Chapter 37 My Daughter is My Own (Part 7) A Guide to Pampering My Wife and Daughter...

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is the Little New Year. Although the sun is shining brightly today, the howling north wind carries fine dust, making the withered branches of the persimmon tree in the yard rustle.

In the north, sweeping away dust on the eve of the Lunar New Year is an indispensable traditional custom. On this day, Liang Qiulan and Song Ce got up early to prepare for a thorough cleaning of the house and to empty the dust, which symbolizes sweeping away poverty, bad luck and other bad things, and wishing for a smooth new year.

After the couple had a simple breakfast and had just boiled a pot of water, there was a loud knocking on the gate of their yard.

"Qiu Lan! Qiu Lan! Open the door!" A familiar, husky voice pierced Liang Qiu Lan's ears through the door. Her hand, holding a rag, trembled involuntarily, and the still-warm rag fell with a thud onto the side of the stove.

"Brother Ce, it seems... it's my parents." After saying this, Liang Qiulan tried to pick up the dishcloth that had fallen on the stove, but failed twice.

Upon seeing Liang Qiulan like this, Song Ce couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

Through the entire storyline of this world, it's clear that Liang Qiulan is an insecure person. Only after the original owner of this body gave her enough passionate love did she begin to show some positive changes. The original owner truly cared for her very well, and the love she gave her was on a high level. However, this also directly led to Liang Qiulan's extreme fear of life without the original owner after her accidental death. Coupled with having nowhere to go, she was forced to return to the family she had once avoided at all costs. Therefore, what awaited her was being driven insane by the trauma, and even losing her life.

Seeing Liang Qiulan's face turn deathly pale, Song Ce patted her hand reassuringly and said gently, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Do you think they'd dare to eat you?"

After saying this, Song Ce first told Liang Qiulan to go back inside and sit down, while he himself tightened his collar and walked to the courtyard gate to open it directly.

"Oh dear! My good son-in-law! How could I let you open the door for us? Where is Qiulan?" Mother Liang smiled and handed over a plastic bag containing some things: "This is some freshly made pickles. I just opened the jar yesterday. I thought I'd bring you a few to try today. If you like them, I'll bring you more next time I come!"

As the saying goes, one doesn't hit a smiling face, so Song Ce smiled faintly and said, "You're here? Come in and have a seat."

Mother Liang glanced at Father Liang and secretly tugged at his sleeve. Now that their son-in-law had become successful, he didn't even care about saving face anymore. Father Liang had also thought of this. He wanted to get angry, but remembering the purpose of their trip, he could only nod with a sullen face.

After exchanging pleasantries, the group entered the courtyard and spotted the gleaming black Huabao 988 sedan parked there. Before Liang's father could say anything, Liang Xiaobao exclaimed "Wow!" in delight and walked over to repeatedly stroke the blue and white Huabao logo on the hood.

"Brother-in-law! This Huabao 988 sedan must cost hundreds of thousands! This is the first time I've ever seen such a nice car! Can I drive it too?" Liang Xiaobao asked excitedly.

Song Ce smiled but didn't reply: "It's cold outside, come in and have some water."

Seeing that he was avoiding the topic, Liang's father's face darkened even more. As soon as they entered the house, they saw Liang Qiulan sitting in a chair drinking water. Upon seeing this, Liang's father's eyebrows shot up, and he seized the opportunity to say, "You heartless thing! Your parents and younger brother came to your house, and instead of offering us a glass of water, you drank it yourselves first?"

Upon hearing this, Song Ce said coldly, "What? My wife has to get a scolding from her father just for drinking water at home?"

"Oh, that's not what your father meant, son-in-law. Don't take it to heart. It's just that our family has been very worried these days, and he's been feeling very stifled too," Mother Liang said with a smile.

"Dad, Mom, what are you doing here?" Liang Qiulan put down her water glass and asked.

Seeing her daughter's forced composure, Mrs. Liang felt relieved. Mr. Liang found a seat and slammed his hand on the table: "We're here today because of you!"

"Her father, please speak properly," Liang's mother said, trying to mediate when she saw Song Ce's displeased expression.

“Then I’ll be blunt! Now that your son-in-law is rich, he even drives a car! If I hadn’t given in a couple of years ago, would you have been able to marry my daughter for only 2,800? Now your brother-in-law is of marriageable age, son-in-law, can you bear to see Xiaobao remain a bachelor?” Father Liang said, tapping the table with his root-like fingers.

“Son-in-law, we are really struggling financially. Xiao Bao has started dating a girl from the city, and she wants 20,000 yuan as a bride price. She says that as soon as the bride price arrives, we can get married anytime.” Mother Liang sighed. “Son-in-law, let me be blunt. It’s true that you dropped out of university, but if we hadn’t made Qiu Lan drop out to work, how could you have married such a beautiful wife?”

“Mom, Xiaobao is only sixteen years old at the beginning of the year…” Liang Qiulan opened her mouth by clenching her palms tightly, but before she could finish speaking, her voice was cut off by her mother’s fake crying.

"Lan'er! Your parents really have no other choice! Who carried you to the clinic in the middle of the night? Who stayed up all night drying sweet potato vines just to buy you some cloth to make you a dress? Now that your husband is successful, you can't turn your back on your parents! Mom admits that we wronged you when you got married, but now the family is in trouble, you have to help your brother!"

Looking at her family members who made her feel so embarrassed that she wanted to crawl into a hole, Liang Qiulan was reminded of the night she was forced to drop out of junior high school. Her mother was sitting on a stool crying like this, with the firewood she had collected burning in the stove and all the textbooks she had carefully preserved.

Seeing that Liang Qiulan seemed to be in a daze, Liang's father felt a surge of anger. He pulled a thin piece of paper from his pocket and slammed it on the table. Song Ce glanced at it and roughly understood: this should be the old-age care book that the original owner and Liang Qiulan had jointly pressed their fingerprints on.

"Son-in-law, don't forget that you voluntarily pressed this fingerprint to marry my daughter, promising to give us an old couple twenty yuan a month for our retirement when we get old! It's all written clearly in black and white. If you want to renege on your promise, then let's go to the police station and have a word with you!"

Song Ce glanced indifferently at the calculating faces of Liang's parents, "How many do you want?"

Upon hearing Song Ce's words, Liang Qiulan immediately stood up. It didn't matter if she was the one being bullied, but Ce-ge treated her so well, how could she... how could she just stand by and watch him be humiliated like this by his own bloodsucking parents?

Looking at Song Ce's profile, which seemed to be about to compromise, Liang Qiulan, emboldened by some unknown source, suddenly pulled open the sleeve of her right arm, pointed to the worm-like scar, and choked out, "Dad! Mom! Do you still remember this scar?"

Mr. Liang glanced at it and said indifferently, "How would I remember? Maybe you did it!" But when Mrs. Liang saw the scar, her eyes immediately lit up.

Mother Liang naturally remembered that this happened when Liang Xiaobao was eight years old. He had argued with Liang Qiulan and insisted on taking her textbooks. Liang Qiulan refused, and her father beat her severely, leaving her lying on the ground in pain, unable to get up. Seeing this, Liang Xiaobao ran over gleefully, but he couldn't stop in time and kicked over a thermos full of hot water. The thermos shattered, and the hot water that had just been poured in poured onto Liang Qiulan's right arm, leaving this horrific scar.

I vividly remember that at the time, Liang's mother was holding Liang Xiaobao, completely ignoring Liang Qiulan's injuries, and scolding her, "You damned girl, if you burn your brother, see how your father beats you!"

Seeing Song Ce's pained expression, Liang Qiulan felt a sudden surge of excitement. "This money is all earned through Ce's hard work. If you want money, go earn it yourselves. Don't come to my house to put on airs and act tough!"

"You brat! You think you're all grown up now? How dare you talk to your father like that!" Liang's father suddenly stood up from his seat, took two quick steps, raised his hand, and rushed towards Liang Qiulan.

Seeing this, Song Ce quickly pulled Liang Qiulan behind him and sneered, "If you dare to lay a finger on my wife, you won't get a single penny of this money!"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Liang's raised hand froze in mid-air before slowly lowering it. He snorted heavily, his face contorted with anger, and said, "You brat, let me tell you, if you don't hand over Xiaobao's dowry today, I'll go to the police station and sue you! I'll sue you for forgetting your parents after you've gotten married and become successful. Then the police will arrest you both and send you to jail! Let's see if you'll still have the fortune to spend this money your son-in-law has made!"

Upon hearing this, Liang Qiulan trembled violently, these words completely igniting her long-suppressed resentment: "Go ahead and sue! I'd rather go to jail by myself, and then don't expect me to give you a single penny!"

"Lan'er!" Liang's mother threw herself in front of Liang Qiulan, wailing, "Think about it, if we hadn't been so sure about the groom when you got married, would you have been allowed to marry into this family with such a low dowry? If it weren't for this marriage, would you be living such a good life now? Let me tell you the truth today! Xiaobao got her pregnant. If there's no dowry, the bride's father will sue him for hooliganism!"

"Sister!" Liang Xiaobao knelt on the ground as well, crying and pleading, "Save me, sister! We're siblings from the same mother! What did the textbook say? Blood is thicker than water! Can you bear to see your own brother in jail?"

“Brother Ce, you…you go first…” Liang Qiulan choked up, unable to finish a sentence: “Go to our parents’ yard first…I’ll take care of things here later, okay?”

"No, Lanlan," Song Ce said gently, supporting Liang Qiulan's trembling shoulders.

"Why? Brother Ce... I can do it." Liang Qiulan pursed her lips and spoke stubbornly.

“You can’t.” Song Ce ignored the noisy Liang family and spoke in a gentle tone: “Lanlan, we are already married and have Rou Rou. Your affairs are my affairs. I don’t want your first choice to push me away when you encounter problems, but rather to think of relying on me from the bottom of your heart.”

Liang Qiulan once again felt that someone was there to protect her. The first time was on her wedding day, when Brother Ce held her hand tightly and signed the retirement agreement that was completely unequal to him.

"Brother Ce... please help me, okay? I... I don't know what to do..." Liang Qiulan finally couldn't hold back and buried herself in Song Ce's arms.

"Alright, Lanlan, don't worry about leaving her to me." Song Ce smiled, ignoring the stunned expressions on the Liang family's faces. None of those who had bullied Lanlan would get away with it from him.

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Author's Note: Ta-da! Who understands the power of gentle romance?! The next story currently has one vote each for the Republican era, modern era, ancient era, and fantasy—a truly balanced mix! Thanks again to all the lovely readers for your comments and favorites. The next story's material will end with the final chapter of "My Daughter." Please vote actively, everyone!

This car is actually a kind of guiding redemption model. Lanlan is too insecure. She needs to speak out her thoughts to slowly gain confidence. If you like it, then ruthlessly water me, comment on me, and favorite me. Please don't pity me just because I'm a delicate flower~

I'm never applying for another one like this again. I'm going bald from getting so many hairs every day. (Heart emoji)

Lastly, wishing all my cuties a happy Lunar New Year's Eve! [cheering emojis] ...