Su Qinghe walked to the table and saw a plate of braised pork knuckles—rich, glossy with sauce, and emitting an appetizing aroma.
Beside it was a bowl of steaming white rice. The grains weren’t particularly bright white, but the fragrance of the rice was still quite strong.
Su Qinghe was already starving, feeling like her stomach was sticking to her back. Seeing the rice and pork knuckles together made her even more unable to resist.
“Mom, eat with me?” she asked.
“I’m not eating!” Zhang Xiulan refused. “I’ve already eaten. Hurry and eat, we’ll go register the marriage after you’re done!”
Su Qinghe felt a bit helpless. “Mom, do we really have to rush like this?”
As soon as she heard that, Zhang Xiulan immediately became nervous. “Qinghe, you’re not going back on your word again, are you?”
“I’m not going back on it—”
“Good that you’re not!” Zhang Xiulan patted her chest. “Qinghe, it’s not easy to find someone willing to marry you. You have to seize the chance. If you miss this village, there won’t be another shop!”
Su Qinghe didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she also had to admit Zhang Xiulan was telling the truth.
With the original owner’s reputation, it really wasn’t easy to find a marriage partner.
That “old man,” although a bit older and even had an adopted son—meaning she would have to become a stepmother right after marrying—at least he was rich.
A retired soldier and now the factory director of a flour mill, he could be considered extremely well-off in this era.
In a time when housing was tight, she had heard he owned a separate courtyard, totaling about five hundred square meters.
As Su Qinghe thought about it, she suddenly realized she didn’t even know the old man’s name.
“Mom, what’s my future husband’s name?”
Zhang Xiulan looked at her helplessly. “I’ve told you several times before, how do you still not remember? His surname is Qin, his name is Qin Yu. His adopted son is Qin Wang.”
“Which ‘yu’?”
“The one… the one…” Zhang Xiulan, though literate, was only barely so. She hesitated for a long time before finally figuring out how to explain it.
“It’s the ‘yu’ that looks like ‘and’ and ‘or’ combined.”
Su Qinghe immediately understood.
Although it was her first time hearing such an explanation, it did make sense in its own way.
“As for Qin Wang’s ‘wang,’ it’s the ‘wang’ from ‘wishful thinking.’ From his name alone, you can tell Qin Yu probably doesn’t care much about this adopted son. Otherwise, why would he give him such a name? Qinghe, once you get the marriage certificate later, do your best at night and take this old man down.
Mom is telling you, a thirty-year-old unmarried man—once he gets married, it’s like a dry old house catching fire. With your looks and figure, you can take him down in minutes. Then whatever you say goes…”
Hearing Zhang Xiulan’s outrageous words, Su Qinghe nearly choked.
Is that really something a mother should say to her daughter?
But thinking about the original owner’s personality, this kind of advice didn’t seem entirely unreasonable.
After all, the original owner had no virtues of kindness or gentleness, couldn’t do housework or cook.
To win over an “old man,” she could only start by winning his body.
Under Zhang Xiulan’s repeated urging, Su Qinghe finally finished her meal.
She only ate about one-third of the pork knuckle, starting from one corner so as not to disturb the rest of it for others. She also finished a bowl of rice and drank a bowl of rice soup.
After eating her fill, her stomach felt comfortable and her mood improved.
She stood up with a look of grim determination. “Let’s go! To the registration office!”
She looked less like she was going to get married and more like she was going to her execution.
But Zhang Xiulan didn’t care anymore. She had taken the day off work just to make sure Su Qinghe completed the registration.
Only after seeing the certificate in hand could she finally feel at ease.
The mother and daughter left together and headed straight to the marriage registry office.
On the way, Su Qinghe carefully observed everything around her.
Her understanding of this era was limited to textbooks and some films and TV dramas.
But both were very one-sided.
The reality before her was completely different.
Because of the era, there were hardly any bright colors to be seen—mostly black, white, gray, and blue.
Occasionally, someone wearing green military trousers would stand out as the brightest presence on the street, drawing envious looks from everyone.
As they were about to reach the marriage registry office, Su Qinghe saw two men in military trousers.
One was a tall, thin soldier, and the other was also a thin little boy.
The soldier was estimated to be at least 1.9 meters tall.
In this hot weather, he wore a white shirt and military trousers, with his shirt tucked into his pants.
He wasn’t wearing a belt, causing his pants to hang slightly low, making his waist look even slimmer.
Not only a slim waist, but also a lifted backside and long legs.
Just his back view alone made Su Qinghe’s heart race.
It was a pity she was about to register marriage with an “old man,” so she could only admire this high-quality soldier from afar.
While she was thinking this, the little boy in military trousers suddenly turned around and looked at her.
He looked about seven or eight years old, with fair skin, chubby cheeks, and big bright eyes. Not only was he double-lidded, but his eyelashes were long and thick like little fans.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Both were silently amazed by each other’s looks.
Even the little boy smiled brightly at her, which made Su Qinghe feel a bit better.
Whose child was this? He was really too good-looking!
Just as she was thinking this, the man also turned around.
At almost the same moment, Zhang Xiulan laughed loudly.
“Oh my, Factory Director Qin, you’re already here? Sorry to have kept you waiting. This is my daughter Qinghe! Let’s go in and get the marriage certificate now!”
Su Qinghe froze.
So this man was Qin Yu?
The man she was going to marry?
He didn’t look old at all!
If no one said he was thirty, he looked at most twenty-seven or twenty-eight.
Mature, steady, and handsome.
He looked like a cold, abstinent type of old cadre.
Wait!
If this was Qin Yu, then that exquisitely handsome child must be his adopted son, Qin Wang?
So good-looking… but really a troublemaker?
Could the rumors be wrong?
As she was thinking, Qin Wang pouted and said, “Dad, this old woman has been staring at you the whole time, like she’s about to drool. She doesn’t look like a decent person. Don’t marry someone like her.”
Zhang Xiulan’s smile froze instantly.
What a little troublemaker!
If they had any other choice, she really wouldn’t want her daughter to become the stepmother of such a child!
Su Qinghe: “……”
Hey!
She had a temper too!
Dealing with troublesome kids—she was very experienced at that!
At that moment, a mechanical electronic voice suddenly sounded in her mind:
[System binding conditions for “Stepmother Raising the Male Lead System” have been met. Please proceed to become the male lead’s stepmother as soon as possible.]