"Alright, I've arrived. You can go back now." At the village entrance, Chen Zongyue waved to Zhang Xiaoqing, got on his bicycle, and left without looking back.

Zhang Xiaoqing then turned and walked home. She was glad she had come back today, and a triumphant smile appeared on her face.

A few days ago, she heard from Zhang Zongyao that her family was looking for a husband for her.

She knew the Zhang family very well. No matter what kind of people they were, as long as the bride price was right, she had to marry into their family.

She still remembers Zhang Zongyao's exact words, "Mom said that you should leave all your dowry to me so that I can buy a house in town and our whole family can move there."

It was only thanks to Zhang Zongyao's lack of common sense and careless speech that she learned about this matter.

I originally wanted to postpone finding a husband when I got home today, but I unexpectedly ran into Chen Zongyue.

Originally, Zhang Xiaoqing only wanted to show him some concern, but considering that Chen Zongyue's family was well-off, she decided to take advantage of him.

Zhang Zongyue might not be interested in him, but Wu Ruonan would definitely be interested in him.

Sure enough, as soon as she stepped into the house, Wu Ruonan couldn't wait to ask.

"Your classmate saw him off?"

"Mm." Zhang Xiaoqing nodded, bent down and carried the basin she had just used to the well.

Wu Ruonan followed closely beside her, asking, "Why haven't I heard you mention this classmate before?"

She didn't think there was anything wrong with her question at all.

Why bring up a male classmate for no reason? Besides, Wu Ruonan has never been involved in anything at her school, except for the money she paid.

"You and him are classmates?" Wu Ruonan asked again.

Zhang Xiaoqing hung the wrung-out towel on the clothesline. "What else could it be but a classmate?"

"There are so many things they can do," Wu Ruonan said, her eyes darting around. "Your classmate comes from such a well-off family, is she already engaged?"

"No," Zhang Xiaoqing said after thinking for a moment. "His family isn't in a rush, let him take his time."

Wu Ruonan was relieved; it was good that she hadn't made the marriage promise.

She looked her daughter up and down. Although she was dressed simply, she was not bad-looking. With a little dressing up, she could be quite pretty.

These past two days she has been putting in a lot of effort to find a suitable family for Zhang Xiaoqing. She only wants a dowry, but she can't find a bad match for her daughter.

It wasn't that I was worried about whether Zhang Xiaoqing was doing well or not, but rather that it would affect my family's reputation.

In the next village, a family married their daughter off to a widower who was old enough to be a father, and they received a considerable dowry.

But this made the girls in the neighborhood afraid to marry into his family. They said that the old woman was too cruel. She could treat even her own daughter like that. How could her daughter-in-law have a good life in his family?

Wu Ruonan was also worried that her son would not be able to find a good wife, which would be a loss.

The Zhang family only has one daughter, and it would be a real sin for her if she couldn't find a wife.

Just when they were wondering what kind of family to find for Zhang Xiaoqing, Chen Zongyue came up to them.

He's good-looking, comes from a good family, and most importantly, his mother holds a position of some authority in the factory.

If the two families become in-laws in the future, they'll have to help each other out. It would be best if they could also get their own spouses into the factory. Having a stable job would be so respectable.

Zhang Xiaoqing glanced at her expression and guessed that Wu Ruonan was already dreaming.

"Xiaoqing." Wu Ruonan rarely spoke to her so warmly.

"Mom thinks that young man is quite nice, and he doesn't have a girlfriend. You're getting on in years too."

"Since you both live in town, you should visit each other more often. Their family is well-off, so if you marry into their family, you'll definitely have a good life."

"Mom is usually a bit strict with you, but when it comes to your marriage, Mom still thinks about you, you know?"

Zhang Xiaoqing was not greatly affected by these high-sounding words; she simply nodded obediently as usual.

Wu Ruonan was still rambling on, "I don't need to take all my salary home this month. I'll buy two new outfits instead."

"Look at the clothes you're wearing, they're all faded from washing. Don't let Xiao Chen think you have no clothes to wear."

"I understand, Mom." All those words were meant to make Zhang Xiaoqing a little happier that she didn't have to send all her salary home.

All she wants now is to secretly save money so she can have some financial security, since she can't rely on her family at all.

As the mother and daughter were talking, the courtyard gate was suddenly pushed open with a bang, and Zhang Zongyao stormed in, carrying a schoolbag.

"Son, you're back." As soon as she saw her son come in, Wu Ruonan's eyes immediately fell on him.

Zhang Zongyao threw his schoolbag aside, turned around and sat down, and started shouting.

"Mom, I want to buy new clothes and new shoes."

Wu Ruonan looked at him in surprise, "Didn't I just buy it for you last week?"

Zhang Zongyue buys new clothes or shoes almost every month.

The clothes he's wearing right now were all bought this month.

"What did I buy? It's hideous!" Zhang Zongyue was seething with anger, so he took off his coat and threw it on the ground.

Wu Ruonan hurriedly lifted the clothes and patted off the dust, feeling distressed. "How is this ugly? It looks great! The salesperson said it's a new style."

Zhang Zongyao spat, "What kind of new style is this? I'm going to buy clothes in the city, I don't want anything from the town."

Wu Ruonan hugged the cleaned clothes to her chest and said, "Whose clothes are you looking at again? These clothes are so stylish, many people in the village don't even have them."

She's willing to spend money on her son. Even if the clothes are expensive, if her son likes them, she'll grit her teeth and buy them.

Moreover, dressing her son up in a stylish way makes her look good and lets everyone know that the Zhang family is not poor.

"The clothes Zhou Xu was wearing came from the city."

"The sneakers he was wearing were unlike anything we'd ever seen in the whole town."

He and Zhou Xu were classmates, but they didn't get along very well. Seeing Zhou Xu dressed so nicely made him uncomfortable.

"Are you talking about the Zhou family from the front?" Wu Ruonan asked, "There are several people with the surname Zhou in the village."

"That's his house!"

Zhang Xiaoqing didn't want to listen to Zhang Zongyao's rant, but when the Zhou family was mentioned, she couldn't help but prick up her ears to listen.

"Could his family afford clothes from the city?" Wu Ruonan didn't believe it, since Zhou Dayong had spent all of his family's savings when he injured his leg.

They still work as laborers in brick factories, and the little money they earn is enough for Zhou Xu to buy nice clothes and shoes.

"Of course he can afford it. The Zhou family has even opened a shop in town, and it's packed with people every day."

Zhang Zongyao got even angrier when this was mentioned: Zhou Xu took his good friend to a restaurant to eat and ate for free without taking any money from them.

He wanted to eat but had no money in his pocket, so he just stood at the door. Zhou Xu saw him but didn't tell him to come in.

That's why he rushed back in such a fit of anger.

"Huh? What did you say?" Wu Ruonan felt like she had misheard.

Not only her, but even Zhang Xiaoqing was stunned.