WBSGVS Chapter 76 V1

Song Dongyun’s situation caught Qingli’s attention, but she understood. Xiang Lifeng was a man who deeply loved his children. In a previous life, when he noticed his youngest son showing signs of autism, he decisively left the military to stay home and take care of his family.

However, giving up a promising career meant facing some tough times financially. Once his wife and children built a better relationship, he would likely pursue his career again, but that time hadn’t arrived yet. Da Bao was too obviously resistant to Song Dongyun, while Er Bao followed her older sister’s lead. Even San Bao, though younger, was starting to be swayed by the other two.

Xiang Lifeng couldn’t risk leaving home right now—his three children were his life, and he was dedicated to raising them well. So his income came mainly from farming and sometimes selling small game he quietly hunted on the mountain. But as the market changed, wild game was no longer in such high demand, and meat prices had dropped significantly.

For now, their family had to live more frugally than they used to. In the previous life, the three children had been disciplined into behaving like obedient quail, and there was no friction. But not this time.

Song Dongyun was still adjusting to local customs, and she understood some of the ways things worked. Yet Da Bao seemed intent on making her life difficult and wanted her to leave. When Xiang Lifeng wasn’t around, Da Bao and Er Bao turned into little troublemakers, paying no mind to her efforts.

As Qingli walked out of the store, she could hear Song Dongyun’s frustrated voice behind her, saying, “Fine, fine, I’ll buy it! Go ahead and drain all my money!”

It would be their father who felt the pinch, after all. Hearing this, Da Bao finally stopped whining.

Qingli let out a sigh of relief—thank goodness she wasn’t the kind to put herself in a difficult situation. If faced with such difficult children, she wouldn’t even consider taking them in, no matter how pitiful they might seem. Since Xiaoyu was so well-behaved, Qingli cherished her even more.

After that recent match-up, there hadn’t been another one for a few days. Word had gotten around about how Qingli had told her last suitor that she would support him financially, and it left everyone stunned.

“She’s something else! Imagine saying she’d support her husband!” the aunt who’d arranged the meeting said, in shock but also with admiration.

It took guts to say something like that. What did it mean? She had confidence in herself!

Qingli’s neighbor Aunt Xiuhong laughed heartily and said, “She’s a girl who knows her mind. If you have any suitors willing to move in with her, try that. But matching her with a traditional guy probably won’t work.”

Qingli was generous and often shared treats with Aunt Xiuhong, even sending her around the area to collect eggs. That was practical income for Aunt Xiuhong. At first, she’d thought Qingli was too stubborn and aiming too high, trying to match with young men similar to her previous suitors, but now she realized a change in direction was needed.

Still, it was best to handle this properly. If the arrangement worked, she’d get a matchmaker’s fee for her efforts.

“I got it!” the other aunt waved her off. “I’m thinking about it—it’s just, how many men would be willing to marry in and move to her family? That’s a loss of face! We’ll need someone with plenty of sons…”

In the ’80s, there weren’t many ways to entertain oneself, so people enjoyed keeping up with local gossip. Different groups exchanged stories, and soon everyone in the area knew about the girl in Dujiacun looking for a husband to move in with her, especially since she seemed well-off.

Pretty soon, the Du family heard about it too.

They had thought Qingli’s talk about having a man move in with her was a passing comment. But when she turned away all her previous suitors, Grandpa and Grandma Du were taken aback.

“Is A-Li saying she’ll bring a husband to live here and support him herself?” Zhang Shuangshuang could hardly believe it.

This went against all her beliefs. Typically, a man marrying it would still need to be respectable and capable, especially if the woman’s parents were wealthy. But Qingli’s parents were gone, and she didn’t even need a man’s income.

It was outrageous!

But Qingli had done her share of outrageous things, hadn’t she?

The person who’d come to tell them the news laughed, saying, “It certainly seems that way. Where did she get such a strong sense of independence? I heard her last suitor was mad when he got home, saying she was just toying with him.”

Du Chuan huffed, “She’s bold. We didn’t teach her that way. We split up the family ages ago—don’t go mixing things up!”

He was a traditional man with a firm belief that a man should support his woman. Even if a man married into a family, he couldn’t be just anybody!

In her current situation, sure, she might think she can support someone now, but what if things changed later? What if she expected them to help?

“What’s the point of having a man around if he’s no good?” Du Chuan grumbled.

Zhang Shuangshuang pulled at his arm, feeling conflicted since it was still their granddaughter.

But Du Chuan kept his firm stance and wouldn’t budge.

The villagers just chuckled at his reaction. “Don’t be so sure. If she has the guts to say that, she probably knows what she’s doing. I hear she’s making good money selling egg cakes, and supplying other shops too. Business is good, and she’s even selling to the nearby towns.”

“Well, we don’t know that for sure. We’re not looking for her money anyway,” Du Chuan replied righteously. “Sure, being self-employed makes money, but is that a proper job? We don’t need it, and she already took half of her dad’s pension. Why would she insist on this?”

It was clear no one would get more out of him.

The villagers who came to inquire about the situation smirked with skepticism; they didn’t believe that Du Qingli had really made anything of herself. The two of them certainly didn’t seem to care about each other.

Just as she was about to leave, she noticed that the Du family hadn’t said a word and figured it would be better to discuss things with someone else. However, before she walked away, she couldn’t help but ask, “Shuangshuang, where’s your second daughter-in-law? I haven’t seen her in days.”

It had been said she went back to her family’s house, but there hadn’t been any quarrel between the couple, so why would she just leave? Besides, it seemed like she had been gone for over a week now.

Zhang Shuangshuang couldn’t say anything about that. At this point, speculation could lead to trouble. It was just that bringing back the goods had gone smoothly, and nobody would question it now.

So she vaguely replied, “She’s probably still at her parents’. I heard something happened at her aunt’s place, and she needed to help out. Oh, we’re getting old and can’t really help much, so we just let her handle it.”

“You’re so kind-hearted. You still have your work to finish,” the villager said, not thinking too much about it.

However, just as they reached the back door, a cadre from the brigade came running over, shouting, “Du Qing, your daughter-in-law is in trouble!”

The villagers immediately stopped in their tracks, eyes wide with curiosity.

Du Chuan and Zhang Shuangshuang, who had just been frowning over the situation with Du Qingli, sprang to their feet, their faces drained of color as they rushed to meet the cadre. In just a short time, they were sweating, completely flustered. “What happened? What’s going on?”

The cadre, equally anxious, shouted, “Your daughter-in-law went to Shenzhen to engage in speculation and got robbed! She even called the police, and now they want you to bring money!”

With just a few sentences, Du Chuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His shock was mixed with anger and a growing sense of fear. He stared wide-eyed, struggling to comprehend. “The police?”

How did she get involved with the police?

“What? What do you mean?” Zhang Shuangshuang asked, her voice trembling.

“There’s no time to explain! The police are waiting! You need to hurry!” the cadre said, pulling them along without another word.

The elderly couple was dragged out of their house without even closing the door.

The villagers who had come to gather information inhaled sharply, excitedly thinking of running home to tell their husbands about this news.

After a few steps, realizing the door was still open, they hurried back to close it before leaving.

Wow!

She went to Shenzhen to speculate and got robbed and caught up in a police situation!

That was either incredibly brave or a total disaster!

As for others’ opinions, Du Chuan didn’t have the mind to care.

He and his wife were led to the brigade office, and halfway there, still rattled from the shock of the news, Du Chuan snapped back to reality and turned toward a villager’s house, bringing their son along with him.

On the way, Du Qing was listening to his parents’ conversation and was equally frightened, his face pale as he quickened his pace.

By the time they reached the brigade office, the captain’s face was ashen, and he said nothing, just shot them a glance before picking up the phone and dialing from a piece of paper.

Du Qing didn’t dare say a word, while Du Chuan forced a smile and quietly said, “Captain…”