Chapter 4 – Fifty Bucks, The Fat One’s Yours

Given their family’s situation, even if the guy was a fatso, he was still someone many girls would rush to marry. There was no way that marriage proposal would fall to her.

Suddenly, she remembered the phone call she’d received two days ago. Could it be… related to that scumbag?

“Let’s go. I want to hear what Aunt has to say.”

Honestly, her aunt was a real piece of work. She had twin daughters—treated the older one like a treasure, and the younger one like an enemy.

It all started when she gave birth to the twins. The older girl came out smoothly, while the younger one nearly cost her her life—took hours of labor. Village women liked to talk, and one of them said the older daughter came to repay kindness, and the younger came to collect debts. She actually believed it, and from then on treated them completely differently.

The person who came to call her over today was the poor younger twin—her cousin.

——

Fengjia Village was split into two sections, the Upper and Lower Courtyards.

Her grandfather’s house was in the Upper Courtyard, about two li away, with farmland in between.

It was almost New Year’s, so no one was working in the fields. Only a few straw scarecrows stood silently among the crops.

Following Feng Xiaojing to the Feng family’s place, they were still outside the yard when the sounds of arguing inside reached their ears.

Grandmother Zhang absolutely refused to give up Feng Mian’s engagement and was currently quarreling with Aunt Zhao, who was cursing and shouting.

Sitting at the doorway, her eldest uncle smoked his dry tobacco pipe. When he saw Feng Mian, he just sighed helplessly.

“Mianmian, go talk to your grandma and your aunt, try to calm them down.”

Feng Mian was speechless.

Her uncle was always like this—spineless. No matter how badly his mother and his wife fought, he’d always stay out of it. Just hide. Never once had he stepped in to mediate.

She didn’t bother greeting him and walked straight into the yard.

At that moment, Feng Xinliang was already stressed out by his wife and his mother fighting, and didn’t even notice whether Feng Mian greeted him or not.

“Grandma.”

Feng Mian stood at the yard entrance and called out. Zhang and Aunt Zhao both stopped mid-argument and turned to look at her.

“Mianmian.” Zhang’s heart ached at the sight of her. She hurried over, took her hand, and said, “Don’t be afraid. We’re not giving up your engagement. After the New Year, I’ll go talk to the Gu family, and you’ll get married right away. Then you’ll have a home.”

Zhang’s biggest worry was that she had no home. What kind of proper girl lived alone? A girl without a family? That would never do. She was getting older—what if she got harassed by some thug?

It had taken so much to secure this marriage, and now that wretched Zhao Hui wanted to snatch it away? She was furious.

Feng Mian first calmed her grandmother down, then turned to Aunt Zhao, who was standing there with her lips pursed, and said, “Auntie, the Gu family specifically said they want to marry me. If you want Cousin Xiaomei to take my place, the Gu family would have to agree too.”

Aunt Zhao raised her voice and laughed, “That’s nothing to worry about. As long as you agree, the Gu family won’t object.”

Feng Mian glanced at her older cousin Feng Xiaomei, who was hiding behind the window, eavesdropping. She raised an eyebrow. “So as long as I say yes, the Gu family will agree?”

“Of course!” Zhao Hui shot her a disdainful look. “You think you’re so special just because you’re an orphan? They don’t care who they marry. They just wanted someone hardworking. Your cousin’s even more hardworking and capable than you. Naturally, they’d choose her over you.”

Zhang was furious. “Xiaomei, hardworking? You’ve spoiled her rotten! Hardworking, my foot!”

“Come on, Ma, how can you say that? Xiaomei’s your biological granddaughter. What kind of grandma talks like that?”

Feng Mian quickly stopped Zhang before the situation escalated again. Today was supposed to be about her engagement—no need to get sidetracked.

“Grandma, let’s get back to discussing the engagement with the Gu family.”

After calming Zhang down, Feng Mian turned to Zhao Hui and said, “Auntie, as long as the Gu family agrees, I can give up this engagement. But… what do I get out of it?”

Zhao Hui’s expression changed. “What? Your own cousin is giving way, and you still want something in return? After your mother died, we raised you for five years! I haven’t even asked you to repay us for that—how dare you talk about compensation?”

Grandmother Zhang snapped, “You raised her? It was me who raised Mianmian!”

“Ma, don’t be so biased! What do you mean you raised her? In the future, you and Dad are going to rely on me to take care of you. Dad’s been paralyzed and bedridden for three years now—just look at the mess this household has become because of that! And now you’re even trying to stop Xiaomei from marrying well? What exactly is your problem?”

Zhang was so furious she roared, “You dare steal someone else’s engagement and still think you’re in the right? Feng Xinliang! Feng Xinliang, are you dead? If you’re not, get in here right now!”

Feng Mian knew her eldest uncle was out front smoking, but he still didn’t come in.

Feng Xiaojing ran out to check, only to find no one at the door. Who knew where he’d snuck off to?

“Grandma, my dad’s not outside.”

“Then go find him!”

“Okay!”

Feng Mian didn’t care for that chubby kid from the Gu family, and she had a gut feeling there was something fishy about the engagement.

She didn’t want it, but she wasn’t about to let Zhao Hui and her daughter win so easily either.

She cleared her throat and called into the house, “Cousin, come out for a sec.”

The person behind the window glanced at her mother. Only after Zhao Hui gave her the nod did she step outside.

“Oh, it’s you, Cousin. Come, have a seat.”

That fake sweetness could make someone drop dead from disgust.

Back when the original Feng Mian lived in the Feng household, her status wasn’t even as good as Feng Xiaojing’s.

She and Xiaojing were the poor little punching bags, the ones Zhao Hui and her daughter ordered around like some old-timey madam bossing around her handmaids.

Feng Mian said, “I won’t sit. I just want to ask you something—do you actually like that Gu Laoliu, or are you just eyeing his family’s wealth?”

Feng Xiaomei froze for a second. Of course she wasn’t going to admit she wanted the match because of his money and the bridal gifts.

She quickly switched tactics and tearfully replied, “Cousin, I really like him. Truly. He likes me too. We have real feelings for each other. Please, let us be together.”

Zhao Hui jumped in and nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, she’s right. It’s not like he likes you—if you marry him, you’d just be miserable.”

Listening to them, Feng Mian more or less understood now.

So they’d already started sneaking around behind everyone’s backs. No wonder they were so confident.

Grandmother Zhang caught on too. She was so angry she threatened to call the police and have them arrested for indecency.

Feng Mian quickly soothed her again.

She understood—Zhang still saw this as a good match, and now it had been snatched away by her own granddaughter. Of course she’d feel guilty toward her maternal granddaughter.

“All right, I can let you two be together. But you have to give me fifty yuan as compensation.”

“What? Fifty?! Why don’t you just rob us instead?”

Feng Mian shot her a cool glance. “I’m an orphan. People already say I’m cursed to bring bad luck. Now I get engaged and then jilted—what will that do to my reputation? No one will want to marry me after that. I might really end up alone for life. And that’s not worth fifty yuan?”

That shut them up.

Feng Xiaomei quickly tugged on Zhao Hui’s sleeve, urging her to agree.

But fifty was a lot. Zhao Hui hesitated, then said, “Wait. Let me talk it over with your cousin.”