Chapter 6

“You won’t just give my daughter a handkerchief as a betrothal gift, will you?”

Ge Liuping didn’t expect Zhao Haiyang to be so stingy, and she started yelling anxiously and angrily.

“I tell you, the betrothal gift can be small but it cannot be absent. My daughter, whom I raised with great difficulty, was traded for a handkerchief. If anyone knows about this, people will laugh their heads off!”

Ge Liuping had a shrill and loud voice, which made Zhao Haiyang’s sensitive self-esteem extremely unhappy.

His brows furrowed, but his expression remained expressionless. “I mailed most of my salary home. The engagement was too sudden, so I didn’t have time to go out shopping…”

Zhao Haiyang spoke very skillfully, first saying that he mailed most of his salary back home, which not only showed that he was a filial person, but also hinted that he had a small savings.

Besides, the engagement was too sudden, leaving him no time to prepare, so he told everyone indirectly that both marriages were a case of the Qiao family bullying the weak.

Unfortunately, few people present could hear the hidden meaning.

“Well, what does it matter if there is a betrothal gift or not? As long as we live a good life as a couple, isn’t that better than anything else?”

Seeing that Zhao Haiyang’s face was becoming increasingly ugly, Qiao Xifeng quickly stood up to defend him.

“Mom, since I’ve chosen him, I’m willing to suffer with him and be poor for the rest of my life.”

“Besides, what’s wrong with young people being poor? The poorer, the more glorious! Haiyang is educated and talented. I believe he will have a great future.”

Everyone was speechless…

Looking at the indescribable expressions of the people around him, Qiao Xifeng snorted with disdain.

These idiots were all fooled by Zhao Haiyang’s disguise.

In his previous life, Zhao Haiyang married San Ya with just a handkerchief, and their wedding room was the farm staff dormitory.

When they first got married, she often ridiculed and mocked San Ya.

Unexpectedly, a few months later, Zhao Haiyang bought a three-room small earthen house with two acres of private land from a nearby farmer.

With a wave of his hand, Zhao Haiyang demolished the small mud house mixed with straw and rebuilt three spacious and bright brick houses.

To this day, Qiao Xifeng still remembers how she felt when she attended the housewarming party.

Not only were all the furniture in the new house brand new, but they were also all made in the same style!

The three revolutions represent a bicycle, a watch, and a sewing machine, and the one ring refers to a radio.

Not to mention how expensive these four items are, just take the industrial tickets used to buy things. They are good things that cannot be bought with money.

Looking at the entire Qingyanshan Farm, there are not many families who can complete the three turns and one ring.

It was at that time that Qiao Xifeng realized that Zhao Haiyang was no ordinary person.

Zhao Haiyang now behaves very stingy, but he is just being low-key and hiding his shortcomings for fear of jealousy.

He wants a considerate wife who can share his hardships.

As long as she passed his test, Qiao Xifeng firmly believed that she would soon be able to live in a spacious and bright house.

This time, she must seize the opportunity.

Qiao Xifeng’s considerate performance did not impress Zhao Haiyang, but made him feel embarrassed instead.

At noon the next day, Zhao Haiyang brought a few familiar educated youth and proposed to Qiao Xifeng with drums and gongs.

Qiao Baozhu didn’t know what she was given specifically, so at this time she was picking out cloth at the supply and marketing cooperative in the city.

Yesterday, Qiao Baozhu asked for the 500 yuan betrothal gift back from her biological mother.

At that time, Ge Liuping played a trick, saying that she had spent a lot of money on Qiao Xifeng’s dowry, and only had more than 300 yuan left. Qiao Baozhu didn’t hesitate and said she would use Qiao Xifeng’s dowry to pay for it.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Qiao Xifeng’s dowry was worth more than 200 yuan, and it would be a sure win for Qiao Baozhu to take it all.

Seeing that Qiao Baozhu had the support of Liu Meilan and Qiao Changfu, Ge Liuping knew that she could not deny the 200 yuan.

After going around, he said he borrowed 200 yuan from someone else, and only then was he able to make up the difference in Qiao Baozhu’s betrothal gift.

After receiving the betrothal gift, Qiao Baozhu left the Qiao family and ran back to the farm as quickly as possible to ask for leave.

I jumped on the last timber train back to the city and arrived home late at night.

When the couple saw their daughter running back overnight, they were frightened and thought that Qiao Baozhu had been wronged on the farm.

When he heard that Qiao Baozhu had inexplicably changed her husband as she was about to get married, Qiao Changhai felt angry and sad.

“Even if your grandfather blames me for being unfilial, I will ruin this marriage.”

“I don’t care how high that Shen is, I just know my daughter is not dough on the chopping board that they can knead however they want.”

Adoptive mother Bao Huihua was a mute, with thousands of grievances in her heart that she could not express. She hid at the door, cooking noodles for Qiao Baozhu with a small coal stove while silently crying.

“Dad, Mom! I came back overnight not to ask you to stand up for me.”

“I have also asked someone to inquire about Captain Shen. His character, ability, and family background are more reliable than Zhao Haiyang’s. If it weren’t for his special situation, I wouldn’t have gotten my turn at all.”

As Qiao Baozhu spoke, she lowered her head to take off her coat and did not notice that her adoptive parents looked strange.

In the clean and tidy shack, it was so quiet that no one could hear breathing except for the popping sound of the pot.

Qiao Baozhu sensed something was wrong and looked up at her adoptive parents.

She found Qiao Changhai staring at her with red eyes and a silly smile on his face. Bao Huihua, who was standing behind him, covered her mouth with tears streaming down her face.

This was the first time she called them “Mom and Dad” in the 11 years since she was adopted by her uncle and aunt.

“What’s wrong…Isn’t it okay for me to call you mom and dad?”

Qiao Baozhu could no longer control her emotions. She wiped her tears and smiled at Qiao Changhai.

“Okay, okay. I’ve been hoping you can call me ‘Dad’.”

“My dear, hearing you calling me makes me feel satisfied. Okay, okay!”

Qiao Changhai turned around and wiped away his tears, not wanting his daughter to see him so vulnerable.

Qiao Baozhu knew that her adoptive father was a strong and reserved person, so she did not dare to make any more intimate moves.

She walked to her adoptive mother, opened her arms, and held the petite Bao Huihua in her arms.

“Mom, I’m sorry, I’m an ungrateful person. It’s only after all these years that I called you.”

Bao Huihua’s defense broke down instantly, she hugged her daughter’s waist and cried silently.

Qiao Changhai walked over crying, hugged his wife and daughter, and the three of them cried together.

After crying for a while, the three of them calmed down.

After Qiao Baozhu finished eating the noodles cooked by her adoptive mother, she handed the 500 yuan betrothal gift to Qiao Changhai.

“This is the betrothal money that the man gave to Qiao Xifeng before. Today, I am the bride. But Second Aunt-in-law has been hoarding the money and didn’t want to give it back. It took a lot of effort to get the money back.”

“I was afraid it would be unsafe to keep you around, so I rushed back overnight and handed you over.”

The faces of Qiao Changhai and his wife turned ugly in an instant.

Qiao Changhai pushed the stack of money back and said, “This is your betrothal money. Keep it for yourself and don’t give it to us.”

In the previous life, Zhao Haiyang only gave Qiao Baozhu a handkerchief as a betrothal gift. Apart from that, he only bought a few pots and pans and considered it a marriage.

Instead, Qiao Changhai spent half his life savings to buy all her belongings.

Later, they worked hard to make money by repairing watches. The old couple had lived on flatbreads and pickled vegetables all their lives, and saved tens of thousands of yuan, which they used to support their daughter and son-in-law.

Qiao Baozhu felt sad and regretful when she thought about her parents getting sick because of her.

“Dad, Mom, this money originally belonged to you. Whose parents don’t want some money for their daughter’s marriage?”

Qiao Baozhu’s words “cut flesh money” immediately hit Qiao Changhai’s psychological defense line.

He jumped up excitedly, rushed forward, grabbed the stack of money, and threw it into the air.

Qiao Baozhu was frightened by her adoptive father’s behavior and stared at Qiao Changhai in a daze.

Qiao Changhai was shaking with anger. He pointed at Qiao Baozhu’s face and said hatefully with gritted teeth.

“Don’t worry. Even if I, Qiao Changhai, starve to death, I will never go to my uncle’s house to beg for food.”

“Tomorrow I will take you to the street to write a letter of severance of ties. I will definitely not hold you back!”