The poor girl from the 1970s was forced to kiss by the damp educated youth.

Chen Zhi frowned as she looked at the Liang family of three and a burly, dark-skinned man blocking the road.

"Liang Xiaoqiu, how could you let a man carry you on your back? Have you no shame?!" Liang's mother scolded, frowning.

"Get down here quickly. You're not ashamed, but your father can't afford to lose face like this!" Liang's father walked over and tried to pull Liang Xiaoqiu down.

Chen Xiaoshuai put Liang Xiaoqiu down and stood protectively in front of her.

"roll!"

Liang's father yelled at Chen Xiaoshuai, "This is my family matter, get the hell out of my sight!"

"I carried Xiao Qiu all the way back. There's something going on between us. I'm going to marry her," Chen Xiaoshuai said loudly, his fists clenched and his voice trembling slightly.

"Yes, I want to marry Chen Xiaoshuai. The Women's Federation says that marriage is now free, and if we two want to get married, you can't object." Liang Xiaoqiu's tone was firm, but Chen Zhi, who was holding her hand, noticed that Liang Xiaoqiu's hand was trembling.

Are these two scared?

"Sis, Mom and Dad have found you a boyfriend. It's not Chen Xiaoshuai, it's this guy." Liang Xiaowei pointed to the man next to him. "His name is Cai Liangcai, and he's willing to offer eighty yuan as a bride price!"

Cai Liangcai and Liang Xiaowei were the same height and similar in build. The difference was that Liang Xiaowei had a chubby, round face, while Cai Liangcai had a face full of fat, wrinkles between his brows, and a fierce look in his eyes.

This man is not to be trifled with!

And he must be over forty years old, so why is he only getting married now?

Chen Zhi sensed something was wrong, and Liang Xiaoqiu directly objected, saying, "I will not marry him. The only person I want to marry is Chen Xiaoshuai."

"I have to get married, whether I like it or not!"

"Unless Chen Xiaoshuai also offers eighty yuan as a bride price."

Sandong Village is poor. After a year of hard work, some families don't even receive 100 yuan. Let alone saving money, it's good enough if they don't go into debt. Two years ago, the bride price was only 30 or 40 yuan plus a set of clothes, but now it has risen to 50 yuan. Families that offer 80 yuan as a bride price are extremely rare.

Liang Xiaoqiu is thin and small, and now she has fainted on the ground. If word gets out, people won't be willing to give her even thirty or forty yuan, let alone fifty.

There's definitely something wrong with this man.

Thinking of her older sisters' tragic fates, Liang Xiaoqiu gritted her teeth and said, "I would rather die than marry him."

Cai Liangcai got angry at being so disliked, saying, "You're all skin and bones, you can't have a son. If you don't want to marry me, I don't want to marry you either."

"She can have children, she can have children! She's already menstruating, there's nothing wrong with her body at all." Mother Liang was anxious and hurriedly explained, "She's just not eating enough and is a little thin. If you let her eat her fill, she'll gain weight, and then she can not only give you a son, but also work for you. You won't lose out at all by spending eighty yuan to buy her back."

Cai Liangcai fell into deep thought.

Liang Xiaoqiu was so ashamed and indignant that she wanted to die. "I said I won't marry! If you force me, I'll kill myself!"

"I'd rather die than not marry you!"

Liang Xiaoqiu ran away and jumped into the river.

It was Chen Xiaoshuai who rescued the person.

The commotion was so loud that it attracted the attention of the villagers. When the brigade leader and the secretary saw that it was the Liang family, they were stunned.

Seeing Liang Xiaoqiu's resolute attitude, Cai Liangcai left with a dark face, not forgetting to throw out a remark before he left: "Looking at you, so sickly, I wouldn't take eighty yuan even if it were given to me for free. Marrying you and then having to spend money to take care of your health, I'm not going to be a sucker!"

Hey!

Eighty yuan as a bride price!

"This guy looks familiar."

"I know him. He's from Niujiao Village, named Cai Liangcai. He's an only son and likes to beat his wife. He's been married twice. His first wife couldn't stand his domestic violence and jumped into the river and died. His second wife's leg was broken by him, and he refused to treat her. Her condition worsened, and she eventually died too. His reputation is terrible in the surrounding villages, and now no one wants to marry their daughter to him."

"This Liang couple are truly inhuman; they sent their daughter into a living hell for eighty yuan."

"This isn't a pit of fire, it's clearly a death sentence for my daughter."

"This Cai Liangcai married two wives but had no children?"

No. I suspect he has some health problem.

"..."

Amidst the pointing and whispering of the crowd, Liang Xiaoqiu and her family of three felt only anger.

Liang's mother rushed forward and raised her hand to slap Liang Xiaoqiu's face, but Chen Xiaoshuai stopped her.

Liang Ma's eyes darted around, and she turned her attention to Chen Xiaoshuai, "You little brat, if you hand over eighty yuan, I'll marry Xiao Qiu to you; otherwise, I'll go to the Revolutionary Committee and report you for molesting my daughter!"

When Chen Zhi arrived home, the workers had already left.

Xi Lang was cooking: corn porridge, spicy and sour fish, a cold dish, and a scallion and egg soup.

The food smelled delicious, but Chen Zhi didn't have much of an appetite.

"Unhappy?" Xi Lang asked.

Chen Zhi recounted the Liang family's story, growing increasingly angry as she spoke. "The Liang family demanded an 80-yuan dowry from Chen Xiaoshuai, threatening to sue him otherwise. Chen Xiaoshuai's mother refused, saying they wouldn't accept Liang Xiaoqiu even if she gave her away for free. She also claimed that Liang Xiaoqiu was offering herself up, and that her son hadn't even touched her, so they weren't afraid of being sued. Eventually, the Liang and Chen families started fighting."

Xi Lang: "What did Chen Xiaoshuai say?"

"Chen Xiaoshuai tried to mediate, pleading with his parents that he liked Liang Xiaoqiu and wanted to marry her, hoping they would help him. The Chen family refused, didn't want to have the Liang family as relatives, and didn't like Liang Xiaoqiu; no one agreed to his marriage to her."

Chen Zhi felt sad for Liang Xiaoqiu and Chen Xiaoshuai.

"Xi Lang, do you think they'll end up together?"

"have no idea."

"If it were just about paying money, that would be manageable, but Chen Xiaoshuai's family disagrees, which puts Chen Xiaoshuai in a difficult position."

"Um."

"When I came back, Liang Xiaoqiu was sitting blankly on the ground, her eyes empty, and she looked very pitiful."

"You want to help her?"

"I don't know how to help."

Chen Zhi didn't sleep well all night and woke up before dawn.

She hurriedly ate breakfast and went to work, but Liang Xiaoqiu didn't show up. She wondered if Liang Xiaoqiu's condition had worsened and she couldn't get out of bed.

"You carried Liang Xiaoqiu to the health center yesterday, didn't you?" Aunt Qingfen asked.

Aunt Qingfen is Chen Zhi's new partner, and like Chen Zhi, she earns eight work points a day.

Chen Zhi nodded, "Yes, I carried her to town."

Aunt Qingfen sighed, "You don't know yet, do you? Liang Xiaoqiu is dead."

Boom!

Chen Zhi's bucket fell to the ground. She looked at Aunt Qingfen in disbelief, "Wasn't Liang Xiaoqiu perfectly fine yesterday?"

"No good at all. Last night, the Liang couple dragged her home, and I could tell she was in bad shape then. Once home, they locked her in the pigsty, didn't give her clean clothes, and didn't give her any food. When the couple opened the pigsty door this morning, the pigs had gnawed her down to the bones, and her intestines and blood were spilled all over the ground."

Aunt Qingfen's expression changed when she mentioned this.

Chen Zhi was completely dumbfounded. Liang Xiaoqiu had been eaten by a pig!

Liang Xiaoqiu, who was so determined to marry Chen Xiaoshuai yesterday, is gone just like that?

"You carried her all the way yesterday, I advise you to take a good bath with pomelo leaves after you get back at noon," Aunt Qingfen advised.

Chen Zhi could no longer hear anything; all she could think about was Liang Xiaoqiu's thin, sunken face and her determined gaze as she decided to marry Chen Xiaoshuai.