A stunning mermaid dressed in the 1980s, the whole family lined up to pamper her endlessly.

Chapter 189 Questioning
As they talked, everyone realized something was wrong.

"Strange, given the Cai Jinhua family's character, they would definitely throw a banquet for such a good thing. Why would they try to sneak the person away like this?"

"Besides, the young man from the Zhou family is not bad-looking. I think he has all his limbs intact. Why would they spend two hundred yuan on a bride price to marry him? I'm not trying to belittle him."

Any decent girl raised like Cai Jinhua would become thin, dark-skinned, and not very attractive. With a dowry of two hundred yuan, the young man from the Zhou family could easily marry a girl with better conditions. Why did he choose this girl, Lai Xia?

"Yeah, is there something fishy going on here? Could it be that the Zhou family kid has some kind of hidden illness?"

Hearing everyone's guesses, the village chief's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

Cai Jinhua was also flustered: "What nonsense are you all talking about? My son-in-law is perfectly fine. He just has good taste and came to see our family. He said she's a bit dark-skinned and thin, but she inherited my features and is still very pretty. With some rest, she'll become fairer and plumper..."

The crowd that heard this: …………

Seriously, do you have any shame? Don't you even know what you look like?

Many people rolled their eyes.

The village chief's voice was stern: "Then tell me, what are you doing going to the beach? Why would you rather leave than marry that Zhou boy?"

This departure, it's hard to say whether it was leaving the village or...

The village chief asked with a heavy heart, "Besides Aunt Yun, did anyone else see this and come to see?"

The group looked at each other, indicating that they had none left.

Yun Jiao rested her chin on her hand and wondered, "Could Yun Lai really have thought about jumping into the sea to commit suicide?"
She wasn't wrong. When Yun Lai Di learned that he had been arranged into a ghost marriage, he was filled with despair and thought of jumping into the sea to end it all.

But when I got to the beach, I cried for a while and the wind calmed me down, but my resentment and the urge to escape grew stronger.

Then they walked along a nearly deserted path until they were tired and hungry, at which point they hid behind a haystack.

As the villagers talked, they became increasingly convinced that Yunlaidi had probably jumped into the sea.

The village chief immediately called on some young and strong men to search along the nearby sea.

When lives are at stake, the villagers remain united.

Almost everyone who owns a boat has set out.

The village chief turned to Cai Jinhua's family and demanded sternly, "What exactly did you do? Did you really marry Lai Di off to that Zhou family boy?"

The village chief also felt there was something fishy going on. Otherwise, considering that the girl had been tormented by her heartless mother until she was 17, she wouldn't have wanted to commit suicide just before she was about to get married.

Under the village chief's gaze, Cai Jinhua and Yun Dana shrank back, their eyes darting away.

"Of course, she's going to marry that Zhou family boy. People have come to see her, so how could it be fake? They're here to see if that brat has grown up and is disobedient."

I raised her from infancy, feeding her every drop of sweat, and this is how she repays us? Heartless ingrate…”

As she spoke, Cai Jinhua even started cursing.

Yun Jiao rolled her eyes and ran to Grandma Li's side.

This Granny Li is known throughout the village for her fiery temper and love of gossip.

"Grandma Li, Yunjiao will tell you a secret. The other day I overheard two people from the Zhou family saying that the third son died. Poor thing, he had a wife."

Upon hearing this, Granny Li, who loves to eat melons, perked up immediately.

Her eyes gleamed with excitement: "Really?!"

Yun Jiao nodded: "Yes, really."

Grandma Li not only loves gossiping, but she also enjoys getting the latest news and spreading it around. Of course, Grandma Li doesn't spread just any news; she has her own standards, and she won't spread rumors that are baseless, unsubstantiated, or completely unfounded.

For example, at this moment, although he listened to Yun Jiao's words, he did not directly question Cai Jinhua about whether she had arranged a ghost marriage for Yun Lai.

Instead, he asked, "Cai Jinhua, I heard that your in-laws' third son died?"

Feeling guilty, Cai Jinhua panicked for a moment, her eyes darting around.

"Then...how would I know?"

Granny Li was watching her closely, and from her expression, she knew that Yun Jiao's news was probably true.

She cracked sunflower seeds: "So, Lai Di and that Zhou family kid didn't know each other before, right? Why is he suddenly willing to spend two hundred yuan to marry her? And all this sneaking around, tsk tsk tsk... Who exactly is Lai Di marrying?"

This doesn't need to be explained; anyone with a quick mind would have figured it out.

For a moment, everyone looked at Cai Jinhua with disbelief in their eyes.

Is this really her biological mother? Isn't this just asking for trouble?
The village chief also stared intently at Cai Jinhua and Yun Dana.

"Is what Granny Li said true? Yun Dana, you're arranging a ghost marriage for your own daughter?!"

Cai Jinhua and Yun Dana, who were already feeling guilty, panicked even more.

"no!"

Cai Jinhua denied it in a very loud voice: "I came to visit my mother, how could I... how could I do such a thing!"

"If that's not the case, then why keep the marriage a secret?"

The village chief, furious, pointed at the two of them and said, "Fine, fine... you won't admit it, huh? Then I'll go to Zhoujia Village myself and find out if it really is that boy from the Zhou family who's getting married!"

Cai Jinhua panicked completely: "Village chief, we...we just came to see what's good for us."

This time she didn't deny it.

You can find out about this by asking around in Zhoujia Village; she can't deny it at all.

Cai Jinhua simply started crying pitifully: "Our family has so many daughters, we have no money, we're poor. Since the Zhou family can afford a dowry of two hundred yuan, it seems that marrying into that family would lead to a good life, at most she'd be a widow. Her body is so weak, even if she married a normal person she wouldn't be able to have children, it's better to..."

"You bastard!"

Enraged, the village chief pointed at Cai Jinhua's nose and yelled, "You're supposed to be a mother! Lai Di is your own daughter! How can you treat her like this? No wonder Lai Di can't understand! You two heartless dogs! You make it sound so nice, why don't you marry him yourselves..."

When the old man got really angry, he could really swear. His spittle flew as he cursed so badly that Cai Jinhua and Yun Dana couldn't even lift their heads.

However, Yun Jiao felt that the two of them were still quite unconvinced.

Finally, Cai Jinhua lost her patience and said bluntly, "Lai Di is my flesh and blood, my daughter. Wherever she goes, it's up to her parents to decide who she marries. Village chief, this is our family matter, so don't meddle too much. Just find that brat Lai Di for me."

She'd be heartbroken to have to return a dowry of two hundred yuan.

"Heartless! Heartless!"

The people around Cai Jinhua were also looking at her strangely and whispering among themselves.

But Cai Jinhua and her husband, along with their son, were all thick-skinned and didn't take these words to heart at all.

Their daughters, however, were hugging each other, their eyes filled with fear and numbness.

Many adults shook their heads, saying it was a terrible thing.

(End of this chapter)