Volume One, Chapter Two: Offering a Dowry in Reverse

Now all she wanted was to lie low, seize this golden opportunity, work hard for a few years to get admitted into a prestigious academy, and then be assigned to a good job. By then, she would have a Beiping household registration and could be allocated a house.

During that time, she could also save money, buy several properties, and when property prices soared in the future, she could enjoy a hefty pension while collecting substantial rent, traveling the world—a life of pure bliss.

She wouldn’t have to marry, bear children, or worry about illness or death because the state would take care of everything.

Huo Xiaohan’s gaze was sharp and cold as he looked at her; he didn’t believe for a moment that this was her true intention.

When she came to him again for matchmaking, he found her insincere and mercenary.

Later, after hearing about the cruel deeds she had done to her own younger sister and the vile behavior villagers talked about, all he felt was disgust.

“If you truly want to transfer to Beiping for high school, I will help you with the paperwork, but...” Huo Xiaohan’s eyes grew colder, full of warning, “I hope you don’t have any other ideas.”

“Comrade Huo, what are you saying? You were supposed to marry her. You’re both officers, you can’t be so irresponsible...” Su’s mother said angrily.

“Mother, Comrade Huo is an officer. I injured my sister’s leg. Under these circumstances, I won’t pass the political examination. Even if Comrade Huo wants to marry me, it won’t be possible,” Su Wan pulled her mother back, stopping her from continuing.

She knew her mother’s nature—she thought women’s education was useless; marriage was the most important thing. If Huo Xiaohan refused to marry, her mother would surely make a scene, disrupting the Huo family.

Still, Su Wan found it strange how the original owner had passed the political exam with such a deliberate injury to her sister.

Su’s mother was clearly taken aback, and even Huo Xiaohan looked at Su Wan with some surprise. Indeed, under such circumstances, a marriage report could not be filed, unless he retired or left the service.

“I want to go to high school in Beiping, far away from Qiantang Village, so no one will know about this. After I work hard and get into university, I can be assigned a job there.” As she spoke, Su Wan deliberately lowered her voice, trying to stop her mother from making a fuss. She lied, “Then I can find a good match in Beiping.”

Her mother didn’t catch the first part, but she heard the last sentence clearly. With a daughter as beautiful as a celestial being, she was sure she could find a suitor better than Huo Xiaohan.

So her mother nodded repeatedly, dragging Su’s father along to agree.

However, Huo Xiaohan’s ears were sharp, and he faintly caught that last sentence. His dark eyes brimmed with mockery—sure enough, she was just trying to climb the social ladder.

A woman with impure thoughts and improper conduct going to school in Beiping would surely harm other upright and promising students.

“Uncle, auntie, I’ll call my father at the unit now to get an introduction letter. Once it’s ready tomorrow, I’ll come and pick them up to go to Beiping,” Huo Xiaohan said, then prepared to leave.

But it was mealtime, and Huo Xiaohan was a guest. How could they let him leave? They forced him to stay for dinner.

During the meal, Su’s mother still kept Su Xiaohui locked in the kitchen, not letting her out. Of course, Su Wan didn’t allow it either.

Through the crack in the door, Su Xiaohui watched Huo Xiaohan’s tall, handsome figure like green mountains and bamboo, her heart pounding with excitement. A victorious smile appeared on her obedient little face.

A childhood friend from the village, worried about Su Xiaohui, sneaked around to the back of Su’s kitchen, pressed against the window, and asked, “Xiaohui, your matchmaker is tall and handsome. Did your terrible sister really steal him away? She’s so hateful.”

“No, Brother Huo refused to marry my sister,” Su Xiaohui said happily, recalling how she had hidden behind the door and listened to what Brother Huo said.

She was truly afraid Brother Huo might agree and even more afraid her sister would make a scene. Otherwise...

Su Xiaohui lowered her head and touched her right leg, injured by a cow’s hoof. Without that, she would have suffered for nothing.

“That’s really great. Then your sister might not get married at all, or if she does, it will be far away,” her friend Liu Cuiping said, feeling happy for Su Xiaohui.

“Don’t tell anyone about this. The family said not to spread it around,” Su Xiaohui’s eyes flickered.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Liu Cuiping promised, patting her chest, then immediately went to tell her cousin in the neighboring village.

Liu Cuiping’s cousin, Xu Qiang, had been Su Wan’s middle school classmate. Thanks to family connections, he worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. He was the first in the village to own a bicycle and adored Su Wan, but she looked down on him because he was short.

As soon as he heard the news, he thought his chance had come.

The next day, he rode his shiny bicycle to Su’s home with his mother to propose.

But after just a few words, Su’s mother drove them out.

“Mother, can’t we at least offer a little bride price? I really want to marry Wanmei,” Xu Qiang said dejectedly.

“A worn-out shoe asking for bride price? Just wait; when Wanmei can’t find a husband, their Su family will come begging us. Then they’ll have to pay for the wedding banquet,” Xu Qiang’s mother said. She was notorious in the village for being stingy and had no intention of giving a bride price.

At the boundary between the two villages, a military green jeep rolled up—it was the officer from Beiping. Hearing Su’s mother say Wanmei was going to Beiping for high school, she immediately felt uneasy.

This wasn’t about schooling at all; surely the officer and Su’s father had arranged for Wanmei to be taken to Beiping to find a better match.

Xu Qiang’s mother’s eyes gleamed. She wouldn’t let a sure thing slip away. She quickly blocked Huo Xiaohan, who had just gotten out of the jeep, with her bicycle.

“Comrade, are you Xiaohui’s matchmaker? Are you here to take Wanmei and Xiaohui to Beiping?”

Huo Xiaohan glanced coldly at her, closed the car door, and said, “Yes.”

“Oh, I knew when we went to propose at Su’s house today, Wanmei wouldn’t agree to marry. Turns out she’s going to Beiping to find a better match,” Xu Qiang’s mother pretended to wipe tears from her eyes.

“You don’t know, Wanmei used to like our family’s conditions and secretly dated my son, eating and spending many of his fruit candies and ration tickets. Then she set her sights on you and ignored my son.”

“Yesterday, I heard Wanmei had an accident. My son was devoted to her. Early this morning, he dragged me to Su’s house to propose, but we were kicked out without even entering. They said Wanmei was going to Beiping for high school to find a better match and told my son to stop dreaming.”

Xu Qiang’s mother kept slandering Su Wan, trying to ruin her reputation completely so she couldn’t go to Beiping. That way, they could save a large bride price and maybe even make the Su family pay a hefty dowry.