Once Su Tian got back to the village and many people saw her, they all had to ask: “How was the blind date? I heard from Aunt Wang that the young man is good-looking. If it works out, you should marry him!”
“Later, if you’re not feeling well, can’t you just have your doctor husband check on you instead of going to the hospital?”
Their minds were already running the calculations for the next life. Not to mention that Su Tian hadn’t actually gone on a blind date with the doctor. Even if she did in the future, she wouldn’t check people for free—she wasn’t giving away favors.
Some people even compared her to Su Lili: “She may not be from the city and her family’s conditions may not match your cousin-in-law’s, but at least he’s tall and handsome. You wouldn’t be at a disadvantage marrying him.”
Su Tian nearly swore under her breath. Qin Yan was no Guo Zhiwei.
To avoid further misunderstandings, she explained: “Aunt Wang got it wrong. The young man I had noodles with today is not a blind date, not the doctor either. Don’t spread rumors and ruin the doctor’s reputation. I only met an ordinary friend today. When I have good news, I’ll treat everyone to wedding candies.”
Some people deliberately tried to stir trouble: “Ordinary friends having noodles together?” “Face to face?” “Talking and laughing?”
Su Tian explained, but they wouldn’t listen. She snapped back: “Which law did we break? Tell me so I can follow it in the future. Don’t act like you can’t understand normal words. If you have nothing better to do, go work. Don’t worry about my marriage, or people might think you’re my parents!”
After a few sharp words, their faces darkened. Just saying “we’re doing it for your own good” didn’t make them morally superior. Su Tian refused to be guilt-tripped. She said bluntly:
“Fine. Since you’re ‘helping me,’ which of you will prepare my dowry? The hot water kettle, enamel basin, quilt covers—who’s bringing them?”
The moment she said that, everyone dispersed immediately, afraid she would actually make them prepare her dowry. What a joke—they didn’t even have daughters of their own to prepare a dowry for.
Su Tian smirked and was about to leave when her aunt sarcastically said, “They are elders. How can you talk to them like that?”
“Elders who act all high and mighty—do you want them or not?” Su Tian snapped back.
Li Xiaomei, not wanting her friend to lose face, said: “Forget it, I know you’re in a bad mood. Didn’t like that doctor, right? Well, Lili married well, so if you, as the older sister, end up with someone worse, it won’t make sense. People need to know their own worth. Your cousin-in-law’s conditions aren’t common. If you don’t like the doctor, there’s Chen Xiaojun from the neighboring village—he’s handsome, you two were classmates, and he’s still unmarried. If you want…”
Su Tian leaned in close, eyes wide: “What? Chen Xiaojun slept with your daughter and you’re not happy about it, so you want me to be taken advantage of too?”
Li Xiaomin turned pale and tried to cover Su Tian’s mouth: “What are you talking about?”
Su Tian mocked: “You know if I’m making it up or not. One warning: who I marry, whether I go on a blind date, or who I choose has nothing to do with you. If you keep fabricating stories, I won’t hesitate to talk to Aunt Wang about your daughter’s premarital indiscretions.”
Li Xiaomin was furious, pointing at Su Tian: “You dare say one word—try me!”
Just then, Aunt Wang passed by. Su Tian called out to her: “Aunt, what are you busy with?”
The next second, Li Xiaomei grabbed Su Tian, pleading: “Don’t say anything, I beg you. If you do, how will your sister be treated at her in-laws’ house and at home?”
Su Tian snorted coldly: “Does your aunt realize she was wrong?”
Li Xiaomei lowered her head: “The aunt was wrong. She won’t say nonsense again, please have mercy.”
Only then did Su Tian let go. She smiled at the approaching Aunt Wang: “You got back earlier than me. Was the noodles good today?”
Aunt Wang had expected gossip but was asked this instead. She smiled and replied casually: “That young man today… really wasn’t a blind date?”
Su Tian nodded.
Aunt Wang didn’t believe her. The young man hadn’t denied anything; they looked like a couple—no way he was lying.
Su Tian, unaware of Aunt Wang’s thoughts, went home and busied herself with chores. She planned to wait until her parents returned from the fields, had dinner, and went to bed before starting her special monkey-stamp livestream.
Huang Guihua heard about Su Tian eating noodles with a man in town and asked: “You didn’t meet the doctor?”
“No.”
“The guy who sold salted duck eggs—is he someone you know?”
Su Tian paused for a moment, then smiled: “No, the person I had noodles with is the truck driver who came to pick up Su Lili’s things on her wedding day. He delivers along this route and just happened to pass through our town.”
“Oh, you met and had noodles together?” Huang Guihua pictured the scene in her mind.
Su Tian nodded.
Huang Guihua thought about that handsome young man and felt a little flutter: “That young man isn’t married yet, right?”
“No.”
“Does he have a girlfriend?”
Su Tian shook her head.
Huang Guihua’s eyes lit up: “What do you think about him as my son-in-law?”
The transport team leader works at the factory, can drive, has skills, is young and earns a decent salary—eventually over 100 a month. A formal employee, owns a city house, good-looking—marrying him wouldn’t be a loss.
Su Tian met Huang Guihua’s gleaming gaze and couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time: “Isn’t it the rule that I can’t go to the city?”
“That’s different. You alone can’t manage. Marrying into the city is fine. Though his man isn’t as good as Su Lili’s, at least he’s tall, handsome, and can drive—he’s worthy of you.”
The spectators in the livestream couldn’t stop commenting: “What’s one more rich person in the world?”
Su Tian: “…Congratulations to all the lucky winners! Please check your orders carefully!”
After ending the livestream, Su Tian covered her mouth and squealed quietly, afraid of waking her parents, desperately suppressing her voice.
“小Ba, we just made a fortune—1.77 million! Even splitting it, I get 885,000! Hahaha, I’m a rich woman now!” Su Tian rolled excitedly on her bed.
In the following days, Su Tian was in an excellent mood, smiling at everyone she saw. Huang Guihua thought she was dating someone and pouted, telling her husband to keep an eye on their silly daughter so she wouldn’t get tricked.
Jiang Daguo: “…”
Soon, the agreed-upon Monday arrived. Today, Qin Yan seemed particularly careful. Early in the morning, he washed his hair and even changed into a rarely worn shirt. His undershirt had a hole, so he replaced it with an intact one.
Qin’s mother, seeing him fussing over himself, thought he might be going on a blind date. But on second thought… maybe not. She hesitated, then prepared a bowl of mung bean porridge, a serving of smashed cucumbers, and an egg laid by one of their hens—two eggs a day, one for each of the siblings.
Qin Yan split the egg in half, giving the other half to his mother. Seeing her son’s filial gesture, Qin’s mother smiled and asked, “Aren’t you supposed to deliver goods to the town supply and marketing cooperative today? Why the change of clothes? You usually wouldn’t spend clothes like this.”
“Mm.”
As for why he changed into almost-new clothes, he wouldn’t tell his mother—it was for seeing Su Tian. Thinking about meeting her and hearing her answer made the egg in his hand lose its appeal.
Qin’s mother noticed his change in mood and asked, “What’s wrong? Is the egg bad?”
Qin Yan shook his head, finished eating in a few bites, grabbed a towel, and headed out. His mother reminded him to drive safely and not too fast, and went on and on, but he just nodded and left quickly.
At the same time, Su Lili got up to make breakfast for the Guo family. Seeing Qin Yan stride away, with broad shoulders, tall height, and long legs, she immediately recognized him as a real man. Having already gone through life and marriage twice, Su Lili was no longer a naive girl. Looking at that young figure and recalling Guo Zhiwei’s performance last night, she secretly frowned—good-looking but useless.