RYEY – Chapter 108 Li Huan Went Crazy

She always remembered the day Li Bing returned—it happened to be the village’s pig-slaughtering day for the New Year. Everyone said Li Bing had a stroke of good luck, with meat waiting as soon as he came back.

Li Bing and Li Huan were complete opposites in character. Li Huan was a reckless rascal with no shame, while Li Bing embodied justice and had a very straightforward nature.

So as long as she could create even the slightest connection with Li Bing, not only could she escape the fate of marrying an old bachelor, but she could also disgust Li Huan and Cheng Qiao.

Miao Qing had been preparing for this day all along. When the villagers were happily slaughtering pigs, sharing pork, and feasting, she stood shivering in the cold wind, waiting for her fate to turn.

Heaven rewards the diligent. From afar, she spotted a patch of green. Miao Qing immediately lay down on the path he had to take. Sure enough, when Li Bing saw her thinly dressed body lying on the ground, he immediately walked over.

He first checked her pulse at her neck and, feeling a steady beat, guessed the girl must just be frozen. He removed the badge from his military coat and draped the coat over her.

Miao Qing opened her eyes slightly and saw a handsome face. Secretly delighted, she grabbed Li Bing’s hand and pressed it tightly to her chest, crying “Save me!” but refusing to let go no matter what.

Li Bing immediately felt something soft under his hand and knew this was bad. Hearing her cry for help, he realized he had been tricked. Just as he forcefully pulled his hand back, Xu Laidi suddenly appeared.

Xu Laidi took one look at their posture, smirked, and hurried off to spread the news. Miao Qing glanced at her back and also smiled.

Good thing she had prepared in advance, bribing Xu Laidi with benefits. Otherwise today’s act would have been wasted—the suffering in the cold, for nothing. Hopefully Xu Laidi would be clever enough to make the story sound vague.

“You went through all this scheming—what exactly do you want?”

Miao Qing’s face turned awkward, but when she thought of her future, tears immediately filled her eyes. “Brother Li Bing, save me. My father wants to sell me to an old bachelor from the neighboring village.”

“What’s that got to do with me?”

“It does! If your brother hadn’t blown up our kitchen and made my father pay two hundred yuan in compensation, he wouldn’t be doing this.”

Li Bing frowned deeply. He knew a bit about his younger brother’s temperament—he wasn’t unreasonable. If he did something like that, then Miao Qing’s family must have caused trouble first.

“So you’re trying to extort me.”

“This… I had no choice, did I?”

“You’re not afraid life with me will be harder than with that old bachelor?”

“I’m not afraid.”

“Heh, I hope you won’t regret it.”

Li Bing sneered, calm and collected as a group of people came running over.

Fenqiu was furious at first—this wretched money-loser wasn’t behaving properly as a bride-to-be, causing more trouble again. But when he saw Miao Qing pointing at Li Bing and accusing him of being a pervert, his mind suddenly cleared.

He gave Miao Qing an approving look. This was good—not only would it enrage Li Huan, but it could also squeeze a huge bride price out of Li Bing. How much should it be? Hmm, five hundred yuan. Otherwise they’d report him to the Public Security Bureau and claim a soldier bullied a commoner.

Li Huan really was furious. His fists clenched tight, and he wished he could beat Miao Qing to the ground. But Cheng Qiao’s face flashed before his eyes—he couldn’t be reckless for her sake.

Li Bing shook his head at the sight. After all these years away, why had his hometown people become so unrecognizable? Since he had already fallen into Miao Qing’s trap, he might as well resolve both her and the scheme together.

Miao Qing noticed that Li Bing wasn’t flustered at all but instead looked at her calmly, his eyes full of mockery. Her heart suddenly trembled—why did she feel like she’d done something wrong?

But the arrow was already nocked, too late to regret. Even at worst, marrying Li Bing was better than marrying that old bachelor. At least she wouldn’t be abused.

“Well, Li Bing! You’re supposed to be a soldier, yet you bully my daughter? Don’t even think of denying it. This military coat is evidence. Da Gang, take it home and keep it safe.”

Fenqiu’s eyes had already locked onto the military coat. He hurriedly snatched it off Miao Qing and handed it to his eldest son.

Auntie Wang spat on the ground, cursing. Evidence? What nonsense. It was obvious they just coveted the coat, and yet they had the shamelessness to twist the story.

Fenqiu glared and charged at her. Wang Duocai, though timid, stood firmly in front of his wife, while Wang Xiangyang and his brothers picked up bricks, glaring fiercely at Fenqiu.

Fenqiu froze. If it came to a fight, Wang Duocai might be cowardly, but if pushed too far, he would bite back. Fine, he’d endure it for now. He kicked Miao Qing on the foot. “Money-loser, I’ll deal with you later.”

With the coat taken and the cold wind blowing on her, Miao Qing trembled all over. Dizzy and weak, she swayed and collapsed toward her mother. Daya quickly caught her, secretly blaming her man for being too hasty.

“Miao Qing’s father, I’ll take our daughter home first. In this freezing weather, she’ll get sick if she stays out here.”

Fenqiu nodded. It wasn’t convenient to talk with that money-loser around anyway. Daya supported Miao Qing back toward home. Though staggering, Miao Qing had a smile in her eyes.

From here, she wouldn’t need to act anymore. With such a perfect opportunity, her shameless parents would naturally fight hard for her. As for the bride price, she’d find a way to take it for herself—she wouldn’t let them benefit.

Mother Li’s head throbbed painfully. Just what deity had her family offended, that her son who hadn’t returned in years had to suffer such humiliation?

Li Bing took a deep breath, supporting his mother, and said apologetically: “Mother, I’m sorry. I’ve been unfilial, not staying by your side. Now that I’ve come back, I’ve only brought you more trouble.”

Seeing Li Huan’s face twisted with rage, he patted his shoulder. “Brother, don’t worry. As the elder, I’ll take responsibility. You don’t need to.”

“And this must be my sister-in-law? I brought you both a wedding gift. I’ll give it to you when we get home. Lele, did you miss your brother? Come on, let’s go home with me.”

The crowd watched Li Bing, who hadn’t panicked at all, and felt suffocated. Chen Weidang wanted to say something but realized it was pointless. Li Bing had been a soldier for years—he must have his own way of handling things.

“Li Bing, you can’t leave just yet. We still need to talk about the bride price. My daughter can’t let you take advantage for nothing.”

“Uncle Fenqiu, name your price. If it’s reasonable, I’ll agree.”

“Son!”

“Big Brother!”

Mother Li and Li Huan both cried out in shock. But Li Bing only shook his head. One of his comrades had faced the same situation before, and the final solution had been absolutely perfect.