Huan Ren stood beside Jiang Wanqing, his expression complicated, and couldn't help but speak up to remind her.
"It seems things aren't going so smoothly. Amei and her father are very possessive of Comrade Cheng. In my opinion, her father is thinking that after he's gone, he can entrust his daughter to someone else so that there will be a strong young man in the family."
"I can see that, but I can't give in on this matter."
Jiang Wanqing's eyes were firm. Even if her husband had lost his memory, she would take him away by force if gentle persuasion failed. She would never let him wander outside and become someone else's family!
Meanwhile, Hung Hing followed them to their lodgings and stood outside the window eavesdropping...
The old man pulled Aye to sit in a chair, told Amei to close the door, put his hands on his hips, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a white handkerchief.
"Aye, your father is asking you, have you taken a fancy to that Comrade Jiang?"
"No."
Not yet, he answered readily, simply expressing more curiosity.
"If you didn't, then why were you chatting with her so well? That Comrade Jiang is said to be a widow whose husband's family are high-ranking officials, and she runs such a big business that it's not something a peasant like us can even dream of. If you have such thoughts, you should end it as soon as possible! At worst, I won't make this money, but I will definitely bring you and your sister back with me!"
“Father, Ah Ye and I... are not siblings.” This was the first time A-mei had retorted.
Although he spoke very softly, his father still heard it. His eyes darted between the two of them, and finally he looked at A-Ye and nodded.
“That’s right. You’re not related by blood. After all, A-Ye isn’t your biological brother. In his heart, we might not be family yet. Since that’s the case, why don’t we really become family? That way, we can put an end to A-Ye’s inappropriate thoughts and save him from suffering a great loss in the future!”
"Father, what do you mean?"
A-mei suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with anticipation. Was it what she thought?
Actually, she never said it, but from the day she rescued Aye and brought him home, she felt that he was better than any other man in the village. He was good-looking, had a good personality and didn't get angry easily. Except for not interacting with others, he was perfect in every way. So, in the past two years, when matchmakers came to propose marriage, she refused them all. She was just waiting for the day when she could switch identities with him and become a family.
"A-Ye, let me ask you, if I marry A-Mei to you, will you take good care of her?"
The old man didn't answer Ah Mei's question, but instead asked Ah Ye directly.
Hearing this from outside the window, Hung Hing covered his mouth in surprise, secretly feeling dissatisfied.
Old man, no wonder you always made excuses to my brother Cheng when he tried to get close to my sister-in-law. So you've already set your sights on him as your son-in-law! You've really got a good plan!
He suppressed the urge to rush in and stop this absurd thing from happening, and just then, A-Ye opened his mouth to answer.
"I will take good care of Ah Mei..."
Upon hearing this, Ah Mei and her father were overjoyed, while Hung Hing was so shocked that his mouth dropped open, and he quickly made a move to open the door and go in.
But before the father and daughter could be happy for long, A-Ye added something else.
"But I will not marry her, and it is impossible for me to marry her. I only see her as a younger sister, and I have no other feelings for her."
Good, good, good! As expected of Brother Cheng, even with amnesia, he won't fall for other women. That's great!
Hung Hing breathed a sigh of relief and continued to squat outside to eavesdrop. The next second, he heard Ah Mei shout.
"Why?! What do I lack that makes me unworthy of you? Sister? Who wants to be your sister! I don't have a brother! My mother only gave birth to me, her only daughter! My father didn't remarry. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have publicly acknowledged you as my brother in the first place!"
A-mei wiped away her tears, feeling as if she had offered her heart away only to have it thrown away. She was in great pain and felt even more ashamed and indignant.
She was like that, and so was her father; their faces darkened.
“Ah Ye, how could you say that? I married Ah Mei to you because I trusted you. You're so ungrateful. If Ah Mei and I hadn't saved you, you'd probably have been carried off by some wild beast. There's an old saying that a life-saving grace should be repaid with one's body. We haven't forced you these past two years, have we? You don't want any physical contact with us, and we accept that, after all, you're sick…”
"I'm not sick, I just have amnesia, so I want to see a doctor and get my memory back!"
His rebuttal startled the father and daughter. They were indeed simple and honest like farmers, but they couldn't help feeling unhappy when they felt their interests were being harmed. In their eyes, Aye's behavior was blatant ingratitude!
“Father, look, he really does look down on us.”
"I'm not..."
Aye frowned. He had never looked down on the people who had been his family for two years, and he had always wanted to repay their life-saving grace, but never by selling his body.
"Since that's not the case, then come home with me tomorrow and we'll get married! I don't want your dowry, I don't want the three turns and one ring, I don't want anything, I just want you, as long as you're good to me, Ah Ye, my demands are very low, please, let's go back."
She reached out her hand, but as before, Ah Ye wouldn't let her touch it.
This sudden estrangement was hard for them to accept. The father was so angry that he glared at the table and slammed his fist on the table.
"It's settled then, A-Ye. I'll take you back tomorrow. Only after you and A-Mei get married and truly become our family will I take you down the mountain to get treatment. Otherwise, how have we managed to get by these past two years, and how will we manage in the future? You've only lost your memory, you're not useless, it won't affect anything. No, let's go now, let's go!"
Fearing the risk of staying even half a day longer, he quickly packed his things, and his sister immediately responded to his call and helped him.
Just as they finished packing and were about to leave, Hung Hing opened the door and blocked the entrance with his arms outstretched.
"You are not allowed to go anywhere!"
"Comrade Hong Xing, what are you doing?"
The father pulled his daughter behind him and stared at Hung Hing.
"We have no past grudges or recent animosity, isn't this inappropriate?"
Realizing he had acted impulsively and recklessly, Hung Hing immediately came up with a plan: he had to buy time for Jiang Wanqing to handle the problem.
He cleared his throat: "Uncle, I just passed by and heard you say you were leaving, but the doctor from Beijing is arriving tomorrow. His time in this county for the free clinic is limited; he'll only stay for three to five days. Even if you want to go home, it's not too late to leave after you've seen the doctor and received a diagnosis. If you leave now and miss the opportunity for the expert's free clinic, Comrade Aye's amnesia may never be cured. Perhaps you should ask him if he's willing to do so?"
The father and daughter looked at each other, a conflict flashing in their eyes, and Aye sat down directly.
"I'm not leaving."
"you……"
"Comrade Hong Xing, can't you talk to Comrade Jiang and ask her to let the experts stay for a couple more days? Just one week, we can definitely make it, okay?"
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