Qian Laoshi fell silent. He felt heartache for his son—how could life be like this? Yet, no matter how he looked at Qian Jin’s expression, it didn’t seem like he was unwilling to marry.
In any case, he had never understood this son of his.
Then Qian Jin recounted what had happened the night before, leaving Qian Laoshi and his wife too ashamed to speak.
Qian Cheng, that worthless scoundrel, had acted too despicably.
Qian Jin handed the money to his parents: “Qian Cheng took it, but Wuni stopped him and got it back.”
When Qian Laoshi’s wife saw the family’s lifelong savings all there, she was so furious she sat on the ground and let out half a wail before covering her own mouth. Family shame should not be aired in public—this matter couldn’t be known by outsiders.
Pounding the ground with both hands in anger, she cried, “After all these years of supporting his education, how did he turn out like this?”
Qian Laoshi said, “Shame on him! Where is he? Beat him to death!”
Qian Jin knew that even if Qian Cheng were at home, the old couple wouldn’t be able to bring themselves to do it. “Let’s not talk about him for now, but we can’t let him keep harassing the Ma family.”
Qian Laoshi replied, “No, no, we’ve already wronged the Ma family enough.”
Qian Laoshi’s wife asked, “What did Wuni and the Ma family say?”
Qian Jin answered, “Uncle Ma raised his children well—they have upright hearts and straightforward natures. They got the money back for you.” He said nothing more.
Qian Laoshi’s wife said, “That’s a good child, a truly upright one.” She guessed Qian Cheng had been taught a lesson. She couldn’t bring herself to feel sorry for him; instead, she secretly thought he deserved it—he needed to be disciplined.
Qian Laoshi sighed. As for the Sun family, let them do as they pleased. The priority now was to appease his eldest son.
Qian Cheng’s actions had chilled his parents’ hearts and betrayed brotherly loyalty. For Qian Jin to handle things this way was no easy feat.
But the Sun family couldn’t just stand by and watch the Qian family struggle. They made another demand: Qian Cheng and Sun Yali should have their engagement on the same day as Qian Jin and Ma Wuni.
Wasn’t this request deliberately stirring trouble? How could such a thing be done?
Why abandon dignity now? Weren’t they afraid of village gossip? Captain Sun’s demand was utterly degrading.
Even someone like Qian Laoshi said, “Our family isn’t lacking a meal. Why must we force ourselves together?”
Captain Sun spoke with feigned consideration: “Life is hard for everyone, and family conditions are limited. Brother Qian, I’m just trying to be considerate of you.”
Qian Laoshi sighed. If he were truly considerate, he wouldn’t make such a request. How could the Sun family have the face to sit together with the Ma family?
Fearing that his family wasn’t chaotic enough, Qian Laoshi bluntly replied, “I can’t decide this. I have to ask my eldest son, Qian Jin.”
Captain Sun never expected Qian Laoshi to be so shameless, shifting all responsibility away. “You’re still the father. Even if your son is successful, you can’t just listen to him in everything.”
Qian Laoshi said, “I’ve been useless my whole life, and this is just how I am. When my eldest is home, family matters are decided by him.” The unspoken half of the sentence was: when the eldest isn’t home, it’s Wuni who decides.
Captain Sun, despite all his cunning, had no way to deal with such a stubborn person.
Qian Jin’s stance left no room for face-saving: “I’m marrying a wife to manage my household and finances, not to bring someone home to disgust her. No.”
Captain Sun’s expression darkened, his tone threatening: “Qian Jin, do you think just because you’ve made something of yourself, you can look down on everyone in the village?”
Qian Jin: “Folks in our village are simple. To judge whether a man is promising, we look at whether he can protect his wife and children. Isn’t that right, Captain?”
Meaning that only by protecting a woman’s dignity can I be considered promising. No matter how good things sound on the outside, if your wife and children are bullied, that doesn’t count as promising.
Don’t you think this left Captain Sun in an awkward spot?
Looking at Qian Laoshi and his wife, the two of them hung their heads without uttering a peep—completely unreliable.
Captain Sun truly regretted it. If he had known earlier, wouldn’t it have been better for his own daughter to win over Qian Jin instead of setting her sights on that Qian Cheng?
Could he blame his own daughter for being blind and foolish? He could only blame Qian Jin for returning at the wrong time, not giving the village girls a chance.
Speaking of which, Ma Wuni’s words carried weight: “If the Sun family has the capability, let another woman come forward and win Qian Jin over. Ma Wuni won’t interfere in the Qian family’s affairs.”
Captain Sun genuinely had this idea, but unfortunately, the conditions weren’t right. His daughter wasn’t up to the task, and he hadn’t had enough children.
This matter wasn’t brought before the Ma family to upset Ma Wuni. They proceeded with arranging the engagement as they should.
But living in the same village, gossip always finds a way to spread.
Moreover, Ma Jiye was quite popular in the village. In less than the time it takes to finish a meal, every word of it reached Ma Jiye’s ears.
Ma Jiye praised Qian Jin in front of Ma Wuni: “That kid Qian Jin is good, a real man. Look, he already knows how to protect you.”
Ma Wuni was unimpressed: “You’ve been fond of him for quite some time now. I even suspect that Sun Yali ended up with Qian Cheng because of your meddling behind the scenes.”
Ma Jiye glared—nonsense, how could she say such things carelessly? “What are you talking about? Am I the kind of person who would harm my own daughter?”
Ma Wuni: “As long as you know who’s your own flesh and blood. He’s a son-in-law, not a son. No matter how pleasing he is to the eye, it’s only because you have a daughter that you have a son-in-law.”
Ma Jiye turned and went back into the house. Why did this girl have to speak so harshly?
If only she had taken a liking to Qian Jin back then, he, Ma Jiye, wouldn’t have arranged for the second daughter to take in a son-in-law. He would definitely have kept Wuni at home. Qian Jin would have been his son long ago.
But now, such words couldn’t be spoken. The second son-in-law wasn’t bad either, but compared to Qian Jin, he really fell short.
Neither the Qian nor the Ma family dragged their feet, mainly because they were afraid the Sun family might stir up trouble again.
The next morning, the two families gathered around Zhang Sangu for a meal, and the engagement was settled.
The process was simple and swift, with every procedure followed meticulously, demonstrating the Qian family’s seriousness about this marriage.
It was just that the speed made the villagers take notice.
Truth be told, the marriage between the Qian and Ma families was already eye-catching enough. This rush to get things done really didn’t stand out much.
The betrothal gifts didn’t include a bicycle or a sewing machine, but there was a wristwatch and Qian Jin’s bank passbook, handed to Ma Wuni in front of Zhang Sangu.
How much money was in the passbook? Zhang Sangu didn’t even get to see. Though curious, she didn’t have the nerve to ask Wuni to open it and show her.
Qian Jin’s mother even presented five hundred yuan as the bride price in front of Zhang Sangu. This money was what Wuni herself had retrieved from Qian Cheng. Not offering it wouldn’t have demonstrated the sincerity of the old couple.
Did it hurt? It did sting a bit, after all, it was savings accumulated over many years. But Qian Laoshi and his wife cheerfully said, “Wuni, take it. Keep it for yourself to buy things you need.”
Once she thought it through, without Wuni, if this money ended up in Qian Cheng’s hands, who knows who it might benefit instead. That youngest son is just a foolish boy with no sense of planning.
Even Zhang Sangu was shocked—five hundred yuan! Who would have thought Qian Laoshi and his wife, who never made a sound, had such a substantial family fortune?
No wonder Captain Sun’s daughter was so desperate to follow that boy Qian Cheng. The Qian family was truly well-off.