Old Yang couldn’t help but persuade anymore. "Girl, are you coming back with later?"
Su Yuanyuan nodded, "Sure, I’ll take the car back."
They reached the entrance of the village, told her the approximate location of Yang Minggang’s house, and Su Yuanyuan went ho by herself.
It was already past four o’clock. Hu Chunhua helped to gather a basket of chicken eggs, a basket of duck eggs, so goose eggs, and three baskets of slaughtered chickens, ducks, and geese.
Old Yang handed over the money but wasn’t in a hurry to load the car. He said he was going to find Yang Hongwen.
"I’ll call him, he’s at my place." Yang Minggang knew Old Yang was probably talking about the matter with Yuanyuan.
Chunsheng was sent to run errands, and Yang Hongwen ca along with him.
"That girl’s parents aren’t in the village, right?"
"Yeah, there’s nowhere for them to stay here either."
"Just now, when that girl ca to call , she said if she had to go with one of her parents or anyone related to them, she wouldn’t replace them."
"It’s still uncertain. Just now, Da Qiang and his wife, who ca back with us, talked to about the situation there. Honestly, I don’t want this girl to go there either.
The place is too arduous, with endless fields and few people, and there’s always work to be done. It’s organized by farms, aning it’s official work, but it’s actually just reclaiming land and farming. It’s especially exhausting," Yang Hongwen sighed. The ties of kinship imdiately beca apparent. It’s still more pleasing to keep this girl here; I don’t want a child like her to suffer there.
Old Yang already knew about the situation there, "Yes, keep an eye on her; we all know what kind of a character this girl is, definitely worth helping."
Yang Hongwen and Yang Minggang both nodded. Just for this girl, they no longer cared about offending Su Daqiang.
Old Yang loaded the car and left. Throughout the journey, he was thinking about Su Yuanyuan.
He could see that this girl wanted to go there, but she didn’t want any contact with her relatives.
Let it be; if the girl really doesn’t want to go, he won’t just let her replace them.
Su Yuanyuan got ho and was still building a fire; it was already very cold at night. Better to make a bigger fire.
After dinner, lying in bed, she decided not to enter the space tonight.
anwhile, Su Daqiang and his family left the village, each carrying two big bags to their in-laws’ ho.
"Mom, I don’t want to go anymore." Su Liangliang was really exhausted from walking from the county to the village. Now he had to head to grandma’s house, which was still a long way off.
"If we don’t go to your grandma’s, what will we eat? Where will we stay? We’re almost there, Liangliang, just hang in there." Tian Xiaohua had no choice but to comfort her son; she was also tired, hungry, and sleepy.
"What about that jinx?"
Now, Su Daqiang and Wang Xiaohua rembered they had a daughter too.
The couple stopped. They had planned it in Jiangbei—they wanted that jinx to replace them, but the rule there was that one person could only replace one person.
They even argued over it; Wang Xiaohua didn’t want to stay there for even a minute longer, and Su Daqiang felt the sa way. But there was only one girl, who could only replace one of them.
Both wanted Liangliang to stay ho with them; neither wanted to let go.
They were too tired, hungry, and sleepy today and forgot to ask about the jinx.
"Let’s hurry; it’ll be dark soon."
The couple finally decided to find soone from the Tian Family to go there, so neither of them would have to leave.
They felt no issue with the girl replacing soone; they knew their holiday at most would last until the fifth day of the first lunar month, so they went to convince the Tian Family first.
Despite Liangliang’s reluctance, the family of three had no choice but to continue walking on empty stomachs.
It took about an hour and a half to finally reach the Tian Family.
The Tian village also had people who had gone to Jiangbei. They obviously knew about the situation there. So when the son-in-law and his family arrived, the Tian Family wasn’t particularly welcoming.
Even if Su Daqiang’s couple weren’t the brightest, they sensed sothing was off with the Tian Family.
"Sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, we haven’t eaten dinner yet."
The two sisters-in-law, unwillingly, went to cook under their mother-in-law’s gaze. They thought it was just a matter of adding a couple more scoops of water; everyone needed to eat.
They knew the sister-in-law had nowhere to live and wanted to stay there, but how could they allow that? The family’s food wasn’t ant for outsiders.
Mrs. Tian looked at her daughter, "Why did you co back? It must’ve cost a lot on tickets back and forth, right?"
Tian Xiaohua leaned on her mother’s shoulder, crying, "Mom, it’s too hard over there. I don’t want to go back nữa; I want to stay ho."
"Do you think you can stay just because you don’t want to go? Your uncle’s son, Tian Kai, sent a letter back ages ago, so we already know what it’s like there."
This left Su Daqiang’s family dumbfounded. Liangliang, lying on the kang, protested. If they already knew, how could they find soone to replace them?
They had worked so hard to get here, and yet they claid to have already been inford?
"Mom, if soone replaces , I can stay."
"Are you dreaming? They are looking for able-bodied replacents for you guys, right?"
Su Daqiang’s couple was indeed in need; it was true that they had to be replaced by strong individuals. However, before they ca, they spent ten yuan on a gift, and the other side told them that as long as it was stamped by the county, even children or the elderly would be accepted.
"Mom, I really can’t go. If I stay there for a few more years, I won’t be able to return."
"There’s no other way. They decided to sell their house as soon as they heard the news, so even if you want to co back now, there’s no ho anymore."
"We could rebuild a house, Mom, that jinx from our family can replace one person, but we still need one more. You can’t expect your son-in-law and to live apart, right? It’s too far apart; just taking the train took over twenty days, not to ntion the two days traveling on the road."
This was also why they didn’t co back last year. A round trip was exhausting. More tiring than working.
Mrs. Tian rembered that granddaughter, whom she had always considered unlucky; she hadn’t paid any attention to her over the years. It was really hard to say.
"You have to think of a way yourself; there aren’t any candidates here.
And with the poor harvest this year, the family’s food can’t last until the wheat harvest next year, so you need to leave by tomorrow."
"Mom, I am your daughter." Tian Xiaohua was indignant. She’d co such a long way ho seeking a replacent, yet they were driving her away instead?
"You’re a married daughter; you’re like spilled water, and you should leave by morning."
The old woman had no choice either; at her age, she could no longer work much. Now, she had to consider her daughters-in-law’s opinions on everything.
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