Shen Ermeng was also much more mature than before, after all, he was about to become a father.
After seeing off the villagers who attended the feast, the couple in the house respectfully kowtowed to Shen Laifu and Li Lanhua. Shen Guanglin had no other relatives, and Zhao Chunyan's parents had passed away, so they were the elders.
After a month, Shen Laifu and Li Lanhua had gone from initial resistance to acceptance.
There was no choice. The woman was carrying the bones of their old Shen family, what else could they do?
It had to be said, that Shen Ermeng, the kid, was truly fierce.
"From now on, you two must live well. If you encounter any difficulties, your father and mother will help as much as we can."
"This money was originally for Ermeng to build a house and get married. Now that you two are together, there's no need to build a house. This money is our token of appreciation for our daughter-in-law."
Shen Laifu took out a handkerchief from his embrace. Originally, he did not agree to his son marrying Zhao Chunyan.
But now that the boy had cooked the rice, there was no room for him to refuse.
Zhao Chunyan opened the handkerchief and saw twenty Great Reunions. This startled her.
"Dad, you mustn't. We can't take this money."
She was already very grateful that Shen Laifu and his wife agreed to her and Ermeng's marriage. How could she still accept money?
Two hundred yuan, this was an astronomical sum in the countryside.
"Your father gave it to you two. Just take it."
"Later, when you have children, going to the hospital, eating nutritious food, all of this costs money."
"I know you are capable of bearing and raising children. The previous few children were all breastfed by yourself, but you must also take care of your body. Ermeng is still young, and you can have more children. Where doesn't money need to be spent?"
"Don't blame your father and mother for not being capable. Ermeng still has six younger siblings to support."
Li Lanhua stuffed the money into Zhao Chunyan's hand. Shen Laifu had actually earned quite a bit of money from Chen Yang. This two hundred yuan was not their entire savings.
But there was no choice. They had many children, and they couldn't only focus on their son Shen Ermeng.
After careful consideration, the old couple felt that besides raising three children, their daughter-in-law had no other flaws.
Although she was a bit older than their son, being older meant she would be more caring.
She saw that every day when she came home, she would boil hot water for her son to bathe, do laundry and cook, and everything she did was beyond reproach. The three children were also sensible, and none of them caused trouble.
Now that she was carrying the bones of their old Shen family, the couple had nothing to pick on. This two hundred yuan was as good as a bride price, and they gave it willingly.
"Dad, Mom, we have nothing to be dissatisfied with."
"We earn work points every day digging the canal. The younger ones also follow Niu Wa and the others to cut pig feed. We can manage this life."
As he was about to become a father, Shen Ermeng was no longer as impulsive as before.
He had to support this family and be meticulous in his actions.
"It's good that you know how to manage a household. Don't spend money carelessly, but don't be stingy with what you need to spend. When you go to work, Tie Tou and the others will be with your younger brothers and sisters. They are a few years older and will take care of their little nephews and nieces."
Shen Laifu smiled. Once he thought it through, there was nothing to worry about. In the past, Zhao Chunyan's children also played with their own children.
As neighbors, they could help each other. There was no reason why they wouldn't lend a hand after becoming family.
Shen Ermeng's family matters naturally couldn't be discussed in front of everyone. After all, two hundred yuan was not a small sum, and they couldn't flaunt their wealth outside.
But just by seeing the engagement feast and banquet, everyone could tell that Shen Laifu and his wife had agreed, and the marriage was settled.
They just had to wait until next year when Shen Ermeng turned twenty, and he could go and get the marriage certificate.
In the 1970s, the legal marriageable age was still twenty for men and eighteen for women. It wasn't until the 1980s that it would be changed to the more familiar twenty-two for men and twenty for women. However, in the countryside, there were many who married earlier than this, and no one really pursued it.
After the feast, everyone dispersed and had to go back to repair the canal.
Chen Yang was just about to go back to get his hoe to repair the canal in the field. The work of repairing the canal was tiring, and he was reluctant to let Shen Xue do it. He and his father-in-law had taken on the family's quota.
Besides, the two children at home still needed to be looked after. If Shen Xue went, there would be no one to look after the children.
His mother-in-law alone had to manage cooking, laundry, and also take care of the vegetable garden and the chickens and ducks at home. She couldn't possibly look after two children.
The incident with the group of naughty kids playing in the water last time was still fresh in his mind. Chen Yang dared not let the two little ones play alone at home; someone had to watch them.
When Chen Yang returned home, he found his father-in-law sitting in the courtyard, smoking dried tobacco with a worried expression. His second uncle, Shen Guangfu, was also there. Both of them looked displeased.
The two little ones were standing under the osmanthus tree, not playing, nor were they laughing and shouting as usual. Shen Xue and his mother-in-law had red eyes.
"Dad, Second Uncle, what's wrong?"
Chen Yang instinctively felt that something was wrong. He had gone to the feast, but his second uncle and father-in-law hadn't. Logically, they should have gone to work on the canal if nothing was wrong, and shouldn't be at home.
"Er Ni had an accident."
Seeing Chen Yang return, Shen Xue could no longer hold back.
She directly threw herself into Chen Yang's arms, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.
Shen Xue had only this one younger sister. When they were children, Shen Xue had raised Shen Rong. Before marrying Chen Yang, Shen Rong slept with her every night. The sisters had a very close relationship.
"What happened? Don't cry. Tell me what's wrong, and we'll figure it out together."
Upon hearing that his sister-in-law had an accident, Chen Yang's heart suddenly tensed.
In his past life, his sister-in-law didn't have an accident. Instead, after his wife had an accident, it was she who single-handedly raised the infant, and in the end, it delayed her own marriage.
She lived a lifetime without children and was like a mother to Yanyan in her old age, even helping her daughter and son-in-law look after their children.
Therefore, Chen Yang treated his sister-in-law very well. He had even said that he would buy Shen Rong a bicycle when she got into college. How could something have happened so suddenly?
"It's only once a month that they get a holiday. Rongrong came home. When she passed by Xiao Wang Village, she didn't know they were offering sacrifices to the river god and ran into them."
"As a result, a ruffian from their village insisted that Rongrong kowtow and apologize. Rongrong, a scholarly girl, didn't believe in such things and argued with them."
"Those ruffians saw that Rongrong was a girl and easy to bully, so they used sticks to knock her legs and forced her to kowtow. Rongrong's head was broken and her legs were bruised, and she was still crying in the room."
"She has never suffered such a grievance in her life."
Shen Xue couldn't help but get angry thinking about her sister coming home happily only to suffer such a great injustice.
"Go screw your mother."
"These sons of bitches, what era are they living in? They are still practicing feudal superstition."
"Whoever hit Rongrong, if I don't break his leg today, I'll change my surname to his."
Chen Yang had never been so angry before. His sister-in-law could only come home once a month, and a young girl was forced to kowtow.
If he, as her brother-in-law, didn't intervene when she was bullied like this, was he even human?
"Yangzi, let's call for reinforcements. Grown men bullying my niece! Even if I have to break my teeth, I'll bite off a piece of flesh from them."
"Our family cannot be bullied for nothing. People will think that the Shen family has no men."
Second Uncle gritted his teeth. Xiao Wang Village was a large village, bigger than their Shenjiaba, but if their own family was bullied like this and they remained silent, were they still men!