Chapter 17

Xu Niannian had no objections to raising the children of martyrs.

She had a sense of admiration for martyrs, as without them, there would be no prosperity and strength for the Chinese nation in the decades to come.

However, she also wanted to introduce herself:

“As for my situation, I don’t know how much you understand, but I’m currently in the second year of high school and not working.”

“As for marriage, I don’t have many requirements—just don’t interfere with my life decisions, such as when I want to study or work in the future.”

“The main thing is that all wages must be handed over.”

She wasn’t about to look after someone else’s children for free. If there were no children, she probably wouldn’t demand a salary, but if there were, the wages must be handed over—she wasn’t a free nanny.

Lu Huaijin nodded in agreement:

“That’s no problem, but the children are a bit quiet, so can we give them a period to adjust? No children for the next year?”

He didn’t smoke or drink, and only occasionally had a drink with his comrades. In the military camp, he didn’t need any extra expenses, and his parents didn’t need him to send money home.

Giving her the money was only right.

As for the request to wait a year before having children, frankly, he knew it was a bit unreasonable.

If she disagreed, he would respect her decision.

At that moment, Lu Huaijin didn’t realize that, because of this statement, he would toss and turn many nights in the future, feeling uneasy.

Xu Niannian naturally agreed. She didn’t really believe in the concept of a quick marriage. This year would be a good opportunity to assess other aspects of the man. If their relationship developed well, she could consider having children.

If things didn’t work out, once the college entrance exams were over, she would divorce and fly far away.

Her decision to marry him wasn’t entirely simple.

Lu Huaijin continued:

“Since that’s the case, let’s consider it settled. If you need anything, like the dowry, feel free to bring it up.”

When it came to money, Xu Niannian became more energetic:

“Sure, about the dowry, I hope you can hand it to me directly on the day of the wedding. As for the three big items, since I’ll be moving with the army, we can buy them there.”

If the money were given to Xu’s father, it would probably go into that treasure’s pocket. She always had an inexplicable distrust of her father.

Over the years, her stepmother had treated Xu Niannian well on the surface, but secretly, all the good food went to her own children.

It was a pity the original owner still regarded her stepmother as a good person. If it weren’t for her pretty face, she would have been completely taken advantage of.

The tragedies of the past life were caused by them. Before the marriage, it was unclear whether they knew that Li Qiang was abusive.

But after marriage, they certainly knew.

Xu Niannian had dragged her sick body to the Xu family and showed them the wounds on her body.

But what did the Xu family say? Xu’s father, Xu Xiuhong, and Xu Xiaodi all benefited from her marriage to Li Qiang. As long as she wasn’t dead, they’d surely help Li Qiang.

“What man doesn’t hit women? Your father just spoiled you too much.”

“Exactly, just coax him a little, and he won’t hit you.”

“All men are the same. Who would want you if you get divorced?”

After hearing this a few times, the original owner gave up on seeking help from her family.

In the end, Xu Ruhua became successful in business and, when she returned with He Conghao, shed two tears for the original owner’s miserable state.

That was all. Under such pressure, the original owner didn’t live for many years before passing away.

Of course, Li Qiang paid the original family some money.

He had drained her completely, squeezing out every last bit of value.

Later, Xu Ruhua even used the original owner to connect with a big boss.

While talking, Lu Huaijin saw that their discussion was coming to a close and led her out of the department store:

“I’ll take you home.”

Xu Niannian…

She didn’t really want to buy anything, but since she was already here and they were engaged, not buying anything might seem inappropriate.

Apparently, Lu Huaijin, a typical man, hadn’t considered this issue.

Fortunately, Lu Huaijin had driven here—an army jeep that looked both imposing and handsome.

Once in the car, Xu Niannian’s previous disappointed mood instantly lifted.

No more strange smells to deal with.

Lu Huaijin drove steadily, just like his calm demeanor.

When they reached the entrance of the compound, Lu Huaijin let her out and said:

“I’ll talk to my family when I get back. If all goes well, I’ll come to see you tomorrow noon, okay?”

Xu Niannian hadn’t expected that such a major life decision, marriage, could be settled in just a few hours. They hadn’t even talked for two hours in total.

Life was really like a dream.

Xu Niannian waved at him and was about to leave when Lu Huaijin stopped her:

“Here, take this.”

He handed her a roll of big red envelopes with some receipts inside.

Xu Niannian hadn’t expected him to be so considerate. Earlier, she thought he was stingy for not buying anything at the store, but now he was giving her money directly.

Who wouldn’t like the smell of money? She almost wished he’d throw even more at her.

But on the surface, she still acted puzzled:

“What is this?”

Lu Huaijin replied:

“Pocket money.”

Earlier, he’d heard her say she wanted the dowry given to her, so he assumed she hadn’t been treated well by the Xu family over the years.

Xu Niannian thought to herself that she was already paying household expenses before marriage, which showed this man was quite considerate.

“Thank you, I’ll go inside now.”

Since it was settled, she walked past Aunt Liu’s house with two pounds of rice in hand and went inside:

“Aunt Liu, I really appreciate you introducing me to someone. I won’t be seeing you the day after tomorrow; I’ve already met the right person.”

She handed the rice to Aunt Liu’s hands.

Later that evening, while the family was enjoying a fragrant meal, Aunt Liu’s youngest son asked:

“Mom, did you succeed in introducing her?”

At the mention of this, Aunt Liu started praising Xu Niannian:

“That girl is really good. Her stepmother is a bad one. Surely she’s the one causing trouble behind the scenes, otherwise, how could Xu Niannian’s reputation be so bad?”

As they ate the rice Xu Niannian had brought, everyone agreed. The next day, they would go out to verify Xu Niannian’s identity.

At that dinner, everyone was indignant.

Xu Niannian felt good after resolving a major issue and walked home leisurely.

On the way, a few aunties who weren’t working praised her beauty, and she smiled and greeted them.

Once she was gone, the aunties began discussing again:

“Niannian looks even more beautiful now.”

“Even if she’s beautiful, no one in my family wants her—her reputation, you know.”

“But she doesn’t seem to be as bad as they say…”

When Xu Niannian got home, it was just after three o’clock, and no one was there.

After strolling outside all day, she had already broken into a sweat. She took a refreshing bath in the space and cleaned her clothes before hanging them up.

Looking at the sun through her hand, she felt everything was getting better.

She lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

When she woke up again, she heard noises outside, and before long, someone went into the kitchen—it must be Xu Xiuhong.

A little while later, the door opened again, and judging by the footsteps, it was Xu’s father and Xu Xiaodi.

After waiting for an hour, dinner was ready, but Xu Ruhua hadn’t returned yet.

Xu Xiuhong said to Xu’s father:

“Do you want to go look for Ruhua?”

Xu’s father looked at the bright daylight outside:

“What’s there to look for? It’s broad daylight, what could happen?”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sound at the door.

Xu Xiuhong hurried to open the door and exclaimed:

“Hey, who beat you?”