"Second son, it hasn't even been two years yet," Grandpa Chen scolded with a stern face.
What is this scoundrel of a son, the second son, going to do on his first visit to his future granddaughter-in-law's home?
"I know, I didn't ask you to pay me back, it's just that my family is a little short on cash lately, and I wanted to ask you to lend me some money." Chen Lao Er looked like he was penniless and had nothing to eat.
At another table, Chen Xihua and the others, who had been listening in and eating, looked at each other: "Dad's got a tough head; he dares to cause trouble even at a time like this."
"Second son, didn't your eldest brother just say he wanted to introduce a potential partner to your Chunhua? Listen to what the man's family background is like." Grandma Chen spoke up at this point, not wanting him to continue rambling on, she needed to shift his focus, since she had her eye on a potential granddaughter-in-law.
“Yes, second brother, the man is the eldest grandson of Director Li’s father-in-law’s family at the textile factory. He drives a passenger bus between Gaoyang County and Jiang City. He also bought a house in the northern new district of the county.” Uncle Chen also realized this immediately and continued his mother’s words.
There's another reason why I invited my second brother's family over for dinner today.
There was a vacancy for the office director position at the textile factory recently. A few days ago, Director Li mentioned to me that his father-in-law's eldest grandson seemed to have taken a liking to Chunhua, the eldest daughter of his second brother.
Finally, Director Li ambiguously stated that his abilities were evident to all.
I wonder if if he can facilitate this marriage, I might become the office director and no longer have to stay in the workshop.
"Introduce Chunhua to someone?" Upon hearing this, Chen Lao Er's whole body shuddered. He immediately turned to look at Chen Xihua's table, giving her an innocent look: This has nothing to do with him.
Chen Xihua remained calm and continued eating, ignoring the frequent glances from Chen Lao Er.
"Big sister, your uncle wants to introduce you to someone." Chen Jinhua, who had the best hearing, was the first to react. She nudged Chen Chunhua next to her with her right elbow.
"It's alright, Xiao Wu is here." Fourth Sister Chen Xiuhua also ate her meal seriously, but she still glanced at her mother who was eating with her head down, and found that her mother was also calm, as if she hadn't heard.
Li Yumei pretended not to hear. With Wu Yatou around, no one could introduce her to a potential partner. Was she stupid? No, her previous outburst was just an unwillingness to admit she was being suppressed by her youngest daughter. She was just resentful. So what if she doted on Xiao Bao? She had many daughters, all born of her own. What was wrong with scolding them a bit? It infuriated her.
Since bringing Wu Yatou back to the county from Shanghe Village, I haven't done anything too outrageous to her, but this brat just keeps going against me, as if I've done something heinous.
So she's not going to bother with them anymore, is that alright? If they're so capable, let them handle it themselves. It's none of her business. She only cares about Xiaobao's affairs. Anyway, before her daughter gets married, she can't give her a penny less of the dowry she's owed.
"Brother, the marriages of my daughters are their own decisions, and they have to be willing. Besides, Chunhua is going to take the college entrance exam and go to university." Chen Lao Er tilted his head and waited for several seconds, but when he found that Xiao Wu was ignoring him, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say it.
At that moment, he completely forgot about borrowing money. His older brother said that introducing him to a potential partner was the most important thing, and if he dared to agree casually, Xiao Wu could deal with him.
"Second son, what do you mean by letting them decide? It's all about the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. As long as you agree, that's all that matters." Grandpa Chen glared angrily at Chen's second son and continued, "Besides, is it so easy to get into university? She's a girl. After she graduates from high school next June, she can date the boy for half a year and then get married at the end of the year."
“That’s right, as the father, it’s your job to decide your daughter’s marriage,” Grandma Chen also criticized him, then looked at Li Xiaoling beside her and said with a smile, “Xiaoling knows that the man’s family is very well-off, right!”
“Yes, Chunhua, the man is my aunt’s nephew. You can meet him first and spend some time with him,” Li Xiaoling quickly said, looking at Chen Chunhua.
She seemed to have heard her aunt mention that her aunt's nephew was a driver who had driven Chen Chunhua back to the county from Jiang City a few times, so she inquired about the Chen family.
"Big sister, are you willing?" Chen Xihua had already finished eating. She put down her chopsticks, took out a tissue from her pocket to wipe her mouth, and asked casually.
"Uncle, I'm not thinking about getting married so soon." Chen Chunhua was already quite composed and wouldn't get anxious or angry upon hearing these words.
"Second sister-in-law, why don't you listen to him? The man is really good, but he's a bit too old, thirty years old." Uncle Chen was getting a little anxious. It was always the girls who made the decisions about his second brother and his wife, and neither of them had expressed their opinions.
Li Yumei: "They make their own decisions."
"Heh, thirty years old, and you call that a good match?" Chen Jinhua couldn't hold back any longer. Her older sister was only nineteen, not even twenty yet. Marrying a thirty-year-old was considered a good match?
"Of course it's great. Although the man is remarried, he has a seven-year-old son. Your mother gave birth to five daughters in a row. Who knows if you will be able to have a son after you get married? Now that the man already has a son, Chunhua won't have to have any more children after marrying him. The family is rich and has a house."
Grandma Chen was also angered by her second son's family. She couldn't hold back any longer, stood up, and started spitting out a string of sarcastic remarks, bringing up Li Yumei as an example again.
Chen Xihua glanced at Li Yumei and saw her somewhat restrained expression. She wanted to facepalm. It was truly both funny and exasperating: this person was hopeless.
Or perhaps Li Yumei was afraid of being scolded by Grandma Chen in the past.
"Mother, what are you saying?" Chen Lao Er couldn't listen anymore. His eyelids twitched, and he quickly stopped his mother from saying anything more.
"Auntie, I want to file a complaint! This family is forcing a marriage on us and demeaning women! Auntie, are you still the women's director of the neighborhood committee?" Chen Xihua stood up, her cold voice echoing throughout the dining room.
"Ah, Fifth Sister, you're being a bit too serious. Aren't you asking your parents and your eldest sister for their opinions?" Aunt Wang Fen was stunned and caught off guard. Usually, because of her work, she would avoid getting involved in the affairs of her in-laws and her second uncle's family. She had some reservations about such matters.
“I know, Aunt, you don’t usually get involved in these family matters, but standing by and watching is also a form of inaction. If you can’t give me an explanation, I’ll report this to your supervisor at work,” Chen Xihua said coldly.
"Shut up." Grandpa Chen's face was frighteningly dark as he shouted at Chen Xihua.
Chen Xihua was not intimidated by Grandpa Chen in the slightest. She showed no mercy and stared at Uncle Chen, asking in a cold voice, "Uncle, since you're so eager to arrange your own niece's marriage with that divorced man, has Director Li promised to make you the deputy director?"
"No, how could that be? Fifth Sister, don't talk nonsense." Uncle Chen immediately denied it loudly, and looked at Chen Xihua with a somewhat gloomy look in his eyes.
This brat not only dragged my wife into this, but also brought trouble upon myself. If this gets out, I won't be able to keep my job as the workshop director.
"This is outrageous, second son! Don't you care about your own daughter?" Grandma Chen was furious. She slapped her thigh and started cursing.
Chen Xihua ignored Grandma Chen and continued, "Li Xiaoling, right? You just said that your aunt's nephew is so well-off, he must be better off than my cousin, right? Why don't you just marry him? You're not related by blood, it would be a double blessing."
A decisive blow!
Chen Xihua's words stunned everyone in the dining room.
“How could that be? He’s so old, and he has children…” Li Xiaoling was initially shocked, her face paled slightly, and she blurted out. Realizing her mistake, she immediately shut her mouth, then looked at Chen Penghua with a mixture of shyness and anger.
Chen Penghua's expression was also quite bad. He immediately turned to the side, took Li Xiaoling's hands in his own, and whispered words of comfort to her.
A loud bang.
At this point, Grandpa Chen was furious and slammed his hand on the dining table.
"You...you wretched child, get out!"
"Dad, you handle your own affairs." Chen Xihua said this to Chen Lao Er, then lifted his foot and walked slowly towards the door.
The Chen sisters all stood up and followed behind him. Chen Xiaoliu even ran a few steps forward and grabbed one of her fifth sisters' hands.
Even knowing that she might be kicked out every time she came, Chen Xihua would never refuse when Uncle Chen's family wanted to have a family meal together.
Firstly, they could watch the show; secondly, if they didn't come, they wouldn't know what outrageous things Uncle Chen's family might do.
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