"Impossible!"
Su Jie was someone they watched grow up, and she was best friends with their daughter. She wouldn't lie, nor would she have any reason to deceive them, as there was no benefit for her in doing so.
Therefore, she couldn't have done it. But if she hadn't lied, why did Zhang Liunian seem nothing like the country bumpkin they perceived him to be?
Judging solely by his external appearance, they would have believed him to be a wealthy and influential figure from one of the prominent Jiang families.
"Dad, are you really just going to watch them leave like this?" Jiang Xiaoqing, seeing Zhang Liunian about to get into the car and drive away, anxiously tugged at her father's arm.
Zhang Liunian was the man who had captured her heart. She wanted to understand him and didn't want him to leave so soon.
"Whether he's from the countryside or not, just based on his gift and this car, we can't just let him go like this!" Jiang Xiaoqing whispered this into her father's ear.
Jiang's father was enlightened by her words. Yes, no matter what the truth was, they absolutely could not let Zhang Liunian leave like this.
"Liunian, Qingqing, wait a moment." Jiang's father extended his hand in a gesture, then hurried forward.
Zhang Liunian didn't want to pay him any mind. He stepped forward with his long legs, half his body already inside the car. But just then, Jiang's father rushed up, grabbed Zhang Liunian's arm, and said, "Liunian, this is our first meeting as father-in-law and son-in-law. No matter what misunderstanding we have, one thing you can't change is that Qingqing and I are father and daughter. We are family. Can you change that?"
Zhang Liunian paused. What he said had some merit. This man was his father-in-law, and that would never change. However, he couldn't accept his attitude towards Qingqing.
Jiang Qingqing was the woman he intended to protect for his entire life. No one was allowed to bully her.
"That's true, but I don't care about blood relations. I only care if someone is bullying my Qingqing. Do you understand? Whoever makes my Qingqing unhappy, I will make them ten times unhappier." Zhang Liunian then clasped Jiang's father's hand and slowly moved it away.
Jiang's father didn't want them to leave. He still had a hundred questions that remained unanswered, especially concerning Zhang Liunian's circumstances. But Zhang Liunian was determined not to stay longer, making him blurt out, "Qingqing, am I not your father? If I am, get down here."
Inside the car, Jiang Qingqing sneered. Did he remember he was her father now? Was it too late?
Jiang's father waited for a long time but received no answer from Jiang Qingqing. He was furious, but due to Zhang Liunian's protective stance, he swallowed the torrent of curses.
"Qingqing married me, and now she's part of the Zhang family. If you want to bully her, ask my fists first," Zhang Liunian said, dropping Jiang's father's hand and coldly warning him. He then elegantly entered the car, exuding an impressive presence.
Jiang Xiaoqing, watching Zhang Liunian consistently protect Jiang Qingqing, felt he was incredibly handsome. He was wealthy, good-looking, and doted on his wife – truly the prince charming every woman dreamed of, and the man she wished to marry.
If she could marry a man like this, she would wake up smiling even in her dreams.
Alas... such a wonderful man was her third sister's. Heaven was truly unfair. Why did her third sister have good looks and marry such a good man?
"Brother-in-law, we are family. Can't we sit down and talk through any misunderstandings? Why hurt our harmony like this..." Jiang Xiaoqing quickly stepped forward to try and stop Zhang Liunian as he was about to close the door.
But the only reply she received was a puff of exhaust, which turned Jiang Xiaoqing's face from black to blue and back again, looking very unpleasant.
"Second child, hurry and ride your bicycle to chase after them. You must bring your third sister back today. If you can't bring her back, you don't need to come back either," Jiang's father ordered his second son from the back of the crowd as the car started.
Jiang Qingtian choked, opened his mouth, and then finally turned to get on their only bicycle to chase after them.
After Jiang Qingtian left, the neighborhood residents who had watched the commotion gathered around, asking questions in a flurry.
"Old Jiang, was that man just now your third daughter's country husband? He doesn't look like a country person at all!"
"Exactly. Not only doesn't he look like a country person, but he looks like a leader. Look at that car, so shiny. Your third daughter has such good fortune!"
"Old Jiang, you're really dishonest. Your third daughter married a capable man in the countryside, but you called him a clodhopper. If he hadn't driven over to pick up Qingqing, we would have all been fooled by you."
"We're not going to fight you for a son-in-law, so you really didn't need to do this."
"..."
The reproachful expressions and words of the neighbors left Jiang's father speechless and unable to retort.
Seeing him like this, everyone became even more convinced that he had deliberately said those things, causing them to pity and criticize Jiang Qingqing, saying she had no taste and was unwilling to come back because she married a country bumpkin.
But today, after seeing him, the man was truly handsome and capable. A car worth hundreds of thousands was just a mode of transport. If such a man was considered bad, then they wanted a stack of them.
"Everyone has misunderstood my Kaiguo. My wife and I only found out about Qingqing's marriage last month. Su Jie, Su family's second child, told us. She said Qingqing married the worst man in Zhangjia Village – a philanderer, lazy, a thief, and wicked in every way. But when we saw him in person, we realized she had lied to us." Li Xiaoxiu, seeing Jiang Kaiguo so angry he couldn't speak, quickly stepped forward to explain.
Upon hearing this, some of the crowd remembered who Su Jie was. Wasn't she the cousin of Jiang Kaiguo's eldest daughter-in-law?
"So it was Su Jie. She's already agreed to marry someone. She's about to get married, and her fiancé is an old man who collects rent."
"I heard he's from the new street area."
"I heard that old man she's marrying isn't a real man."
"Yes, yes, I heard that too. He had a wife before, and they were married for over ten years without having children. Then they divorced, his wife remarried, and the second year she had a son. So everyone secretly says he's useless, not a real man."
"That man isn't a bald old man who walks around with a bunch of keys all day?"
"It's him, it's him."
"..."
Meanwhile, Zhang Liunian had taken Jiang Qingqing to a nice meal at a restaurant. Afterward, he took her to No. 1 New Street, the site of the burned-down shop, to see the first property he had bought in Jiangcheng.
"Don't crowd, line up one by one. No cutting in line. There's enough supply for everyone," Li Shu said amidst the crowd opposite, keeping track of statistics and maintaining order.
"Boss, don't you have upgraded pickled vegetables? Why didn't you bring them for us? Some of our customers are very curious about your upgraded pickled vegetables," a young man in the crowd asked about Zhang Liunian's upgraded pickled vegetables.
Li Shu smiled and looked up, only to see Zhang Liunian and Jiang Qingqing outside the crowd. He immediately pushed through the crowd to come over. "Boss, why are you here? Do you have any new instructions?"
Zhang Liunian, with Jiang Qingqing half-embraced, replied with a smile, "No, I came to pick up my wife. I was passing by and wanted to see how far the construction of the shop has progressed."
Zhang Liunian looked at the place that had been burned down and saw quite a lot of building materials piled on the ground. Inside, over twenty workers were working diligently. These were the workers Li Shu had found for Zhang Liunian.
"They've already laid the foundation and are starting to reinforce the steel and pour concrete. Once that's done, they'll start building the walls. They say they can finish it in about a month, if things go quickly." Li Shu turned to look at the sweating workers and nodded, quite satisfied.
"Then I'm relieved. You go ahead and do your work. I'll take Qingqing around. I won't say goodbye when we leave," Zhang Liunian said, also satisfied. Finishing the shop in a month was a speed he was very pleased with.
He wondered how the construction of the Nan Cheng Food District was progressing. When he returned to Nan Cheng, he would have to check on Uncle Ma's progress.