Chapter 43: Nothing to Be Sad About

Jiang Yunhe’s eyes turned red. She knew her third grandaunt was a warm-hearted person—if not, she wouldn’t have come all this way to help.

But what she didn’t expect was just how far her grandaunt was willing to go.

At that moment, her heart felt full of warmth.

Chu Peihan was slightly stunned but didn’t object. Before they got married, of course Jiang Yunhe couldn’t move in with him—otherwise, gossip alone could drown her.

This arrangement was better.

Li Daniu was confused. And it wasn’t just him—the whole village was dumbfounded. One was a poor pitiful girl, the other a recently returned ex-soldier.

By all accounts, they had nothing in common.

“Xiao He, you and Peihan really…?”

“Mm,” Jiang Yunhe didn’t deny it. Sooner or later, everyone would know anyway. If they couldn’t accept it, that was their problem—not hers.

“Ai, great, great!” Li Daniu slapped his thigh. This was truly great news. Damn, he felt stupid for not realizing it sooner.

Not only had the two shown up together, their chemistry now was obvious—they just fit.

Now he could rest easy.

That Wang Tiejiang was clearly no good and definitely not someone worthy of Jiang Yunhe’s future.

Otherwise, he’d feel guilty for life.

Wang Tiejiang, hiding on the side, tried to make himself invisible. He’d never admit that he was scared off by Jiang Yunhe after being taught a lesson by her.

The key thing was, looking at her and Chu Peihan together, they strangely seemed like a perfect match.

In any case, there was nothing he could do now.

Jiang Chenglong was dumbfounded. He looked at Chu Peihan, then at himself. The guy had to be over 1.8 meters tall—he wouldn’t be able to win in a fight. From now on, if he wanted to give Jiang Yunhe trouble, he’d have to think twice.

Honestly, it was infuriating.

Clearly, he’d already forgotten he just got beaten up. Not to mention Chu Peihan—even Jiang Yunhe could beat him.

No more delay—so many villagers were watching.

Jiang Dazhuang was soon forced to write a severance letter, with Li Daniu and Zhao Guixiang as witnesses. He’d wanted to pretend he was illiterate, but in a small village like this, everyone knew everyone else’s business.

Years ago, Jiang Dazhuang had attended night school, so yes—he could write. Once done, he tucked the letter into his coat like he was guarding against thieves.

“Money.”

“Don’t be so hasty,” Chu Peihan pulled an envelope from his coat. It looked much like the one he brought when proposing, except this one was a lot thicker.

Clearly, he came prepared.

“Wait!” Jiang Yunhe quickly spoke, wanting to stop him. Just giving them money like this—it felt like a loss. But not giving it might complicate things even more.

Maybe she should just take something from her space…

“We’ll go to the police station first. The money stays here—it’s not growing legs and running away. If I give it to you now and you go back on your word, then what?” Chu Peihan saw through her thoughts. But at this critical point, using her money might create even more problems—it was better if he handled it.

His tone carried a subtle warning.

Jiang Yunhe furrowed her brows slightly. She understood—now wasn’t the time to be stingy. Deal with this first; the real drama was still to come.

Jiang Dazhuang panicked at the sight of the money and reached out immediately.

But after hearing Chu Peihan’s words, he paused. Before the household registration was transferred, this money didn’t clearly belong to anyone yet.

Should he go or not?

A thousand yuan wasn’t much—couldn’t even be considered selling her. And there was a risk of jail. Better to play along for now. After all, they were still blood-related. When he got old and collapsed in front of her, would she really have the heart to leave him to die?

“Wang Er, hurry up and take us to the county!”

“Coming.” Wang Er didn’t really want to get involved in this mess, but Jiang Yunhe was truly pitiful. With such a family, if she couldn’t get free, who knew how long she’d last?

“No need. Just give me the household register. I’ll go myself tomorrow—it’s just a transfer, nothing complicated.” Jiang Yunhe didn’t want to go with them, especially since this involved Chu Peihan’s comrades. She already owed him too much. Besides, once she had the register, even with a thousand yuan, she wouldn’t feel she lost out.

“Alright.” Jiang Dazhuang agreed instantly and told Sun Meilin to get the register. Getting the money was the real priority now.

Otherwise, what if they got to the police and Jiang Yunhe turned the tables on them?

Chu Peihan had connections there—he didn’t.

Sun Meilin hesitated a bit but still went home to fetch it, driven by the sight of the envelope in Chu Peihan’s hand. As soon as she brought it back and handed it over—

Jiang Dazhuang snatched the envelope from Chu Peihan, pulled out the money, and began counting it meticulously. His eyes were full of greedy delight.

Like he was afraid of being shortchanged.

Sun Meilin, too, stared at the money, eyes gleaming green as if she’d never seen such riches before.

Wang Tiejiang saw his chance—he crept up and grabbed a 50-yuan bill, stuffed it in his coat, and boldly declared, “Everyone, take note—I’m just taking back what’s rightfully mine!”

The crowd: “……”

Sure, you want to—but do you dare?

Clearly, the Jiang family weren’t pushovers either.

Jiang Dazhuang gave him a cold look but said nothing. Let him take it. From now on, their families wouldn’t be crossing paths anyway.

Jiang Yunhe took the household register and checked it carefully. Once she confirmed it was real, she stepped back to watch as they showed their true greedy colors. Fine, let them have their little victory—for now.

Jiang Dazhuang went over the money three full times before he was satisfied. He waved the bills around in front of the crowd, the crisp rustling sound music to his ears.

He was ecstatic. In these times, even three or five hundred was hard to come by—let alone this much.

This deal? Totally worth it.

But damn, how did he never realize that blind guy was loaded?

The villagers looked at each other, equally puzzled. If they’d known earlier, for that kind of money, maybe they would’ve considered marrying their own daughters off to him.

Wouldn’t have left it to Jiang Yunhe.

Bad eyes? So what? The man got that injury on the battlefield, for the country, for the people. He was a national hero.

Chu Peihan wasn’t blind to their thoughts. He casually added, “Everything I have is here—what I can give, and even what I can’t. I’ve given it all, so just leave Yunhe alone. We can’t afford more trouble. If anyone dares bully her in the future, it means making an enemy of me!”

Jiang Dazhuang waved dismissively, “Relax, relax. Just a girl—she’s yours now!”

Jiang Yunhe’s eyes darkened. She restrained the urge to kill him right there. Jail time wasn’t worth it. But if they ever came looking for trouble again…

She wouldn’t be so polite next time.

Li Daniu shook his head. The Jiang family had truly lost their minds—completely unreasonable.

So be it.

The crowd soon dispersed, everyone returning home.

Zhao Guixiang grabbed Jiang Yunhe’s hand, pulling her toward the house. “Peihan, you come too. I’ll pick a good date for the two of you. From now on, just live your life behind closed doors. No need to care about anyone else.”

Jiang Yunhe: “Yes, third grandaunt. Thank you.”

Zhao Guixiang: “Thank me for what? Between us, there’s no need for that. For now, just stay with me. A family like that—better off without them. Nothing to be sad about.”

Jiang Yunhe: “Mm.”