Chapter 4 Annulled Engagement

"Alright, then remember to come. Can this young comrade get up?"

Shen Yi nodded: "I'm fine, I just need to lie down for a while."

Xu Zhigang chuckled: "Auntie, you have no idea, even with a broken leg, Brother Chen can grit his teeth and run a mile carrying heavy loads. This little injury is nothing!"

Shen Yi glanced at him and said, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Seeing Liu Zhixia's hesitant expression, Lu Kai finally couldn't help but ask, "Xia, do you need any help outside?"

Liu Zhixia looked up. She didn't have a deep impression of Lu Kai. Although the two families lived not far apart, there was a difference between men and women, and she had always kept her distance from him. In her previous life, after he was promoted, he took his whole family to Beicheng and they had no further contact.

"It's alright, I can handle things outside myself."

Hearing Liu Zhixia's unfamiliar reply, Lu Kai suddenly felt a little disappointed.

"Mother, let's not disturb their rest. Let's finish dealing with things outside first, and then go back to prepare dinner."

"That's true. We need to prepare things properly for you."

The two went outside, where Liu Shouren and Lu Jianping were still locked in a stalemate.

Seeing the mother and daughter come out, Liu Shouren asked, "How is the young comrade?"

"They're alright. Let's get this sorted out quickly and treat them to dinner tonight."

"Alright, Captain, let's call off our child's marriage then. The villagers are all here to witness this."

"Fine! The engagement's off! You'll regret it later!"

Lu Huaiyuan was also furious today. Not only had he been slapped by Liu Zhixia, but it was also the first time that the villagers had made a fool of him like this.

How could a woman like that be worthy of me?

Lu Huaiyuan looked at her with disdain: "My father is the brigade leader, and I only have a high school education. It's a blessing for that poor Liu family to be engaged to our Lu family. But she doesn't know what's good for her and even dared to hit people! Our Lu family has no interest in this kind of woman!"

"You unfilial son, shut up!"

Lu Jianping turned pale upon hearing his son's words. Seeing the strange looks from those around him, his mind was buzzing.

Nowadays, everyone is supposed to be equal, so how can they openly say such things? What will others think of their family?

Grandma Lu pulled her grandson aside: "Aren't you tired of the mess? What nonsense are you spouting here?"

She looked at Liu Shouren with a forced smile, her tone humble: "My dear in-laws, please calm down. Sister Yang and I were sisters for life, and we always hoped our children could become a family. Now she finally got to see it, but she's gone... We can't let her rest in peace!"

Zhang Xiuying sneered, "Aunt Lu, you saw with your own eyes how my mother-in-law doted on Zhixia back then! Now that your family is treating her like this, I'm afraid she'll have to come and ask you herself tonight what's going on!"

Lu Huaiyuan retorted, "Aunt Zhang, it's Liu Zhixia who's acting crazy and beating people up here, and now it's our fault?"

Although she had watched Lu Huaiyuan grow up since she was a child, she rarely saw him when he was working. When he glared at her with those cold eyes, Zhang Xiuying felt a chill run down her spine.

No matter what, I absolutely cannot let my daughter marry this kind of person!

Liu Zhixia stepped forward and blocked her mother's path, her eyes sharp.

Lu Huaiyuan felt a little uneasy under her gaze.

Logically speaking, the matter of annulling the engagement should have been discussed between the two families behind closed doors. Liu Zhixia did it in front of so many people in the village, just to get him to apologize and coax her in front of everyone.

This woman has quite a few tricks up her sleeve.

Li Xuemei forced a smile and walked over: "Zhixia, how can you say something as trivial as breaking off an engagement in anger? I'll have Huaiyuan apologize to you later."

She squinted, trying her best to put on a kind smile.

Although she disliked Liu Zhixia and felt that the Liu family was too poor to be worthy of her family, she still thought Liu was better than Gu Mansheng.

They had heard rumors that Gu Mansheng's family was about to be classified as capitalists, making her a capitalist's daughter. If her son continued to entangle with her, he would have no chance in his career at all.

Their family can forget about bullying others in the village anymore.

After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Zhixia was at least hardworking and capable, and her family background was clean.

Although I don't know why this old woman in the family, who clearly looks down on the Liu family, insists on having Liu Zhixia.

However, after looking around carefully, Liu Zhixia was the most beautiful in the whole brigade, and she was barely a good match for her son.

Seeing that Liu Zhixia remained unmoved, Li Xuemei grew anxious: "Zhixia, we're both women, I know exactly what you're thinking. Don't put on airs in front of me. Don't you know what you are without our Lu family! If you keep making a scene, this engagement is off! I want to see who would want a 'discarded' piece of trash like you!"

Upon hearing her words, Zhang Xiuying angrily rushed up to Li Xuemei and slapped her: "Ha, a slut? My daughter is upright and honest, but your family doesn't even know how to write the word 'shame'! A man with a marriage contract having an affair with another woman—in the past, that would have been punishable by being drowned! Our Liu family can't afford this marriage! Even if my daughter never marries, it's better than jumping into this fire pit of yours!"

Liu Zhixia pulled her angry mother back and glanced around calmly: "The reason I proposed annuling the engagement in front of so many people today is to let everyone be a witness for me, Liu Zhixia. Some shameless people were annuled by me, so they must not spread any more nasty rumors in the future."

She took off the jade pendant from her neck and handed it to Lu Huaiyuan: "Give me back the jade bracelet that we used for our engagement."

When Lu Huaiyuan saw that Liu Zhixia really wanted to break off the engagement, he was somewhat shocked as he looked at the jade pendant in his hand. Even if she had gone this far in pretending, how did she plan to end things later? Did she expect him to kneel down and beg for reconciliation?

Hearing that she wanted a jade bracelet, Lu Huaiyuan looked away guiltily.

Liu Zhixia was all too familiar with his little gestures, and although she had no expectations of him anymore, she still felt a chill in her heart.

Unexpectedly, he had already given the engagement bracelet to Gu Mansheng at this time, and Gu Mansheng had only been in the brigade for a month!

Could it be that she has already discovered the spiritual spring space she mentioned in her previous life?

Lu Huaiyuan met her gaze guiltily, his hands in his pockets, his eyes darting around: "The things are at home, I didn't bring them with me."

"Go and get the things. Since everyone's here, let's get this done today to avoid any more gossip."

Lu Huaiyuan hadn't expected her to actually press him so relentlessly, and looked at Liu Zhixia with displeasure: "This bracelet... I don't know where I put it. How much is it? Or should I pay you back?"

"Lu Huaiyuan, this is a token of engagement, how could you lose it?"

Upon hearing Lu Huaiyuan's words, Liu Laosi's anger surged again, and he clenched his fists and charged at Lu Huaiyuan.

This time, Lu Huaiyuan was on guard. When he saw Liu Laosi rushing up, he immediately pushed Liu Laosi to the ground and forcefully grabbed his arm.