Chapter 9 There's a ghost!

Let's rewind to two weeks ago.

That day, Liang Shuangyue and Dong Dalei invited Deputy Factory Director Yang's family to their home. Their intention was to discuss the marriage between the two families. They didn't hide anything from Liang Shuangyue, since whether Cheng Jiajia agreed or not was not within their consideration. No one took this country girl seriously.

Everything was fine until Cheng Jiajia suddenly climbed onto the window, threatening to commit suicide, crying her eyes out, "Dad, I'm coming to find you! My grandparents passed away and I couldn't survive alone in the village, so I came to Beicheng to seek refuge with my mother, just hoping to find a way to live. I never expected that my mother would plan to sell me to a mentally challenged man for a dowry. I have no way to live and I don't want to live anymore. Dad, I'm coming to find you!"

Cheng Jiajia's words completely exposed the true colors of Dong Dalei and Liang Shuangyue.

In the middle of the day, almost instantly, people from all over rushed out to watch the commotion, pointing and whispering about Dong Dalei and Liang Shuangyue, accusing them of being heartless, making the proud couple blush with embarrassment.

While advising Cheng Jiajia, he said, "Girl, don't do anything foolish! If you die, it will only benefit your wicked biological mother and stepfather. They will only feel that they have gotten rid of a burden, but they will not be sad for you!"

Cheng Jiajia wouldn't listen. With a resolute look on her face, she shouted into the air, "Dad, it was Mom and Uncle Dong who forced me to my death. You must remember to avenge me and make trouble for them!" After saying that, she closed her eyes and pretended to jump down to join her father.

"No, no!"

The jump was naturally not completed, as the Women's Federation director, who "just happened" to arrive at their home, "accidentally" stopped them.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew by.

Then, the glass picture frame hanging on the wall of the Dong family inexplicably shattered, which terrified everyone in the room.

Although feudal superstitions are being eradicated everywhere now, many people of this generation still believe in them due to their unique upbringing. Liang Shuangyue and Dong Dalei are still deeply influenced by them, and every year during Qingming Festival and Ghost Festival, they secretly burn paper money against the wind.

So almost instantly, this despicable couple thought of Cheng Jiajia's biological father, Cheng Zhize, and felt it must be him! It must be him who saw their only daughter being bullied, so he came up to teach them a lesson! He's here to avenge his daughter!

The two men immediately became so frightened that their teeth chattered, and they huddled together, trembling. They didn't forget to shift the blame onto each other, "Brother, brother, Liang Shuangyue used to be your woman, and she's Jiajia's mother. She's not good to the child. You, you go find her! Don't come looking for me!!"

Liang Shuangyue screamed, "Ahhh! Cheng Zhize, don't come looking for me! It wasn't my idea, it was Dong Dalei! He said Jiajia is pretty and he'll definitely get a dowry when she gets married! Waaaaah!"

Dong Dalei shoved the man away, furious. "You vicious woman! You were the one who said that Director Yang's stupid son wanted to get married, and that Jiajia was an eyesore at home, and that it would be good if she could get married! You're the one who told me to marry her off to that idiot!"

Liang Shuangyue glared angrily, "It's you, it's you, it's definitely you! You bastard!"

Dong Dalei screamed in despair, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me! It wasn't me! You vicious woman!"

He pointed at Liang Shuangyue in grief and anger, and shouted into the void, "Brother Cheng! Remember to find Liang Shuangyue and take her away. Don't go to the wrong person!"

Everyone: "..." To be honest, they were quite scared too. But they hadn't bullied Cheng Jiajia, so they figured she wouldn't come after them...

Cheng Jiajia couldn't help but twitch her lips. Are you two having a childish argument here?

Also, although it is said that husband and wife are like birds in the same forest, flying away separately when disaster strikes, aren't you flying away a little too fast?

Those who originally came to watch Cheng Jiajia jump off the building forgot their original purpose. They became engrossed in listening to the two arguing back and forth, hands on hips and glaring at each other, and occasionally even offered a comment or two.

Cheng Jiajia: "..." This is outrageous, everyone. Have you forgotten that there's someone here who wants to jump off a building?

She glanced at the Women's Federation director, who was watching the commotion with great interest while holding her, and then at her aunt, who had just been advising her not to take her own life but was now eating sunflower seeds.

She thought to herself that it was good that she was just putting on an act to scare people. If she really wanted to die, she would have been reincarnated long ago... Her business was not yet settled, and these people were really unreliable!

During this time, two more glasses shattered in the living room, finally silencing the two who were blaming each other!

The story ends with Dong Dalei swearing an oath that he would never dare to lay a finger on Cheng Jiajia again.

He was already feeling incredibly guilty for sleeping with someone else's woman, and he even considered selling the woman's only daughter. He was genuinely afraid that Cheng Jiajia's deceased father would come after him, her stepfather! Just thinking about that scene sent chills down his spine. He dared not do it again, he really dared not do it again! He would never dare to do it again!

As for Yang, the deputy factory director and another key figure in the incident, he had already slipped away with his mentally challenged son while everyone was watching the Dong couple argue. He certainly wouldn't dare have a daughter-in-law with a dead father-in-law by his side; Cheng Jiajia was a truly wicked girl!

Given the significant impact of this incident, Dong Dalei's superiors spoke with him afterwards, implying that he should properly resolve his family matters and not tarnish the factory's reputation.

Dong Dalei readily agreed. He just wanted to get rid of the girl as soon as possible so that Cheng Zhize wouldn't come looking for him. He dared not keep the girl at home any longer, otherwise Cheng Zhize might come up to see his daughter at any time, and who could withstand that?

For this reason, Dong Dalei has been coaxing Liang Shuangyue these past few days. Yes, coaxing.

Ever since that day when they argued and blamed each other over a life-or-death situation, they've been giving each other the cold shoulder! They haven't spoken to each other for days, and both of them feel that the other's feelings for them aren't as deep as they thought, believing that their sincere love has been wasted!

But he couldn't very well go to a matchmaker, could he? So he could only coax Liang Shuangyue, telling her to worry about Cheng Jiajia's marriage and to find her a husband as soon as possible.

Fortunately, they finally found him. They didn't care at all whether the man's name was Zheng Haiyang or Yu Junsheng, as long as he was presentable enough to get rid of that brat.

...

Dong Dalei and Liang Shuangyue both took half a day off today, waiting for Yu Junsheng's arrival.

It wasn't that they valued Cheng Jiajia that much, but rather that many people knew Cheng Jiajia's boyfriend was coming over today. If neither of them were there, wouldn't they be the subject of gossip? The aftermath of the "Cheng Jiajia being forced to jump off a building" incident was still fresh in their minds, so they wouldn't dare cause such a stir.

And the most important point is, how do we bring up the bride price if they're not here today?

A few days passed, and "Cheng Zhize" stopped bothering them. The two men's minds began to stir.

He was mentally calculating, thinking that even if he couldn't marry Cheng Jiajia off to the mentally challenged son of Deputy Director Yang of the fertilizer factory, the bride price couldn't be too low, right? Otherwise, how could he justify all the planning he had put in for this girl? He figured Cheng Zhize would understand if he knew, wouldn't he?

So the two of them tidied up the house and even bought some meat, barely managing to make it look like they were entertaining guests, waiting for Yu Junsheng to come over and make a huge demand.

They had no intention of giving Yu Junsheng a kind look; deep down, this snobbish couple didn't think Yu Junsheng was worth their time and effort.

So when Yu Junsheng arrived today, he was greeted by his future mother-in-law and future father-in-law with forced smiles, but he didn't seem to care much.

Cheng Jiajia had already told him about her relationship with this family, and she also knew about the Dong family's plan to sell his boyfriend to the fertilizer factory director's mentally challenged son. The young couple had the same attitude towards the two of them—as long as they maintained appearances, that was enough.

He greeted people with a grin, "Mom, Uncle Dong!"

Dong Dalei and Liang Shuangyue responded indifferently. When they saw that the gifts Yu Junsheng brought were just a few ordinary pastries and cigarettes, they curled their lips and thought, "Just like that brat, she's not presentable at all!"

They scrutinized the young man before them with critical eyes. He wore a slightly worn black cotton-padded jacket and was tall and thin. They heard that he worked at a scrap yard and that his parents were deceased. The two men felt contempt for him. He was just a scrap collector. How could he be as respectable as a factory worker? And he lived in a tenement!

Although the two looked down on Yu Junsheng, they also felt that his conditions were more than enough for Cheng Jiajia. After all, she, a country girl, was lucky to find a man from the city with a government-subsidized job. What else could she possibly be picky about?

Cheng Jiajia naturally saw the disdain in the eyes of the two people, and felt that these two scoundrels still needed to be taught a lesson, they were really spoiled!

She quickly invited Yu Junsheng to sit down on the sofa, "Comrade Yu, you're here! Come and sit here!" She then brought over a kettle and poured him a cup of sugar water, saying, "It's still quite cold this morning, so don't catch a cold." After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she was going to live with this man for the rest of her life, and naturally, she hoped he would be healthy.

Liang Shuangyue felt uncomfortable seeing her so eager and snorted, saying sarcastically, "This girl is just too outgoing. She's not even married yet and all she knows is to pour tea for men. Didn't you see that your mother and your Uncle Dong don't have any water to drink?"

Cheng Jiajia felt wronged. "Mom, how could you think of me like that? I only poured water for Comrade Yu because he came from afar. In my heart, you and Uncle Dong are my family, my own people. If I want water, I can get the kettle myself. Have you never treated me like family?"

Tears streamed down her face, and she began to wail, "Father, why did you die so young? Do you know that with your death I have no home? My mother's home is not my home, and she doesn't treat me like family. Father, I'm living such a miserable life all by myself. Why didn't you take me with you?"

Yu Junsheng had never seen such a scene before and was stunned. So this was what his future wife was like.

Dong Dalei's heart skipped a beat, fearing that Cheng Zhize would really come to pick her up, so he quickly stepped in to "smooth things over," saying, "Jiajia, it's not that serious, it's not that serious! Your mom was just joking with you. In our hearts, you are naturally family, our own daughter!"

As she spoke, she looked helplessly at Liang Shuangyue, "Look at you, why are you arguing with the child? You said such hurtful things. If people knew you were reluctant to let your daughter get married so soon, they would think you were being mean to her."

He said to Yu Junsheng, somewhat embarrassed, "Little Yu, don't mind her. Your Aunt Liang is just reluctant to see Jiajia get married. She's feeling down, which is why she spoke a little harshly. She loves Jiajia the most."

Cheng Jiajia: "..." Her lips twitched. Do you even believe what you're saying? I doubt even Liang Shuangyue herself believes it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Liang Shuangyue's expression was quite interesting. She looked as if she had swallowed a fly and opened her mouth as if to say something, but closed it again because of Dong Dalei's glaring eyes.

Yu Junsheng didn't believe it either, but he nodded understandingly. "How could that be? Auntie was just worried about Comrade Cheng, that's why she spoke without thinking. I'm happy to have another person who cares about Comrade Cheng."

"Hehe, that's good, that's good." Dong Dalei gave an awkward smile and quickly changed the subject.

After a few more casual words, Dong Dalei got straight to the point, saying earnestly, "Xiao Yu, what are your plans for the bride price? My daughter may have grown up in the countryside, but she was pampered and spoiled. Not only is she beautiful, but she also went to high school. You'd be hard-pressed to find someone like that in the city. You can't look down on her just because she's from the countryside!"

The implication was that the bride price couldn't be given away casually.

Yu Junsheng raised an eyebrow. He wasn't surprised. After all, there was the incident of selling Cheng Jiajia to a mentally challenged man for a dowry. He knew that his future father-in-law wouldn't let go of this opportunity to earn a dowry.

With an extremely kind expression, he smiled and said, "Of course, Comrade Cheng is one in a million in my heart, and I certainly won't wrong her. It's just that this is my first time getting married, and I don't know much about the bride price. I would appreciate it if Uncle Dong could help me with the decision."

Cheng Jiajia almost choked on her saliva. "..." She suspected that this person was being sarcastic, but she had no proof!

Dong Dalei's expression was also not very good, but he couldn't say it outright, so he could only keep a straight face and say, "It doesn't sound good if the bride price is too low. Jiajia is our daughter, and we have to consider her feelings. Let's just make it 500 yuan!"

"Cough, cough..." Yu Junsheng coughed so loudly it was earth-shattering. He wondered if he had misheard, "500?"

Good heavens! These two scoundrels are truly despicable. I've never heard of a family asking for 500 yuan as a bride price when marrying off their daughter. Aren't they afraid of ruining the wedding? They really don't care about their own children!

Seeing that the young wife's eyes were red, it was hard to bear to look at her. He thought about borrowing some money to pay for it. But then he saw Cheng Jiajia looking at him with red eyes, looking left and right, with a troubled expression. Finally, she said, "Uncle Dong, Comrade Yu's monthly salary is not high. He can't afford that much money. I think we should call off the marriage."

Looking at Liang Shuangyue with a loving expression, he said, "Mother, why don't I stay home and help you with the chores? We've been separated since we were little, and we've only been reunited for a short time. I don't want to get married so soon anyway; I want to spend more time with you."

After saying that, she deliberately sat down next to Liang Shuangyue and hugged her. "It's so great, Mom, I can finally be with you forever, sob sob sob!"

Liang Shuangyue was dumbfounded. Should she stay by her side?

Doesn't that mean this daughter is a dead end? Not to mention that she's always around and an eyesore, her elusive and deadbeat father is unbearable!

Thinking of this, Liang Shuangyue felt extremely uncomfortable. She pushed the brat away, her hand waving so fast it left afterimages. "No, no, no! How can a young lady not get married? Your Uncle Dong is just joking with you, haha, what kind of family can afford so much money as a bride price? Haha!"

The couple were in perfect sync, clearly thinking the same thing. Dong Dalei nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, Uncle was just joking with you. Xiao Yu, the bride price should be based on your actual situation. After all, it's your life together, so don't be arrogant just to save face!"

Yu Junsheng looked enlightened and said gratefully, "Thank you for your understanding, Uncle Dong and Mom." He then took out ten 100-yuan bills from his pocket and said, "Keep these 100 yuan safe, consider them as a dowry for Jiajia."

Even if she didn't get 500 yuan, 100 yuan would be good enough. Liang Shuangyue was ready to reach out and take the money, but then she saw Yu Junsheng walk past her and stuff the money directly into Cheng Jiajia's hand.

Both of them had dark expressions.

Dong Dalei gave a wink, and Liang Shuangyue coughed, looking at Cheng Jiajia disapprovingly, "Jiajia, you're just a child, how can you take so much money? Give it to Mom to keep, it can help with household expenses later. Your little sister Jiaojiao has wanted a dress for a long time, and your little brother needs a pair of white sneakers..."

Yu Junsheng's lips twitched. So, before the betrothal gifts even arrived, these two had already figured out how to spend them?

He looked at Cheng Jiajia, but saw that she wasn't angry at all. Instead, she nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Mom, you're right. I'm still young. It's only right that you and Uncle Dong took this money. If my father were still alive, he would be very happy that I've found my other half to spend my life with."

"The bride price is a sign of the groom's respect for the bride. When my dad misses me, he'll come to visit you, Uncle Dong. Seeing how much Junsheng values ​​this, I'll feel at ease. Besides, he'll be very pleased to see how well you and my mother are doing. My dad loves me, and if he's worried about me and comes over often, Uncle Dong, please remember to give him some paper money. My dad has had a hard time over there too."

"Crash!" The glass picture frame that had been re-hung shattered again, shattered again!

Dong Dalei and Liang Shuangyue: "..."

I instantly felt a chill down my spine.

The two looked at each other, their eyes widening in horror.

Here we go again!

...

Waaah, they've already found Cheng Jiajia a good husband, why are they still coming?

The two of them hugged each other skillfully, trembling.

"Jiajia, Jiajia, your mother is wrong. Jiaojiao doesn't lack clothes, and your brother doesn't lack white sneakers. You can keep the bride price and flowers yourself!"

Dong Dalei forced a smile and said, "Brother Cheng, I was just joking. How could I accept my daughter's dowry? Am I that kind of person? She can take it all with her as a dowry; it'll make things easier for the young couple in the future." Now you're at ease, right? Don't come looking for me, waaaah!

Liang Shuangyue gave a dry laugh: "Zhize, I've found a husband for my daughter. The young man is a very good person, so you can rest assured down here! Just don't come out again!"

Another gust of wind blew by, making a creaking sound, and the two of them trembled even more violently.

Liang Shuangyue was almost in tears. "Jiajia, your Uncle Dong and I were just joking with you. Don't take it seriously. Do you think we're that kind of heartless people? Withholding our daughter's betrothal gifts? Is that something a human being would do? Keep the betrothal gifts for yourself. We can't accept them. Keep them safe so your father can rest easy!"

Yu Junsheng: "..." I've never heard of his future mother-in-law and father-in-law being mentally unstable. They're so ruthless that they even curse themselves. Are they really that brave?

Cheng Jiajia calmly put away the large sum of money in her hand, smiled slightly, and kept her accomplishment and fame hidden.

"Thank you, Uncle Dong and Mom. I knew you cared about me the most and wouldn't make things difficult for me."

"By the way, Comrade Yu has given such a large dowry, so we can't give less in return, right? Otherwise, not only will my father be uneasy, but it will also make Uncle Dong, the workshop director, lose face, won't it? Uncle Dong, in your opinion, how much dowry is appropriate?"

Dong Dalei wanted to say no, he had no money, and she wasn't his own daughter, so why would he give her any money?

But then another gust of cold wind blew, and he shivered. "Fifty, fifty! That's more than the wedding fee for a daughter in our compound. Jiajia, will your father be at ease now?"

Cheng Jiajia hesitated, "Then my dowry quilt..."

Dong Dalei gritted his teeth, "Yes, yes! I'll have your mom go and exchange cotton coupons for cotton rations another day!" He also covered Liang Shuangyue's mouth to prevent her from raising any objections.

Liang Shuangyue: "...Waaah!" Her eyes widened. I didn't, I won't do it!

Cheng Jiajia looked grateful, her eyes brimming with tears. "Uncle Dong, you're so good to me. It's my blessing to have a stepfather like you who cares so much about me. My dad will be at ease knowing this."

Dong Dalei chuckled dryly, his voice trembling, "...Hehe, hehe, it's only right, it's only right!"

Seeing this, Yu Junsheng raised an eyebrow. What had his future wife done to scare the couple like this? The "jumping incident" was very strange. Nowadays, people are still afraid to talk about it because of the breaking of feudal superstitions, so Yu Junsheng didn't know the inside story.

After watching several scenes today, Yu Junsheng is certain that Cheng Jiajia in her past life was not like this, nor did she have this kind of scheming. Could it be that she also has memories of her past life, just like him?

He actually prefers Cheng Jiajia like this; she doesn't seem like she'll be taken advantage of, which suits him perfectly, as he doesn't like being taken advantage of either!

Yu Junsheng didn't notice that Cheng Jiajia's eyes were bright and sparkling, with a hint of a smile, as if stars were twinkling in them.

Suddenly, he realized a problem: since Cheng Jiajia's personality was completely different from her previous life, could she still manage the household for him as well as she did in his previous life?

Yes, it's possible... right?