"Zhaodi, come with me to the Sun family today."
Gu Yueji was having breakfast when He Mei suddenly brought it up.
Gu Yueji lowered her head and drank her porridge. She knew what her mother was up to without even guessing, and directly refused, "I'm not going."
Upon hearing this, He Mei slammed her chopsticks on the table with a loud "bang," followed by an even louder roar, "You're looking down on me now! I, your mother, can't even get you to come back, can I?! If you're so capable, then don't come back!"
Yesterday, the Sun family called to ask how things were going with Gu Yueji. If they agreed, they would let Gu Yueji come to their house today to meet Sun Xiaoming and cultivate their relationship. If they didn't agree, then forget it. There are plenty of women waiting to marry Sun Xiaoming. Don't delay their family from having a grandson. They can also find another husband for Sun Xiaohui sooner.
He Mei wasn't worried at all, so she was determined to take Gu Yueji to the Sun family today.
When Gu Yueji was little, she was terrified of He Mei's temper tantrums. Every time He Mei lost her temper, she would either yell and scream or slam her fists on the table and kick chairs, which would always terrify her. So even after all these years, hearing He Mei's sudden shouts still made her instinctively tremble.
But she had grown up after all. After a moment of silence, she looked up and stared directly at He Mei, "Didn't you trick me into coming back?"
Upon hearing the word "deceive," He Mei's face immediately darkened. "I raised you all these years, what right do you have to argue with me? You've always been so headstrong and defied your parents. I thought you were so capable, but after all these years out there, you're still nobody, nobody, a complete failure, and you even married a useless husband. Wouldn't things be better if you had listened to my arrangements earlier?!"
Gu Yueji scoffed, "What kind of plan do you want? Marry a man ten years older than me right after graduating high school, exchange money to support Jia Hui's college education, and then spend the rest of my life as his family's baby-making machine and nanny? Or divorce now and marry a lazy man who lives off his parents?"
Gu Nianwang also joined the persuasion team, saying, "Men should marry when they are of age and women should marry when they are of age. There are many people in our village who get married in their teens, and some even have children. What's the problem with that? But that's all in the past, and we parents don't blame you. Now, Xiaohui's brother is about the same age as you, and you are classmates. He is good in every way, so you must be happy, right?"
"What do you mean by 'good conditions in all aspects'? Does having a bungalow and a few acres of land mean you're good? Don't pretend you're doing this for my own good. You're only marrying a thirty-year-old man who's idle and lazy at home to save on Sun Xiaohui's dowry!"
He Mei angrily slammed her hand on the table again, "Who do you think you are, some rich heiress? You think you're something special just because you went to school for a few years? You're so critical of Sun Xiaoming, and what kind of husband did you find? A construction worker carrying bricks on a construction site, is he something special?"
He Mei had always liked to criticize her since she was a child, and Gu Yueji was used to it. Hearing her say something about Ren Jin was even more grating. "Ren Jin is hardworking and diligent. He earns every penny with his own two hands. He is better than Sun Xiaoming."
Even disregarding economic conditions, Ren Jin's ambition and hard work surpass even ten Sun Xiaomings.
“What’s the use of being good-natured? Can he make money? Even if he lays bricks his whole life, you still won’t be able to afford a house in the city. You might as well marry Sun Xiaoming. You’ll never have to worry about food or clothing, and we can even help you out at home.”
Gu Nianwang seemed to want his daughter to understand, "A woman's life is about finding a man to marry, having children, staying home to be a good wife and mother, raising the children, and that's how her life ends. No matter what, as long as a man has money to support you and the children, that's enough. What more could you want?"
Gu Yueji shook her head in disagreement, “I just don’t want to spend my whole life revolving around children and the kitchen! I want to have my own career, I want to see the world beyond this dirt slope and mud pit. I want my husband to be an ambitious and hardworking man who will take care of me, cherish me, and protect me from the wind and rain.”
Seeing that she still couldn't persuade Gu Yueji, He Mei directly ordered, "I don't care what you think, you have to come to the Sun family with me today! You were born of me, we raised you, so you have to repay us!"
Gu Yueji realized that people with different perspectives were impossible to communicate with. "Let me make this clear: I'm not going to the Sun family. If you want to go, go yourselves. I have a husband, and I can't divorce him to marry another man. If you keep pressuring me, I'll take Jia Hui and leave this family, and leave you all!"
"You dare!"
"You'll see if I dare!"
——
When Ren arrived in Gu Yueji's hometown, it was a little after 6 a.m. He figured she probably hadn't woken up yet, so he didn't call her.
I got out of the car and stretched, realizing it was the last time I'd driven for so long; my bones were stiff.
As you stretch out, the street directly in front of you is bathed in the bright, gentle sunlight of a winter morning, dispelling the chill that has enveloped you all night.
The sounds of vendors calling out their wares filled the air; this was a bustling morning market, teeming with people and full of life.
Hearing someone hawking tofu pudding and pancakes not far away, Ren Jin remembered someone saying that tofu pudding and pancakes were the breakfast she ate most often in her hometown. They were delicious, cheap, and plentiful, and she had never eaten them anywhere else.
Ren Jin locked the car door and went over. He leisurely ate two bowls of tofu pudding and two pancakes, then strolled around the market for a while before calling someone around 9 o'clock.
"Are you awake yet?"
Gu Yueji didn't want to argue with He Mei anymore, so she went back to her room without finishing her breakfast. "I've been awake for a while now, and I've already eaten breakfast."
It was a bit noisy on Ren Jin's end, so he didn't notice the low mood in Gu Yueji's voice. "What did you eat that was delicious?"
"I made eggplant and green bean buns yesterday, and I still have some porridge left."
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