Siheyuan: Breaking up with Shazhu at the beginning

When they passed the front yard, Yang Jun joined them and helped with some of the hectic work. This time was different from the past. In the past, weddings had to pay for help. Now, several tables of banquets were all cooked by Sha Zhu alone. The other party refused to accept wages, so the two families had to do their best to take care of everything themselves.

The aunts, grandmas and daughters-in-law in the yard were also not idle. They placed tables and chairs in the yard and helped prepare and cut various ingredients.

Entering the backyard, Wang Yuying and Ma Xiangxiu were carrying cabbages out from under the eaves. It looked like they were going to make a stew today. Ma Xiangxiu took the bus to help early in the morning, while Yang Anguo's family would not show up until after get off work.

There was a jar of pickled meat by the door, which caught Yang Jun's eye. He opened the lid and smelled the aroma. This was smoked wild boar meat that Ma Juer had cooked himself, used to add flavor to the dishes.

As they peeled the rotten leaves off the cabbage, Yang Jun helped. Afterwards, Yuying went into the house to take out the five pounds of pork belly that Yang Jun had sent the day before, along with the marinated smoked meat, and took it to the front yard to join in the cooking of the banquet.

Even if Sha Zhu was responsible for purchasing all the ingredients for the banquet, their family couldn't just sit there and do nothing. The five catties of meat delivered hadn't been reduced at all, and it was probably that Yuying had reserved it specifically for today's banquet.

At this time, Ma Xiangxiu came over and said while sorting the cabbages: "Brother, my brother seems to have been bewitched by the widow, that vixen, and he is determined to marry her. No matter how much we persuade him, it is useless. My brother usually listens to you the most. If you can interrupt, it should have weight."

Yang Jun's expression did not change when he heard this, he just quietly did the work at hand. "No, on the contrary, I will support it."

Ma Xiangxiu was stunned when she heard this, and stopped moving abruptly, confused: "Why?" she asked.

Yang Jun replied calmly: "Why? Isn't it right to be with the person you love?"

"But...Sister Miaomiao is a widow and has a child." Ma Xiangxiu still objected.

"What does it matter? As long as your brother likes it." Yang Jun said lightly, interrupting her rebuttal.

Although Yang Jun knew that Ma Xiangxiu was thinking about her brother Ma Juzi, her views based on rural stereotypes seemed quite naive and ridiculous. Although this era was not a modern society of free love, it was not like the strict feudal etiquette of the past. Many people looked at widows with prejudice, regarding them as disasters and unlucky people.

Zhou Miaomiao is also a woman who deserves sympathy. Just think about it, what has she done wrong? Doesn't a widow have the right to seek happiness again?

"Xiu Xiang, you should support and bless your brother. As long as the two of them like each other, what does worldly prejudice matter?"

"My brother is still young and can definitely find a better partner," Ma Xiangxiu said dissatisfiedly.

"But so what? Your brother loves Zhou Miaomiao deeply." Yang Jun spread his hands helplessly.

"After all, my brother is a public servant, and Zhou Miaomiao is not worthy of him." She retorted stubbornly.

"But for your brother, what's important is his feelings for Zhou Miaomiao."

"My brother is at least an adult. How can he be taken advantage of by a widow?" she emphasized again.

"But he just happens to be in love with Zhou Miaomiao."

"My brother has a bright future and there are chances of promotion and salary increase in the future."

"But his heart is with Zhou Miaomiao."

"I'm afraid people in the village will laugh at him when he returns home."

"But this does not affect the fact that he loves Zhou Miaomiao."

Ma Xiangxiu remained silent.

Yang Jun threw the leaves to the ground and yelled, "Xiu Xiang, let me repeat it to you again, your brother loves Zhou Miaomiao."

He pointed at her and said, "Can you please respect others? You are also a woman, don't just blame the widow."

"She is a widow and has lost her husband. Do you think she wants this? Doesn't she want to live a peaceful life?" His tone was full of anger, but he was not venting it at her. Instead, he was fighting against the invisible social prejudice.

Many people in today's society hold similar views to Ma Xiangxiu. They have deep misunderstandings and prejudices against widows, secretly commenting on them and even slandering them. She had never seen Yang Jun so angry before. At this moment, he stared at her as if he wanted to tear apart all his dissatisfaction.

Her cheeks flushed and tears welled up in her eyes, but she tried hard not to cry.

After throwing away the vegetables, he took out a cigarette, lit it, and smoked silently at the door. Even with his back to her, he seemed to be aware of her sobbing.

"Xiu Xiang, let me ask you, if you were to encounter something similar one day, what would you choose? Would you be willing to live alone with your child for the sake of that illusory social opinion? Or would you insist on spending the rest of your life with your beloved?"

"How can you persuade others to be good without experiencing their suffering? You don't know how hard it is to raise a child. Besides, Zhou Miaomiao is a virtuous woman. She deserves your brother's lifelong love." His voice was full of compassion.

"Brother Junzi, I understand..." Ma Xiangxiu's soft apology sounded quietly behind him.

Awakened by Yang Jun's sharp words, she suddenly woke up.

As he said, once she was in the same situation, the choice was obvious.

Yang Jun was relieved to see that Ma Xiangxiu finally realized her mistake. He taught her:

"I understand how you feel. This is all for your brother's good. However, you can't interfere with other people's decisions based on your own likes and dislikes. This is called respect, you know?"

Ma Xiangxiu wiped her tears and responded, "I know."

She changed her mind and began to support the union of Ma Juzi and Zhou Miaomiao, and even planned their future. She prepared to make new quilts and cotton clothes for the couple and plan for their children.

This made Yang Jun feel deeply that although he had paid some price, he had won support and understanding. However, the resistance still came from Ma Juzi and his family - they were old-fashioned and traditional conservative people, and it was difficult for them to easily accept that their daughter-in-law was a widow.

Fortunately, the foal did not stay in his hometown, so even if his parents wanted to supervise him, they were out of reach.

After eating the cabbage, Yang Jun looked at the remaining broken leaves on the ground, frowned slightly, then handed the work in hand to Ma Xiangxiu and went to the front yard.

Master Yuzhu and his apprentice had already lit several stoves, and now the pots were filled with boiling water. The women came from time to time to pour water to wash the vegetables, and then add more water to cook.

"When laborers cooperate with women, work becomes more energetic. Brother Yuzhu, you are so lucky." At the side, Yang Jun helped Yuzhu move a small stool while chatting and joking with him.

Ever since Yu Zhu married Ran Qiuye, he has devoted all his heart to his bride. He treated her like a queen and never let Ran Qiuye get involved in household chores. Whether it was washing clothes, cooking, or pouring tea, Ran Qiuye never once helped.

Yu Zhu completely inherited Qin Huairu's servile character of trying to please her. He takes care of Ran Qiuye in every possible way and is attentive to details. Until now, she has become inseparable from Yu Zhu and feels like she cannot live without him.

Ran Qiuye's dependence on Yu Zhu is very strong. The two are inseparable. If they are separated for even a minute, it feels like a year. When cooking, Yu Zhu even brought a stool for her to sit and talk. This scene made the lone dogs in the yard envious, especially Xu Damao, who usually avoided them when he saw them from a distance, fearing that he would be fed dog food.

Seeing that the person coming was Yang Jun, Ran Qiuye's face flushed instantly. She quickly stood up and said, "It's Brother Junzi. You guys chat slowly. I'll take my leave first." Then she left as if she was running away.

"Be careful, old lady..." Yu Zhu opened his mouth, looking nervous, and glanced at Yang Jun vigilantly with his small eyes.

Yang Jun chuckled, dropped his buttocks on the bench, stretched his legs, took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket, used the tongs to take a piece of coal from the smoke outlet of the stove, and lit the cigarette. This was not because he had no matches, but to remind himself that he was still in the mortal world, and wanted to be more down-to-earth and be a common man who lived a mortal life.

"Yu Zhuzi, what's going on? I don't think I've heard that you have an aunt before?" Yang Jun exhaled a puff of thick smoke and asked Yu Zhu with a smile on his face.

"Are you making fun of me? Brother Yu Zhu, I can't stand this." Yu Zhu glared and chopped the chopping board hard with the kitchen knife in his hand, his voice revealing displeasure.

"Do you blame me? You just randomly recognized some relatives and ended up making me two generations younger." Yang Jun squinted his eyes and chuckled, spreading his hands and shrugged, looking helpless.

"Whatever. I'm happy with it." Yu Zhu rolled his eyes, looking indifferent.

At this moment, the aunt who was helping to wash the vegetables interrupted and made a joke:

"Junzi, do you know that Shazhu's grandfather has more than one sister? This secret is rarely heard by people."

Yang Jun was slightly stunned and asked quickly, "Auntie, tell me quickly." He was obviously curious.

Sha Zhu heard the implicit meaning and was displeased, "Hey, hey, hey, please don't make such jokes, when did I not know that my grandfather had sisters?" A sullen expression appeared on his face.

The third aunt and the other aunts looked at each other and smiled secretly. The third aunt cleared her throat and said seriously, "You were still young back then, so it's normal that you didn't know. But your aunt is thirty-four this year, and she is really beautiful. Not only is she good-looking, but her skin is also white..." When she said this, the second aunt next to her began to continue to add.

As the second aunt spoke, she did not forget to glance at Qin Huairu's house. The women who were listening all smiled but said nothing.

"Ha!" Although he felt stupid, Yu Zhu now understood that the aunties were making fun of him.

"Hey, Second Aunt, Third Aunt, today is my aunt's wedding day, so please don't make things difficult for me. But don't tell her, otherwise you are trying to sow discord between us, huh?" He tried to defuse the joke.

"Silly Zhuzi, my Third Aunt is very smart and won't do anything rash." As the Third Aunt was speaking, she suddenly heard singing coming from afar.

“How many true friends are there around you…”

Shazhu looked confused. Was this song sung for his grandfather?

Turning around, I saw Yang Jun patting his butt and walking towards the backyard. "Are leaders nowadays so casual?"

...

at dusk.

People in the yard finished their work for the day, went home to change clothes and came to the banquet. This party did not hire a special catering team, but each household contributed their own eight-immortal table, and four tables were combined into one banquet.

There were three tables in the atrium and three tables in the backyard. Each table had at least fifteen people sitting at it, and some tables even had nearly twenty people sitting on them. With nearly twenty families and more than a hundred people participating, as well as people of all ages, the scene became particularly crowded. The Shazhu family, the host of the banquet, and the Yang Jun family sat at the same table, with a total of seventeen people, including Ran Qiuye's parents.

Before the meal, the second uncle was very excited and gave a speech. He spoke with saliva flying. He first congratulated Yang Liu and He Yuqing on their glorious enlistment in the army, and then gave a long and inspiring speech. The two little girls were invited to come forward and briefly share their thoughts.

The two of them were the center of attention for the first time, and they looked nervous and awkward. They read out a thank-you speech of about 200 words one after another. The three uncles wanted the girls to perform impromptu, but Yang Jun stopped them at the right time.

I've been talking too much!

The food is getting cold!

Sha Zhu stood up and shouted, and everyone responded with "Ah" and started to eat dinner together. Although the dishes were not very rich, they were very large.

There were almost no plates to hold the dishes at the banquet, all of which were filled with huge bowls. It was not enough for Sha Zhu and Chef Ma to cook the dishes, so most of the dishes were stewed instead, which was more suitable for everyone to eat with steamed buns.

The meal lasted for more than an hour, until everyone dispersed after the meal: men squatted together in groups of three or four to chat, while women were busy cleaning up the banquet. Yang Jun was invited to the courtyard by several elders, and everyone asked about the topic of steelmaking recruitment.

As their studies were interrupted, many young people had nothing to do. There were more than a dozen people like Liu Guangtian, Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiefang who were eagerly waiting for the completion of the steel plant and using their connections to secure jobs.

"Everyone, listen to me." Yang Jun was annoyed by the noise and raised his hand to signal for silence. "You all know that I am only the deputy director, not the one who makes all the decisions, especially for a large factory like the steel mill. The higher-ups will make unified arrangements and set standards for recruitment. When the factory is completed, 5,000 people will be selected from the steel mill to join. If anyone wants to go to the steel mill, I will try to coordinate the transfer and help, but I really have no influence on the specific recruitment decisions."

The original plan was to recruit 12,000 people in the first batch, with 5,000 employees being transferred from the steel mills, and the remaining 7,000 positions being open to the public. Although these numbers may seem high, considering the need to evenly distribute employment opportunities in various regions, these indicators will be dispersed to various places.

Positions are allocated to lower levels, and even so, each county can only get a maximum of five positions. However, it is not easy to get such an opportunity. The competition is usually fierce, and it is difficult to get one with an unusual background. As a result, the children of ordinary people are basically not considered.