NOVPUB
Chapter 235: Chapter 235 What Are You Doing Here in the Middle of the Night?
"Go ahead and make a scene now. Let the entire village know that your daughter ran away with someone. Let’s see if you can survive the tidal wave of gossip." Zhang Youfu was also angry, but he was sensible enough to know that causing a ruckus would not solve anything; it would only make them the laughing stock.
After all, their daughter had run away, and the one losing face was them. The Si family got a daughter-in-law without much effort and would be praised everywhere.
Chen Jinlan was so angry that she almost fainted again. She could not help but want to grab a kitchen knife, charge to the Si’s residence and fight Lin Fengying, gritting her teeth and saying, "My daughter, who I raised for about 20 years, did I just give her away for free?"
Zhang Youfu snorted, thinking that this was why women should not be allowed to be in charge. In such situations, women tend to be short-sighted, unable to handle matters calmly, and just cause more drama.
He should’ve just done as Si Boyi suggested and allow the two children to get married. Their family isn’t losing anything and they could even gain favor from the Si family.
Now that their daughter had run off, they became the passive side, their advantageous situation was ruined by his wife.
"If you ask me, go meet with Fengying to discuss things. As Boyi suggested, let’s arrange the marriage for the two kids as soon as possible. As the saying goes, ’It’s no good to keep old maids’. Let’s not pretend to be dumb and become a laughing stock."
"I raised my daughter from diapers, and you’re just going to give her away?" Chen Jinlan adamantly refused, standing up angrily, shouting about going to find Lin Fengying for justice, "If she doesn’t return my daughter today, I swear I’ll die right in front of their doorstep."
Seeing that his wife was not reasonable, Zhang Youfu lost his temper, "Try causing a scene, I swear I’ll break your legs if you dare step out that door!"
"Zhang Youfu, you think you can boss me around now?"
She would never have thought the husband who had been a pushover for half his life would suddenly stand against her. As Chen Jinlan’s fury kindled, she lunged at Zhang Youfu like a bull, spatting unbearably rude words.
"Come on, break my legs. Do it now. If you don’t break my legs, then you’re not a man, not even human. I despise you."
"You’ve set your eyes on that widow, haven’t you? I saw it in your eyes when we were young. You went to help her harvest crops even in the rain while you never were so diligent at home. Who would have thought, you, a man on his way to the grave, still had such thoughts. Let’s get a divorce, we should make room for her."
Listening to his wife’s ever-distant and irrational accusations, Zhang Youfu was infuriated. They pushed and yelled at each other until exhausted Chen Jinlan finally stopped. In the end, she didn’t go bother Lin Fengying.
If their daughter had already run away and they made even more of a fuss, they might not even receive a penny in dowry. And she was planning to save the hundred yuan dowry from their daughter for their son’s wedding.
*
Meanwhile, Si Boyi, who was sound asleep, was awoken by the barking of three dogs. Then, he heard someone knocking on his door and thought there was an emergency, so he rushed to open it without even putting on his shoes. He was greatly startled to see Zhang Lijuan outside. 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝔭𝖚𝖇.𝔠𝖔𝔪
"Lijuan, why did you come over at this time of the night?"
"Brother Boyi."
Zhang Lijuan immediately threw herself into Si Boyi’s arms, sobbing herself heartbroken. She usually took a bus from the village to the city and didn’t feel the distance. However, walking that distance took her nearly three hours, and her feet were blistered before she finally arrived.
There were pitch black parts of the road and occasional dog barks, she was frightened the whole way and did not dare turn her head back once. She was scared to the point of tears numerous times, if the road back home was not equally dark, she would have given up coming to the city.
She had made such an effort to find Si Boyi. If he ever dared to treat her poorly, she would cut him with a knife.
"What happened! What made you come here alone in the night?"
Si Boyi was baffled by the scene. He did not know what else to do other than ask what had happened. He did not even know where to place his hands, standing stiff like a block of wood.
Si Xiaohui and Zheng Xiaoshuang came out from their rooms upon hearing the commotion. They were both dumbfounded to see Zhang Lijuan crying in Si Boyi’s arms at this late hour, even wondering if they were dreaming.
Why would Zhang Lijuan be here in the middle of the night? Hadn’t their brother broken up with her?
Since the dowry issue, Si Xiaohui was disgruntled with Zhang Lijuan. Looking at her now, everything about her was annoying. Zhang Lijuan was not Tong Yao, she did not have a powerful family backing her nor did she have the ability to earn money. Naturally, Si Xiaohui was not as friendly to her.
Hearing Zhang Lijuan bawling, she became impatient and said: "Why did you run all the way here, crying in the middle of the night? If you have something to say, come inside and say it. Don’t stand there crying in front of the door, people might think there’s a ghost."
Si Boyi didn’t know what to do until Si Xiaohui spoke. He quickly invited her into the hall, and gave her a bowl of hot water to warm up. It was already winter, and the night was quite cold. Zhang Lijuan’s hands were as cold as ice.
"What happened to Lijuan?" Zheng Xiaoshuang asked Si Xiaohui, looking at Zhang Lijuan’s back, her face full of surprise.
"Who knows what got into her. Let’s go inside and see what happened." Si Xiaohui walked inside with her.
After Zhang Lijuan had a bowl of hot water and stopped crying, her mood was visibly better. Si Xiaohui, with annoyance, asked: "Lijuan, my brother broke up with you because of the absurd dowry. Why did you run here in the middle of the night? People who don’t know better might think my brother kidnapped you. Your mother will come to cause trouble."
Si Boyi felt that his sister was being a little rude, and gently reprimanded her, "Xiaohui."
Si Xiaohui snorted, with an eye roll.
Now that their family situation was better, it was Zhang Lijuan who was trying to marry into their family, she wouldn’t tolerate Zhang Lijuan’s pretension.
Demanding a black and white TV as if that’s a right. Doesn’t she dare look at herself in the mirror? Even their sister-in-law, a city woman, did not ask for much. Chen Jinlan was clearly selling her daughter, not marrying her off.
Being ridiculed by Si Xiaohui, especially in front of Zheng Xiaoshuang, Zhang Lijuan felt a loss of face. But knowing it was her who was marrying into the Si family, pride seemed less significant. What mattered now was to secure her marriage to Si Boyi.
With these thoughts in mind, Zhang Lijuan squeezed a few more teardrops, appearing as if in utter misery. Only when she saw Si Boyi pitiful did she tell her story, choking on her words.
"My mom insisted on a black and white TV set and a new bicycle. No matter what I said, she wouldn’t budge. She even forced me into blind dates and wanted me to get married to someone else. When I refused, she beat me and locked me up. I had to run away while they were asleep at midnight. There was no public transportation at that time, so I had to walk here. The road was extremely dark and scary. I almost dropped dead from terror."
In order to gain Si Boyi’s sympathy and let him know how committed she was to him and her willingness to make sacrifices for him, Zhang Lijuan intentionally fabricated some details. She portrayed Chen Jinlan as an undeniable seller of daughters.
She also portrayed her feelings towards Si Boyi as profound, as if she could not marry any man but him in this lifetime.
