Lin An’an put her clothes away in the wardrobe and discovered a letter at the very bottom.
The letter had been left by Lin Dong. Along with five hundred yuan, there was a sheet of paper on which he had written many apologies on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Lin.
Lin An’an put the money away. She had no job and no savings right now—she needed it.
She tossed the letter into a drawer. There was nothing to apologize for. Mr. and Mrs. Lin had raised her for twenty years, and in their eyes, she had “stolen” twenty years of Qiao Xiaohong’s good fortune.
Even though she herself was completely innocent.
Mr. and Mrs. Lin had plenty of nerve, and their hearts were hard as stone!
…
At the Ji family home a hundred meters away, the family was discussing what to do.
This was humiliating enough. Their wedding date was fast approaching, yet their future daughter-in-law had run away. Was Ji Cheng going to get married to an empty room?
“Call it off.”
Twenty-six-year-old Ji Cheng was the second son in the family, with an older brother and a younger sister. He was tall and powerfully built, with sword-like brows and bright eyes that radiated heroic spirit.
The only flaw was the crutch standing beside his leg, reminding everyone that he had difficulty walking.
Ji Cheng had been injured during a mission. He had now recovered seventy to eighty percent, and the injury no longer interfered with anything he did. Since he also had more free time, his parents had begun arranging a marriage for him.
Of course, there was another reason. Rumors outside claimed that Ji Cheng’s leg was the most seriously injured part of him, and that even if it healed, he would probably be crippled.
Out of selfish concern, Ji Cheng’s Mother wanted him to get married as soon as possible. What if he really did end up crippled? A mother naturally wanted to protect her son, but she didn’t dare take that gamble.
The betrothal gift money had already been handed over publicly, and the wedding date had been set. Yet Qiao Xiaohong had run off without a word. The Ji family had indeed been badly cheated.
More importantly, it was humiliating.
“No. Why should we call it off? Her family is at fault, not ours.”
Ji Cheng’s Mother refused to agree. Her son Ji Cheng was a cadre, after all. She couldn’t let people laugh at him.
“If we don’t call it off, what are we supposed to do? Qiao Xiaohong has run away.”
The two of them had never gotten to know each other very well. A matchmaker had brought them together, and on top of that, Qiao Shulin had once saved Ji Cheng’s life. That was why the two families had arranged the marriage.
So Ji Cheng could accept calling it off.
Ji Cheng’s Mother suddenly remembered something. “I heard Qiao Shulin’s biological daughter has come back. If that’s the case, your wife won’t be able to run away.”
Ji Cheng’s younger sister, Ji Nian, reminded her, “Mom, what if that girl is so ugly that nothing can be done about it? Would you still want her as your daughter-in-law?”
That did give Ji Cheng’s Mother pause. “I’ll go take a look. If she’s ugly, we’ll call it off. If she’s passable, we’ll make do.”
Ji Cheng’s Mother was swift and decisive. She wrapped a green headscarf around her head and jogged all the way to the Qiao family home.
“Mom!” Ji Cheng tried to pull her back, but his leg failed him, and he nearly fell.
Was he, Ji Cheng, getting married just to look at someone’s face?
Jiang Xiu had made hand-rolled noodles for her daughter, with two fried eggs nestled on top. Shanzi was so tempted that he kept stealing glances at them.
Lin An’an teased him. “Shanzi, are you craving them?”
Qiao Xiaoshan replied in a muffled voice, “I’m not a greedy little cat.”
“I heard someone swallow.”
Qiao Xiaoshan unconsciously swallowed again. “You heard wrong.”
Jiang Xiu said, “An’an, don’t worry about him. I’ll roll out another batch in a moment.”
The next batch would be made from mixed-grain flour. She had to save the refined grain to sell. That white-eyed wolf had stolen the betrothal gift money, and they had to compensate the Ji family.
Lin An’an was so much older than Shanzi. How could she eat while he watched? How was she supposed to swallow it?
Lin An’an took a bowl and gave Shanzi one of the eggs and half the noodles.
“I ate some steamed buns on the way here. I can’t finish such a big bowl anyway. Help me eat it.”
Shanzi blinked his big eyes. “I’m actually not hungry at all. I’m only doing this to help you.”
Lin An’an smiled. “That’s right, that’s right. Hurry up and help me.”
Seeing that the siblings got along so well, Jiang Xiu was deeply comforted.
“Shanzi’s mom, it smells delicious. What are you making?” Ji Cheng’s Mother pushed the door open and entered at that moment.
“Ah, in-law… Sister-in-law, come in. I rolled out noodles for An’an, but this child insisted on giving half to her little brother.”
Ji Cheng’s Mother sat across from Lin An’an. The moment she saw her, she nodded inwardly: She has the face of someone blessed with good fortune. How did she end up running into all these troublesome things?
After examining Lin An’an from the front, Ji Cheng’s Mother moved to the side. She really looked her over from every angle, leaving no blind spot.
Jiang Xiu continued rolling out noodles while chatting with Ji Cheng’s Mother.
“Sister-in-law, has Ji Cheng’s leg been getting better these past few days?”
“It’s no problem. It’s improving more and more. If there’s any work to be done at home, just tell me, Mom.”
Even Lin An’an was startled and looked up at that.
Qiao Xiaohong had run away. Without a daughter, where would there be a mother-in-law? Could the Ji family be planning to have her replace Qiao Xiaohong? Could things get any more absurd?
Jiang Xiu continued, “Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I have nothing to say for the child I raised myself. Ji Cheng is a capable man. With his connections, he should be able to track someone down. Once you find her, you can beat her or scold her as you please. If you can’t find her, I’ll tighten my belt and repay the betrothal gift money. I may be a widow, but I absolutely won’t act against my conscience. I’ll take responsibility.”
Ji Cheng’s Mother waved her hand. “No need to rush, no need to rush. We can discuss this slowly.”
If it had been Qiao Xiaohong, Ji Cheng’s Mother would have been eager to call off the marriage. But now, she had changed her mind.
When she saw that Jiang Xiu had finished rolling out the second batch of noodles, Ji Cheng’s Mother rose to leave. It would be impolite to stay through mealtime, and she couldn’t compete with a widow and her children for food.
Only after seeing Ji Cheng’s Mother off did Lin An’an let out a sigh of relief.
“Um, I don’t want to marry Ji Cheng. I don’t want anything that belonged to Qiao Xiaohong.”
“Mom knows. If the Ji family suggests having you replace that white-eyed wolf, I won’t agree either.”
Shanzi slammed his chopsticks down. “Brother Ji Cheng is my sister’s! No one can take him away!”
Everyone knew that the “sister” he was talking about was Qiao Xiaohong.
Lin An’an glanced at Qiao Xiaohong’s little admirer. “No one is trying to take him from her. The Ji family is looking for a wife, so please go find Qiao Xiaohong. Otherwise, our family will have to repay their betrothal gift money.”
“My sister said she was just going to take a look at that family. She’ll still come back. She can’t bear to leave me or Mom.”
Lin An’an pressed him, “If she planned to come back, why did she steal the betrothal gift money?”
Shanzi grew anxious. “She didn’t steal it. She took the money to pay for travel expenses.”
Lin An’an scoffed. “From here to He City, a little over ten yuan would be enough. She’s really both stupid and gullible. Qiao Xiaoshan, I heard you’re seven years old. In seven years, have you only grown taller and not smarter?”
Shanzi looked up at Jiang Xiu for help. “Mom, look at her! She’s insulting people.”
“Your sister’s right. Didn’t that white-eyed wolf ask you where the key was? Didn’t you stop to think? If she needed the money for something proper, would I have refused to give it to her and made her steal it?”
Shanzi could no longer find an excuse to argue. Could it really be that he was missing part of his brain? Why had his sister deceived him?
When Ji Cheng’s Mother returned home, she first drank a bowl of water. Her eyes lit up.
“A broad forehead and large earlobes—she’s someone blessed with good fortune. And especially that big bottom of hers. At a glance, you can tell she’ll be good at having children.”
Ji Cheng considered himself someone who didn’t judge people by their appearance, but what was this business about having a big bottom? He found it a little difficult to accept.
The question Ji Cheng didn’t voice was asked by Ji Nian instead. “Mom, can someone with a huge butt sticking out really be called pretty?”
“In your eyes, is Qiao Xiaohong pretty? She doesn’t even have a butt—just two kindling sticks sticking out.”
Ji Nian: “…”