Chapter 29 Who said I agreed to the marriage?

Shen Meifang and Gu Weiguo ran through the field, drenched in sweat and stumbling a few times, before finally managing to catch the two pigs. In those days, aside from the brigade pig farms, few ordinary households could afford to raise pigs. Even for the Gu family, Shen Meifang prided herself on being the best-off household in Hongxing Village, but the two pigs were still a significant part of the family’s wealth. She dared not take it lightly.

Gu Weiguo complained, “It must be because you came home and started fussing around, startling the pigs, that they ran off.”

Shen Meifang had wanted to scold him further but found herself unable to continue after hearing his words. Whether Ji Tangtang had actually spent the money or not was uncertain—but these two pigs were tangible assets of the Gu family. Still, she was unwilling to let it go. She muttered, “Are we really just going to let this slide? That’s over 400 yuan! I don’t believe she spent it all. And that watch—so extravagant—I think it’d look perfect on Hongwen.”

Gu Weiguo said, “I’ll go talk to the eldest son in a bit. We raised him, after all. We can’t let the Ji family get a son without giving anything in return.”

“Will it work?” Shen Meifang was pessimistic. Ever since Gu Shiyu became paralyzed, they had considered him worthless, a burden to the family—not even bothering to pretend otherwise. Now, going to ask him to hand over the money from selling the medicinal herbs—would he even agree?

Gu Weiguo frowned, “I’m his father—filial piety comes first. How dare he not listen to me?”

Shen Meifang thought he was right. No one outside knew the family’s past, and for years, they had hidden Gu Shiyu’s origins from him. With his parents’ authority over him, even if they had been cold toward him all these years, he would still heed them out of a sense of family and reputation.

After securing the pigs, Gu Weiguo went to Gu Shiyu’s room. By then, Ji Tangtang had already finished talking with him and left, giving him a handful of wild fruits on her way out. These fruits were smaller than the ones he had eaten before, but much more fragrant. He hadn’t eaten them yet, just held them in his hand, turning them over gently.

Gu Weiguo entered holding an oil lamp and immediately caught the strong fruity scent. He sniffed the air, “Where’s that fragrance coming from?”

Gu Shiyu casually hid the fruits under his pillow and replied coldly, “There’s only the smell of urine and filth in my room. Where would any fruit fragrance come from? You must have smelled wrong, Father.”

Gu Weiguo remembered how Hongwen and the other two siblings often mocked Gu Shiyu, saying he’d soil himself, that his room stank, refusing to deliver meals, cursing him. He felt a bit embarrassed. Back then, thinking he was a useless, bedridden child, a burden to the family, they hadn’t bothered to stop the kids from cursing him. They hadn’t expected some fool like Ji Tangtang, who now had money, to want to take him as a son-in-law. He was briefly embarrassed, but quickly regained a normal expression.

“They’re just kids speaking nonsense. Why bother taking it to heart?” Gu Weiguo said.

Gu Shiyu didn’t argue. After returning paralyzed, he had already seen their various cruel faces and now simply dismissed them as childish ignorance. He wasn’t surprised at all. He had even anticipated how Gu Weiguo would speak before he opened his mouth. He had no interest in talking to him, nor did he want to see that detestable face. He turned his gaze toward the window, thinking of Ji Tangtang’s nimble figure as she had slipped out. He knew he shouldn’t drag her into his troubles—but she was like a spirit bursting into his life, bringing color to his black-and-white world…

Seeing that Gu Shiyu ignored him, Gu Weiguo was annoyed, but he couldn’t just leave. He swallowed his anger and continued, “About your marriage—you’ve heard from your mother that the Ji family wants to take you as a son-in-law. We worked hard raising you, through thick and thin. When you go to the Ji family, they should at least observe the proper etiquette.”

Gu Shiyu finally shifted his gaze from the window to Gu Weiguo’s face, sneering, “What etiquette? Let the Ji family give money? You want to sell me off as a paralyzed man?”

Gu Weiguo shot back angrily, “What are you saying? Selling you? Every family asks for a bride price. We raised you, nurtured your talent—what’s wrong with asking for some bride price?”

Gu Shiyu’s expression became increasingly sarcastic, “Raised me? Nurtured my talent? Do you mean having me do all the heavy work, scrimping on food for my siblings? Or that I found a way into the army myself?”

“If that’s what you mean, then all the money and coupons I’ve sent back over the years have already repaid the little support you gave me.”

“Which family’s child doesn’t go through the same?” Gu Weiguo’s face darkened. “You’ve been a soldier, yet your heart is smaller than a needle’s tip. You even hold grudges over trivial matters.”

Gu Shiyu had once thought the family’s life was hard, that they truly had no choice. It wasn’t until he was injured that he realized the hardship excuse was just a cover for their favoritism. Growing up, they always pretended in front of him. Only after he became paralyzed, useless to them, did their true faces appear. Then he saw clearly—they never had any real parental affection for him. They were just leeches feeding off him. Maybe he wasn’t even their biological child. Thinking of the investigation he had entrusted to his comrades, his eyes darkened further.

“Don’t get angry at your family. Your mother and I are doing this for your own good. If you go to the Ji family without any bride price, they will look down on you,” Gu Weiguo said.

“I’m not asking for much bride price—just three turns and a single bell, a hundred yuan is enough.”

Gu Shiyu sneered, “Who said I agreed to go to the Ji family as a son-in-law? I’ve sent you allowances for so many years, and even the compensation for my injury is in your hands—you should be supporting me! I’m not going anywhere. I’ll stay at the Gu household for my retirement.”

Gu Weiguo hadn’t expected him to reject the marriage proposal and insist on staying at home, leaving him completely unprepared.

“Don’t think you can feed me thin gruel every day like before. I get paid by the army—I can eat meat every day. From now on, I will eat meat and rice every day, or I’ll send a telegram to the army and have them send someone to deal with it.” Gu Shiyu’s expression was icy, a clear warning.

Gu Weiguo couldn’t help but wonder, “At that time… will the second son still have his job?”