Chapter 433

Listening to the coworkers' remarks, Shazhu suddenly realized that Xu Daming had actually deviated from his original fate trajectory.

No one is clearer about Xu Daming's fate than Shazhu, who has lived two lives.

In his previous life.

Xu Daming resented Shazhu and Lou Xiaoe getting together, relying on his position as deputy section chief, he raised a butcher's knife emanating a cold aura toward Shazhu.

It could be considered self-defense.

Shazhu used a ploy of borrowing a knife to kill against Xu Daming, leveraging the red-headed document, skillfully utilizing Deputy Factory Director Li, and ultimately through Deputy Factory Director Li, personally took down Xu Daming.

In this life.

Because Shazhu had already established a good relationship with Xu Daming in advance.

The two are no longer adversaries.

Xu Daming had no intention of causing trouble for Shazhu, Shazhu also had no scheming against Xu Daming, and furthermore he deliberately cultivated a good relationship with Deputy Factory Director Li.

Shazhu's interpersonal relationships.

Steady as an old dog.

These years of rising winds and surging clouds.

He has always honestly stayed as the warehouse keeper in Yagangchang's Sihuocangku.

Those people at Yagangchang.

Perhaps they have already forgotten Shazhu.

Even Deputy Factory Director Li is no exception.

Such a situation.

For Shazhu.

Undoubtedly the best.

Taking advantage of the opportunity when no one paid attention to him, Shazhu alone actually produced quite a few good things in the Sihuocangku—calligraphy and paintings, woodenware, bronze ware. Besides Yu Li, his lifelong partner, presumably no one else knows about this.

In a plain and uneventful manner.

Another five years passed.

Time arrived at 1975.

Tremendous changes took place in the Siheyuan; Liu Haizhong, as usual, was being dealt with by those at Yagangchang, while Yan Fugui honestly handled cleaning and hygiene at the school.

Qin Huairu again cleaned toilets at Yagangchang for five years; not sure if it's because the five-year term ended, maybe the toilet cleaning was done well, and starting last month she took charge of the factory area street sanitation.

Yan Jiekuang and Liu Guangfu, along with those other sent-down youths, also gradually returned to the Siheyuan; those with connections found work, those without could only run the Jiēdào day after day, seeing if there were any extra jobs; the day before yesterday the Jiēdào actually had a street‑cleaning gig, so they hired one position; Liu Guangfu looked down on sweeping the streets as disgraceful and didn't go, while Yan Jiekuang, with the mindset that earning something is better than nothing, didn't mind the disgrace and took up the street‑sweeping gig.

Shazhu felt quite helpless.

He also didn't expect that Yan Jiekuang, after going down to the countryside once, would actually snatch away the job that Bangeng had in his previous life.

As a fellow sent‑down companion.

The Jia Family's Bangeng is the only one who didn't come back.

As for the reason he didn't return.

At first Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu still wanted to hide this from the neighbors of the Siheyuan, but they forgot that besides Bangeng, Yan Jiekuang and Liu Guangfu had also gone down to the countryside; they each wrote letters to their families, in which they explained Bangeng's rights and wrongs.

Two years ago.

That is, 1973; Bangeng, who had been sent down for three years, somehow got involved with a widow named Shi Jiahong in their village, who is three years older than Bangeng.

In one fell swoop he realized the great dream of having both a son and a daughter.

From bachelor he leapt straight to the stage of a hot kang with wife, son, and daughter.

That counts as achieving it in one step.

Based on the content of Yan Jiekuang's private discussions with Shazhu, analyzing the matter of Bangeng marrying the widow, it was not Bangeng who captured the widow, but the widow who captured Bangeng.

He fell for the widow's "fairy‑tale trap" (a honey‑pot scheme) and was forced to marry her.

During the New Year, while cleaning the house, the widow begged Bangeng for help; afterward she made him a stew of pork with vermicelli and bought him a bottle of ergotou. Bangeng ate and drank, then passed out. When he woke up, he found himself sleeping together with Shi Jiahong, his clothes all gone, and before he could react, the door was pushed open; Shi Jiahong's younger brother-in-law and her parents‑in‑law rushed in, waving sticks.

Bangeng was frightened out of his wits and shouted that he would marry Shi Jiahong as his wife.

Shi Jiahong's parents‑in‑law informed the brigade; the brigade stepped forward as guarantor, collected 500 yuan as betrothal money from Bangeng, and agreed to the marriage of Bangeng to the widow.

Bangeng had just breathed a sigh of relief when Shi Jiahong's father, mother, older brother, and younger brother heard about the 500 yuan, came over, and re‑bound the just‑released Bangeng, insisting firmly on another 500 yuan, otherwise they would send him to the police station.

Many lice don't fear itching.

Bangeng hardened his heart.

Agreed to give another 500.

Having no money, they specially sent a telegram to Qin Huairu; only when Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi rushed over did they learn that their family's Bangeng had slept with the widow.

Jia Zhangshi, who is accustomed to causing a ruckus within the Siheyuan, wanted to rely on making a scene to settle the matter.

On one hand, it's not her home turf.

On the other hand, Shi Jiahong's mother and mother‑in‑law are formidable at arguing, not at all inferior to Jia Zhangshi.

After the quarrel.

Besides not having argued with the two, Jia Zhangshi swallowed her anger, finally lowered her head and accepted this marriage, ending the farce by paying 500 yuan to the widow's mother‑in‑law and 500 yuan to the widow's own mother.

Since they married locally.

According to certain policies, Bangeng cannot return unless he divorces the widow.

The problem is that the widow's father‑in‑law is the brigade captain, and her father is responsible for certain affairs in the commune.

When the divorce petition was submitted, it was kicked straight back.

The widow has already made it clear: either Bangeng brings her mother and a few others back to the city, or he stays in the village for life to serve them as an ox and horse.

She is also a tough one.

She changed the surname of her son and two daughters from her former husband all to Jia.

The neighbors in the courtyard learned of this matter and indeed ridiculed Qin Huairu and the Jia family, saying outright that the Jia family had the gene of this widow: the mother-in-law was a widow, the daughter-in-law was a widow, and the grandson had married another widow, truly deserving the title of a widow clan.

They said this was Qin Huairu's retribution; back then Qin Huairu relied on her reputation as the pretty widow of the steel plant, wandering among the men at the steel plant, and in the end her son Bangeng also married a widow, and also had to help people pull the ropes.

It could be considered that misfortunes never come singly.

Besides Bangeng of the Jia family, the Jia family also dragged Xiao Dang into it.

Because Bangeng had slept with a widow and was forced to demand a thousand dollars as betrothal money before agreeing to marry, the Jia family temporarily couldn't come up with that sum, so they hit upon the idea of Xiao Dang, wanting to marry her off.

They don't look at character.

They only look at money.

They selected a man ten years older than Xiao Dang who offered the most betrothal money, but Xiao Dang disagreed with this marriage, filled out a form to go to the countryside alone, and went to Mengxi to herd sheep.

A boy from the neighboring Dayuan who went together with Xiao Dang wrote a letter to his family, informing them that Xiao Dang had married an old bachelor twenty years her senior, who had just recently given birth to a baby boy.

Indeed, retribution has arrived; the Jia family now in the Siheyuan is good-for-nothing, Jia Zhangshi doesn't even dare to act shrewishly, and if provoked, the youngsters in the courtyard really dare to beat Jia Zhangshi!