Chapter 74 : You Got the Wrong Person

Because this man, judging from his hairstyle and standing posture, was clearly a soldier, Yun Siying didn’t want to say anything harsh to a passionate man who defended his country.

“Comrade Yun, you are my fiancée. Yesterday, our parents set the date for our wedding three days from now. I was planning to go to the Youth Courtyard to ask you to come to the county with me to buy wedding supplies, but I didn’t expect to run into you here,” Xue Zhiqiang said.

Seeing the guarded expression on her face, he felt a bit disappointed but still explained his purpose.

“What did you say?” Yun Siying asked in shock, thinking she must have misheard him.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Xue Zhiqiang. I’m 26 years old, a battalion commander, and my family—” Xue Zhiqiang began.

Yun Siying had no patience for his introduction and interrupted him coldly. “Stop. Go talk to whoever arranged the marriage with your family. It has nothing to do with me.”

“How could it not?” Xue Zhiqiang said anxiously. “Uncle Li and Aunt Li accepted a 200 yuan betrothal gift from my family yesterday. The wedding is set for three days from now. Don’t worry, after the wedding, I’ll take you with me to join the army. You won’t have to work in the fields anymore.”

He was afraid Yun Siying would truly refuse this marriage. She was the woman he had fallen for at first sight, and he didn’t want to lose her.

“Comrade, I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not part of the Li family. I can tell you’re a respectable soldier, but my name isn’t in the Li family’s household register, so I can’t possibly be your fiancée.” Yun Siying’s tone turned cold. ‘The Li family really had the nerve to try selling her off for 200 yuan.’

“That’s impossible…” Xue Zhiqiang looked stunned.

“What I said is the truth. You can ask anyone in the village. That couple has no right to make decisions about my life. I suggest you go get your 200 yuan back before you lose both your money and your pride.” Yun Siying felt she’d said enough and turned to leave.

She took a small path. She lived about a kilometer away from the Li family, with several houses between them. Her mental energy was just enough to cover the Li household. She quickly located the 200 yuan Xu Ziying had received yesterday, took it, and stored it in her private space. Then she returned to the Youth Courtyard.

Nangong Ruochen had already cooked the noodles. Seeing Yun Siying return, he guessed she had gone to practice by the river again, as she had been doing lately. He wanted to go too, but worried about delaying her breakfast. It seemed like Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua would need to handle cooking in the future.

After breakfast, they headed to the fields. Yun Siying drove the tractor, and Nangong Ruochen sat beside her. When Zhang Fengying saw her from a distance, she shouted loudly, “Comrade Yun! Why are you out working?”

“Auntie, I’m an educated youth. Isn’t it my duty to work?” Yun Siying answered calmly. Just one glance told her that this was Xue Zhiqiang’s mother. ‘More trouble again’, she thought. She really wanted to transfer somewhere else in the countryside.

Though none of these people could truly harm her, they were terribly annoying. Dealing with their petty nonsense every day was exhausting.

“Didn’t my San’er go to the Youth Courtyard to take you to the county to buy wedding supplies? Why didn’t you go?” Zhang Fengying asked with a trace of displeasure. She thought Yun Zhiqing was too bold and disrespectful toward her elders.

“Auntie, who exactly are you? You start talking about marrying your son as soon as you open your mouth. Who is your son? When did you come to the Youth Courtyard to propose marriage? Who was the matchmaker?” Yun Siying narrowed her eyes and looked at Zhang Fengying coldly.

“We set the wedding date with you last night. My son gave you family a 200 yuan betrothal gift,” Zhang Fengying insisted.

“I didn’t see anyone come to the Youth Courtyard to propose to Comrade Yun, and certainly no one handed over 200 yuan,” Nangong Ruochen responded icily. He knew who this woman was, but he refused to let her bully Siying.

People who hadn’t gone far gathered around to watch the commotion, and the other educated youths also came over. Han Yuecheng said anxiously, “We live right next door to Comrade Yun. How could we not have seen your family come to the Youth Courtyard to propose marriage? Everyone in the Youth Courtyard can testify to this.”

“I arranged the wedding date between my San’er and you with the Li family last night, and the betrothal gift was taken by them. And now you’re telling me it has nothing to do with you?” Zhang Fengying was furious. If her son weren’t infertile and if they weren’t short on money, would she ever have settled for such a delicate and fragile female educated youth?

“You said it was the Li family who took your money. Then go find the Li family. Why are you looking for me, an educated youth? My name isn’t even on their household registration, so they can’t make decisions for me,” Yun Siying said coldly, glancing at the Li family members.

Xu Ziying looked at her with displeasure and said, “Siying, you are my daughter. Whether or not your name is on our household registration, our blood runs in your veins. That is a fact you can’t change.”

“Zhiqiang is a good comrade. He’s already a battalion commander. After you marry him, you can follow him into the army. What else could you possibly be dissatisfied with?”

“Do you have any evidence to prove I’m your biological daughter? Even if you could prove it, so what? What’s wrong with me choosing not to acknowledge you? Have you ever raised me even for a day? And now you want to sell me off? How can you be so shameless?”

“To put it plainly, your family matters have nothing to do with me. If you come looking for trouble again, I’ll call the police.” If Yun Siying hadn’t already known the truth about her identity, she might’ve still been passive. But now she had no reason to show mercy.

The villagers began to murmur among themselves. Some said Yun Siying was too heartless, but others felt she was justified. If the Li family really cared about this daughter, they wouldn’t have tried to marry her off to Xue Zhiqiang behind her back.

Just then, the village captain came over and saw the gathering crowd. He shouted, “It’s harvest season, why aren’t you working? What are you all doing here? If you delay the harvest, I’ll deduct your work points!”

Looking over the group, the captain said, “Zhang Fengying, what you did wasn’t right. You knew that Comrade Yun didn’t acknowledge the Li family and that her household registration isn’t with them. Yet you went to the Li family to propose marriage and gave them the betrothal money. So why are you now bothering Comrade Yun? If you want a wife, go ask the Li family. They took your money, let them give you a bride. You shouldn’t be coming after Yun Siying.”

Hearing this, Zhang Fengying left in anger. She knew the captain’s wife was friends with Yun Siying, but she hadn’t expected the captain himself to take Yun Siying’s side so openly.

Back at the Xue household, Xue Zhiqiang lay dejectedly on his bed, replaying the words and expressions from when Yun Siying had rejected him. He finally understood, he’d been wrong from the start. He should have pursued Yun Siying directly, instead of arranging things through the Li family. He could see clearly now: she didn’t want anything to do with them and didn’t like them at all.

So he got up and said, “Mom, let’s ask the Li family to return the betrothal gift. Yun Siying doesn’t like them, and they didn’t even ask for her opinion. They just took the 200 yuan and tried to sell her off. She won’t obediently let them control her.”

“I really don’t know what to do with you,” Zhang Fengying said helplessly. This son was the most promising one in the family and her greatest pride. Thanks to the money he sent home, the family’s life had improved.

If he hadn’t been injured, he could’ve married a leader’s daughter, and he wouldn’t be unmarried at 26.