To be honest, Qian Laoshi and his wife feared the Ma family more than the Sun family. Having dealt with them before, they knew the true nature of the Ma family.
Their son Qian Cheng was a student who couldn’t carry heavy loads or shoulder burdens. If he didn’t continue his studies, he wouldn’t even be able to support himself in the village.
The mother’s mind raced with thoughts—both families had to be appeased: “Wuni, don’t be angry. We’ve shared so many years of affection, and I can’t bear to lose you.”
Otherwise, why would we have called our eldest son back? Aren’t we here to discuss his marriage with you? How can you say the engagement is off just like that? Let’s not speak in anger.
The Ma family was never one to be bullied. If Ma Wuni said the engagement was off, that was one thing, but as long as the Ma family hadn’t called it off, the engagement still stood.
Ma Wuni’s second sister, Ma Wuju, immediately burst into tears, pulling at Wuni’s sleeve: “Calling off the engagement sounds easy, but everyone knows you’re engaged to the Qian family. Since childhood, you’ve worked for them, doing this and that. For their sake, you’ve offended so many people in the village. Who would marry you after this?”
Ma Wuju had her eyes on Qian Jin—capable, earning a salary, far better than Qian Cheng. Where else could they find such a good match?
In the future, he could even take Wuni to the army base. Why give that up? Even their future children would have grain rations.
The key issue was that Wuni had just publicly beaten Qian Cheng, and so many people had witnessed it. Which young man in the village would dare marry her now? They had to find someone to take the fall.
At this moment, Ma Wuni wasn’t overthinking things. She had been cheated on, and in such a dramatic way—she truly hadn’t seen it coming.
Did Ma Wuni need to rely on others? Were her children short of grain rations?
Watching Ma Wuju sobbing and wailing, Ma Wuni grew furious: “What are you crying for? Are all the men in the world dead? Are there no men besides the Qian family? If I say the engagement is off, it’s off. How could I want such a coward?”
A spineless wretch, a man who only knew how to cry when faced with trouble—she wanted nothing to do with him. Anything related to this man disgusted her.
Come to think of it, why hadn’t she noticed how cowardly Qian Cheng was before? She must have been blinded.
Qian Jin snorted inwardly. If she disliked anything related to the Qian family, it meant this girl had never considered him from the start. Good thing he hadn’t agreed earlier, or he’d have been humiliated to death by her.
Why did he feel so indignant? Could this girl still be hung up on someone like Qian Cheng? The cold aura radiating from Qian Jin made even Qian Laoshi shift far away.
Qian Jin’s mind was like a little theater: The Qian family shouldn’t be condemned because of Qian Cheng alone. What was he lacking? He was deeply conflicted.
Just then, the Sun family stepped forward with a smug, hypocritical expression. Captain Sun said to Ma Wuju: “Girl from the Ma family, don’t cry. What you said makes sense. Our Sun family isn’t one to bully others. Although this matter involves Qian Cheng and my daughter falling for each other, it’s ultimately their fault for putting Wuni in a difficult position in the village.”
Then came what he thought was a responsible statement: “Ma Wuni, how about this? Our Sun family’s son will marry you. We’ll take full responsibility for this matter.”
Such audacity! Spoken with such self-righteousness, the Qian couple glared at the Sun family, their eyes turning green with rage.
The Sun family truly dared to dream. Coveting their young man was one thing, but now they were eyeing their daughter-in-law too? Trying to have it both ways—how shameless!
Did they think the Qian family was some cotton field to be trampled on? This meant war—truly, this meant war.
The villagers were also stunned by Captain Sun’s shamelessness. No wonder he was a brigade leader—such clever calculations.
Ma Wuni had learned carpentry and was running a carpentry team in the county town. It was said they had plenty of work. Captain Sun was probably targeting this.
Sun’s wife even pulled Qian Laoshi’s Wife aside and said, “After all, Wuni was once Qian Cheng’s fiancée. Now, to discuss marriage with Qian Jin—they’re brothers. How can you even say such a thing? You’re respectable families; it sounds terrible.”
Captain Sun immediately followed up, “We’re all from the same village. Two brothers swapping brides—it doesn’t look good. Besides, how will they get along as brothers in the future? Just listen to me, and everyone can keep their dignity.”
The villagers outside were in an uproar. Captain Sun was the one disregarding dignity here—this was a truly wicked thing to do.
Ma Jiye listened from start to finish without speaking, weighing up Captain Sun and thinking to himself, “You sure have some nerve, but it depends on whether our Ma family agrees.”
Before Ma Jiye could speak, his eldest daughter, Ma Wuyi, was furious and didn’t spare Captain Sun any face: “You really are a brigade leader, aren’t you? Your schemes are hitting us right in the face. Your family wants to marry our girl? Your family isn’t worthy!”
Ma Wuyi continued, “Don’t think we don’t know what your family is up to. You’ve taken a fancy to my sister’s strength so she can help your family with work, right? Dream on.”
The second daughter, Ma Wuju, stopped crying: “If your family doesn’t have a mirror, tell your son to take a piss and look at his reflection. Still thinking about our little fifth? Do you think our little fifth is like the Qian family’s useless sons, that you can just covet her as you please?”
The two sisters taunted him one sentence after another, leaving Sun with no way to save face.
Of course, Qian Cheng, that useless fool, was also shamed by the insults. After all, he was the one the Sun family had managed to get their hands on.
The Sun family’s women still wanted to save face and immediately tried to smooth things over: “You two sisters shouldn’tt talk like that. Things have come to this point, and if our Sun family doesn’t step in to clean up the mess, what else can be done? What are we after? Wuni is, after all, a girl who was once engaged. We’re not disdainful of her, are we?”
Ma Wuyi spat, “Who are you to disdain her?””
Captain Sun’s wife, embarrassed and angry, turned to Qian Laoshi’s Wife: “If my son marries Wuni, your Qian family can still live in harmony. The brothers won’t become enemies, and they can help each other in the future. Qian Jin might even still care about you. I’m really doing this for your own good.”
Then she said to Ma Wuyi and Ma Wuju, “And I should mention this first: my son isn’t like the Qian boys. If Wuni comes to our family, she can’t just hit people whenever she wants. My son…”
No one had ever seen such shamelessness—as if it wasn’t the Sun family who had stirred up this mess in the first place.
The onlookers outside could also see what was going on. What did the Sun family see in Qian Cheng? Besides his face, he was good for nothing.
They were after the wages Qian Jin sent home. Knowing the Qian family’s life had improved, they wanted to marry their daughter into a good family for a comfortable life, picking up an easy gain.
At the same time, they wanted to find a capable wife for their son. The Sun family’s true colors were truly ugly.
Ma Wuni sneered. She wasn’t stupid and understood it was all about money: “You really have some nerve. Who are you to disdain me, Ma Wuni?”
Ma Wuni: “Your lazy, good-for-nothing son with no virtue is worthy? Oh, right, your daughter who pulled this off has no virtue either. Guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
The villagers listening felt a sense of satisfaction. Exactly—a whole family without virtue. Otherwise, who could have done such a despicable thing?