Just kidding—refund the betrothal gift? No way.
Zhang Cuiying had originally agreed to return it only because she believed Miao Miaomiao would remarry for a bride price of two hundred yuan. Only on that basis was she willing to give the money back.
Now she was being told the marriage was fake, that there was no chance of getting those two hundred yuan at all.
Since the money was gone, why should she spit out the cash she had already swallowed?
What a joke—she wasn’t an idiot!
As for Big Girl… who cared about her? She was already a married-off daughter. Whether she lived or died was none of Zhang Cuiying’s concern, as long as she didn’t come back crying and disturb her precious son.
Zhang Cuiying’s face changed faster than lightning. Just moments ago she’d looked like a loving mother standing up for her daughter—now she was all cold-blooded and heartless.
“Big Girl, Mom won’t interfere anymore. I’ve already married you off, so there’s no way I’m returning the bride price. If you want it back, figure it out yourself.”
With that, she turned and walked away without a shred of mercy.
“Mom—!”
Miao Miaomiao was startled and hurriedly reached out to stop her.
She knew this woman was realistic, but she hadn’t expected her to be this cruel. Hadn’t she written in the letter that she was almost sold? How could her mother still act like this?
But now was no time to be emotional.
Miao Miaomiao was painfully clear-headed. She knew very well that what could move her mother was never affection—only利益.
She didn’t dare explain the truth about the phone number to her face, so she grabbed onto her and continued dangling a promise.
“Mom, Mom, I’m begging you—help me just this once, okay? How about this: you return one hundred yuan now, and I’ll earn two hundred yuan for you later. Deal?”
“Two hundred yuan? Heh.”
Zhang Cuiying stretched out two fingers and poked her hard in the forehead.
“Have you eaten too much pickled cabbage and gone stupid? Two hundred yuan! How is a woman like you supposed to earn that kind of money? Do you even know our whole family works ourselves to death for a year and only makes a little over a hundred?”
“Daydreaming like an idiot. Pah!”
She spat at her and flung her arm away, about to leave.
“Mom, Mom—don’t go!”
With no other choice, Miao Miaomiao turned back to plead with her father.
“Dad, Dad, please help me. You know I was almost sold last night. Please, help me…”
She was truly desperate now, eyes brimming with tears as she begged her father.
“I don’t have money right now, but just give me a little time… two months—no, one month! I’ll definitely earn it back. Dad, please believe me…”
She dropped to her knees with a thud, looking up at Miao Tianli with tear-filled eyes.
She looked utterly pitiful.
Seeing her like this, Miao Tianli felt his heart ache.
Unable to bear it, he called out to Zhang Cuiying, who was already at the doorway.
“Wife, let’s redeem Big Girl.”
“What?!”
Zhang Cuiying’s shrill curses rang out from the door.
“You old fool, are you trying to get us all killed? That’s one hundred yuan! If we redeem her, the whole family will be drinking northwest wind!”
“No redemption!”
She twisted her head stubbornly, absolutely refusing.
“Dad… Dad…”
Miao Miaomiao clutched at her father’s clothes, pleading hoarsely.
She had no other way now—she could only pin her hopes on her father’s soft heart.
Money really could break a hero’s back.
Just one hundred yuan—and yet it had pushed her into such a desperate, dangerous situation. How bitterly ironic.
No!
She could not give in like this.
Miao Miaomiao continued crying, pushing herself to the limit, begging over and over.
“Dad, please… I’m valuable, I’m capable… Dad, please save me…”
And on Miao Tianli’s side, his temper finally flared. He turned his head and shouted again at his wife.
“Yingzi! Take the money out! Worst case, I’ll go to my second brother’s place and borrow it to pay you back!”
“That should be enough, right?!”
He shouted the last sentence at the top of his lungs.
Zhang Cuiying halted, curled her lips, and turned back slowly.
“Now that’s more like it. Don’t you dare go back on your word, you old bastard.”
She pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket and carefully counted out ten large bills—money she had already prepared early that morning.
When Qin Dafen saw the bills, her eyes lit up.
They quickly called the old village head back. With him as a witness, they wrote up a certificate. Only after Zhang Cuiying got the proof did she return the money to Qin Dafen and her family.
Once Qin Dafen and her children had the cash in hand, the whole family burst into loud cheers.
On the other side, Miao Miaomiao collapsed as if all her strength had drained away.
She had cried until she was gasping for breath—it hurt terribly.
But… she had finally escaped that den of wolves and tigers.
That alone was wonderful.
Her face was streaked with tears, yet the corners of her lips lifted slightly.
Bitter, but relieved.
…
The matter was resolved once again. The Shen family no longer pursued it, and the crowd gradually dispersed. In the village committee office, only Miao Miaomiao remained.
She took a deep breath and steadied herself.
After wiping away her tears, her fingers trembling slightly, she picked up the receiver again and dialed the number she had memorized by heart.
In truth, the number Huo Qichuan had given her was real.
He had only tampered with it out of fear she might be harmed again—deliberately swapping the first and last digits, and telling only her about it.
That was why Miao Miaomiao had dared so confidently to let Shen Jianzhang dial it.
Because if dialed as written, it would always be a dead number.
But if corrected…
She held her breath, fingers turning the rotary dial again and again.
“…Hello.”
This time, it finally connected.
Her tear-stained little face broke into a radiant smile. Lowering her voice, she asked,
“Hello, may I ask—is this Comrade Huo Qichuan?”
“…”
Silence on the other end.
“Hello…?”
“…Sorry, there is no such person.”
Click.
The line went dead.
“What? Hello—hello?!”
It was as if a bolt of lightning struck the back of Miao Miaomiao’s head, blasting her mind blank.
She numbly put down the receiver, a wave of emptiness washing over her.
No way… could it be that he really had lied to her?
In that instant, an inexplicable mix of sadness and anger surged up inside her.
Miao Miaomiao slammed her fist on the table, her chest tight with suffocation.
How hateful!
She had clearly… already started to feel a little fond of him.
And yet he really had deceived her?
How was she supposed to accept this?
“Ugh, I’m so mad!…”
…
After Miao Miaomiao moved back from the Shen house, she remained listless for three straight days.
Even Miao Tianli and Zhang Cuiying could tell something was wrong.
“Kid’s mother, do you think our daughter took a really big hit?” Miao Tianli asked, watching her sweeping figure.
Zhang Cuiying cracked sunflower seeds, looking even angrier than him.
“If we’re talking about taking a hit, I’m the one who took it! One hundred yuan gone for nothing—one hundred yuan!”
She reached out and twisted the old man’s ear, cursing,
“You old bastard, hurry up and go borrow money from your brother! If you don’t, I won’t spare you!”
“Waa—got it, got it—let go, it hurts!”
Though he grimaced in pain, Miao Tianli’s eyes still carried a trace of worry for his daughter.
He was thinking of finding a chance to talk to her, to comfort her.
But unexpectedly, that evening, Miao Miaomiao walked out of her room on her own.
She raised both hands high and solemnly announced,
“From today on, this young lady is going all in on her career!”