For such a situation, Sang Chunlan found it difficult to accept.
However, at this very moment, Chen Zi'an spoke again.
"Uncle, Aunt, I sincerely wish to marry Xiu'er. I beg you to grant my wish."
Their sincere attitude almost made the Su family agree.
But Sang Chunlan, who had ulterior motives outside the door, felt even more distressed. A wave of sadness washed over her, and she almost shed tears.
Beside her, the male teacher Yu Hongming looked at Sang Chunlan with a displeased expression.
It was only now that he understood why Sang Chunlan had insisted on coming to the Su family repeatedly.
But the current situation was clear: a goddess has dreams, but the king has no intention.
He hadn't expected Sang Chunlan to have such aspirations.
He cast a meaningful glance at Sang Chunlan.
Did she not consider what kind of person Chen Zi'an was? How could he possibly come to a rural place to find an educated youth?
It wasn't as if he was out of his mind.
But then, the male teacher thought that Chen Zi'an's mind was indeed not very sharp.
Who was Su Manxiu?
She was merely a woman abandoned by her in-laws because she couldn't have children.
Even in a place like the countryside, such a woman was not highly sought after, not even by widowed men who had lost their wives.
Chen Zi'an, as a high-ranking official in the county, was earnestly proposing marriage. What else could it be but that he was foolish?
Yu Hongming was also an older unmarried man. Although there were girls in the brigade who had expressed their interest in Yu Hongming and hoped to develop a relationship with him,
Yu Hongming was inherently proud. He considered himself a city person and looked down upon the girls of Hongxin Brigade.
Finally, he set his sights on Sang Chunlan, who was also an educated youth.
After all, they shared the same fate and had similar life experiences, so they might be able to connect better.
Most importantly, if there was a chance to return to the city in the future, they could go back together.
But before he could express his intentions, he discovered that Sang Chunlan had fallen for Chen Zi'an.
No matter how unwilling he was, Chen Zi'an was indeed a very handsome man, so it wasn't strange that Sang Chunlan fancied him.
"Do you still want to go in?" Yu Hongming asked.
"No!" Sang Chunlan was completely disheartened, feeling as if all her strength had been drained away.
Her steps were unsteady, and she felt that her future was bleak. The only glimmer of hope had vanished in an instant.
It could be said that her current disappointment was as great as her previous hope!
She didn't know what she was feeling right now – jealousy, envy, or something else.
But she knew that her current state was not suitable for going to the old Su family's house.
Su Changjiu found it strange that the two teachers followed him to the door and then turned to leave, but he didn't think much of it.
It wasn't that he didn't want to think more, but he was stunned by Chen Zi'an's words.
"Accountant Li, did I hear that wrong?"
"Probably not, I think I heard it too!" Accountant Li mumbled.
Was this old Su family really going to soar?
If they had a son-in-law who was a high-ranking official in the county, wouldn't they prosper in the future?
He even began to feel fortunate that his wife had a good relationship with the old Su family, especially since she had contributed significantly to the matter of Su Manxiu. Perhaps, he himself could also advance further by relying on Minister Chen.
But he couldn't help but look at Su Changjiu again. It seemed that Su Changjiu had an even better relationship with the old Su family!
Su Changjiu eventually led Accountant Li into the main hall of the old Su family's house.
Grandpa Su felt that Su Changjiu's arrival was perfectly timed.
"Why has the village head come? Is he here to see Minister Chen?" Grandpa Su immediately found a topic of conversation.
"Our village's pears have been picked. After discussing with the members, to thank Minister Chen for his care of our Hongxin Brigade, we are sending a basket of pears to Minister Chen. Please do not refuse!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Zi'an immediately waved his hand and said, "These pears belong to the members. I will not take them. You should distribute them as you normally would."
These two people had been outside the door for so long and had heard what he said, yet they still came in to disturb his important business.
They were not as perceptive as those two educated youths. He really didn't know how they managed to be cadres!
The two brigade cadres, who intended to curry favor with the leader, had no idea that they had already been noted in the leader's little black book.
Grandpa Su was quite satisfied with Chen Zi'an's firm refusal.
Su Changjiu and Accountant Li returned disappointed. The basket of pears they brought was taken back the same way.
The matter of Chen Zi'an proposing to Su Manxiu thus spread throughout the brigade.
Many people in the brigade did not believe it was true.
After a short while, they heard people in the brigade chattering, some saying that Chen Zi'an's gifts were very valuable, clearly showing that he was genuinely interested in Su Manxiu.
Others said that Chen Zi'an must have been blind or foolish to consider marrying a divorced woman who couldn't have children.
There were even rumors that Su Manxiu might have hooked up with Chen Zi'an, which led her to divorce Wang Gouzi.
In short, they couldn't understand why Chen Zi'an would fancy Su Manxiu.
There were plenty of girls in the brigade between the ages of seventeen and eighteen, were they all not as good as Su Manxiu?
Especially the few female educated youths, who always felt they were superior to the rural girls in the brigade.
But now, such a high-quality man was interested in a divorced village girl, which made them very disappointed.
Among them, Kang Yiye was the most disappointed.
She believed she was superior to Su Manxiu in every way and had never been divorced, so why didn't Chen Zi'an fancy her?
After much thought, Kang Yiye felt that it wasn't that Chen Zi'an didn't fancy her, but rather that Chen Zi'an had never met her.
With her mind made up, Kang Yiye began to find ways to meet Chen Zi'an.
However, the people of the old Su family were completely unaware of these goings-on.
The adults of the old Su family were all in the main hall, but each of them remained silent.
Chen Zi'an's proposal to Su Manxiu was such an astonishing event that they wouldn't have dared to imagine it even in their dreams.
"Why don't we, Father, let them try?" Su Laosan said, looking at Su Manxiu's noticeably improved complexion recently.
This sister had suffered too much.
If she could have someone who cared for her in the latter half of her life, it would be better than being alone.
"How can that be? Laosan, your sister..." Grandma Su's words trailed off.
"Tian'er's mother, if in the future, if one day... I bring Big Sister home, will you agree?"
Although Su Laosan wanted to blurt out his thoughts, he ultimately looked at his wife to seek Liang Xiu's opinion.
Liang Xiu had initially thought that Su Laosan would directly state his decision, but to her surprise, he asked for her opinion. Feeling respected, Liang Xiu's heart softened.
"If that day ever comes, our children can all support Big Sister!"
Liang Xiu's words caused Su Manxiu's tears to burst forth.
"Third Brother, Third Sister-in-law..." Su Manxiu choked out.
"Father, Mother, this way Big Sister will have no worries about the future. Can we let her get married? At worst, she can come home later!"
Su Laosan's words indeed made Grandpa Su and Grandma Su waver.
"Uncle, Aunt, the day you worry about will never come. But for the children in your family, Xiu'er and I will treat them as our own children and love them."
Chen Zi'an already liked the children of the old Su family. Treating them as his own children in the future was not a problem.
After dinner, it was time to distribute the fruit.
Su Changjiu, along with several cadres from the brigade, began to distribute this year's fruit.
"Let's first distribute according to the standard of thirty jin of fruit per person. After that, we'll see the situation with the remaining fruit. Does anyone have any objections?" Su Changjiu asked for the opinions of the members present.
The members naturally had no objections. This way, they wouldn't have to weigh all the fruit beforehand.
Chen Zi'an also came to the pear orchard with the Su family.
He was naturally here to show off.
Having received their approval, he was already the prospective son-in-law of the old Su family, and it was time for him to make an impression.
While everyone was busy distributing the fruit, Kang Yiye quietly appeared near Chen Zi'an.
She had already noticed that Su Manxiu was not at the pear orchard, which was her opportunity.
She was actually a person who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
This time, for her future prospects, she decided to spare no effort to win Chen Zi'an over.
In Kang Yiye's opinion, since Chen Zi'an could fancy Su Manxiu, there was no reason why he wouldn't fancy her.
On this point, she was very confident.
So what if she had slept with a man? What was the big deal?
Wasn't Su Manxiu also slept with other men?
Who was superior to whom?
If Chen Zi'an didn't dislike Su Manxiu, how could he dislike her?
After all, she was an educated youth, much better than Su Manxiu, the country bumpkin.
"Minister Chen..."
When Kang Yiye uttered this word, her tone was full of flirtatiousness, and her expression carried obvious admiration.
Chen Zi'an looked at the woman in front of him with disgust.
Why was this woman putting on such a desperate expression?
Chen Zi'an pretended not to hear and turned his head away.
Kang Yiye thought her voice was too soft, which was why Chen Zi'an hadn't heard her.
She cast a seductive glance at Chen Zi'an, and seeing that everyone around was busy distributing fruit, she leaned towards Chen Zi'an.
"Minister Chen..."
This time, Chen Zi'an took two steps back and said, "Stay away from me, you stink!
Stinky?
Kang Yiye clearly hadn't reacted. She had washed herself thoroughly and even sprayed some floral water; she smelled very fragrant.
But she couldn't help but lift her arm to smell it, confirming the scent of floral water before looking back towards Chen Zi'an.
"Minister Chen, I admire you with pure devotion and hope to have more in-depth exchanges with you. I hope you can give me an opportunity!"
There was nothing wrong with these words in themselves, but paired with Kang Yiye's expression, they carried many hidden meanings.
Chen Zi'an had come to show off, but he hadn't expected to encounter such a woman.
He looked at Kang Yiye thoughtfully. Was she a fool? Otherwise, why would she be doing these things?
Seeing that Chen Zi'an remained silent, Kang Yiye became even more spirited and immediately took another step forward.
"Minister Chen, I live alone in the small courtyard on the east side of the brigade. I am an educated youth from the city, and I have been to school. I am much better than Su Manxiu..."
"Get lost!" Chen Zi'an roared.
This woman was going too far! What did she think she was, to dare to openly seduce him like this? What kind of person did he think he was?
This not only startled Kang Yiye but also alerted the members of the brigade who were busy distributing fruit.
Everyone looked blankly at Chen Zi'an, who had a cold expression as if he were about to kill someone, and then at Kang Yiye, who looked stunned and a little wronged.
What was going on?
"Captain Su, what's wrong with your educated youth?"
Su Changjiu hurried to Chen Zi'an, glared fiercely at Kang Yiye, and then said with a smile, "Minister Chen, please be magnanimous. This educated youth is not mentally sound. Please don't hold it against her."
Chen Zi'an snorted. Not mentally sound? Who was he trying to fool?
This woman was clearly trying to seduce him. How could someone with unsound thoughts know how to seduce people?
"Someone like this needs to be managed properly. Don't let one rotten apple spoil the whole barrel!"
After speaking, Chen Zi'an walked five or six steps away before stopping, his eyes and brows filled with disgust.
"Kang Yiye, take your thirty jin of fruit and go home. Don't disgrace yourself here." Su Changjiu was furious.
Did this brainless woman think Minister Chen was like the unsophisticated men in their brigade? Any woman could approach him?
"Captain!" Kang Yiye naturally didn't want to give up such an opportunity.
But Su Changjiu was a person of integrity. Even though Kang Yiye's address made the surrounding people's skin crawl, Su Changjiu still reprimanded Kang Yiye with a cold face, telling her to go back immediately.
Kang Yiye knew she had no choice but to leave. Although she was still unwilling, she had no other option.
"Captain, I can't carry so many fruits!"
"If you can't carry them, then don't. There are plenty of people waiting to eat the fruit!" Su Changjiu said with a cold face.
This woman was becoming more and more shameless! Did she think he, Su Changjiu, was someone she could play with?
Kang Yiye was so choked by his words that she couldn't speak for a long time, looking extremely wronged.
Accountant Li looked at the wronged Kang Yiye, who was about to cry, and felt terrible.
Even if Kang Yiye had done some wrong things before, she was still a woman. These two were being too much.
"Kang Zhiqing, let me help you send it back! A woman, and an intellectual from the city, of course, she's not strong. Don't all of you look at me. Helping comrades is what we should all do."
Accountant Li's words were very touching, but Su Taohua was so angry that she almost crushed the basket in her hand.
Had this damned man's soul been completely captured by that woman?
Her expression grew darker and darker, but Accountant Li didn't notice.
He was busy trying to please Kang Yiye at the moment, where would he have the time to look at his own wife's expression?
"Accountant Li, I'm bothering you. You're the only one who knows how to care for comrades. I'm a woman, and it's really not easy. Thank you so much!"
Kang Yiye repeatedly expressed her gratitude, her deliberate tone almost melting people.
Accountant Li was almost beside himself, nearly embracing Kang Yiye on the spot to comfort her.
Fortunately, his remaining reason told him that he absolutely could not get physical at this moment.
Su Taohua watched as Accountant Li carried a basket of pears towards Kang Yiye's courtyard and finally closed her eyes.
And in the brigade, many people looked at Su Taohua.