Chapter 425 Chunhua Refuses Marriage
Sun's nephew, whose full name is Sun Xiaolei, has been helping out at the canteen for the past few days. He walks over before dawn and goes home after finishing lunch.
Cheng Wanwan had met the child a few times. He was indeed tall and strong, spoke very little, worked very hard, and hadn't caused any trouble.
But the marriage between her cousin and her sister... although it was common in this era, she could never get over it.
Grandma Zhao was always shrewd in judging people, and she couldn't find fault with this child either: "She's really good. Chunhua will marry into the family in the future..."
"I won't get married!" Chunhua put down the kitchen knife and walked over. "I don't want to get married yet!"
"You silly girl, what nonsense are you spouting!" Madam Sun pinched her arm. "You're already sixteen, and you still aren't married? Do you want to be an old maid? Even if you're willing, I'm not. Getting married as soon as possible is the right thing to do! Xiao Lei is your cousin, and you two have known each other since childhood. After you get married, he will definitely protect you. This is a perfect match, and your grandmother and aunt have both agreed!"
Cheng Wanwan: "..."
She didn't agree; she just didn't want to interfere in other people's business!
However, since she's been mentioned, she should still offer her opinion.
“Third Aunt, don’t force the child,” Cheng Wanwan said gently. “The person who will spend his life with Xiaolei is Chunhua, but it also depends on whether Chunhua likes him or not.”
Chunhua pursed her lips tightly: "I don't like it!"
Sun rolled up her sleeves: "You'd better explain yourself clearly today, why don't you like it anymore?"
Although the Sun family's life is not as good as the Zhao family's, the mother-in-law and father-in-law are uncle and aunt, which is a double blessing. After marrying into the family, she will not be mistreated by her husband's family. Otherwise, she would not have thought of marrying into her own family. She was thinking of this brat wholeheartedly, but this brat actually said she was unwilling. It's really a case of good intentions being taken for granted!
“Cousin Xiaolei is indeed a good man, but my feelings for him aren’t strong enough to make me tolerate my aunt for him!” Chunhua said, her head lowered. “Just look at how my aunt treats my eldest cousin’s wife. She’s been married for five years and has given birth to three daughters, but my aunt hasn’t treated her like a human being…”
“Your aunt isn’t wrong. What woman can’t give birth to a son? Does she expect to be pampered?” Mrs. Sun said, her belly protruding. “But don’t worry, she’s your aunt. She’ll definitely treat you like her own daughter and won’t mistreat you… Besides, you have a big bottom, so giving birth to a son won’t be a problem…”
Chunhua stubbornly said, "Forcing my daughter-in-law to have a son is only one thing. In short, I don't like my aunt, I don't want her to be my mother-in-law, and I will never marry my cousin Xiaolei!"
After she finished speaking, she covered her face and ran out of the yard.
"You brat, if you have the guts, don't come back!" Sun cursed. "You even dare to look down on your aunt as your mother-in-law? Where do you get the nerve? This brat has really grown wings, daring to disobey her own mother... Oh my, I'm so angry my stomach hurts!"
Grandma Zhao threw down what she was holding and said sternly, "I've met your sister-in-law a few times. Just by looking at her, I can tell she's cunning and mean. Chunhua must have suffered at her hands, otherwise she wouldn't be so resistant! Since the girl doesn't want to marry, then forget it. There are plenty of good men in the village. Why worry about not being able to get married?"
Mrs. Sun clutched her stomach and cried out.
She had two selfish motives for wanting Chunhua to marry into the family. First, it would strengthen family ties, preventing Chunhua from being tormented by her wicked mother-in-law. Second, the Sun family was extremely poor, and Chunhua's skill could help them prosper.
This is a win-win situation, but no one in the family considered things from her perspective.
"It hurts, my stomach hurts so much..."
Sun held her belly, and her expression didn't seem fake.
Wen wiped her hands and came over: "Third Aunt, let me help you lie down on the bed to rest. Would you like some egg drop soup to fill your stomach?"
Mrs. Sun immediately nodded: "I am indeed hungry."
Cheng Wanwan shook her head helplessly: "I'll go talk to Chunhua and see what she really thinks."
She got up and walked out of the courtyard, standing on the high ground of the big locust tree in the village. Looking out over the fields, she saw many farmers tending to their fields by the moonlight. The round moon hung in the sky, and the grass and trees on the ground were covered with a layer of light. The river was sparkling, and many children were catching fish, shrimp, and snails by the river. A pretty figure was sitting by the river.
Cheng Wanwan walked over and sat down next to her.
"Auntie," Chunhua lowered her eyes, "did my mother send you to persuade me?"
"If I were to persuade you, would you be willing to marry Sun Xiaolei?" Cheng Wanwan casually plucked a blade of grass and played with it in her hand. "Tell your aunt why she is so hostile towards your aunt."
Chunhua hugged her knees and whispered, "Every time I go to my maternal grandparents' house, I see my aunt bullying my eldest cousin's wife. Once, I saw her hiding behind the house crying, so I talked to her for a while. My eldest cousin's wife actually has embroidery skills. Before she got married, she would embroider and sell her work for money. After she got married, my aunt wouldn't let her go to the city alone anymore. All the housework, feeding the chickens, ducks, and pigs, cooking, washing clothes, and sweeping, were all done by my eldest cousin's wife. Her hands are ruined; she can no longer embroider handkerchiefs..."
"My eldest cousin's wife said that after she married my cousin Da Lei, she never left Guihua Village, not even going back to her parents' home. It wasn't that she didn't want to go back, but my aunt wouldn't allow it, saying that she wasn't qualified because she hadn't given birth to a son... I think my aunt is terrifying. If I married into that family, would she not allow me to work at Dahe Banquet? If I couldn't give birth to a son, would she not allow me to go back to Dahe Village...?"
At this point, she couldn't help but shudder.
“I’m very happy with my life now. I don’t want to be stuck at home after getting married, and I don’t want to take all sorts of folk remedies to have a son… I want to help my aunt make the Dahe Banquet restaurant a great success, I want to become a chef as good as my sister-in-law, and I want to do what I want to do…”
After listening to Chunhua's inner monologue, Cheng Wanwan couldn't help but sigh.
When she first arrived in this era, Chunhua was just an ordinary rural girl. Unexpectedly, after working at the Daheyan Restaurant for a few months and seeing the world, she unconsciously developed a strong woman's mindset. For girls of this era, it's hard to say whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.
Cheng Wanwan patted her shoulder: "I can only say that I can help persuade your mother not to marry you off to the Sun family, but it's unlikely that you'll never get married."
"Of course I won't stay single forever, it's just that I don't really want to right now..."
Chunhua murmured.
She wanted to find a mother-in-law like her husband's older sister-in-law; if the mother-in-law was good, her son would surely be good too…
As the two were talking, a figure rushed over – it was Donghua.
"Big sister, something terrible has happened! You made Mom go into premature labor, and she's bleeding so much!" Donghua's face was deathly pale in the moonlight. "If anything happens to Mom and my brother, you're doomed!"
Chunhua's pupils widened suddenly, then she got up and ran quickly towards home.
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