Spring comes to the desperate place

Chapter 118 Forced Marriage

Zhou Ning's home was very simple. There was only a low table and a few small chairs in the living room, a gray low cabinet in the corner, and a bed and a large wooden cabinet in the bedroom, which must have been Zhou Ning's mother's dowry.

Zhou Ning hadn't slept yet, but was sewing shoe soles under the moonlight.

Song Chunlin took a curious look at the small bamboo basket next to him. It was full of shoe soles, probably the money Zhou Ning paid to subsidize the family. Next to the shoe soles there was a half-embroidered handkerchief with very delicate embroidery, and it was obvious that Zhou Ning was good at needlework.

Well, she is a very clever one and has probably done more work than him. He has only touched needle and thread once so far, and the stitches he made were uglier than dog's claws. Song Qin almost had a heart attack when she saw it, and she refused to let him touch needle and thread again since then.

Song Chunlin thought of his own stitches, and compared them with Zhou Ningna's soles. You know what, the stitches on these shoes are neater and more beautiful than his.

Song Chunlin stayed at Zhou Ning's house for most of the night. It was almost midnight when Zhou Ning put down his shoes, simply wiped his face, washed his hands, went back to bed and fell asleep.

Seeing that everyone was asleep and there was nothing to see, Song Chunlin came back in a flash.

Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang are both impatient people. Because of the Feng family's affairs, they were afraid that the longer they stayed up, the more trouble they would have. So Uncle Wang got up early in the morning and walked to the town to inquire about the Feng family.

Uncle Wang first went to the street stall selling vegetables. At this time, the women in the families all came out to buy. Uncle Wang easily found out where the Feng family's shop was from a few people, and then casually asked what kind of person Feng's eldest son was.

"Are you talking about the eldest son of the Feng family? It's hard to say. Anyway, I haven't seen him many times. His parents are very secretive and usually only allow him to go out to school. But he looks fair and gentle, just like an ordinary scholar."

Well, it was as good as saying nothing. Uncle Wang was not giving up and continued asking in another place. After this morning, he only found out that the Feng family was indeed well-off. They ran two shops and had a three-story mansion in the town.

Uncle Wang did not give up, and ran to Feng's two shops, trying to take a look at what the eldest son of the Feng family looked like. However, after he went to both shops, the eldest son did not show up.

Just when Uncle Wang was about to go home, a horse-drawn carriage suddenly drove in front of the Feng family's shop. Uncle Wang instinctively looked towards the carriage, and saw a feminine-looking man getting off the carriage. He hurriedly entered the Feng family's grocery store and went straight to the backyard. When he passed by Uncle Wang, he brought a gust of fragrant wind.

Uncle Wang stood there, and it took him a while to react. It turned out to be the eldest son of the Feng family. He looked really good, and also... Uncle Wang couldn't describe it.

Seeing that the other party would not come out again, Uncle Wang left the grocery store. On the way back, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. How could Feng Dalang, a man, smell so good?

Could it be that Feng Dalang was sleeping with prostitutes in broad daylight?

Uncle Wang told Aunt Wang about this matter with a look of disgust, and Aunt Wang also felt that there was something weird about this matter.

"Tell me, if there is really nothing wrong with this Feng family elder brother, then why didn't my cousin tell his daughter about the marriage?"

Uncle Wang was a little disapproving: "He who goes to brothels in broad daylight, how can he be a good person? I guess Feng Dalang may not only go to brothels, but you didn't smell it. The smell on him is pungent."

Aunt Wang said sternly, "Then this person must not be married. It's a shame for Ning'er, a pure and innocent boy, to marry into such a filthy family!"

The couple decided to let Uncle Wang bring Zhou Ning over to live for a few days. Now the Song family's house was about to be completed with the beams raised. Just on that day, Aunt Wang took Zhou Ning to the Song family for a drink, so that the two could meet across the crowd. With so many people present, no one would say anything if it didn't work out. But if it worked out, that would be the best.

Uncle Wang, the messenger, ran to the neighboring village and passed the message. Zhou Ning packed a small bag and came over that day.

The eighth day of the eleventh month was an auspicious day, as the Song family was going to put up the beams of their house. Building a new house was also a big happy event, so the Song family specially prepared more than a dozen tables of banquets to entertain everyone. With so much food and wine, Aunt Wang and her family were naturally too busy to handle it, so they took the opportunity to bring Zhou Ning and their own daughter over.

When Song Qin looked at the delicate and thin boy, she realized that he was the nephew that Aunt Wang had mentioned. She took a quick look at him and found that although Zhou Ning's family background was not very good, he was very generous and dignified in his dealings with others, which was very different from the timid person she had imagined.

Song Chunlin took Song Qin's arm and said, "Mother, what are you looking at?"

Song Qin raised her chin and motioned him to look in Zhou Ning's direction: "Here, Aunt Wang's nephew."

Zhou Ning just happened to look up and met the eyes of the mother and son. He first drooped his eyelashes shyly, then raised his eyes again and gave them a faint smile, which was neither flattering nor overly polite. He knew the right measure very well.

Song Qin watched him wash the vegetables skillfully and nodded slightly. He was a diligent and honest boy with a good personality. Song Qin was very satisfied with him in every way.

Looking at his mother like this, Song Chunlin knew that his mother still liked this boy named Zhou Ning very much. At least her first impression was not bad.

The beam-raising ceremony was particularly lively. Almost all the children in the village came, and everyone rushed to pick up the wedding candies. After grabbing the candies, they prepared to eat.

Song Dazhuang only invited a few familiar families to come for dinner, and those who worked could also bring their families over. However, Aunt Liu's mother-in-law shamelessly brought her little daughter to come and eat for free.

She was not trying to get a free meal at all; she clearly wanted Song Chunsheng to meet her daughter.

Aunt Liu was so angry that she was shaking, and was held down by her husband.

"This is not our home. If you have anything to say, we can talk about it when we get back."

With her husband's constant persuasion, Aunt Liu was able to control her emotions and forced a smile as she served the dishes. However, when it came to her mother-in-law's table, her expression did not look very good, and could almost be said to be dark.

Several people present were a little puzzled. After the people next to them quietly explained to them, Fanfan looked at Granny Liu and her daughter with a strange look.

Some people even pointed at the two of them. Granny Liu's son was so ashamed that he dared not say a word. He just lowered his head and ate his meal in silence.

The mother and daughter, who were at the center of public opinion, were completely unaware of anything wrong at the table and just kept looking in the direction of Song Chunsheng.

The table they were sitting at was only for the workers' families, and it was located in a corner, so they naturally couldn't see Song Chunsheng from the crowd.

Even if the mother and daughter stretched their necks, they could not see a single hair on Song Chunsheng's head. The younger daughter, who was already madly in love with Song Chunsheng, was so anxious that she was about to cry.

"Mom, I can't see anything, how can I make him notice me!"

Seeing that her daughter was about to cry, Granny Liu, who felt sorry for her, hurried to comfort her.

"Okay, okay, stop crying. We can't see it here, so let's go to the front and look."

Granny Liu gritted her teeth and was about to pull her little daughter forward. When they saw them leaving, everyone at the table looked over here.

Granny Liu's son even grabbed his mother and sister's hands and said, "Mom, we haven't finished our meal yet, where are you taking your sister?"

Granny Liu shook off her son's hand and said, "Stop getting in my way. I don't know what kind of magic potion your wife has given you. You only listen to your wife and not your mother."

Granny Liu's son was anxious: "Mom, what are you talking about? When have I not heard you say this before? Everyone at the table has just started to eat, where are you going to take your sister if you don't want to eat? If you don't eat, your sister will have to eat, right?"

Then he asked his sister: "Sister, aren't you hungry?"

How could his sister be in the mood to eat at this moment? She shook her head like a rattle and said insincerely: "Brother, I'm not hungry yet..." Before she finished her words, her stomach growled. How could she not be hungry?

Granny Liu's daughter blushed with embarrassment, but still insisted that she was not hungry. Granny Liu's son was unable to persuade them and could only watch the two of them walk towards the main table.

"Oh, Grandpa Song, congratulations. Your son is such a great guy. He has only been in our village for two years, but he has already built such a big house. He is really capable." Granny Liu exaggeratedly praised Grandpa Song and Song Dazhuang, but it was her blatant flattery that made people around her very disgusted.

The ancients paid the most attention to etiquette. She came over and made a fuss when others were halfway through their meal. Everyone thought it was inappropriate, but she herself did not think so. Seeing that no one responded to her words, she changed the subject and turned to Song Chunsheng.

"This is the eldest son of the Song family. He is handsome and has a good appearance. Come here, this is my daughter Xiaohuaer. She has been cherished by our family since she was young. She is as beautiful as a flower. I see that you two are of the same age. Why don't we take advantage of today's happiness while the elders are here and take this..."

"Mom!" A sharp cry interrupted Granny Liu's delusion. Granny Liu looked at the person who spoke with dissatisfaction, only to see her own daughter-in-law staring at them with a gloomy face.

Granny Liu was already feeling guilty about the marriage proposal, and now seeing her daughter-in-law looking like she was going to kill someone, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.

Seeing that she was somewhat retreating, Liu Huaer refused to stand it anymore. She gently took Granny Liu's hand and shook it. Granny Liu immediately understood. This Aunt Liu was her daughter-in-law. How could a daughter-in-law yell at her mother-in-law?

So she reprimanded Aunt Liu in public with a clear conscience: "What are you yelling about? You've interrupted everything. You're really not good at getting things done, but always ruin things. You've been trying to sow discord between me and my son all day. What? You can't bear to see us having a good life, right?"

Everyone present was stunned. This Granny Liu loved her daughter so much that she would do anything for her daughter. It was a pity that her actions not only failed to leave a good impression on the Song family about her daughter, but instead made them feel disgusted with the Liu family.

Granny Liu wanted to scold her daughter-in-law a few more words, but her son came running over and pulled her away.

Liu Huaer saw that the duck she had caught was about to fly away, so how could she get what she wanted? So she used all her strength and refused to leave.

"I won't leave. Are you my brother or my enemy? You only know how to listen to that woman's instigation. You don't care about your sister's lifelong event at all. How could I have a brother like you? I won't leave. I will marry Song Chunsheng. I want you to watch me live a good life. I don't want to leave!"

As soon as Liu Huaer said that, the faces of the people around her changed, starting with Song Chunsheng and the people from the Song and Liu families.

Uncle Liu seemed to be meeting his sister for the first time. He didn't expect that this sister would be so obsessed that for the sake of a man, not only would she be shameless herself, but she would also expose the reputation of her entire family to be trampled upon.

Uncle Liu, who was very disappointed with Liu Huaer, slapped her hard. Liu Huaer was thin and didn't want to work. She turned around a few times with unsteady steps and then fell to the ground. Her dark cheeks swelled up instantly.

Granny Liu screamed and knelt on the ground in pain. She held her daughter's head and examined it over and over again, while cursing Uncle Liu all the time.

"Oh my god, this bastard even beat his own sister. He is worse than a beast!"

Uncle Liu naturally couldn't let them continue crying, so he made an apologetic gesture towards Song Dazhuang, and then tried to take them away one by one.

Liu Huaer had just been knocked unconscious, but now that she had come to her senses, she screamed and refused to leave.

Uncle Liu didn't know where this damn girl got the strength from. He tried to pull her up several times but failed. Looking at his sister rolling on the ground, Uncle Liu just felt a headache and veins on his forehead were throbbing.

"She didn't even say she wanted to marry you, but you pushed her to marry you. What's the difference between you and a bandit?"

Liu Huaer didn't care about all that. So what if she forced it? She was willing to do anything as long as she could marry Song Chunsheng.

Unfortunately, even if she threw a tantrum, Song Chunsheng was not a fool. How could he be willing to marry such a woman? Wouldn't that just make things difficult for himself?

Is he crazy?

Seeing Liu Huaer and her mother's behavior, the Song family was disgusted to the extreme.

Song Dazhuang walked up to Liu Huaer, who was still acting like a rogue, and looked down at her.

"Aunt Liu, today is the auspicious day for me to raise the beam of my new house. I would like to ask, which respectable family would come here to force marriage on the day of someone else's raising the beam?"

"Have we, the Song family, ever owed your family money, or owed your family a life, to let you treat our Song family like this? Even if we take a step back, the matter of engagement is no joke, how can you decide it with just a few words? Are you treating our Song family members as decorations and puppets?"

"There is no such thing in the world. If you want to marry us, you have to marry us. My Song family doesn't owe your family anything, and your family has no favors to my family. Why do you think you can arbitrarily control the marriage of my eldest son?"

Every word and sentence of Song Dazhuang was like a knife, cutting through blood and stabbing the throat, leaving the mother and daughter on the ground speechless.