Hearing Yang Ruqing's words of advice and seeing Mrs. Sun's pleading face, Yang Huazhong eased slightly. He felt that he shouldn't cut off the young girl's chances because of his momentary anger.

As Ching'er said, we should first hear the reason and then make a decision.

Thinking about this, Yang Huazhong sat back down again.

>

He glanced at the vendor beside him and said, "Brother Xiang, this isn't about you. I know you have nothing to do with this. I'm just angry with Jin Nan and his son. They are two-faced and treat marriage like a child's play. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

The ox seller quickly smiled and said, "Third brother, don't say these things to me. To be honest with you, our tempers are the same. If Xiaodo was my daughter, if I were you, when I heard this news, I might even be more explosive than you!"

“Grandpa Xiang, please sit down too. Hurry up and tell us what’s going on!” Yang Ruqing invited him.

The peddler nodded and pulled up a stool to sit down. He then told Yang Huazhong and Mrs. Sun the whole story:

"This matter, it happened this morning." The cow seller said.

“This morning, Cui'er’s parents came to our house. They closed the door and told us that Cui'er was pregnant. The baby is ours, Jin Nan's, and it's almost two months along.”

"Hissss..."

Besides Yang Ruoqing, everyone else in the room gasped.

Yang Ruqing simply lowered her eyelids slightly, concealing the disdain in her eyes.

Tui'er is really mean, she uses all sorts of underhanded tactics, she's so awful she has no friends!

“To be frank,” Yang Ruqing began, “the child in Cuier’s belly might not belong to Jin Nan. If you calculate the timing, it was around when she was accompanying Suozi at the medical hall for treatment. It could very well be Suozi’s, and Jin Nan might just be thrilled to be a father.”

Yang Huazhong and Mrs. Sun nodded in agreement, "It's possible, that girl, although she is my sister's niece, her character isn't very good!" This was the first time Mrs. Sun had spoken ill of someone behind their back.

Actually, it's not really a bad thing to say. It's quite honest.

The butcher said, “I’ve been selling cattle in the mountains for years and have heard all sorts of things. Nowadays, that girl Cui'er in Sunjia Gulch has a worse reputation than manure. I know it well even without you telling me.”

When the peddler spoke so highly of Cui'er, the atmosphere in the room inexplicably improved.

The peddler continued, “At the time my sister-in-law said, ‘This is impossible. Jin Nan is honest and straightforward; he probably doesn't even know what being a husband and wife means, let alone having a child!’”

“My brother brought Jin Nan over to ask, and unexpectedly, this rascal actually made sense! He was really like Cui'er... ah!”

The beef vendor shook his head, too embarrassed to continue.

If killing someone didn't involve going to court, he really wanted to stab his nephew to death. It was so embarrassing.

>

He actually went with Cuier to hide in an abandoned Taoist temple on the outskirts of town and did those things, even twice! He's become possessed by a ghost! The old Xiang family has never had anything like this happen before, generation after generation. It must be that bad girl Cuier who instigated him.

>

“Uncle Xiang, did Cui'er’s parents come to your place to talk about this? What do they mean? Are they asking you to hurry up and pay the dowry and marry Cui'er before she becomes pregnant?” Yang Ruoqing continued.

This was also what Yang Huazhong, Mrs. Sun, and Xiao Duo who hid behind the main hall door were most concerned about. The main hall fell silent as everyone waited for the cow seller to announce the result.

The peddler was a little confused and said, "That's what I don't understand. Logically speaking, Cui'er is pregnant, so they should be eager to have us marry her in quickly. But they said they gave our family three options: one, before the pregnancy shows, we hold a traditional betrothal ceremony with three matchmakers and six gifts, then bring her into the family."

"Second, let Jin Nan go to Sunjia Gou and be their son-in-law."

“Third, neither marry nor take a wife. Write a document and have both parties sign it with their seals. This child will be the grandson of the Sun family from now on, with no connection to our Xiang family whatsoever. Jin Nan shall bear no responsibility, but our Xiang family will give fifty taels of silver at once as child-rearing money. Otherwise, they'll go to the government and accuse Jin Nan of forcing and assaulting Cui'er..."

“My brother and sister-in-law panicked at the time. My brother, for the sake of his reputation, didn't want to get into legal trouble or become the subject of gossip among relatives and neighbors. As for my sister-in-law, when she heard about the grandson, she was also swayed. On one hand, they had lost money and resources; on the other hand, having a child could bring them joy. After weighing their options, they decided to get married again. However, before giving Cui'er an answer, they asked me to come to your house last night and hear your thoughts…”

After hearing the three things the ox seller said, a short silence fell in the main hall.

At least they haven't given a definite answer yet, and at least they are still willing to listen to our ideas first. Yang Huazhong and the Sun family felt a little less anger towards the Xiang family in their hearts.

After a pause, Yang Huazhong let out a cold snort: “Every single one of Cui’er’s family members are only interested in the money. If they truly had some ability and integrity, they would raise their own children and not need fifty taels of silver. They are practically selling their child! This is utterly shameless! How could this family be so heartless?”

Yang Huazhong could no longer find words to condemn Cui'er's parents.

Mrs. Sun also felt similarly, as a parent, Little Duo was merely their adopted daughter.

Even so, they all hoped their daughter would marry well and live a happy life, with a good reputation being the most important thing.

When it comes to money and fame, they will unhesitatingly defend their daughter's reputation.

“Normal parents, when faced with this kind of situation, usually only have two choices,” Yang Ruqing sneered and spoke slowly.

"Firstly, the situation is like cooked rice; it can't be undone. I can't bear to see my daughter suffer, so I will lower myself and discuss the marriage with the man. We'll have a low-key wedding and I'll reprimand my daughter after the marriage, telling her to reform herself and live a down-to-earth life."

"Second, if the man refuses to marry, they are already destined to be unhappy. The woman's parents would cruelly administer a bowl of abortion pills to terminate the child that never should have come into this world. They would prevent this mistake from continuing and harming future generations. Then they would reprimand their daughter, urging her to repent and reform, and in the future, to live an honest life."

"It's obvious that the entire Cui family are deeply immoral. The foundation is crooked, and so are the beams. This refers to people like them," Yang Ruohua said.

Sun said: "What can you do when you encounter such a family? They don't care about face at all, they are determined to force a marriage, and if the marriage is not successful, they will extort money!"

>

When it came to money, Ms. Sun had a flash of inspiration.

While his wife seemed to understand him silently, Yang Huazhong, her husband, slammed his fist on the table and blurted out: "Isn't it just about money? I remember Qinger once said that any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. We'll just pay the fifty taels of silver. If the Xiang family can't afford it, we'll support the rest of the family and make sure this matter is settled!"

"Fifty taels of silver won't settle this, it's just the beginning!" Yang Ruoqing directly refuted Yang Huazhong's proposal.

"Besides, what use are all those legal documents about a child's custody rights? They might be useful for other families, but not for Cuier's family. They lack integrity. Signing the papers is just a way for them to get the money upfront. In the future, as the child grows up, they will use the child to repeatedly ask Xiangjia and Jin Nan for child support. The child will become a money tree that can be tapped into for their entire life!"

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