"My sister is not getting married," he glared fiercely at Hu Li, "If someone has to marry, let Qin Xiangmei do it. The household registration is under my granny’s name, Qin Guohua, by what right does he force my sister into marriage?"
Hu Li immediately felt something was wrong.
If the household registration really was under that old hag’s name, then it wasn’t up to them anymore. It’s not like the old days with parents’ commands or whatever. Now it’s the age of liberation, the era of the New Society. No, she has to go back and discuss with Qin Guohua. In any case, Qin Xiangnuan must marry, that three hundred yuan had already been given to her parents for building a house. How could it be possible to make her spit out something that has already gone into her pocket?
Once Hu Li left, Qin Xiangyang was finally able to support the ashen-faced Granny Lu.
"Granny, are you okay?"
"I’m fine," Granny Lu shook her head, feeling truly old. But she can’t just retire yet, the children are still young, her daughter is gone, and she can’t let the only child her daughter left behind be ruined by their father.
Qin Xiangnuan knew about Hu Li’s visit and knew well the nature of people like Hu Li, who wouldn’t rest until they achieved their goal. She wasn’t afraid of them confronting her directly, but she was fearful of their possible unscrupulous methods.
She went to the village store to buy some spices for the family. As she prepared to head back, she felt someone behind her. It was an uncomfortable sensation, like being targeted by a snake—more precisely, a cold and venomous one.
"Eh, brother, how come you’re here?" she exclaimed joyfully. Sure enough, the person behind her hid away, and that watchful gaze also disappeared.
Qin Xiangnuan and Wang Dali had known each other for over a decade. Wang Dali always made her feel a combination of aggrievement and disgust. She could never be mistaken about these feelings. In this world, only Wang Dali could evoke such emotions in her.
Wang Dali was not like Hu Li; Hu Li didn’t have the guts, but Wang Dali did. This kind of hoodlum, accustomed to doing whatever he wanted in the village and bolstered by a pair of parents who failed to teach him right from wrong, had not an ounce of legal or moral consciousness in his being. Stealing, shirking work, there was nothing he wouldn’t stoop to do.
She was probably dealing with some nasty plot cooked up by Hu Li and this Wang Dali.
She had nourished herself well, drinking years’ worth of cow’s milk that kept her skin exceptionally fair. Plus, Granny Lu fed her well too. They never lacked for meat, and she had also been studying the classics and practicing embroidery, which naturally gave her a scholarly aura others lacked.
In her previous life, Wang Dali might not have cared for her, but in this life, how could he possibly give up on such juicy prey—not just her person, but also Granny Lu’s small street stall, which made a considerable sum each day. Everyone had an idea of how much.
Initially, she thought messing with the household registration would be enough, but now it seemed it was not.
"Granny, I want to go to the Capital City."
Qin Xiangnuan took the time one evening to share her thoughts with Granny Lu. She still felt it was best to stay away, whether from Hu Li or Wang Dali. In this lifetime, she did not want to encounter them again.
"Go to the Capital City?" Granny Lu understood Qin Xiangnuan’s intent. "Nuannuan, you mean to hide out for a few days?"
"No," Qin Xiangnuan hugged Granny Lu’s arm, then rubbed her face against Granny Lu’s sleeve.
"Granny, I want to go study in the Capital City; I want to learn embroidery, and there’s a master teacher there."