“Still haven’t found Wen Jiaojiao?”
There wasn’t the slightest trace of a smile on Li Chunhua’s face. Her words were filled with viciousness.
“If we find that wretched girl, I won’t even need you to do anything. I’ll beat her to death myself!”
That damn girl had actually dared to trick her. She had claimed she was going to ask the Li family about their tricycle, but they said they hadn’t seen her at all today.
And the steamed buns—she was certain that wretched girl had taken them too. How dare she!
As soon as Wen Lili heard this, a possibility suddenly occurred to her.
“Could Wen Jiaojiao have run away to join the army?”
“What army?” Everyone looked at her in confusion.
Seeing that no one knew about this, Wen Lili immediately became animated.
“You don’t know? Wen Jiaojiao somehow stole a military enlistment recommendation letter. I discovered it, and that’s why she beat me up like this.”
“What?! She actually dared to do something like that?!” Lu Cuifen exclaimed, her eyes widening.
Li Chunhua and her husband were shocked as well. They had known absolutely nothing about this.
Seeing everyone’s reactions, Wen Lili added fuel to the fire.
“I knew Third Aunt didn’t know either. Wen Jiaojiao must have stolen it herself!”
Li Chunhua’s expression darkened.
“Forget about the recommendation letter for now. We can’t even find her. Where could that girl have hidden herself?”
Wen Laosan followed up, “She doesn’t have any money, so there’s no way she could have gone too far. The police are coming today as well. We’ll search again when they get here.”
Since Wen Jiaojiao wasn’t home, Wen Laosan’s family had no one to confront and could only return home in frustration.
As soon as they got home, Wen Lili said, “Dad, Mom, I want to join the army too. Can’t you get me a recommendation letter?”
Hearing this, Wen Laosan sighed helplessly.
“My girl, your dad would love to let you join the army too, but our family has no connections. We can’t get one.”
Wen Lili immediately became upset.
“Then how did Wen Jiaojiao get hers?”
Lu Cuifen asked curiously, “Didn’t you say she stole it?”
“She did steal it! I just don’t know whose it was. I didn’t get a chance to read what was written on it before she snatched it away from me.”
Wen Lili clung to Lu Cuifen’s arm and began pleading.
“Mom, please think of something. I heard Liu Xiaocui from the Liu family also has a military recommendation letter. She’s leaving by train the day after tomorrow. Mom, I want to join the army too!”
“Once I make something of myself, I’ll find you a son-in-law who’s an official. Then you and Dad can enjoy a comfortable life for the rest of your lives!”
She alternated between acting spoiled and painting a rosy picture of the future.
The promise was tempting enough to make Lu Cuifen’s heart flutter. Her daughter was the youngest child and had always been the most spoiled. If there was any way to send her into the army, they absolutely had to do it.
She immediately called out, “Old man, go ask around and see if you can get a recommendation letter for our Lili too.”
Wen Laosan was afraid of his wife. Whatever she told him to do, he did.
He immediately went out to ask around and eventually made his way to the Liu family.
He didn’t return until noon. Soon afterward, the couple climbed onto their bicycles with a basket between them and headed to town, while Wen Lili stayed home waiting for news.
But in the afternoon, they returned looking dejected. Even the eggs they had taken with them were gone, and both of them looked unhappy.
Seeing their expressions, Wen Lili immediately had a bad feeling.
“Mom, how did it go?”
Lu Cuifen said darkly, “The town chief is too greedy. He demanded a hundred yuan right off the bat! Who has that much money to give him?”
Wen Lili’s expression changed too.
“Does it have to be money? Can’t we give him something else?”
Lu Cuifen shot Wen Laosan a resentful look and said sarcastically, “That’s because your father is useless. The Liu family has connections with the town chief’s family, so they can get things done by giving them a few gifts. Your father has no connections whatsoever. Even these eggs and things we brought weren’t good enough for the town chief.”
Wen Laosan’s face turned bright red, but he didn’t dare say a word.
Wen Lili only knew that things had fallen through. She immediately burst into tears.
“Mom, why is my life so miserable? Wen Jiaojiao can steal a recommendation letter, so why can’t I get one?!”
Seeing her daughter crying her heart out, Lu Cuifen felt distressed.
“Lili, it’s not that I don’t want to give them a hundred yuan. You know your two older brothers still aren’t married. If we gave away a hundred yuan, our family would have nothing left to eat tomorrow.”
“That damned town chief even made another offer. If we can’t come up with a hundred yuan, you can marry his son instead, and he’ll give us the recommendation letter.”
“I asked around. The town chief’s son is already in his thirties and has had two or three wives die. How could I possibly send you into a family like that?”
Lu Cuifen genuinely loved her daughter. Even though the town chief’s family was wealthy, she couldn’t bear to marry her daughter off to a man so much older than her.
Besides, several of his wives had died. Who knew whether he was simply unlucky—or perhaps he was believed to bring misfortune to his wives? There was no way she could send her daughter into such a situation.
Wen Lili, who had been crying, suddenly exclaimed in shock.
“What? They really have some nerve!”
She was furious and jealous at the same time.
She had a strong feeling that Wen Jiaojiao had taken the recommendation letter and gone to join the army. She didn’t have any money, but she had that pretty face of hers. It wouldn’t be difficult for her to sweet-talk some man into giving her money.
In Wen Lili’s mind, Wen Jiaojiao was nothing more than a shameless woman who would sell herself for money.
The moment she thought of Wen Jiaojiao, a calculating look flashed through her eyes.
“Mom, you just said the town chief’s son wants to marry a young woman?”
Lu Cuifen nodded.
“Yes. Even though their family has money, not many young girls in town are willing to marry him.”
Wen Lili stopped crying, and a scheming light appeared in her eyes.
“Mom, what if we let Wen Jiaojiao marry him?”
Lu Cuifen didn’t think much of it.
“You think she’ll marry him just because we say so? Besides, we can’t even find her right now. How are we supposed to arrange a marriage?”
Wen Lili said, “We have Wen Jiaojiao’s photograph. With her looks, the town chief’s son will definitely be satisfied. Once we become relatives by marriage, the town chief certainly won’t ask us for any money.”
“Mom, go talk to Third Uncle and Third Aunt. Wen Jiaojiao will have to get married sooner or later. Why not find her a wealthy family and get a larger bride price?”
“She can’t be found right now, but she must have gone to report to the army. She’s a grown woman—there’s no way she could simply disappear!”
Lu Cuifen thought over her daughter’s suggestion and found it reasonable. She took her daughter and dragged Grandma Wen along with them to Wen Laosan’s house.
Grandma Wen had always disliked Wen Jiaojiao, her granddaughter, the most. With her helping persuade them, Li Chunhua would have little choice but to marry her daughter off, no matter how reluctant she was.
In the 1980s, traditional thinking was still deeply rooted. Parents had almost complete control over their children’s marriages. If they told you to marry someone, you were expected to obey. Otherwise, you could be branded as an unfilial child, and people would point fingers and gossip about you wherever you went.
The next day, Wen Laosan’s family and Wen Lao’er’s family went to town together. By afternoon, they both returned home with broad smiles.
Wen Lili had successfully obtained her military recommendation letter, while Li Chunhua had two hundred yuan in bride price money tucked into her pocket.
All of it had been obtained in exchange for a single photograph.
Everyone knew that Wen Laosan’s family in Dahe Village had a beautiful daughter. The town chief only had to make a few inquiries to confirm that the family hadn’t lied to him. The moment his son saw Wen Jiaojiao’s photograph, he urged his father to agree to the marriage.
The reason they didn’t return until the afternoon was because they had spent quite some time negotiating the bride price.
The town chief thought two hundred yuan was far too much. Li Chunhua, however, felt that if her daughter’s bride price were the same as that of an ordinary village girl, she absolutely wouldn’t agree to the marriage.