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

Yu Gaoyang clutched the stack of money, his palms sticky with sweat.

The money was so hot it made his fingertips go numb.

"What if the villagers find out...?"

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice carried a weakness he himself was unaware of.

Lin Xiumei leaned close to his ear, her warm breath mingling with the sweet scent of cheap face cream.

"What are you afraid of?"

Her voice was low and soft, like a slippery snake.

"Those poor bastards from Hongshitun, even if you gave them three times the guts, would they dare to cause trouble in the county?"

"Besides, I'll talk to my parents. I'll just say the money hasn't come through yet."

She stretched out her fingertip and drew circles on Gao Yang's chest.

"Gao Yang, think about it. Once we're married, I'll be the factory director's daughter-in-law. Do you think your dad will mistreat you? Getting promoted to section chief will be a piece of cake for him, won't it?"

The word "section chief" was like a red-hot iron nail, piercing deeply into Yu Gaoyang's heart.

His mind went blank, and all he could see was himself standing in the workshop, giving instructions with his hands behind his back.

Those old workers who usually ignored him now had to bow and scrape and call him "Section Chief Yu".

The slight hesitation in my heart was instantly burned to ashes.

"Let's do it!"

Yu Gaoyang gritted his teeth, stuffed the money into his pocket, and grabbed Lin Xiumei's wrist with his other hand.

"Let's go shopping!"

The two practically ran into the county supply and marketing cooperative.

It was the same saleswoman, Wang Lili. When she saw that the people there were Yu Gaoyang and Lin Xiumei, she didn't even bother to lift her eyelids.

"Look at what you want to look at yourself, but don't touch it."

Lin Xiumei finally found an outlet for the anger she had suffered today.

She dragged Yu Gaoyang to the counter and slammed the stack of money onto the glass with a "thud".

"I want a Forever brand bicycle!"

"I need a Butterfly brand sewing machine!"

"Give me the prettiest Shanghai brand women's watch!"

"And that radio, yes, that one!"

She finished shouting in one breath, raised her chin high, and glanced at Wang Lili out of the corner of her eye.

Wang Lili was so shocked by the wad of money that she dropped the feather duster she was holding.

She opened her mouth, looked at the two people in front of her, but couldn't say a word.

This behavior is even more frightening than Lu Qingshan's from a few days ago.

Yu Gaoyang felt extremely relieved looking at Wang Lili's ghost-like expression.

He deliberately counted the money one bill at a time, slowly and deliberately, enjoying the stares from those around him.

It seems that the face he lost to Lu Qingshan before has been completely regained at this moment.

I paid and got a receipt.

Like victorious generals, the two pushed their brand-new bicycles, carrying a sewing machine and a radio, and returned to the new house assigned to Yu Gaoyang's family, amidst the envious gazes of everyone on the street.

It was a one-bedroom apartment in a tenement building. Although it wasn't big, it had white walls and glass windows.

When the bicycle and sewing machine were moved into the house, and when the radio played its own tune, Lin Xiumei felt that the little house was dazzlingly bright.

She put on the small Shanghai brand watch, and waved it back and forth in front of her eyes.

The watch face gleamed under the light, the light so bright it made her eyes sting.

She leaned close to the windowpane and, using the reflection, looked at herself over and over again.

I am wearing a watch and a polyester shirt.

This is what city dwellers should be like.

That bitch Lin Xiulan will never have such glory in her life.

She could only serve Lu Qingshan, that peasant, in the mud-brick house in Hongshitun, and spend her whole life being smoked and turned into a sallow-faced woman.

Looking at the new items filling the room, and then at Lin Xiumei, who was looking at herself in the mirror, Yu Gaoyang felt a surge of heat rising in his heart.

He hugged Lin Xiumei from behind, his hands sneaking inside her clothes.

"Xiumei, look, wouldn't it be better if you came with me?"

"After we get married, my dad will get us a TV..."

Lin Xiumei smelled the mixture of sweat and tobacco on him, and her stomach churned.

She turned her head away without making a sound, but her gaze fell on the brand-new watch on her wrist.

So be it.

She closed her eyes and endured it.

……

The next day, just as dawn was breaking.

Several villagers from Hongshitun came to the door together.

Last night, the villagers who returned from Baihuatun spread the word that Lin Xiumei and Yu Gaoyang had driven a big truck to steal business, only to be chased away in disgrace.

Now, everyone was panicking.

They were afraid that the money would be wasted.

"Xiumei! Is Xiumei home?"

The man leading the group was a distant relative of Lin Xiumei's family. He braced himself and knocked on the door.

The door creaked open.

Lin Xiumei, wearing a brand-new Dacron shirt, leaned against the door frame, holding a handful of sunflower seeds in her hand, slowly cracking them open.

She didn't even lift her eyelids, looking at the several villagers with sallow faces standing outside the door.

"Are you trying to call back the soul? So early in the morning."

The man rubbed his hands together, a smile plastered on his face.

"Xiumei, look, shouldn't we settle the payment for that batch of goods? The family is waiting for the money to buy New Year's goods."

"Yes, Xiumei, the child wants to wear a new outfit for the New Year."

Several villagers echoed this sentiment.

Lin Xiumei cracked open a sunflower seed with a "snap" and spat the shell precisely at the feet of the leading man.

"What are you yelling about?"

She finally raised her eyes, her gaze filled with undisguised annoyance and contempt.

"The factory has its own rules for receiving goods. With so many goods, don't they need to be inspected? Don't they need a supervisor's signature?"

"In the city, things are done according to regulations, understand? You have to wait! Wait!"

Her voice was sharp and shrill, like fingernails scratching through sheet metal.

"You can't survive without your three or two dollars?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers' faces froze.

No one expected that Lin Xiumei, who was so nice to them selling goods just a few days ago, would show such a different face today.

One of the younger men couldn't help but point at Lin Xiumei's wrist.

"Lin Xiumei! You say you have no money, then where did you get the watch on your wrist?!"

At this question, everyone's eyes fell on the gleaming watch.

Lin Xiumei reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly bristling with anger.

She slammed the plate of sunflower seeds she was holding onto the ground with a "thud," scattering the seeds all over the floor.

"Look carefully! This is my boyfriend's money, bought for me as a bride price!"

"It's none of your business if I spend my partner's money!"

She pointed at the young man's nose and cursed.

"If you can wait, then you'd better wait patiently! If you can't wait, then go ask the county food factory yourselves!"

"Go and see if it's Factory Director Yu Bo who's paying attention to you, or the gatekeeper's big wolfhound!"

She put her hands on her hips and held her chest high.

"A bunch of poor bastards, you've got some nerve!"

The titles "County Food Factory" and "Factory Director Yu Bo" weighed heavily on the villagers, making it hard for them to breathe.

They were just a group of farmers who toiled in the fields; how could they dare to cause trouble at the gate of a state-owned factory?

The group of people were thoroughly humiliated by the scolding. They looked at each other, angry but unable to speak out.

In the end, they could only suppress their anger, support each other, and slink back home.

Watching their departing figures, Lin Xiumei gave a heavy "humph," bent down to pick up the watch from the ground, and carefully wiped it with her sleeve.

Then, with a "bang," the door slammed shut.

All those pathetic and angry stares were kept out of the door.

In the cold winter wind, several villagers walked on the dirt road back to their village, and no one spoke.

After walking for a long time, a simple, honest man muttered something under his breath.

"This...this money isn't really gone, is it?"