This was a direct, point-blank offensive.
Sitting to the side, Meng Ruo arched an eyebrow, thinking to herself that there was more drama to enjoy.
She remembered that in the original book, the original host had stubbornly refused to marry Li Mei’s nephew, and this cousin-in-law had also brought her son to their doorstep. At that time, Zheng Wan wasn’t there, but Meng Jun was. As soon as Meng Jun saw what the nephew was like, he immediately looked down on him and firmly rejected the match. The cousin-in-law could do nothing against Meng Jun and could only leave while cursing under her breath.
But things were different now. Because of Zheng Wan’s early arrival, the flapping of the butterfly’s wings had produced a subtle effect, and the course of events had shifted.
Wu Hongyun had caught Li Mei by the tail, and more importantly, this “tail” was a lethal one.
When Li Mei originally planned to marry Meng Ruo off to this nephew, she never expected she would end up lifting a stone only to drop it on her own feet. Wu Hongyun was clearly not a soft target that could be easily fooled.
Li Mei was so terrified by Wu Hongyun’s words that her eyes widened in shock, especially with Meng Ruo right there. Previously, when Meng Ruo found out she had melted her mother’s bracelet, she had nearly flayed a layer of skin off her. If Meng Ruo found out that Zheng Wan was Li Mei’s biological daughter, who knew how she would tear her apart?
This girl might look delicate and weak, but once she bared her claws, she was a predator that wouldn’t even leave the bones.
Li Mei hurriedly pulled Wu Hongyun up from her chair with a forced smile and dragged her into the kitchen, slamming the door shut. Seeing Li Mei so nervous, Wu Hongyun knew that the secret—Zheng Wan being her biological daughter—was a life-and-death matter for her.
“Cousin, my dear cousin, why didn’t you say a word before suddenly showing up at my house?” Li Mei asked with a strained smile.
Wu Hongyun laughed as well. “What else could it be? It’s about my useless son.”
“Didn’t I tell you in the letter? I’m currently working on my stepdaughter,” Li Mei said.
When Li Mei first agreed to act as a matchmaker for Wu Hongyun’s eldest son, Wu Hongyun had insisted on visiting her house to make future contact easier, but Li Mei had refused.
At that time, Li Mei had said: “Cousin, it’s not easy for you to come all this way from the county. How about this? Leave me your address, and I’ll write to you.”
Wu Hongyun obviously knew Li Mei was being shifty. She knew that no matter how much she insisted, Li Mei wouldn’t take her home, so she feigned agreement and gave her address. Then, after they parted, she secretly followed Li Mei.
“Wasn’t I afraid things couldn’t be explained clearly in a letter?” Wu Hongyun said with a smile. “Besides, I wanted the two children to meet.”
“Look at how rushed I was today. Bringing Tao-tao along, I didn’t even know if I could find your house, so I didn’t bring any gifts. If the two children take a liking to each other, I’ll make it up to you next time,” Wu Hongyun added.
Hearing this, Li Mei cursed “shameless” in her heart. The Yang family had visited twice and brought plenty of cigarettes, alcohol, and gifts each time.
Unaware of Li Mei’s internal monologue, Wu Hongyun jerked her chin toward the dining table and asked, “The one eating over there is the Meng Ruo you mentioned in the letter, right? She’s truly a beauty.”
There were only two girls at the table. The dark-skinned one was Zheng Wan, Li Mei’s daughter, so the remaining one had to be her son’s future wife.
“A beauty she is, but she looks so delicate, like a fragile flower bud. I wonder if her hands and feet are quick enough, and if she knows how to take care of a man,” Wu Hongyun remarked.
Li Mei’s eyes nearly rolled to the ceiling. She thought to herself: With a son like yours, you still have the nerve to be picky?
Meng Ruo sat at the table, taking small sips of her porridge. She couldn’t ignore the frequent glances coming from Li Mei’s nephew. Her elegant brows knit together in displeasure. If she didn’t have something to say, she would have left long ago.
“Are you Meng Ruo?” Wang Tao stared at her almost the entire time. “My mom said my aunt found me a wife…”
Before Wang Tao could finish, Meng Ruo stood up abruptly and walked toward the kitchen. Regardless of whether the people inside were still talking, she pushed the door open and placed her bowl in the sink.
“Auntie Li, I’m going to work now,” Meng Ruo said, feigning a yawn. “I’ve been so busy with the wedding lately, I’ve barely gotten any sleep.”
She said this specifically for Wu Hongyun to hear.
“What? You’re getting married?” Wu Hongyun asked in shock.
“Yes. The engagement gifts are delivered, the certificate is signed, and we’re just waiting for the banquet,” Meng Ruo said with a beaming smile.
Having dropped the bomb, Meng Ruo left for work with a relaxed expression, leaving the aftermath for Li Mei to handle. She didn’t care how it developed. She could see that someone like Wu Hongyun would stick to you like a dog skin plaster once they attached themselves. Better she stick to Li Mei than to her.
The moment Meng Ruo left, Wu Hongyun dragged Li Mei out of the kitchen to interrogate her. “Fine, Li Mei! You dare to lie to me? She’s already married, yet you lied and said you’d give her to my son!”
“Cousin, I didn’t lie. When I planned to arrange the match, she wasn’t promised to anyone else,” Li Mei explained.
She had been hiding the news of Meng Ruo’s marriage to keep Wu Hongyun calm and send her home. Since her home wasn’t in the provincial capital, Li Mei figured she wouldn’t be running back here every few days. Once Meng Ruo married out, she would have found another way to deal with her.
But all her plans were ruined by Meng Ruo’s two sentences.
“In just a few days, the gifts are delivered and the certificate is signed?” Wu Hongyun was skeptical.
“Yes. Don’t let that girl’s obedient looks fool you; she’s full of devious ideas. She found this husband behind my back,” Li Mei said. “There was nothing I could do. The man’s conditions are decent, and he’s generous—the bride price was 3,800 yuan. My husband agreed immediately. Since she’s his biological daughter and he agreed, there was nothing I could say, right?”
“Three thousand eight hundred?” Wu Hongyun was stunned by the figure. Her entire family’s combined annual income didn’t even reach that amount.
“I don’t care about that. You promised to find my son a wife. Now that this one is gone, you find him another one,” Wu Hongyun said firmly. “Otherwise,” she glanced at Zheng Wan threateningly, “you know the consequences.”
“Fine, fine, fine. I never said I wouldn’t help you, Cousin,” Li Mei said with a forced smile, suppressing the urge to tear the woman apart. At this stage, her priority was to keep Wu Hongyun quiet; otherwise, dealing with both sides would leave her in a total mess.
“Dear nephew, what kind of girl are you looking for?” To show her “sincerity,” Li Mei proactively asked.
From the moment Wang Tao entered, he had been fixated on Meng Ruo. She was fair and beautiful, like someone out of a painting. He had fallen for her at first sight. If he could marry such a girl, he could brag to his brothers for a lifetime. But the moment his aunt came out, she said she was already married. He was very unhappy.
“Someone like her. A pretty one,” Wang Tao said bluntly.
“How old are you? All you care about is looks. Can beauty put food on the table?” Wu Hongyun said disdainfully. “To marry a wife, you have to look at whether her hands and feet are quick, if she’s good at childbearing, and if she knows how to serve a man.”
Wu Hongyun continued, “If you marry a delicate flower back home and you have to do all the work, would you be happy?”
Wang Tao replied, “I’ll marry her first, then make her learn. If she doesn’t learn, I’ll hit her. I don’t believe she can’t learn.”
Li Mei felt her vision go dark, wondering what kind of people this family was. Back in Liantang Village, she hadn’t interacted much with Wu Hongyun outside of holidays; she only knew her as a greedy rural woman. As for Wang Tao, he had left home early and rarely returned, so she knew even less about his character.
Despite her internal disapproval, Li Mei smiled and said, “Alright, alright. I’ll do my best to find someone for you.”
“Don’t just ‘do your best.’ You must find one,” Wu Hongyun said overbearingly.
“Yes, yes, yes,” Li Mei smiled through her rage.
After seeing them off, Li Mei turned around, saw Zheng Wan, and immediately exploded.
“Why did you have to come here early?!” Li Mei glared at her, her suppressed anger finally boiling over. If Zheng Wan hadn’t been here, Wu Hongyun wouldn’t have had any leverage even if she showed up. At most, she would have dealt with some pestering, said some nice words, and Wu Hongyun would have eventually left. But now, this “dog skin plaster” was firmly stuck to her.
“How is this my fault?” Zheng Wan was bewildered by her mother’s sudden fury. “Shouldn’t you blame Meng Ruo? If she had just obediently married Wang Tao, none of this would have happened!”
Li Mei snapped, “Meng Ruo isn’t blind, and she isn’t stupid! She’s a college student; would she ever look at someone like him?” Even Li Mei looked down on Wang Tao, let alone Meng Ruo.
“Then blame yourself. You shouldn’t have taken on this mess in the first place,” Zheng Wan said, hitting the nail on the head.
As soon as she finished speaking, Li Mei’s hand came down.
Smack! A crisp sound echoed.
Zheng Wan instinctively covered her face, looking at Li Mei with red, tearful eyes.
“You’ve really grown some nerve, haven’t you? Learning to talk back now!” Li Mei was fuming, her chest heaving. She regretted it—she regretted it to her very core—but regardless of her regret, what right did this girl have to criticize her? If she hadn’t been disobedient and run here without warning, none of this filth would have happened.
Wu Hongyun walked out of the Meng house happily carrying a strip of meat. She had arrived empty-handed and left with free meat. She felt the trip was worth it. In any case, Li Mei couldn’t run away. If it didn’t work this time, she’d come back next time and get another strip of meat.
After moving out of the Yang house, You Che immediately secured a place, which his colleague had helped him find.
Initially, his colleague found him a typical “tube building” (tongzilou)—one side was a long open corridor, and the other side was a row of rooms, with residents sharing a communal bathroom and kitchen. It didn’t matter when he was alone, as he usually ate at the factory or out and rarely cooked. But after getting engaged, things were different. He wasn’t alone; he had Meng Ruo. Even if sharing a kitchen was fine, a shared bathroom was out of the question.
So he asked his colleague to find another place, preferably one with its own bathroom and kitchen. The colleague agreed and took him to see a place two days later. It had good ventilation, one bedroom, and one living room. Most importantly, it had an independent bathroom and kitchen. The rent was a bit higher than the tube building, but You Che was satisfied and signed the lease immediately.
After securing the house, You Che began buying household appliances. Before buying, he specifically asked for Meng Ruo’s opinion, as women generally used these things more.
“Let’s buy a washing machine,” Meng Ruo suggested after a moment’s thought. Compared to thirty years later, resources were scarce. Appliances were expensive and the quality was often concerning. A color TV cost over 4,000 yuan, a refrigerator over 3,000, while a washing machine was relatively cheaper—some foreign brands could be had for a little over 1,000.
A TV? As someone used to tablets and smartphones, she wasn’t interested. A fridge? If they didn’t cook often, it wouldn’t be very useful. But a washing machine would save her so much trouble, as clothes had to be washed every day.
You Che thought she would choose a TV, which was a luxury for ordinary families. He was moved, thinking she was trying to save him money. He vowed to buy the rest of the appliances for her once he received his future salaries.
After the purchases, he checked his remaining funds. He had budgeted 3,000 yuan for appliances but only spent a little over 1,000. He decided to rent a small car for the wedding procession to make it more dignified. The remaining expenses were just for the banquet.
For the banquet, his only relatives were his uncle’s family. Most of the guests would be from the Meng side, so two or three tables would likely suffice.
On the day of the wedding, Meng Ruo had her hair done up with a few red flowers. She wore a red dress with a cinched waist and a wide skirt, paired with those beautiful red high heels. The vibrant red complemented her fair skin, making her look like a blooming red peony—exquisite and elegant.
As You Che carried Meng Ruo into the red sedan, the sound of firecrackers erupted behind them. The scene was incredibly lively, with relatives, friends, colleagues, children, and curious passersby watching.
Among the onlookers was Zheng Wan.
She squeezed in not just to watch, but to take notes. In her previous life, when she married Tan Lin, he was a penniless boy. Their wedding was simple; he couldn’t afford a car and had to borrow a motorized tricycle. Her bride price was a pathetic 1,000 yuan, which went straight into Li Mei’s pocket. Her dowry consisted only of two quilts and some pots and pans.
She wasn’t nearly as grand as Meng Ruo, who had so much gold jewelry. As she watched Meng Ruo marry, Zheng Wan fantasized about how she would marry You Che in the future. Meng Ruo’s red dress was a bit plain; she would wear the trendiest white wedding dress with a long, floor-trailing skirt. Yang Qing had only rented an ordinary car; she would rent two Santanas.
Zheng Wan was lost in her beautiful future when she heard the laughter of one of Yang Qing’s colleagues or friends.
“Yang Qing’s wife is truly a beauty.”
“What ‘Yang Qing’? He changed his name; he’s called You Che now.”
“Right, right, You Che. I’m so used to ‘Yang Qing’ that I can’t switch over yet, hahaha!”
Zheng Wan, who had been immersed in her beautiful fantasy, suddenly turned pale.