Madam Sun still curled her lip a little.
When her daughter had brought up this matter yesterday, Zhou Guiyun had still looked completely dismissive. She had thought herself so pure and superior, yet the moment she wiped her face, she had someone make inquiries on her behalf!
But as she had said, this concerned her daughter’s reputation, so she could not let a single word slip. Otherwise, her daughter would have to live under other people’s gossip for the rest of her life!
Pregnancy before marriage could even result in being dragged out to have one’s head shaved or being paraded through the streets or something!
But this matter had only a limited impact on Jiang Qian, because she was, after all, the victim!
Thus, Madam Sun’s response was impeccable as well.
She announced directly to everyone that her second branch of the family had already broken off the engagement with the Han family. After thinking it over, she had decided it was better to forget it. They were already so busy before getting married, so how could her daughter live after marriage?
That was why the couple had gone over yesterday and broken off the engagement.
Who could have expected that her Eldest Sister-in-law would take a fancy to the old Han family?
After hearing Madam Sun’s explanation, some people understood and said, “You have to admit, men in the military really are busy. It’s fine if their wives can accompany the army, but if they can’t, they can only live apart from their husbands. There’s a serviceman from my mother’s family too. He has retired now, but before that, his wife had to raise several children all by herself, acting as both father and mother. You have no idea how difficult her life was!”
But others raised doubts. “That’s for those who can’t accompany the army. The Han family’s man is a battalion commander. Aside from having excellent benefits, he can also take his wife along with him! Besides, you waited three whole years, and now that he’s finally back, you’re breaking off the engagement instead? Wouldn’t those three years have been wasted? I saw him with my own eyes just now. His talent and looks are both first-rate. A fine marriage like that is impossible to find even with a lantern. How can you simply refuse it?”
Madam Sun’s heart was bleeding. Of course she knew the Han family offered an outstanding marriage; otherwise, she would not have held on for three years.
Her daughter had waited from the age of nineteen all the way to twenty-two!
They had been on the verge of finally achieving a happy ending, but her daughter had let them down at this crucial moment. What else could she do?
As far as Madam Sun herself was concerned, she had been extremely satisfied with the marriage Aunt Jiang had introduced. Otherwise, she would never have let her daughter wait three years.
She had always hoped Han Shiguo would make something of himself, so that she could have a high-ranking official as her son-in-law.
Then she would truly rise to prominence along with him.
She had dreamed of standing tall before the first branch of the family.
But her daughter had been so useless!
“What you think is good may not necessarily be good for my family. After all, we have a job now. If she accompanies the army, who will do the work?” Madam Sun could not think of any other excuse, so she could only use their iron rice bowl as an explanation.
After all, Jiang Yue now had that position at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, earning twenty-two yuan a month—more than Jiang Qian’s wages.
Teachers’ salaries, whether now or in the future, would never be particularly high.
Because they had this job, her family no longer treasured the marriage they had once considered precious.
Everyone suddenly understood, though some were still sour about it. They said nothing to her face, but after turning away, they could not help curling their lips. “What is she so pleased about? If not for the assistance from the Jiang family’s First Branch, what would they amount to?”
“Exactly!” another jealous Eldest Sister-in-law chimed in. “Couldn’t that job just as well have been given to the daughter-in-law? Letting the daughter marry him and accompany the army would have solved both problems. Yet her family actually rejected such a fine marriage just because they had a job. They’ve thrown away the watermelon after picking up a sesame seed!”
“They’re all as short-sighted as rats. They can only see the three inches in front of their noses!”
“When Jiang Qian becomes a military officer’s Wife, just wait and see if they don’t regret it to death!”
“…”
Shouliu’s wife heard quite a bit of what they said, since they had made no effort to hide their voices. She even returned and reported it to her mother-in-law.
Madam Sun’s face turned dark.
But Shouliu’s wife had an ulterior motive too, because she had coveted that supply cooperative job for a long time!
“Mother, after younger sister gets married, our family should take over that job, right?” Shouliu’s wife said.
Madam Sun scolded her, “We’ll discuss the job later. Why are you in such a hurry? It isn’t your turn to make decisions in this household!”
Shouliu’s wife curled her lip. “Mother, if you’re angry, don’t take it out on me!”
She left with an offended look, feeling as though Madam Sun had treated her like a punching bag!
Madam Sun was furious. Every one of them had come to provoke her!
The villagers who had gathered to watch the spectacle and gossip, however, paid no attention to any of that. They went back to Zhou Guiyun to ask questions.
Zhou Guiyun had also learned from everyone about the flimsy excuse Madam Sun had given. She sneered inwardly but went along with it. “I tried to persuade my Second Uncle and the others. They had already waited three years, so what difference would this little while make? But they wouldn’t listen and insisted on breaking off the engagement. My sister-in-law, however, vouched for the Han family, praising their family values and Shiguo’s character. Since Qianqian is still unattached and Shiguo rarely gets leave to come home, I thought I might as well have my sister-in-law bring him over for a look. If the young people hit it off, I have no objection!”
If word got out that the Jiang family’s two daughters had fought over one man, the old Jiang family would be the subject of gossip in everyone’s household for decades. They could forget about ever holding their heads up again!
Therefore, the first branch and the second branch of the family were united on this matter. They absolutely could not let others make a laughingstock of them, so putting it this way was more appropriate.
Aunt Jiang also cared about her maiden family’s reputation. She told the village neighbors, “Jiang Yue and Shiguo have never even met. Since my Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law can’t bear to give up Jiang Yue’s job, and Jiang Yue is worried that Shiguo will be too busy to care for her after marriage, then with so many concerns, it’s best to forget it. Everyone can marry whoever they like. But a fine young man like Shiguo must be introduced to Qianqian, so don’t any of you set your sights on him!” She ended with a joke.
But it had to be said, everyone accepted this explanation. They were not blind; they could see Han Shiguo’s looks, height, and bearing. The pay and benefits for men in the military were famously good, and more importantly, they had promising futures. Han Shiguo was so young yet already a battalion commander—it was no exaggeration to say his prospects were limitless!
It was no wonder Aunt Jiang was determined to introduce him to her own maiden family’s niece!
After all, one should not let benefits flow to outsiders.
There was no doubt that Aunt Jiang was looking out for her own young niece.
However, the families who had their eyes on Jiang Qian were disappointed. They knew they definitely could not compete with the Han Shiguo they had seen today.
But they soon perked up again, because Jiang Yue had broken off the engagement, and she was no longer young!
Just like that, those families turned their attention to Jiang Yue instead!
Jiang Yue heard the news while she was still working at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
A girl from the village who had a good relationship with Jiang Yue came over to buy matches and salt. When she saw Jiang Yue, she grabbed her and began gossiping about the matter, unable to resist saying, “How could you be so foolish? Although this job is rare, the money doesn’t go into your hands anyway. Your family takes it all, so it has little to do with you! But you waited three years, and you were just about to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yet you broke it off again? Haven’t you just given your cousin a free advantage? This really proves that her Eight Characters say she was born lucky!”