Teacher Bai nodded. “Xiangyun is only nineteen. Getting married really is a little early.
“She can’t even legally get a marriage certificate yet. No matter what, she has to graduate from college.”
Zhang Qiulian grew anxious. “Mom, Xiangyun is almost twenty. That’s perfectly normal in the countryside.
“Look at Chen Chun from the second branch. She’s already being introduced to potential husbands.
“Mingxu has such good conditions. If Xiangyun misses this opportunity, she won’t get another one.”
Chen Guangze coldly retorted, “There’s no need for you to worry about my sister.
“You should worry about yourself instead. You’re about to remarry, so stop hanging around your former husband’s family.”
Zhang Qiulian’s expression changed slightly, but she quickly put on another smile.
“Fifth Brother, that’s not what I meant. I’m just concerned about Xiangyun.
“Besides, I introduced Mingxu. Of course I have to see things through.”
Chen Guangyao had completely lost his patience with Zhang Qiulian. His wife was still in the hospital recovering from the pregnancy scare, all because of this troublemaker.
“See what through? How?
“If this investment loses money, will you pay it back?
“If this marriage doesn’t work out, will you compensate Little Sister for the rest of her life?”
A trace of resentment flashed through Zhang Qiulian’s eyes, but she quickly concealed it.
Teacher Bai and Old Chen were also getting increasingly confused by everything being said.
They couldn’t even figure out what exactly these people had come here for.
Teacher Bai finally lost patience.
“Comrade Wang, let me ask you something directly.
“What are your plans for the marriage?
“How old are you? Who’s in your family? Has your work unit assigned you a place to live?”
Wang Mingxu clearly hadn’t expected such direct questions. He stammered,
“I’m twenty-eight. Both of my parents are still alive. My work unit assigned me a fifteen-square-meter room in a tube-shaped apartment building.”
Teacher Bai sighed and glanced at her youngest son.
He was nine years older than Xiangyun, yet after working at his unit for so many years, he still hadn’t been promoted.
A fifteen-square-meter room in a communal apartment was barely big enough to turn around in.
And now he wanted Xiangyun to drop out of college.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache.
Whenever Teacher Bai encountered a difficult situation, she usually asked Chen Guangze for his opinion.
This time was no different.
Chen Guangze immediately understood what his mother meant and turned to Chen Xiangyun.
“Fifteen square meters?
“Little Sister, where are you supposed to live after marrying him? Under the bed?”
Chen Xiangyun raised her head, confusion appearing in her eyes.
Zhang Qiulian hurriedly defended him.
“Mingxu has great potential.
“A secure government job is something everyone dreams of.”
Chen Guangze cut in.
“Sister-in-law, I know people in Tujia Slope too.
“I’ll ask around.
“A twenty-eight-year-old man with a secure government job—why hasn’t he gotten married?
“If there’s nothing wrong with him, then they can continue discussing the marriage.”
The moment Zhang Qiulian heard this, her face turned deathly pale and her eyes began darting around.
Wang Mingxu also became restless, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
Teacher Bai and Old Chen exchanged a glance.
They already had their suspicions.
Chen Xiangyun seemed to realize something as well. She bit her lip tightly.
“Fifth Brother, the man I introduced is someone I know well. There’s no need to investigate him.”
Zhang Qiulian tried to sound calm.
Chen Guangze sneered.
“Sister-in-law, I just want to get to the bottom of things.
“After all, this concerns my sister’s entire future.”
Hu Yan watched the two of them panic.
There was definitely something they were hiding.
Chen Guangze had nothing more to say. His voice carried a hint of mockery.
“Little Sister, tell us.
“Do you still want to drop out and get married?
“Or do you want me to continue investigating?
“You know I have connections in the city. Looking into one person won’t be difficult.”
Chen Xiangyun looked at Wang Mingxu.
At that moment, she understood everything.
Her sister-in-law had definitely not introduced this man with good intentions.
She didn’t even want to know the details anymore.
“No need, Fifth Brother. Please see them out.”
Wang Mingxu flicked his hand, gave Zhang Qiulian a long, meaningful look, and turned to leave.
Zhang Qiulian hurriedly stood up and followed him out, her eyes darting around nervously.
Chen Guangze watched them leave coldly, his disgust toward Zhang Qiulian growing even stronger.
Teacher Bai patted her daughter’s shoulder.
“Xiangyun, you’re still young. Don’t rush into marriage.”
Chen Xiangyun nodded, secretly relieved.
Thankfully, Fifth Brother had kept a clear head.
Otherwise, she might have walked straight into a trap.
Chen Guangze leaned toward Hu Yan and whispered,
“Wife, there’s definitely something going on.
“If we investigate, we might even be able to get that guy removed from his position.”
Hu Yan also found the situation suspicious.
What exactly was hidden in Tujia Slope that made them so desperate to abandon their original plan?
The couple’s thoughts were perfectly aligned.
Just then, the sound of a child’s crying came from outside.
Everyone rushed out to see what had happened.
Chen Lei had fallen near the gate.
Standing in front of him were Zhang Qiulian and Wang Mingxu.
It seemed the two had been walking too quickly and accidentally bumped into him.
Ever since Chen Lei had been adopted by Chen Guangming, he hadn’t seen Zhang Qiulian much.
He had gradually forgotten her and grown attached to his second uncle and aunt.
After falling today, instead of crying for Zhang Qiulian, he stretched both arms toward Lin Xiulan.
“Mommy, hold me!”
Zhang Qiulian couldn’t stand it.
Her face instantly turned livid.
She rushed over and grabbed Chen Lei by the arm, saying viciously,
“You ungrateful little brat! I’m your real mother!”
The frightened child immediately burst into tears.
Lin Xiulan hurried over and shielded Chen Lei.
She glared furiously at Zhang Qiulian.
“What are you doing?
“The child has already been given to us. Don’t come here and make trouble!”
But Zhang Qiulian refused to back down and began arguing with Lin Xiulan.
Wang Mingxu tried to calm Zhang Qiulian down, but his eyes never left Chen Lei.
When Chen Guangze and Hu Yan came outside, they immediately noticed the strange reactions of Wang Mingxu and Zhang Qiulian.
Hu Yan frowned.
Why was Wang Mingxu acting so strangely?
Just as she was thinking about it, Wang Mingxu took a piece of fruit candy from his pocket and tried to coax Chen Lei.
“It’s okay, little guy. Uncle didn’t mean to.
“Here, have some candy. Forgive Uncle, okay?”
Chen Lei was still sobbing in Lin Xiulan’s arms.
Hu Yan noticed how close Wang Mingxu was standing to Chen Lei.
Those eyebrows.
That nose.
Those ears.
The more she looked, the more similar they seemed.
Could it be…
No. That couldn’t be.
Could Zhang Qiulian really be that bold?
Hu Yan’s mind raced as she looked at the others.
No one else seemed to have noticed anything unusual.
Maybe she was imagining things?
By the time Hu Yan came back to her senses and wanted to take another look, Wang Mingxu and Zhang Qiulian were already far away.
Chen Guangze waved a hand in front of her face.
“Hey, hey, hey… Stop spacing out. We’re going into the city.”
His voice brought Hu Yan back to reality.
She went inside, grabbed her bag, and followed Chen Guangze.
Holding his wife’s hand, Chen Guangze took several turns before arriving at the village chief’s house.
Hu Yan raised an eyebrow curiously.
“Why are we here to see the village chief?”
Liushu Bay was primarily made up of people surnamed Tang and Chen.
There were relatively few people with other surnames.
The current village chief was actually a member of the Chen family—Chen Dagen.
He was also Chen Guangze’s paternal uncle.
“We bought a lot of things.
“Two cooking pots, jars for pickled vegetables, and a bunch of other stuff.
“The bus isn’t convenient.
“The village chief just bought a tricycle, so we’re going to borrow it.”
Hu Yan burst out laughing.
“Auntie Zhu practically sleeps with that tricycle.
“She treats it like a treasure. Do you really think she’ll lend it to you?”
The village chief’s wife was surnamed Zhu, though everyone called her Auntie Zhu.
The village chief was notoriously henpecked.
Whatever Auntie Zhu said went.