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Back to the 80s: A Marriage of Convenience
The yard was only this big, and Qi Zheng and Zhao Jin walked in front of Zhao Ying'er in no time at all. It was just a few steps, but it gave others a different impression.
Qi Ze and Qi Rui's first reaction was to widen their eyes, unable to believe that their older brother actually held a girl's hand.
Although this girl was their future Sister-in-law, there were quite a few people in the yard, and their older brother was taking advantage of his future Sister-in-law right in front of everyone!
Meanwhile, Zhao Jin's family thought at that moment that Qi Zheng was quite good and responsible; he was going to personally settle things with Zhao Ying'er.
In contrast, the mood of Grandfather Zhao and the others was not so calm.
Just by looking at Qi Zheng holding Zhao Jin's hand, it was clear that Qi Zheng was very fond of Zhao Jin. In other words, this marriage was definitely set in stone and could not be changed. Therefore, it was only right for the Qi Family's Bride Price to be sent to Zhao Jin.
However, even though they were very clear about this in their hearts, Grandfather Zhao and the others still wanted to get a share of the spoils.
Originally, Grandfather Zhao and the others planned to play the family card. After all, Grandfather Zhao and Grandma Zhao were also Zhao Jin's paternal grandparents. It was only reasonable for Zhao Jin to offer part of the Bride Price as filial piety to the two elderly people. Since they were standing there, they should at least take half of the Bride Price.
For instance, that bed and wardrobe should be taken back by them. Their son Zhao Lei was fifteen years old and would soon be marrying; they could make good use of those items. And those two nightstands looked quite practical; they should also be kept for Zhao Lei.
The two lounge chairs could be used by Grandfather Zhao and Grandma Zhao for their afternoon naps, while the two dining tables would be convenient for their family during New Year's Eve dinners.
Oh right, they also needed to take half of those more than ten chairs. Their family was large, and sometimes when guests came over, there weren't enough chairs to sit on; just thinking about it was troublesome.
As for the two longer benches, it didn't matter if they stayed behind in Zhao Jin's family; they could keep them if they insisted! They were still quite reasonable.
Before coming over, Grandfather Zhao and the others had already divided up the Bride Price sent by the Qi Family. As for rice, oil, and meat, they were determined to have those as well.
Anyone who has heard the distribution results would find it hard to associate the word "half" with the situation. Where is the half? Each of the dozens of chairs only gets half? It's a loss for Grandfather Zhao's group.
Of course, Zhao Ying'er is the real deal. She wants to take everything, not leaving a single chair for Zhao Jin's family.
Unfortunately, with Qi Zheng around, the situation has turned upside down. Forget about the so-called "half" bride price; it's just one chair, and neither Zhao Ying'er nor Grandfather Zhao can take anything away.
"Are you mistaken about something?" Standing in front of Zhao Ying'er, Qi Zheng's eyes held no mockery or ridicule; he simply looked at her expressionlessly and stated the facts, "At your age, if you were to have a marriage connection with the Qi Family, it would be with my younger brother Qi Ze. However, this bride price is meant for my wife, Qi Zheng's wife, and has nothing to do with you."
Qi Zheng did not use a rhetorical tone but straightforwardly laid out the facts and reasoning to Zhao Ying'er, leaving her momentarily speechless.
Qi Ze is twenty this year, while Zhao Ying'er is seventeen; in terms of age, they are indeed more suitable. If it weren't for the sudden changes faced by the Qi Family, at Qi Zheng's current age of twenty-two, he would have already been married and Zhao Ying'er would have nothing to do with it.
The explanation was impeccable. Even Grandfather Zhao and his group could only stare blankly at Qi Zheng, unable to come up with any rebuttal.
Zhao Jin's family burst into laughter. It was a light-hearted laugh, but also a very satisfying one.
From that moment on, Qi Zheng officially became the best son-in-law in the eyes of Zhao Guoqiang and Xu Mei, and the most satisfactory brother-in-law for Zhao Zhenqi's two brothers. This firmly established Qi Zheng's status in the Zhao Family with unparalleled praise.
Sun Chun'er and Qian Minmin were also very pleased to see such a result. Although they were merely sisters-in-law, they genuinely treated Zhao Jin like their own sister. Now that they witnessed Qi Zheng protecting Zhao Jin, they were naturally very happy.
Amidst their joy, Qian Minmin would not easily miss the opportunity to kick someone when they're down.
So in the next moment, Qian Minmin crossed her arms and pointed at Zhao Ying'er with disdainful contempt, saying, "Isn't this just how it is! I don't know where some people get their twisted logic from, insisting on coming to our home to cause trouble. Can't stand that our Jin is marrying well? Or do they not consider us family at heart? We're all surnamed Zhao!"
"That's not true! This bride price was prepared by the Qi Family; it was originally supposed to be mine!" Zhao Ying'er finally spoke up, still insisting that she was the one engaged to the Qi Family. The owner of the Qi Family's bride price could only be her.
"Who told you that this Bride Price was prepared by the Qi Family?" Qi Zheng coldly listened to Zhao Ying'er’s unreasonable remarks and immediately retorted.
"Of course it was prepared by the Qi Family! If it wasn't prepared by the Qi Family, could it have been prepared by someone else?" Zhao Ying'er felt she had grasped the crux of the matter and was quite pleased with herself.
"It was prepared by my older brother!" Engaging in a war of words was never something Qi Zheng would do. Since Zhao Ying'er insisted on being unreasonable, Qi Ze would not hold back.
Striding over, Qi Ze's personality was more cheerful and lively than Qi Zheng's. At the same time, his emotions were more apparent.
For instance, as Qi Ze looked at Zhao Ying'er, his eyes were filled with disdain, and his face was full of mockery: "How poor do you think our Qi Family is? Who in Willow Leaf Village doesn't know? Isn't that the reason you turned your back and refused to marry into our Qi Family?"
"You, stop spouting nonsense! Who turned their back? Hasn't someone from our Zhao Family already agreed to marry into your Qi Family? You..." When it came to breaking off an engagement, Zhao Ying'er naturally felt guilty. Of course, she could shamelessly use Zhao Jin as a shield.
"So you do know that the one marrying into our Qi Family is my Sister-in-law, not you! How can you be so shameless as to come here and demand my Sister-in-law's Bride Price? Just because your last name is Zhao? After all, you're just a maternal relative. Let me advise you, don't make yourself too shameless; otherwise, you might really end up unable to marry in the future!" Qi Ze's sarcasm was merciless, and he didn't care whether Zhao Ying'er would feel embarrassed or angry after hearing these words. His voice was deep and resonant.
Zhao Ying'er was already furious, her face red and neck thick, glaring at Qi Ze as if he were a class enemy, wishing she could pounce on him and bite him hard.
Mind your own business! It was her who would marry into the Qi Family, not him; what did it have to do with him? Even if she did marry into the Qi Family, she would never marry Qi Ze!
Zhao Ying'er thought a lot but had no real justification. She hadn't planned to marry into the Qi Family at all. If she were to change her mind now and if the Qi Family could indeed accept her with tolerance, it seemed that the only person she could marry would be Qi Ze.
After all, Qi Rui was only thirteen years old. Surely Zhao Ying'er didn’t think her plans could involve someone so young? If Zhao Ying'er agreed, Qi Rui wouldn't even consider it!
Regardless of what Zhao Ying'er thought in her heart, Qi Ze continued: "The Bride Price sent to my Sister-in-law's house today was entirely prepared by my older brother for my Sister-in-law; it has nothing to do with the Qi Family. You have no right or standing to demand my Sister-in-law's Bride Price here."
"What do you mean your older brother prepared it personally? Didn't your older brother just go out and borrow money to buy this Bride Price? As if your older brother is so capable. He’s in debt up to his ears but still has the nerve to show off here, as if others don’t know?" Zhao Ying'er lost her rationality due to anger at Qi Ze's words and couldn't hold back any longer.
"So what?" Interrupting the pointless argument between Qi Ze and Zhao Ying'er, Qi Zheng looked at Zhao Ying'er with a blank expression. "What does it have to do with you?"
Every time Qi Zheng spoke, Zhao Ying'er would easily get stuck. This was due to her fear of Qi Zheng, as well as the fact that the person marrying Zhao Jin was Qi Zheng. In Zhao Ying'er's eyes, if she hadn't called off the engagement, she would have been the one marrying Qi Zheng.
Therefore, when facing Qi Zheng, Zhao Ying'er felt particularly awkward. There was a sense of discomfort mixed with an unexpressed shyness. If she thought about it deeply, Zhao Ying'er could easily find herself imagining being Qi Zheng's wife and the eldest daughter-in-law of the Qi Family.
Zhao Ying'er was a girl who loved to daydream. With her delicate demeanor, she also had a tendency towards vanity. Before seeing the bride price that Qi Zheng sent, she had never regarded him highly. However, upon seeing the dowry he provided, her desire to claim it for herself made her thoughts become more active.
As for how Zhao Ying'er felt about Qi Zheng, he didn't pay it any mind and wouldn't care. He had no intentions regarding her and had never considered marrying Zhao Ying'er. No matter when he saw her, she was merely a stranger in his eyes.
In other words, Zhao Ying'er's feelings were irrelevant to him. The idea that she wanted to take away the dowry he sent to Jin was completely impossible.
Whether Qi Zheng had debts or not was something only he could confirm; no one else could provide a definite answer.
Even Qi Ze and Qi Rui were left in confusion when they were called by Qi Zheng to transport a truckload of timber back from the county. More than that, the two brothers were clueless and couldn't extract any information from Qi Zheng.
However, regardless of whether their elder brother had debts or not, both Qi Ze and Qi Rui accepted it. As long as they could successfully bring Sister-in-law home, any external debts didn't matter; they would pay them off together in the future!
Qi Rui and Qi Yuehong had already privately agreed more than once to drop out of school together.
Originally, children in the village only attended school up to junior high at most; many hadn't even started school yet. They were already quite fortunate and felt reluctant but had made their decision.
Once they both stopped studying, their family wouldn't have to bear their tuition fees anymore, thus lightening the burden. Moreover, they would gain two additional laborers to help with work at home. How could that not be advantageous?
Of course, this situation wasn't the time to discuss whether Qi Zheng owed external debts or not. Aside from Zhao Ying'er who kept fixating on this issue, even Grandfather Zhao and the others had no intention of making a big deal out of it.
They are here to take advantage, not to help pay off debts. Does it matter whether Qi Zheng owes money? Not at all. To quote Qi Zheng's earlier question to Zhao Ying'er, what does it have to do with them?
Under the immense pressure from Qi Zheng, Zhao Ying'er simply couldn't bear it. Unable to hold back, she turned her gaze towards her grandparents and parents for help.
Chen Cui was disdainful of Zhao Ying'er’s inability to accomplish anything and her tendency to cause trouble. However, no matter how foolish her daughter might be, she couldn't just ignore her. Moreover, Ying'er had always been on her side; coming to ask for a dowry today was also for their own sake.
Thus, even though the situation was not developing as Chen Cui had expected and was not part of her plans, she still took action.
Pulling Zhao Ying'er behind her for protection, Chen Cui looked displeased at Zhao Jin: "Jin, what's wrong with you? Ying'er is your sister; how can you just stand by and watch her being bullied?"
Like Zhao Ying'er, Chen Cui also dared not confront Qi Zheng directly. Without any hesitation, she chose to target the slightly softer Zhao Jin. After all, she was Zhao Jin's elder, and Zhao Jin wouldn't dare to speak back disrespectfully.
However, Chen Cui clearly overestimated both Zhao Jin and herself.
Why couldn't Zhao Jin speak back to Chen Cui? Although Chen Cui was indeed an elder, did her actions reflect any semblance of a responsible elder?
Zhao Jin hadn’t forgotten how poorly she had lived after marrying Wu Feng in her previous life; every time she returned to her maternal family, she would be ridiculed by Chen Cui.
What was Chen Cui like back then? Oh right, Chen Cui couldn’t manage her own life and couldn’t win a man’s heart; no wonder she blamed others. Chen Cui even complained that Zhao Jin lacked means; despite having such a good marriage proposal handed to her, she couldn’t send anything back to the maternal family, wasting Chen Cui's good intentions in facilitating that marriage!
At that time, Zhao Jin really wanted to retort to Chen Cui: if she had such a terrible life in the Wu Family, how could that marriage be considered good? If she didn’t start being reasonable, shouldn’t she blame Chen Cui for deliberately pushing her into the fire pit of the Wu Family and ruining her life?
In her previous life, Zhao Jin ultimately didn’t hold it against Chen Cui. It wasn’t due to a lack of courage but because all the choices were made by herself; no one forced her or made decisions for her.
Since the path was chosen by herself, even if it meant kneeling down, she could only move forward silently with tears in her eyes. If blaming Chen Cui were useful, she would have done so long ago.
However, she was very clear in her heart that no matter how sad she felt or how much she blamed others, it was all useless. Life had to go on, even if she was very unwilling and it was a torment.
In this life, Zhao Jin did not intend to repeat the mistakes and wrong paths of her past life. And she would not repeat the pain and suffering from her previous life either. At this moment, facing Chen Cui's accusations, Zhao Jin would not remain silent.
She slightly raised her chin and stared directly at Chen Cui, her voice clear and pleasant: "Aunt Si means that because Ying'er is my sister, I should obediently hand over my Bride Price to her?"
Seeing that Zhao Jin had asked the core question, Chen Cui pulled at the corners of her mouth, preparing to build a relationship with Zhao Jin, to get close and preach some moral lessons, but was interrupted by Zhao Jin.
"But Aunt Si, why should I?" Zhao Jin's light question immediately changed Chen Cui's expression.
"Aunt Si, you are just my Aunt Si, and Zhao Ying'er is just my cousin. How can you two be closer than my own parents and siblings? My Bride Price should naturally be reserved for my Maternal Family, but who exactly is my Maternal Family? Does Aunt Si need us to find the village chief to mediate? Or does Aunt Si think that as long as it's a Bride Price for a daughter of the Zhao Family, it should belong to you and Zhao Ying'er?" Zhao Jin cleverly avoided mentioning Grandfather Zhao and Grandma Zhao, not even bringing up Fourth Uncle Zhao Guofu. She immediately focused on Chen Cui, turning today's conflict into an accusation against Aunt Si for shamelessly trying to seize her niece's dowry!
In such a situation, if Grandfather Zhao, Grandma Zhao, or Zhao Guofu said even one more word, they would definitely be categorized as part of Chen Cui's faction.
Even if it were her own grandfather and grandmother, being associated with the reputation of "forcibly seizing granddaughter's dowry" would not sound good. Moreover, everyone saw this granddaughter's marriage as something that Grandfather Zhao's family had forced upon Zhao Jin.
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