At this moment, An’s father turned his head and glared fiercely at Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen, however, showed no fear.
He said calmly, “You’re Shishi’s father, and I don’t want to have a conflict with you. So I advise you not to do anything rash.”
An’s father scrutinized Xu Xiuwen from head to toe with his hawk-like eyes.
Finally, he snorted coldly and stood up, heading toward the backyard.
Xu Xiuwen stepped aside and followed him.
An Shishi didn’t follow Xu Xiuwen into the main house but ran to the backyard to inform her mother.
So Liu Ruo already knew that Xu Xiuwen was going to release An’s father.
Her expression was tense and uneasy.
At this moment, An’s father arrived at the kitchen door and shouted inside, “I’m starving! Get me something to eat!”
Liu Ruo immediately asked, “There’s only a bit of rice noodles left. Will you eat it?”
“Hurry up and bring it over.”
After saying this, An’s father turned and went back to the front room.
Seeing that he neither lost his temper nor became violent, Xu Xiuwen breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, this was An Shishi’s father, and Xu Xiuwen didn’t want to strain their relationship too much.
As for last night?
On the one hand, the circumstances had forced his actions.
On the other hand, he had little respect for men who took their frustrations out on their wives and children.
But at this moment, Xu Xiuwen remained calm.
The three women of the An family were also surprised that An’s father hadn’t exploded in anger.
They, too, felt relieved.
Then Liu Ruo brought a bowl of leftover rice noodles to the front room.
An Shishi, who didn’t want to see her father, and An Shui, who was somewhat afraid of him, stayed in the backyard and didn’t go to the front.
Xu Xiuwen, being a man, couldn’t very well avoid An’s father too.
So, he went to the front room as well.
When An’s father saw him, he acted as if he didn’t exist and silently ate his rice noodles.
Liu Ruo stayed in the front room too, not returning to the backyard.
Under their watchful eyes, An’s father finally finished the rice noodles.
He put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and suddenly turned to Xu Xiuwen.
“Don’t think that just because Shishi brought you back, you can marry her. Let me tell you, without my approval, no one will take my daughter away.”
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself, Shishi doesn’t listen to you at all. What you say doesn’t matter.
But he replied, “Auntie has already agreed to let Shishi marry me.”
Hearing this, An’s father turned to Liu Ruo and said coldly, “What she says doesn’t count. This is my house. Without my consent, no one’s words mean anything.”
Looking at An’s father’s expression, Xu Xiuwen vaguely guessed that his objection wasn’t straightforward. It seemed he had some ulterior motive.
So Xu Xiuwen asked, “What will it take for you to agree to let Shishi marry me?”
An’s father looked him up and down again and asked an unrelated question, “Judging by your looks, your family must be rich, huh?”
“Just average,” Xu Xiuwen replied, already guessing his thoughts.
An’s father continued, “It’s not impossible for you to marry my daughter, but you must pay the bride price.”
Hearing this, Xu Xiuwen remained calm.
This kind of traditional demand existed everywhere.
He nodded and asked, “Uncle, how much dowry are you asking for?”
“100,000! Not a penny less.”
Hearing the figure, Xu Xiuwen thought it wasn’t too much. It was well within his means.
He was just about to agree when An Shishi suddenly ran in through the back door.
As soon as she entered, she said anxiously, “Don’t agree to that! I’m willing to marry you without any dowry at all.”
Xu Xiuwen was surprised to see her suddenly appear. It seemed she had been eavesdropping by the back door earlier.
He noticed that An’s father’s face darkened at An Shishi’s words.
An’s father slammed the table and yelled at her, “I’m your father! I raised you with great effort, and if I say there will be dowry, there will be dowry. Without my consent, you’re not marrying anyone!”
An Shishi retorted bluntly, “I’m marrying Xu Xiuwen, and there’s nothing you can do about it. At worst, I just won’t come back.”
Hearing this, An’s father became even angrier.
He turned to Liu Ruo, who had been silent on the side, and said, “Look at the daughter you’ve raised! I worked so hard to bring her up, and now she’s not only siding with an outsider but also planning to abandon me.”
Liu Ruo looked troubled but said nothing.
Seeing this, An’s father didn’t direct his anger at her. Instead, he sneered and said to An Shishi, “You not coming back is fine, but I can go to your school and talk to your teachers and principal. This man you brought home beat me up—let’s see how your school handles that. Don’t think you can threaten me by not coming back. Let me tell you, I have plenty of ways to deal with you.”
Hearing this, An Shishi panicked.
If her father really went to her school to make trouble, it didn’t matter whether the teachers believed him or how they handled it. Just the gossip and judgment from her classmates would be unbearable for her.
She immediately fell silent.
Seeing the father and daughter at such an impasse, Xu Xiuwen knew he couldn’t just stand by. He quickly said, “Shishi, don’t worry. The dowry should be given. Being able to marry you is worth any amount of money.”
“Hubby~”
An Shishi was deeply moved.
Even in front of her parents, she couldn’t help but address him affectionately.
Xu Xiuwen gently patted her head and smiled warmly.
Then, he turned to An’s father and said, “Uncle, the dowry is not a problem. I can give the 100,000.”
“That’s more like it,” An’s father said, his tone softening.
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However, his hooked nose and fierce eyes still gave him an intimidating look, even when he seemed calmer.
An Shishi suddenly said, “We can give you the dowry, but 100,000 is too much. No one in our village asks for that much. At most, we can give 5,000.”
“5,000 won’t do! It’s 100,000, not a penny less.”
“Mom, look at him! Is he selling his daughter or marrying her off? How can he demand 100,000 from Xu Xiuwen? Isn’t this just bullying?”
Finally, Liu Ruo spoke up, “100,000 is a bit much.”
“Too much? Not at all! If he wants to marry my daughter, he has to pay. If he can’t afford it, then let him find someone else’s daughter to marry!”
Both Liu Ruo and An Shishi were left speechless and helpless by An’s father’s domineering attitude.
An Shishi was so frustrated she was almost in tears.
The main reason she was so opposed to the dowry was that she feared Xu Xiuwen might look down on her in the future because her father demanded such a large amount.
“It’s fine, Shishi. I can afford the 100,000. Whatever Uncle says, I’ll pay,” Xu Xiuwen said reassuringly.
“Then bring the money,” An’s father replied, clearly satisfied with his attitude.
Let’s rewind to a day earlier.
An’s father had a mistress in town, and he usually stayed at her place. He’d spend his days playing cards and gambling, living a carefree life.
As for where he got the money for this lifestyle, part of it came from the mistress, and part of it came from home.
Whenever the family sold rice or Liu Ruo earned money from her handiwork, most of it ended up in his hands. He would only come home to get more money when he had spent everything he had.
Liu Ruo wasn’t always willing to give him money, of course. But after being married for over a decade, An’s father knew her well.
If she refused, it didn’t matter. A few beatings were all it took to make her more obedient than a rabbit, handing over the money without further resistance.
Whether or not the household could continue running after that was none of his concern.
An’s father hadn’t been home for a long time because he still had some money left. Normally, he wouldn’t have returned anytime soon.
But last night, he ran into an acquaintance from the village.
The person congratulated him on having such an excellent son-in-law.
At first, An’s father was confused, but after asking for more details, he found out that his eldest daughter had brought a man home.
He also learned that the man had brought many gifts, including some that particularly caught An’s father’s attention: expensive cigarettes and liquor.
The cigarettes were premium ones, priced at 45 yuan a pack, and the liquor was worth hundreds of yuan per bottle.
As far as An’s father was concerned, whatever his daughter’s man brought into the house was naturally his property.
Feeling like he was missing out, An Zhanjin hastily left his mistress and rushed home overnight.
He had assumed that his new son-in-law would be eager to please and easy to manipulate.
Instead, the man tied him up the moment they met, leaving An Zhanjin furious all night.
Initially, he had only planned to ask for a dowry of 10,000 or 20,000 yuan. But out of anger, he decided to go big and demanded 100,000 yuan.
He had worried that the amount might be too much, that the man either couldn’t afford it or wouldn’t agree.
But Xu Xiuwen had agreed without hesitation, leaving An Zhanjin both relieved and in a much better mood.
He was so pleased that he no longer cared as much about being tied up the previous night.
“You can have the money,” Xu Xiuwen said, “but I have one condition.”
An Zhanjin found this amusing. His son-in-law was actually trying to negotiate with him. He was curious to hear what the condition might be.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“My condition is simple: from now on, you are not allowed to lay a hand on either of your daughters.”
An Zhanjin had expected something more demanding. This? Just a request not to hit his daughters?
“Fine,” he agreed without hesitation.
“Uncle, I’m not done,” Xu Xiuwen added.
“You’re also not allowed to hit Aunt Liu anymore.”
Liu Ruo was stunned. She hadn’t expected Xu Xiuwen to stand up for her like that.
She was visibly surprised.
Liu Ruo felt an inexplicable wave of emotion, a mix of gratitude and sorrow.
But this time, An Zhanjin didn’t immediately agree. He sneered and said, “She’s my woman. I’ll hit her if I want to. Don’t think that just because you have some stinking money, you can tell me what to do! Keep talking, and my daughter won’t marry you!”
Xu Xiuwen wasn’t fazed by his words.
“You won’t agree? Then forget it. I won’t give you a single penny.”
This statement left An Zhanjin stunned. He widened his eyes and stared at Xu Xiuwen.
“What did you say? You’re not marrying my daughter anymore?!”
Both An Shishi and Liu Ruo looked at Xu Xiuwen nervously.
Xu Xiuwen gently squeezed An Shishi’s hand and held it firmly. Then, turning to An Zhanjin, he said, “Of course, I’ll marry her. What I mean is, if you don’t agree to my condition, I won’t give you the money. But I’ll still marry her. Don’t think you can threaten me. Let me tell you, I’m on very good terms with the school’s leadership. Your little tricks won’t affect me at all. And my mother is a police officer. If you dare set foot in the school, I’ll make sure you’re escorted right out. Don’t believe me? Try it.”
Hearing this, An Zhanjin’s face darkened, his brow furrowing.
The room fell silent, heavy with tension.
After a long pause, An Zhanjin finally relented.
He first turned to Liu Ruo and gave her a vicious glare. Then, with a heavy sigh, he muttered, “Fine, I agree.”
“But don’t try to fool me. If I find out that you lay a hand on Aunt Liu while I’m not around, you won’t see a single cent of that money.”
“What do you mean? You’re not paying me right now?”
Xu Xiuwen shrugged. “I’d like to, but I don’t have that kind of money on me right now.”
“You’re playing games with me?” An Zhanjin’s veins bulged as his temper flared.
“Not at all,” Xu Xiuwen replied calmly.
“Then what are you trying to say?”
“I didn’t bring that much cash with me this trip. I can give you 2,000 now, and I’ll bring the rest next time I come.”
“That won’t do! You must pay the full amount at once! I can go to the bank with you to withdraw it!” An Zhanjin was fixated on getting the money immediately.
Letting him pay the rest next time? Who knew when “next time” would be—or if it would even happen? What if Xu Xiuwen got tired of his daughter and regretted everything? Where would that leave him?
Moreover, for various reasons, he didn’t dare cause a scene at the school.
Xu Xiuwen maintained his composure. “Even if I went to the bank today, I couldn’t withdraw that much. Don’t you know that withdrawing such a large sum requires advance notice? So your insistence doesn’t change anything.”
An Zhanjin had never withdrawn 100,000 in one go before. He didn’t know such rules existed. Seeing how calm Xu Xiuwen was, he began to suspect it might be true.
Sensing An Zhanjin’s hesitation, Xu Xiuwen smiled knowingly. “I know what you’re worried about. To me, Shishi is worth more than a million. You don’t need to worry about me backing out. As for when I’ll come back, before the next school term starts, I’ll drive over to pick up Shishi. I’ll bring the full amount then—every single penny.”
When he finished speaking, the three others in the room had different thoughts.
An Shishi was deeply moved by his words, her heart filled with warmth.
Liu Ruo couldn’t help but glance at her daughter, feeling a twinge of envy. Her daughter was truly fortunate to have found such a good man.
Thinking about her own situation, Liu Ruo’s heart ached with sadness.
At this point, Liu Ruo no longer cared about the fact that Xu Xiuwen might have a girlfriend. She wholeheartedly approved of him as her future son-in-law.
When Xu Xiuwen casually mentioned the figure of a million, An Zhanjin scoffed, thinking it was pure exaggeration and didn’t take it seriously.
Still, Xu Xiuwen’s words did somewhat sway him. After some hesitation, An Zhanjin asked, “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
“If you’re still worried, I can write a formal guarantee. Besides, Shishi will be staying here. If I don’t bring the money next time, you can simply refuse to let her leave.”
An Zhanjin hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.
Xu Xiuwen handed over the remaining cash he had, and then An Zhanjin instructed An Shishi to fetch some paper and a pen. He wanted Xu Xiuwen to draft the guarantee on the spot.
Xu Xiuwen, ever straightforward, wrote the document exactly as requested, even signing his name at the bottom without hesitation.
Holding the written guarantee in his hands, An Zhanjin finally felt at ease.
With a smile, Xu Xiuwen added, “Uncle, just to be clear—if you ever lay a hand on Aunt Liu or Shishi again, you won’t see a single penny of the remaining money.”
“I get it! Stop nagging!” An Zhanjin snapped.