My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Lu Qingshan's skin and flesh tensed instantly.

He sat up silently, his gaze falling on the blurry figure reflected in the window paper.

The figure was very slender; who could it be so late at night?

Lu Qingshan got off the kang (a heated brick bed), slipped on his shoes, walked a few steps to the door, and unlatched it.

Outside the door, a cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in, and a thin figure shivered slightly in the shadows of the porch.

It's Lin Xiulan.

She was clutching something tightly in her hand, her face was pale in the moonlight, and her lips were bloodless from the cold.

"Why are you here?" Lu Qingshan was startled and quickly pulled her into the courtyard, closing the door behind him. The two stood under the gate and talked in hushed tones, Lu Qingshan's broad back shielding them from the wind and snow.

"I... I've been busy all afternoon... I only heard about it from my brother when he got back."

Lin Xiulan's voice was low and trembling slightly, whether from the cold or from anxiety, it was hard to tell.

"The police came this afternoon? They didn't give you any trouble, did they?"

"It's nothing, it's all taken care of," Lu Qingshan replied absentmindedly.

As the saying goes, a beautiful woman looks more beautiful the more you look at her under the moon.

Lin Xiulan was a natural beauty, but she never competed or fought for anything and always kept her head down, so the people in the village never noticed.

He looked up at Lu Qingshan eagerly, his round little deer eyes only seeing Lu Qingshan's figure, which made him a little thirsty.

Lin Xiulan opened her mouth hesitantly.

"I heard you bought a sewing machine, a bicycle... and a watch too?"

"Yes, I bought them all."

Lin Xiulan looked up, her eyes filled with urgency: "Qingshan, I know you mean well, but... but this expense is too much. That watch, how about... how about we return it? We don't need those things for everyday life."

Her words were full of earnest concern for him.

Lu Qingshan felt a warmth in his heart.

He knew that this woman was never thinking of herself, but of the family and of him.

"I'll just earn more money when it's all gone. Tomorrow my grandfather and I will go up the mountain to get some supplies so we can get the wedding in time for the New Year," he said softly.

"You're going into the mountains again!" Lin Xiulan's eyes immediately reddened.

"We can't send you to risk your life in the mountains just because we're having a wedding! You're still far from being able to hold a proper wedding!"

She placed the bowl on the table, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, and unfolded it layer by layer. Inside were several small bills and coins that were slightly damp from being clutched.

"This is what I secretly saved up, it's not much... You take it, don't go, okay?"

"I...I'm worried about you."

The last sentence was barely audible. Lin Xiulan's face flushed red, and she turned her head to look at the floor, only continuing to hand over the money in her hand.

Looking at that small amount of money, Lu Qingshan felt as if something had struck his heart.

He didn't take the money; instead, he took a step forward.

Lin Xiulan instinctively stepped back, her back pressed against the cold door.

The flame of the kerosene lamp in the room flickered.

Lu Qingshan raised his hand but didn't touch her. Instead, he braced his hand against the wall next to her ear, trapping her between himself and the wall.

He carried the chill of the wind and snow outside, but his breath was scalding hot, splashing onto Lin Xiulan's face repeatedly.

Lin Xiulan's breathing became erratic.

She could smell the faint scent of soap on him, mixed with the aroma of wild grass and the warmth of a man's body.

Her cheeks burned uncontrollably, and her heart pounded wildly.

"Xiulan".

Lu Qingshan's voice was low, carrying an undeniable composure.

"listen to me."

"I'm not going into the mountains to risk my life; I have my own plans."

"I promised you that I would marry you in a grand and glorious way, so that you would never have to be subservient to anyone for the rest of your life. I mean what I say."

His fingers lightly touched her cheek, where the skin was surprisingly hot.

Lin Xiudan's eyelashes trembled violently; she dared not look him in the eye.

Lu Qingshan did not take another step, but simply straightened up and created some distance between them.

No one knew how tightly his fingers, hanging at his sides, were clenched, his nails almost digging into his flesh.

Looking at Lin Xiulan's red lips, so close to his, trembling slightly with nervousness, he almost snapped.

He forced down the burning heat in his chest and took a deep breath of cold air.

"Do you believe me?" His voice was low and hoarse.

Lin Xiulan nodded haphazardly, and after a long while, she managed to squeeze out a single word.

"letter."

"Go back to sleep early, wait for my good news tomorrow." Lu Qingshan opened the door, and the cold wind outside blew in, sobering her burning cheeks up a bit, and also dispelling the suppressed scarlet in Lu Qingshan's eyes.

Lin Xiulan lowered her head, clutched the hem of her clothes, and ran into the night as if fleeing.

Lu Qingshan watched her figure disappear, closed the door, and the gentleness on his face vanished.

He walked to the courtyard wall and glanced at a messy snow stain in the corner, where the snow was deeper than elsewhere.

Just now, someone was eavesdropping over there.

……

The night was deeper.

A dark figure stumbled to the Zhao family's door.

The person who arrived was none other than Ma Li, who had lost his job.

"Knock knock knock!"

"Who is it? Knocking on the door in the middle of the night, are you on your way to a funeral?" A rough and impatient voice came from inside the house.

The door creaked open, revealing Zhao Erhu's fleshy, wary face.

He was still clutching a fire poker in his hand, blocking the doorway and showing no intention of letting anyone in.

"Who are you? You've got the wrong place!"

"You must be the young master from the Zhao family? My name is Ma Li, from the county's Hongxing Machinery Factory." Ma Li quickly put on a fawning smile and introduced himself.

"From the machinery factory?" Zhao Erhu frowned, his wariness deepening.

"I don't know anyone from any machine factory. It's the middle of the night, so spit it out or get lost!"

Braving the cold wind, Ma Li lowered his voice and said, "Don't you recognize me? But don't you recognize Lu Qingshan? That brat Lu Qingshan has really messed me up today. I know your family members have been sent to the police station by him too. Let's settle accounts with Lu Qingshan together."

Upon hearing the name "Lu Qingshan," Zhao Erhu's pupils suddenly contracted.

After a long pause, Zhao Erhu turned to the side and snorted coldly, "Come in."

The room reeked of alcohol, and an empty liquor bottle lay askew on the earthen bed.

As soon as Ma Li entered the house, he went straight to the stove and breathed on his hands.

Zhao Erhu sat back down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), playing with the fire poker in his hand, and looked at him with a forced smile.

"Speak up, you're a city worker, what are you doing here in the middle of the night talking to me about Lu Qingshan? Are you trying to trick me into revealing anything?"

"Look at what you're saying, brother."

Ma Li gritted his teeth, a hint of resentment flashing in his eyes.

"Lu Qingshan spoke ill of me to the factory manager today, causing me to lose my job. I wish I could eat his flesh and drink his blood! I came here because I heard some news."

"News?" Zhao Erhu's expression shifted, but his mind was racing.

Of course he hated Lu Qingshan. His good-for-nothing uncle, Zhao Laosan, had been taken to the police station for framing Lu Qingshan and was about to spend some time there.

However, Zhao Erhu actually looked down on Zhao Laosan, and even cursed the old man countless times in his heart as a "good-for-nothing who is good at nothing but ruining things".

But at this moment, looking at Ma Li in front of him, Zhao Erhu's eyes darted around, and a look of fury immediately appeared on his face. He slammed his hand on the table:

"Damn it! Just thinking about it makes me furious! My uncle, Zhao Laosan, is such an honest man, and because of Lu Qingshan's dirty tricks, he's still suffering in jail! This is a slap in the face to the Zhao family! I'll get my revenge sooner or later, with interest!"

Seeing Zhao Erhu's "filial piety" and impulsiveness, Ma Li was secretly pleased, thinking that this rough man was indeed easy to fool, so he quickly went over to him.

He lowered his voice and provoked, "Brother Erhu, what's the use of just getting angry? If we go head-to-head, that kid's fists are pretty tough. But... when I came here just now, I heard Lu Qingshan say that he's going hunting in the deep mountains with his grandfather first thing tomorrow morning."

"Going into the mountains?"

Zhao Erhu's heart skipped a beat.

His face showed anger as if he were avenging his uncle, but what flashed through his mind was something else—the permanent job opening at the Kaichun Forestry Farm.