After seeing the system’s benefits firsthand, Lu Jinhuan made up her mind.
From now on, she would work hard to complete every mission and climb to the pinnacle of life!
Now, what was her first mission again?
Oh, right!
Find a husband as soon as possible, get married, and successfully consummate the marriage.
Hehe… Once she completed it, she’d receive another 20 points as a reward.
When those points arrived, she planned to buy a Talent Pill. That way, if life with her in-laws ever became unbearable, she’d at least have a skill to support herself.
Thinking about that made Lu Jinhuan feel a little sad.
She had always loved dancing…
When she was little, Aunt Li had enrolled Lu Jinyun in dance lessons. Lu Jinhuan wanted to go too, but Aunt Li smilingly refused, saying dance training was too difficult and she couldn’t bear to let her suffer.
Afraid she would be disappointed and unwilling to argue with his wife her father instead signed her up for singing lessons, hoping she might one day join a choir.
Unfortunately, she had no real talent for singing.
She sang in tune, but never stood out.
After studying for a while, Aunt Li declared that she simply wasn’t cut out for it and stopped letting her attend singing lessons altogether.
But all of that was in the past.
From now on, she would rely on herself and build a better life.
At that moment, Lu Jinhuan was filled with hope for the future as she happily skipped around packing her belongings.
The first thing she packed was her little savings.
She had carefully saved every bit of pocket money her father had given her over the years.
In total, she had 85 yuan and 50 cents.
Then there were her clothes and skincare cream.
Those things were expensive, and every time she bought them, it pained her wallet.
Take them.
Take everything!
Meanwhile, in another room…
“Haili, Xiaohuan has agreed. I’m planning to give her an 800-yuan dowry, and let’s also send her mother’s jewelry box with her.”
Lu Zhao looked nervously at his wife, worried she would refuse. After all, when Lu Jinyun got married, they had only given her 300 yuan.
Li Haili was indeed unhappy.
Lu Jinhuan wasn’t even her biological daughter.
Over the years, she’d fed her, clothed her, and even paid for her to finish high school.
Wasn’t that already generous enough?
Why should they give her such a large dowry?
As for that jewelry box…
She had always intended to leave it to her own son once it was safe to bring those valuables into the open again.
“Isn’t eight hundred a bit too much? We still have a son. You should think about Jin’an too.”
Lu Zhao sighed.
“I’m thinking about Jin’an precisely because I agreed to let Xiaohuan marry into the He family as well.”
“Jinyun made it very clear in her letters. She’s struggling in the He family. Her domineering mother-in-law keeps her under constant pressure, and her formidable sister-in-law keeps her in check.”
“It’s impossible for her to help her natal family under those circumstances.”
“But if Xiaohuan marries into the He family too, the sisters can support one another and establish themselves there.”
“Only then can the He family’s influence help lift Jin’an in the future.”
Li Haili knew he was right.
She just didn’t want to part with that much money.
“Five hundred, then. At most six hundred. Eight hundred is out of the question.”
A faint smile tugged at Lu Zhao’s lips.
“Fine. Six hundred it is. Give her some grain and cloth coupons too.”
Deep in his heart, he had never forgotten Huan’er’s late mother.
The daughter she had given him still held an important place in his heart.
She might not be as precious as his son, but she was certainly far more important to him than Lu Jinyun, who wasn’t related to him by blood.
Li Haili gritted her teeth.
“Six hundred is enough. But don’t give her that jewelry box. What if someone sees it? It could bring trouble upon us.”
Lu Zhao shook his head.
“Those jewels were Huan’er’s mother’s dowry, left specifically for her. Before Huan’er’s grandmother passed away, she told her exactly what was inside.”
“Huan’er knows about it.”
“If we don’t give it to her and she changes her mind about marrying, what then?”
Li Haili nearly exploded with anger.
Forget it.
For my son’s sake, that wretched girl can have it.
Besides, those things can’t be shown publicly anyway. They’re no different from a pile of worthless scrap metal.
Before dinner, Lu Zhao handed Lu Jinhuan both the money and the jewelry box.
Besides the 600 yuan and ration coupons he had persuaded Li Haili to provide, Lu Zhao also emptied his own secret savings.
Altogether, he managed to scrape together 700 yuan.
Looking at the thick stack of bills in her hands, Lu Jinhuan felt a lump rise in her throat.
Her father truly loved her.
Even after he remarried, he had never deprived her of food or clothing.
Whenever other girls had something new, she would have one too.
He had never let her envy anyone else.
“Thank you, Dad.”
Lu Zhao gently patted his younger daughter’s shoulder and reminded her to keep everything safe.
“Xiaohuan, let me tell you about the He family.”
Lu Jinhuan nodded obediently.
She sat neatly on the chair, her fair hands resting properly on her knees and her back perfectly straight the picture of a well-behaved student.
Lu Zhao smiled fondly.
“Don’t be nervous. Honestly, I’m not even sure you’ll be able to marry into the He family.”
“From the letters your sister has sent these past two years, it’s obvious they don’t like her very much.”
“Just keep what I’m about to tell you in mind.”
After all, it had been a marriage obtained through underhanded means.
How could a family of that status possibly think highly of her?
“The He family’s old master is a veteran revolutionary. Every bit of his military glory was earned through life-and-death battles on the battlefield.”
“The old madam comes from a patriotic capitalist family that donated airplanes and artillery during the revolution. Her family’s contributions were officially recognized.”
“The old master had four sons.”
“Three died during the war.”
“Only your sister’s father-in-law survived.”
Lu Jinhuan couldn’t help feeling deep admiration.
She also understood why the He family valued descendants so highly.
Seeing that she was listening attentively, Lu Zhao continued.
“Your sister’s father-in-law is now the top commander of the Beijing Military District.”
“Whenever he goes out, several guards accompany him.”
“Your sister’s mother-in-law comes from an old family that has been close to the Hes for generations. Their standing in Beijing is no lower than the He family’s.”
“They have two sons and a daughter.”
“The eldest, He Congnan, is the man your sister wants to introduce to you.”
“He’s in the Air Force.”
“A top-class pilot.”
Although Lu Zhao was only an ordinary factory worker, even he knew how difficult it was for the country to train a pilot.
So despite the man’s slight flaw, he was still very satisfied with the proposed marriage.
Lu Jinhuan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
Wow…
A pilot!
Sorting through everything he had learned from Lu Jinyun’s letters over the past two years, Lu Zhao continued,
“He’s twenty-nine this year and holds the rank of regimental commander.”
“The second son, He Xiangbei, is your sister’s husband.”
“The He family also has a daughter named He Siyue. She’s already married.”
“But according to your sister, whether she’s married or not makes almost no difference.”
“She comes back to her parents’ house every single day to interfere in family affairs.”
“Do you understand what that means?”
Lu Jinhuan nodded uncertainly and answered in her usual gentle voice,
“It means the He family is… complicated.”
“At the top is a wealthy grandmother.”
“In the middle is a mother-in-law from a prestigious family.”
“And below is a troublemaking sister-in-law.”
“People like my sister and me, with our background, are nothing in their eyes.”
“They may not even approve of me.”
“If I do manage to marry into the family, I should stand together with my sister and work with her to establish ourselves in the He household.”
Lu Zhao froze for a moment.
He had assumed his innocent youngest daughter wouldn’t understand such complicated family dynamics.
To his surprise, she had seen through everything so clearly.
Meanwhile, Lu Jinhuan secretly curled her lips in amusement.
Understand? Sure, I understand.
But there’s no way I’m going to be of one mind with Lu Jinyun.