Sad cries came from the home of Zhang Hongliang of the Minqin Brigade in Wuxian County, Jiangnan Province. The old man of the Zhang family did not survive the Lantern Festival this year. The oil and lamp ran out, and he closed his eyes forever at about 10 a.m. on the 13th day of the first lunar month.

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The old man of the Zhang family married two wives. The first wife only gave him a daughter, who died of illness when she was two years old.

This daughter got married at the age of sixteen. Although she married not far away, she rarely came home.

The current Mrs. Zhang is actually the cousin of Mr. Zhang’s first wife. After the two got married, they gave birth to two sons and two daughters.

Zhang Daniu is the eldest son.

The second son, Zhang Baogen, is the youngest among all the children. He joined the army at the age of eighteen and stepped into a leadership position step by step on his own. Now he is the political commissar of a regiment in Nanhai.

The last two daughters married pretty well, one was married to the Struggle Brigade and the other was married to the Red Star Brigade. In short, they were not far apart.

When Mr. Zhang fell ill last year, his second son Zhang Baogen brought his wife and children back to visit him once. After returning to Nanhai, he could only write letters to express his regards.

Now that the old man has passed away, naturally he has to wait for his return before he can be buried.

As soon as Mr. Zhang died, Zhang Daniu asked his sons to go separately to report the funeral to their uncles and aunts.

Zhang Hongliang's task was to go to the post office in the town to send a telegram to Zhang Baogen.

Although the Minqin Brigade has a telephone, Zhang Baogen's unit is classified as a confidential unit and it is difficult to contact him by phone. For urgent matters like this, the only way to contact him is to send him a telegram.

After sending the telegram, Zhang Hongliang stood in the post office for a moment, then decided to try his luck and call Liu Xinyu.

The results showed that his luck was still not very good.

We first called Changchun Lane. The man at the newsstand said that Liu Xinyu had gone to school early in the morning, and she even said hello to him before leaving.

When I called the dormitory of Peking University, the dormitory aunt said that Liu Xinyu had indeed been to the dormitory, but she did not return to the dormitory after reporting to the department.

Zhang Hongliang couldn't help but sigh, and after being stunned for a while, he settled the money for the two long distances and walked out of the post office.

Liu Xinyu must have gone to the School of Chemical Engineering to work as a messenger for him after returning to Beijing University to report.

When I thought about it this way, I felt inexplicably at ease.

"Hey, is this Zhang Hongliang?" He walked out of the post office and was pushing his bicycle home when someone recognized him. He was his class teacher when he was studying in the town's junior middle school.

Zhang Hongliang could only stop and say hello to the teacher.

This teacher's surname was Yang, and he was a classmate of Zhang Hongliang's second uncle when he was a student in a rural middle school. The two of them had a good relationship, which could be considered a childhood relationship.

Zhang Baogen brought his wife and children back to visit relatives, and it was inevitable to get together with Teacher Yang.

Teacher Yang is naturally very close to Zhang Hongliang. When meeting Zhang Hongliang now, he must ask about the situation of the old man of the Zhang family.

I was very sad to learn that the old man had passed away.

"School starts today. I will go to your house to express my condolences after get off work in the afternoon. I will give you more advice when I go back so that she can grieve." Teacher Yang patted Zhang Hongliang on the shoulder and said.

Zhang Hongliang nodded silently and watched Teacher Yang leave.

There was a funeral at home, and there must have been a lot of things to do. Zhang Hongliang didn't stay in the town for long, but got on his bicycle and rushed home.

But before I left the town, I was stopped again.

The person who stopped him this time was an old acquaintance from the Minqin Brigade. Liu Xinmei, who had written a letter of report to the machinery factory to slander Zhang Hongliang, started the rebellion and then abandoned it.

Liu Xinmei was holding her several-month-old child in her arms and carrying a big baggage on her back. She must have just gotten off the bus from the county. When she went out and looked around, she happened to see someone riding a bicycle home from the town.

Zhang Hongliang's originally dull eyes suddenly lit up.

Regardless of whether he would be hit by a car, he rushed straight in front of Zhang Hongliang's bicycle.

Suddenly, someone rushed over like crazy, frightening Zhang Hongliang so much that he hurriedly squeezed the front and rear brakes of his bicycle. It was only his tall legs that kept him from falling, but he was still in a very embarrassed state.

He looked at the careless woman in front of him with great displeasure, only to realize that it was Liu Xinmei whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

Zhang Hongliang looked at Liu Xinmei in surprise and wondered what kind of experiences this person had gone through. However, after not seeing her for more than a year, the former village beauty had become an ordinary person who might not be able to be found immediately if she was thrown into the crowd.

If I remember correctly, Liu Xinmei should be the same age as Zhang Hongxia.

Before getting married, Liu Xinmei was the village beauty of the Minqin Brigade, while Zhang Hongxia was an ordinary-looking girl with dark skin.

Now when the two are compared together, it's almost the other way around.

After being married for more than a year, the Chen family regarded Zhang Hongxia as their own daughter, and Chen Jialuo was considerate to Zhang Hongxia. Zhang Hongxia almost didn't need to work in the fields to earn work points. The family had to cover her up for a year, and Zhang Hongxia's skin tone became much whiter.

It is said that one white face can cover up all ugliness, and this is vividly reflected in Zhang Hongxia's body.

On the other hand, Liu Xinmei has lost a lot of weight and is almost out of shape. Her originally round face is not as round as before, making her look at least seven or eight years older. She is clearly in her late twenties and looks like a woman in her late thirties.

Zhang Hongliang felt quite sad in his heart.

However, it is a shame that Zhang Hongliang still treats Liu Xinmei honestly.

Zhang Hongliang frowned and looked at Liu Xinmei impatiently, wondering why she suddenly rushed out to stop him.

It was not easy to meet someone from the same village, Zhang Hongliang, whom she had admired for many years. Liu Xinmei would not let go of this opportunity.

Since her marriage, the man has paid close attention to her. Except for returning home three days after the wedding, she has almost never returned to the Minqin Brigade. She has not even come back to pay New Year greetings.

Yesterday, the man was very drunk and spent most of the night before he calmed down. It was almost ten o'clock and he was still asleep in bed.

Of the two cubs born to the dead woman in front of me, the older one went to school to register, while the younger one went to visit her maternal home for the New Year in the second year of junior high school and was left temporarily at her maternal home.

So she finally got the chance, took a few dollars from the man's pocket, took a change of clothes and diapers for herself and her daughter, and ran out secretly with her half-year-old daughter in her arms.

She had to return to the village quickly. As long as she returned to the village, she would not be afraid of men chasing her and taking her home.

If she is really chased home by a man, she will have to be dealt with by him again.

She has run away more than once or twice, and each time she was discovered by men in time, and was taken home and punished.

The man was cruel and dirty, and he never hit her in the open. It was impossible for outsiders to see the scars on her face. Only she knew how many injuries she had on her body.

Her sufferings were all caused by the man in front of her and her fiancée. Unfortunately, she was unable to retaliate against any of them now, and she was afraid she would be even less able to retaliate against them in the future.

Since there is no way to retaliate, then use it as much as possible. Of course, it would be better if you can cause trouble for them.

"Brother Zhang, I took my children home to celebrate the New Year. I thought my brother and the others would come to pick me up, but I didn't see them when I got out of the car. Could you please take me with you for a while?" Liu Xinmei tried her best to free up a hand to hold her back.

He lifted the baggage on his back and begged with a sad face.

Zhang Hongliang didn't want to agree, but then the child in Liu Xinmei's arms suddenly started crying, which made Zhang Hongliang quite intolerable.

Forget it, don’t look at the monk’s face and look at the Buddha’s face.

No matter how hateful Liu Xinmei is, how can she be such a childish person?


Chapter completed!