Eighties Sweetheart Wife
Chapter 276: The Fate of Three Horizontal and One Vertical Lines

Chapter 276: Chapter 276: The Fate of Three Horizontal and One Vertical Lines

Song Yunuan: "If you don’t believe it, go and try. There’s a saying that goes, cutting off a person’s livelihood is like killing their parents. Because of you, the development of Erdao River Village might be reversed, and just see if the villagers will hate you for it."

Old Mrs. Zhou immediately said, "I believe, I believe, Little Nuan, please don’t tell Brigade Leader Chu about this, alright?"

Song Yunuan: "Grandma Zhou, what are you talking about? Eldest Aunt Zhou has such a loud voice, she wishes the whole village could hear her. Just look outside your yard and see if there’s anyone watching the excitement. There’s no need for me to say anything; in a short while, it’ll spread throughout Erdao River, and then I won’t be able to leave. I’ll just stay at your house, not going anywhere. Otherwise, you’ll blame me for spreading rumors, and I won’t stand for that."

Before anyone knew it, quite a crowd had gathered around the Zhou family’s house.

Old Mrs. Zhou was quick to react, giving Zhou Xia, who still wanted to speak, a stern look - she certainly didn’t want to provoke public anger. Hastily, she said, "What are you all crowding around for? There’s nothing, nothing at all going on."

Then she turned to Song Yunuan and said, "Little Nuan, you’re right, our Erdao River Village finally found a good leader, and we can’t let him go!"

Song Yunuan: ...Are you insulting my dad?

Her little face immediately darkened.

Old Mrs. Zhou slapped her own mouth: "Little Nuan, I didn’t mean it like that, and I didn’t say anything bad about your dad. You know... you take them to register, and I’m really thankful to you for that."

This woman was too quick with her words, acting all imperious like a tiny ancestor.

Song Yunuan glanced at the people in the yard: "What about you?"

So, Zhou Laifu and Liang Cui were full of thanks again.

Song Yunuan then said to Zhou Xia: "I’m not trying to scare you, but among the visitors, there are uncles and grandpas from the Public Security Department."

Zhou Xia twisted her mouth and nodded ingratiatingly: "Well, I was just saying, if my niece doesn’t agree, could I force her?"

Song Yunuan replied: "Even if she did agree, you can’t marry close relatives, the Marriage Law doesn’t allow it."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "I’ll borrow these two for a while. There are a lot of people to feed today, so they’ll come with me to help out the brigade."

Old Mrs. Zhou smiled and nodded hastily: "Of course, of course."

Song Yunuan led the two youngsters out of the Zhou family’s yard.

Zhou Xia burst into tears soon after.

The old lady pulled her into the house.

The villagers outside sighed, "This is such a mess; what was supposed to be good fortune has been ruined."

"Exactly, look how worn down Zhou Xia is. She seems to be in her forties, right? Feels as old as the old lady herself."

"Speaking of which, I heard Dingzhi is now the head of a steel plant."

"Args and ifs, what people, what fate!"

"What about her daft son then? You’d have to say Old Mrs. Zhou’s foolish, ruining her own daughter over a few girls."

"Speaking of Zhou Laifu, maybe he’s just not destined to have a son in this lifetime. That’s the end of his lineage right there."

"Enough, enough, remember the fate of those who spread four marks and a cross. Don’t start rumors, don’t talk nonsense. We’re aiming to be civilized villages, let’s not smear Brigade Leader Chu’s face with shame."

"What do you mean by four marks and a cross?"

"If you don’t know, go figure it out by yourself. Why are you asking? Hurry up and clean up your yard."

"Right, I’ve got to go over to the Song family later. Zhilan Garment Factory is hiring. Gotta see if I can sign up the daughter-in-law."

"Do you think that’s okay, though? Is it possible to do it for nothing?"

"Just ask and you’ll find out."

People gradually dispersed.

Zhou Xia, standing at the doorway, touched her face, glanced at Liang Cui with her head hung low, thought of the disarray at home, and said to the old lady, "I’m not joking, nor am I trying to scare anyone. It’s fine by me if either Zhou Xiaojuan or Xiaohua becomes my daughter-in-law. You all discuss it, and in a few days, I’ll come over to hear what you’ve decided."

With a bag of rice slung over her shoulder, Zhou Xia walked away with an imposing gait.

Zhou Laifu crouched down, gripping his head in silence.

Old Mrs. Zhou hurled curses at Liang Cui, "You useless waste, can’t even produce a son. You birthed a bunch of money-losing goods, you’ve doomed my daughter, made her resent me to this day. It’s only because it’s the Song family; any other family would have kicked you out long ago. Why don’t you just go ahead and die, then I can find another wife for my son..."

Old Mrs. Zhou did not dare to raise her voice or strike anyone, but she put all her energy into pinching Liang Cui.

Liang Cui endured the pain without uttering a sound.

Tears dripped down one by one. She was already a grandmother, yet she still had to suffer like this.

Actually, death seemed rather appealing.

But she couldn’t die, her two daughters were not yet married. There were two other daughters who were sold by their grandmother-in-law for fifty yuan each.

Now their fates were unknown; she had let them down.

If only she had the strength in her belly to have made all of them sons, their fate would not have been like this.

Zhou Xiaohua didn’t know her mother was blaming herself for not having borne sons, as she asked Song Yunuan on the road, "Little Nuan, how can we make sure our family doesn’t just arrange our lives as they please?"

Zhou Xiaojuan immediately looked at Song Yunuan. She now admired Song Yunuan; how could she be so formidable? She managed to render the Eldest Aunt Zhou speechless.

But the Eldest Aunt wouldn’t give up so easily.

She felt aggrieved, thinking her sacrifices had only resulted in six burdens, and it wasn’t worth it.

She also worried that Eldest Aunt Zhou might conspire with Grandma Zhou against them.

After all, in her family the only ones not yet married were her and her sister.

And she already had a partner, with plans to marry by this autumn.

But the thought of her sister marrying Jinbao felt wrong and she disagreed; however, what could she do?

Who asked her to be born a girl? If she were a boy, there wouldn’t be such troubles in the family.

It was at this moment she heard her sister asking Song Yunuan.

She focused intently, wanting to hear what Little Nuan would say.

Song Yunuan glanced at the Zhou sisters. What to say? It wasn’t easy to intervene in their family issues. If someone was secretly taken away without anyone knowing, there would be no way to help.

Song Yunuan paused, looking at them seriously, "I have two methods."

Zhou Xiaohua’s eyes shone eagerly as she asked, "What are the two methods? Little Nuan, tell me quickly."

Song Yunuan held up one finger, "The first one, study hard and try to get into National University of Science and Technology or Public Security University in Beidu. Once you graduate, at a minimum you’ll be placed in a Defense Department or Public Security Department position. If not those universities, any other is okay. Strive to excel, become a female leader, and then your family will look up to you."

Zhou Xiaohua listened in a daze, then said with a grimace, "But my studies aren’t that good; getting into a university is impossible."

Song Yunuan, "Then the second method is to earn money — a lot of it. Earn so much you can buy whatever you want, even hire bodyguards. If anyone dares to mess with you, the bodyguards will take care of them..."

Zhou Xiaohua, "Is that really possible?"

Song Yunuan nodded, "Of course, but remember, a gentleman loves wealth, in a way that is proper. Get involved in serious business, become a big boss, and avoid messy situations if you want lasting success."

Then Song Yunuan said, "But all of this takes time, and your problem is immediate. To change your Eldest Aunt’s mind won’t be easy; she seems very stubborn, not stopping until she gets what she wants."

Zhou Xiaohua turned pale, "Then what do we do?"

Song Yunuan, "It’s difficult to handle since you must always be wary of others, especially if your Eldest Aunt and Grandma might play dirty tricks."

The two were indeed afraid of exactly that.

Song Yunuan saw that they were truly anxious and seemed completely at a loss. She scratched her head, unable to trigger any plot developments, nor figure out how to deal with Old Mrs. Zhou.