Just as Ye Xiaoxiao was pondering how to bring the two young people together, Lu Xiaojuan returned from her parents' home, looking sullen and unhappy.

"What's wrong, Xiaojuan? About the blind date..." Ye Xiaoxiao asked with concern.

"Sister Xiaoxiao, my dad insists I marry him."

Xiao Juan, fighting back tears, said, "That man, although he works at a steel factory, is too rude. The moment we met, he said he wanted to marry me and would give my family three thousand yuan as a bride price."

"So what are your own thoughts?" Ye Xiaoxiao asked, looking at the girl's aggrieved expression.

"I don't want to get married. I feel I'm still young and want to work for a few more years. But my dad says that for a girl from the countryside, it's better to get married as early as possible."

What Lu Xiaojuan didn't say was that her family wanted to take the money back for her older brother's wedding because they saw that the bride price was high.

Just then, Li Zhiming came in from outside. Hearing this, he seemed about to say something, but then turned his head away and fell silent.

"Zhiming, go and organize that batch of new fans. Xiaojuan, go and help with the accounting."

Although the two young people were reluctant, they did as instructed. Ye Xiaoxiao watched them silently doing their own thing and sighed inwardly.

A few days later, Lu Xiaojuan's father, Lu Dagang, came to their door.

"Girl, come home with me," Lu Da said as soon as he entered the door. "Little Zhang said they're going to get their marriage certificate tomorrow."

"Dad!" Xiao Juan stamped her feet anxiously, "I've already told you I won't marry him!"

"It's not up to you!" Lu Dagang glared.

"It's not easy for a country girl like you to find such a good partner in the county town."

Xiao Zhang is a regular worker, earning a little over one hundred yuan a month. If you don't marry him, you'll regret it later!

Li Zhiming, listening intently, clenched his fists but dared not say anything. Seeing this, Ye Xiaoxiao quickly stepped in to smooth things over:

"Uncle Lu, don't worry. Xiao Juan is doing a good job at our shop, and our salary is over a hundred yuan. How about letting her work for another six months?"

"What are you doing!" Lu Dagang said impatiently. "A young woman should get married as soon as possible. Xiao Juan, pack your things and come back with me!"

Xiao Juan burst into tears, "Dad, I really don't want to marry him..."

"You have no choice!" Lu Dagang grabbed his daughter's hand. "It's settled then!"

Li Zhiming finally couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward: "Uncle, you can't force Xiaojuan..."

"Who do you think you are, meddling in our family affairs?"

Lu Dagang glared at Zhiming, then glanced at his daughter, wondering if Xiaojuan had something going on with this man, which was why she was so reluctant to get married. His tone became even more rude.

"A repairman? Does he have the right to interfere in my household affairs?"

"I..." Zhiming's face flushed red, but he couldn't say a word.

Just then, Li Chenyang walked in from outside. Seeing the scene, he frowned: "What happened?"

Ye Xiaoxiao quickly explained what had happened. After listening, Li Chenyang said to Lu Dagang:

"Uncle Lu, please don't be angry. Zhiming isn't just an ordinary repairman anymore; he's the manager of our shop, earning at least two or three hundred a month."

Lu Dagang was taken aback: "Really?"

"Of course it's true," Ye Xiaoxiao replied.

"He manages the entire shop. Besides, he can repair home appliances; that's a valuable skill."

Lu Dagang looked at Zhiming suspiciously:

"Even so, it's still not as good as having a permanent job. Besides, this is a privately owned shop; how much job security can you offer?"

Just then, another person came in from outside; it was Zhang Dajiang from the steel factory.

The man was in his thirties, burly and with a menacing face. He had been waiting outside for a while, and seeing that Lu Xiaojuan still hadn't come out, he grew anxious.

"Xiao Juan, come with me."

Zhang Dajiang said casually, "I've already asked for leave from the factory, and I'll go get my marriage certificate tomorrow. The day after tomorrow we'll have the wedding banquet."

Xiao Juan was so frightened that she hid behind Zhi Ming, crying, "I don't want to! I won't marry you!"

"What? Trying to back out?" Zhang Dajiang sneered. "Your dad's already agreed, so it's settled!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Xiao Juan said fearfully. Zhi Ming stood in front of her, and although he was also scared, he still mustered up the courage to say:

"Please don't make things difficult for Xiaojuan. She doesn't want to..."

Li Zhiming was handsome, not as strong as Zhang Dajiang, and more of a scholarly young man.

However, she felt Xiao Juan gripping her clothes tightly from behind. She bravely stepped in front of her.

"Who do you think you are?" Zhang Dajiang looked at Zhiming with disdain.

"A repairman doesn't know what he's doing! Do you believe I'll have your shop smashed up?"

The atmosphere in the room immediately became tense after these words were spoken.

Li Chenyang's face darkened: "I'm saying, that's not right. We run a business and abide by the law. Threatening us like that isn't appropriate, is it?"

"What? You really think you're something special?"

Zhang Dajiang rolled up his sleeves. "You private shop owners can only fool people so easily. Don't think you're something special just because you have a little money!"

…………

Seeing their reaction, Ye Xiaoxiao knew that while she could easily deal with a few people herself, in a society governed by law, there were police available.

Why bother doing it myself? I just called the police. It'll only take a few minutes anyway. The police will be here soon.

Sure enough, a short while later, a police siren sounded outside the door.

When they saw the police coming towards them, Zhang Dajiang and Lu's father chickened out.

They didn't expect the shop owner to actually dare to call the police.

"What's going on?" the police officer asked as he entered.

Ye Xiaoxiao recounted the incident. After listening, the police officer said to Zhang Dajiang rather rudely, "Marriage is a matter of personal freedom; forcing that girl is illegal."

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