Chapter 42

Xu Guoqing sighed helplessly in his heart. He knew that dealing with the villagers wouldn’t be easy, and explaining this clearly would be even harder.

He glanced at Li Meili. Though she was petite, her face was rather delicate. If things really couldn’t be explained properly, marrying her wouldn’t be too bad.

Besides, this village’s environment was actually quite good. It was so close to Luoan City, much better than the remote areas he had imagined.

Anyway, he never planned on going back. He might as well settle down in this village!

With his mind made up, Xu Guoqing caught up with her in a few quick steps. “Come on, I’ll go back with you and explain things together.”

As soon as they entered the village, a crowd gathered around them, pointing and whispering.

“Meili, how could you be so foolish? Those educated youths aren’t any good. Even our own villagers are better than them!”

Li Meili bit her lip. “Auntie, I didn’t—”

“Sigh, just go home quickly. Your grandmother is making a huge fuss!”

Li Meili lowered her head and carefully made her way home. Xu Guoqing listened to the auntie’s words and swallowed nervously. This family shouldn’t be too hard to deal with, right?

He deliberately slowed his pace, keeping some distance between himself and the girl ahead.

When he saw her step into a courtyard with a large, well-built blue-brick house, he instantly felt relieved. This family’s financial situation seemed pretty good.

Xu Guoqing hesitated at the entrance for a long while, unsure if he should go in. Then, a loud voice erupted from inside.

The scolding was so harsh that it was unbearable to listen to.

“You little brat! I told you to do chores, but instead, you ran off to seduce men! Look at what you’ve done!

If your father doesn’t break your legs today, I’ll—”

“Grandma, you don’t even know what really happened! You’re just listening to gossip!”

“What do I need to know? You were hugging and clinging to a man out in the open! What’s there to explain?

And that educated youth—he just arrived in the village this morning. I already asked around!

He’s as skinny as a bean sprout, useless at carrying loads or farm work. What good would marrying him do?”

“Grandma, don’t say that! I sprained my ankle, and he kindly helped me. Then… then I accidentally—”

“Bah! Don’t try to twist things around, you little troublemaker! You’ve completely embarrassed our Li family! Get out of my sight!”

“Mother, no matter what, she’s still your granddaughter! How can you say such things?”

“Liu Xinghua, shut your mouth! This girl is spoiled because of you! If I don’t teach her a lesson today, I’m not her grandmother!”

As she spoke, she grabbed a wooden stick from the side and swung it toward Li Meili.

Li Jianjun quickly stepped in to block it. “Mother, what’s the use of beating her? What are we going to do now?”

The old woman immediately plopped onto the ground and wailed, “Oh, what terrible fate have I brought upon myself?

A perfectly fine granddaughter, and now this disgrace! Who will marry her in the future?

And what about your second brother’s daughters, Meiling and Meixia? How will they get married now?”

The two sisters exchanged glances and quietly lowered their heads.

Li Meili’s second aunt stepped forward, speaking in a cold, indifferent tone. “Meili, I don’t blame you for what happened, but your reputation is ruined. What do we do now?

Meiling’s marriage has already been arranged. If this scandal causes it to fall apart, your cousin will be devastated!”

Standing outside, Xu Guoqing felt it was finally time to step in. He knocked on the door before walking inside.

“Grandmother, auntie, uncle—hello. I’m Xu Guoqing, and I was the one who helped this girl just now.”

Huang Hehua squinted her eyes, scrutinizing the man before her.

He wore a simple white shirt—at least it wasn’t patched up. But he wasn’t tall, and he was so thin… How could someone like this amount to anything?

But she didn’t care much about that. Instead, she asked directly, “How much are you willing to pay for the betrothal gift?”

Xu Guoqing was stunned. That was so blunt.

But given the situation, he was already stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He glanced at the girl beside him, who was still silently shedding tears.

Finally, he made up his mind.

Fine. He’d marry her!

But he had no money. The government’s relocation subsidy for educated youths was only 120 yuan. He had already spent 30 on food and daily necessities, and the remaining money was needed for living expenses.

Xu Guoqing gritted his teeth and said, “Auntie, when I came here, the government gave me a 120-yuan subsidy.

I spent 30 earlier on necessities, and I still need money for daily expenses, but I can offer 50 yuan as a bride price.”

The room fell silent. The villagers exchanged glances.

Fifty yuan wasn’t a small amount. For farming families, saving up tens of yuan over an entire year was already difficult.

The old lady snorted. “Fifty yuan to marry my granddaughter? That’s too little!”

Before she could continue, Li Meili quickly said, “Grandma, that’s enough! I’m willing to marry him.”

The old woman glared at her. “You ungrateful girl! How dare you side with an outsider?”

Li Jianjun thought for a moment and said, “Mother, this man seems honest. Besides, given Meili’s situation, let’s just leave it at that.”

Liu Xinghua bit her lip. “Yes, Mother, fifty yuan is a good amount. Just agree to it.”

After some thought, Huang Hehua nodded. “Fine. But the dowry will be cut in half—twenty-five yuan. As for the wedding quilt and clothes, they’ll be the same as Meiling’s.”

Xu Guoqing was secretly pleased. This family was better off than he had expected. He had heard that in some villages, brides only got a single quilt when they married. But here, they were offering both money and clothes!

Looking at the blue-bricked house, a glimmer of greed flashed in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Li Meili was secretly rejoicing. She didn’t care about the dowry. As long as she could leave this house, she was confident that, with Xu Guoqing’s future prospects, she would eventually live a good life.

As soon as Xu Guoqing left the Li family’s house, he rushed to the village leader’s home. If he was getting married, it wouldn’t be suitable to continue living in the educated youth dormitory.

Li Jianbin rubbed his ears. “What? You’re marrying Meili? Didn’t you just arrive this morning?”

Just then, Li Jianbin’s wife, Liu Xinghua, walked over and whispered something to him. Li Jianbin coughed.

“Oh, so that’s what happened. Yeah, it wouldn’t be right for you to stay at the youth dorm after getting married. Are you planning to build a house or rent one?”

Xu Guoqing looked embarrassed. “I don’t have much money right now, so I’ll rent a place.”

“Alright. There’s a house at the east end of the village. The family moved out last year, so it now belongs to the village. The yard isn’t big, but it’s enough for two people.

Go check it out. If it works for you, the rent is one yuan a month.”

Xu Guoqing nodded. “Alright. Thank you, Captain. I’ll go take a look.”

After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Auntie, are there any special wedding customs in the village? I just arrived, so I don’t know much.”

Liu Xinghua quickly answered, “Not much. Just set a date, have a matchmaker formally propose, exchange betrothal gifts, and then pick a good day for the wedding.”

Xu Guoqing nodded. “Thank you, Auntie. I’ll go now.”

As he walked away, Liu Xinghua turned to her husband. “Jianbin, what do you think about Second Auntie marrying Meili off so hastily?”