Chapter 2: Dowry

Wen Ci returned to the Jiang family residence in the compound.

When she returned to the city from the countryside, Jiang Chen had looked down on the tattered clothes she brought with her, so he had only bought her one new outfit for her arrival.

Now that her clothes were soaked and she had nothing else to wear, she couldn't help but shiver despite it being spring as she sat on the living room sofa.

Seeing her eldest son standing by, unmoved, Su Guilan couldn't help but kick him, shouting, "What are you still standing there for? Go and buy your sister some new clothes right now!"

"Why don't you let Sister wear my clothes instead?" Suddenly, a sweet, soft voice rang out from the staircase. Jiang Ye walked down wearing a little white dress.

"My figure is similar to Sister's, so she should be able to wear my clothes."

"Right, Mom, let Wen Ci wear A-Ye's clothes first."

Jiang Chen quickly chimed in.

Su Guilan shot him a fierce look. Jiang Chen had no choice but to head out, though his gaze lingered on Wen Ci with pity and reluctance. He said softly, "A-Ci, if you don't want to go to the Northwest, we can have Little Huo write up a divorce petition tomorrow."

"Huh?" Wen Ci frowned. Why was there talk of a divorce petition? Suddenly, she remembered what the man had said by the riverbank.

"I am your husband."

Wen Ci’s face turned bright red. Recalling his voice—a deep, magnetic, low tone that was bewitching enough to capture one's soul—she felt overwhelmed.

"Sister, why is your face so red?"

Wen Ci lowered her head and coughed twice. Su Guilan said nervously, "I’ve already had Auntie Wang brew some ginger soup."

As she spoke, she looked up at Jiang Ye. "Do you have any unworn clothes in your wardrobe? If you do, bring them down. If not, just bring a set of pajamas."

"I do..."

Jiang Ye’s voice was as soft as a mosquito’s hum.

Wen Ci asked, "What’s this about writing a divorce petition?"

Su Guilan bit her lower lip. After weighing it over in her mind, she decided to tell her biological daughter the truth. Anxiously, she said, "Your household registration is in the countryside. A few days ago, it was mailed over, and the marriage certificate was processed."

Wen Ci:...

She was so speechless she didn't know what to say.

After a while, Wen Ci widened her eyes and asked, "I want to ask, does what you said at the teahouse still count?"

"What did I say?"

"That you'd give me a thousand yuan as a dowry."

She had just transmigrated and wasn't quite used to things yet; she had thought the person she was replacing in the marriage was some kind of military ruffian, not a stunningly handsome soldier!

No, wait—he was apparently an officer in the Northwest region.

If they had told her about the groom's looks earlier, she wouldn't have jumped into the river!

Isn't being a wife a sweet deal?!

However, what Wen Ci hadn't considered was that she was now a married woman. She and Officer Huo had obtained a marriage certificate, even if she hadn't held it in her own hands.

Su Guilan was stunned. "Didn't you say you didn't want to marry him?"

Wen Ci chuckled. "I suddenly think the Northwest sounds pretty good. Huo..." She paused, realizing she still didn't know her husband's name.

"What is his name?"

"You mean Huo Jingyuan?"

"Huo Jingyuan?"

Su Guilan walked over to a desk not far from the sofa and picked up a calligraphy brush to write the name "Huo Jingyuan" on a piece of paper, assuming Wen Ci was illiterate.

The original owner hadn't even finished middle school; in the countryside, most families stopped supporting their daughters' education once they finished middle school.

"So it's this 'Jingyuan'," Wen Ci muttered to herself.

Su Guilan didn't catch what Wen Ci said, but she went upstairs and then returned to Wen Ci's side, tucking a pouch into her arms.

"Mom keeps her word. There are 1,500 yuan in here, plus the gold bracelet your grandmother left you before she passed away. It’s all for your dowry."

The gold bracelet had originally been intended as a wedding gift for Jiang Ye.

But the gold bracelet held extraordinary significance, having been passed down through the ancestors. Once she knew Jiang Ye wasn't her biological daughter, she had abandoned the idea of giving it to her.

Su Guilan glanced at the stairs. Seeing that Jiang Ye hadn't come down yet, she leaned toward Wen Ci and whispered, "A-Ci, remember, you must not sell the gold bracelet unless it's an absolute last resort. Also, when you have children in the future, the gold bracelet is only to be passed down to daughters, not sons."

Wen Ci nodded.

No wonder she felt the pouch was so heavy.

So it contained a bracelet.

Jiang Ye came downstairs with a new set of pajamas, and Auntie Wang brought a steaming bowl of ginger soup from the kitchen, smiling gently. "Drink the ginger soup while it's hot."

Auntie Wang was someone the elders of the Jiang family had watched grow up.

She wasn't a servant; she was a part of the Jiang family.

Wen Ci changed into the silk pajamas and held the porcelain bowl with both hands. The ginger soup had just come off the stove and was steaming; the calluses on her hands felt the temperature was just right.

Wen Ci blew on the soup twice and took a small sip. Her body warmed up instantly, and a smile spread across her face. "Thank you, Auntie Wang, for making me ginger soup."

From the original owner's memories, she knew that after returning to the Jiang family, only Auntie Wang truly cared about her.

Because of this, her affection for Auntie Wang grew significantly.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Su Guilan stood up from the sofa; her eldest son wasn't that polite, so the person knocking must be a guest.

Su Guilan glanced at Jiang Ye, and Jiang Ye immediately went upstairs.

Usually, Jiang Ye was pampered at home and rarely played with the children of the compound. The compound only knew that the Jiang family had a fair-skinned, beautiful daughter.

As for her looks, she had never publicly shown her face.

Outside the door, Huo Jingyuan stood straight, as if he were on guard duty. After returning home, he had changed into a casual suit, his wheat-colored skin showing how incredibly healthy he was.

Su Guilan was all smiles. "Little Huo, you're here."

Strictly speaking, Huo Jingyuan was already her son-in-law, even if Wen Ci's household registration wasn't under the Jiang family.

Huo Jingyuan’s tone was indifferent. "Auntie Jiang."

Huo Jingyuan’s gaze fell on Wen Ci, who was wearing silk pajamas on the sofa. He didn't shy away from looking at her.

Wen Ci met Huo Jingyuan’s eyes. His pitch-black pupils were unfathomable. She had seen too many capable men in the apocalypse to be easily rattled.

Huo Jingyuan sat directly beside Wen Ci and said bluntly, "I only have three days of leave for this trip to the capital." As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Wen Ci and asked

"Your household registration was originally in the countryside. After we marry, we can choose to move it to the Huo family's registration, or keep the rural registration and open a separate one for you."

Wen Ci replied, "Open a separate one!"

Many people were currently striving for urban household registrations, but Wen Ci knew well that both types had their own advantages. It was best to have one rural and one urban in the family.

Huo Jingyuan nodded. "That's fine."

Hearing this, Su Guilan quickly interjected from the side, "No, no, A-Ci's registration shouldn't be rural; it should be an urban registration."

If Huo Jingyuan refused to let Wen Ci have an urban registration, then unless they kicked Jiang Ye out of the Jiang family, Wen Ci would never have another chance to get one.

"I'll choose the rural registration," Wen Ci said.

She couldn't explain it clearly for the moment, so she thought about changing the subject. "What does the military family compound in the Northwest look like? Is it very desolate?"

(End of chapter)