country bumpkin

Chapter 424 Zhang Haiying's Engagement

In mid-June, Liu Shuai's parents asked a matchmaker in the village to propose marriage to Zhang Haiying.

The two had been talking for several months, and this time they set the engagement banquet for the end of June.

During the few days Chen Pingping was on leave, Yun Ya spent almost every day eating with Zhang Haiying and Liu Shuai, acting as a third wheel.

After they finished eating together, Yunya would ride her bicycle home, while Zhang Haiying, who was deeply in love, would go with Liu Shuai to his home.

Liu Shuai is an only child at home. His parents are honest people who dote on their only son. As a result, Liu Shuai hardly ever does any housework and is like a little child, with his mother doing all the chores.

Whenever Liu Shuai brings his girlfriend back, he stays in his room and never goes out.

The two have now progressed to living together, so whenever Zhang Haiying comes to his house, she always makes sure to be intimate with him before asking Liu Shuai to take her back.

At this time every year, Liu Shuai would try to keep Zhang Haiying here and prevent her from going back. Zhang Haiying would say that she would move in with him after the engagement and wouldn't go back home at night.

Liu Shuai nodded earnestly, his eyes filled with anticipation and happiness.

Before the engagement date, the two agreed to go together to buy several large items needed for the betrothal gifts.

The first thing they needed to do was buy an electric bicycle. Zhang Haiying took a liking to a small Mulan-style electric bicycle. Liu Shuai promptly bought it for her.

Then came two sets of clothes and two pairs of shoes. Zhang Haiying worked in the city center, so she naturally knew the market and bought all designer clothes and shoes.

After having lunch at a restaurant, we went shopping again. I bought a new phone and then looked at gold necklaces and earrings.

After buying everything, Zhang Haiying returned to her parents' home. "If we buy everything today, we only need to give the bride price on the day."

The current standard bride price is 6600 yuan, but some brides ask for 100,000 yuan.

Zhang Haiying understood that Liu Shuai was very perceptive, having bought him large items and designer clothes, so she didn't plan to ask for a large dowry, only asking for 6600 yuan.

Soon the engagement day arrived. The two families came to the grand hotel and sat together, chatting and laughing, having a great time.

At the dinner table, Liu Shuai took out the betrothal money and handed it to the matchmaker, who then passed it on to Zhang Haiying. Zhang Haiying took the money, her face beaming with happiness, and her father, brother, and sister-in-law also couldn't stop smiling.

At this moment, Liu Shuai's mother spoke up: "Haiying, after you come into our family, you must live a good life and support each other with Liu Shuai."

Zhang Haiying nodded obediently, "Auntie, don't worry, I definitely will."

Just as everyone was enjoying themselves, the sound of detonators rang out at the hotel entrance.

It was very loud, louder than ordinary firecrackers, and as thick as a detonator used to blast mountains.

Liu Shuai's relatives went out to check and found a beggar squatting at the hotel entrance setting off firecrackers to ask for money.

Liu Shuai's relatives frowned. Usually, they would only come to set off firecrackers and ask for money at a wedding banquet. Asking for money at an engagement banquet was really a downer.

When the beggar saw someone come out, he grinned, revealing his yellow and black teeth, and shouted loudly, "When the celebratory cannons go off, gold and silver will be plentiful! Give me some money!"

Liu Shuai's father followed him out, took out a few coins, and threw them to the beggar, saying, "Take the money and leave quickly."

But the beggar wasn't satisfied. He remained seated, continuing to set off firecrackers. "This isn't enough. Give me some more!"

The surrounding relatives all looked rather grim and began to whisper amongst themselves. Zhang Haiying's father also felt somewhat embarrassed and remained silent with a dark expression.

Seeing this, Liu Shuai was so angry that his face turned red. He was about to step forward to argue when Zhang Haiying grabbed him and said softly, "Don't be impulsive. Today is a good day."

After saying that, she took out a hundred yuan from the dowry money, walked up to the beggar, and said, "Uncle, please take this money for good luck."

The beggar then stopped setting off firecrackers, took the money, and left happily.

The minor incident has been resolved, and everyone has returned to the banquet, though the atmosphere has changed somewhat.

After the beggar left, Zhang Haiying's father remembered who the beggar was. It turned out to be someone from their village—Sun Zitao's second uncle, Sun Youqian.

No wonder Zhang's father didn't recognize him at first; he was dressed in dirty and tattered clothes, and his hair was very long and hadn't been washed in a long time, it was all oily.

Her face was covered in grime, and you couldn't recognize her unless you looked closely.

After discovering this business opportunity, Sun Youqian would appear wherever there was a wedding banquet.

Anyway, he doesn't do any work; he just wanders around the city whenever he has time. The small plot of land his family owned was taken back and sold by the neighborhood committee.

The neighborhood committee also took back the farmland belonging to Sun Zitao's family. Their entire village was left without farmland, so they had to find work to earn money.

Sun Youqian took the money but didn't go home. Instead, he went to set off firecrackers in front of another hotel next door.

The engagement banquet for Liu Shuai and Zhang Haiying was also coming to an end. After the two families said goodbye, the groom's family sent a taxi to take the bride's family home.

Zhang Haiying took the betrothal money with her and returned to her own home. She would only feel at ease if she deposited the money in the bank.

As soon as she reached her front door, her neighbor, Aunt Zhang, came out to greet her anxiously. "Haiying, you're finally back! Something happened to your brother Daquan!"

It turns out that Zhang Haiying's good friend Dayan's brother was accidentally injured at the construction site and is still in the hospital.

Aunt Zhang was extremely anxious. Her family really didn't have much money, and she heard that Zhang Haiying was getting engaged today and would definitely have money to help them. That's why she came to Zhang Haiying for help.

Without saying a word, Zhang Haiying followed Aunt Zhang to the hospital. When she arrived at the hospital and saw Brother Daquan lying on the hospital bed with a pale face, Zhang Haiying felt a pang of sadness.

Treatment would cost a lot of money, so Zhang Haiying gritted her teeth and decided to lend part of the bride price to Aunt Zhang in case of emergency.

She knew this might upset Liu Shuai's family, but with lives at stake, she couldn't worry about that anymore.

The next day, when she told Liu Shuai about it, Liu Shuai was silent for a while, and then said firmly, "Haiying, you did the right thing. Saving lives is the most important thing. Money can be earned back."

Zhang Haiying was deeply moved and felt she hadn't misjudged him. From that day on, Zhang Haiying moved into Liu Shuai's house permanently and became part of his family.

Time flew by, and three months passed quickly. Liu Shuai thought that they had been living together for so long and was worried that Zhang Haiying might be pregnant, so the two of them discussed getting married as soon as possible.

When Liu's parents heard that the couple wanted to get married as soon as possible, they were very happy and notified all their relatives, friends, and neighbors to come and help with the wedding banquet.

But Aunt Zhang, the neighbor, was in a dilemma. Zhang Haiying was getting married and didn't have the money to repay her debt.

Aunt Zhang was worried that if the money was used to buy a dowry, it would be difficult to repay and would delay the wedding. Wouldn't that be a big mistake?