“Really? Huo Zheng is really giving the Su family 280 yuan in bride price? And another 10 yuan for each person as a change-of-address gift?” someone asked, quickly calculating the total in their head—only to give up in confusion.
Village gossip leader Liu Guifen nodded. “Absolutely true! You should’ve seen the smug look on Liu Hongmei’s face yesterday. Tsk tsk, asking for so much bride price—it sounds like they’re selling their daughter!”
She had just happened to pass by the Huo house yesterday and overheard them talking about bride price while eavesdropping at the door. And she had stumbled upon big news.
280 yuan!
Even more expensive than a city girl.
What surprised her even more was that Huo Zheng actually agreed.
Could it be that he had really made a name for himself after all these years outside?
“Isn’t that just selling a daughter? The Su family’s Liu Hongmei is really something else. The second branch only has that one granddaughter left, and they still treat her so harshly.”
“What granddaughter? She’s just a girl—doesn’t count,” someone retorted.
Liu Guifen suddenly lowered her voice. “I heard that when Wang Yinghua was taking care of the Huo family child, she was paid 25 yuan a month.”
“Really?!” someone gasped.
Liu Guifen nodded.
…
Just then, Zhao Yingjun arrived for work and overheard the conversation. He paused to listen for a moment, then shook his head and walked on with his hoe.
Let alone 280 yuan—even 2,800 yuan, as long as Sister-in-law wanted it, Brother Zheng would give it without hesitation.
When he reached the fields, he saw Huo Zheng lying on the ground with a straw hat covering his face, resting with his eyes closed.
He tossed his hoe aside and walked over. “Brother Zheng, I heard you’re going to have a wedding banquet with sister-in-law? When is it?”
As his childhood friend, he was actually hearing this from gossip faster than Liu Guifen. Ridiculous.
But then he thought that even Song Huaisheng was slower than him, and he immediately felt better.
Huo Zheng didn’t move. “End of next month.”
“So soon!” Zhao Yingjun was shocked.
Huo Zheng flicked the straw hat off his face and sat up, glancing at him. “My kid is almost six months old already. Is that fast?”
Zhao Yingjun quickly changed his tone. “Not fast, not fast at all.”
But then he thought of the 280 yuan bride price and couldn’t help asking, “Brother Zheng, why are you giving the Su family so much money? You know how they treated sister-in-law before.”
Su Qian’an had no parents, but at least she had other relatives. Yet her life was even worse than someone completely alone like him or Brother Zheng.
Thinking of how the Su family used to treat her, Zhao Yingjun felt angry on her behalf.
At that, Huo Zheng’s lips curled into a cold smile. “They can take the money—but whether they can actually spend it is another matter.”
Zhao Yingjun’s eyes widened instantly. “Brother Zheng, you don’t mean—” He made a throat-slitting gesture. “That, do you?”
“That won’t do! Sure, our reputation isn’t great, but we can’t do something like that. If we get caught, it’s a death sentence!”
Huo Zheng kicked him. “Idiot.”
Zhao Yingjun: “…”
Seeing the brigade captain walking over, Huo Zheng hooked his hoe up from the ground. “Work.”
Zhao Yingjun watched as his hoe was taken away and protested, “Hey! That’s my hoe!”
The brigade captain came over, saw his slack attitude, and immediately blew his top. “Zhao Yingjun! Poor work attitude—minus three work points!”
He wrote it down, then suddenly realized something else and changed his expression again. “You still owe twenty work points! Pay them back!”
Zhao Yingjun: “…”
After the rain last night, there were many mushrooms on the mountain, so Su Qian’an had a good harvest. She and Ma Youlan went to the supply and marketing cooperative to sell them before heading back.
By the time they returned, it was just after work ended. People on the road kept looking at them strangely.
A woman close to Ma Youlan came over and asked, “You two just came back from town?”
“Yes,” Ma Youlan replied with a smile.
She also noticed the stares and asked her friend, “What happened in the village again?”
The woman gave her a strange look. “You don’t know?”
“What do I know?” Ma Youlan asked back.
The woman then told her what had been spreading in the village that day. Ma Youlan was shocked.
Since they weren’t avoiding others, Su Qian’an also heard everything clearly.
The woman then turned to her. “Is this true?”
Su Qian’an only smiled without answering. The surrounding gazes made her uncomfortable, so she casually found an excuse and went home.
Everyone didn’t hear her confirm it, but she didn’t deny it either. The discussion immediately grew louder.
Young unmarried girls and several families all felt uneasy upon hearing that Huo Zheng was giving such a large bride price.
By the time she got home, Huo Zheng had already cooked dinner and was about to go find her when she returned.
“Where did you go? Carrying this little thing around—aren’t you tired?”
The child was well-fed and sturdy; holding him for long would make one’s arms sore. Only she didn’t seem to mind at all.
“I went to the mountain to pick mushrooms,” she said, showing him the basket. They were the small ones that the cooperative didn’t accept.
“Eat first,” Huo Zheng said.
After dinner, Liu Hongmei came again, saying the Su family had agreed to prepare dowry and telling Huo Zheng to send the bride price over quickly.
Huo Zheng looked at her impatiently. “Got it.”
He originally intended to just give the money and be done with it, but thinking about village gossip, he decided to follow proper formalities.
After all, it was only once in a lifetime—might as well do it properly.
After Liu Hongmei left, she spat on the ground. “Just wait until I get the money. I’ll deal with you properly then.”
As she walked away, she added, “As for what dowry I prepare—that’s another matter.”
Su Qian’an then asked, “Are you really going to give them 280 yuan? Isn’t that too much?”
Huo Zheng looked at her. “And when have I ever lied to you?”
“But… where would we even get that much money?” she hesitated.
“I told you before—we’re not short of money. You didn’t believe me?”
She nodded honestly.
Huo Zheng laughed in frustration.
She explained, “People in the village say you never work and just hang around outside…”
After thinking for a moment, he nodded. “They’re not wrong.”
She looked at him, surprised by his honesty.
Over the past few days, she had often heard about things he had done from Ma Youlan. Not to stir trouble, but to teach her how to live properly.
She also learned things about herself from those conversations—things like how she had treated him badly before. It all felt unfamiliar, as if it wasn’t even her.
After spending time with him, she felt that although his reputation outside was bad, he was actually quite good—better than many men.
People said he was fierce, but they never thought about this: a child who lost his parents young—if he wasn’t fierce, how could he survive? If he wasn’t fierce, how would he not be bullied to death?
For him to grow up safely was already not easy.
A noisy commotion suddenly came from outside the door.