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“Father, Mother.”
The sky was still bright when they returned home. Han Shiguo’s parents were in the yard, and Jiang Qian greeted them with a smile.
Seeing them back, Han’s father and mother both smiled, “Did you just come back after dinner?”
“Yeah, my mom made us chicken soup noodles, and we finished eating before returning,” Jiang Qian replied cheerfully.
As soon as the children in the yard heard the words “chicken soup noodles,” they perked up, filled with envy!
Meanwhile, Han Shimin and Li Xia were inside the house.
Ignoring them, Jiang Qian and Han Shiguo first went to visit Jiang Xiaogu to say goodbye, since they would be leaving tomorrow.
Knowing this, Jiang Xiaogu reminded them to be careful on the road.
They didn’t stay long before returning directly to Han’s parents’ house.
“When we go out, we need to lock the doors to those three rooms, but the keys will be kept with you, Father and Mother,” Han Shiguo instructed.
His elder brother had taken the three western rooms, leaving him with the eastern three. However, he felt a bit at a loss because one of those rooms had previously been used for storage. Of course, it had been cleaned up now and could still be lived in.
Han’s father nodded, “Alright.”
Han’s mother then turned to Jiang Qian, “Qianqian, this is your first time going over there, and it’s winter. It’s much colder than here, so you need to take care of yourself.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. I can take care of myself. Besides, I have Shiguo with me. Even if I’m not used to it, I’ll learn to adapt,” Jiang Qian assured her.
Han’s mother was pleased. Just as she was about to say something else, they heard Han Shimin and Li Xia arguing outside.
“What happened with Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law?” Han Shiguo asked.
Before they returned home today, Li’s mother had already arrived, so they knew she had been there.
“Today, my mother-in-law came to borrow money. You wouldn’t believe it; I’ve never seen someone so brazen. She knows her daughter got over five hundred yuan from the division, and she immediately asked to borrow five hundred back, saying that their house leaks and might collapse if it snows this year. She wanted to take advantage of the snow to get a brick house built,” Han’s mother said, her voice dripping with disdain.
In her eyes, Li’s mother was simply being outrageous!
To her surprise, Li Xia actually wanted to lend the money, although not five hundred, but she intended to lend two hundred for her mother!
However, Han’s mother wasn’t planning to stop them. Even if they lend five hundred, she wouldn’t intervene.
Now that they had divided the family, she wouldn’t meddle in their affairs. Even if they ran out of food, she would just watch them go hungry because only through hardship would they learn a lesson.
She and Han’s father could help them for a moment, but they couldn’t support them forever. Some difficulties needed to be experienced on their own.
In the end, they didn’t lend the money because Han Shimin outright refused.
He didn’t procrastinate; he directly rejected his mother-in-law, stating that if she needed money, he could lend her fifty yuan, but he wanted her brother to come take the loan and write an IOU.
Li’s mother was furious upon hearing this, questioning Han Shimin what he meant. Did he look down on her?
Li Xia stood by her mother’s side, recklessly declaring that if the money wasn’t lent today, she would get a divorce.
This statement completely enraged Han Shimin, who pulled out their marriage certificate and dragged Li Xia, stating that whoever didn’t want to stay married could leave!
Li Xia was forcibly subdued.
She was just trying to intimidate him; she didn’t dare divorce him. Where would she go if they separated? She would have to be crazy to consider divorce.
Moreover, even if her mother wanted to take her back to her family, she wouldn’t dare go.
If Han Shimin didn’t stop her and instead coldly warned her, “If you dare step out of this door today, I’ll bring in Widow Zhao tomorrow. Don’t believe me? Just try it!”
Li Xia felt as though she was about to be scared to death.
The little schemes she had been contemplating vanished without a trace!
Even when her mother pointed a finger at her, scolding her not to return for family visits in the future, she didn’t dare to go.
However, Li Xia started causing trouble again. One wrong word and she was questioning Han Shimin about when he got involved with Widow Zhao
Han Shiguo and Jiang Qian exchanged glances, speechless.
“With us around, their household won’t stir up any major trouble, so don’t worry,” Han’s mother said with a smile.
Although the couple was bound to have their disputes, she was satisfied with her eldest son’s behavior today. If he had been manipulated, it would have been truly heartbreaking!
Han Shiguo and Jiang Qian said nothing. After the family division, each household managed their own affairs.
“Will you be able to come back for the New Year this year?” Han’s mother asked.
Jiang Qian hoped so and looked at Han Shiguo, who hesitated and said, “I don’t know yet, but it’s probably unlikely.”
It was already October, leaving just two months until the New Year.
Han’s father chimed in, “You just got back, and train tickets are so expensive. If you can’t make it back, just celebrate there. If you can come back next year, it will be the same.”
Han’s mother didn’t argue; train tickets were indeed exorbitantly priced.
“Mother, Father, you both take care of yourselves at home. If anything happens, just give us a call,” Jiang Qian said.
Hearing this, Han’s mother felt comforted. “What could possibly happen at home? In the past, I often called Shiguo to hurry up and find a partner, but now that he has you, both your father and I are at ease.”
Jiang Qian smiled, and Han Shiguo added, “You don’t know, but Mother was thinking of pretending to be sick to get me to come back for the wedding.”
“Is that my fault? It was your problem!” Han’s mother playfully scolded.
“Of course, it’s not my problem. I just felt it wasn’t my fate, so I wasn’t very interested. If you had arranged for me to marry Jiang Qian from the start, I would have rushed back!” Han Shiguo replied.
This remark made Jiang Qian give him a playful glare, and Han’s mother laughed, telling Jiang Qian, “What he said is true. He kept dragging his feet because he wasn’t committed. But when the matchmaker mentioned you, he became so attentive, fearing that you wouldn’t like him!”
“…”
Since they were leaving the next day, Han Shiguo and Jiang Qian spent over an hour chatting casually with Han’s parents.
Both Han’s father and Han’s mother were very pleased.
Just then, Han Jiawei burst in, exclaiming, “Grandpa, Grandma, my dad and mom are fighting!”
While it wasn’t a real fight, Li Xia had slapped Han Shimin, who, not used to her antics, retaliated with a slap of his own, causing her to roll on the ground.
Han Shiguo and Jiang Qian, along with Han’s parents, rushed over.
Li Xia lay on the floor, wailing that she wanted to die and threatening to drink pesticides.
“Mother, if you die, Widow Zhao will move in! She’ll mistreat us!” Han Jiayue cried.
Hearing this, Li Xia’s cries grew even louder. “Oh my heavens!”
Han Shiguo watched his sister-in-law’s antics with a throbbing headache.
That night, as they went to bed, Jiang Qian heard him say, “I was one hundred percent unwilling when my parents arranged my marriage. I was terrified of marrying someone like that.”
His comrade’s wife was someone who could throw a fit at the drop of a hat—if things didn’t go her way, she would just throw herself on the ground. It was a life filled with constant turmoil.
Having seen so much of this, he had developed a psychological shadow.
So when he learned that his family had arranged a marriage, he wanted to reject it without a second thought. However, his mother wouldn’t allow it.
Unable to refuse, he genuinely didn’t want to return for the wedding.
It was only because he had no other choice that he came back. Upon arriving home and discovering he had been jilted, his eyes lit up, and he was eager to marry the girl he had set his sights on!
As it turned out, he was quite lucky!
Jiang Qian felt both sympathy and a bit of amusement at his fear of arranged marriage.
“Are you satisfied now?” Jiang Qian asked with a smile.
Han Shiguo immediately expressed his satisfaction through action, showing just how content he was!