! I told you before, do you remember that Sister Zhang and his wife proposed a lot of betrothal gifts? That's right! It turns out that all the colorful gifts are to stay with Sister Zhang My mother-in-law, you said that the money should be forgotten, but you actually said that the bicycles and sewing machines should be kept at home. My mother said that it was no wonder that Brother Zhang's family was unwilling. Isn't this a scam? You can't sell your daughter that much. "

Ruihe was stunned. "Then Sister Zhang didn't say anything? This shouldn't be her original intention."

Li Dashui also found it incredible: "My mother said that my cousin said that Sister Zhang listens to her parents very much."

But Zhang Cuibei usually works in a hurry in the factory, and the other three people in the team also listen to her work arrangements. Such a smart person has no independent opinion at home? For a big event like getting married, what do your parents say?

"Brother Zhang's family was unwilling and wanted to take back the bicycle and watch to cancel the wedding. Sister Zhang's family was unwilling to withdraw. The two families almost quarreled. In the end, Sister Zhang returned the things. Xiaoshan, you said that Sister Zhang has the ability to return the things from Her parents dug out the things and returned them to Brother Zhang. Why did she always listen to her parents before? "

Ruihe... Ruihe couldn't explain why. In the end, the two of them sighed together, and Ruihe said, "Let's just discuss this matter in private. Brother Zhang is already married."

"Yeah, I'm just telling you, I don't dare to mention anyone else." Li Dashui shook his head, "There are quite a few people in the factory who know about the two of them. I think Sister Cuiberry is not energetic every day now. What we do every day The quantity is not big. Sister Xiaoyan, who was newly assigned to our group, was not very happy and secretly told me that she wanted to transfer Sister Cuiberry to another group. Alas, I was also very confused. "

Ruihe didn't dare to give any advice on this matter, so he had to ask Li Dashui: "What kind of bamboo basket can you make now?"

"Forget it, the manager said my performance was not up to standard." Speaking of the sad thing, Li Dashui really wanted to cry, "If I could also tie bamboo baskets and bread bowls, the output of our group's finished products would not have dropped so much. "

Ruihe quickly comforted him and praised him for cutting the bamboo slices well and quickly, which finally brought back his confidence.

After that day, Ruihe originally thought that the matter between Zhang Tianci and Zhang Cuibei was over, but he didn't expect that it was not over yet.

Ruihe usually only traveled between school and home. Occasionally he would go to the village or neighboring villages to buy food secretly. On the Double Ninth Festival, his third sister gave him a chicken leg. Zhang Dashan's family also had a chicken leg, saying it was killed at home. Give them some when the chicken is gone.

Ruihe knew that the third sister had a difficult time in her husband's family. It took several years before she gave birth to a son. She only had one child and could not stand firm in front of other sisters-in-law who had many children and many daughters. So he kept her for lunch and refused to let her go, and hurried to the village supply and marketing cooperative to buy things for her to take home.

When he was rushing home carrying his things, he saw a familiar figure on the roadside. The man was squatting under a decades-old banyan tree on the roadside. It was midday and there were very few people on the roadside. Because he thought the figure looked familiar, Rui He slowed down and happened to see the squatting person raise his head, and he immediately recognized it as Zhang Cuibei.

People from the next village appeared in Shangmei Village during the meal, and they were acquaintances. Ruihe thought it would be nice to greet Zhang Cuibei after not seeing him for a long time, so he went over to say hello to Zhang Cuibei. The two met each other. Ruihe was surprised by Zhang Cuipei's haggard appearance and asked: "Sister Cuipei, why are you squatting here? Have you eaten?"

Zhang Cuibei was in a daze before she recognized him, and stood up holding on to the roots of the tree: "It's you. I'm going home for dinner."

"Why don't you come to my house for dinner? My third sister is also at my house." Rui He suggested that if his third sister was not here, he would not invite Zhang Cuibei.

Zhang Cuimei shook her head: "No, I'm going home."

Ruihe watched Zhang Cuimei walk away, shook his head and went home. After having lunch with his third sister, he sent Zhang Fang out and walked to the mountain to collect firewood.