The He family, whom Su Congjun was engaged to, was from Changxiu Village, which was quite far away from Luoshui Village. The two children had only met twice through the matchmaker, and the marriage was decided.
At this time, He Qinqin's mother was trying to persuade her earnestly, "My daughter, I've already told you that the Zhang family only has one child, so won't everything belong to Zhang Jian in the future? Look at the Su family, they have three wives and four children, how much can they get? Besides, the Zhang family has promised an 80 yuan betrothal gift, so if you marry into their family, you'll live a life of luxury."
I originally thought that the Su family’s conditions were not bad, but compared with the Zhang family, they were far behind!
"Mom, stop talking. I only like Brother Congjun." He Qinqin looked stubborn.
"What's so good about Su Congjun? He's just a farmer. What do you want from him?" He couldn't help but get angry when she saw that her persuasion for a long time had no effect.
"I just want to join the army!"
"We've only met twice, how deep can the feelings be?" He gritted her teeth. "I don't care. Anyway, I've agreed to the Zhang family's request."
"What?" He Qinqin looked at her mother in disbelief. "You sold me just for eighty yuan?"
He was furious. "What do you mean by selling out? You are my daughter. Can't I decide your marriage?"
"Marriage is free now!" He Qinqin argued with her, "I won't get married anyway! If you want to marry, do it yourself!"
"Bullshit freedom of marriage!" He spat. "I'm your mother. You have to marry me even if you don't want to!"
After saying that, she went out directly, locked the door, and left He Qinqin crying inside.
He was sitting at the door, thinking seriously about how to discuss the marriage with the Zhang family, when she saw the matchmaker, Mrs. Zhang, coming with a happy look on her face.
"Hey, Aunt He, why are you sitting at the door? Are you here to greet me?"
He forced a smile and said, "Auntie Zhang, why are you here?"
"I'm here to propose marriage on behalf of the Su family. Tomorrow, as long as there are no problems on your side, their family will come to your house." Mrs. Zhang was obviously in a good mood as she was about to facilitate another marriage.
The two families had been interested in it before, and her coming now was just a formality.
The Su family proposed marriage? He was stunned. She hadn't had the chance to refuse the Su family, so how come they came to propose marriage?
"No, Aunt Zhang, why didn't you tell me in advance?"
"Didn't I tell you?" Mrs. Zhang looked at her strangely. She knew a lot of people and had a sharp eye. She quickly noticed He's hesitation and her face turned a little ugly. "I say, Aunt He, you're not going to regret it, are you? You guys agreed on this marriage."
"Isn't that just talk? Don't take it seriously." He laughed dryly. She had confiscated the Su family's betrothal gifts, so it didn't matter if the verbal marriage didn't count.
Mrs. Zhang narrowed her eyes and looked at her. "Tell me honestly, is there another family proposing marriage? Even if you don't tell me, I can find out. Don't blame me for not giving your He family face when the time comes."
"It's... the Zhang family at the east end of the village." Knowing that she couldn't hide it from Mrs. Zhang, He had no choice but to tell the truth.
"The Zhang family at the east end of the village?" Mrs. Zhang's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're pushing Qinqin into the fire pit!"
Everyone in Xiaoyuan Village knows that the son of the Zhang family is paralyzed on one side of his body. If Qinqin marries him, how can she have a good life?
"What do you mean by 'pushing someone into the fire pit'?" He's face darkened. "The Zhang family is so well-off. Our Qinqin used to enjoy a good life. The Su family can't compare. They only gave 80 yuan as a betrothal gift. Can the Su family afford it?"
"Enjoy happiness?" Mrs. Zhang sneered, "You have to be lucky enough to enjoy it."
She felt a little strange when she heard He's implicit disdain for the Su family, so she asked, "Haven't you heard what happened in Luoshui Village recently?"
"What?" He was a little impatient. She didn't care what happened in Luoshui Village.
Seeing her expression, Mrs. Zhang swallowed the words she was about to say. She smiled intriguingly, "Nothing."
"Since you don't want to get married, I will reject the Su family. I just hope you won't regret it later."
The Su family of Luoshu Village saved the child of a big shot, was commended, and was even mentioned to the mayor and county magistrate. However, the He family, who were about to become relatives, didn't even know about such a big thing. It can be seen that they didn't care about the Su family.
Well, she doesn't mind her own business.
Although He Shi felt something was wrong, she still said firmly: "We can't regret it!"
"Okay then." Mrs. Zhang looked at her as if she were a fool. After hearing what He said, she stopped trying to persuade him. "Then I'll go to Luoshui Village right now and tell the Su family to reject this matter."
"Thank you for your help, Aunt Zhang." As soon as Mrs. Zhang agreed, a smile appeared on He's face again. Mrs. Zhang was famous for her matchmaking in the surrounding area, and she didn't dare to offend her, otherwise the He family would suffer if she made up a few random remarks outside.
He thought for a moment, then trotted to the chicken coop, fetched two eggs, and handed them to Mrs. Zhang. "Mrs. Zhang, take these and eat them. I'm sorry for the trouble you took."
"I can't afford these two eggs." Mrs. Zhang snorted sarcastically. The Su family promised to pay her five dollars for this coal trip. Now that the five dollars were gone, she naturally had a bad face towards the He family.
"Okay, I'm leaving." Mrs. Zhang turned around and left.
While the sun was still high, she hurried back to Luoshui Village. When she arrived at the Su family, she was already exhausted and gasping for breath. The Su family was waiting for news from her.
Seeing this, Wu Guixiang quickly poured her a glass of water. Seeing that Mrs. Zhang had finally caught her breath, she hurriedly asked.
"Aunt Zhang, what do the He family say?"
Su Aiguo's family of three also looked at her expectantly. Su Qingyun heard the noise, came out of the room, and moved a small stool to listen together.
When Mrs. Zhang saw the expectant faces of the Su family, she felt that the He family was untrustworthy and was not a human being.
She snorted coldly, "The He family refused."
"What?"
The whole family was shocked, and Su Congjun reacted the most. He widened his eyes and said in disbelief, "How could she refuse? Qinqin and I clearly..."
"It's not about that girl." Mrs. Zhang waved her hand and said, "You probably have some idea of what kind of person Qinqin's mother is. The Zhang family at the east end of Xiaoyuan Village paid a betrothal gift of 80 yuan to marry Qinqin!"
"Qinqin's mother agreed immediately upon hearing it. But as soon as I arrived, she changed her mind, saying it was just a verbal promise and couldn't be counted."
Eighty?! The Su family was dumbfounded. These days, not many families in the city could afford such a high betrothal gift, right?
"Isn't the son of the Zhang family a little..." Wu Guixiang has seen a lot at her age and quickly realized that something was wrong.
She didn't believe that the Zhang family had no problems with such a high bride price.
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