"Elder brother, what the Yue Family said is right. Once you accept the dowry, even if you want to go back on your word, you can’t..." Xu Qinghu hadn’t finished speaking when Xu Nian’an cut her off, "Auntie."
Xu Qinghu looked at Xu Nian’an somewhat surprised, only to see him take a step forward and say, "Auntie, we haven’t taken any dowry. Otherwise, why don’t you search our house? If you can find the so-called dowry you mentioned, then I lose."
Xu Qinghu’s eyes lit up instantly, and she ran inside, visibly excited.
Xu Nian’an tried to hold back Xu Qinghu, but as he did so, something seemed to fall out of her pocket.
"Oh, Auntie, isn’t this your money pouch?" Xu Nian’an picked up the bright red money pouch from the ground, deliberately waving it in front of all the onlooking aunts.
Cai Gen’s mother said, "That’s your auntie’s money pouch."
When Xu Qinghu saw the money pouch, her eyelids twitched involuntarily, feeling that something was amiss.
"Oh my, Auntie, your pouch has five hundred pieces in it!" Xu Nian’an said, looking at Xu Qinghu with a face of shock. "Auntie, you have been deceiving both sides! Lying to the Yue Family by saying we agreed to the engagement and accepted the dowry, and deceiving our family without mentioning a word about the engagement. Auntie, what exactly did you benefit from this?"
"I understand now, Uncle works at the brick factory, could it be that the Yue Family promised to raise his salary?"
From the moment Xu Nian’an picked up the money pouch, his mouth hadn’t stopped talking for a second.
The five hundred pieces in the money pouch that Xu Qinghu dropped seemed to serve as evidence of her deceit on both ends.
"Mr. Yue, there seems to have been a misunderstanding regarding this matter," Xu Qinghe said decisively. No matter how much Xu Qinghu protested, in one sentence, he aimed to call off the engagement.
"Your auntie had good intentions..." Before Yue’s father could finish speaking,
Xu Qinghe spoke with righteous indignation and an air of integrity, "Mr. Yue, your son is a fine young man who could marry any girl he desires. Our Nianhua is still young; my wife and I are still providing for her to go to college. We only have this one daughter and intend to keep her with us for a few more years. We have no plans to marry her off within these years."
Xu Qinghe’s words flattered Yue’s father.
"Mr. Yue, our family is just ordinary folks. My son was injured, and you, as a boss, took the time to visit, which really... we are so thankful."
Xu Qinghe’s sudden warmth seemed to offer Yue’s father a way out. He said with a stern face, "As he is a part of the brick factory, it is only proper for me to visit when he is injured."
After pondering for a moment, Yue’s father took out fifty pieces of money and said, "Since he no longer wishes to continue working at the brick factory, I have given him his full wages. The extra is for him to recover from his injuries."
With that, Yue’s father turned around and left.
Yue Hongliang, seeing the engagement going down the drain, was reluctant to leave.
Yue’s mother promptly dragged Yue Hongliang away, whispering in his ear, "Aren’t you embarrassed enough?"
"Mom." Yue Hongliang couldn’t bear to look back at the Xu Family. Yue’s mother, frustrated at his stubbornness, stepped on his foot and led him away. On the tractor, the bicycle and sewing machine, which were meant for showing off, now looked garish with their bright red decorations.
Chugging along, the Yue Family left on their tractor. Xu Qinghu stared as the tractor departed, thinking to herself, everything is over now.