Chapter 891: The Shackles of Morality

It had to be admitted that what Wang An was saying was truly asking too much of her; to be precise, he was taking advantage of someone in distress, or rather, looting a burning house.

Because Wang An's current behavior was essentially no different from that of a loan shark.

However, given Li Xiuyu's current situation, Wang An couldn't think of any better way out for her.

In this era, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl with no home to return to, being targeted by a gang of loan sharks—it was a stroke of immense luck that she managed to escape this time with the help of the villagers, but what about next time? Or the time after that?

Expect a group of farmers who lived off the land to play a game of attrition with a bunch of idle loan sharks? Who could afford that?

It was simply an unsolvable problem.

One had to remember that Wang An had dealt with those loan sharks before. He had to admit that they truly had the money and the manpower; most importantly, whether through legal or illegal means, they knew exactly how to play the game.

In other words, without formidable strength, one couldn't survive in the loan sharking industry.

The fact that they dared to go directly into the village to snatch people in broad daylight proved that they weren't afraid of anything. Even if the "hat-wearing brothers" (police) showed up, they couldn't do much to them.

What was wrong with collecting a debt?

Saying their methods were too extreme? Saying their behavior was violent? Or saying they lacked morality?

Stop talking nonsense. This was their business; it was how they put food on the table. Who told her to borrow money from them in the first place?

After Wang An finished speaking, Li Xiuyu immediately looked at him with eyes full of light and asked

"Big Brother, really? As long as I marry Wang Li, you can help me handle all of these things?"

Seeing Li Xiuyu's excitement, Wang An couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Mainly, didn't Li Xiuyu dislike Wang Li? How could she agree so quickly?

Normally, shouldn't Li Xiuyu have acted reserved, or perhaps agreed reluctantly only because she was forced by the circumstances?

Subconsciously, Wang An asked Li Xiuyu

"Uh, didn't you say last time that you were too young and wanted to wait two years before thinking about finding a partner?"

Actually, Wang An was referring to when he first tried to introduce the two of them.

At that time, Li Xiuyu's answer was that she was too young and didn't want to find a partner for the next couple of years.

However, after that, Li Xiuyu had agreed to go on blind dates, but the condition was a bride price of 500 yuan if the date was successful.

Then, immediately after, Li Xiuyu's father raised the bride price to 600 yuan, and at the same time, rumors spread that the loan sharks had taken a fancy to her.

And then, the whole thing fell through.

Hearing Wang An's question, Li Xiuyu spoke with a face full of sincerity, without a hint of a lie

"Back then, I found out that the scars on Wang Li's face hadn't healed properly, so... so I didn't agree. Actually... actually, back when we were in school, my impression of Wang Li was okay. Although he didn't have any standout qualities, I felt that he was quite tall."

It was clear that Li Xiuyu didn't have those "heart-fluttering" feelings for Wang Li, but fortunately, she didn't hate him either. Simply put, they had a very ordinary classmate relationship.

It had to be said that during student days, if a boy wanted a girl to like him, he had to have something standout about him, or at least be more lively in personality.

With a personality like Wang Li's—a total mute—it was truly difficult for people to fall for him.

Wang An smacked his lips and continued to press

"Then before you started school, was there anyone you had a good impression of? Like, someone you felt you could date?"

The reason Wang An asked so directly was that he didn't know Li Xiuyu well; in fact, he hadn't even known her before this.

If Wang Li and Li Xiuyu got married, but Li Xiuyu was thinking of someone else in her heart, that would be a real mess.

Although women of this era were mostly loyal to their marriage once wed, a suspicious person like Wang An would never gamble on human nature.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuyu's tear-stained face suddenly became shy. One look was all it took for Wang An to know that she clearly had someone she liked.

As the old saying goes, "The eyes cannot hide the love for someone."

Li Xiuyu said, her words contradicting her heart

"No, before school I was just a little kid who didn't understand anything. How would I know about these things?"

Wang An smiled slightly but didn't expose her. Instead, he changed the subject

"Anyway, you have nowhere to go right now. Why don't you go to Wang Li's house first? Once I've handled your family's affairs, you two can just get married."

Hearing this, Li Xiuyu spoke somewhat clumsily

"We... we're only 17, and we're... getting married?"

To be fair, getting engaged at 17 was considered normal at this time, but getting married was indeed a bit early.

Wang An thought about it and agreed, saying to Li Xiuyu

"Alright then. You stay at Old Fifth's house first. Once the matter is resolved, you'll get engaged first, and then get married in two years."

Li Xiuyu thought for a moment and finally nodded helplessly.

Mainly, in this era, if it got out that a woman moved into a man's house before they were married, it would be very poorly perceived.

The key was that people would only gossip about the woman; they wouldn't condemn the man.

Li Xiuyu wasn't stupid; she naturally knew that Wang An was doing this on purpose.

Because only by doing this could he place a moral shackle on Li Xiuyu, while simultaneously letting everyone know that Li Xiuyu already had a husband's family, so others should stop eyeing her.

From this, one could see just how "dog-like" Wang An was—absolutely wicked, full of schemes.

Unfortunately, that was how the world worked. When you wanted to gain something, you had to pay a price; pies didn't just fall from the sky for free.

Even if a pie really did fall from the sky, you had to believe it wouldn't fall on your head for no reason.

Seeing Li Xiuyu nod, Wang An kick-started the sidecar again and continued toward Kaoshan Village.

A few minutes later, Wang An stopped the sidecar at the entrance of Wang Li's house.

By now, Wang Li's house was basically finished. Wang Daliang and others were leading a group of people in decorating the interior, while Second Mother Yao Ping and a few other women were preparing dinner.

Hearing the unique sound of the sidecar—which sounded like someone farting—Wang Daliang, Yao Ping, Wang Li, and the laborers all looked toward the gate simultaneously.

Ignoring their confused glances, Wang An shouted to Yao Ping

"Second Mother, come out for a second! I have something to tell you."

After shouting, Wang An continued to twist the throttle, moving the sidecar another ten meters to stop in a more secluded spot.

(End of Chapter)