The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 49 - 48: Lazy Wife

After the He family left, Wang Guihua said to Guo Fugui, "So, we’re really cutting ties with that damned girl just like that?"

Guo Fugui scoffed. "Don’t you know your own daughter’s personality? She’ll never be able to cut ties, not in this lifetime."

"Then why did you agree? We might as well have had her divorce and remarry. We could have gotten another bride price."

Guo Fugui shot her a look. "Isn’t this better? We have the money. If our daughter divorces and remarries, it’ll be her second marriage. How much of a bride price would that get? It’s better to let her stay with the He Family. Mr. He is an accountant, after all, and He Nan is a capable worker. Even if they’re short on cash in the future, they won’t be short on grain. Do you think they’d let us go without?"

Wang Guihua smiled and nodded. "You’re still the clever one."

"Ouch... but that He family is so barbaric. It hurts so bad, I could die."

On the way back, the members of the He family were all dejected. None of them had expected this outcome, and they hadn’t gotten a single cent back.

Mrs. He in particular was so angry she couldn’t even stand the sight of her own son, He Nan.

Passing through Yangjia Gou, Xue Xingzhou headed home.

The whole way, Guo Jinfeng kept her head down, trailing behind He Nan without daring to say a word.

As soon as she got home, she bolted into her room.

When Gao Cuiyun saw them return, all looking crestfallen and silent, she curiously asked He Ze, "How did it go? Did you get the money back?"

He Ze shook his head. "No."

"How could you not? Don’t tell me all of you couldn’t beat the Guo Family?"

"It’s not that. We gave them a beating, but in the end, Eldest Brother decided not to take the money."

"Huh? Is Eldest Brother confused?" Gao Cuiyun really couldn’t understand. So many of them went, yet they still came back without the money.

He Ze sneered. "Eldest Brother *is* confused. He just gave up on all that money, just like that. All he did was make Eldest Sister-in-Law cut ties with her family. If you ask me, what good does cutting ties do? She’s a person. If she wants to keep in touch with her family, who’s going to be able to watch her all the time?"

"Eldest Sister-in-Law cut ties with her family?" Gao Cuiyun felt a pang of regret. If she’d known, she would have gone along to watch the drama. She never expected such a twist.

"Heh, just you watch. This isn’t over. You can tell just by looking at them that the Guo Family is not to be trifled with."

In truth, it wasn’t just He Ze who saw it clearly; everyone understood. The Guo parents were a pair of old foxes, and they had Guo Jinfeng wrapped around their little finger.

Meanwhile, Xue Yue was saying the same thing to He Lang.

He Lang chuckled. "You think Eldest Brother doesn’t know? He’s doing this for the children’s sake, to give Eldest Sister-in-Law a chance. He doesn’t want the kids to resent him later on."

Xue Yue fell silent. The reason was obvious.

Because He Nan had no money, He Lang’s house was ultimately sold to He Ze.

On Sunday, He Ziqing sensed something was wrong the moment she came home. Her parents barely said a word to each other, and her father’s face was bruised.

She asked her mother, but her mother just shook her head and said children shouldn’t ask so many questions.

So, He Ziqing went to ask her grandparents.

Mrs. He didn’t hide anything. He Ziqing was already fourteen, a young woman who could understand right from wrong.

After hearing the story, He Ziqing’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"Grandma, did my mom really give all our family’s money to my maternal grandparents?"

Mrs. He nodded. "Yes. Your dad originally wanted to use that money to buy your Third Uncle’s house so you could move in. Now that the money’s gone, your Second Uncle bought the house instead."

"So, are my mom and dad going to get a divorce?"

Mrs. He sighed. "Grandma doesn’t know either. For your sakes, even after getting beaten up and failing to get the money back, your dad still didn’t divorce your mom. He just wants to give you and Tuanzi a complete family."

He Ziqing had never liked visiting her maternal grandparents. They didn’t like her or her little brother. Every time they went, it was always her mother rushing around doing all the work. Still, she didn’t want her parents to divorce.

He Ziqing just felt her heart ache for her father.

Mrs. He patted He Ziqing’s back. "Don’t you worry about it too much. This is all adult business. You just focus on your studies."

"Okay."

The educated youth quarters had also been repaired. Since He Lang was no longer living in the old family house, Gu Yuwei didn’t wait for Mrs. He to kick her out and moved back to the quarters on her own.

「In March, spring began.」

It was time to start plowing the fields, and people officially began their work for the season.

He Lang had never liked toiling in the fields, and now he had a daily job to go to, so Xue Yue was the only one from their household going to work in the fields.

On her first day of work, Xue Yue saw the three people who lived in the cowshed. All three of them were carrying buckets of manure to the fields.

It was a job none of the villagers wanted to do, so now it had been assigned to them.

The old couple looked to be in their sixties or seventies, their hair graying. They seemed to be struggling with the carrying poles laden with manure. Next to them was a middle-aged man. Xue Yue hadn’t gotten a good look at his face when he first arrived because his head was lowered, but now she could see him clearly. He had soft features, wore a pair of glasses, and exuded an air of wisdom and scholarly elegance. Xue Yue had never seen anyone like him and couldn’t help but stare for a few extra moments.

Having not done any farm work for several months, Xue Yue’s body couldn’t handle the sudden labor. After just one day of work and a night’s sleep, she woke up with an aching back and sore muscles.

He Lang made breakfast again.

"Why don’t you take the day off?" He Lang said, his heart aching a little as he watched Xue Yue grimace in pain while getting out of bed.

"No way. Who takes a day off on their second day of work? I don’t want people making fun of me."

He Lang’s lip twitched. "I’m saying, why don’t you just not go at all? Just stay home. I’ll support you."

Xue Yue shot him a look and huffed, "Listen to you, talking so big. I heard all about your lazy reputation before I married you. If I stop going to work, believe it or not, within a single day the whole village will be saying the lazy man married a lazy wife. I don’t want that."

He Lang laughed out loud. "You knew I was a lazy man, and you still married me?"

Xue Yue tilted her head, eyeing him. "I’m just brave!"

"Hahaha..." He Lang roared with laughter, scooping Xue Yue up from the kang bed and tossing her lightly in the air, which made her quickly cling to his neck in fright.

After breakfast, He Lang went to work as usual. Before leaving, he told Xue Yue again that she should take a day off if she was really too tired.

Xue Yue didn’t even want to acknowledge him.

After half a month of work, Xue Yue didn’t feel so bad anymore. She got used to going to the fields every day and even got to know many of the village’s young women and wives, getting along with them quite well.

「In mid-March,」

A few more educated youths arrived in the village.

The villagers were used to it by now. For the past few years, a few new ones would arrive every year.

The day after the new educated youths arrived, a commotion broke out in the fields.

The village chief was also at his wit’s end. The new arrivals were all young men and women who had never done any real labor.

It was only their first day of work, yet they were already picking and choosing jobs, not wanting to do this or that. He heard that two of the female educated youths had even started fighting right there in the fields.

Many people went to watch the spectacle, and Xue Yue went along too.

In the middle of the crowd, the two fighting girls were very conspicuous. They were both fair-skinned and pretty. One was Gu Yuwei, and the other was a newly arrived educated youth named Wang Shumin.

Wang Shumin was clearly stronger than Gu Yuwei. She had Gu Yuwei pinned to the ground and was sitting on top of her, hitting her.

Gu Yuwei was hugging her head, struggling to defend herself.

Some of the other educated youths were standing nearby trying to talk them down, but no one actually stepped in to separate them.

Xue Yue raised an eyebrow, watching with great interest. ’Have to admit, this new educated youth is quite something.’ Xue Yue couldn’t stand Gu Yuwei, so watching her get beaten up was actually a little satisfying.