The 1960s: The Story of a Country Girl's Journey to the City

Lin, the eldest brother, felt a pang of bitterness. He had always been favored by his parents in this family, and his two younger brothers had been trampled underfoot by him for so many years. He never expected that now his two younger brothers not only disrespected him as the eldest brother, but also avoided him like the plague.

"What's the use of getting angry? The family has been divided now. The second son moved away before the autumn harvest to avoid us. No matter how angry you are, they won't talk to you."

Old Lin spoke in a muffled voice, forcing himself to sit up and leaning against the wall by the kang (a heated brick bed). He picked up the box of tobacco leaves and rolled himself a cigarette.

"Why can't we do something? That Baoya is also surnamed Lin. Her dowry should be given to her parents first. Why should it all benefit the third son's family?"

Thinking of the dowry promised by the Jiang family, she felt a burning desire in her heart. Why should she accept such a huge dowry? That crazy girl Lin Baoya is lucky to have anyone want her, let alone accept such a large dowry. Her two daughters have nothing.

Lin Laoda glanced at her, knowing she hadn't given up. He wanted her too, as he had two sons at home who were still unmarried. But ever since Bao Ya fell into the water, they hadn't gotten anything out of it.

"What can you do? It's no use saying anything now."

Li Jinxiang's eyes darted around, and she remembered it. She leaned closer to Boss Lin and whispered in his ear:

"Dad, how about we do this..."

Upon hearing this, Boss Lin's eyes widened, and he looked at her in disbelief, saying:

"Is this feasible? The Jiang family isn't stupid; they can't possibly come up with that much money."

"Who cares if he can come up with the money or not? If he can't, it'll be even better if things fall apart. That brat won't be able to get married either, and we'll see how she faces people after that. If the Jiang family really gives that much, I'll have Dad talk to the third son. I don't believe the third son won't listen to Dad. Then our son will be settled."

After hearing Li Jinxiang's words, Boss Lin took a few deep drags of welding smoke and then slapped the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"Okay, we'll do it your way!"

The next day, Li Jinxiang got up early and went back to her parents' home. When Granny Lin got up and saw that no one was making breakfast, she cursed for a long time in the yard. In the end, she still dragged Lin Siya out of bed to cook.

Upon receiving the letter from the villagers, Jiang Yuan immediately asked for leave to return home. He didn't know what had happened at home, but his mother insisted that he come home no matter what, as she had something important to discuss with him.

My heart was pounding the whole way, but I rode my bicycle very fast.

Liao Chunhua, who was cutting out shoe patterns inside the house, heard the noise in the yard and looked out the window. When she saw that it was her youngest son returning, she immediately got off the kang (a heated brick bed) to greet him.

Jiang Laoshan, who was half-lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) smoking welding fumes, hadn't even reacted when he saw his wife run out in a flash. He quickly got up to see what had happened.

"Oh, third brother, you're finally back."

As soon as Liao Chunhua saw her youngest son, she couldn't help but speak. She had heard about that matter yesterday and was so anxious that she couldn't sleep all night. She even got blisters on her lips. She went to find someone to send a message to her son early in the morning, asking him to come back and discuss it.

When Jiang Laoshan saw that his son had returned, he went back into the house, added hot water to the large tea mug, took a cup, and poured a bowl for his son as well.

"Mother, what happened?"

Seeing his mother's anxious expression, Jiang Yuan felt a pang of anxiety and quickly went forward to ask her what was wrong.

"Let's go inside and talk."

Jiang Laoshan shouted from inside the house. His wife couldn't keep things to herself and would yell and scream at the slightest thing.

The three of them went into the house and sat on the kang (a heated brick bed). Jiang Laoshan pushed the glass of water towards Jiang Yuan.

"Have a glass of water first, then we'll talk."

Looking at his father's calm demeanor and his mother's attitude, Jiang Yuan felt reassured that it shouldn't be a big deal. He then picked up his cup and downed the perfectly warm tea in one gulp.

As he drank water, Liao Chunhua glared at her husband, who was taking his time, and was furious.

After Jiang Yuan finished drinking the water, he looked at his parents, waiting for them to tell him what had happened.

"Third brother, the Lin family sent people yesterday."

Seeing that he had finished drinking the water, Liao Chunhua quickly spoke up.

"Oh, who's here?"

Jiang Yuan was also quite puzzled. Why did the Lin family send people? It must be related to his marriage.

"It's Bao Ya's aunt's sister-in-law. She said the Lin family is going to raise the bride price to five hundred yuan, and she also said..."

Liao Chunhua noticed her son frown when he heard about the increased bride price, and hesitated whether to continue.

"What else is there to say?"

"They even said that if we don't give it to them, their grandparents will hang themselves at our doorstep on your wedding day."

These words are undeniably vicious. To hang oneself at the door of one's granddaughter's in-laws' house after her wedding—is this a marriage alliance or a feud? Even the most despicable family wouldn't do such a thing.

When Liao Chunhua heard the visitor say this, her first reaction was to call off the engagement. In the countryside, the dowry of "three turns, one sound, and thirty-six legs" (referring to a house, radio, and bicycle), plus two hundred yuan, was already the highest possible dowry.

Now they're asking for another 500 yuan, do they think they're easy targets? They even threatened to hang themselves in their house, there's no way they're that disgusting.

Jiang Yuan was also taken aback when he heard this. He hadn't heard that the bride price was going to increase. He had even gone to deliver some things to Bao Ya the day before yesterday, and the two of them were doing very well.

"Mother, who did you say said that when they came to our house?"

"Bao Ya's aunt's sister-in-law. From Beishan Brigade."

When Jiang Yuan clearly heard who it was, he laughed in anger. It seemed that Bao Ya's schemes had failed, so she had come to scheme against him instead.

"Mother, her family split up before the autumn harvest. Bao Ya definitely doesn't know about this."

"What, splitting up the family? What kind of splitting up?"

When Jiang Yuan said this, Liao Chunhua was stunned. Jiang Yuan then told Liao Chunhua and Jiang Laoshan in detail about how Lin Siya pushed Baoya into the water.

Liao Chunhua was so angry that she slapped her thigh. What kind of relatives were these? They gossiped about her son first, and now they're causing trouble at her house. Did they think her family was easy to bully?

Liao Chunhua and Jiang Laoshan doted on their youngest son and daughter. Jiang Laoshan's eldest brother had lost a leg when he returned from the army, and he was listless and dazed, like a walking corpse. It wasn't until he saw Jiang Yuan that he burst into tears.

Only after asking did I learn that the older brother had married a nurse at the military hospital while serving in the army, and they had a son. Just before liberation, during a bombing, his wife and son were killed, and he also lost a leg.

Jiang Yuan was eight years old at the time. His son was also the same age when he died, and the cousins ​​looked somewhat alike. Seeing Jiang Yuan was like seeing his son again.

Knowing about this situation, Jiang Laoshan asked the village elders to decide to adopt Jiang Yuan as his elder brother's son. Although Liao Chunhua was reluctant, she couldn't bear to see her brother-in-law in that state, so she acquiesced.

Uncle Jiang knew that Liao Chunhua couldn't bear to part with the child, so he said that he couldn't take care of the child by himself and that his younger brother and sister-in-law should take care of him, but he would pay for all of Jiang Yuan's expenses.

Uncle Jiang works as a gatekeeper at a meat processing plant. He sends money home every month to support Jiang Yuan. He also uses his connections to send his eldest son, Jiang Tao, to join the army, and his second son, Jiang Cheng, to work as a driver for a transport team.