Qin Liang’s family in Qin Family Village, Qian Chuncao saw her daughter staring at the door for a long time and shouted at her loudly.
“You girl, should be working but instead, you’re daydreaming at home? Don’t think just because the bun shop belongs to your fourth aunt you can slack off. If you don’t work properly, just go home and farm, I can’t afford to lose face like this.”
“Mom, no, my fourth aunt gave me two days off.”
“Why would she give you two days off all of a sudden? Is the bun shop not busy? That’s not right, I heard these days the ready-to-eat food is selling well, why did she still give you time off? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No…”
Qian Chuncao wanted to ask more, but then she saw her eldest son, Qin Jianjun, striding in from outside.
Seeing Qin Lihua really at home, his face was darkened.
“Is what they’re saying true, that you and Cai Jun are dating?”
Qian Chuncao initially saw her son come in and start scolding her daughter and wanted to reprimand him, but after hearing his question, she immediately looked at her daughter.
“You’re dating someone?”
Both of them looked angrily at her, causing Qin Lihua’s heart to tremble, and she slightly lowered her head, afraid to meet their eyes.
Yesterday, her fourth aunt sent her back, granting her two days off, suggesting she should reveal her situation with Cai Jun to her family first, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.
Although dating freedom is advocated now, in the rural areas it’s still mostly about parents’ decisions and matchmakers’ words.
Without a matchmaker and dating on her own, if it’s a boy he would be praised for being capable, but if it’s a girl, people in the village would laugh, and even the parents would be mocked for not raising their child well.
Seeing her like this, both Qin Jianjun and Qian Chuncao knew it was true.
Knowing they wouldn’t get much out of Qin Lihua, Qian Chuncao directly asked her eldest son what was going on.
“I also don’t know what’s going on. I got to the factory today and everyone was talking about Lihua and Cai Jun dating.”
No one knew specifics, and they were all discussing it secretly, so Qin Jianjun had come back to ask Qin Lihua.
Hearing that this issue had already spread, Qian Chuncao felt extremely humiliated, “Why didn’t you tell us about such a big matter?”
That’s not the point, “Mom, do you know who Cai Jun is?”
Qian Chuncao shook her head, she didn’t know who that was.
“He was introduced to the shop by Manager Sun’s elder brother, and he has a good relationship with Manager Sun…”
This was something he heard from his uncle, who said that anyone with clear eyes could see that Sun Bingnan introduced Cai Jun, wanting Cai Jun to be his brother-in-law.
Now, what is this mess his sister is creating?
“Manager Sun is my fourth aunt’s best friend, she arranged jobs for us, this morning just as I arrived at the factory, I was informed to be made permanent earlier than scheduled, you tell me why she would do that…”
Qin Jianjun couldn’t continue, even if the matter between Cai Jun and Manager Sun wasn’t settled, he felt it was unfair to his fourth aunt.
Qian Chuncao immediately understood and asked her daughter, “You didn’t know about the relationship between Manager Sun and that military guy?”
Qin Lihua kept her head down, silent.
Qian Chuncao slapped her thigh, “You knew Manager Sun and Cai Jun were on good terms, how could you still…, no wonder your second aunt wanted to introduce you to someone and you were unwilling, do you have someone else in your heart?”
Qian Chuncao only found out when her son went to work, the man Zhang Guilan wanted to introduce to her daughter had now been promoted to factory manager.
Thinking back, Zhang Guilan truly tried to secure a good match for her daughter, but her daughter, dense as wood, despised the man for being older and looked down on him.
Not liking him was one thing, but now going after someone else’s man, what kind of behavior is this?
Utterly embarrassing.
“They are in good relations but aren’t dating, and…and…we have freedom in love now…” Qin Lihua muttered.
“Foolish, with freedom in love you just rush to find a man? What kind of man can’t your mom find for you? Otherwise, the shop belongs to your fourth aunt, if you had feelings for Cai Jun, you could have asked your fourth aunt first, why did you have to throw yourself at him?”
Qian Chuncao was nearly driven mad with anger.
A girl seeking a relationship outside on her own is embarrassing enough, but she just had to pick one of Lin Chuxia’s best friends…
She felt she had lost all face to meet her younger brothers and sisters.
Qin Lihua saw that her mom was truly angry, and hadn’t expected the matter to become so serious, to the point that it had even spread to the factories, her eyes reddened and tears began to fall.
“Uncle Six told me that marriage and love are free, and that pursuit is acceptable. She even said ’a man chasing a woman crosses mountains, a woman chasing a man crosses mere gauze,’ urging me to take the initiative. She also said that Manager Sun and my fourth aunt are just from the same village, and even if they are good friends, they aren’t as close to me as she is, as I am her niece, and she would support me.”
Now, she felt some regret. She should have realized last time at the shop that Uncle Six was unreliable and wouldn’t genuinely give her good advice.
What if she had first discussed it with her fourth aunt? Could things have turned out differently?
But regrets were useless now; what had happened had happened, and the embarrassing incident from yesterday had been witnessed by others.
Moreover, according to her brother, the news had already spread.
When Qian Chuncao heard that it was Ma Suyun who gave her daughter this terrible advice, she couldn’t contain her fury.
Back when Zhang Guilan wanted to matchmake her daughter, it was she who excitedly pushed for an old man, pressing her towards the firepit.
And as it turned out, she was really the one pushing her own daughter into the firepit.
Otherwise, her daughter has always been obedient; how could she have done such a thing?
“No, I have to go find your Uncle Six. Who teaches kids this way?”
“Mom, don’t go.”
Qin Lihua grabbed Qian Chuncao’s arm.
“Fourth Aunt told Cai Jun to propose to our family as soon as possible. Let’s just wait two days, what will you achieve by confronting Uncle Six now?” What about her reputation?
Qian Chuncao also thought of this.
It’s hateful that Ma Suyun led her daughter astray, but if she made a scene now, in the end, it would only ruin her daughter’s reputation.
“What exactly did your fourth aunt say?”
Qin Lihua knew she couldn’t hide it any longer, and recounted last night’s events to Qian Chuncao and Qin Jianjun.
Qian Chuncao scolded by tapping her forehead, “Look at you, placed next to your fourth aunt, instead of learning from her and her capabilities, you listen to your Uncle Six’s words and cause such a big mess. Your fourth aunt is still cleaning up after you, do you deserve her?”
“Mom, maybe there really is nothing between Cai Jun and Manager Sun…”
“Even if there is nothing between them, you shouldn’t have done this. Manager Sun and your fourth aunt are close, you should have kept your distance. Did you want to destroy their relationship, or our family’s relationship with your fourth aunt?”
Speaking to this point, Qian Chuncao suddenly remembered.
Her brother-in-law and Qin Yang had always been at odds. They appeared cordial on the surface, but only close relatives knew that Qin Wen and Qin Yang had been competitive since their school days.
She married Qin Liang early, when Qin Wen had just started school. She remembered when Qin Yang skipped a grade, Qin Wen was so furious he refused to eat and insisted on skipping a grade too, but failed his exams.
In high school, he aimed for university but didn’t get in.
During that time, Qin Wen was sullen all the time, forbidding anyone from mentioning university or Qin Yang’s name.
It was only slightly better when he got the job at the Hardware Company.
Ma Suyun was Qin Wen’s wife, and they shared the same heart.
Were they doing this because her family was close to Qin Yang’s, intentionally giving her daughter such disastrous advice?
If it weren’t for considering her daughter’s reputation, Qian Chuncao really would have wanted to flay Ma Suyun alive.
“Jianjun, go to the field and call your father back.”
There’s nothing she could do at the moment, but Qian Chuncao wouldn’t let Ma Suyun off easily; this issue couldn’t be left unresolved.