Fang Yao delivered her final ultimatum, giving Xu Manjiang’s family half a day to gather the money, then returned to the backyard with Wang Hua.
All the dowry items Li Xuemiao had sent over yesterday were here. Fang Yao had already sorted them out in advance, ready to be taken away when they brought the money.
Xu Qingzhou opened his eyes at the sound of the door opening. He hadn’t been sleeping deeply and had vaguely heard some commotion from the front yard, but he hadn’t gotten up.
Yawning lazily, he casually asked, “What were you doing in the front yard? You were gone so long.”
Fang Yao walked over just then, gathered the quilts at the foot of the bed, and tied them up with a red silk ribbon. Glancing at the strong, sturdy man, she thought, why waste a useful resource?
“Don’t just sit there. Put all these things on the table. They’ll be coming later to move Li Xuemiao’s stuff.”
Xu Qingzhou instinctively started helping. His lean arms were full of strength, and the bundle Fang Yao had struggled to move was effortlessly lifted by him and placed on the table.
Fang Yao straightened her back and answered his earlier question: “I just went to demand compensation from them—one thousand for each of us. You said it yourself, all the household money is under my control.”
Xu Qingzhou was taken aback for a moment. He lowered his head slightly, grinning to reveal a row of neat white teeth, with a hint of pink beneath his lips. His slender, deep-set eyes tilted slightly upward, and his high, straight nose bridge gave his face a distinct, three-dimensional contour.
“Alright. Second Aunt is famously known as an iron rooster in and out of the village. Managing to squeeze money out of her is quite impressive.” Xu Qingzhou’s words were filled with admiration.
What he didn’t say was that ever since he saw her in the yard yesterday, fiercely chasing Xu Manjiang around, he had thought this girl had guts—interesting!
“You think it was easy for me? Arguing with them left my throat dry, and here you are, hiding in the room snoring away!” Fang Yao shot him a glare, stacked the remaining items on the table, and reached out her hand to him. “Hurry up and fulfill what you promised yesterday. Give me your money too!”
“In such a hurry? Fine, but my money won’t come for free.” Xu Qingzhou reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a marriage application form, and placed it in an empty spot on the table.
Then he opened a drawer, took out a fountain pen, an inkpad, and a locked iron box, arranging them neatly side by side.
“Fill it out, and I’ll give you the key.”
Fang Yao didn’t dawdle. She wrote her name and filled in all the required information in each column of the form, finally pressing her fingerprint in the signature section.
Xu Qingzhou waited for her to finish, pushed the key toward her, picked up the fountain pen, and filled out his part.
Fang Yao used the key to unlock the iron box. Inside were two bankbooks and some neatly stacked Great Unity notes. She counted them—seven in total. Opening the bankbooks, she saw substantial deposits: one had fifteen hundred, the other nine hundred.
“You’re quite the saver, aren’t you? Even after paying the bride price, you still have this much left.” Fang Yao closed the lid with satisfaction. The lock on the box surely had more than one key, and he likely kept a spare. To be safe, she decided she’d buy another lock and replace it later.
Xu Qingzhou finished filling out the form, folded it neatly, and placed it back in his shirt pocket. Casually, he returned the fountain pen and inkpad to the drawer, maintaining his meticulous habits.
“One of these bankbooks is for my allowance, the other for bonuses. I enlisted at sixteen—food, clothing, and expenses were covered by the army, so I could save all my money.” After saying this, he walked to the bedside, picked up his military overcoat, put it on, and fastened the buttons meticulously.
"I'll take the marriage certificate to the military unit first. The sooner it gets approved, the sooner it'll be finalized. Wait for me at home, and remember to leave the door unlocked tonight."
Fang Yao gave a soft "Mm" in response. She hadn't slept well at all last night. As a new bride, she didn't have to cook for the first few days after entering the household, so she decided to take advantage of the still-warm bedding and slip back in for a second sleep.
Li Xuemiao had been pretending to faint all along. Only after enduring until Xu Manjiang and his family of three left the house did she dare to fall asleep.
In her drowsy state, she heard voices coming from the main gate. Wang Cuilian had been cursing from the moment she entered—first hating Fang Yao so much that her teeth itched with fury, then berating Xu Jianshu for being spineless and not speaking up for her in the old lady's room, and later complaining that Xu Manjiang had no brains, dragging her into the mess as well. Her words were filled with nothing but disdain and belittlement.
Li Xuemiao thought about how her well-laid plans had been forced by Fang Yao to the point of making her ram into a pillar, and she was so furious that she bit her lip until it bled!
In her previous life, when Fang Yao married Xu Manjiang, she had been bullied by Wang Cuilian to the point of not daring to utter a single word of protest. Now that Fang Yao had gotten hold of a leverage, she actually knew how to use chicken feathers as a command arrow, making them pay compensation?
Li Xuemiao clenched her fists, quickly composed her expression when Xu Manjiang entered, and struggled to sit up from the bed.
"Little Uncle…"
Xu Manjiang had been intimate with her last night. Now, seeing her head wrapped in gauze and looking frail and delicate, his heart softened, and he rushed to her side.
"We're already husband and wife, why are you still calling me that? Xuemiao, remember, from now on, I am your man."
"Yes, Manjiang…" Li Xuemiao immediately changed her address. Of course, she had called him that intentionally earlier—just to remind Xu Manjiang who was truly part of his family.
The three members of Wang Cuilian's family hadn't been able to deal with Fang Yao, but that was only because the old lady was backing her up. Since they had to pay these two thousand yuan, she couldn't waste this opportunity to win people over!
After all, based on her experience from her previous life, Xu Manjiang's uncle couldn't have children and placed great importance on his only nephew. Not only did he give him large sums of money, but he also took him into business, leading a life of unimaginable comfort.
As for Xu Qingzhou, he would soon become useless. No matter how much money Fang Yao extorted, she would only be living widowhood for the rest of her life, watching helplessly as Li Xuemiao enjoyed prosperity!
"Does Fang Yao want us to pay compensation? Manjiang… last night's mistake wasn't yours alone—I share the responsibility too. You should give Fang Yao the money as agreed. I don't want the bride price Fang Yao exchanged for. As long as you and I can be of one mind from now on and live a good life together…"
Back then, Xu Qingzhou had given her a dowry of fifteen hundred yuan. If she returned this money to Fang Yao, then the eight hundred yuan Fang Yao received from Xu Manjiang should also be handed over to her. Li Xuemiao would then directly return it to Xu Manjiang—offering flowers borrowed to Buddha. Apart from marrying into the family with nothing, she actually hadn't suffered any real loss.
What she truly wanted was for Xu Manjiang to ensure her a lifetime of being well-fed and well-clothed!
Upon hearing her words, Xu Manjiang was immediately moved to tears: "Xuemiao, you're so understanding. Being able to marry you is the greatest blessing of my life! I truly regret not meeting you sooner! I swear, I'll work hard to earn money from now on and make sure you live a life a hundred times better than Fang Yao's!"
After pledging his loyalty to Li Xuemiao, Xu Manjiang went out and told Wang Cuilian that there was no need to raise more money.
When Wang Cuilian learned that Li Xuemiao was willing to contribute her bride price, her attitude toward her immediately changed. Moreover, bearing in mind that she was the village party secretary's daughter, Wang Cuilian eagerly went into the room to fuss over her with warm concern.
They immediately packed up Fang Yao's dowry items and, along with the compensation money, sent them to the backyard.
Wang Cuilian banged on the door loudly, and Fang Yao got up to open it, nearly getting hit in the face by a wad of money.
Wang Cuilian stood with her hands on her hips, her back ramrod straight, looking as if she had come to pick a fight.
"Take this filthy money! Fang Yao, my son must have been blind to ever take a liking to you—you’re not even half as good as Xuemiao! Xu Qingzhou must have had his head squeezed in a door to be willing to take on a jinx like you! I’ll be waiting to see the day he ends up crying and lost!"