Because his wife was in confinement after childbirth, Gu Zhiye went out early and came back late, and stayed in the family quarters whenever he had a minute to spare.

Hearing that his elder brother-in-law was going to Liu Tao's house to propose marriage, he took time out to go to the department store to prepare gifts for the visit, including Pegasus cigarettes, Maotai liquor, and even two kilograms of fruit candy. He was almost driving a jeep to support Su Jianshan.

Wang Guifen touched the ten yuan betrothal gift she had prepared, and her ears suddenly felt a little hot. She frowned and said, "Xiao Gu, leave the cigarettes and alcohol at home. I heard that the Liu family is a dual-income family, so they must have seen everything. Besides, what you bought is beyond your brother's ability and is not suitable. You can't let people have expectations in vain. Just take some bacon I brought from home."

Su Niannian coaxed the child while persuading him.

"Grandma, this is to support my brother."

"I don't like the pretentious stuff. Since we're getting married, we should be realistic." Wang Guifen whispered softly. Even before they met, her first impression of the Liu family was low.

"Then tomorrow you..."

"Your brother and I will go tomorrow. We will bring two kilograms of fruit candy and pickled meat. It will be the most respectable in our village. Su Jianshan, do you have any objection?! We can discuss the rest after everything is settled..."

Su Jianshan, immersed in happiness, quickly shook his head: "It's fine."

He clenched his hands nervously and then pulled them apart, feeling dizzy.

I feel so happy.

…

As Su Jianshan counted the days with his fingers, the day of the marriage proposal finally arrived. He and Wang Guifen both changed into new clothes and carried the things they had prepared in advance to the steel plant's family compound. Seeing the silly smile on her grandson's face, Wang Guifen couldn't help rolling her eyes and said, "You're silly enough already, why don't you be serious."

"..."

Having said that, the little old lady was equally excited, and she secretly smeared Su Niannian's hair oil on her head, making her hair neat and clean.

Outside the steel plant.

Liu Tao, wearing a pink thin jacket, was waiting at the gate early. Unlike Su Jianshan's joy, she had a look of sadness between her eyebrows, as if she was hiding something on her mind. When she saw Su Jianshan coming with the old lady, she even forced a smile: "Jianshan! Grandma——!"

Su Jianshan bared his white teeth and said, "Grandma, this is Liu Tao."

She was a typical city girl. Although her appearance was not as outstanding as her granddaughter, she had bright eyes and white teeth. From her dress and appearance, one could tell that she was a neat and tidy good girl. The word "grandma" made Wang Guifen's heart warm. She was not bad, much better than she had imagined!

She originally thought that Su Jianshan could only date ugly girls, but fortunately, with God's blessing, Wang Guifen immediately held his hand and said with a smile, "I always heard Nian Nian say that peaches are tall and short, but today I see that she is really a pretty girl, with a sweet smile and beautiful looks. It's obvious that she was well-educated by her parents."

Liu Tao could see that Wang Guifen liked her, the kind of love that extended to the whole family. Thinking of this, she felt even more upset and didn't even dare to look at Su Jianshan.

At first Wang Guifen thought Liu Tao was shy, until she saw the people in the Liu family's room, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. The two grandmothers and grandchildren were arranged to sit on low stools, like sheep in a pack of wolves. A woman with her hair in a bun handed over a plate of melon seeds and asked cheerfully, "Are you relatives of the Liu family? Is this your grandson? He looks a bit old. Which unit does he work for?"

Su Jianshan sat obediently and answered seriously, "I'm from the army."

"What a great unit!"

The woman brought another plate of oranges. Before Wang Guifen could pick one, her eldest grandson sitting next to her said bluntly, "They are used to scoop rice from the army cafeteria."

The next second, all the melon seeds and oranges were taken away.

The woman turned her head towards them and turned to cater to other people in a polite manner. Wang Guifen's expression grew colder and colder as people around her talked. Even when Liu Tao came to serve tea, the old lady didn't even look at her. Only Su Jianshan, who was unaware of the situation, was still smiling.

After waiting for a long time, Liu's mother, who was busy in the kitchen, finally showed up. She first glanced at Su Jianshan, then looked at Wang Guifen, and said apologetically, "It's very lively at home today. Grandma Su, are you used to it?"

"Habit." Wang Guifen said in a cold voice, "I wonder what you want to discuss by asking us to come to your house?!"

Liu Tao, who was standing behind her mother, was obviously anxious. Just as she was about to speak, she was pinched hard by her mother. In front of relatives and friends, Liu's mother smiled and said, "I originally wanted to invite Xiao Su and her husband to come with us, to thank her for asking Comrade Su Jianshan to help us in the flood last time. Taotao is my only child, so I thought about letting her and Comrade Su Jianshan become godparents so that they can take care of each other in the future."

It was not a marriage proposal or marriage formation, but a godly marriage.

Wang Guifen was so angry that she felt dizzy and almost jumped up and slammed the table. Su Jianshan, who was sitting next to her, was stunned when he heard it. He also wanted to argue, but Wang Guifen grabbed his hand. If he said the fact that he was dating in front of so many people, he would be afraid that he would deny it in the Liu family, which would be like accusing Su Jianshan of being a hooligan!

Wang Guifen's eyes gradually became sharp. The girl was indeed a good girl, but it was a pity that she had such a fierce family behind her. She almost squeezed out her voice from between her teeth: "Okay, very good! As long as Comrade Liu Tao is willing, we can do it."

"mom--!"

"grandmother!"

Seeing that things were about to develop in an uncontrollable direction, Liu's mother pushed her daughter into the kitchen first, and Wang Guifen also stood up, stroking her forehead and said, "Jianshan, grandma has a headache, let's go to the hospital, you stay with me."

Su Jianshan's reluctant eyes fell on the kitchen, and after hesitating for a while, he said, "Okay."

He supported Wang Guifen, who did not forget to take away all the pickled meat and candies she brought. Under the slightly mocking gaze of Liu's mother, the grandmother and granddaughter disappeared step by step at the entrance of the corridor. Even the bench they had sat on was wiped again and again by Liu's mother.

"You are so poor, and you still want to marry my daughter? Dream on!"

Su Jianshan didn't know what it meant to walk out of that tube-shaped building, but he felt empty in his heart, which made him want to look back. The next second, he heard Liu Tao's collapsed crying behind him.

"Su Jianshan——! Wait for me!"