Chapter 7: Taking the Shortcut to Wealth Through Marriage
"Folks, listen to me, everyone quiet down, please be quiet first."
The ceremony hadn't even begun.
Yet it was already so boisterous, with roars of laughter directly drowning out the Old Village Secretary's wedding speech on the stage.
Yin Laohan and Ma Xiulan, the old couple, finally couldn't sit still.
They rushed onto the stage.
At the same time, they secretly felt relieved that they had thought of a countermeasure last night; otherwise, judging by the current situation, even if Lu Yang agreed to be a live-in son-in-law for the Yin, he would be humiliated beyond measure by these people, losing face forever. And for the Yin, while seemingly benefiting, who knew if such a recruited son-in-law would develop psychological issues because of this, harboring resentment towards the Yin for all the humiliation, and then retaliate against their youngest daughter, or against them, the old couple, who were old and frail? That would be a future disaster.
The couple's steps quickened a few more paces.
At the last moment.
Ma Xiulan, feeling a little guilty, whispered, "Husband, why don't you do it?"
She lagged half a step behind Yin Laohan.
Yin Laohan, annoyed, also whispered, "Women are always so troublesome. Weren't you very talkative yesterday? Your voice was the loudest. It's a good thing Yangzi isn't bothered by you. Hmph, now you know how uncomfortable it is to be talked about behind your back by the villagers, don't you?"
"Get lost, you short-sighted old woman! I knew I shouldn't have listened to you. From now on, all major and minor family matters will be decided by us men."
He scolded his wife mercilessly.
The frustration in Yin Laohan's heart!
The important matter of continuing the Yin family line, after yesterday's commotion, would have to be postponed again and would also require a huge sum of money.
And all of this, shouldn't he blame this old woman? She spoiled the eldest daughter to the heavens, and then came up with the outrageous idea of using the younger sister to replace the older one. Now, not only is the younger daughter given away for nothing, but he also has to fork out another 5000 yuan to settle this marriage. Just thinking about it made his heart, liver, and lungs ache, and he felt uncomfortable all over.
The crowd below was noisy again.
Suddenly, he became very impatient and yelled at the crowd below, "Alright, alright, shut up! I'm telling you, you sons of bitches, are you here to drink wedding wine, or are you planning to ruin my Yin Lao Si's family today, huh?"
He was the first 'ten-thousand-yuan household' in the village.
He was also well-known in the surrounding ten miles and eight villages. Not to mention the entire Fan Town, just within the surrounding villages, there was no one who dared to say they were richer than Yin Laohan.
And don't look at how he usually didn't talk much, seemed to be afraid of his wife, and couldn't even fart for half a day, spending at least half of his day in the woodworking shop, buried in work, meticulously carving the wood he was working on, so much so that even his neighbors rarely saw him all day. But when he yelled out like that now, everyone was actually a little afraid of him.
In 1988, it was no longer the era of a dozen years ago when everyone was equal, ate from the communal pot, and the poorer you were, the more glorious you were.
Now the country allowed private ownership, encouraged individual businesses to expand operations, encouraged public-private partnerships, allowed private factories, and various private enterprises appeared like bamboo shoots after a spring rain across the land of China.
The gap between rich and poor was also gradually widening.
Take Zhao County, for example. It was a small, poor county town at the foot of Xuefeng Mountain in the southwest of Xiang Province in southern China. However, because it was close to the coastal reform and opening-up experimental zone, Guangdong Province, the most active province for private economy, some relatively new trends were inevitably brought over with the spring wind of the times.
For example: laughing at poverty but not at prostitution!
For example: the big and small bosses in the county town imitated the Hong Kong and Taiwanese businessmen from the coast, openly keeping mistresses and third wives, and always bringing a beautiful young secretary when discussing business, as if without it, they couldn't show off their wealth, to the point where it formed a trend.
Of course, this trend hadn't fully taken off yet, probably not until the mid-1990s.
However, with the deepening of reform and opening up, the decline of moral values was already a fact, and the importance of money, even in Shanghuai Village, in the eyes of the simple villagers, was also rapidly increasing.
Realizing this.
For a moment, the commotion below finally quieted down.
Even the Old Village Secretary turned his head, raised the red paper in his hand, and said with a wry smile, "I should have known to let you be the master of ceremonies."
His prestige was not as high as Yin Laohan's.
Of course, Yin Laohan didn't dare to put on airs and humbly said repeatedly, "My clan uncle, what are you saying? You are the Old Village Secretary, and you are the most virtuous and respected in the village. And even in terms of seniority, if you search through the family tree, you are a step higher than me. If you don't act as the master of ceremonies, who else would be qualified? Don't be so polite anymore. Later, I will toast you many more times and apologize to you."
It turned out that the Old Village Secretary also had the surname Yin, and in terms of seniority among the Yin surname in the village, he was extremely high. It was just that their relationship had long since gone beyond the five degrees of kinship; tracing back, they shared the same ancestor, but in daily interactions, they no longer referred to each other as relatives. The older generation only called this
"yellow kinship" or "kin-yellow." However, if it was a formal occasion, calling him "clan uncle" according to the seniority on the family tree was perfectly appropriate.
The Old Village Secretary saw that Yin Laohan had even brought out the family tree, so he had no choice but to give up his idea of not getting involved in the muddy waters and said, "Alright then, I, this old man, will still preside over the wedding ceremony later. But before that, shouldn't you explain it to the villagers?"
Otherwise, alas, just wait to be gossiped about.
Yin Laohan said, "Clan uncle, you are right. This is what I'm going to say next. Damn it, I don't know which bastard is spreading rumors, saying that my Yin family is marrying off the eldest daughter today. Clearly, my old man is marrying off the youngest daughter, and their horoscopes match. It was sent to Granny Huang, the geomancer of Xiahuai Village, a long time ago to be read. With her testimony, if the villagers don't believe it, they can go to Granny Huang, the geomancer of Xiahuai Village, to verify it."
All the neighbors and villagers below looked at each other.
You've already said their horoscopes match, so what else can we say? As if anyone doesn't know that your two daughters are twins, born on the same day at the same hour.
But it doesn't matter, what everyone was mocking wasn't this, but the "live-in son-in-law," it was Lu Yang, who knew he was marrying a stuttering wife but was still willing to be a live-in son-in-law. A good young man, strong and healthy, just to curry favor with the ten-thousand-yuan household, a guy who doesn't even care about his ancestors, and people aren't allowed to talk about it, huh?
In a place like the countryside, the villagers' emotions are the most unadorned, and jealousy is also written on their faces. Especially if you are shameless and live better than them, then they just have to talk, hitting you where it hurts.
Until Yin Laohan on the stage continued, "I might not have made some things clear. Today, my Yin family is marrying off a daughter, marrying off a daughter, not recruiting a son-in-law. Many villagers might have seen that the bridal chamber is at our Yin family, and the wedding ceremony is also held at our Yin family, so they mistakenly thought that our Yin family is recruiting a live-in son-in-law, but that's not the case. Everyone has misunderstood."
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
There was a commotion below, everyone looked at each other even more, and started discussing amongst themselves.
"What a joke! Who marries a wife properly and arranges the bridal chamber and the ceremony location at the Father-in-law's house? It doesn't make sense, not at all."
"Exactly, how can that convince people?"
"I don't believe it."
"I don't believe it either, but it doesn't make sense. If it's not a proper marriage, then why is Yin Laohan coming up to explain? What good does it do him to lie in front of so many people and deny the fact of being a live-in son-in-law? In the future, when the child is born and wants to register for household registration and be added to the Yin family's genealogy, can he still hide it from everyone? Isn't this just slapping himself in the face, and wouldn't he be drowned by the spittle of the villagers who he deceived for many years? It doesn't make sense, not at all. Yin Lao Si isn't that stupid."
"This doesn't make sense, and that doesn't make sense. So what exactly is going on? Could it be that this whole thing is just a misunderstanding?"
"Bullshit misunderstanding! I think it's just that everyone's scolding was too harsh. Seeing that his newly recruited live-in son-in-law, Yin Lao Si, is useless and a good-for-nothing, he regretted it and came back on stage to change his tune. Hehe, if you ask me, if your heart isn't strong, being a live-in son-in-law is really not easy."
There were all kinds of comments, and in short, it was another buzzing sound.
Lu Yang's expression was very calm.
Because the trump card was about to be revealed. As soon as this trump card came out, he believed the situation would immediately reverse. Those who mocked him, hmph, don't be jealous or envious of him then.