Chapter 3: The First Ten-Thousand-Yuan Household

“I’m warning you, don't even think about hurting me again. Now, I am the daughter my parents dote on. If you know what's good for you, you'll behave and marry that old man. I will never let you have Qi Liancheng.”

Lin Ge's expression was identical to Yu Shulan's, her loathing for Li Luo plain to see, but her uncontrollable trembling betrayed her.

Leaning close to Lin Ge's ear, Li Luo retorted sharply, “So, my dear Miss Lin, is this your method? When you fell from upstairs, why was I the one who got hurt? Why was I unconscious for three days while you remained unscathed? Was that really my doing? To say I know nothing is one thing, but if you do something, it won't stay hidden forever.”

“You!”

Lin Ge's pupils dilated suddenly; she hadn't expected Li Luo to be so sharp. Something was wrong—in her memory, Li Luo wasn't this intelligent!

Had she become stupid from the fall?

Li Luo gave a cold laugh, pushed Lin Ge away, and turned to leave.

Suspicion and paranoia were fully embodied in the mother and daughter of the Li family; to any observant eye, they were clearly the real biological mother and daughter.

Lin Ge froze in place. She hadn't even used her real tactics yet, and Li Luo had just accepted it like this?

It seemed Li Luo had hit her head; that was actually a good thing, as it saved her from getting her own hands dirty.

“I heard your fiancé runs a farm. That smell on him...”

As if remembering something, Lin Ge deliberately fanned the air in front of her nose, her eyes full of mockery.

“I won't trouble Miss Lin to worry about it.”

As she spoke, Li Luo was already standing at the door with her suitcase, slamming the door shut without mercy.

Her every movement showed not a shred of attachment to this home.

Should she be attached?

She was never part of this family to begin with, and they despised her; being attached would be the ultimate disrespect to herself!

However, she was curious about this fiancé. In this era, a man capable of offering five thousand yuan in bride price was truly a rarity.

As a "model young woman" from the 21st century, she held the least respect for romance, but money was real!

Even if that money wasn't going into her own pocket...

Lost in thought, Li Luo arrived at the ticket office and boarded the last bus heading to the countryside.

The crowded bus was a mix of cigarette smoke and body odor. Combined with the uneven road and the swaying of the vehicle, as soon as Li Luo reached her destination and stepped off, she stood by the roadside and retched violently.

Getting off the bus with Li Luo was a dark-skinned man who looked like a simple, honest teacher.

Er Zhu grinned with his large teeth at Li Luo. “Comrade, are you a sent-down youth?”

He had seen Li Luo board the bus from the town; her mannerisms were poised and elegant, clearly marking her as a city person.

He truly hadn't expected someone to come to their Wanlong Village. This woman must be a sent-down youth; otherwise, who would want to run to this poor place? They'd rather stay as far away as possible!

Li Luo smoothed her chest, trying her best to suppress the urge to vomit, and shook her head. “I'm not a sent-down youth. I'm here to get married.”

“What? I haven't heard of anyone in this village taking a new bride!” And she looked like such a delicate, quiet, and beautiful wife.

Er Zhu's voice was full of surprise. He scratched his head and thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out.

Which man in this village had such good fortune to marry such a beautiful wife?

Li Luo spoke tentatively, “Hello, my name is Li Luo. My fiancé's surname is Ling, his name is Ling Zhuoqun. Comrade, do you happen to know where his house is?”

“Ling... Zhuoqun?” This time, Er Zhu was even more stunned.

So this was Brother Ling's wife?

The daughter who had been sold by the Lin family in the neighboring village? She didn't look like a rural woman at all!

At this moment, Er Zhu had ten thousand doubts in his heart, but seeing Li Luo's serious expression, he had no choice but to believe that this beauty was indeed Brother Ling's fiancée.

Seeing this, Li Luo understood that this man must be well-acquainted with the village. “If you know, please lead the way. And if you know any of his hobbies, you could tell me as well. Thank you.”

It wasn't too much to ask to learn a bit about her fiancé, was it?

Er Zhu was even more confused after hearing Li Luo's words. He continued to scratch his already dim-witted head. “If you're Brother Ling's wife, why don't you know where his house is?”

“You might not know, but the Lin family took the money and ran. Back then, the Lin family swapped the daughters; now that the truth is out, I am the biological daughter. I have no choice but to come and pay the debt.” Li Luo's smile carried a hint of self-mockery.

Er Zhu's hair practically stood on end: What era was this, that people were still being used for substitute marriages?!

Li Luo ignored Er Zhu's reaction. Although the roads here were all dirt, the air was fresh, surrounded by mountains and water; she would treat it as a vacation.

In her past life, she had worked herself to death; in this life, it was time to enjoy herself.

Looking around, a two-story house with blue tiles and red bricks caught Li Luo's attention.

The houses in the village were all low earthen walls overgrown with weeds. On both sides of the dirt roads were crops, and villagers were busy in the fields, hunched over with straw hats on. Muddy cloth shoes were scattered everywhere along the ridges.

In this era, someone who could produce five thousand yuan certainly wasn't from an ordinary family; it was very likely the Ling family.

Li Luo pointed at the house. “What is that?”

“That house belongs to Brother Ling. He's the first ten-thousand-yuan household in our village! Brother Ling is a legendary figure in our village.”

Er Zhu was about to say that Li Luo was incredibly thick-skinned, but when speaking of Ling Zhuoqun, his tone was full of admiration.

He was the first individual entrepreneur in Wanlong Village. He was busy all day, appearing and disappearing like a phantom, bringing heaps of money home, which made the villagers incredibly envious.

But Ling Zhuoqun also had three children: Da Mao, Xiao Mao, and Ya Ya.

He wondered if this female comrade knew about the current situation of the Ling family.

Li Luo was somewhat taken aback. Ling Zhuoqun must have caught the tailwind of the Reform and Opening-up; individual entrepreneurs were popping up like mushrooms after rain, and the bold ones were already making a fortune.

“Um... Comrade, do you know that Brother Ling has three children?”

Er Zhu asked tentatively. Previously, girls who had gone on blind dates with Brother Ling immediately refused once they heard he had three children.

Some even spread rumors that Brother Ling was no longer fertile and had no intention of having more children. A woman, resentful that Brother Ling couldn't do heavy manual labor and having failed to land a wealthy husband, had spread these rumors everywhere.

When Ling Zhuoqun heard these rumors, he simply waved them off: The mouths belong to them; I, Ling Zhuoqun, already have three children and won't be having any more in this lifetime.

Li Luo's eyes lit up at the mention of children. “So what if there are children? I'm marrying Ling Zhuoqun, not his three children. I'd be happy to become a mother without the pain of childbirth.”

There wasn't much information about Ling Zhuoqun in her memories.

She had only heard "old" and "has children" from Lin Ge's mouth.

But she didn't know there were three.

Since Ling Zhuoqun already had three children, he wouldn't make her have more, right? Having a child was like aging ten years; she wanted to stay beautiful for a few more years!

Er Zhu was completely dumbfounded. The first woman who didn't mind Brother Ling having three children had finally appeared!