WBSGVS Chapter 122

No matter how distressed Tang Tiantian was, the fact remained the same.

She refused to believe it, frantically pushing the person away, her face twisted in anger. The onlookers, not pleased with the scene, pushed her back and scolded, “What do you mean by this? You’re the one who made me say it!”

“Are you out of your mind? This is crazy!” someone muttered from the side.

The man Tang Tiantian was supposed to marry had a dark expression. He grabbed her hair, scolding, “What’s wrong with you? We’re getting married, and you’re causing a scene!”

He was a widower. It had been over a decade since he finally married a wife, but she died during childbirth. Due to financial struggles, he never remarried.

As the years passed, he couldn’t find anyone else to marry.

Although his family wasn’t wealthy, it was decent—just him and his mother, with no other mouths to feed. Since his mother was still active despite her age, there was no problem adding another person to the household. His mother had helped him secure this marriage for the eldest son’s family, even though they weren’t particularly smart.

Tang Tiantian was pushed into marrying him, a deal that seemed more like a transaction than a union.

She had agreed to it herself, so it was no longer a forced marriage. No one forced her; she married, and the burden of feeding someone lazy was reduced for her family. The man gained a woman who could bear him children.

It was an exchange of sorts.

But Tang Tiantian soon realized that their marriage lacked any emotional foundation. One wanted financial stability, the other just wanted a woman to bear him children. This was their second meeting.

So, the man felt embarrassed and immediately grabbed her hair, stopping her from causing more trouble and ruining the wedding.

Suddenly yanked by her hair, Tang Tiantian’s eyes welled with tears. In her panic, she slapped his hand and cursed, “Let go of me!”

Her aggressive attitude made the man feel insulted. With a slap, he shouted, “Are you awake now?”

The sharp sound of the slap left Tang Tiantian stunned. She stared at the man’s angry face, his expression darker than ever, his mood ominous. She shivered, slowly regaining clarity as she realized what she had just done in her anger.

Without thinking, she turned her gaze away from the man and looked at her sister-in-law.

The eldest daughter-in-law’s face was also dark. Seeing that Tang Tiantian had calmed down a little, she snorted, grabbed her, and said, “Hurry up and get in the car. Let your husband take you home. We need to get ready and go to the banquet.”

“Okay.” Tang Tiantian nodded reluctantly, cautiously stealing a glance at the man before heading to the bicycle.

Despite the anger still bubbling inside, it was her wedding day. Though he felt like hitting her, the man managed to calm down with the help of others and pushed the bike, saying, “Get on!”

Tang Tiantian bit her lip and sat in the backseat, lowering her head.

The sound of the bell on the bike rang out, clear and melodious, as children and adults around them teased, “The bride is being taken away…”

Tang Tiantian’s olive-green pants were stained with a few drops of water.

What she thought was comfort turned out to be just an illusion. San Ya’s life seemed so much better, while she ended up married to a man like this.

Her parents had originally wanted to marry San Ya off to a fool!

Why could she have it so easy, while she…?

Tears rolled down her face as the man, full of vigor, looked back at her, his earlier anger fading. He had intended to look back and take pride in his young bride, even if she was a bit thin and small. After all, how many men could marry a woman nearly twenty years younger than them?

But when he looked back, his expression soured.

Was she crying?

Was she so miserable being married to him?

He gritted his teeth, already plotting how he would make her obedient once they were alone.

Tang Tiantian, lost in her sorrow, had no idea what was coming. She felt like a puppet, moving through the motions. Finally, after all the ceremonies, the door was locked, and the man took off his belt.

“Ah—!” Tang Tiantian screamed, suddenly snapping out of her numbness. The brutal scene made her heart stop for a moment, and she wanted to escape.

But the door was locked.

“Help!” Tang Tiantian cried out.

Outside, no one reacted. It was just a beating. What was the big deal? The woman looked like she was still happy enough. Now they had a daughter-in-law; maybe they’d get a grandson too.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t dare show her face to the child’s father!

At the factory

As a senior leader, Cheng Yongchao had been especially happy these days. He had found a promising recruit for the factory.

A young girl from a nearby village, Li Qingli.

She appeared to be from a rural background, but surprisingly, she was studious and smart. She had been skipping grades since elementary school, and by high school, she was already ahead of her peers.

Unfortunately, bad luck had struck. If she had skipped one more grade, she would have entered university right on time.

With her excellent grades, she could get into any major university in the country.

What a waste.

But it was also because of this that he was able to meet such a promising candidate. The village head had been reluctant to let her leave, but when they heard the factory was hiring, they sent over her grades and the various awards she had received from the local team.

Cheng Yongchao reviewed everything and saw that the girl was smart and well-suited for this line of work. He quickly made the decision.

In less than a month, Li Qingli had already received numerous compliments from her colleagues. They all said she was quick to learn, innovative, and resourceful.

Cheng Yongchao bumped into them in the cafeteria, and they came over to thank him for bringing in such a great recruit.

This made Cheng Yongchao feel proud and content, walking with a spring in his step.

The same group of people who had previously complained about his choices now had nothing but praise, and they were no longer asking to be retrained.

Carrying a large ceramic mug, Cheng Yongchao walked out of his office in a good mood. He wanted to go check on the girl in the work area—after all, as the person responsible for recruitment, it was his job to make sure the new hires were doing well.

Just as he took a few steps, he ran into the young girl coming up the stairs.

“Little Li, what’s going on?” Cheng Yongchao called out warmly.

Qing Li spoke softly, “Section Chief Cheng, I heard that there’s a business trip coming up in a few days to the neighboring province for an exchange. Is that true?”

Cheng Yongchao thought for a moment and nodded, “Yes, I’m still thinking about who to send. Why, do you…?”

He looked at the young girl with a hint of suspicion. Was she suggesting she wanted to go?

Qing Li smiled brightly. “I would like to go. If it’s that okay with you? The neighboring province happens to have a hand-powered livestock-powered harvester, and there are only four of these machines in the entire country. We don’t have the opportunity to use them here, but I’d like to take a look.”

This harvester was the country’s first automatic harvester. It was nowhere near as advanced as future models, but it was still far more efficient than manual labor. Due to technological limitations, mass production was not feasible, and most areas didn’t have access to it.

She wanted to see it firsthand, then use her forward-thinking knowledge to try to simplify and improve it so it could be used by everyone as soon as possible.

Qing Li had entered the 1960s, a time even harder than the 1980s, where everything depended on manual labor. During harvest seasons, both men and women would lose weight from the grueling work.

If there were sudden weather changes, much of the harvest could be lost. For example, rapeseed, which would drop off the plants when touched, and small seeds would fall into the soil, making them impossible to retrieve!

She remembered this harvester wasn’t particularly complicated, but the existing technology just couldn’t improve it yet. If it could be applied to rural areas, it would greatly reduce the losses.

This era emphasized hard work, especially for the officials— the more they suffered, the better the rewards. Work was always exhausting, and business trips only added to the burden with the travel and all the reports and paperwork that came with it.

Many people didn’t want to go on such trips. They were comfortable in their technical positions, getting paid for doing their work every day without having to deal with all the added responsibility of a leader.

That’s why Qing Li dared to ask if she could go.

As expected, Cheng Yongchao didn’t think she was overstepping and was quite pleased. But he shook his head, “You’re just a young girl, and you just got here. How could I send you on such a tough trip? If you want to know more, I can have the person who goes report back to you.”

Qing Li shook her head, determined. “If I can go, please let me go. Seeing it with my own eyes is better than hearing about it from someone else. I don’t mind not getting paid for these few days. would that be okay?”

Cheng Yongchao was a bit moved. He genuinely had the best intentions for her, but he never expected Qing Li to be so ambitious. He finally agreed, “Alright, you can go. But since it’s your first time, I’ll find someone to accompany you.”

“Thank you, Section Chief Cheng!” Qing Li was happy, smiling broadly, her voice sweet.

Cheng Yongchao waved his hand and happily returned to his office, feeling pleased.

“Ha! She’s a good kid,” he thought, relieved that one of his worries was resolved.

The business trip schedule was quickly set.

Since Qing Li worked at the machinery factory and stayed in the dorms, she had to take a day off to go home and inform Li Lanhua.

However, as soon as she arrived home, Li Lanhua pulled her into the room, as though she had a lot to say. “Do you remember your aunt?”

Qing Li blinked, puzzled. “Tang Tiantian? Of course, I remember.”

Li Lanhua hadn’t heard her mention Tang Tiantian in years and had thought she had forgotten about her. Now that she heard her remember, she lowered her voice and said, “She got married a few days ago!”

“Huh?” Qing Li asked, “Isn’t she only sixteen?”

Li Lanhua, who had never dared to resist her husband or mother-in-law, had always been polite to this younger sister-in-law. But now, hearing this news, she sneered, “Sixteen is normal for getting married, isn’t it? Besides, the eldest son’s family had already done everything they could for her by raising her until sixteen.”

Qing Li smiled faintly, nodding, “Mhm, and then?”

Li Lanhua’s expression turned a bit complicated. She almost wanted to gloat but also felt some sympathy. “She married an old man from the village, someone almost twenty years older than her. He only has an elderly mother. I heard that on their first night of marriage, he hit her, and she cried all night, her voice completely hoarse.”

Li Lanhua felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing Tang Tiantian, who had once bullied her daughter, end up like this. But after all these years, and under the influence of her daughter, she knew it wasn’t right for a man to use his strength to abuse a woman in marriage. Her emotions were mixed, and she didn’t quite know how to react.

Qing Li understood her mother’s feelings and gently patted her, “Mom, don’t worry about her. I won’t either. But about the domestic violence, I’ll report it to the women’s federation. They’ll handle it.”

“Alright.” Li Lanhua nodded, a bit helpless. “Why am I telling you all this? You’re just a single girl, not even married.”

She had no one else to vent to, and she knew if she complained about her ex-sister-in-law to others, she’d get criticized behind her back.

Qing Li smiled, “It’s okay, I understand. But mom, it’s been so many years now. I’m working and living at the factory. I can’t come home often. Why haven’t you thought about remarrying?”

Li Lanhua wasn’t a particularly strong woman, nor was she overly independent. Her education had conditioned her to subconsciously think of relying on someone.

Now that Qing Li was working and would likely be busier in the future, she feared her mother might feel lonely.

That’s why she wanted her to remarry.

When Li Lanhua heard this, she looked at Qing Li in slight panic, but seeing her gentle smile and no sign of anger, she awkwardly said, “Marry? No need for that. I’m fine as long as I’m with you.”

Qing Li could sense there was more to her mother’s hesitation, so she took the initiative to hug her, laughing softly, “Mom, I might get married one day too. You don’t have to wait for me. If you meet someone suitable, you should remarry. I’ll support you!”

Thinking that Tang Ersong would be out in a year and a half and would come looking for Li Lanhua, Qing Li couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of how he would react if she remarried.

Li Lanhua, caught off guard by her daughter’s rare show of affection, blushed deeply and pretended to be upset, “Alright, alright, I get it, you’re worrying about me now!”