Chapter 3: Come back soon, my mother has found you a wife, she is very pretty

Only now did Lu Wenhua have the chance to take a good look at her new daughter-in-law’s appearance. No wonder people said the girl looked different from the average person—Lu Wenhua had indeed never seen a young woman like this, with blue eyes, a high nose bridge, and slightly curly hair. She looked just like one of those foreign women in the glossy magazines.

She had heard that rich people would dye their hair and perm it into curls, but even those Hong Kong movie stars in the magazines didn’t look as good as her daughter-in-law’s natural curls.

The more Lu Wenhua looked, the more she liked her. The girl carried a kind of noble elegance. Even just sitting quietly on a worn stool eating her food, she somehow made all the shabby furniture around her seem high-class.

But when she saw her daughter-in-law gobbling down the food hungrily, she felt even more guilty. Just look at what she’d done—how could she let someone else’s daughter go so hungry?

Sigh. Such a good girl. If only she could truly become her daughter-in-law. Unfortunately, her disappointing third son—though he looked good on the outside—was useless inside, and that was a dealbreaker.

Not long after, Ruan Xiangxiang finished eating. Her strength returned, and the pallor on her face gave way to a healthy flush, making her already-beautiful face even more radiant.

“Aunty, thank you. I’m full now,” Ruan Xiangxiang said politely, smiling at Lu Wenhua.

“Alright, alright… Aunty will take these to wash. You go ahead and rest some more. When lunch is ready, I’ll bring you some,” Lu Wenhua replied, a little flustered from being caught admiring the girl. She was overjoyed by how kind and well-mannered Ruan Xiangxiang was—though, in the end, she still called her “Aunty,” which made Lu Wenhua’s heart sink. Clearly, the girl didn’t want to be her daughter-in-law.

Outside, the eldest daughter-in-law peeked inside curiously and asked, “Mom, the girl’s awake? She’s not making a fuss anymore?”

Lu Wenhua shook her head, still feeling uneasy. She had already sent three telegrams to her son in the past few days. He should’ve received them by now. What would she say to him when he returned?

“That’s good then. Still, wow, she’s really got a strong personality—banging her head against a pillar just like that. Gave me a real scare,” said the eldest daughter-in-law, Li Chunlan, clicking her tongue as she recalled the dramatic scene.

“Tch, I say she’s just being dramatic,” muttered the second daughter-in-law, Zhang Meizhi, her face full of dissatisfaction. “If she were really that tough, she would’ve starved herself. But no—she ate two steamed buns, one egg, and a bowl of millet porridge. She ate everything! All the good food in the house ended up in her stomach. Must be nice to have that kind of luck.”

She couldn’t hide her jealousy. When she married into the family, she didn’t get this kind of treatment. And she sure as hell didn’t receive a 300-yuan dowry either! Thinking of all that made Zhang Meizhi fume. Her mother-in-law was just too biased!

Lu Wenhua saw right through her second daughter-in-law’s thoughts. The kind expression from earlier vanished, and she snapped, “You rotten woman, Zhang Meizhi! Cut the crap! So what if I spent 300 yuan to help my third son get a wife? My third son’s been in the army all these years, sending money home every month. And those military allowances—what, you think they should go to you to spend? Would that make you happy?”

Zhang Meizhi turned red with embarrassment, having been called out. But deep down, she still wasn’t convinced. Gu Laosan isn’t even functional anymore, she thought angrily. What’s the point of spending so much money to get him a wife? In her opinion, the money would’ve been better spent on her. They could just adopt a child from her household to “raise as Gu Laosan’s.” After all, she already had two sons. One of them could go to the third branch.

That way, all of Gu Laosan’s money would end up benefiting her second branch. It was the perfect plan—until this third daughter-in-law showed up out of nowhere and ruined it all. Still, at least she didn’t want to stay. She’d even rammed into a pillar! Zhang Meizhi thought bitterly, Why didn’t she just die outright?
Of course, she didn’t dare say any of this out loud in front of her mother-in-law.

The eldest daughter-in-law, Zhang Chunlan, quickly stepped in to calm things down: “Mom, don’t get upset with second sis-in-law. Who knows if third brother has gotten the telegram yet? Why hasn’t he written back?”

“Exactly. Didn’t big brother go to the city to check? He should be back soon,” said Lu Wenhua, letting herself be pulled away from the argument.

The second daughter-in-law rolled her eyes. She’d always known her big sister-in-law was good at putting on a show. Ever since Zhang Chunlan married into the Gu family, she’d been childless for years, so she tried extra hard to please their mother-in-law to make up for it.

Inside the room, Ruan Xiangxiang had been listening to the whole conversation and found herself in a surprisingly good mood. She had only ever read about this kind of messy family drama—mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law going at each other—in novels. Now, experiencing it firsthand, she actually thought it was kind of fun.

From what she could tell, the second daughter-in-law was definitely a handful. As for the eldest, she seemed to be the peacekeeper type—for now, at least. Probably because she had been married for years and still hadn’t had a child.

In the countryside, being childless after several years of marriage was enough to make everyone gossip behind your back, so the eldest daughter-in-law had no choice but to be humble and play nice.

Ruan Xiangxiang stayed in the room to continue recovering her strength. The original body had hit the pillar far too hard, and her head still throbbed. Everything else could wait until she was feeling better.

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On a national highway…

A military jeep was speeding toward Daping Village.

Driving it was a man in uniform, his face set in a stern, solemn expression.

His features were sharp and defined like they were carved by a blade, exuding a rugged masculinity. His deep-set eyes glinted like cold stars, as if lost in thought. With his eyes narrowed slightly, he focused intently on the road ahead.

With long, slender hands and well-defined knuckles, the man gripped the steering wheel with steady control, turning it smoothly and precisely. Under his command, the car glided forward effortlessly.

Due to his tall and upright build, coupled with his broad shoulders, the small driver’s seat seemed almost completely filled. His long legs were pressed on the accelerator, forced to bend slightly due to lack of space.

Suddenly, as if something crossed his mind, he stepped hard on the gas — the pedal hitting the floor — and the vehicle surged forward with increased speed.

“Qing-ge, my bro! Slow down, please! My organs are about to come out through my throat—urgh!”

In the back seat, another man in military uniform clutched a trash can, puking his guts out. After emptying his stomach, he set the can down and clung weakly to the seat, groaning and pleading.

The man in the driver’s seat didn’t say a word. He simply shrugged and eased up on the gas slightly.

Two days earlier, Gu Rongqing had just returned to the base after completing a mission in another province, only to find that his family had sent him three telegrams in a row.

At first, he thought something serious had happened — after all, his mother was extremely frugal and wouldn’t send a telegram unless it was absolutely urgent.

Once he found out the truth, he realized his dear mother had been busy arranging a marriage for him.

He originally didn’t plan to respond at all. But the telegrams were simply too outrageous.

First telegram:
“Son, come home quickly. Mom found you a wife. Come back and get married.”

Second telegram:
“Son, come home quickly. The wife Mom found is super pretty.”

Third telegram:
“Son, Mom messed up. Your wife doesn’t want to marry you. She hit her head on a pillar. What do we do?”

Gu Rongqing hadn’t expected that even setting up a marriage for him could end up injuring someone. Realizing the seriousness of the situation, he had no choice but to request leave from his unit and drive home overnight.

Worried about his safety driving alone, his superior had assigned his comrade Lu Hang to accompany him so they could take turns driving.

Unfortunately, Lu Hang had spent the entire journey carsick and throwing up — which meant Gu Rongqing had driven the entire way by himself.