Yao Yulan was so furious her teeth nearly shattered from grinding together. Behind the door, her eyes were wide as copper bells, yet she still didn’t dare step outside or defend herself with a single word.
The faces of Yao Yulan’s parents alternated between green and white.
Originally, they had wanted to force the Cheng family into canceling the engagement while preserving their own reputation. But they never expected Cheng Yuanche to be so unyielding, directly branding their daughter as someone who “despised the poor and loved the rich” and “betrayed her word.”
The village was full of gossipmongers and loose tongues. Today’s events would spread rapidly, perhaps even reaching Yao Yulan’s workplace at the supply cooperative.
The moment the Yao parents imagined their daughter’s reputation being ruined — affecting both her career and future marriage prospects — rage surged inside them.
But the instant they met Cheng Yuanche’s murderous gaze, the words rising to their throats died there.
None of the villagers watching had expected a wedding procession meant to be joyous to end instead as a farce filled with scheming, humiliation, and a dramatic broken engagement.
Many of the men could understand Cheng Yuanche’s anger, and some even admired his backbone.
“Brother Che, you did the right thing!”
“A woman who worships wealth and despises poverty isn’t worth marrying. Yao Yulan is nothing but a pretty vase with no substance. Breaking off the marriage is the smart decision.”
“Today it was you who rejected her and refused to marry her. I can testify to that!”
One of Cheng Yuanche’s childhood friends shouted from the crowd.
He had never gotten along with the Yao siblings and especially hated Yao Yulan’s pretentious arrogance. Before this, he had already worried that Cheng Yuanche and Yao Yulan were too incompatible and would definitely suffer endless family conflicts after marriage.
Now that the engagement was canceled, he was actually thrilled.
“Family Chen, control your Chen Dongsheng! My daughter is talented, beautiful, and employed. Countless city men are lining up to marry her. I don’t even look down on some cripple!”
Mother Yao didn’t dare confront Cheng Yuanche directly at this moment, afraid the Cheng family would really start hitting people, so she seized the chance to redirect her anger toward Chen Dongsheng.
“The Cheng family must’ve done something shameful! Misfortune is clinging to them. Anyone who gets close to them ends up unlucky!”
“A cripple with a broken leg dares reject my daughter? Fine, then let’s see which family’s daughter would dare marry into your house!”
“Let me make this clear right now — if he manages to marry a wife today and actually holds a wedding, I’ll eat shit in front of the entire production team!”
Her shrill voice screeched like a rusty sawblade.
Overcome with emotion and completely irrational, she shouted recklessly:
“If his wedding actually happens today, I’ll eat a whole basin of shit!”
“That’s quite the bet.”
Qiu Yinong was thoroughly entertained watching the drama unfold, her eyes sparkling. She even turned to Yuan Yi beside her and asked:
“Sister Yuan Yi, do you think this wedding can still happen today?”
“Probably not.”
Yuan Yi’s smile was awkward as she quietly explained the Cheng family’s current situation.
“The Cheng family has five siblings. Cheng Yuanche is the third son. Their family used to be quite well-off, but last month his two older brothers bought a large fishing boat, which emptied out the family savings. Then during only the second trip out to sea, the boat sank.”
“Fortunately, Cheng Yuanche’s uncle and cousins were nearby with another boat and rushed over in time, so nobody died.”
“But buying that boat emptied their finances, and they also borrowed a lot of money. Rumors say they owe three to four thousand yuan now. Even if Cheng Yuanche emptied all his military savings, it still wouldn’t be enough to fill the hole.”
“Now the whole village and nearby areas are saying the Cheng family is cursed with bad luck. Forget women daring to marry into the family — even many neighbors don’t dare walk near their house.”
Qiu Yinong: “…That’s obviously a quality problem with the boat. Or maybe improper operation. How did this turn into some curse from bad luck spirits?”
Yuan Yi smiled helplessly.
“People around here believe in gods and spirits. The older generation is very superstitious. And there are always people who enjoy adding fuel to the fire and spreading nonsense, so these ridiculous rumors just keep spreading.”
Originally, the matter should have ended there — the Cheng family would simply break off the engagement and leave.
But Mother Yao’s outrageous oath had now cornered the Cheng family again.
Many of the villagers watching disliked the Yao family and secretly hoped Mother Yao would truly be forced to eat shit.
But considering the Cheng family’s terrible luck lately, any family with unmarried daughters stayed silent. No one dared risk their own daughter by marrying her into the Cheng family.
The Cheng parents were furious beyond words.
Mother Cheng looked dizzy and weak, nearly fainting from anger earlier. Right now, she could only remain standing with support from her two daughters.
The Cheng men had never suffered such humiliation in their lives. Every single one looked like an enraged lion ready to bite someone.
Cheng Yuanche’s hot-tempered uncle had a dark expression. Pointing his carrying pole at the Yao family, he instead addressed the younger Cheng men:
“This humiliation will not end here today. Yao Yulan thinks she can insult a soldier just because she has a job?”
“I can’t even be bothered beating trash like this anymore. All of you go to the supply cooperative right now and find her supervisors. If the cooperative doesn’t discipline her, don’t bother coming back!”
“Got it!”
The tall Cheng men answered in unison.
Cheng Yuanche’s eldest cousin, Cheng Yuanxian, immediately took the lead.
“Mom, sisters-in-law, let’s go to the supply cooperative. The rest of you carry the gifts back home.”
The moment they heard the Cheng family intended to make trouble at the supply cooperative, the Yao family panicked completely.
Yao Yulan could no longer stay hidden and hurriedly rushed out.
“You’re not allowed to go!”
Her job was the foundation of her pride.
Without it, relying only on her looks would make it much harder to attract the sons of city officials.
That was why she ran out in panic to stop them.
At this moment, her hair was disheveled. She still wasn’t wearing her bridal clothes and hadn’t even done her makeup.
She clearly had never intended to become a bride today.
The neighboring villagers all looked at her mockingly.
Yu Dazui immediately fired off sarcastic remarks like machine-gun bullets:
“She obviously never wanted to marry him in the first place. She was just stringing the Cheng family along and treating Cheng Yuanche like a fool.”
“My business is none of yours!”
Yao Yulan glared angrily at her.
Yu Dazui didn’t even respect Yao Yulan’s mother, let alone Yao Yulan herself. Rolling her eyes, she sneered:
“As if I care about your business. Cheng Yuanche was absolutely right. You’re someone who despises poverty, worships wealth, and betrays your promises. This broken engagement is a blessing for him.”
“If my daughter doesn’t marry a cripple, that’s her blessing!”
Mother Yao immediately jumped in to defend her daughter.
Cheng Yuanche’s uncle couldn’t be bothered listening to their nonsense anymore and directly gave orders:
“Yuanxian, go to the supply cooperative now. Hurry there and back. Bring the cooperative leaders here to the village.”
His eldest cousin immediately set off.
The Yao parents and brothers all rushed forward to block him. Yao Daqiang was panicking badly now.
“Guang… Guangyi… let’s talk this out. We’re all fellow villagers. If the engagement is canceled, then so be it. Why make things so ugly? We all live in the same village — we’ll still see each other in the future.”
“When you humiliated my nephew and the Cheng family earlier, weren’t you feeling pretty bold?”
“What happened? Only now you remember we’re fellow villagers?”
“Yao Daqiang, our Cheng family may have moved here from elsewhere, but we’ve lived in this village for nearly forty years. Everyone knows our family’s character.”
“Today your Yao family has gone too far. If I don’t seek justice for this humiliation, people will really think the Cheng family is easy to bully!”