“Impossible! My Zhenzhu would never like Wen Zhiqing.” Wu Meili immediately denied, but it was true that her family had stewed meat today.

“Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Auntie Wu.” Gu Jianing smiled, dropped a sentence, and then gracefully walked away.

“Auntie Wu, when Wen Zhuqing and your Zhenzhu hold their wedding, you must invite our old Gu family to the feast.”

Wu Meili watched as Gu Jianing walked away, her slender waist swaying with each step. Recalling the words she had just spoken, Wu Meili spat a few times, her eyes filled with resentment.

“You’re the one who should marry Wen Zhiqing. My Zhenzhu would never marry him.”

“Meili, didn’t you just say that Wen Zhiqing is a great candidate for a son-in-law? Why are you unhappy now that you hear your Zhenzhu likes him? Were all those praises you just gave Wen Zhiqing fake?” The auntie next to her didn’t hesitate to expose Wu Meili’s thoughts.

As if everyone didn’t know what Wu Meili was up to.

Wu Meili was left speechless. Her eyes darted around, and she threw down the sweet potato vine she had been holding, clutching her stomach. “Oh, my stomach hurts. No, no, I need to go home and use the restroom.”

After saying that, she rushed out of the field and hurried home.

Under her breath, she muttered, “That dead girl Zhenzhu, she wouldn’t really take the meat to Wen Zhiqing, would she?”

She suddenly remembered how Zhenzhu’s face had turned red several times before when Wen Zhiqing was mentioned at home. Could it be that Zhenzhu really liked Wen Zhiqing?

No way! She had only said those things to Gu Jianing, but she never intended for her daughter to get involved with any educated youth. Letting an educated youth become her son-in-law was absolutely out of the question.

After Gu Jianing walked away, she turned back and saw Wu Meili running home like the wind.

What she had just said was the truth-Gu Zhenzhu did like Wen Zhuqing.

She remembered that in her previous life, around this time, she had gone to tell Wen Zhuqing that the job matter was settled, and coincidentally, Gu Zhenzhu had gone to deliver meat to Wen Zhuqing at the same time.

Although Auntie Wu’s intentions weren’t great, and she didn’t like the Gu family, she wasn’t exactly a bad person either.

She had already given a warning. If Auntie Wu could stop Gu Zhenzhu from trying to win Wen Zhuqing’s favor, that would be a good thing.

After all, Wen Zhuqing was scum.

Scum deserves to be punished by everyone.

Wu Meili rushed home in a hurry. As she got closer, she saw her youngest daughter, Gu Zhenzhu, holding a bowl in both hands, sneaking out. The smell of meat carried by the wind made Wu Meili unable to hold back any longer. She shouted, “Gu Zhenzhu, where are you going?”

Startled by the shout, Gu Zhenzhu looked up and saw her mother running toward her with a stern face. Instinctively, she hid the bowl behind her back and tried to run outside, but it was too late. Her shoulder was grabbed by Wu Meili’s large, clamp-like hand, and with a forceful tug, she was turned around.

In the next second, her hand was empty -the bowl had been snatched away.

Wu Meili looked down at what she was holding. It was the tender, oily, and fragrant stewed meat from her family’s pot.

Wu Meili dragged the frightened Gu Zhenzhu, who was shrinking her shoulders, back home. With a loud bang, she shut the door, isolating the curious onlookers outside.

“Gu Zhenzhu, tell me, were you planning to take our family’s meat to Wen Zhiqing?” With a slam, the bowl was placed on the table, and Wu Meili fired the question directly at her.

“Mom, how did you know…” As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Zhenzhu covered her mouth, her brows furrowing. Oh no, how had she let her thoughts slip out?

Her mother had always disliked the educated youths, often muttering unkind words about them at home.

“So, you really were planning to take the meat to Wen Zhiqing. Do you want to marry him? Let me tell you, there’s no way! If you dare to marry him, I’ll break your legs.”

Gu Zhenzhu retorted in a small voice, “Mom, what’s so bad about Wen Zhiqing? He’s good-looking, educated, and from the city. Maybe when he returns to the city someday, whoever marries him will be able to go with him.”

Wasn’t this the same line she had used to trick Gu Jianing? So this silly girl had been planning this all along?

Wu Meili felt a pang in her heart and immediately reached out to pinch her daughter’s ear.

“Ow, Mom, it hurts, it hurts!”

“It has to hurt for you to learn your lesson.”

“Just because he’s good-looking and educated doesn’t mean anything.

You’re not good-looking, and you’re not educated. Why would he like you? And you’re still eagerly taking meat to him? You’re just setting yourself up to be taken advantage of.” Wu Meili had a clear sense of reality and didn’t expect her daughter to marry someone from the city.

Marrying that so-called educated youth and the supposed benefits were like shadows in the sky-visible but untouchable.

“Anyway, you’re not allowed to go, and you’re not allowed to give him anything. Otherwise, I’ll definitely break your legs. And you’re not eating today’s meal either.”

Gu Zhenzhu rubbed her ear, her face falling. There was meat today, after all.

At this moment, Gu Zhenzhu couldn’t care less about Wen Zhiqing. All she could think about was the meat.

Wu Meili had wanted to trick Gu Jianing into continuing to pursue Wen Zhuqing. Gu Jianing remembered this, and although she had retorted on the spot, she was also someone who held grudges.

So, when she returned home, she repeated Wu Meili’s words to her own mother.

Upon hearing this, Yao Chunhua exploded. With a loud clang, she put down the spatula, her anger burning. “Ningning, you’ve been fooled by that woman Wu Meili. What’s so good about Wen Zhiqing? Sheng Zexi is much better.”

Gu Jianing blinked and nodded, leaning her head on her mother’s shoulder. Softly, she said, “Mom, I didn’t listen to her. I also think Brother Sheng is better.”

Yao Chunhua let out a sigh of relief. She wanted to pat her daughter’s head but was afraid her hands were greasy from cooking.

After comforting her daughter, she gritted her teeth, thinking about finding a time to tear Wu Meili’s nasty mouth apart.

Her daughter had finally opened her eyes, stopped liking Wen Zhiqing, and gotten together with Zexi. If Wu Meili’s few words managed to trick her back, Yao Chunhua would surely cry herself to death.

Fortunately, her daughter was obedient. “Good girl, go sit in the room. Dinner will be ready soon, and there’s braised pork, your favorite.”

Gu Jianing was overjoyed, her voice becoming even softer. “Thank you, Mom. You’re so good to me. I love you so much.”

Her daughter’s straightforward words made Yao Chunhua’s old face blush, but the smile on her lips couldn’t be suppressed.

Gu Jianing returned to her room, thinking about how Sheng Zexi would come tomorrow to propose. She needed to ask him about the environment in the Northwest Military District and what she should bring.

At this moment, Sheng Zexi, whom Gu Jianing was thinking about, had already picked up his grandparents from the airport and driven them to the hotel.

He had already booked a room for the elderly couple. As soon as they put down their luggage, they began scrutinizing him.

As they looked him over, Grandpa Sang and Grandma Sang couldn’t hold back their tears.

“Grandpa and Grandma haven’t seen you in so long. You’ve been coming back to Beijing less and less these years. Even if you don’t return to the Sheng family, you can always come back to the Sang family. Don’t always make yourself so lonely, without a home.” Grandma Sang hugged her grandson, unable to hold back her tears. She knew the pain in her grandson’s heart, and it pained them too.