Throughout class, Zhou Siyu was somewhat absentminded, her mind preoccupied by the events of the evening, which left her feeling anxious and scared—so much so that she dawdled on her way home.
Lu Siyuan, who always rode his bicycle fast, had left her behind even though they had finished school at the same time. As usual, he dropped Shen Mianmian off at the entrance to Zhao Family village before heading to his own home.
Just as Shen Mianmian entered the village, she encountered Liu Daniao, who was enjoying the cool shade under a big tree. Seeing Mianmian, she immediately grabbed hold of her to express her gratitude.
"Mianmian, I’m so glad you spoke up back then, or Erni would have suffered terribly at the hands of that Xu Haiyang, who has been arrested now and sentenced to over ten years."
She hadn’t seen matchmaker Li lately; otherwise, she would have certainly asked her if she bore any grudges to have introduced such a man to her daughter.
Shen Mianmian’s gaze flickered as she feigned surprise, "When did this happen? Are you sure there’s no mistake? How could he suddenly get arrested?"
Zhou Siyu must have been so agitated that morning because she had overheard others talking to Liu Daniao.
"There’s no mistake," Liu Daniao was very certain, "Someone just told me this morning. They spelled out to me, very clearly, why he’s in jail. If it weren’t true, how could they describe it in such detail?"
"I didn’t expect that my casual remark would actually be of help," said Shen Mianmian with a smile.
"Exactly, you’ve been a real lifesaver!"
Had Erni and Xu Haiyang gotten engaged before this incident occurred, every mention of Xu Haiyang would bring up Erni’s name—some might even malign her reputation, suggesting that Erni brought bad luck to her husbands, which would be quite unfortunate.
By now, all the students had been let out of school, and it was time to make lunch. As she walked Shen Mianmian home, Liu Daniao casually asked,
"Do you know your father is back?"
"My father’s back?" Shen Mianmian was taken aback; in her previous life, her father had taken a leave of absence to come home only after the middle school exams, upon hearing that Zhou Siyu had been accepted into the second middle school. Why had he returned earlier this time?
Liu Daniao, oblivious to Shen Mianmian’s reaction, continued, "Your father must have made quite a bit of money this trip. He just got back this morning and already went to buy nails and such in the afternoon, saying he wanted to fix your house’s windows. If he works for another couple of years, your family could build a new house."
Now, with the reform and opening up policy, doing business was allowed. In the past two years, quite a few people had become wealthy, even millionaires.
In the neighboring town, when giving away a daughter in marriage, it had become common to demand that the groom’s family build a new house.
She would need to save up for a new house too; although her son was still young, the years would pass by quickly. Without savings, she would only be envious of others who enjoyed the company of their grandchildren.
"With two kids in school, it’s unlikely we will build a new house in the next few years," said Shen Mianmian, followed by a bitter smile.
In a previous life, even her bridal price had been taken by Zhou Lanfang to pay for Zhou Siyu’s education. Their house had been renovated into a new tile-roofed dwelling only several years after Siyu’s graduation, the last one to do so in the village. Follow current novels on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁
"That’s true," Liu Daniao sighed, murmuring, "I don’t know what your parents were thinking. Wouldn’t it have been better to just support one child’s education? It wouldn’t be so exhausting and might also allow some renovations to the house. Why did they have to bring Siyu over as well? They’re just making life harder for themselves."
If Zhou Siyu were a boy, someone to lay down roots in Zhao Family village, she wouldn’t have said anything.
But Siyu was a girl! She would eventually marry and leave; after her wedding, who would remember her old parents?
When that time came, the one who would be dutiful and care for them would be Mianmian, the child before their eyes.