Chapter 4

Lu Jiaojiao sneaking around the haystack is now something to brag about? 

Tang Yunling was so furious she wanted to slap someone, but Lu Baiwei pulled her back. 

At the Lu family’s doorstep was indeed a brand-new Yan-brand sewing machine, but Lu Baiwei found the situation suspicious. 

From what she knew of Yin Zhihe’s sisters, scraping together some dowry money was plausible. But gathering the entire “three rounds and one sound”? Impossible. 

That would have drained their entire family’s savings! 

Yet Lu Jiaojiao didn’t seem to notice anything amiss. Instead, she stomped on her sister’s patience by flaunting endlessly and insisting that Lu Baiwei come closer to admire the sewing machine. 

Grabbing her sleeve, Lu Jiaojiao tugged until Lu Baiwei chuckled angrily. “Lu Jiaojiao, are you sure this sewing machine was bought by Yin Zhihe as part of his proposal?” 

“Sis, it’s not just the sewing machine! It’s the whole three rounds and one sound! Brother Zhihe will be here any moment, riding a shiny new Phoenix-brand bicycle to propose.” 

Turning to Lu Jianguo, Lu Jiaojiao complained in a sugary tone, “Dad, look at how Sister can’t stand to see me doing well!” 

“Brother Zhihe bought the three rounds and one sound for me, and just look at her unhappy face!” 

Liu Chunhua chimed in quickly, “Baiwei, your sister is marrying well. You should be happy for her.” 

“In the future, you sisters can support each other.” 

Lu Jianguo, predictably quick to take the bait, scolded Lu Baiwei in front of the onlookers. 

“You narrow-minded thing! You can’t stand to see Jiaojiao succeed!” 

“All you ever do is envy Jiaojiao and compete with her for everything!” 

Lu Baiwei couldn’t be bothered to argue with her biased and ignorant father, but Tang Yunling had had enough. 

She raised her hand to teach Lu Jiaojiao a lesson, but the clear ding-ding of a bicycle bell interrupted her. 

He Ting appeared, riding a brand-new Phoenix-brand bicycle. 

The tall, 6-foot-plus He Ting, with one long leg stretched to the ground to steady the bike, cast an imposing figure as he said, “What’s all the commotion about?” 

“What exactly is Lu Baiwei supposed to be competing with Lu Jiaojiao for?” 

The man riding the Phoenix-brand bicycle wasn’t Yin Zhihe. It was He Ting. 

Lu Jiaojiao was stunned, utterly unable to believe her eyes. 

When she finally realized she had mistaken the situation, her face turned beet red, as if she’d been slapped. 

Tang Yunling, who had been about to stand up for Lu Baiwei, brightened up and exclaimed, “He Zhiqing, are the *three rounds and one sound* what you bought to propose to Baiwei?” 

“What else?” 

He Ting’s gaze landed squarely on Lu Baiwei. “The one with the marriage agreement is Lu Baiwei.” 

“I’m here to marry my bride!” 

Other than Lu Baiwei, who had guessed from the start that the sewing machine was related to He Ting, the disbelief mirrored on Lu Jiaojiao’s face was shared by Lu Jianguo and Liu Chunhua. 

When Liu Chunhua saw the tall and long-legged He Ting ride up on a shiny new Phoenix-brand bicycle, her mind went blank. 

The louder she and Lu Jiaojiao had bragged earlier, the more humiliating the situation became now. 

Realizing they’d made a complete fool of themselves, Lu Jianguo’s face turned beet red with embarrassment. 

If the Lu family’s doorstep hadn’t been surrounded by a crowd, they might have been able to save some face. But the onlookers were there because they had called for them in the first place. 

To make matters worse, just as Lu Jiaojiao was sinking into despair, Yin Zhihe arrived—dragging his mother along to propose. 

“Jiaojiao, why are you crying?” 

Yin Zhihe squeezed through the crowd. “Your house is really lively today!” 

Seeing Yin Zhihe appear, Lu Jiaojiao felt a glimmer of hope to salvage her dignity. 

“Brother Zhihe, where’s the dowry money and the Plum Blossom wristwatch?” 

Before Yin Zhihe could respond, his mother, Shen Guixiang, pushed her way through the crowd as well. Empty-handed, she immediately began berating Lu Jiaojiao. 

“Seducing my son to sneak into the haystack? Shameless little hussy! You’re nothing but a used shoe—how dare you ask for dowry money and a wristwatch?” 

“What nerve you have! Your face is even longer than a shoehorn!” 

Shen Guixiang’s sharp tongue lashed out, calling Lu Jiaojiao a “hussy” and “damaged goods.” Lu Jiaojiao’s eyes turned red with anger, her chest heaving violently. 

Usually quick-witted, she found herself speechless under the relentless verbal attack from her future mother-in-law. 

Liu Chunhua was also furious. “In-law, how can you speak like this?” 

“Before, when Yin Zhihe was proposing to my Baiwei, he promised dowry money and a wristwatch. How did that suddenly change for Jiaojiao?” 

“Oh, can you even compare the two?” Shen Guixiang sneered sarcastically. 

“Money doesn’t just fall from the sky, you know.” 

“Your eldest daughter is a proper young lady, worth the dowry and wristwatch.” 

“But Lu Jiaojiao? A little tramp who dragged a man into the haystack? She’s nothing but garbage. Even if you paid us, my son wouldn’t want to marry her.” 

“I’ll make it clear today: If your family hands over 188 yuan, I’ll let Zhihe and Lu Jiaojiao get a marriage certificate.” 

“If not, then your family’s reputation will be ruined by this shameless hussy. My son doesn’t dare to take her!” 

“She’s already climbed into the haystack with my son. Let’s see how Lu Jiaojiao can ever find a husband after this. Who in the team would dare to marry someone so improper and shameless?” 

“If I were her, I’d have already found a rope and hung myself by now…” 

Liu Chunhua had never been fully on board with the idea of Lu Jiaojiao marrying Yin Zhihe. If it weren’t for the fact that the situation was already a done deal, she would never have agreed. 

She didn’t even mind that Yin Zhihe was dirt poor, but now Shen Guixiang had the audacity to look down on her Jiaojiao. 

And she wasn’t just looking down—she was actively destroying Jiaojiao’s reputation. 

Shen Guixiang’s relentless efforts to ruin Lu Jiaojiao’s reputation utterly enraged Liu Chunhua. 

Her forehead veins bulged as she lost all restraint, lunging at Shen Guixiang to tear at her mouth. 

“Shen Guixiang, you’re full of crap! How dare you curse my Jiaojiao to die? I’ll rip your mouth to shreds!” 

“My Jiaojiao was supposed to marry He Ting, the educated youth from the capital! It’s your Yin Zhihe who shamelessly seduced her and ruined her reputation!” 

“And now you dare to turn the tables on us!” 

“I’ll take Jiaojiao to the commune right now and report Yin Zhihe for being a scoundrel!” 

Liu Chunhua scratched bloody marks across Shen Guixiang’s face, while Shen Guixiang grabbed Liu Chunhua’s hair. The two women tumbled into a heap on the ground, rolling around at Lu Baiwei’s feet. 

Meanwhile, He Ting stood tall, quietly enjoying the chaos he had instigated, his composure unshaken. 

He swung his long legs over the bicycle, parked it neatly with the kickstand, and gestured for Lu Baiwei to step aside for a private conversation. 

Although Lu Baiwei had guessed earlier that the person capable of affording the “three-turns-and-a-sound” set for a proposal could only be He Ting, she still found it hard to believe. 

There were so many questions she couldn’t figure out—like why, in their past life, He Ting had married Lu Jiaojiao without preparing anything at all, not even a single cent of dowry. 

Yet, now that it was her, he had gone all out with the full set of gifts. 

Watching He Ting show up like this, utterly humiliating Liu Chunhua and Lu Jiaojiao, Lu Baiwei found him overwhelmingly dashing. 

“He Ting, why did you suddenly come to my house to propose?” 

As soon as the words left her mouth, Lu Baiwei realized how pointless her question was. 

If He Ting had come, it was naturally because of their inexplicable childhood betrothal. 

It certainly wasn’t because He Ting, a sophisticated young man from the capital, had fallen for a rustic girl like her. 

She didn’t expect him to respond, but He Ting replied with a deadpan expression, “Someone said that being in a relationship with me would let them eat two extra bowls of rice.” 

Lu Baiwei: “…” 

Her face instantly flushed red. 

He must have overheard her casually joking by the creek earlier when she was gathering grass. 

Realizing he was teasing her, Lu Baiwei shot him a sideways glance. 

He Ting chuckled. “Lu Baiwei, I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow morning to get our marriage certificate at the commune.”