Siheyuan: Starting from 1958

Seeing that there was still no movement at the Jia family's door, Qin Huairu, who was already furious, became even angrier and started cursing.

"Ashamed Flower..."

"Why aren't you out here yet, you good-for-nothing...?"

"This is the only way to save your brother. Can't you just make sacrifices for yourself?"

"You don't expect me to go in and drag you out, do you...?"

Just as Qin Huairu's insults became increasingly excessive, the tightly closed door of the Jia family was finally opened a crack. The first thought that came to Qin Huairu's mind was that he had cursed Kuihua out of the room.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Kuihua who walked out of the Jia family home, but rather a puzzled Jia Zhangshi, who frowned and asked Qin Huairu, "Huairu..."

"Didn't Kuihua go to the Civil Affairs Bureau with you to get your marriage certificate first thing this morning?"

"When did she get home? I haven't seen her."

A bad feeling flashed through Qin Huairu's mind, and her expression grew increasingly serious. She stared intently at Jia Zhangshi and asked, "Mom..."

"Are you sure Kuihua didn't come back during the day today...?"

Jia Zhangshi rolled her eyes at Qin Huairu and replied, "I stayed at home all day today. Kuihua is such a big person. If she had gone home, how could I not have seen her?"

At this point, Madam Jia noticed that Qin Huairu was acting strangely and quickly asked, "Is there a problem at the Civil Affairs Bureau where you got your marriage certificate...?"

Qin Huairu knew she couldn't hide it anymore, so she quickly replied, "Kuihua is too disobedient..."

"When we got the marriage certificate, people asked her if she was getting married voluntarily... and that girl Kuihua actually said that I forced her..."

"The Civil Affairs Bureau immediately accused me of arranging a marriage and selling my daughter, and the police arrested me. I was detained for several hours before being released."

"Kuihua came out before me..."

"I thought she had returned, and I was thinking of taking her to apologize to Xiao Zhang."

"Although we didn't get the marriage certificate today, as long as Kuihua apologizes properly, maybe they'll give me the remaining 600 yuan of betrothal money in advance..."

Madam Jia's expression turned serious, and she gasped, "I knew that Kuihua, that good-for-nothing, was just as selfish as her sister..."

"When faced with a situation, they only think of themselves and never think of repaying the Jia family."

"The Jia family has raised them for nothing for over twenty years..."

"That good-for-nothing must have run away..."

“I knew he was at home collecting laundry this morning. Even if it was family, they could have come back to collect laundry after getting the marriage certificate. Who brings clothes and belongings to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get a marriage certificate? Turns out this good-for-nothing was trying to run away.”

Qin Huairu panicked after hearing this: "Then what should we do?"

"If we can't find the 'Guihua' (a type of dowry), we can't apologize to Xiao Zhang. Not only will Xiao Zhang not give us the remaining 600 yuan of the dowry, but he'll also take back the 200 yuan he gave us yesterday..."

"Without money, we can't pay the fine, and we can't get out..."

"What if I get sentenced and serve three years in prison? How will I ever get married or find a job in the future?"

Jia Zhangshi's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

If it weren't for the incident this morning where Kuihua refused to register their marriage at the Civil Affairs Bureau, Qin Huai might have been able to get the remaining 600 yuan of betrothal gifts back if he had gone to Xiao Zhang's house and tried to persuade him.

Now that they know Kuihua doesn't agree to marry him, if Kuihua, the person involved, isn't present and can't beg for forgiveness, no matter how Qin Huairu tries to persuade them, they won't give the Jia family the remaining six hundred yuan of betrothal money. For a moment, Jia Zhangshi couldn't think of a good solution and could only bite the bullet and say, "Let's find Kuihua first..."

"She only left a few hours earlier than you, so she couldn't have gone far. You might still be able to find her."

"As long as we find Kuihua, we still have a chance to get her to marry Xiao Zhang and get the remaining six hundred yuan in betrothal gifts..."

"I'll go find someone..."

"Go find Yi Zhonghai..."

“I saw Yi Zhonghai go out this morning, and he came back to the courtyard at noon. He must have borrowed the money. You should first get the 1,600 yuan that Yi Zhonghai has, and then come with me to find Kuihua and try to get the remaining 600 yuan of betrothal money back.”

"If all else fails, we'll have to think of other solutions."

Qin Huai nodded, just as he was about to split up with Jia Zhangshi, when a loud shout suddenly rang out at the entrance of the courtyard.

"Qin Huairu... quickly return the two hundred yuan dowry money I gave you yesterday..."

"Xiao Zhang... what brings you here..." Seeing that the person she had introduced to Xiao Zhang had actually found the courtyard house and was looking at her with an angry expression, Qin Huairu, knowing she was in the wrong, quickly went over to greet him and asked in return with an embarrassed expression.

Xiao Zhang was also very angry today.

I thought that after today, I would be able to marry a beautiful wife.

As a result, he didn't get a wife and was even sent to the police station where he was criticized. He couldn't even find a place to reason with them.

Finally, he decided to vent all his anger on Qin Huairu, feeling that all his bad luck today was caused by Qin Huairu.

If Qin Huairu hadn't failed to persuade Kuihua to marry him at home, this wouldn't have happened at the Civil Affairs Bureau today, and he wouldn't have been arrested by the police...

Upon returning home, he decided to personally go to the courtyard house to demand an explanation from Qin Huairu.

Seeing Qin Huairu walking towards him, still pretending to be nonchalant, Xiao Zhang's anger flared even more. He retorted irritably, "The marriage didn't happen, so of course I'm here to get back the two hundred yuan dowry I gave you yesterday..."

"Qin Huai Ru..."

"You got me arrested by the police today, I can't be bothered to bother you anymore..."

"Give me back my two hundred yuan right now, and we'll pretend we don't know each other... Hurry up, it's getting dark, I don't have time to waste chatting with you here..."

"It's a misunderstanding..." Qin Huairu didn't have enough money to pay the fine to begin with, and if she returned the two hundred yuan that Xiao Zhang had given her yesterday, she would have even less money to pay the fine, so she quickly stepped forward to explain.

"Xiao Zhang... what happened at the Civil Affairs Bureau today must be a misunderstanding..."

"After all, I've never met you before..."

"I'll talk to her again tonight, and I'll make sure she's willing to get the marriage certificate with you. There won't be any more accidents, so you can rest assured."

"Don't worry my ass..." Xiao Zhang didn't give Qin Huairu any face at all and started cursing as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Your daughter accused you of arranging a marriage for her own benefit, of selling her to make money, and even tried to convince her to marry me willingly. Are you trying to fool me?"

"If you're so capable, let Kuihua come out. Let's have a proper confrontation in front of all the neighbors in this courtyard and see if Kuihua is willing to marry me..."

"If you're willing, I'll go back now and wait for you to come and get your marriage certificate..."

"If you're unwilling, return the two hundred yuan dowry I gave you yesterday immediately." (End of Chapter)