Everyone fell silent.
Good grief, had the commander taken a liking to the girl from the Mu family?
Mu Mianmian’s dark eyes immediately lit up.
As expected of the soldier she had taken a fancy to. He really knew what he was doing.
“Hello, Comrade Yan. My name is Mu Mianmian. Mu as in a gentle spring breeze, and Mianmian as soft and tender. I will turn twenty in one month.
Everyone in my family is here.”
Mu Mianmian pointed toward all the members of the Mu family beside her as she introduced them.
“This is my grandfather, the Brigade Leader of our village. This is my grandmother, the strongest woman in the village when it comes to fighting.
Then there is my eldest sister in law, my second brother, and my second sister in law. My third brother is serving in the army and is not at home. My fourth brother is still in school and has not come back yet. I am the youngest.”
She had said so much in one breath that Mu Mianmian paused to catch her breath before pointing toward the group of middle aged people on the other side.
“They are my eldest uncle and eldest aunt, my second uncle and second aunt, my fourth uncle and fourth aunt. My fifth uncle and fifth aunt are in town, so I will introduce you to them another day.”
What a huge family.
Even Mu Mianmian herself was amazed after introducing everyone.
No wonder the original owner had been spoiled to the point of becoming almost completely unruly. It turned out there were simply too many people doting on her.
Yan Tingfeng was very polite and greeted every member of the Mu family with a respectful salute.
He was the commander, after all. How could they possibly accept such courtesy from him?
“Oh my, Commander Yan, you are far too polite. You saved our girl, so you are a great benefactor to our entire family. You are still soaked through.
Come to our house later and find yourself some dry clothes to change into.
Then have some hot ginger soup to warm yourself up. You must not catch a cold.”
Although Li Fengjiao was a fierce and straightforward woman, she always knew what mattered when it came to important matters.
Even though the Chang family was responsible for breaking off the engagement, her granddaughter’s reputation had still been affected. If Mu Mianmian could really end up with this commander, perhaps this misfortune would turn into a blessing, and the good days would still be ahead of her.
Yan Tingfeng’s eyes kept drifting toward Mu Mianmian almost involuntarily, and he smiled as he accepted Li Fengjiao’s invitation.
“Thank you, Grandma.”
He said it so naturally.
Hearing him call her Grandma made Li Fengjiao’s heart feel wonderfully warm. She held Mu Mianmian’s hand tightly, and the smile on her face nearly reached from ear to ear.
Mu Lao Da came running back with the account book. After stopping, he habitually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
“Little sister, is this the one?”
Mu Mianmian nodded. “That’s right.”
She handed the account book to Yan Tingfeng.
“Commander Yan, you have the highest authority here, so why don’t you check it and see whether what I just said is correct?”
Her soft and sweet voice sounded almost like teasing to someone as tough as Yan Tingfeng, making his heart itch pleasantly.
“All right.”
His voice became exceptionally gentle whenever he spoke to Mu Mianmian, and the corners of his lips even curved upward in secret.
Since he intended to stand up for the little girl, Yan Tingfeng examined the account book carefully, making sure every detail was clear.
Then he turned toward the Chang family with a serious expression.
“Everything Comrade Mu Mianmian said is true. In fact, she even calculated less than what was actually owed. In my opinion, the total expenses amount to at least one thousand yuan.”
Adding the five hundred yuan dowry to that, the total came to one thousand five hundred yuan.
Wow, her soldier brother really delivered.
Mu Mianmian gave Yan Tingfeng a thumbs up in her heart.
“That much?” Aunt Chang immediately began complaining about their lack of money. “Where would our family get that much money? Are you trying to take our lives?”
Chang Jianjun also thought the amount was excessive and showed an embarrassed expression.
However, he could not bring himself to say anything.
After all, he was a talented man who had returned from studying abroad.
How could he possibly behave so petty and miserly?
“Bah!” One of the villagers could no longer stand it. “Could the Chang family really be short of money? Over the past few years, every time that girl Mianmian brought medicinal herbs down from the mountains, she gave them to your family to improve your health. Whenever she caught fish or hunted wild rabbits and pheasants, she sent half of them to your family as well. Everything you eat, wear, and use was given to you by Mianmian, while you saved your own money. Why are you pretending to be poor now?”
The others also began speaking up in defense of Mu Mianmian.
“Exactly. Everyone within ten villages knows that Mianmian has good luck and often finds valuable things. Your Chang family took advantage of being her future in laws and claimed everything for yourselves. What is it now?
Are you planning to deny all of it?”
The matter had already aroused the anger of the entire village. The Chang family was indeed in the wrong, so they had no choice but to hand over the full one thousand five hundred yuan to Mu Mianmian.
One thousand five hundred yuan was an enormous sum of money in the 1970s, so it had to be kept safe.
Mu Mianmian took a heart shaped stone from her pocket.
Her soft and tender voice always made her sound like a child who needed to be protected.
“Chang Jianjun, since the engagement has already been broken off, this was the engagement token you gave me back then. I am returning it to you now.”
Everyone was stunned.
Some people even burst out laughing.
Of course, they were laughing in ridicule.
“Pfft! No way. A stone is considered an engagement token?”
“The Chang couple bragged every day about their son studying abroad and acted as though they were superior to everyone else. Yet the engagement token they gave this girl was nothing more than a broken stone?”
When it came to delivering the final blow, Mu Mianmian was certainly the one to watch.
She walked over to Lu Xiangxiang and placed the heart shaped stone in her palm.
“Miss, since Chang Jianjun is marrying you now, this engagement token should naturally belong to you. You must keep it safe.”
Lu Xiangxiang’s face turned green.
Who wanted this worthless stone?
But with so many people watching, especially with the Chang family standing right there, she had no way to refuse. All she could do was force out an awkward smile.
Mu Mianmian was delighted. When she smiled, two small canine teeth appeared, making her look even more adorable.
She walked up to Yan Tingfeng. Because of the difference in their height, she could only tilt her head back and look up at him.
“Comrade Yan, your clothes are still wet, so you could easily catch a cold.
Hurry and come to our house to change into some dry clothes.”
The Mu family was extremely enthusiastic as well.
“Yes, Commander Yan, you are a great benefactor to our family.”
“Commander Yan, this way please.”
“Mother, I will run home first and get the ginger soup started. By the time Commander Yan and Mianmian get home, it will be ready to drink.”
The eldest daughter in law was quick on her feet and ran home ahead of them.
And so, the whole farce finally came to an end. The Chang family became the subject of everyone’s gossip in the village.
It even overshadowed the attention Chang Jianjun had received for returning from studying abroad. Whenever people saw him, they would point behind his back and curse him as Chen Shimei.
Even Lu Xiangxiang no longer received friendly looks from anyone in the village.
The Mu family was a large household and had not yet divided their family property. Everyone lived together, and their courtyard was the largest in the entire village. With the main house and the eastern and western side rooms combined, there were a great many rooms.
Yan Tingfeng had already changed into the clothes belonging to Mu Lao Da. Although the fabric was rough, they were clean and comfortable.
Li Fengjiao brought her daughters in law and carried the hot ginger soup to the stone table in the courtyard.
“Come, girl, Commander Yan, drink it while it is hot and warm yourselves up. You were soaked in the water for so long, so you must be careful not to catch a cold.”
Li Fengjiao looked at Yan Tingfeng with a smile. The more she looked at this young man, the more satisfied she became.
“Thank you, Grandma.”
Mu Mianmian had changed her clothes as well. She was wearing a pink floral dress, and her hair was braided into two little braids. She had also washed her face with the spiritual spring water from her space, so her cheeks were now fair with a rosy glow, making her look even more delicate and charming.
Yan Tingfeng was instantly captivated by her appearance. It took Li Fengjiao several calls before he finally came back to his senses.
“Sorry, I was being rude.”
This was the first time in his life that something like this had happened.
He had actually stared so openly at a female comrade. It was far too impolite. What if his future father in law’s family disliked him because of it?
It had to be said that this commander was already thinking quite far ahead.