On the ridges of the field.
Ling Huanwu's eyes swept back and forth between Zhao Jingxiang and Qin Jinshen, like those rich women in the 90s picking out pretty boys they liked in a private room, as if she wanted to see through their true nature.
The surrounding villagers pointed and whispered, not understanding what was going on.
Su Haiting feigned surprise and deliberately raised her voice, saying, "Brother Zhou, the customs in your Stone Village are so open now, is it okay to have a trial marriage with two men? Isn't that feudal dregs? It's like having an affair now, wouldn't you get arrested?"
Her voice was loud, instantly attracting the attention of a group of people on the ridge of the field.
Upon hearing such malicious slander, Ling Huanwu immediately turned around to look at the source of the voice, frowning and glaring unhappily at Su Haiting.
Su Haiting seemed to shrink back as if frightened by Ling Huanwu's glare. She turned to look at Zhou Jiuzhen, whose face was gloomy, and said in a wronged tone, "Does this village girl dislike city girls? I've always been conservative since I was a child, so I reacted a bit strongly to the term 'trial marriage' for the first time. Should I go over and apologize to the village girl?"
Such conciliatory and accommodating words infuriated Ling Huanwu and the three people behind her, including Qin Jinshen, who instinctively wanted to confront this "tea lady."
Unexpectedly, Zhou Jiuzhen spoke first, looking at Su Haiting beside him with a nonchalant expression, "Fine, apologize to her!"
Su Haiting was shocked.
You want me to apologize?
Her fingertips were trembling as she pointed at herself, almost unable to believe her ears.
She was so polite just now. Any normal person would have waved their hand in defense of her, looking at her with pity and saying it wasn't her fault.
Moreover, her older brother was Zhou Jiuzhen's savior!
He actually showed no mercy to a woman who had been promiscuous, and made her apologize instead?
Zhou Jiuzhen nodded firmly, "That's right, so what if you caught Comrade Ling? Why did you publicly call her a slut? You can be arrested for spreading rumors, you know that?"
Su Haiting glanced around at the pointing fingers and whispers of the villagers, feeling humiliated. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she bit her lip, looking around at the villagers again, choking back sobs as she said, "Folks, do you also think it's right for a woman to have two men try out marriage? I'm just telling the truth..."
As she finished speaking, tears streamed down her face.
She originally thought that even if Zhou Jiuzhen didn't feel sorry for her as she cried, these rough men who had never seen a city woman before would surely feel sorry for her.
To her surprise, when she looked up with teary eyes, she met the villagers' expressions, which were all hard to describe.
Aunt Liu, who was usually the most outspoken, was the first to stand up. "Hey, you curly-haired girl, which ear of yours heard that Comrade Ling was going to have those two men try out marriage? Comrade Ling wants those two men, one real and one fake, to see who the real fiancé is!"
Once Aunt Liu spoke up, everyone chimed in with their own explanations, recounting how Ling Huanwu had distinguished between her real and fake fiancés.
That is, she wanted to test her fiancé Zhao Ergou's character on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to see if it matched the Zhao family's charitable nature.
Then test Zhao Jingxiang's personality on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and you will naturally come to the conclusion of who is the real and who is the fake Zhao family member!
Su Haiting was stunned and frozen in place.
She had previously heard that her boss's second aunt's husband's cousin's family had an outrageous pair of real and fake daughters.
This was the first time she had ever heard of a real or fake fiancé.
Seeing that it was time to gain favor and sow discord, Zhou Shuyao immediately jumped out, his mouth swollen and purple from the beating, and sneered, "Big brother, where did you find this woman? She has curly hair and starts barking at people like that."
He then turned to Su Haiting, whose face was ashen with rage, and said, "Now that you know you were just barking wildly, why don't you apologize?"
Su Haiting was so angry at these harsh words that she was on the verge of collapse, but she still maintained a weak and innocent appearance, as if she had been bullied. "I helped your village bring in foreign businessmen to solve your village's problem of unsold clams, and this is how you treat your benefactor?"
"And you, Zhou Jiuzhen, my elder brother lost his life to save you, and this is how you treat me?"
After she finished speaking hesitantly, she covered her face and ran away with her skirt fluttering in the wind.
Zhou Jiuzhen stood frozen in place for a long time, his once rugged face turning deathly pale.
Ling Huanwu also snapped out of her shock at Su Haiting's words and went over to urge Zhou Jiuzhen to hurry up and chase after the sister of his savior.
Unexpectedly, just as Ling Huanwu lifted her foot, Zhou Jiuzhen quickly stepped forward and pulled her away.
Behind the public restroom, where no one was around, Zhou Jiuzhen, looking terrified, hugged her tightly.
"Comrade Ling, I am your savior. You can't abandon me just to verify the authenticity of those two fiancés, like I just made your savior's sister apologize!"
Ling Huanwu was so tightly hugged by him that she could hardly breathe, and she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She had just thought that this guy would not hesitate to pursue the sister of his savior.
Only now do I realize that he was afraid that his attitude towards his savior would set an example for her and cause her to ignore him.
Ling Huanwu patted his back to comfort him, "I won't treat you like that, my savior. Look, you saved me from the waves once before, and I even offered myself to you in return, didn't I?"
"I'm afraid that once you regain your memory, you'll offer yourself to your savior's sister!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiuzhen immediately stood up straight and swore to the heavens, "How could I possibly look at other female comrades? I belong to Comrade Ling in life and in death!"
The voice, the volume, the nauseating sweet talk—all of these caused Qiao Hui and Lin Xiaoqin, who happened to be relieving themselves, to silently vomit while leaning against the wall of the public restroom.
Ling Huanwu quickly covered his mouth with her hand and buried her face in his chest. For the first time, she felt that the area around the public toilet didn't smell so bad anymore.
She was worried that Zhou Jiuzhen would misunderstand, but now it seems that two people with mouths could not possibly misunderstand.
That night.
Ling Huanwu and Zhou Jiuzhen plotted together all night in their secret little house by the sea.
As dawn broke over the sea, the two yawned simultaneously, exchanged a glance, and laughed in unison.
Zhou Jiuzhen pulled the woman into his arms, held her on his lap, and sniffed her for a while before reluctantly separating.
They went to the island's civil affairs office hand in hand, but finally had to let go of each other in front of the gate and go their separate ways.
Today is Monday.
Early in the morning, Qin Jinshen got up, brushed his teeth, dressed neatly, and sat upright in the educated youth settlement room, waiting for Ling Huanwu to come and "test the marriage".
Ma, the guard, cleaned the house spotlessly, fried two oyster pancakes, and cooked two bowls of clam soup, anxiously awaiting Ling Huanwu's arrival.
Both of them were nervous, unsure of what the trial marriage process would entail.
The sound of leather shoes clattering came from the doorway, and the two of them turned to look at the door at the same time...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
