Chapter 5
The Zheng family treated Guan Ying to a lively family dinner, which dispelled the gloom of the past few days.
After dinner, the old couple urged their son to take Guan Ying to the community garden to walk the dog to help digest their food. Their intention was obvious: to create more opportunities for the two young people to be alone together.
The trees in the community garden were all carefully tended, and all of them were lush and green. Guan Ying had spent a long time in the deserts of the Middle East, so he rarely saw such things. He walked ahead with great interest, holding the dog's leash. "Zheng Juyong, I'm back this time with a tight deadline and a heavy workload. Let's talk about your business."
Zheng Juyong wiped his nose, which was red from drinking a few glasses of foreign wine with his father. "What's there to talk about my business? It's not like you don't know Qiao Qi."
Guan Ying turned around and patted his forehead with her palm. It didn't hurt but it made a loud sound. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it? Okay, then let's talk about my business. How are you going to give me an explanation?"
Zheng Juyong was provoked by her: "What do you want to explain... Sister, you must be secretly happy. My dad said that you couldn't have a long-term relationship outside because you were worried about me. I don't believe that. You are basically using me as a shield to change new people one by one outside."
Guan Ying was in a good mood at the moment and smiled. "Haha, that's not the truth. After all, I didn't cause such a troublesome marriage. And I wasn't secretly happy, I was openly happy, but my uncle, aunt, parents, and the people at the factory were not happy at all! How could you get married without explaining it clearly first? Are you planning to let Qiao Qi come forward to solve it and let her be the bad guy for you?"
Zheng Juyong didn't think too much about it, but he absolutely couldn't let Qiao Qi get involved: "It's my own business, of course I have to solve it myself."
Guan Ying nodded: "Since you are a man, then you should go to my house to cancel the engagement as soon as possible while I am at home these few days."
Zheng Juyong followed behind without saying a word.
Guan Ying wanted to turn around and slap him on the forehead again to force him to say something, but he had already suffered a loss once and was on guard. He quickly dodged and hid.
Guan Ying started to feel unhappy when her hand didn't land. "Hey, are you still a man? Why are you hiding? It doesn't hurt if I slap you. Who told you to be quiet?"
Zheng Juyong muttered, "You hit me, so of course it doesn't hurt you."
Guan Ying: "Then why don't you give me some advice? Why are you still feeling wronged?"
Zheng Juyong knew that he couldn't handle this alone. Now that Guan Ying was back, maybe they could have a better chance of success if they worked together. So he said, "Sister, this is our business, not just mine. Besides, your words have more influence in our family than mine. My parents only listen to you. Wouldn't it be difficult for me to do it alone?"
Just as they were walking to the tree, the dog wanted to pee. Guan Ying stopped and waited for the dog: "Zheng Juyong, are you a dog or not? If you don't mention it, are you really planning to leave Qiao Qi and marry me? It's you who is in a hurry to pee, not me."
Zheng Juyong was called a dog, and of course he didn't like it, so he spoke more directly: "I'm anxious. Sister, honestly, who knows when you'll have enough fun? If I wait for you to get married first, I don't know how long I'll have to wait. I'm not like you who changes one woman after another. I only have one Qiao Qi, and Qiao Qi is a girl. I can't let her wait for four years after four years."
For some reason, Guan Ying flew into a rage the moment she heard him say the word "play." "Zheng Juyong, you love being Wang Baochuan and enduring the cold kiln for eighteen years, that's your own business. What right do you have to tell me what to do? Who said I'm just playing around when I'm in love? What do you know?"
She could laugh at herself, but she couldn't stand him saying that about her too.
Zheng Juyong was no longer as easily intimidated as he had been when he was little. Although he still spoke slowly, he actually made no concessions. "Sis, how many men have you dated since you were a child? I've been counting them for you. This is the eighth one, right? I don't believe that eight men don't want to marry you. It's simply because you haven't had enough fun. You've been the little bully of West City since you were a child. You can date whenever you want, and break up whenever you want...Sis, listen to me, a relationship that is not intended for marriage is just playing with feelings. It's a scumbag behavior, and it's also very irresponsible to yourself."
"Scum?!" Guan Ying stomped on him angrily, put the dog leash directly on his head, turned around and left.
Zheng Juyong dragged the dog, but the dog refused to move and circled around the tree. He had no choice but to stand there and shouted to Guan Ying, who walked away angrily, "Sister Guan, wait for me! I haven't finished yet."
"Qiao Qi can't wait, but I can? She's a woman, so I'm not?!" Guan Ying walked angrily. Hearing the shouting from behind, she felt that getting angry with such a stubborn boy was asking for trouble. She calmed down, rolled her eyes, and walked back to where she was. "Zheng Juyong, we are not the same kind of people. You have no right to control me. I won't eat your food for free today, so I'll give you one last piece of advice. Here, this is for you. Give it to your dad as soon as possible!"
Zheng Juyong took a neatly folded piece of yellow paper from her hand. It looked like a page torn out from an elementary school student's pinyin homework book. It was quite old. He asked curiously, "What is this?"
Guan Ying: "The letter of withdrawal you wrote to me."
"Huh?" Zheng Juyong was surprised to hear this. "How could I not know?" He hurriedly opened the paper and frowned unconsciously. "Sister, does this... does this count?"
Guan Ying crossed her arms. "Why, are you still trying to cheat now? It's clearly written there, you signed it yourself. Do you want me to give it to them, or do you want to give it yourself?"
Zheng Juyong thought for a moment and said, "Sister, do you remember how old we were when this happened? I don't have any recollection of it at all."
Guan Ying said confidently, "How old are you? When we got engaged, you didn't even exist, but we got engaged anyway, didn't we?"
Although he didn't know how old he was when he caused the trouble, the crooked handwriting was indeed his masterpiece. Only when he was a child would he write his name as "Guan Ju Tang". The elders of both families still make fun of this matter to this day, and he can't deny it.
If Guan Ying had handed it over, it was called exposing someone; if he had handed it over himself, it was called surrendering himself. He understood that exposing someone would be punished more severely, while surrendering oneself would be punished less severely.
Zheng Juyong thought about it seriously and said, "Oh, forget it. I'd better... say hello to my parents first."
......
Guan Ying left not long ago that day.
Like a bolt of thunder out of the blue, Mrs. Zheng suddenly flew into a rage, crying and cursing until late at night, acting like she was dying. This frightened the entire Zheng family into a state of unrest.
Finally, at dawn, Zheng Dongfang rushed his wife to the hospital without saying a word: Mrs. Zheng's neck was swollen from crying, and she had an acute inflammation. Not only did she have a fever and vomiting, but she was also unable to speak.
Zheng Juyong became the unfilial son of the Zheng family and was locked outside the ward by Zheng Dongfang in a fit of anger!
Nanny Aunt Lin couldn't bear it, so she secretly let him into the ward to see his mother. Unexpectedly, Zheng Dongfang suddenly yelled at his son: "Get out! We don't have a son like you! If anything happens to your mother, from now on, your last name will no longer be Zheng, but Qiao!!"
Zheng Juyong was at his wit's end. Hiding outside the hospital ward, he secretly shed two lines of manly tears... He felt wronged. His parents had known about him and Qiao Qi for a long time, and he had naturally assumed they had acquiesced. Now that he and Qiao Qi had finally gotten together, they suddenly felt like they were facing a great enemy and had completely collapsed. How could the Zheng family be so suddenly turned upside down? He felt wronged, and he couldn't understand it!
After waiting outside the ward for half a day, feeling aggrieved, confused, anxious and worried, Zheng Juyong could no longer sit still and called Aunt Guan.
Soon, Guan Xiong and his wife received the news and rushed to the hospital in a panic.
Looking at Zheng Juyong sitting at the door, looking as haggard as a wilted eggplant hit by frost, Guan Xiong said that he felt sorry for the child, but in his heart he felt happy: This ungrateful brat!
Guan Xiong and his wife's timely visit made Zheng Dongfang and his wife feel so ashamed that they didn't know where to start.
Mrs. Zheng, lying on the hospital bed, was anxious to confide her unhappiness to Guan's wife, but she was already unable to speak, and in her anxiety, she pinched her husband fiercely. Zheng Dongfang understood and quickly spoke on his wife's behalf, explaining the whole story to Guan Xiong and his wife, and took the opportunity to scold their son outside the ward.
Mrs. Guan had never seen Zheng Dongfang scold her son before, so she knew the stakes involved. Being a dignified and amiable elder sister, she couldn't help but take charge and said, "Dongfang, Juyong was raised by me and Old Guan. We all know he's a rare good boy. Please don't scold him like that. It makes me sad to hear it, and the child must be feeling bad waiting outside. Sister-in-law, you too, we're at our age, and we should let things slide. Why are you still so angry? It's not a big deal. In fact, our two families don't need to take it so seriously. Guan Ying fell in love before Juyong, and she dated several women at once, so we don't blame Juyong for finding another partner. Since both children have their own loves, haha, why not just follow their wishes? Old Guan, you should also say something about this matter."
With wives making the decision, men naturally don't have to worry about it.
Guan Xiong echoed, "Yes, I've been wanting to say this for a while now, but I'm afraid you might be worried, Old Zheng. We're all old now, and we're not as good as the children. Hey, even though it was written by a child when he was young, it still shows that he didn't want to do it. It's not too late for us to know now, so let's make it happen. We're still brothers!"
Zheng Dongfang let out a long sigh. After all the trouble, this was the only way it could be.
Seeing that Zheng Dongfang had also compromised, Mrs. Zheng on the hospital bed jumped up anxiously, grabbed Zheng Dongfang's shoulders and beat him randomly, glaring at him and asking him to express his position quickly: she was so anxious that she sent her life to the hospital, why was this old man still ambiguous!
Seeing his wife's relentless insistence, Zheng Dongfang remembered the scolding he'd received the previous night. He suddenly came to his senses and quickly changed his expression, repeating the words his wife had said to him the previous night. "Lao Guan, sister-in-law, this won't do. Even if we don't want Ju Yong, we still have to have Guan Ying as our wife! You've seen it too. If you cancel the engagement now, wouldn't that be like killing my wife? If anything happens to her, what's the point of me, Lao Zheng, living? You absolutely can't even think of that!"
Mrs. Zheng nodded with satisfaction.
Sister-in-law Guan pulled Mrs. Zheng away, smiling and trying to soothe her. "This...sister-in-law, you helped raise Guan Ying until she was five years old. She's been close to you since she was a child. Even if she didn't marry Ju Yong, she and Ju Yong would still be siblings, and they'd still be your own child. Why are you so stubborn and can't let it go?"
Mrs. Zheng shook her head desperately, then turned and glared at Zheng Dongfang.
Zheng Dongfang looked at her with a look, "Sister-in-law, no, I really can't! What if Guan Ying marries someone else in the future? The last one was from Canada, right? Old Guan, tell me, as her own father, aren't you afraid too? Let's not talk about our two families, there are more than a hundred people in the factory, who doesn't hope that the next generation will be led by Guan Ying? Just relying on that silly boy Ju Yong, what can he accomplish? Can that red-haired girl he likes help him take over the factory shift or help him negotiate business all over the world? If Xicheng Steel is handed over to him in the future, it will be finished sooner or later!"
Zheng Dongfang took advantage of his wife's temper to express some of his true feelings. He was optimistic about Guan Ying and hoped that Guan Ying could lead Ju Yong to run Xicheng Steel for another 30 years.
Guan Xiong waved his hand and said, "Forget it. Each generation has its own opinions. It's over now. The guys in the factory are all at retirement age, and they may not want their children to take over."
As long as the steel mill was mentioned, Zheng Dongfang refused to give in. "Old Guan, how many kids can't find jobs in today's society? The steel mill hasn't been doing well in recent years, and the old guys would rather not give up their bonuses than abandon it. What are they trying to do? Isn't it just to secure a job for the next generation? We old brothers can't just abandon the donkey after it's done its job!"
Guan Xiong's original intention was to give his daughter freedom, but when he mentioned the workers in the factory, he certainly couldn't bear to do so, so he fell silent.
Mrs. Guan only realized today that everyone had treated her daughter as a savior. As a mother, she couldn't help but think about her daughter now that she knew this. Instead, she was determined: "Dongfang, Old Guan, listen to me. Ju Yong and Qiao Qi have been dating for four years and the marriage is already arranged. It's too late for us to set things right now. Besides, there's no spark between Guan Ying and Ju Yong at all. You can't force a relationship! Since Ju Yong has already written a letter of annulment, let's respect the children and forget it!"
Mrs. Zheng lifted the quilt and tried to get out of bed, but she lost her balance and fell.
His son Zheng Juyong was so frightened that he burst in: "Mom!"
Zheng Dongfang hurriedly helped his wife up and angrily kicked his son hard on the back of the leg. This was the first time he hit his son.
His wife was furious, and Zheng Dongfang was even more anxious, speaking without any hesitation: "Sister-in-law, do you look down on our Ju Yong? Although Ju Yong is a kid who has been protected by me and has been inexperienced, we have never spoiled him in terms of moral character. He is definitely a good son-in-law! He is just inexperienced in love and was fooled around by a little girl outside. I blame it on me in this regard, because I didn't teach him enough. But don't worry, he still has to listen to us two. We taught him a lesson last night! This matter is his fault! He is so young and he writes this kind of thing. Guan Guan is a girl, how can she not be angry? If it weren't for this thing, Guan Guan might still pay attention to him, so we don't blame Guan Guan for finding someone else to date! This kid thinks that using this will be useful, which shows how simple-minded and naive he is! No wonder I saw Guan Guan was furious when she left yesterday, she must have been angry after seeing this thing again! Go back and tell Guan Guan that we are here to take her anger for her!"
Zheng Juyong had just been kicked down onto the next bed by his father, and after being publicly criticized, he said aggrievedly, "I won't hide it from you. This was given to me by Sister Guanguan!"
The four elders were stunned for a moment.
Mrs. Zheng reacted quickly. She pulled her son up with all her strength and pushed him to the ground, almost forcing him to kowtow.
Seeing this, Guan Xiong and his wife hurried forward to stop them.
Amidst the chaos, Zheng Dongfang impulsively said something remarkable: "Engagement! While Guan Ying is home, let's quickly hold the wedding banquet!"
Everyone stopped and the ward fell silent.
After a long moment, Zheng Juyong stood up and said, "I won't! Even if you kill me today, I won't agree!"
Zheng Dongfang was shaking with anger. "If you don't get engaged to Guan Ying, get out of the country! If you don't take over your shift at the steel mill, don't even think about marrying anyone!"
"Let's go! What Sister Guanguan can do, I can do too!" Zheng Juyong took the risk.
Isn't it just for Xicheng Steel? As long as he can prove that he can take over well, why does he have to involve child marriage?
Zheng Dongfang: "Okay, that's great, you're so ignorant! Go home and pack your bags for the UAE. It'll be a great time to give your sister Guan Ying a vacation!"
Guan Xiong and his wife were unable to get a word in for a moment. This arrangement seemed to be a good one. Their daughter had been working hard outside for so long and deserved a good rest. It was a good thing for both families that Ju Yong had the ambition to take over the burden.
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