"mother."

Qiao An suddenly spoke up, breaking the pink bubble around the two of them, and the couple who were joking with each other also looked over curiously.

Qiao Lu was so frightened that she broke free from his hand and lifted her hair from her temples to hide her embarrassment.

"What's wrong?"

The young man pointed at the vermicelli in the mushroom soup and said, "I can't eat it."

The spoon cannot scoop up the vermicelli, as it slips away from the spoon when you scoop it up.

Qiao Lu burst out laughing and picked up the chopsticks again.

"Mom will give it to you."

The boy held the bowl in his hand and said softly, "Thank you, Mom."

The few seconds of holding hands made it impossible for Qiaolu to enjoy her meal properly. She could no longer focus on the love story between her brother-in-law and her sister. Her thoughts gradually became active.

While eating, she would occasionally glance at the man next to her, but she saw that Xu Haizhou was as still as a mountain, as if he didn't receive her signal and just kept eating.

Qiao Lu gritted her teeth secretly and kicked him lightly on the calf under the table.

Xu Haizhou paused as he was picking up food, then kicked her back.

In fact, it wasn't really a kick, at most it was just a rub, which was like a flirtation, and it successfully made Qiao Lu blush.

Why do I feel a little ashamed doing this under the noses of my sister and brother-in-law?

Qiao Lu was about to kick again...

"By the way, what does your family do?" Qiao Yan suddenly asked from the opposite side.

Xu Haizhou retracted his foot, straightened his body and said seriously: "My father was a worker in a steel mill and is now retired. My mother was a teacher and is also retired. I also have an older brother who is a college student and now works in a steel mill."

"Not bad, not bad, pretty good." Being a city dweller, coming from a family with two working parents, and having a brother who is a college student, such good conditions are rare even in big cities. Qiao Lu is really lucky.

Qiao Yan thought so, without realizing who had been strongly opposed before.

"Are you a college student too?" Qiao Yan asked again.

Xu Haizhou replied: "I graduated from high school."

"Okay, graduating from high school is not bad. If you hadn't come to the south, you should have been able to find a good job, right?" Then he remembered something and asked, "Did you fail the college entrance examination?"

Xu Haizhou paused for half a second, then nodded and said, "I guess so."

"That's a bit of a pity." Qiao Yan sighed.

"Whether you pass the exam or not, you have to go to work. It's also good to start earning money early." Xu Haizhou himself didn't think it was a pity.

Qiao Yan pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "That's true, but college students are guaranteed to be assigned jobs, and there is a lot of room for promotion. The future is limitless. Your brother works in an office, right?"

Xu Haizhou nodded: "Yes."

"That's right. Only college students can get this treatment." Qiao Yan's words were literal and may have been a little ambiguous. She realized it herself and explained: "Actually, it's good for you. I used to have some prejudice against your line of work, but later I learned more about it. Anyway, it's good to be able to support your family. It's better than farming in the countryside anyway."

It all comes down to money. Qiao Yan has been poor since she was a child and she absolutely cannot bear to see her sister marry a poor boy. If she had known from the beginning that Xu Haizhou had good conditions, would she still object?

"How much can you earn in a month from setting up a stall?" This was asked by Yuan Jianghe.

At this point, everyone's eyes fell on Xu Haizhou. In an era that worships state-owned enterprises, everyone was curious about his income.

"When it's less, it's 30 or 40, and when it's more, it's not impossible to reach 50 or 60. It depends on the situation." In fact, this data is conservative. After the reform and opening up, the market has an unprecedentedly large gap. There is often explosive income during the New Year and other holidays. It is not impossible to make 200 or 300 yuan a month.

"So hard?" The couple found it unbelievable.

Xu Haizhou curled his lips and said, "Li'an has a large area and a large population, so its spending power is quite good. You may not understand it because you have never worked in this industry."

Qiao Yan laughed, "You don't understand as well as I do."

Then he remembered something: "By the way, what about your parents? Will they agree to my sister's situation?"

Xu Haizhou nodded: "I will write to tell them, but the final decision is mine. Besides, it's useless for them to object, after all, I have already settled in Li'an."

One is in the south and the other in the north, and their opposition is useless even if they are thousands of miles apart.

Qiao Yan and her husband looked at each other, worry forming between their brows: "What if your parents strongly object and come to Li An to stop it..."

"No, I promise."

Regarding Xu Haizhou's original family, he did not talk much with the two sisters of the Qiao family. He only talked about some basic information about his occupation and income. After all, they all settled in the north, and it actually did not have much impact on the couple, so Qiao Yan did not ask much.

"Okay, as long as you know what's going on."

Once the topic was changed, there was more to talk about. After dinner, Qiao Lu went to wash the dishes, and Qiao Yan and her husband pulled Xu Haizhou aside to continue chatting. They were particularly interested in his entrepreneurial business.

When Qiao Lu came back after washing the dishes, there were suddenly a few more people in the house, including Song Yulian from next door and her eldest daughter Shen Caixia, and two middle-aged women who had a good relationship with Qiao Yan. They all surrounded Xu Haizhou like they were watching a monkey.

"You are from the north? No wonder you are so tall." Shen Caixia sighed while cracking melon seeds.

Xu Haizhou smiled in response.

Shen Caixia spat out the melon seed shells and said, "So you live in Sister Liu's compound. I've been there before, but I don't think I've seen you there."

"I'm basically not at home during the day," Xu Haizhou replied.

Qiao Lu came in with the washed dishes and said, "An An, help mom open the cupboard."

Qiao An, who was sitting on the bed and chewing a biscuit, climbed down quietly and ran over to open the cupboard door for Qiao Lu.

"My son is awesome." After putting the dishes away and locking the cupboard, Shen Caixia was still asking.

"I heard that you are getting married for the first time, so why do you like Sister Qiao Lu? Doesn't she have a child?" This question is full of malicious intent...

When asked this, everyone's eyes turned to Xu Haizhou.

Qiao Lu complained in her heart, what does what happened between him and me have to do with you? How dare you ask such a question?

Over there, Xu Haizhou's light suddenly softened, and he raised his hand to stroke Qiao An's head.

"An An is very well-behaved and sensible. I like him very much." He looked at Qiao Lu with a gentler look in his eyes. He was not at all reluctant to express his love for her in front of outsiders.

"Qiaolu is also very good. I like her very much."

No one expected such an answer. Xu Haizhou actually treated Qiao Lu's only flaw as a treasure!

Shen Caixia choked and spit out melon seed shells with the sound of a machine gun. This happened in Yuan Jianghe and his wife's house.

Qiao Lu felt happy. It was really nice to see Shen Caixia looking so embarrassed.

Qiao Yan frowned and was about to remind Shen Caixia not to spit out the melon seed shells when Xu Haizhou stood up and said, "Second sister, second brother-in-law, it's getting late. I'll go back first."

Finally, he rubbed Qiao An's head and prepared to leave.

Qiao Yan stood up in surprise: "You're leaving now, won't you stay a little longer?"

Xu Haizhou glanced at the mother and son, smiled and shook his head: "I won't stay any longer. I'm going to the countryside tomorrow. I'll go back and pack up."

He has already made an appointment with Qiao Lu to go to the countryside to meet his parents tomorrow, and take the household registration booklet and ask the village secretary to issue a letter of introduction. With the letter of introduction, they can get the certificate.

"Okay." Qiao Yan originally wanted to keep Xu Haizhou until after dinner, but when she saw more and more neighbors gathering in her house, she felt a little annoyed.

"I'll take you there."

Qiao Lu and her son followed Qiao Yan to send Xu Haizhou to the bottom of the tube building. The main figures of the topic had left, and Shen Caixia and her group lost interest. They said goodbye to Yuan Jianghe and left. Before leaving, Shen Caixia grabbed a handful of melon seeds, cracked them and spit out the skins. Yuan Jianghe frowned and felt more and more uncomfortable the more he looked at them. He quickly found a broom to clean up the garbage.

Downstairs in the tube building, Qiao Yan was giving Xu Haizhou her final words of admonition.

"I don't ask much of you, except that you must be good to my sister, no matter whether you are rich or poor."

Xu Haizhou looked at Qiao Yan, then at Qiao Lu and her son. His eyes were quiet and gentle, and his face was filled with unprecedented seriousness.

"Don't worry, second sister. Qiao Lu is my wife after marrying me. She is also my responsibility. I will be responsible for her and Qiao An."

"I hope you'll keep your word."

Qiao Yan actually doesn't believe in promises at all. She only believes in men's actions, which cannot be accomplished just by words.

Marriage is like crossing a river by feeling the stones, and only time will tell.

…

Xu Haizhou's household registration was originally in his hometown in the north. Because he worked in a clothing factory in Li'an City, his household registration was transferred to the factory's collective household registration. After resigning, his household registration was not moved back to his hometown. Because he had a local house and was the owner of the house on the property certificate, his household registration was directly transferred to Ziyuan Street.

After all, I do business in Li'an, and it is more convenient to register my household registration here, so there is no need to move back home.

According to household registration, Xu Haizhou is also a southerner.

Early in the morning, Xu Haizhou went to the tube building to pick up Qiao Lu. The two of them first went to the Ziyuan Street Office to apply for a marriage. This was Xu Haizhou's request. Then they had to go back to the countryside in person and ask the secretary of Qishui Village to write a letter of introduction to Qiao Lu before they could go to get the marriage certificate.

Qiao Lu was rarely away, so Qiao Yan and her husband rushed home directly after work, ready to have a long-awaited harmony of life. Just as they entered the house and took off their coats, there was a knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang - bang bang bang -" The sound was so loud, it was not just knocking on the door, it was almost lifting the door open, and the wall cover was shaking to the ground.

Yuan Jianghe put on his coat again and opened the door angrily: "Who are you?"

The person at the door looked familiar, but Yuan Jianghe couldn't remember who he was until Qiao Yan hurried out after putting on her shoes and exclaimed, "Wang Bin?"

"Where's Qiao Lu? Let her out!" His chest was still panting, and it was obvious that he had run here. His triangular eyes were raised, and he looked ferocious, which was completely different from the attentive look he had shown before.

Qiao Yan looked at him and became alert: "What are you looking for my sister for?"

Wang Bin narrowed his eyes and uttered something almost through his teeth: "She's getting married?"

Qiao Yan frowned: "This seems to have nothing to do with you, right?"

Qiao Yan didn't want to be nice to the man who almost killed her sister.

"It's okay? How can it be okay? She asked for a breakup but I didn't agree!"

Qiao Yan snorted coldly: "No promise? If you didn't promise, where did you go a few days ago? Now you say you don't agree? It's too late!"

Wang Bin was enraged by her words and took a step forward as if to hit someone. Yuan Jianghe's face changed and he pushed him away: "What do you want to do?"

Although Yuan Jianghe is not as tall as Xu Haizhou, he is still 1.75 meters tall. Once the authority of the director is released, even a scoundrel like Wang Bin will be frightened.

Wang Bin took a half step back, with a stern expression on his face: "It's none of your business. I'm looking for Qiao Lu, you guys let Qiao Lu come out!"

Qiao Lu glared at him in disgust: "She is not here, and she will never be here again."

"Not here? Where else can she go if she's not here?" Don't think he doesn't know that Qiao Lu is from the countryside, and the only person she can rely on in Li'an is her second sister. Where else can she go if not here?

"Back to the countryside." said Qiao Yan.

"Impossible! How could she go back to the countryside after living in the city?"

The disgust in Qiao Yan's eyes became more intense: "How can it be impossible? If you go back, you go back. I tell you, stay away from my sister in the future! She is already married!"

"Who are you kidding! You got the marriage certificate just a few days ago?"

Wang Bin had a reason for not coming to see Qiao Lu a few days ago. He always thought that he had good conditions, money and support, while Qiao Lu was just a rural woman. She must have said that she wanted to break up on impulse. Which woman could refuse such good conditions? She would regret it in a few days. Of course, he had to keep calm, otherwise he would be controlled by her in the future. He had been waiting for Qiao Lu to come to him and ask for forgiveness these days. He didn't expect to receive the news that Qiao Lu was going to get married just after get off work!

He couldn't sit still any longer, so he rushed to Qiao Lu's house to ask her about it, but she wasn't there! Could she have really run off with a strange man?

"Yes, it happened today. My sister and her husband went to get their marriage certificate early in the morning."

Wang Bin stared at Qiao Yan in disbelief, his eyes bloodshot: "No, Impossible!"

Qiao Yan sneered and slammed the door shut: "Believe it or not."

Outside the door, Wang Bin kicked it hard, causing the earth to shake.

"If you kick him again, call the police!" Yuan Jianghe's powerful voice came out.

Fortunately, Wang Bin was a bully and feared the strong, so the kicking of the door stopped, and soon the footsteps became farther and farther away.

The room finally regained its peace. Looking at the wall dust on the ground, Yuan Jianghe became annoyed: "Sister Liu, why did you introduce such a person to your sister?"

Qiao Yan picked up a broom and swept the dust off the ground: "You can't judge a person by his appearance. I was attracted by his conditions at first, and I even arranged a job for Qiao Lu. Who knew he was such a scoundrel."

"Now that you mention it, I'm actually worried about Qiao Lu." Didn't Xu Haizhou get well in just a few days?

Qiao Yan paused, and Xu Haizhou's face appeared in her mind. She shook her head: "That's still different. Wang Bin can't compare with him just in terms of appearance!"

I don’t know why, but I just feel that Xu Haizhou is not the kind of person like Wang Bin.

"Who knows? You can know a person's face but not his heart."

Well, it was Qiao Yan who was worried before, but now it is Yuan Jianghe, her brother-in-law, who is worried.