“What the hell? Seven thousand?”
Li Mingliang’s throat felt like a fishbone was stuck in it—couldn’t swallow it, couldn’t spit it out. His hands trembled with anger.
Seven thousand… How dare Liu Meiling even say that!
Without thinking, Li Mingliang waved his hand: “The most I’ll give you is two thousand. Seven thousand? Not a chance.”
Liu Meiling didn’t get angry either. Not a chance?
In front of him, she grabbed an axe, dismantled the door, hugged it with both hands, and tossed it at him: “Here’s the door! Seven thousand!”
It was mid-October, the beginning of autumn. The wind rushed in with a howl. Li Mingliang lost his balance and got hit on the head by the door, immediately feeling dizzy as he collapsed.
Liu Meiling ignored him and carefully thought about where in the house money could be hidden. Since Li Mingliang said he’d give two thousand, there had to be at least two thousand in the house.
She checked the kang hole, the kitchen, all sorts of cabinets—she almost overturned the whole floor, but found nothing.
She exhaled a bitter breath and lay down, calculating whether to wake Li Mingliang now or… wait!
Lying in the spot where Li Mingliang usually rested, her eyes were drawn to a piece of blue floral fabric hanging from a beam.
Climbing onto the kang table and then adding a stool, Liu Meiling finally took down the palm-sized package.
Opening it, she sucked in a sharp breath. It was a thick stack of bills—all in “Da Tuanjie” notes.
She dipped two fingers in saliva and counted: “One… two… one hundred… two hundred…”
A total of 390 bills. Over three thousand nine hundred yuan.
Liu Meiling clicked her tongue. It seemed Qin Xiangru wasn’t considered trustworthy in the old man’s eyes.
Back then, she was seventy-five. The old man was three years older.
When he married Qin Xiangru, they said they had been separated for sixty years. That meant they had been together since they were eighteen.
In her previous life, Qin Xiangru hadn’t stayed long in the compound—after six months, she said she had found someone and moved out.
Liu Meiling had gone a few times—to No. 68 Guihua Lane in town—but never at the right time. She had never seen the man Qin Xiangru ended up with.
Could it be…
Liu Meiling lowered her eyes, clutching the money tightly. Hearing a few sounds of commotion outside, she quickly stuffed the cash into a sewing box, then put the box into the kang hole before stepping out.
Two days later, the Zhan family could no longer stay put. At the height of the crackdown, Zhan Dazhuang had hit a brick wall.
They went to the west side of the Zhan household to find people, petitioned the police station, and learned both sons had confessed—they could no longer sit still.
So, with a group of relatives, they came to confront them in person.
Zhan’s mother, with a bruised face, wailed as she sat in front of the door: “Everyone, come see! The Li family is bullying people! The Li family is bullying people! Our good daughter agreed to be with their eldest son, and now they’re rejecting her! The bride price was already agreed on, and now they’re ruining her reputation—this is outrageous!”
Zhan’s elder aunt, plump, sat heavily on the ground, her waist wobbling: “You’re really bullying people! My daughter was fine, but you refuse to marry her off, and now you’re tarnishing her name! Isn’t this driving people to death? Our families were about to be connected, and our child just wanted to maintain a good relationship with your daughter. And now your Li family is sending her to prison! My poor children!”
This time, the Zhan family had learned from experience. Previously, they thought Liu Meiling at least cared about her daughter’s reputation, which was why they brought up her son. But after the last incident, they realized Liu Meiling didn’t care. So this time, they used the daughter as leverage.
Liu Meiling raised an eyebrow, coldly watching their performance. Zhan’s father squatted on a stool, smoking his pipe, waiting until most of the people had come out. Then he sighed worriedly:
“Little sister, our kids have been seeing each other for a while. If you think eight hundred for the bride price is too much, we can discuss it. But you can’t say my son is cozying up to other men! If this gets out, how will he live?”
Liu Meiling glanced at him: “If you don’t say it, no one will know, right?”
She had casually mentioned it yesterday. The compound was too busy watching the commotion to care about that one sentence. Even if it spread, so what? She hadn’t lied—back in her previous life, she didn’t want the eldest to marry Zhan Hongmei, and secretly saw that girl holding hands with someone else. But she couldn’t go against the eldest’s liking. When Bao Mei disappeared, she had no interest in targeting Zhan Hongmei. Who would have thought that over a decade later, the boy who held hands with Zhan Hongmei would reconnect with her, show up at a movie, and be noticed by her? If it weren’t for her two grandsons being older by then…
Even with her bias, Zhan Hongmei herself hadn’t been completely innocent.
Zhan’s father choked and took two more puffs of his pipe.
“That’s not how it is. If you truly care for the children, just agree to their marriage. Our two families can sit together and discuss. At worst, we can ask for less for the bride price—it’s all for the kids!”
Zhan’s elder aunt chimed in: “Yes, we’re not trying to cause trouble. We’re in-laws, we should sit together and discuss properly. Why must we never speak again?”
She grabbed Li Baoguo behind her and winked at the other side: “Sister, Baoguo is your son. You can’t be so cruel—are you really not letting him marry?”
Li Baoguo’s knees went weak, and he swore: “Mom, just let me marry Hongmei! We’ll be good to you!”
Liu Meiling pulled a long bench to sit in the middle, blocking Li Mingliang behind her:
“Fine, then let’s talk properly. You asked for eight hundred as the bride price—who is sincere? Since you’ve said so, it’d look like I’m unreasonable if I don’t negotiate. Speak—how shall we discuss it?”
Zhan’s father relaxed his brow, relieved that discussion was possible, and whispered to those around him: “There are too many people here. Let’s go inside to talk.”
“Don’t bother, right here! Everyone can see us negotiating! In ten miles around, I’ve never seen a bride price of eight hundred! I don’t know if your daughter has a good reputation, but even if she were a goddess, she can’t ask for eight hundred. In this house, just surviving is enough—who has eight hundred lying around to marry off a daughter? Right, everyone?”
With her words, neighbors in the compound nodded in agreement—they knew in their own homes, marrying off a daughter rarely cost more than three hundred. Eight hundred? Ridiculous!
Zhan’s father sighed: “Sister, you’re right. But our family is truly poor. Hongmei has older brothers and younger brothers, and we’re powerless old folks. Unlike you and your eldest, who have jobs, our child wants to help her family. I know she means well, but I really feel guilty!”
Before he could finish, Wu Chunhua interrupted: “First time I hear someone using someone else’s money to support their family!”
“Exactly! Usually, after marriage, you support your in-laws. But this marriage isn’t even done, and she’s already planning to help her family with the bride price. Imagine after marriage!”
Zhan Hongmei panicked and tugged at Li Baoguo—if this got out, who would dare marry her in the future!
Li Baoguo immediately declared:“Mom! Hongmei was only trying to do the right thing. I really love her. Mom! Please understand me—my whole life, I’ll only marry Hongmei! I love her. I shouldn’t make her suffer. Mom, for my sake, let’s talk properly, okay?”