The bride price was agreed upon verbally; there was no receipt, and no witnesses were invited.
Where can I find the proof now?
"As you can see, Commander, she has no evidence at all; she's just making things up."
Upon seeing Zhang Qin's expression, Liu Yuelan's lips immediately curled into a smile.
She stood with her hands on her hips, her posture aggressive.
Just as she was about to win, Zhang Qin suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Liu Chunhe on the kang (a heated brick bed).
In that instant, the atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense.
All eyes followed her finger.
"Boss, he's Liu Yuelan's younger brother, he knows this."
Zhang Qin spoke with a firm tone.
"Also, Chen Xinghua is her mother. She was the one who talked to me about the bride price and the marriage."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Section Chief Zhu and waited for his response.
Upon hearing this, Section Chief Zhu immediately looked at Liu Chunhe.
His eyes sharpened, and his brows furrowed slightly, carrying a scrutinizing air.
Liu Yuelan glared fiercely at her younger brother, a hint of anxiety flashing in her eyes.
She was conveying a silent threat with all her might.
'If you dare tell the truth, you'll regret it!'
But Liu Chunhe didn't even glance at her before speaking directly.
"My sister did indeed marry into the Shen family."
"As for how much the bride price was, I don't know. I'll have to ask my mother."
After he finished speaking, he lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on his knees.
Liu Yuelan's eyes widened instantly, her eyeballs almost bulging out.
"Liu Chunhe! I'm your own sister, how could you..."
She took a step forward, raised her arm, and tried to rush over and grab her brother's collar.
But someone next to him stopped him.
"Comrade Liu Yuelan, please be quiet now!"
Section Chief Zhu's voice turned deep and his tone became stern.
Then he asked another question.
Where is Comrade Chen Xinghua?
He glanced at the doorway, waiting for a response.
“Here you are, Section Chief Zhu.”
Chen Xinghua's voice came from the doorway.
She hunched over, leaning on an old wooden cane, and slowly moved in.
"Then come in here for a moment and explain things clearly."
Section Chief Zhu nodded, gesturing for her to come to the front.
Chen Xinghua walked in slowly and immediately met Liu Yuelan's fierce gaze.
She was so frightened that her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but swallow hard. Her throat was dry, and her palms were sweating.
She looked up and saw her son on the kang (a heated brick bed) nodding at her.
That tiny gesture felt like a warm current flowing into her heart.
Now that she felt at ease, she mustered up her courage and spoke.
“We received a dowry of 120 yuan from the Shen family, plus a Forever brand bicycle.”
"That's how Yue Lan entered the Shen family."
She paused, then took a breath.
"The Shen family said they would hold a banquet after she became pregnant, so the two families just had a meal together and didn't have a formal wedding."
“Su Qingzhi was also present at that time.”
"Later, my family suffered from wild mushroom poisoning and had to stay in the hospital for several days."
She explained it in detail.
The time, place, and people are all mentioned in detail, without any omissions.
Even those who were initially skeptical began to nod frequently and whisper among themselves.
Liu Yuelan's face turned from red to white, then from white to green, her lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.
She cursed Chen Xinghua in her heart for not knowing how to protect her daughter at all.
"You ungrateful wretch!"
She roared inwardly.
"I've been married for so many years, and I've always given you gifts during holidays and festivals. And now you're betraying me like this!"
She hated the two sons of the Liu family even more for not helping their older sister.
But she couldn't worry about settling accounts now; all she could do was offer explanations.
"Mom! You're confused! There's no 120 yuan! It's clearly only 80 yuan!"
"And that bicycle, it was borrowed by the Shen family, but they returned it later!"
"This is the new China. Such marriages are arranged and completely illegal."
"Moreover, Shen Cunpu and I never went through any formal marriage registration procedures, so legally speaking, we are not considered husband and wife at all."
"It's precisely because you haven't registered your marriage that I reluctantly agreed to let you marry Deputy Company Commander Fang."
Zhang Qin said coldly.
"But one thing must be clear: the betrothal gifts your family received must be returned in full. This is the rule and the bottom line. Just because you did something wrong in private doesn't mean it never happened."
She only has one thing on her mind right now.
No matter what, we must get that bride price back.
"I didn't take the money! I didn't touch a single penny!"
Liu Yuelan was so emotional that her voice rose eight octaves.
"Go find whoever you want a refund from! I already transferred the money to the Shen family. What's the point of getting angry at me now? I'm not running a money exchange, I don't have the money to pay people back!"
Section Chief Zhu frowned as he listened.
He rubbed his forehead vigorously and sighed helplessly.
Instead of dwelling on who was right and who was wrong, he turned directly to Fang Youming and said.
“Xiao Fang, now that you’ve officially married Liu Yuelan and your life has settled down, you can pay the bride price for her first.”
"Making such a fuss over such a small amount of money is outrageous. We are a revolutionary team, and we cannot let such private matters ruin our reputation."
Seeing the commander's gloomy face and furrowed brows, it was clear that he was already angry.
Fang Youming hesitated for a moment, but ultimately dared not say more and could only nod in agreement.
"Okay, I'll go back and get the money in a bit and hand it over to Comrade Zhang Qin personally. Please rest assured, organization."
Liu Yuelan immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Once we get through this hurdle, nothing else matters.
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