Chapter 31: Chen Bamei

Zhou Jianhai’s cousin’s surname is Chen, and because she was the eighth child, she was given the name Chen Bamei.

Don’t think this name is trivial; it sounds much better than the names of her older sisters. Her eldest sister, being the first child in the family, was given a proper name, Xinghua. But from the second sister onwards, things got less dignified, with names like Zhaodi, Pandi, and finally Laoliu (Sixth Sister). Eventually, they had a son.

Because there was an older brother, when Chen Bamei was born, her name didn’t include the word “di” (a suffix used for girls). But there were many daughters in the Chen family, and with a precious son in front of her, the little daughter wasn’t very important in the family. By the time she was four or five, she still didn’t have a proper name, and everyone just called her “Bamei.”

After being called “Bamei” for so long, it eventually became her name, and even when her household registration was recorded, it wasn’t changed.

One can imagine that in such a family, sons were treasured, while daughters were regarded as less than grass.

Unlike her brother, who had the best food and clothes from birth, Chen Bamei drank thin porridge and wore her brother’s old patched-up clothes, even though they were of different genders.

When her brother went off to school with a backpack, Chen Bamei was already learning to wash clothes, cook, raise chickens, and feed ducks. By the time she was seven or eight years old, she was already working in the fields, just like her older sisters.

If things had been only like this, Chen Bamei might not have run away from home. After all, in those times, most families treated sons and daughters differently.

However, despite the patriarchal mindset, most people would still try to ensure their daughters had a good marriage.

But Chen Bamei’s parents were not like that. The husband they chose for their daughter depended on the family’s situation at the time and the size of the bride price.

If the family was doing okay—”okay” meaning whether they could meet the needs of the precious son and whether they could afford the bride price—they would pick a decent husband for their daughter.

But if the family needed money, they didn’t care about the quality of the husband, as long as the bride price was high. Whether the man was good or bad, healthy or disabled, they would still agree.

Chen Bamei had six older sisters. Of the first two, the family’s “precious dumpling” was still young when marriage proposals came, and there wasn’t much money to spend, so they ended up marrying reasonably well. Only the fourth sister, because of her beauty, was noticed by the son of the neighboring village’s Party secretary, who was willing to offer a large bride price, so she had a good marriage.

The remaining three sisters had worse luck: one was married off to a divorced man when her “precious dumpling” brother was getting into junior high school, one was married to a crippled man due to a house renovation, and the youngest sister, the sixth one, was married to a fool because the “precious dumpling” wanted to move to the city and the family was trying to use their connections.

As for Chen Bamei, she wasn’t any better off. Though she wasn’t yet of marriageable age, she was chosen for marriage because the “precious dumpling” had his eye on her. To get the bride price for her brother, Chen Bamei was promised in marriage before she turned eighteen.

The suitor seemed decent on paper: from a cadre family, a regular worker at a state-owned factory, and not much older than Chen Bamei—only twenty-five. Although he had been married before, the marriage had only lasted a year before his wife passed away, leaving him without children, making it almost like a first marriage.

At first, Chen Bamei didn’t think too much about it and thought she had struck a lucky deal. But soon after the engagement was settled, someone came to warn her that her fiancé had violent tendencies, and his first wife had died from drinking pesticide because she couldn’t tolerate his abuse.

At first, Chen Bamei didn’t believe it, as the information came from her fiancé’s first wife’s family. But she wasn’t naive, and she had seen how her older sisters had fared. Moreover, she wasn’t as capable as her eldest sister or as beautiful as her fourth sister. Why would a regular worker from a state-owned factory spend so much money to marry her?

After giving it some thought, Chen Bamei was nearly convinced. But she still held onto some hope and didn’t dare tell her parents. She secretly went to her fourth sister for help.

Although her fourth sister, with her strong temperament, had broken ties with their parents because they didn’t treat their daughters as people, she still cared for her younger sister. Without hesitation, she called her husband home and asked him to investigate.

The investigation confirmed that Chen Bamei’s fiancé’s first wife had indeed committed suicide due to his abuse.

Her fiancé had previously worked in the commune. After the incident, his first wife’s family sued him, but because she died from drinking pesticide, not from the abuse, he faced no consequences, other than being transferred from the commune to the state-owned factory. After his transfer, his temper became somewhat more controlled, and over time, people gradually forgot about his past until he started courting someone again.

At first, everything seemed fine, but as the relationship progressed, his true nature came out. During an argument, he slapped his new girlfriend. She, having been spoiled at home, immediately refused to continue the relationship. The situation escalated into a violent confrontation, and the girl was left with a broken bone. Her family, enraged, sued him again, and his past was dragged into the open.

In the end, his parents had to intervene and settle the matter. However, they were now worried about their son’s increasingly violent temper. After much thought, they decided to find him another wife, believing that his behavior was a result of his first wife being a poor match. They hoped that with a good wife and perhaps a son, he would change.

However, after all this, his reputation had already been tarnished. Any family in the commune that valued their daughters would immediately reject any marriage proposal brought by his matchmaker.

After multiple rejections, they had no choice but to look in the surrounding villages.

They eventually found Chen Bamei.

At first, Chen Bamei thought her parents didn’t know about the situation and that they might allow her to break off the engagement. But as soon as she mentioned it, her fourth sister scolded her and told her that if she had any thoughts of backing out, she should go back home, burn some incense, and pray to the King of Hell to take this trouble away before she got herself beaten to death.

After hearing this, Lin Wei couldn’t help but say, “Her fourth sister is really something.”

Deng Xiangyun nodded and said, “Yeah, I heard she’s very smart, but because the family focused so much on the son, they didn’t send her to school.”

“Even if she didn’t get an education, with her brains, she wouldn’t be living too badly,” Lin Wei said, then asked, “So how did Chen Bamei end up here?”

“It was her fourth sister’s idea.”

After scolding her, Chen Bamei’s fourth sister, Chen Niandi, softened and said, “If you want to find out whether they know about this, don’t ask directly. Instead, test the waters. Don’t be foolish and give yourself away.”

Although Chen Bamei wasn’t as quick-witted as her sister, she was obedient. After testing the waters, she completely gave up on relying on her parents.

It turned out that not only did her parents know that her fiancé had beaten his first wife to death, but they had also asked for more bride price as compensation. As for her wanting to back out, their attitude could be summarized in two words—no way!

Chen Bamei was devastated.

But she didn’t want to accept her fate and, knowing she wasn’t smart enough, went to her fourth sister again for advice.

“Did Chen Niandi’s solution involve sending her to you?” Lin Wei asked, then realized something wasn’t right. “Wait a minute. She needs an introduction letter to travel, especially as a girl going far away. How could her village leaders not inform her parents to issue an introduction letter? And if they did, knowing she was escaping marriage, would her parents let her go?”

Deng Xiangyun nodded and said, “The idea came from Sister Chen Si, and the letter of introduction was also obtained by her and her husband. They told the leaders of the team from the village of Bamei’s family that she had called Ah Hai to talk about Bamei’s situation. Bringing Bamei to the island was his decision, but he was worried that her parents might stop her, so he wanted to keep it a secret and asked for their help.”

Lin Wei couldn’t believe it: “The leaders of their team didn’t confirm anything and just believed their words?”

“Sister Chen Si’s husband is from the same team as Ah Hai’s family. Her father-in-law is the team leader,” Deng Xiangyun explained. “Her husband is the eldest son in the family, and he is a small team leader in the village.”

Lin Wei suddenly understood. If only the two sisters, Chen Bamei and Chen Si, had asked for the letter of introduction, even if Chen Si used her father-in-law’s influence as the team leader, the leaders of the team might not have believed them. But with her husband backing them up, the situation was different.

On one side was a member of the same village, and on the other was the team leader from the neighboring village, a small team leader, and a training officer—anyone could see which side would be chosen.

Lin Wei sighed again, “Sister Chen Si is quite a person.”

After the sigh, Lin Wei asked, “Sister Chen Si brought her here just to ask you to help her find a match?”

Lin Wei didn’t ask why Chen Bamei couldn’t find a match in her hometown. There was no need to ask. After all, she was already engaged to someone, and that person was the leader of the neighboring commune. Who would dare to marry her?

And those who weren’t ordinary people—why would they marry Chen Bamei?

Even if there were someone daring enough not to care about her complicated family situation, with her parents’ cold-heartedness, they wouldn’t easily let the high dowry slip away.

It was impossible.

If she stayed in her hometown, Chen Bamei had no way out.

“Pretty much,” Deng Xiangyun nodded. “After we clarified the situation this morning, Ah Hai called Sister Chen Si. She said that if possible, she hoped we could help her find a match on the island.”

Sister Chen Si’s exact words were: “The conditions don’t need to be too good, just someone honest and hardworking, and who doesn’t mind that she has no parents, and that she was previously engaged. Anyway, living miserably is better than dying.”

Even Zhou Jianhai, hearing Sister Chen Si’s blunt words about “no parents,” was left speechless for a while.

Lin Wei fell silent for a moment before remembering to ask, “She ran away from a marriage. How can the other side just let it go like that? What if they come looking for her? Won’t it involve your family, Old Zhou?”

“You don’t need to worry about that family. Their son isn’t innocent himself, so they wouldn’t dare to go around making a big deal of it. As for Bamei’s parents, they’ve never even left the county, so it’s unlikely they’ll come looking. And even if they do, it’s fine. Bamei came with a letter of introduction stating that she’s visiting relatives.”

Chen Bamei came with the letter of introduction from her village team. Deng Xiangyun and her husband taking her in was nothing more than an act of kindness. No matter how angry Bamei’s parents were, it wouldn’t change anything.

Chen Bamei didn’t need to worry too much either. If her parents came now, they could use the fact that Bamei was underage to demand that the engagement be canceled.

If her parents came after she turned 18, that would be even better. As an adult, she would have the right to decide where to stay. The previously arranged marriage could be rejected, citing the new social system where marriage is based on personal choice. Back in the small town, no one cared, but things were different in the army.

Hearing the implication in Deng Xiangyun’s words, Lin Wei asked, “So, you’ve already decided to keep Chen Bamei?”

Deng Xiangyun responded with a hum, “Ah Hai and I discussed it. We’ll let her stay with us for now, saying she’s just visiting relatives. When she’s of age, we’ll decide whether to help her find a match or arrange for her to settle somewhere and earn work points.”

Chen Bamei wasn’t a military dependent, so she couldn’t join the army collective household and receive government grain. She could only try to settle in a nearby village.

But as a young woman who wasn’t yet an adult and not a rural youth, even with a cousin around, it wouldn’t be easy for her to settle in a nearby village. As for marriage, it was out of the question. She was too young, and even if an engagement was arranged, she couldn’t get married yet.

Moreover, Deng Xiangyun privately wanted to wait until Chen Bamei’s engagement fell apart before helping her find a match. Otherwise, it would be hard to justify the situation when it came time to explain.

Maybe next year.