By the time daylight fully broke, the four Ding brothers arrived at the Jiang household with two hundred yuan, accompanied by the village chief and several village officials.
“Jiang Li went into the mountains last night and fell into a trap. She was carried back by Shijun in the middle of the night. To save her life, we didn’t think too much and placed her directly on my bed.”
“But she’s just a young girl… In any case, this was my fault. For the sake of her reputation, I am willing to marry her.”
Ding Shichen placed the two hundred yuan and several packages of pastries on the table in front of Li Qiujü.
Once the Jiang family understood their purpose and saw the money and pastries, it felt as though the sky had collapsed.
Li Qiujü swept the pastries onto the ground with one motion. “You think this little bit is enough to marry Jiang Li? Who are you trying to brush off, beggars?”
“I’m telling you, no way. If you want to marry her, bring out five thousand yuan first.”
Jiang Jianguo stepped on the pastries as well. “Exactly. Less than five thousand, and we’re not marrying Jiang Li to you.”
“That’s not up to you,” Ding Shijun said coldly, sweeping his gaze over the Jiang family.
“Jiang Jie has already agreed to marry my brother and become our sister-in-law. Besides, I saved her life—whether she marries or not isn’t something you get to decide.”
Village chief Wu Changgeng’s expression darkened as well.
The Jiang family was considered wealthy in the village, and he had long intended to marry his daughter Wu Huani into their family.
On top of that, he had heard that Wang Er offered five thousand yuan to marry Jiang Li. With that money, his daughter’s wedding could be held in grand style, and the five thousand yuan would eventually make its way into his pocket.
But if Jiang Li married into the Ding family, not only would there be no bride price, the Jiang family might even have to pay extra.
That would never do.
“Second son of the Ding family, that’s not how things work,” Wu Changgeng said. “Although times are different now and the government strictly forbids arranged marriages, marriage is still a major matter. Parents’ opinions should still be considered.”
“Saving someone is a good deed, but you can’t use that favor to force Jiang Li to marry your elder brother.” Wu Changgeng glanced at Li Qiujü.
“How about this—we take our time with this matter. First, bring Jiang Li back to the Jiang family to recover. After she’s healed, she can decide for herself who she wants to marry.”
Everyone in the village knew Jiang Li was extremely filial and protected her younger brothers like the apple of her eye. How could she easily leave the Jiang family?
As long as it was for the Jiang family and her brothers, she would agree to anything—let alone marrying a wealthy old widower.
Wu Changgeng believed this was a scheme by the Ding family.
After all, Ding Shichen was no longer young and was disabled. It was nearly impossible for him to find a wife, so they were relying on Ding Shijun’s act of saving her to force Jiang Li into marrying the Ding family.
As soon as Li Qiujü heard this, she knew the village chief was siding with them. She quickly agreed with delight.
“Yes, yes, yes. Since Xiao Li is injured, it’s better to bring her home first to recover. As for the rest, we can talk about it later.”
As long as they could get her back first, everything else could be dealt with later. Li Qiujü didn’t believe Jiang Li would dare defy her just for the sake of so-called reputation.
If Jiang Li still wanted the Jiang family to acknowledge her status, she had to obey obediently.
If a girl fell out with her natal family and lost the support of her brothers, she wouldn’t be able to hold her head up in the village in the future.
Besides, the Ding family was the poorest household in the village. Li Qiujü didn’t believe Jiang Li would be foolish enough to truly agree to marry into the Ding family.
“Xiao Li is injured. I originally didn’t want to trouble her, which is why I didn’t bring her along today. Since you don’t believe this is her own decision, then let’s all go to the Ding family and make things clear.”
Ding Shichen cast a dark glance at Wu Changgeng.
He hadn’t expected Jiang Li to have calculated this far—sure enough, the village chief stood firmly on the Jiang family’s side.
The group moved in force toward the Ding family home.
The Ding family was indeed extremely poor—five people living in just three mud-brick houses.
One room housed the Ding family’s elderly mother, Chen Xiang, and another was where Jiang Li was staying.
As soon as Li Qiujü entered the Ding family courtyard, she raised her voice and shouted,
“Xiao Li, come out quickly! Mom is here to take you home. Don’t be afraid—your parents will stand up for you. The Ding family won’t dare force you.”
At the Jiang household, everyone freely called Jiang Li a “money-losing burden,” but in front of outsiders, Li Qiujü always played the role of a loving mother.
She constantly praised her in public:
“Our Xiao Li is the most filial and obedient, she takes great care of her younger brothers.”
“Xiao Li is capable—she does all the housework on her own. I can’t bear to let her suffer and tell her to rest more, but she never agrees.”
“A good girl like this—who knows who’ll be lucky enough to marry her? Just thinking about Xiao Li getting married makes me reluctant to part with her.”
“…”
In the past, Jiang Li believed these words wholeheartedly, convinced that her mother loved her. She worked even harder, hoping to gain more care and affection from her parents and brothers.
Only decades later did she realize this was called PUA.
The entire Jiang family was manipulating her, making her believe she was a “money-losing burden” who only had value if she devoted herself to serving the family.
Only if her brothers did well would she be allowed to do well.
They never once thought about her happiness.
Jiang Li was so disappointed she didn’t even have tears left. She stood up and limped her way out of the Ding family house.
“Mom, the Ding family didn’t force me. I chose this myself. I want to marry Big Brother Ding. He’s a soldier, a hero—I like him.”
“Besides, Shijun saved my life. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably have been torn apart by wild beasts in the back mountains. I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you now.”
Those two sentences struck the Jiang family like a thunderbolt.
They never imagined that Jiang Li—always obedient and compliant—would make such a decision without their consent and choose to marry into the Ding family.
Had she gone mad?
Wasn’t she afraid the Jiang family would disown her?
Or was it…
Li Qiujü looked at Ding Shichen.
“As expected of the eldest son of the Ding family, a soldier indeed—what impressive methods. My perfectly good daughter has only been away from home for one day, and now she’s completely disregarded her family and is determined to marry you?”
“Tell me—what exactly did you do to my daughter?”
She refused to believe Jiang Li would dare disobey her. It must be the Ding family’s instigation—they had to be behind this.
“They didn’t do anything to me,” Jiang Li said, stepping in front of Ding Shichen.
“This was my own decision. When I was lying alone in the grass on the back mountain last night, thinking I was about to die, it was the Ding family who came to save me.”
“I can’t fail to repay a life-saving恩情. So I intend to marry Big Brother Ding as his wife.”
“Shut up,” Li Qiujü shouted, raising her hand and slapping Jiang Li across the face.
“You don’t get to speak here. I’m telling you, I don’t agree to this marriage. As long as I don’t nod my head, you won’t marry anyone.”
“Otherwise, even if you die, you’ll die as a member of the Jiang family!”
A metallic taste filled Jiang Li’s mouth, and her heart turned icy cold.
Even though she had long known the Jiang family’s cruelty, reliving it all over again still broke her heart.
In the end, she was just an ordinary person. No matter how many lives she lived, she still longed for family affection—after all, the woman in front of her was her mother.
“Then I’ll die right now!” Jiang Li turned and slammed herself toward the wall. She had no intention of actually hitting it—this was just an act for the Jiang family to see.
The Jiang family didn’t care whether she lived or died, but they did care about money. If she died, they wouldn’t get a single cent.
For the sake of money, the Jiang family wouldn’t force her to death at this moment.