He had never heard of anyone giving a bride price of just two yuan. Even the poorest families would offer an auspicious amount, such as sixteen or eighteen yuan. Who would marry off their precious daughter for a mere two yuan?
Besides, he had given Ji Yang two hundred yuan not long ago and had been hoping to recoup some of that money through the bride price.
It wasn’t just Ji Yang’s father who disagreed. Ji Man and Jiang Zhiyuan were both dumbfounded. Was Jiang Ye trying to marry her or not?
If he wanted to marry her, offering a bride price of two yuan was practically guaranteed to make the negotiations fall apart.
If he didn’t want to marry her, then why had he already registered their marriage?
After thinking it over, Ji Man suddenly felt happy again. Jiang Ye was offering only two yuan because he was obviously dissatisfied with Ji Yang. Hmph! That meant Ji Yang wouldn’t have an easy time even after moving into Jiang Ye’s home.
See? She had told Ji Yang to obediently go to the countryside, but Ji Yang had refused to listen and had instead found a man who didn’t value her.
Ji Man could already imagine it: Ji Yang’s future life would be absolutely miserable.
Since Jiang Ye had already made his position clear, Ji Yang naturally had to show her support. She picked up her chopsticks and said, “Dad, don’t disagree! Brother Xiaoye is wonderful. He’s handsome and full of vigor, has a respectable job, a gentle temperament, and a little property at home. He’s exactly my type!”
“Honestly, I never expected Brother Xiaoye to be able to offer two yuan to marry me. After all, that’s two whole yuan!”
“Even if he didn’t contribute a single cent, he’s so outstanding that I’d still marry him even if I had to pay him to take me!”
“That’s just how much I love him!”
“I’m so deeply moved!”
Ji Yang played the role of a hopeless romantic to perfection. Her eyes overflowed with affection as she gazed at Jiang Ye.
Then she turned to look at her father, her gaze full of reproach. Her eyes seemed to say, As long as there’s love, who needs a bicycle? Brother Xiaoye is so wonderful. How can you fail to appreciate him? As long as I’m with him, I wouldn’t mind eating wild vegetables, or even surviving on nothing but the northwest wind!
Ji Xingguo was taken aback by her look. He quickly recovered, though. He didn’t understand all this talk about love. All he wanted was money.
“Jiang Ye must produce a hundred yuan in bride price today. Otherwise, I will not agree to this marriage!”
Ji Yang didn’t get angry. Instead, she replied gently, “Dad, times have changed. Men and women are equal now. If you don’t agree, that’s fine, too. How about we have Brother Xiaoye marry into our family instead? Manman is getting married as well, so we can tidy up that room, push the two beds together, and there’ll be enough space for Brother Xiaoye and me to sleep. We won’t even need to buy anything…”
“Bullshit! What the hell are you talking about?” Ji Xingguo grew angrier the longer he listened and finally burst out swearing. “Xiaoqiang still needs to sleep in that room!”
“Ohhh…” Ji Yang picked up a piece of fish and said leisurely, “So all that talk about always welcoming us home and letting us come back whenever we want was just empty words.”
“Yangyang, don’t think that way. Our house is small, and Xiaoqiang has always slept in the living room. Now that he’s grown up, he can’t possibly…” Ji Yang’s stepmother tried to reason with her and appeal to her feelings.
But Ji Yang had no interest in wasting time on such nonsense.
“Mom, I understand. You don’t want me to come back, but you still want a high bride price. Brother Xiaoye is offering two yuan, which is already quite a lot. I’m advising you not to push things too far. Don’t take the inch you’re given and demand a mile!”
Regardless of what the others thought, both Jiang Ye and Jiang Zhiyuan were so astonished that they couldn’t help staring at her with their mouths hanging open.
In this era, parents generally held considerable authority and controlled the household. They had tremendous influence over family matters, and children rarely talked back. Even when they did, they usually took a relatively submissive tone.
Ji Yang was completely different. She was speaking to her elders as though she were the one in power, directly overpowering those who were supposed to outrank her. Her words were outrageously disrespectful.
Jiang Zhiyuan’s first thought was that he was lucky he hadn’t married this woman. There was no way he could keep her under control.
Jiang Ye, meanwhile, remembered telling her a few days ago, “From now on, I’ll be the one making the decisions in our family.”
Looking at Ji Yang now, he couldn’t help wondering whether he’d actually get to make any decisions at all.
He felt a headache coming on.
Ji Man sat still, thinking that things were finally looking up. Jiang Ye had now seen Ji Yang’s true personality. Judging by how things were going, he might not be able to tolerate her temperament and could even decide to return her to her family.
Ji Xingguo had drunk some alcohol, and the liquor had clearly gone to his head. He had already forgotten how Ji Yang had ruled the household like a tyrant over the past few days. He glared furiously at her.
“Who do you think you’re talking to? Do you even have the right to speak in this house? Have you forgotten your place? Are you looking for a beating? If you’ve got the guts, say that again! I’ll beat the hell out of you right now!”
Ji Yang put down her chopsticks.
“I said, don’t take the inch you’re given and demand a mile! The bride price is two yuan. Take it or leave it!”
“Damn it! You little brat, you’ve completely lost your mind! Let’s see if I don’t teach you a lesson today…”
As he spoke, Ji Xingguo began unfastening his belt.
It was made of genuine cowhide and had been with him for nearly twenty years. Ji Yang’s biological mother had bought it for him after their marriage. Although some parts of the edges had worn down slightly, it was still extremely sturdy. A blow from that belt would leave a long, bloody welt across someone’s body.
Jiang Ye certainly wasn’t going to stand by and watch Ji Yang get beaten. He immediately stood up to intervene.
“Uncle, Uncle, Yangyang didn’t mean anything by it. Please don’t get angry. What if you make yourself ill from all this anger?”
Jiang Zhiyuan also found it impossible to remain seated, so he joined in trying to calm Ji Xingguo down.
“Uncle, Ji Yang is still young and doesn’t know any better. Just lecture her a little. Please don’t hit her!”
Ji Yang’s outrageous behavior over the past few days had already left Ji Xingguo deeply unhappy. He believed she was challenging his authority as the head of the family.
That was precisely why he had been bottling up so much anger.
Now, with the alcohol fueling his temper, he was determined to let it all out. Even with Jiang Ye and Jiang Zhiyuan trying to stop him, he had no intention of giving up on beating Ji Yang.
In fact, their attempts to persuade him only made him angrier.
“Don’t stop me! I’m going to beat Ji Yang today, no matter what! If I beat her to death, I’ll take responsibility! If I cripple her, I’ll support her for the rest of her life!”
Ji Xingguo shoved Jiang Ye and Jiang Zhiyuan aside. With a sharp whoosh, he pulled out his cowhide belt and raised it, ready to lash Ji Yang with it.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of panic in Ji Yang’s eyes.
In her previous life, she had been an actress and had filmed plenty of martial arts scenes. She had trained seriously with martial arts instructors, so her reflexes and physical control were better than those of an ordinary person.
At that moment, she neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, she slowly raised her eyes and looked coldly at her father.
“Do you really want to hit me?”
“You ungrateful little brat! I’ll teach you how to behave today!”
Just as the belt came whipping through the air with a sharp whoosh, Jiang Ye instinctively reached out to pull Ji Yang out of its path.
But Ji Yang was faster.
She raised her wrist, used a bit of leverage, and caught the belt in her hand.
Time seemed to freeze.
Everyone in the room stared in disbelief. No one had expected Ji Yang, who usually appeared so delicate and weak, to possess such a skill.
Before Ji Xingguo could react, Ji Yang yanked the belt out of his hand.
Inside, she was screaming, My palm hurts! It hurts so much! It hurts so much!
But on the outside, she maintained her cool, domineering facade.
“I’m not a tool for you to exchange for a bride price.”
“I agreed to marry Jiang Ye for two yuan. I’m willing to do it, and I’m happy about it. You have no right to complain that it’s too little.”
“If you dare run your mouth at me again, I’ll go straight to your factory tomorrow and tell your leaders everything. I’ll tell them how you play favorites, how you mistreat your former wife’s daughter, and how you want to trade your own daughter for a bride price.”
“If you think your dignity as the head of the family matters more than your job and reputation, then go ahead and hit me.”
Without waiting for Ji Xingguo to respond, she made the final decision.
“The bride price is two yuan. That’s final.”
“Stop running your mouth.”
“Annoying!”