In truth, everything that should have been heard and everything that should not have been heard had already been overheard.
Father Gu could not help but pull out the old pipe tucked at his waist, sniffing the tobacco leaves inside it with force before saying suspiciously, “Fourth Brother, think carefully. Do you think the Lin family did that on purpose? Are they looking down on us country folk, trying to make us back off on our own? Or are they warning us that if we marry Baozhu, we’d better be prepared for what comes with it?”
Mother Gu glanced at her son and no longer rushed to speak up for him, because she too had begun to harbor doubts about Lin Baozhu as a future daughter-in-law.
After a long silence, Gu Shicheng finally said, “Father, Mother, let’s go take a walk outside and come back later.” As if they had heard nothing at all.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Mother Gu agreed immediately.
Father Gu nodded as well. In situations like this, it was better not to expose things directly. Sometimes pretending not to know made things easier later.
Half an hour later, Gu Shicheng led Father Gu and Mother Gu back to the Lin family gate.
This time, the chaotic scene from before was gone. From inside the courtyard drifted only the fragrant aroma of cooking food.
Gu Shicheng knocked on the door.
Mother Lin came to open it. She greeted them warmly, “Oh, Shicheng, you’re here! Come in, come in and sit.”
In truth, Mother Lin was somewhat bothered by their timing, but thinking about the earlier family chaos they had luckily missed, her dissatisfaction faded.
Father Gu and Mother Gu stepped inside.
The Lin family courtyard now looked completely calm, with no trace of the earlier commotion.
However, the Gu family had already lost their former filter toward the Lin family. Even though the house was spotless and the air carried a faint scent of tea, it no longer changed their impression that the Lin family was all surface shine with nothing substantial underneath.
If anything, this strengthened their confidence in bringing Lin Baozhu into their family.
Because Father Gu and Mother Gu were now so self-assured, it naturally showed on their faces. During the meal, Father Lin and Mother Lin, who had prepared many things to say, suddenly felt too embarrassed to bring them up.
After the meal, Mother Gu directly placed six hundred yuan in betrothal money on the coffee table. Seeing this, the Lin family parents immediately felt it was better to accept things as they were and said nothing further.
Next came the discussion of the wedding date.
Mother Lin smiled as she said, “We’ve already checked an auspicious date. The sixteenth of this month is a good day for marriage. Let’s set Baozhu and Shicheng’s wedding for the sixteenth. That also gives both families some time to prepare properly.”
Lin Baozhu and Gu Shicheng both felt that the date was too late. Under the influence of the story’s push, neither of them could really wait.
But as juniors, they could not say it outright.
Fortunately, at that moment, Mother Gu stepped forward.
“Mother-in-law, in my opinion, there’s no need to delay such a good match. Let’s set the wedding for the sixth instead. Our side is already prepared and can hold the wedding banquet at any time.”
What Mother Gu was thinking was simple. They had already spent six hundred yuan on the bride price. With such an expensive daughter-in-law, the sooner she entered the family, the better. There should be no more complications.
As soon as she spoke, Father Lin and Mother Lin clearly looked displeased, but seeing that Lin Baozhu and Gu Shicheng both showed approval, they swallowed their dissatisfaction.
After all, the one who would live the life in the future was their daughter. If the in-laws got along, they could maintain contact. If not, they would simply not interact.
They were quite satisfied with Lin Baozhu. She was sensible, composed, had a decent job, and most importantly, she seemed to be in sync with their son. The more they looked at her, the more satisfied they became.
The Gu family parents were satisfied, but the Lin family parents were not.
After sending the Gu family away, Mother Lin went into her daughter’s room to express her dissatisfaction.
“I feel like your future in-laws are looking down on our family. After you marry over there, you must be more careful and establish our Lin family’s standing in their Gu family. You are a city girl marrying into the countryside. There is no reason for you to be treated as inferior.”
“And on the day of the wedding, the sixth, you must teach them a proper lesson. Your father and I need to get rid of this anger sooner rather than later.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I understand everything,” Lin Baozhu replied.
In truth, she did not fully share her parents’ resentment. Right now, she was simply eager to marry into the Gu family as soon as possible.
There were still four days left until the sixth.
That night, after everyone had returned from work, Father Gu gathered his three sons and planned for the four of them to go hunting in the mountains the next day. In this era, meat was hard to come by, but a good meat dish at a wedding banquet showed dignity, and the most economical way to get it was naturally to hunt it themselves.
Father Gu had learned a few skills from an old hunter when he was young, and later passed them on to his three sons. However, Gu Shicheng, having been pampered by Mother Gu since childhood, was not taught hunting due to its danger.
Meanwhile, Mother Gu gathered her three daughters-in-law and told them to borrow vegetables from villagers. To prevent laziness, she even assigned each of them a quota.
Wang Lihua complained unhappily, “Mother, borrowing vegetables means lowering ourselves to ask people for favors, not taking them for free, and you’re still setting quotas. We’re helping Fourth Brother, not owing him anything. Besides, he’s a teacher now and has taught several village students. Why not have him ask his students directly?”
Gu Shicheng had already guessed the daughters-in-law would cause trouble, so he was prepared.
“Sister-in-law, I’m a teacher. If I ask my students for things, I could lose my job,” he said calmly.
Mother Gu’s anger flared instantly at this provocation from her youngest son.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, if you have any dissatisfaction with the Gu family, then go back to your maiden family!”
Seeing the old couple’s faces darken, Ruan Hongmei gently tugged Wang Lihua’s sleeve and whispered, “Sister-in-law, stop arguing.”
Li Wenxiu also chimed in, “Let’s just work hard first. Whether they’re satisfied or not is another matter.”
Wang Lihua felt strangely comforted by this. She secretly gave a thumbs-up. “Xiuxiu, you really are clever.”
After the meeting ended, everyone returned to their rooms.
Gu Shiye quietly whispered to Li Wenxiu, “Wife, don’t worry. If I find anything good while hunting these next couple of days, I’ll secretly put it into our space, haha.”
In the end, the hunting trip brought back disappointing results, and the vegetables borrowed by the women were also unsatisfactory.
Mother Gu flew into a great rage, but everyone simply listened with one ear and let it out the other.
In the end, the old couple had no choice but to take out their hidden savings and go to the market to buy supplies themselves.
This rushed wedding banquet naturally turned out to be a mess. On the wedding day, Lin family relatives who came to the feast could not help but complain about how the Lin couple had married their daughter off to the countryside.