Chapter 10: Speaking of Relatives

  An Bingwen was refined and elegant in appearance, his ancestors were also from a scholarly family, he himself had read books, and he liked to speak with an air of refinement. However, as an outsider, he had a somewhat naive and weak personality, and the family line was thin, by his generation, the An family only had him left, and because his father died early, when he was around 20 years old, his mother also passed away, so he was alone in eating well, but the whole family did not go hungry, a solitary person.

  Moreover, he was not a good farmer either, so by his generation the family had already declined and had no status in Liu's village. Until he was almost thirty years old, he still hadn't married a wife.

  The ancestors of Liu Dezhou's family in Liujiacun Village have always been famous, so after An Bingwen's ancestors moved to Liujiacun Village, the descendants of the An family have always called the elders of the Liu Dezhou family "Shu Ye". The elders of the Liu Dezhou family have also taken special care of the descendants of the An family, so although An Bingwen's status in Liujiacun Village is not high, because of Liu Dezhou's care, most people in the village still treat him with respect.

  So today after seeing Bai Cuifen, Liu Dezhou thought of An Bingwen who had not yet married and decided to take charge for him and settle his marriage.

  An Bingwen, sitting in the middle of the hall, saw Qing Sheng lead a young and beautiful woman in, and hastily stood up to greet them.

  "Shu Shengge, how come you have time to come?" An Bingwen pressed the cigarette butt in his hand onto the dinner table, extinguishing the flame.

  "Uh, I have something to discuss with you." Qing Sheng said solemnly and turned his head towards Bai Cuifen. But when he turned back, he saw that Bai Cuifen was still standing properly outside the door.

  "Come in." Qing Sheng took out two cigarettes from his shirt pocket, handed one to An Bingwen, lit the other and took a puff, then handed the match to An Bingwen.

  This was the first time Qing Sheng spoke with Bai Cuifen after bringing her back home.

  After listening to Qing Sheng's words, Bai Cuifen quietly walked in through the door.

  Bai Cuifen came in and Qing Sheng pulled An Bingwen's arm to go out.

  "What's going on?" An Bingwen was dragged by Qing Sheng while walking out, asking at the same time, and occasionally turning his head to look at Bai Cuifen who was still standing at the door.

  After pulling An Bingwen away for a distance, Qing Sheng stopped and took a fierce drag on the cigarette in his hand, his eyes gazing into the deep night sky ahead.

  Liujiacun is just a little bigger, with a slight breeze blowing through the grass, and everyone in the village will know. During the day, An Bingwen already knew that a strange girl had come to Liujiacun and needed to stay overnight, and was brought home by Qing Sheng. But An Bingwen didn't understand why Qing Sheng would bring this girl to his house at this time, after all, his family is the poorest in Liujiacun.

  Seeing Qing Sheng's expression, An Bingwen felt suspicious and nervously leaned in close to Qing Sheng and asked, "Sheng Ge, what's wrong?"

  Qing Shu used his hand to push An Bingwen's head away and took another drag on his cigarette. "Let's get down to business."

  "What's serious?" An Bingwen leaned his head over again.

  Qingshu Sheng pushed his head away again and slowly explained Liu Dezhou's meaning to An Bingwen one by one.

  "I'll give you five minutes to think about it," Qing Shu said. "The other party has already agreed, it's up to you now."

  "There's no problem here." An Bingwen said with a pat on his chest in less than a minute.

  "She was married, her husband passed away due to illness, and she is still pregnant. If you agree, you need to discuss with her about the child in her belly, whether she wants to bring it over or leave it at her previous mother-in-law's house." Qing Sheng saw An Bingwen agreeing readily, so he continued to supplement the actual situation of Bai Cuifen.

  "Ah, there's still a child in the belly?" An Bingwen exclaimed, "Having been married is nothing, but having a child in the belly, I'm afraid..." An Bingwen stammered.

  "What's wrong with having a child in her belly? It's not an illegitimate child, it's the legitimate child of the man in front. What are you looking down on? Even if this child is born and stays in our Liu family village, even if it's not your biological child, would you still look down on it? At least it's being raised by you, what kind of relationship do you have with my father? My father treats you like his own flesh and blood!" Qing Shu gently patted An Bingwen's head.

  "That's true, but..." An Bingwen still had some concerns and hesitated.

  "But what? People want looks, they want a good figure. You're not some widow with kids, who can still look at you? Take a look at your own conditions before speaking." Qing Shu said to An Bingwen while smoking, in a bad tone.

  "Alright then." An Bingwen bit his lip and finally nodded, "As long as she doesn't despise me, I'll follow your arrangements."

  "Look at your reluctant look, as if you are being wronged. The one who is being wronged is someone else's family. If you don't want to, I'll take her away now and find another family for her." Qing Sheng said, then turned to walk towards An Bingwen's home.

  An Bingwen grabbed Qing Sheng and said, "What's going on? Didn't I agree already? Where else can she go? Your family already has Xiu Zhen as a daughter-in-law, and she can't stay at your place either." An Bingwen playfully teased Qing Sheng.

  "It's settled then. I'll discuss the rest of the matters with my father later, but for now, don't make any moves tonight, you have to wait until everything is settled before making a move, that's the rule in Liujiacun."

  Although Qing Shu thought in his heart that An Bingwen was not such a person, he still instructed An Bingwen according to the rules like Liu Dezhou.

  "Pfft." An Bingwen looked at Qing Sheng with some disdain, raised his head high and patted his chest, saying: "Am I that kind of person? I am a scholar, how can I be worse than a beast? Don't even mention that things are not settled yet, even if they were, it's not possible. She is a pregnant woman after all."

  An Bingwen spat on the ground again.

  Liu Xiu Zhen suddenly shouted from the darkness, "Bingwen, is Shu Sheng still at your house?" while Qing Shu and An Bingwen were whispering to each other.

  It turned out that Liu Xiu Zhen had just heard An Bingwen's voice.

  "It's here!" Hearing that it was Liu Xiu Zhen's voice, An Bingwen hastily responded and said: "Sister Xiu Zhen has arrived?"

  Upon hearing the sound, Liu Xiu Zhen finally saw two figures in the darkness, whispering to each other.

  "What are you standing here for? Have you arranged everything?" Liu Xiu Zhen asked Qing Sheng.

  "Alright, Byungmun has also agreed." Cheongsuseong replied.

  "You've come just in time." Qing Sheng said to Liu Xiu Zhen.

  Then he turned to An Bingwen: "Bingwen, take your sister-in-law inside, let her help her settle down and go to bed early. I'll be back first."

  Qingsheng finished speaking and then bid farewell to An Bingwen with a wave of his hand, disappearing into the vast darkness of night.