Yu Qiuying did not stop Zhong Xiaolan from seeing Zhou Jiadong, but she also did not let her into the house. Instead, she called Zhou Jiadong out.
"Hey, I've called the person out for you. Now that you've seen them, you can go back."
Suppressing her anger, Zhong Xiaolan said, "Auntie, I have something I want to say to Jiadong..."
"Alright, just say what you need to say here. Don't go in alone, you two. Who knows what you might do inappropriately inside? My Zhou family can't afford to lose face like that."
"Mom!" Zhou Jiadong stood at the gate of the courtyard, leaning on his cane, his face flushed red, whether from embarrassment or anger, it was hard to tell.
Zhong Xiaolan lowered her head guiltily, filled with anger. However, she was not angry that Yu Qiuying had deliberately said such things to insult her, but rather that Yu Qiuying had actually hit the nail on the head.
Because she came today with the intention of forcing Zhou Jiadong into a fait accompli.
But now her thoughts have been exposed by Yu Qiuying. In order to guard against her, Yu Qiuying is not letting her into the house. If she doesn't go in, how can she and Zhou Jiadong consummate their relationship?
Zhong Xiaolan was both angry and resentful. If she hadn't been desperate, why would a girl from a respectable family risk ruining her reputation to do such a thing?
It's all that old woman's fault. If she had been willing to pay that thousand dowry, none of this would have happened!
Zhong Xiaolan pursed her lips, concealing the hatred in her eyes, and forced herself to calm down.
Yu Qiuying didn't care whether the two of them felt embarrassed or not; she said those words intentionally to humiliate Zhong Xiaolan.
After saying that, he ignored them, locked the courtyard gate, and went to town with Zhou Cailian.
However, the two women left, but Huang Guifang did not. At this moment, she was standing at the gate of Wang Xiuying's house diagonally opposite, whispering something to Wang Xiuying who came out after hearing the commotion, while glancing at Zhou Jiadong and Zhong Xiaolan.
Zhou Jiadong glanced hurriedly in that direction, then moved away, turning his back to them, and whispered to Zhong Xiaolan, "Xiaolan, I'm sorry, my mother refuses to give a bride price..."
“I know your mother doesn’t approve of me…” Zhong Xiaolan pursed her thin lips, her eyes instantly reddening. She slowly raised her eyes to look at Zhou Jiadong, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Jiadong, my dad found me an old man in his forties. I begged him to let me come out and find you today. He said he's giving me three more days. If you don't come to my house with the betrothal gifts within three days, I'm going to marry that old man…”
Looking at the girl's aggrieved and desperate eyes, Zhou Jiadong's heart clenched. "Xiaolan, don't cry, don't be afraid. I, I'll think of something. There will be a way, there will be a way. I won't let you marry someone else."
It's unclear whether these words were meant to comfort Zhong Xiaolan or to comfort himself.
Although he said that, he knew very well that if his mother didn't give him money, he wouldn't be able to scrape together even a hundred, let alone a thousand.
Seeing Zhong Xiaolan like this, he felt really sorry for her.
"Jiadong, I really like you. I dream of marrying you, but..." Zhong Xiaolan looked at Zhou Jiadong in anguish, tears falling like broken pearls.
The next second, I saw the panicked look on Zhou Jiadong's face and the heartache in his eyes.
Zhong Xiaolan breathed a slight sigh of relief. Her plan to force the issue today was no longer feasible, so she had no choice but to push him further.
"Xiao Lan, don't cry, don't cry..." Zhou Jiadong was at a loss and wanted to wipe away Zhong Xiaolan's tears, but he stopped halfway through raising his hand and awkwardly withdrew it.
"I'm sorry, Jiadong. I know you can't do anything about it. I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult position. I'm so sorry... It's all my bad luck that I wasn't born into a family with loving parents. My dad doesn't care who I marry at all. He doesn't care about me as his daughter. All he cares about is money..."
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