Ye Yun couldn't help but ask.

How old is Guo Lili this year?

"Who knows how old she is?" Aunt Tian scoffed as she kneaded the dough. "I don't know how Li Xiuying raised her daughter. I don't know what kind of school she went to in town. She didn't study well, but she learned how to sleep around. She learned how to seduce men at such a young age. She even stayed at someone's house before Li Xiuying had to bring people to kidnap her back. She's completely disgraced the Guo family. Ugh!"

"If I had a daughter like that, I would wish I could put her back in my belly!"

At this point, Aunt Tian looked at Tian Xiaohui, glaring at her with a warning in her eyes, and said, "Tian Xiaohui, don't you dare follow her example. If you dare to embarrass me, I'll skin you alive!"

Tian Xiaohui was speechless with astonishment.

She pointed to her nose and said uncertainly, "Mother, are you talking about me?"

"If it's not you, then who else could it be but some random guy on the street?" Aunt Tian said domineeringly, giving her and Zheng Song a meaningful look.

Tian Xiaohui was completely stunned.

"Hey...no, I didn't do anything, why are you suddenly lecturing me? Do I look like the kind of person who has no sense of propriety, Mom?!"

She's so angry!

"Don't worry." Zheng Song spoke up at this moment, assuring Aunt Tian in a good manner: "Xiao Hui and I have never crossed any boundaries. She is a sensible person, and besides, our relationship is not that good yet."

Tian Xiaohui retorted, "That's right! Although I haven't been to school, I understand principles!"

After going to the city, she saw a lot of new and unusual things. She remembered that there was a girl near the pastry shop who was engaged to her boyfriend and was about to get married when she found out she was pregnant. As a result, the man did not give her a single penny of dowry!

The man said: "My family has no money and can't afford a bride price. Either you marry me or you abort the child."

The girl had no choice. Even if she aborted the child, her reputation was already ruined. So, heavily pregnant, she married that scumbag without asking for any dowry.

They were already engaged.

It would probably be even worse if we weren't engaged!

Aunt Tian smiled and glanced at Zheng Song, waving her hand dismissively, "Little Zheng is fine. He seems like a reliable person and wouldn't do something like that!"

Tian Xiaohui: "..."

Her own mother.

Could she be that kind of person?

Ye Yun's thoughts were still on Guo Lili's age. She gently nudged Qin Zheng's shoulder and whispered, "I remember you were only eight years old when you married into the Guo family with Li Xiuying, right?"

Qin Zheng, who was peeling sunflower seeds, said, "More or less."

"So, if she gave birth to Guo Lili a year later, that means Guo Lili would be...nine years younger than you?!"

Upon discovering this fact, Ye Yun was surprised and couldn't help but ask, "How old is she? Is she already so eager to get married?"

Qin Zheng paused in peeling melon seeds.

He looked at her with a quiet gaze.

Yunzi, you've discovered the blind spot...

After Ye Yun's reminder, Qin Zheng carefully calculated the time and found that Guo Lili had just turned eighteen this year.

But she hasn't had her birthday yet.

Therefore, Guo Lili is not yet eighteen years old.

Who cares about them?

He handed the peeled sunflower seeds to Ye Yun, clapped his hands, and then grabbed another handful of seeds to continue peeling.

He doesn't care about other people's messy affairs, especially those of the Guo family.

Ye Yun: "..."

That makes sense.

Although the country has clear laws regarding the legal age for marriage—twenty for women and twenty-two for men—most young people in these mountains marry young, and it has become a common occurrence.

Under the legal age?

It's okay, we don't need to get a marriage certificate.

If you really want to get that certificate, there are ways. As long as the age difference isn't too big, you can pull some strings, have a meal together, get a letter of introduction, stamp it, and you'll have the marriage certificate.

Unlike later generations, marriage registration today is not like that, where machines are connected nationwide and your household registration information can be checked clearly.

The emperor is far away and the sky is high.

It's just a matter of a piece of paper now.

Guo Lili, who was standing outside, seemed to know that Qin Zheng really didn't want to help her. After standing there for a short while, she pouted and left.

We had dinner at Aunt Tian's house.

Everyone busied themselves cooking a table full of dishes. Aunt Tian rolled out noodles and cooked a big pot of them. The group of people ate around the table in a very lively atmosphere.

Zheng Song ate two bowls directly.

In those days, farmers generally couldn't afford to eat wheat flour and mostly ate cornbread. But Aunt Tian used wheat flour to make so many noodles, which shows how much she valued him.

It was inconvenient for Zheng Song to stay overnight.

Originally, Tian Xiaohui's house was not big enough for everyone.

After finishing his meal, Zheng Song planned to go home, and Tian Xiaohui and her whole family saw him off at the door.

Zheng Song said, "Then it's settled. I'll bring my mother to pick you up tomorrow, around ten o'clock."

"Alright, you can go now!"

Tian Xiaohui said directly.

Aunt Tian couldn't help but sigh, shoved Tian Xiaohui, and said with exasperation, "How can you talk like that? You should be telling Xiao Zheng to drive slowly. What's wrong with your brain?"

Tian Xiaohui: "..."

No, why has she been getting scolded ever since she brought Zheng Song home?

She gave Zheng Song a resentful look, her lips moved, and a silent curse escaped her lips: "Brother, you'd better leave quickly!"

Zheng Song couldn't help but laugh.

He reached out and patted Tian Xiaohui's head, then got into Qin Zheng's car and closed the door.

The car gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.

Aunt Tian was the first to react. She sighed with mixed feelings, clapped her hands, and said in a voice that sounded both tired and relieved, "Alright, the girl is finally settled!"

Tian Xiaohui's father also sighed.

He chuckled again, shook his head as if sighing, said nothing, and turned to follow Aunt Tian into the house.

Both elders returned home, and Tian Xiaohui's brother and sister-in-law also looked at Ye Yun.

"Come in and sit for a while?"

"Sister-in-law Tian said with a smile."

"Anyway, Qin Zheng went to see Zheng Song off and won't be back for a while. Let's discuss Xiao Hui's dowry. You know a lot, so help her make arrangements."

Ye Yun declined.

"I don't know anything about this. As you all know, I didn't bring a single penny of dowry when I married Qin Zheng."

She smiled and looked at Tian Xiaohui.

"Her dowry depends on her wishes. If that's not possible, there's always Aunt Tian."

She wouldn't accept something that didn't please her.

Tian Xiaohui is a daughter who is about to get married, and her sister-in-law is her daughter-in-law. Tian Xiaohui's dowry will directly affect her sister-in-law's interests. If Tian Xiaohui takes an extra quilt, her sister-in-law will naturally have one less quilt. As an outsider, she cannot meddle in other people's family affairs.

Tian Xiaohui didn't understand the intricacies of the situation. Seeing Ye Yun's refusal, she asked, "Sister-in-law, are you tired?"

Ye Yun nodded, "Mm."

"If you're tired, go and rest!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiang'e was worried about the old lady's health and quickly went to the courtyard to help her up. The old lady was still sitting at the entrance of the main room, lost in thought.