Starting out as a drug dealer in 1988

Zhao Jianmin was obviously not very sure about what such a young man said.

He knew Zhao Aiguo's temper very well, so Zhao Jianmin turned his gaze to Wei Chunlan who was standing next to him, as if wanting to get his confirmation.

"His third uncle, this is indeed the case. We want to cancel the engagement."

Wei Chunlan finally showed courage this time, after all, it was related to the future happiness of her eldest daughter.

If it had only involved her, with her submissive nature, she might have let it go. But this time it was different. Her son finally took responsibility and stood up, even though she had never agreed to marry her daughter to him in the first place.

When Zhao Jianmin heard Wei Chunlan say the same thing, he finally believed the truth of the matter.

But what made him curious was how this kid Zhao Wenhao had changed so much after just a few days of not seeing him.

In the past, although he was also opposed to his sister marrying Ma Hongzhi, he did not dare to say a word. Now he actually came to cancel the engagement on his own initiative. This is indeed a strange thing.

When Zhao Aiguo came to him to act as a matchmaker, he had refused in every possible way. Zhao Jianmin was of course well aware of the character of Ma Yaoming's son.

But in the end, he couldn't stand Zhao Aiguo's pestering and agreed to it.

"Chunlan, what happened that led you to deliberately propose to cancel the engagement?" Zhao Jianmin asked curiously.

He wasn't just curious; he also needed an explanation. The other party belonged to the deputy mayor of Hengtang Town. He had to have a reason to rashly come to their house and ask for a breakup. Otherwise, an inexplicable visit would surely create resentment.

Wei Chunlan is not good at speaking and can only ask Zhao Wenhao for help.

Zhao Wenhao also explained to Zhao Jianmin what happened this morning when Ma Hongzhi and his men knocked him unconscious and what happened tonight.

"Hey, I didn't agree to let Wen Jing marry that Ma Hongzhi in the first place, but Aiguo is determined to climb up the social ladder." Zhao Jianmin slammed the table in frustration, "I'm going to go talk to Mayor Ma tomorrow, but you'd better send someone with you."

"Let me go!" Zhao Wenhao stood up immediately.

This matter was caused by him, so of course he had to solve it. Besides, Zhao Aiguo at home could not be relied upon, and Zhao Wenjing and Wei Chunlan's personalities were not suitable for such a thing.

Although Zhao Wenhao knew that there would definitely be disputes and criticisms after that, since it was inevitable, he had no reason to retreat.

Seeing Zhao Wenhao take the initiative to stand up, not only Zhao Jianmin, but even the branch secretary Zhao Yuanchao who had been silent couldn't help but smile with relief.

"Let's talk about it tomorrow. You should be mentally prepared. I think the cancellation of the engagement will definitely be successful, but there will definitely be criticism.

Also, you should prepare the betrothal money you had earlier, and even better, a little more. After all, you were the ones who took the initiative, so you need some compensation to save face for everyone."

Zhao Jianmin continued speaking, he didn't know that Zhao Aiguo had already lost all the 3000 yuan betrothal money.

"His third uncle, we can't come up with the betrothal money right now, and Aiguo lost all the money." Wei Chunlan lowered her head, feeling very embarrassed.

"What? Lost everything? That's 3000 yuan!" Zhao Jianmin slammed the table, furious. "This bastard! How could such a bastard appear in our Zhaojiayu? If I were his brother, I'd skin him alive."

Zhao Wenhao stepped forward and explained: "This money was lost to a few friends of Ma Hongzhi. I suspect this is a trap, waiting for my dad to take the bait."

It’s not that Zhao Wenhao was speaking for Zhao Aiguo, but it was the fact. He needed to let the two village leaders present know the whole story to avoid the villagers talking about it.

"Oh, what a sin." Zhao Jianmin shook his head. There was no other solution. "What would you do if you didn't have this money? Paying back debts is only natural. I can't say anything more."

"Uncle San, I hope that when we go over to talk to them, they can give us some time, a month, even just one month. I will definitely find a way to pay back the money." Zhao Wenhao promised, patting his chest.

It would be impossible for him to achieve this goal if he discussed this matter on his own. For now, he can only hope that Zhao Jianmin can help.

If it really doesn't work out, he plans to take Zhao Wenjing out to hide for a while, and come back after making enough money. He believes that this kind of life will not last long.

But in this case, Zhao Aiguo, Wei Chunlan and even his sister Zhao Wenxia who stayed at home might be blamed by the other party, and he could not really take the whole family out together. After all, Zhao Wenxia still had to go to school and there were some livestock to raise at home.

Zhao Jianmin was in a dilemma at this time. He could imagine that if he didn't bring money to cancel the engagement, the Ma family would definitely not agree.

One month, would the other party really be so easy to agree to and give a one-month deadline?

Based on Zhao Jianmin's understanding of the Ma family, this matter would probably be difficult.

"Jianmin, you and Aiguo share a common great-grandfather. Since their family is in trouble, you should help if you can. How about this? Tomorrow morning I'll go to the savings bank and withdraw 1500 yuan, and you can think of a way to raise more."

Zhao Yuanchao finally spoke, and immediately offered to lend Zhao Wenhao money. This made Zhao Wenhao feel a little warm, but also a little surprised.

There aren't many well-off families these days, and 1500 yuan is a considerable sum of money even for the village party secretary's family.

Moreover, although they both had the surname Zhao, Zhao Aiguo and Zhao Yuanchao did not share a common great-grandfather like Zhao Jianmin did. Besides being the village party secretary, the other party did not seem to have any connection to Zhao Aiguo.

Not only was Zhao Wenhao surprised, Zhao Jianmin was also surprised when he heard Zhao Yuanchao offered to help. However, this was not the time to ask further questions, and it was not convenient for him to open his mouth.

"The most I can offer is 1000 yuan. I can't give you more than that." Zhao Jianmin said with some embarrassment. "Chunlan, for the rest, why don't you think of a way to get some help from Aimin and Aifang, your family members?"

Zhao Aimin, Zhao Aiguo's younger brother; Zhao Aifang, Zhao Aiguo's younger sister, has married in the next town.

Because of Zhao Aiguo, Zhao Aimin hated his elder brother so much that the two families basically did not have much contact.

Even during festivals, the younger generation would visit each other's homes to pay New Year's greetings. On ordinary days, the two brothers would not speak to each other.

As for Zhao Aifang, since the two elders passed away one after another, she rarely returned to her parents' home and they had no contact.

Now Zhao Jianmin had no choice but to ask Wei Chunlan to borrow money from these two families. Most of the families in the village disliked Zhao Aiguo, so even if they wanted to borrow money, it would not be much.