Chapter 10: The Jiang Family is a Pitfall You Shouldn't Marry into
"You... You're trying to force me to death! How can you be so cruel?!"
"Smack!"
Su Xiaoxiao raised her hand and slapped her hard. Dong Jiaxuan's face quickly swelled up like a fermenting bun. She was so furious that she seemed like she was about to go mad. With a sharp, piercing scream, she gnashed her teeth and lunged at Su Xiaoxiao.
"Do you dare to hit me? I'm currently in a relationship with Jiang Yexun. If he finds out you're bullying me, see if you won't get beaten to a pulp."
Su Xiaoxiao said these words with a smug expression, showing no signs of embarrassment. She didn't think that involving Jiang Yexun in this matter would be embarrassing in any way. After all, he was her future husband, and not involving him would probably make him angry.
"You... You have no shame!" Dong Jiaxuan muttered dryly. She was truly threatened this time. Jiang Yexun, that country bumpkin, was the fiercest person in their production team.
"If you say another word, believe it or not, I'll have Jiang Yexun come here to collect my debt when he brings me lunch. Don't make me warn you again," Su Xiaoxiao threatened fiercely.
Dong Jiaxuan shrank her neck, her frustrated hands twisted into knots. But she couldn't bring herself to give up so much money. Spitting it out felt worse than being killed. She had to soften her stance and thought about playing the emotional card, but before she could say anything, Su Xiaoxiao coldly added, "Anyway, we'll go with the plan I just mentioned. Twenty-six yuan and fifty-nine cents, ten pounds of high-quality rice, and two pounds of good pork belly. Don't even think about trying to cheat me out of a single cent."
Seeing Su Xiaoxiao's unwavering and unyielding attitude, Dong Jiaxuan was so desperate that tears streamed down her face.
"How... how can you put all the blame on me? If it weren't for you, giving me those things so easily in the first place, could I have used so much?" Dong Jiaxuan retorted.
Su Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and urged, "Stop babbling, hurry up and write the IOU for me. Otherwise, I'll have Jiang Yexun come and collect the debt for me."
Dong Jiaxuan was completely helpless at this point, and not a single person from the educated youth dormitory came out to speak up for her. In the end, she reluctantly took out pen and paper. Su Xiaoxiao dictated, and Dong Jiaxuan wrote word by word. Finally, both of them pressed their handprints on the IOU.
As Su Xiaoxiao neatly folded the IOU and placed it in her pocket, Dong Jiaxuan covered her face and ran out crying.
The male educated youths, seeing that the situation had been resolved, dragged the reluctant Pan Yongsheng out of the female educated youths' room.
Su Xiaoxiao finally got in bed and went to sleep. Despite everything that had happened, her mind was still in a whirlwind. She needed to sort out her thoughts and understand the current situation better.
The remaining female educated youths looked at her with a conflicted expression. After hesitating for a while, one of them cautiously asked, "Educated Youth Su, do you really want to marry Jiang Yexun? You don't have to worry about what the villagers will say. You have such good prospects; you can definitely find someone better. If you're unwilling, you shouldn't compromise so easily."
Su Xiaoxiao raised her head and looked at the female educated youth who spoke. She remembered her name was Qian Siyu, one of the longest-serving and most honest members among the educated youths. However, she recalled that even in her previous life, this girl hadn't fared much better. She had been caught by the production team members in the cornfield with a ruffian. She cried and claimed to be a victim, but in the end, she still reluctantly married that ruffian.
However, one year later, she was beaten to miscarry her baby by her husband, and both she and the baby were dead.
Su Xiaoxiao knew that Qian Siyu was a good person and willing to treat her well. Now that she had a second chance, she felt the need to prevent Qian Siyu from following the same miserable path as in her previous life. However, she couldn't remember exactly how Qian Siyu had been victimized in her past life.
Furrowing her brows slightly, Su Xiaoxiao smiled and explained, "I didn't sacrifice myself, and I'm not unwilling. I really want to marry Jiang Yexun. He's a good person."
"A good person? What's so good about him?" Tao Junlan sat down next to Su Xiaoxiao and rolled her eyes.
"He's good-looking, strong, cares about me, and he has a kind heart," Su Xiaoxiao replied, her lips curving upwards. She put on an appearance that made her seem worthless, and it seemed to irritate Tao Junlan and Qian Siyu even more.
"Kind-hearted? You probably haven't heard the gossip the aunties in the production team spread. Jiang Yexun has fought with many people in the production team since he was a child. He's treating you well now just to get you to marry him," Tao Junlan said angrily.
Tao Junlan had thought that Su Xiaoxiao had come to her senses after retrieving the stolen items from Dong Jiaxuan. However, she seemed even more delusional now. Dong Jiaxuan might have scammed her out of a few things, but Jiang Yexun, this rural guy, could deceive her for a lifetime.
"No, just now when we were in the river, we almost drowned, but he didn't give up on me. I think he's willing to risk everything for me. He must be a good person," Su Xiaoxiao said firmly.
Tao Junlan, seeing her like this, couldn't help but feel choked with anger and irritation. She glanced at Qian Siyu, who had a similar expression of disagreement, and pointed at Su Xiaoxiao. "Look at this, even the kindest person among us doesn't think Jiang Yexun is any good. Just think about it; this man can't be trusted."
Qian Siyu, who had been called out, jumped in shock and subconsciously wanted to deny it. However, when she saw Su Xiaoxiao's delicate and spoiled appearance, she gritted her teeth and said, "I don’t know for sure whether he is a good person or not, but when it comes to marriage, you have to think twice. Although Jiang Yexun is the youngest son of the production team leader, he only earns six work points a day, and there are only old people and women who don't like to work in the village earn as little as he does. You're not very good at working either. After you get married, you two might barely manage. Then what will you do when you have children? When a girl gets married, her family's financial support decreases. You can't rely on what your family is giving you now. You have to think about how you and your husband can support yourselves in the future."
Qian Siyu hesitated for a moment as if she needed great courage to continue.