Qiao Qiqi, having failed to escape, immediately froze in place.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bundle he had just placed on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and an idea immediately came to him. He quickly went over and opened the bundle.

They started talking about other things instead of the main point.

"Dad, look, this is the tobacco Qin Huai asked me to buy for you in town. The salesperson said it's imported. Try it out. If you like it, I'll buy you more later."

"And these gloves and hats, Qin Huai said that the weather is hot now, and it is too hard for you to work in the fields with everyone every day. So he told you to wear a hat to shield yourself from the sun and wear gloves when you go out, so that your hands won't crack."

Qiao Weiguo's hands and feet have been dry, cracked, and peeling all year round. It's a chronic problem that he's tried many methods to cure but haven't been able to, only alleviate.

So Qiao Qiqi specially bought him several extra pairs of gloves so that he could change them while working.

At this moment, all the credit was given to Qin Huai. Qiao Weiguo immediately felt that the items were too valuable and hurriedly said, "Why buy these things? It's a waste of money. If you can return them, return them quickly. I don't need these things."

"This is Qin Huai's token of his appreciation, and it can be considered his betrothal gift to me. If you don't accept it, what if he thinks you are unwilling to marry your daughter to him?"

Qiao Qiqi's deliberate words made it difficult for Qiao Weiguo to refuse.

But looking at the things in front of him, he thought for a moment and still asked uncertainly, "Did Qin Huai really ask you to buy all these things?"

"Of course! If Dad doesn't believe me, he can ask him! Besides, if he hadn't given me the money, where would I have gotten the money to buy you these things?"

Seeing that Qiao Weiguo had clearly softened his stance, Qiao Qiqi immediately pressed her advantage.

"Qin Huai handed over all the family's money to me before we got our marriage certificate yesterday, saying that I should be in charge of the household. This morning, he originally wanted to go to town with me, but because he was worried about losing his work points for the morning, he let me go alone."

"Qin Huai also said that I took meat from home yesterday, but I can't do that now that I'm married. You and Mother have a hard life, so he specially asked me to buy a piece of meat to return to you."

As Qiao Qiqi spoke, she took out the pork belly she had brought from home and showed it to Qiao Weiguo.

Qiao Weiguo glared at her and said, "Even if you get married, you're still my daughter. It's only natural for a daughter to live off her father. You don't need to listen to him."

Qiao Qiqi suddenly felt her eyes getting hot.

She had heard the same thing from her father in the 21st century.

Now, with a different person involved, I was even more deeply moved.

Afraid that she would burst into tears, she quickly sniffed and grinned as she approached Qiao Weiguo, "Dad, you're not angry with me anymore?"

"You brat, how many times have you annoyed me since we were little?" Qiao Weiguo glared at her, but his expression softened considerably.

His gaze fell on the things along the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and he completely believed Qiao Qiqi's words.

After all, he knew his daughter well; she was just a debt collector who would keep asking them for money and buying things for other men. She had never bought anything for him.

Thinking of Hou Yan, Qiao Weiguo's expression immediately turned serious. "Didn't you like that educated youth Hou? How come you suddenly got a marriage certificate with Qin Huai?"

Qiao Qiqi knew she had to explain this clearly, and fortunately she had prepared her explanation before coming.

"That day I learned that Hou Yan and Zhang Jingya were together, and I was so angry that I drank some alcohol. On the way, I ran into Qin Huai. Qin Huai was worried about me being alone and wanted to take me back, but I felt ashamed to face you and didn't want to go back to the educated youth resettlement point to be ridiculed by them, so I shamelessly followed Qin Huai to his house."

"What? And what about him towards you..."

"No, no! Qin Huai didn't take advantage of me; he didn't do anything to me!"

Qiao Qiqi could talk nonsense to Lin Chunying, but she wouldn't dare to talk nonsense to Qiao Weiguo.

"Qin Huai is the son of a soldier, how could he do that to me? He just took care of me for one night, which reminded me of when my mother was sick and you took care of her. Then I suddenly realized that it's better to find someone who cares about you than someone you like."

"That's the right way to think."

Qiao Weiguo was very pleased to see that his daughter had really thought things through.

"Qin Huai is a good boy. He is honest and hardworking. Now that you have registered your marriage with him, you should live a good life with him."

“I know, Father.”

To reassure Qiao Weiguo, Qiao Qiqi immediately took out several rolls of money from her pocket. There were three large coins and the rest were loose change, but it looked like a lot.

Qiao Weiguo was startled. "Where did you get so much money?"

Qiao Qiqi smiled, "This is the 100 yuan dowry that Qin Huai's mother specially gave me this morning. I've decided to keep half for you and Mother as a way of repaying you for raising me all these years."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Weiguo immediately became furious.

"You know how hard the Qin family's life is. How could you ask them for so much money? And you even want it for me and your mother! This is outrageous! Take it back right now!"

“I didn’t want it either, but my mother-in-law insisted on giving it to me. Qin Huai also persuaded me, saying that if I didn’t accept it, my mother-in-law would feel indebted to me and would definitely not be able to sleep well. So I had no choice but to accept it.”

"this……"

Since they all lived in the same village, Qiao Weiguo naturally understood the personalities of Qin Baojun and Wang Guihua, knowing that they were both honest and down-to-earth people.

If they don't accept this money, they really won't be able to sleep at night.

Qiao Qiqi added, "I've thought about it. I'll keep this money for now, and use it with you and my in-laws. If we need money in the future, I'll just take it out and spend it on you."

As she spoke, Qiao Qiqi pointed to the corner of the north wall and said, "Your house has been leaking for several years and you haven't had the money to fix it. You can use this money to fix the house first. As for your mother-in-law's share, I will earn it back in the future. I promise I won't be biased."

"That won't do either. This is the betrothal gift from the Qin family. What would it look like if I spent it?"

Qiao Weiguo ultimately didn't accept the money, and even gave Qiao Qiqi a lecture: "Now that you have money, you can't spend it recklessly. Buy fewer useless things in the future, and learn to save money for a better life, understand?"

"Okay, Dad."

Qiao Weiguo added, "Also, Qin Huai just told me that the wedding will be held after the autumn harvest. Since you've already discussed this, I agree. But since we're now in-laws, let's have a meal together beforehand as a formality."

Qiao Qiqi naturally nodded in agreement, "Great! I just bought a lot of things in town today, so how about tonight?"

"You guys figure it out!"

Qiao Weiguo stubbed out his cigarette on the side of the kang (a heated brick bed), turned and called out towards the door, "Stop watering the garden, wash your hands, and get ready to eat!"