Chapter 651: The '50s Motherhood System (8)

During this period, the Zhuang family not only had to return the two gold bars Xie Yun had originally given them as a betrothal gift, but also had to compensate Xie Yang with a sum of money as labor remuneration for the years she worked at the Zhuang family, otherwise they would be charged with human trafficking.

Qiu Caohua and her husband kept shouting that they were "unconvinced," but when it came to actually going to find the higher-level leaders to argue, they didn't have the guts.

Anyway, the Old Zhuang Family had lost all face because of this matter, so the couple simply gave up and let things slide, claiming they had no money whenever anyone came to collect, hoping to brush it off that way.

Unexpectedly, the township reported directly to the county, and the county contacted Beijing, with the relevant departments in Beijing directly supervising the unit where Zhuang Mingcheng worked, deducting it straight from Zhuang Mingcheng's salary.

So much so that when Zhuang Mingcheng went to collect his salary for this month, he was dumbfounded: "Why is it only three yuan?"

Previously, he received a section-level salary, with forty-eight yuan in hand every month. After being reported by some unlucky turn of events, his Cadre title was stripped.

Fortunately, he had a father-in-law as a superior; with his help in maneuvering, although he was stripped of his Cadre title, he didn't lose his iron rice bowl and was able to remain in the section as an ordinary clerk, but his monthly salary was reduced to eighteen yuan.

But he believed that as long as his father-in-law did not fall, he would soon be able to sit back in his original position.

Eighteen yuan is eighteen yuan, he thought; anyway, his wife's salary wasn't low, and the hardship would only last a year or two.

Who knew that this month they only issued him three yuan. The reason given was that the Women's Federation had stepped in to supervise, demanding that his unit withhold his salary to repay the debts of his parents back in his hometown.

"..."

Zhuang Mingcheng was stunned on the spot.

What kind of debts could his parents possibly have back in their hometown that required him, all the way in Beijing, to pay them off?

Besides, hadn't he just sent one hundred yuan back last month? It shouldn't have been spent that quickly, right?

Consequently, he used the unit's telephone to call the township to ask about the situation.

The clerk who answered the phone happened to be clear about this matter, and without needing to run errands to Shili Village to inquire for him, they could reply directly:

"Oh! Is this Comrade Zhuang Mingcheng? Your parents aren't unable to pay their debts, but unwilling to pay. You must be clear about the sequence of events; didn't your family receive two gold bars from the Xie Family back then? You also kept Comrade Xie Yang in your home under the name of a Child Bride, forcing her to contribute ten years of her youth to your family. Well, the organization has demanded that your parents return the gold bars or their equivalent in cash to compensate Comrade Xie Yang for her ten years of labor, and since your parents refuse, the organization had no choice but to deduct it from your salary through the Beijing Women's Federation."

"..."

"This is also the only way. Who told your parents to be so stubborn. You are a person with high awareness; go back and persuade your parents to pay off the debt as soon as possible, and then it won't need to be deducted from your salary every month."

"..."

Zhuang Mingcheng was so ashamed his face turned red.

He felt incredibly annoyed at his parents back home.

He was glad there was no one else around at the moment; if anyone had heard this, he would likely become the "popular person" of the unit again, once more becoming a laughingstock in the gossip of his colleagues.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much savings on hand; in order to keep his iron rice bowl, although his father-in-law helped him maneuver, he had also spent quite a bit of money. What could he do?

That night, while holding his wife and trying to please her, coaxing her until she was beaming with joy, he persuaded her to lend him six hundred yuan, and the next day he went to the Post Office and remitted it to the township.

A few days later, Xie Yang received the money remitted by Zhuang Mingcheng.

The gold Xie Yun gave to the Xie Family back then was in the form of one-tael small gold bars; the current gold price was three yuan per gram, so two gold bars were worth about three hundred. The rest was compensation for the original body, both for her past ten years of labor and for the youth she had lost because of the Zhuang family.

When Cao Zhuren brought the money, she took the opportunity to counsel Xie Yang: "Although three hundred yuan can hardly make up for your lost youth, I see that the Zhuang family really cannot come up with more. If you don't accept this money and continue to have it deducted from Zhuang Mingcheng's salary monthly, I'm afraid it will drag on for two or three years. I'm afraid of variables during this period; it would be better to take a small loss, take the money, and close this case, so you can plan for yourself sooner."

Xie Yang thought about it and accepted this plan.

For one, income in the countryside is low. Even if one works in the fields every day, it is not easy to save thirty yuan by the end of the year. Zhuang Mingcheng was counting on this point when he only offered three hundred yuan in compensation. If she complained it was too little, she might win the sympathy of the crowd for a short time, but it would be hard to say in the long run. By then, the Zhuang family could play the victim and instead blame her for being insatiable.

Secondly, Zhuang Mingcheng's child with congenital cerebral palsy would be born next year, and it would take a lot of money to treat it.

In the original timeline, he was a proper Cadre who wasn't stripped of his title, and even got a promotion, receiving a high salary of several dozen yuan every month, yet in the end, he didn't even have the patience to raise this son and dumped him in the countryside back home. Let alone now.

So it was better to make a clean break with the Zhuang family as soon as possible; taking a small loss didn't matter, she didn't want to have any more entanglements with them for even a minute.

"Cao Zhuren, I am very grateful that the township is willing to organize people to help me build a house, but I cannot let the leaders spend money and effort, so the money for building the house should come from the compensation Zhuang Mingcheng gave me."

Xie Yang accepted four hundred and handed two hundred to Cao Zhuren.

She lived alone and didn't plan to build anything too luxurious; she would build two rooms of wood and stone structure on the original foundation, one kitchen and one bedroom.

Living alone, she didn't need a main hall; she could do all her cooking and eating in the kitchen. She would build a small Ear Room behind the bedroom to serve as a bathroom.

In addition, she would build a woodshed, and set up a Chicken Coop, a Pig Pen, and such.

In this day and age, the materials used for building houses in the countryside are basically sourced locally: Wood can be cut from the mountains at will, but what is cut cannot be used immediately, so one takes some Tobacco and Alcohol to trade with those families in the village who have been hoarding dry timber; stones and mud can be picked up or dug up at the foot of the mountains or by the river at will; and who doesn't have sorghum stalks for the roof? If one family doesn't have enough, just find a few more families to trade with.

The main expenses were the food for everyone while they helped her build the house, as well as the labor costs for finding a carpenter to custom-make doors, windows, beds, and cabinets.

But since she had "inconvenient legs and feet," she asked Cao Zhuren to convert the food expenses into labor costs to pay the masters who helped; two hundred yuan would be more than enough.

Sure enough, she heard Cao Zhuren say: "That doesn't need to be as much as two hundred, one hundred is enough."

Xie Yang couldn't help but be polite: "Please take it first! Look at my legs; I won't be able to walk long distances for a while. After the house is built, I will still have to trouble you to help me buy some good wine and food to host a roof-topping feast, so I can invite the township Cadres and the masters who helped build the house for a meal."

Cao Zhuren readily agreed: "Alright, I'll keep it for you first. You injured your legs, so you must rest well; it takes a hundred days to recover from broken bones and tendons, and if you don't rest well now, you'll suffer in the future. If you need anything, have the young lady at the guesthouse find me."

Cao Zhuren took the two hundred yuan and went to organize people to help her build the house.

Xie Yang stayed in the guesthouse, with the young lady at the guesthouse delivering her three meals a day, occasionally choosing some favorite delicacies from her stockpile to cook for herself, and spending the rest of her time practicing.

Oh, and there was the Nine-Grid Vegetable Plot located deep in the mountains; over this period, she had already harvested an unknown number of rounds, and her experience level had already risen to level 7.

Xie Yang took a Tomato that had just matured and been harvested with one click from the Farm Game System warehouse, and while gnawing on it, she pondered: Once the house is built and she moves back to the Xie Family, she would cover the backyard with the vegetable garden, and from then on, she would have an endless supply of fresh vegetables in the yard without having to plant them herself! Life is wonderful!

Farm Game System: 【...】

Always felt something was wrong but couldn't put a finger on it.

Main System: Heh! Are you stupid?