Chapter 10.1

Wen Yue followed Zhou Yao out of the Wen family home, dazed at first but soon became excited, her eyes sparkling: “Did we really get the land and money? Are they really willing to give it back? Are they trying to deceive us?”

She had prepared herself for rejection, considering her impression of her aunt, who was notoriously difficult and stingy.

Zhou Yao glanced at her, raising an eyebrow: “They wouldn’t dare.”

Wen Yue looked at him with admiration: “Zhou Yao, you’re amazing!”

“Not bad.” Zhou Yao, feeling her admiration, straightened his back instinctively, hands in his pockets, with an air of nonchalance. “This is nothing. If you encounter such situations in the future, just let me know.”

Wen Yue’s eyes turned into crescent shapes as she eagerly nodded in agreement.

Even after they had left the Wen family’s courtyard, the sounds of Li Huahong and Wen Guoqiang arguing could still be heard. She glanced back and saw a girl in a blue square-collar dress walking out of the room next to the main hall.

She must have been awakened by the noise and came out to see what was happening.

With her loose hair and clean, well-fitting long dress, she looked out of place in the rural setting. This was probably the original owner’s cousin, Wen Xiaoyu. As a high school student of that era, her demeanor was noticeably different, exuding an air of confidence.

It seemed she noticed something and turned to look outside the courtyard. From a distance, Wen Yue couldn’t see her expression clearly. She retracted her curious gaze and turned her head back to continue talking with Zhou Yao.

…

In the main hall of the Wen family, Li Huahong cried out in a loud voice: “Wen Guoqiang, that’s one thousand yuan, one thousand yuan! You just gave it away like that!!”

“Do you think I’m not upset?” Wen Guoqiang roared with frustration, veins bulging at his temples, eyes bloodshot. He pointed at Li Huahong and scolded, “I told you long ago not to make trouble for Wen Yue. She’s just a girl who will get married eventually. Why do you keep bothering her?”

“If you had been a bit kinder to her, would we be in this situation? Now look, both the money and the land are gone. Are you satisfied now? I really must have been incredibly unlucky to have married you!”

Li Huahong was unhappy: “Who am I doing this for? It’s all for this family! Now you’re blaming me, but you didn’t stop them either! They asked for it, and you just gave it away. Why were you so generous!?”

Wen Guoqiang was enraged, his eyes cold and resentful. “Don’t you know what Zhou Yao is like? If you hadn’t given him the money, he would have gone after Huazi. Do you think he’s a decent person? You think he’d just take ‘no’ for an answer?”

Li Huahong was at a loss for words, her neck stiff, unable to speak for a long time.

But she was heartbroken! A thousand yuan is a lot of money, it would take years for them to save up!

“I say, we should have married Xiaoyu off instead. It’s all your fault, you stubborn woman!” Wen Guoqiang regretted even more, feeling bitter about his decisions.

As Wen Xiaoyu reached the doorway, she heard these words, looked puzzled at the mess in the living room, and asked, “Mom and Dad, what’s going on?”

“Dear, you don’t know…” Li Huahong poured out the whole story to her, gritting her teeth, “That Wen Yue, after getting married, became so arrogant and even dared to come with Zhou Yao to demand things!”

“That black-hearted scoundrel, it was a full thousand yuan! If only I had known—”

Wen Xiaoyu knew what Li Huahong was implying.

She pursed her lips and remained silent, but Zhou Yao’s tall and handsome figure kept appearing in her mind, making her feel uneasy.

Actually, Wen Xiaoyu quite liked Zhou Yao’s appearance. His rebellious demeanor, handsome and upright features, and strong physique… The only drawback was his background. If he were a city dweller, when Li Huahong came to ask her if she wanted to marry him, she would have answered without hesitation.

Unfortunately, he was not.

Wen Xiaoyu’s ideal was to marry a man with a city household registration, hoping to escape her rural identity and cross social classes, rather than marrying someone destined to remain in the countryside.

Thinking about this, Wen Xiaoyu’s gaze became resolute. She suppressed her regrets and gently reassured her distressed parents, “Dad, Mom, don’t be upset. If they want the money back, then so be it. I will find a wealthy and influential husband in the future.”

“When that time comes, not just a thousand, but two or three thousand would be fine.” She spoke confidently, “Zhou Yao is just a rural man. In his lifetime, he can only come up with this much money. Once I find a city dweller, I can have anything I want. Look at the bigger picture and don’t let a small sum of money upset you.”

Her soothing and calm words eased Wen Guoqiang and Li Huahong’s emotions.

Li Huahong’s voice was sharp, “Xiao Yu is right. Zhou Yao can’t compare to city people. Our Xiao Yu is a high school graduate, and she might even go to college in the future. What kind of man can’t she find? Zhou Yao, with his bad temper and tendency to hit people, doesn’t even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as our Xiao Yu!”

Wen Guoqiang thought about it and saw the logic in it, feeling a bit better. He took a deep breath and walked out, “We’ve already given it all away. There’s no point in talking about it now. I’ll go work in the fields. You two hurry up and clean up the house.”

…

“Zhou Yao, I actually have one more favor to ask you,” Wen Yue said, blinking and smiling innocently.

Zhou Yao glanced at her, thinking she was really pushing her luck. He lazily asked, “What is it?”

“About that land, could you help me find out if anyone wants to buy it? I’m planning to sell it.” Wen Yue’s tone was light.

Although she had the original owner’s memories, she wasn’t very familiar with the villagers and felt embarrassed to ask.

Zhou Yao raised an eyebrow, “Sell the land?”

“Yes, I don’t know how to farm, and I want to go back to school,” Wen Yue nodded, frowning slightly, and complained softly, “Before my grandmother passed away, my aunt promised that as long as I wanted to continue studying, she would support me. But after my grandmother’s death, less than a month later, she forced me to drop out and work at home.”

Zhou Yao smiled slightly, “Why don’t you just refuse?”

Wen Yue recalled Li Huahong’s menacing expression at that time and shivered in broad daylight, shaking her head, “I don’t dare.”