After arriving at the commune, Gu Shiye first took Li Wenxiu to the hospital for a checkup. Then, riding his bicycle, he turned toward another destination.
In the short drama, Lin Baozhu was essentially someone who blindly spoiled her younger brother, yet her brother had been a gambler in the early stages.
After making a round through the commune, Gu Shiye easily found out where a group of local hooligans frequently gathered to gamble underground.
Following the plot, he located the few young men who usually gambled with Lin Dabao.
He waited at one of their usual spots, and the moment he saw them approaching, he whistled at them. “Did you guys know Lin Dabao’s sister is getting married? The bride price is two thousand yuan.”
The fat guy leading the group looked at Gu Shiye warily. “Who the hell are you?”
Gu Shiye flashed him a roguish grin. “Who I am doesn’t matter. You just need to know the Lin family won’t be short on money anytime soon.”
After saying that, Gu Shiye rode away on his bicycle.
He knew very well that once those gambling addicts heard there was money to be made, they would never let the opportunity slip by.
Meanwhile, Gu Shicheng also arrived at the Lin family home and asked Lin Baozhu to come outside.
But Lin Baozhu was even more anxious than he was. Ever since last night, she had been inexplicably restless. The mere thought of her marriage with Gu Shicheng made her uneasy. Fortunately, he had come to see her today, otherwise she would have gone looking for him in the village herself.
“Acheng, did you come today because of our marriage?”
Gu Shicheng’s heart skipped a beat. He had not expected Lin Baozhu to guess correctly so quickly. His strong sense of pride immediately flared up. In truth, he hated exposing his own inadequacies in front of the woman he loved.
It was all because Third Brother and his wife had suddenly caused trouble. In the future, he would definitely hint to his parents to make life difficult for that couple.
Lin Baozhu immediately guessed part of the situation from his expression. “What is it? Did your family think the bride price was too high?”
Gu Shicheng hurriedly tried to salvage his pride. “No, an eight hundred yuan bride price isn’t too much. Baozhu, I truly love you. Even if it were eight thousand yuan, it still wouldn’t be too much if it meant marrying you.”
Lin Baozhu gazed happily into the man’s eyes, nearly overwhelmed with emotion.
Actually, she had already been mentally prepared for this. These days, even in the city, an eight hundred yuan bride price was considered astronomical.
But she knew Gu Shicheng was the favored child in the Gu family, and also the most promising among all the Gu family sons. That was why, after discussing it with her parents, she had boldly demanded an eight hundred yuan bride price.
A trace of embarrassment crossed Gu Shicheng’s refined and handsome face before he continued, “It’s just that my three older brothers and sisters-in-law feel upset about it.”
As expected, he saw disappointment flash across Lin Baozhu’s face. Gu Shicheng decided to force himself to keep up appearances a little longer.
“Baozhu, I don’t want you to feel wronged. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find a way to convince my three brothers and sisters-in-law.”
Unease filled Lin Baozhu’s heart. She lifted her finger and pressed it lightly against Gu Shicheng’s lips.
“Acheng, you don’t want me to suffer, but how could I bear to make things difficult for you? Seeing you trapped in the middle hurts me deeply. Let’s reduce the bride price from eight hundred to six hundred yuan. I’ll go speak to my parents myself.”
As expected of two teachers and the male and female leads of the novel, even while discussing something as sensitive as bride price negotiations, they still managed to speak gracefully without hurting each other’s feelings.
At that moment, both of them were immersed in what they believed to be deep and pure love for one another.
Suddenly, the sound of a whistle rang out beside them.
Startled by the unexpected audience, Lin Baozhu and Gu Shicheng quickly separated to protect their reputations.
It turned out to be several young men from the commune family housing compound. Since Lin Baozhu possessed the female lead halo and was indeed somewhat attractive, these young men, who were all around adulthood, naturally harbored a few inappropriate feelings toward her.
After the group walked over, the fat guy who had earlier encountered Gu Shiye suddenly said, “So the man Baozhu is marrying is this guy. He looks pretty refined, definitely dressed up like a decent person. I heard his family is paying two thousand yuan to marry Baozhu.”
When Li Jianqiang heard this, jealousy nearly consumed him. “Isn’t that guy not even from the city? His family can actually afford two thousand yuan to marry a daughter-in-law?”
The others immediately began stirring things up. “Why don’t we drag Lin Dabao out for a game today? Then we’ll find out whether that country bumpkin is just pretending to be rich in front of the Lin family.”
Li Jianqiang was the true gang leader among the second-generation youths in the entire commune. He nodded with interest. “Go bring that brat Lin Dabao over right now.”
After being lectured by his sister last night, Lin Dabao had originally planned to turn over a new leaf. But after his usual companions alternated between persuasion and pressure, he finally wavered again.
Under the setup arranged by the group, Lin Dabao, who had initially shown little interest, suddenly found himself unbelievably lucky after just a few rounds. Winning ten consecutive games instantly made him lose himself in the excitement.
By noon, after losing nearly one thousand yuan, Lin Dabao ran home trembling in fear to ask for money.
“Dad, Mom, Eldest Sister, you have to help me. I lost one thousand yuan playing cards this morning.”
The moment Mother Lin heard that astronomical amount, she fainted on the spot from shock.
Father Lin grabbed a feather duster and moved to beat his son.
“You worthless little bastard!”
Lin Dabao looked aggrieved instead. “Dad, calm down first. Anyway, Eldest Sister is getting married soon and there’s a two thousand yuan bride price. You only need to use half of it to help me pay back the gambling debt.”
Nearby, Mother Lin had just regained consciousness after her daughter fed her some water. The moment she heard Lin Dabao arrogantly mention a two thousand yuan bride price, she nearly fainted again.
“Dabao, can you use your brain for once? Even if we sold your eldest sister, she still wouldn’t be worth two thousand yuan. Those useless friends of yours tricked you into gambling with them!”
Lin Baozhu also realized her younger brother had clearly been set up. Already frustrated over her marriage, she simply blurted out, “Dad, Mom, let’s report it to the Public Security Bureau. One thousand yuan isn’t a small amount.”
Unexpectedly, the moment she finished speaking, Mother Lin slapped her across the face.
“Lin Baozhu, don’t forget you’re not married yet. If you report this, are you trying to send your brother to jail too?”
Covering her burning cheek, Lin Baozhu hurriedly explained, “Mom, don’t be angry. I know I spoke carelessly.”
She understood very clearly that in her parents’ hearts, her younger brother was the most important person.
At that moment, she desperately wished she could get married and leave home sooner.
Meanwhile, after returning to the Gu family home, Gu Shicheng secretly encouraged his parents to gather the whole family together again to discuss his marriage.
Unexpectedly, Third Brother’s family did not show up.
Second Sister-in-law Ruan Hongmei awkwardly explained on their behalf, “Dad, Mom, Third Sister-in-law went to the hospital for a pregnancy checkup. She’s so thin that I’m afraid the results might not be very good.”