To make up for the debt owed to Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

"What do you mean 'forget'? Does that mean 'forget' about studying?" Lin Qingping questioned.

The second sister was so shocked by her question that she didn't dare to speak and just buried her head even lower.

Lin Qingping knew her second sister's personality; she was indeed a bit weak, otherwise she wouldn't have been bullied so badly in her past life.

“Reading it…is of no use…” the second sister said timidly in a low voice.

Lin Qingping understood immediately. "Is that what Mother said? It's useless for girls to study, since they'll get married anyway?"

The second sister was silent for a while, then tacitly agreed, adding, "Besides, how could I possibly pass the exam?"

Lin Qingping understood her second sister's mindset all too well. If she hadn't been reborn, and someone had told her that she could go to university, she would have thought it was a pipe dream.

"Girls, what's the point of studying! They'll get married anyway, knowing a few words is enough!"

"You think you can go to university? You're like a toad trying to eat swan meat!"

This mindset is prevalent in Gujia Village, and indeed in many other rural areas.

"Zhaodi!" her mother suddenly shouted.

Then he rushed over and found Lin Qingping.

"Oh, what brings someone we can't possibly associate with here? Be careful not to get your feet dirty!" her mother said sarcastically.

However, her mother was clearly in a hurry. Before Lin Qingping could even argue with her, she grabbed her second sister and ran home, scolding her all the while, "How did you get yourself into this state! Hurry up and go home and tidy yourself up! How can you face anyone looking like this!"

During the struggle, the bundle in Zhao Di's arms opened, revealing a red outer garment underneath.

Her mother pulled her out, "Did your sister buy this for you?"

"Ah."

"Your sister really did something right this time! Go back and change!"

Lin Qingping keenly sensed that her mother was acting strangely. She didn't complain that her mother only bought things for her second sister but not for her brother, and that she even made her second sister dress up.

The signal shouldn't be too obvious!

She immediately followed.

When they arrived at the house, there was indeed a person sitting there—Aunt Lu from Linjia Village, a well-known matchmaker in Linjia Village.

She was the one in her past life! She spoke so sweetly of the Hu family from the neighboring village that she convinced her mother to agree to the marriage. Of course, the most important thing was the 500 yuan dowry.

500 yuan is a huge sum of money in this day and age. Her mother didn't even consider what kind of family would spend so much money to try and establish a relationship with the Lin family, a poor and destitute family. There's obviously a trap involved!

Of course, whether there was a scam or not didn't matter; her mother didn't care at all. All she cared about was the 500 yuan.

As soon as the three of them got home, her mother pushed Zhao Di to wash her face and change her clothes, and then sat down with Aunt Lu with a smile.

"As you know, our Zhaodi is a well-known hardworking girl in the whole village. She's a whiz at home and in the fields, and she can work even harder than men! She's also honest and very obedient! As for her looks, I'm not bragging, but the daughters I, Wu Axiu, have given birth to are among the best in the surrounding villages. Look at our Pingzi, isn't she beautiful? Zhaodi got tanned from working in the fields in the summer, but she'll be fair-skinned again in one winter!"

Lin Qingping felt only irony as she listened to her mother praising her second sister so enthusiastically.

Diligent, a skilled worker, honest and obedient, and beautiful...

These so-called fine qualities are either for serving others or for pleasing others.

Aunt Lu then said, "How could I not know? I only came here because I knew the girl was good, right? They've already made their decision and have their eye on Zhao Di! As for the bride price, this amount..."

Aunt Lu held up five fingers.

"Fifty... fifty?"

Lin Qingping saw the joy in her mother's eyes. So, fifty yuan was enough to sell her second sister? If she had known it was five hundred yuan, wouldn't her mother have gone mad with joy?

As expected, Aunt Lu looked smug and shook her head vigorously, "What 50? It's five hundred!"

"Five hundred!" Lin Qingping's mother, Wu Aixiu, jumped up, hardly believing her ears, her voice trembling.

Seeing her mother's excited state, Lin Qingping was afraid she might faint, so she had to pour cold water on her, "Could it be that the groom has some kind of problem? Why is the bride price so high?"

Wu Axiu almost jumped over and slapped her across the face. "Shut up! What are you doing, kid interrupting when adults are talking!" After saying that, she smiled ingratiatingly at the matchmaker and said, "Aunt Lu, please tell me more details."

Anyway, Lin Qingping had seen through it all. Whether she said it or not, her mother had already made up her mind. Even if the other party was an old man or a cripple, as long as he was still breathing, her mother would marry her second sister off to him.

Aunt Lu looked a little embarrassed, but quickly regained her spirits. "Don't worry, I'm the most honest matchmaker. I never do anything secretive or secretive. That's the most basic thing for a matchmaker, isn't it? This... the man is a bit older, he's 30..."

Upon hearing "30," Wu Axiu breathed a sigh of relief; she was truly prepared to turn 60...

"My legs are a little inconvenient..." Aunt Lu slowly revealed the information.

"Is it... really that inconvenient?" Wu Axiu asked tentatively: Could he really be paralyzed?

"I was injured a couple of years ago, which made it difficult for me to walk. My gait is uneven and it doesn't look very good."

Wu Axiu slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "What's so inconvenient about this!"

Indeed, compared to a paralyzed person, it is...

"There's one last thing..." Aunt Lu added, "It's a second marriage. He had a wife before, but no children! If Zhao Di marries into the family and has a baby of her own, it won't be much different from her first marriage!"

"This is really..." Wu Axiu's eyes lit up. What a wonderful marriage!

Lin Qingping could only pour cold water on the idea again, "Aunt Lu, what about his first wife?"

"died!"

Lin Qingping then asked, "How did you die?"

"This..." Aunt Lu hesitated, "...died of illness."

"Really?" Lin Qingping stopped playing along. "I heard that this cripple beats people up every few days, leaving them half-dead, and one person couldn't take it anymore and jumped into the river."

"This...you mustn't talk nonsense!" Aunt Lu's expression changed.

Lin Qingping sneered, "Aunt Lu, you know best whether I'm talking nonsense or not. You're going to act as a matchmaker for someone like this? Aren't you afraid that the matchmaker will be unable to sleep at night after taking the money?"

"Pah!" Aunt Lu was so angry that she was about to leave. "I only came here because I thought your family was above me! Ah Xiu, your girl has such a sharp tongue, I can't afford to offend her. I'd better not talk about the marriage anymore. I'm telling you this now, from now on, I won't get involved in your family's Zhaodi matters anymore!"

Wu Axiu became anxious and grabbed Aunt Lu, repeatedly saying, "Don't go! Don't go!"

Lin Qingping sneered again, "I'm making this clear today: if anyone dares to come to my house again and talk to Zhao Di about these unreliable marriages, pushing her into a fire pit, don't blame me for kicking them out with a big broom!"

As Lin Qingping spoke, she actually picked up a broom and started waving it around.

Aunt Lu was so angry that she ran away, jumping up and down and cursing.

Wu Axiu turned around and slapped Lin Qingping.