Upon hearing her son's words, Song Man'e suddenly realized what he meant.
"I knew it! You kept changing your mind all day, one minute you shouldn't have done this, the next you shouldn't have done that. Turns out you haven't given up on that idea yet!"
Seeing that her thoughts had been exposed, Wu Ping stopped trying to hide them.
"Yes, I like Cousin Song. I've always liked him."
"Are you crazy? He's your cousin!"
Wu Ping's eyes held a hint of mockery, "What cousin? We're not related by blood!"
"Why can't we work out? If I don't go back to work at home and take care of myself, what makes me any less attractive than that city vixen?"
"At least I'm willing to settle down and live a stable life with my cousin!"
"I'm different..."
"mom!"
Wu Zhong interrupted Song Man'e before she could finish speaking, saying, "Song Yaozu is not the same person he used to be."
"You still think he's that boy who just lost his adoptive parents and was struggling to even have enough to eat?"
"He's made something of himself now!"
"Look around at the surrounding brigades, how many are as successful as him!"
"Besides, if Wu Ping really marries into the family, she can be the head of the household. No matter how you look at it, it's a great marriage!"
Seeing that Song Man'e was moved, Wu Ping added fuel to the fire.
"Mom, do you know what my cousin Song's girlfriend is doing now?"
"I just heard from my cousin-in-law Xixi that she has become the captain of the town's security team!"
"His position is even above Cousin Song's!"
"He's doing really well; he's not only on good terms with the town mayor, but he also gets to meet with leaders in the county quite often!"
"There are so many educated youths who went to the countryside, how come she's so successful?"
Song Man'e's mind raced, and she tentatively asked, "You mean, she was also because of Song Yaozu...?"
"What else did you think? What else does that educated youth have besides his face?"
"She must have charmed my cousin. I just ran into her in my cousin Lanfang's room."
Wu Ping's tone was incredibly sour, "She's bragging about it without any attempt to hide it. People say her cousin is willing to support her, and that she's destined to live a life of luxury!"
"Those hands were so white and tender, they looked like they'd never done any work before."
"But he already has a girlfriend, and..."
Song Manhua looked her daughter up and down. Even though she was her own daughter, she had to admit that Wu Ping was far inferior to that little girl.
Would Song Yaozu agree to that?
"So what if you have a partner? Married couples can get divorced, and engaged couples can break off their engagements. It's just a partner with no real status!"
"Mom, Wu Ping is right."
"If this goes through, you'll be his official mother-in-law. Then, who else will get a chance to have such a good thing?"
"Shouldn't I, as your brother-in-law, also do some work for the town's security team?"
"Our house has truly undergone a complete transformation; you'll see this everywhere you go in our village!"
As Wu Zhong spoke, he held up his thumb to show Song Man'e.
Song Man'e was overjoyed by her son's words, and even began to imagine how the women in the village would envy, be jealous of, and flatter her after her son went to work in town.
"We need to think this through carefully. We really offended him back then, and that ill-mannered brat holds a grudge."
“Over the years, not only have we not visited each other, but if we run into my aunt on the street, she won’t even greet me.”
Meanwhile, the Wu family mother and son were secretly plotting how to get closer to Song Jingzhou, how to get rid of Su Qingci, and how to promote Wu Ping to the position.
Su Qingci also found the kitchen.
Seeing Su Qingci standing at the door, Liu Siqing hurriedly urged Song Jingzhou, "Brother, there's not much work left, everything's done."
"Now we're just waiting for the chef to come and cook. There's hot water here, so please wash your hands and come inside for a seat."
Song Jingzhou also saw Su Qingci at the door. After chopping the last bunch of pickled cabbage, he washed his hands and walked towards her.
"Why didn't you go inside to warm yourself by the fire?"
"Did you go to Lanfang's room?"
Su Qingci looked at him pitifully, "There are so many people, it's too noisy."
Song Jingzhou peeked into the hall and saw that it was indeed full of people. Country folks are known for their loud voices, and their laughter was so loud it could practically lift the roof off.
"Come on, let's go to my room and warm up by the fire first, then we'll come over later."
Song Jingzhou tugged at Su Qingci's sleeve and led the way toward his home.
Once inside the room, they quickly grabbed a brazier and went to the kitchen to find charcoal to start a fire.
Su Qingci squatted beside him, watching Song Jingzhou deftly light the pine needles with a match and then slowly add charcoal.
Soon the charcoal caught fire.
"Bringing glory to one's ancestors, do you know Wu Ping?"
Song Jingzhou was taken aback. "What's wrong? Did she cause you trouble?"
"Isn't she your cousin? Why do you ask that?"
Song Jingzhou didn't even think about taking the brazier out; he simply pulled two low stools from the kitchen and sat down.
"Although you haven't been here long, you must have heard about my family, right?"
"Yes, I've heard of it."
Song Jingzhou sighed. Those were events from his past life, and vivid scenes flashed through his mind.
“My father only had a few older sisters and no brothers. Although I raised seven children, the six older sisters were also my fathers.”
"It can be said that the Song family in Gaotang Brigade has indeed had only one son for several generations."
“My aunts’ generation were taught from a young age to be good to my father and to protect their younger brothers. All four of my aunts married into the same neighborhood.”
“The countryside is different from the city. Families with few members are easily bullied.”
"If there's any conflict at the starting point, those guys with lots of brothers won't listen to your explanations or reason with you. They'll just hold you down and beat you up."
"It was thanks to the help of these four aunts that my father's life was better, and he even attended a private school for a few years during those days."
"In my generation, I am the only male in the family, but I have raised six older sisters."
"You've probably heard that my sisters mostly married people from this village or the neighboring villages."
"It's all for me!"
“My dad is successful; he's seen the world and has been educated.”
"Not only were my aunts completely controlled by my dad, but even my older sisters were afraid of him."
"As the only male in the family, I was pampered and spoiled by my older sister, aunt, and even cousins from a young age."
“My older sister always gives in to me. If I have any disputes with my cousins, no matter who is right or wrong, before my dad can even say anything, my aunt will start beating the kids and making them apologize to me.”
"Growing up in this environment, it's no wonder I'm a bit domineering."
“I always thought my sisters and aunts would protect me for the rest of my life.”
"But my parents are dead~"
"Before they died, they dropped a bomb."
"I am not a child of the Song family."
"I don't know if it's because I was exploited too much since I was a child, or if the constraints on me suddenly disappeared."
“My sisters and aunts, who are usually kind and gentle to me, all suddenly exploded and treated me like an enemy.”
As Song Jingzhou recalled the scene from many years ago when he was besieged by all his "relatives," a flash of scarlet ferocity appeared in his eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
