“Jia Zhangshi, why can’t someone like Qin Huairu get married? It’s a new society now, and she’s my wife. Don’t make a scene here, or I won’t be polite to you.”
Li Wuwei was not going to indulge Jia Zhangshi; this old woman was a cancer in the courtyard. He had already shown restraint by not slapping her directly.
“Oh no, you can’t do this, you’re bullying a widow and an orphan.”
Jia Zhangshi wailed, and anyone who didn’t know better would think something terrible had happened to her.
Suddenly, Xu Damao chimed in, “Li Wuwei, you must have tricked Qin Huairu.”
“Right, you definitely deceived her.”
Jia Dongxu reacted, shouting, “Qin Huairu, you need to see this person clearly! His parents are gone, he has a bad temper, and he hits people. There’s no elder in his family to support him.”
“And he must be broke; he bought this bicycle and probably has no money left. If you marry him, you’ll only have a hard life ahead.”
Xu Damao added, “Qin Huairu, how much bride price did Li Wuwei give your family?”
Xu Damao was filled with envy and jealousy; he wanted to intercept Qin Huairu for himself but knew his parents wouldn’t agree, so he didn’t act.
Unexpectedly, this kid Li Wuwei got ahead of him, and now seeing the stunning Qin Huairu, Xu Damao regretted it.
At this point, he didn’t want Li Wuwei to have it easy; he wanted to break them apart.
Who would have thought that Qin Huairu would boldly say, “Brother Li gave my family five dollars as a bride price. What I value is him as a person, not his money. I want to live a good life with him.”
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned; even those who initially didn’t believe it started to think Li Wuwei had tricked her.
Five dollars as a bride price? Who in the entire capital city couldn’t come up with five dollars?
If it were that easy to marry a wife, there wouldn’t be so many single people around.
Shazhu, upon hearing this, almost howled at the sky. Although he was an apprentice, he had saved more than five dollars. To think that this little amount could win over Qin Huairu was definitely a scam.
Li Wuwei spoke up, “Qin Huairu and I are in a free love relationship; money doesn’t matter. It’s a new society now, and what matters is that we live well together.”
“You, you’re shameless.”
Jia Zhangshi began to curse. A stingy person like her had initially thought of giving ten dollars and even a sewing machine on top of that.
But Li Wuwei only offered five dollars, didn’t hire a matchmaker, and still managed to take her away, snatching her from the Jia family. This was a crime.
“No way, this needs to be reported to the police and let them judge.”
Jia Zhangshi shouted loudly but was persuaded by others; bringing the police in wouldn’t help in this situation.
Jia Dongxu looked at Qin Huairu with a sorrowful expression and said, “You’ve really been deceived. Li Wuwei is not a good person; you were the one who agreed to meet me first.”
“Jia Dongxu, you’re not allowed to speak about my Brother Li like that; he’s my man now.”
Qin Huairu linked her arm with Li Wuwei’s, knowing how much he had in terms of assets. How could she be swayed by others?
Moreover, they had already registered their marriage, and they had even slept together last night. She was now a member of the Li family for life.
“Alright, let’s end this matter here.”
Li Wuwei concluded this farce, “From now on, Qin Huairu will live here in this courtyard. I don’t have any elders above me, so we’ll skip the wedding banquet. Everyone just needs to know that Qin Huairu is my wife.”
“What? You’re not even holding a banquet?”
Yan Bugui was dumbfounded. He thought he was stingy enough, but he didn’t expect Li Wuwei to be even more calculating.
Yan Bugui had figured it out; although Li Wuwei spent a lot on the bicycle, it seemed like it was for his own use.
And for Qin Huairu’s family, he only gave five dollars as a bride price, with no banquet. To think he could marry such a beautiful wife was simply absurd.
“Right, no banquet. Huairu, let’s go home and make the bed; you haven’t been to my house yet.”
Li Wuwei said as he went to push the bicycle, while Qin Huairu carried her luggage, obediently following him to the backyard.
“Oh my, this is a big scammer; why isn’t he being arrested?”
Jia Zhangshi lamented, clearly upset that the daughter-in-law she had chosen was now gone.
“Old Yi, think of a way! And Old Liu, there’s a big scammer in the backyard; you can’t just stand by and watch.”
Jia Zhangshi wanted the two older men to take charge, hoping that as long as Qin Huairu hadn’t consummated the marriage, it could still be salvaged.
“Sister-in-law, there’s nothing we can do; they’ve already registered their marriage.”
Yi Zhonghai shook his head. If they hadn’t registered, they could have held a courtyard meeting to resolve it, but now they were a legal couple.
Liu Haizhong also said, “There’s nothing we can do; if Qin Huairu is willing to be with him, it’s a family matter.”
Xu Damao shook his head among the crowd, filled with regret.
Shazhu watched Qin Huairu’s departing figure, feeling as if he had been struck in the chest, struggling to breathe.
“Everyone disperse!”
Yi Zhonghai said this and left.
“This can’t be! Qin Huairu…”
Jia Dongxu was still shouting, looking in the direction of the backyard, unwilling to go home, but it was already too late.
Everyone didn’t disperse quickly; they were all discussing how Li Wuwei, who usually kept a low profile, had suddenly done such a big thing, completely disregarding the rules.
Jia Zhangshi couldn’t understand it at all, and in the end, she gritted her teeth and went to the street to report the situation. But when she explained the matter, the people at the street office shook their heads.
“Jia Zhangshi, they’ve already registered their marriage; you can’t interfere anymore. Go back, and don’t make a fuss about it.”
“How can I not interfere? She Qin Huairu ate my Jia family’s matchmaking meal!”
Jia Zhangshi still felt that since she had eaten at her house, it proved she had an interest, so how could she back out of the marriage?
“I say, you old woman, so what if she ate? The person didn’t like your son. Hurry up and leave; don’t disturb our work.”
The street office staff drove Jia Zhangshi away but remembered Li Wuwei’s name; this was a tough character.
Jia Zhangshi returned to the courtyard with a long face, seeing her son still waiting in the courtyard, and couldn’t help but feel furious.
“Dongxu, let’s go home quickly; don’t embarrass yourself. If Qin Huairu is married, so be it; she’ll have her hard days ahead.”
“Wait until Sunday, and I’ll have Wang Dasao introduce you to someone from the city; I guarantee she’ll be better than Qin Huairu.”
Jia Zhangshi tried to persuade her son; what else could she do? The girl was already married.
“Mom, I only like Qin Huairu.”
Jia Dongxu cried, tears streaming down his face, thinking about Qin Huairu making the bed for Li Wuwei.
In the blink of an eye, the woman he liked was going to roll in bed with another man, and his heart felt like it was bleeding; he couldn’t stop the tears.
“Useless! Qin Huairu is just a country girl; what good can she have?”
Jia Zhangshi could only drag her son home, but inside, she hated Li Wuwei and Qin Huairu even more. This matter couldn’t just end like this.
Meanwhile, Qin Huairu was busy cleaning at the Li family, working hard.