Chapter Fifty-Two: Going to Yangzhuang Village
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When Lin Baozhu was mentioned, Yang Chunyan spoke of her with disdain, but in her heart she was extremely jealous. They were all women, so why did Lin Baozhu not have to do any work? She ate well and dressed well. When Lin Baozhu returned to the village with Lin Sanlang today, she saw clearly that her brand-new clothes were dazzlingly beautiful, and her face was as white and tender as tofu.
Looking at herself, her clothes were patched upon patched; she had never worn new clothes since she was a child!
“Chunyan, how can my little sister compare to you? She came to our family to enjoy life. If her in-laws mistreat her because she doesn't do chores, we can simply bring her back and feed her well. But you…”
Lin Sanlang's unfinished words were like an invisible slap across Chunyan's face, instantly draining the color from her cheeks.
She bit her lip, looking at Lin Sanlang with tears in her eyes, and said, "I knew you looked down on me. You were nice to me before, but only because you pitied me! If you want to marry me, then move your sister to my house. Otherwise, let's just call it quits."
Before Lin Sanlang could even speak, she ran away crying...
Lin Sanlang was left completely bewildered, while Lin Baozhu stood on the wall.
*
At the Lin family home, Lin's mother is kneading dough, and Lin Baozhu is chopping scallions. Oh dear, at a time like this, we desperately need a range hood that can remove odors...
Seeing her tears streaming down her face, Lin's mother said with a look of disgust, "Go and knead the dough, and give me the chopped scallions."
When Lin Sanlang returned home, he saw that Lin Baozhu's eyes were red. He did not agree to Chunyan's request for a marriage exchange, but he felt inexplicably guilty when faced with his younger sister's tears.
Especially when he came out of the corridor and ran into Hu Zi and Tian Tian, he was told that his little sister had passed by the house. At first, he didn't think much of it, but now, seeing his little sister's red eyes, he was sure that she had heard his conversation with Chun Yan.
"Little sister, I..."
Lin Baozhu raised her head, sobbing. The spiciness of the scallions hadn't worn off yet, and as soon as she spoke, tears started falling in a steady stream.
"Little sister, don't worry, even if I remain a bachelor for the rest of my life, I will never use you to arrange a marriage."
Lin Baozhu: ? ? ?
She hadn't even considered mentioning this to Lin's mother, mainly because she really didn't take that Chunyan seriously.
She's just a toad; if she really wants to annoy her, just stomp on her.
Lin's mother paused in her chopping of scallions: "What marriage arrangement are you talking about?"
“Mother, I really didn’t know Chunyan’s family was planning this. Chunyan’s older brother is almost thirty and can’t find a wife, so he wants to use Chunyan to find a family with a daughter. That’s why they came to see me today…”
Before Lin Sanlang could finish speaking, his mother exploded!
She brandished a kitchen knife and cursed, "Lin Sanlang, are you out of your mind?! That Chunyan family is no good. If you get entangled with them, you'll be torn to pieces. Especially her mother, who is notoriously unreasonable for miles around. Why did you have to go and talk to such a bastard?"
Lin Sanlang murmured in rebuttal, "Actually, she's a pretty good person, and she's very capable. It's just that her mother might not be easy to get along with. But these days, if a family doesn't have a tough one, wouldn't they be bullied to death by the villagers? Besides, she's going to marry into our family in the future, so we can just have less contact with her family in the future."
Seeing Lin Sanlang's stubbornness, Lin's mother was so angry that she had a heart attack.
Clutching her heart, she uttered harsh words: "If you want to marry her, then marry her, but... I won't pay a single penny for your dowry. Also, once she's married into the family, you'll be living separately, and I'll pretend I don't have a son like you anymore."
Upon hearing this, Lin Sanlang hurriedly said, "I used to feel sorry for her because I thought she was having a hard time in her family. I would lend a hand when I saw her struggling to keep up. But she is her family, and I would never push my little sister into a fire pit just to get a wife."
I believe there must be other solutions to this problem. Actually, once her brother gets married, she'll naturally be able to marry into the family.
That's what Lin Sanlang said, but it's clear he didn't listen to what his mother had just said.
Lin Baozhu thought of the woman named Chunyan, whose face was full of calculation, and smiled, "Mother, you can cook dinner yourself tonight. I'm taking Third Brother out for a while."
"Little sister, don't try to persuade me anymore. I've already decided on Chunyan."
"Third brother, it's none of Mother's business who you want to marry, but sometimes you have to keep your eyes open. Believe it or not, that Chunyan family has been eyeing our family for a long time."
"impossible."
“Chunyan Village isn’t far from our village. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go with you to her house secretly. If she hasn’t plotted against us, Mom definitely won’t interfere. Even if you pay out of your own pocket to help Chunyan get married, Mom won’t say a word to you.”
"real?"
When have I ever lied to you?
"Alright, Chunyan is kind-hearted, how could she possibly scheme against me?"
Lin Baozhu looked at him with pity. A young man who has never experienced the harsh realities of society is still too naive!
Chunyan looks quite old, and her brother is even older. If their family really wanted to use her for a marriage exchange, they would have done it years ago. Why have they dragged it out until now?
There must be something going on here.
And yet, her foolish third brother actually believed that woman's nonsense!
"Go quickly and come back quickly."
Yangzhuang Village
Lin Baozhu and Lin Sanlang hid in a collapsed mud-brick house next to Yang Chunyan's house. They were lucky; as soon as they arrived, they heard Yang's mother's rough voice: "You brat, I told you to go to Lin Sanlang to ask for meat and to bring up the marriage exchange matter while you were at it. Why didn't you bring anything back?"
She had it all planned out: tonight she'd make pork and cabbage stew with glass noodles, and also send a piece to her brother on her mother's side. But when she got home, she saw her good-for-nothing son gesticulating wildly and telling his eldest son how great the Lin family was! She searched everywhere but couldn't find any meat.
"Mother, there's a saying that haste makes waste. I've inquired. All the wild boars in Da Ge Ba Village are hunted by Lin Baozhu. As long as she marries into our family, you'll be eating meat until you're sick of it. Don't worry, I've given Lin Sanlang a firm order. That stupid guy is incredibly idiotic. If I get angry, he'll do whatever I say!"
"Would that shrew Guo Cuicui agree? Don't let it get to the point where you can't marry into the Lin family either."
She still wants to make money off her daughter.
“Mother, these days women care most about their reputation. Lin Baozhu was rescued by another man after falling into the water, and the Bi family couldn’t accept it and broke off the engagement. Now her reputation is ruined. My brother didn’t mind that she was touched by another man, so we should be grateful. In the past, someone like her would have been drowned.”
At this point, she chuckled and continued, "Besides, even if the Lin family doesn't agree, can't we think of other ways? At worst, we can find someone to push her into the river again. My brother will be waiting there early, and when the whole village sees the two of them hugging and cuddling, even if the Lin family doesn't want their daughter to marry into our family, they'll have to grit their teeth and accept it. Then we won't have to pay a single penny of dowry to bring her back, and who knows, we might even get a generous dowry."
"However, Mother, let me make this clear from the start: Lin Baozhu is spoiled by her family and doesn't do any chores. If she comes into our family, you can't let her rest. Leave everything inside and outside the house to her. Then you can experience what it's like to be a rich old lady."
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