Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 282

Although she had many complaints about Cheng Jinxiao, now that she was the eldest sister-in-law, she still felt sorry for her younger sister. When Cheng Jinxi found a good family for Cheng Jinxiao, she would also carefully check the candidates to ensure that she didn't meet a man like Li Jin.

Knowing that Cheng Jinxiao wouldn't be staying at her house permanently and that her husband wasn't treating her well, Zhu Yufeng felt sorry for Cheng Jinxiao and didn't harbor much hostility towards her. She even thought about taking good care of her sister-in-law these days.

"Don't just stand there, go see your mother, Jinxiao. In the five years you've been gone, your mother has missed you terribly." Zhu Yufeng squeezed Cheng Jinxiao's hand.

Cheng Jinxiao's eyes reddened at the mention of her mother; she hadn't seen her mother for a long time—five years.

When we parted, my mother was still healthy. However, a few years later, she suffered a stroke, leaving half of her body paralyzed, with only her hands and face able to move normally.

"Yes, I'm going to find my mom. I haven't seen her in so long!" Cheng Jinxiao said, her voice choked with emotion.

Cheng Jinxi took Cheng Jinxiao's hand and walked into the room. "Come with me, Mom is in the room."

A group of people followed behind, with Zhao Da'e standing at the very back. Looking at Cheng Jinxiao's back, she couldn't help but shake her head. She had memories of her past life and knew that her grandmother didn't have much time left to live. She hoped that her aunt could spend more time with her grandmother in her final days.

"Mom, I'm back!" Cheng Jinxiao shouted into the house, her voice choked with emotion.

Lying on the bed in the room, Wang couldn't help but tear up. Knowing that her youngest child, whom she had doted on since childhood, was coming back today, Wang was so happy that she couldn't sleep. She only regretted that her body was too weak and she could hardly get up. Otherwise, she would have gotten up properly to welcome her daughter and then cooked a table full of delicious dishes.

Cheng Jinxiao's eyes reddened as soon as she saw Wang Shi, and she choked out, "Mom, I'm back."

As she spoke, Cheng Jinxiao threw herself onto Wang Shi, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls, murmuring repeatedly, "Mom, I'm back."

Wang's eyes gradually welled up with tears, which fell from the corners of her eyes. She would raise her hand to touch her child, but she was too weak to move, and every step was extremely difficult for her.

Cheng Jinxiao realized her mother's intention and immediately grasped Wang's hand, choking back tears, "Mom, I'm here, I'm right here."

Looking at her mother's appearance, Cheng Jinxiao felt heartbroken. Compared to five years ago, her mother had many more gray hairs and was very weak. Her mother, who could still stand, could only lie in bed and could no longer stand up.

Cheng Jinxiao only regretted that she had chosen to marry far away, and that her marriage was a complete mess, preventing her from being by her mother's side.

Wang looked deeply at Cheng Jinxiao. Her daughter looked even more haggard, unlike her previous lively self, only showing the bitterness of life's hardships.

She cried out with concern, "Jinxiao, you've lost weight..."

Cheng Jinxiao shook his head with a wry smile, holding Wang's hand tightly. "Mom, I'm not thin. In fact, I've gained weight. It's true."

Wang choked up and said, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. As long as our family is together, it's all worth it."

"Mom..." Cheng Jinxiao said sadly, then threw herself into Wang's arms. Thinking of the grievances she had suffered in the past five years, Cheng Jinxiao cried like a child at this moment.

Cheng Rongguo rarely saw his mother smile. Seeing his mother and younger sister reunite and cry about the hardships they had endured over the years, Cheng Rongguo was also moved. He silently turned away, his eyes welling up with tears.

Cheng Jinxiang sat on the edge of the bed, next to Wang Shi, and said emotionally, "Don't worry, Mom, everything will be alright. Jinxiao has left Li Jin, and she's here. We will take good care of her and won't let Jinxiao be bullied again."

Even Cheng Jinxi said, "Yes, Mom, and my older brother and I will take good care of Jinxiao and won't let anyone bully her."

The whole family chatted for a long time afterwards. Tonight's dinner was exceptionally delicious, at least that's what Cheng Jinxiao thought.

At the dinner table, Cheng Jinxi said to Cheng Jinxiao, "Jinxiao, after the New Year, I'll find you an even better family to marry into. You'll definitely not be like Li Jin, who spends all his time out partying and never comes home."

When the topic of finding a good family came up, Cheng Jinxiao fell silent. She lowered her head and said, "Big sister, I don't want to get married so soon. I just got divorced not long ago."

The main issue is that Cheng Jinxiao is now somewhat traumatized by marriage, fearing she might encounter someone like Li Jin again. This marriage has also taught her that relying on oneself is better than relying on anyone else. Besides, if outsiders knew that the reason for her divorce was her inability to have children, who would want to marry her?

She has a gold necklace now, which will fetch several thousand more when she sells it. She doesn't know what she'll do with the money yet, but she wants to invest it in herself for security.

When Zhu Yufeng heard that Cheng Jinxiao didn't want to get married so early, she immediately became anxious. If Cheng Jinxiao didn't remarry and didn't find a good family to marry into, wouldn't he just stay in her house? How could that be allowed?

So Zhu Yufeng earnestly advised, "Jinxiao, no woman is immune to marriage. Since you're already divorced, people will gossip about you. If you keep staying at your parents' home, what will people outside say about you? Besides, while you're still young, hurry up and find a good family to marry into, otherwise, if you wait a few more years, no one will want you."

Upon hearing Zhu Yufeng's words, Cheng Jinxiao lowered her head in embarrassment.

Cheng Rongguo couldn't stand it anymore and nudged Zhu Yufeng next to him, telling her to say less.

Zhu Yufeng glared at Cheng Rongguo unhappily, "I didn't say anything wrong. That's true. Look around and see which families outside have been divorced."

Wang was displeased and said loudly, "Stop talking! Jin Xiao can get married whenever she wants. She is the prettiest among all of you siblings. She has no trouble getting married. Stop urging her."

Zhu Yufeng knew that Wang was talking about her, and she grumbled unhappily, "Mom, you can spoil her all you want. If Jinxiao can't get married by the New Year, you'll be crying your eyes out."

Cheng Jinxi smiled and said, "Sister-in-law, Mom, don't worry. I will keep an eye out for suitable families for Jinxiao in the neighborhood. I will definitely find Jinxiao a reliable and capable person, and I will never find someone like Li Jin again."

These women, one after another, all wanted to find a good family for Cheng Jinxiao after the New Year. Cheng Jinxiao hesitated, wanting to say that she didn't really want to get married right now, at least not for the next year, but no one listened to her, or her words were either rejected or scolded.

After dinner, the Cheng sisters stayed behind to clean up the dishes, while Cheng Jinxiao stayed in the Cheng family home with Wang Shi and Cheng Jinxiang in one room.

Cheng Jinxi then took Zhou Tianfu, Zhao Da'e, and the two Zhou sisters home.

On the way, Cheng Jinxi said to Zhou Tianfu, "Tianfu, I have some good news for you."

Zhou Tianfu looked worried and said, "Mom, I don't even know if I can raise enough money for the bride price to get married. What good news could there be?"

Cheng Jinxi slapped Zhou Tianfu on the shoulder forcefully, "It's good news about the bride price!"

Zhou Tianfu was a little confused after hearing this, but then his eyes lit up and he said, "Mom, does that mean the Ma family doesn't want a bride price? I can marry Huaihua!"

Hearing Zhou Tianfu say this, Cheng Jinxi angrily flicked Zhou Tianfu's forehead, "What are you thinking? These days, where can you get married without a bride price? The good news I'm telling you is that I've been pestering your Aunt Shi every day these past few days, asking her to put in a good word for me and see if we can ask for a lower bride price. After all, you know our family really can't afford that much money, and five thousand yuan is just too much. How can an ordinary family afford that? Guess what?"

Zhou Tianfu asked in confusion, "And then, Mom?"

Cheng Jinxi raised a four in surprise, "Then the Ma family lowered the bride price from five thousand yuan to four thousand yuan, which is a thousand yuan less than before."

In other words, the bride price now only needs to be four thousand yuan.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Tianfu was initially delighted, but then, realizing something, he said dejectedly, "Mom, we still can't raise that much money. Tell me how much money the family can raise."

Cheng Jinxi also sighed, "We just finished building a new house a few days ago, and it cost a lot of money. If you ask me to give you money, I can only come up with a little over a thousand yuan. Then I'll borrow some more from your second aunt, uncle, and other relatives, and we might be able to scrape together two thousand yuan. That's still two thousand yuan short of four thousand yuan."

Cheng Jinxi was also at a loss about how to raise the two thousand yuan, or who to borrow it from, since not everyone could come up with that much money.

Upon hearing that they were still short two thousand yuan, Zhou Tianfu immediately had an idea. He asked Cheng Jinxi to come closer and said, "Mom, come here for a moment, I have something I want to tell you."

Cheng Jinxi leaned closer, puzzled. "What's wrong with you? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Zhou Tianfu said excitedly, "Mom, let me tell you the truth. Auntie came back from Qiqihar with a gold necklace from Li Jin. I estimate it can be sold for two thousand yuan. If Auntie sells the gold necklace and gets the money, and then we borrow from her, we can make up four thousand yuan, right?"

Cheng Jinxi's eyes lit up. She looked up at Zhou Tianfu and said, "Are you telling the truth? Tianfu, does your aunt really have such an expensive gold necklace?"

Zhou Tianfu patted his chest and said, "It's absolutely true, I saw it with my own eyes."

Cheng Jinxi hesitated for a moment, "But...would your aunt lend it to you? It's two thousand yuan, which is not a small amount."

Zhou Tianfu felt that Cheng Jinxiao would definitely lend the money. He explained, "Mom, think about it. This time, I traveled a long way and took a two-day train ride to Qiqihar to borrow money from my aunt. I am also her closest nephew. And you, after the New Year, will be busy helping my aunt find a good husband. Our family has helped my aunt so much. It's just a matter of borrowing money. It's not like we won't pay it back. How could my aunt not lend it to us?"

Zhou Tianfu was very confident and even thought about quickly gathering the betrothal money so he could marry Huaihua.

Cheng Jinxi thought Zhou Tianfu made a lot of sense, and Cheng Jinxiao had no reason to refuse her. Besides, her family had helped her so much, it would be unreasonable for her to refuse.

After thinking it through, Cheng Jinxi was overjoyed. "Okay, I'll go find Jinxiao tomorrow to ask for the gold necklace."

Zhao Da'e, Zhou Chunwen, and Zhou Chunhong watched from behind as Cheng Jinxi and Zhou Tianfu secretly discussed something, vaguely mentioning things like bride price and borrowing money.

Zhao Da'e guessed that his aunt and the others were discussing how to raise enough money for the bride price.

Zhou Chunwen had guessed it too. She sighed and said, "Sigh, there's really not much money at home. Mom has been worrying about my older brother's dowry lately. I don't know if he'll be able to find a wife."

Zhao Da'e didn't think it was a big deal. Instead, she comforted Zhou Chunwen, saying, "Don't worry, cousin. Cousin will definitely be able to find a wife. Leave the dowry to me. I'll definitely find a way."

Zhou Chunwen took Zhao Da'e's words as a joke. She couldn't believe that a seven-year-old child could possibly raise enough money for the bride price. It was just something he said to comfort her.

Meanwhile, Zhao Da'e was plotting how to make money. He planned to go and ask Xiangzi and Cai Xiaofeng tomorrow how the water delivery business was going.

The next day, Cheng Jinxi got up early and went to the kitchen to cook breakfast for the children in the family.

He lit a match, heated the pot to boil water, and after a while, Cheng Jinxi went to the fields outside to cut some cabbage, washed it, cut it into sections, and set it aside.

Take out the chili peppers you picked yesterday, wash them, cut them into sections, put them in a small bowl, add vinegar, garlic, and soy sauce. That's a simple condiment. It will make the noodles more flavorful.

When the time came, Cheng Jinxi took out a bag of noodles and started cooking, just enough for five people.

Once the noodles had boiled a little, Cheng Jinxi added cabbage and five eggs.

A dozen minutes later, Cheng Jinxi scooped out the noodles, divided them into five portions, and placed an egg and some cabbage on top of each bowl.

After placing the bowls on the table, Zhao Da'e and the others got up and washed up.

Zhao Da'e smelled the aroma of the noodles and exclaimed with delight, "Auntie, the noodles you cooked today smell so good!"

Cheng Jinxi's face was full of smiles, "If it's delicious, eat more."

Looking at the smile on Cheng Jinxi's face, Zhou Chunhong felt a little strange. Yesterday, when making breakfast, Cheng Jinxi looked worried, but this morning she was all smiles, clearly in a good mood. She couldn't help but ask, "Mom, why do you look so happy today? You usually don't even bother to add seasoning when you cook noodles, but you did today. Did something good happen?"

Cheng Jinxi smiled happily and said, "It's good news! Your eldest brother's dowry money is settled!"

Zhao Da'e was somewhat shocked. Her cousin's dowry money was secured. She asked, "Auntie, how come my cousin's dowry money is secured?"

Zhao Da'e was a bit confused. She knew her aunt's family's financial situation quite well. Although they weren't starving, the bride price couldn't be raised overnight. Besides, where Zhou Chunwen and her sister would live was another problem, and all of that would cost money.

Cheng Jinxi didn't want too many people to know. What if these kids accidentally revealed that Cheng Jinxiao had a gold necklace?