Chapter 82

"Yes, Auntie."

"Okay, go ahead," He Chunlian said.

Yan Ren glanced at Gu Yinxing, then left, ignoring Gu Yinxing's helpless gaze.

Gu Yinxing was speechless.

She looked at her mother. "Mom, aren't you delaying my plans?"

"What's wrong? What do you want?" He Chunlian asked, feigning ignorance.

Gu Yinxing rolled her eyes in anger, but because that incident was too embarrassing to talk about, she asked instead, "What is Yan Ren doing at our house?"

"Oh, I told him I'd give him some movie tickets, and he could come and get them."

He Chunlian said, "Our whole family is going to the movies tomorrow, so you'd better remember to switch shifts."

"Alright, you've brought this up several times already." Gu Yinxing sounded a little frustrated when she heard it was about this. "Of course I remember."

The movie "Flower and Leaf Wedding" that He Chunlian and her team filmed is about to be released.

The old lady was very concerned about her image, so she bought dozens of tickets out of her own pocket and has been giving them to everyone she meets these past few days, saying she wants to ask for their opinions on her acting skills.

He Chunlian: "Judging from your tone, it sounds like you're not too keen on going?"

She took off the checkered apron from her waist and looked at Gu Yinxing.

Gu Yinxing pouted, "How could I not want to? Didn't you want to buy groceries? Go on, hurry up."

He Chunlian suppressed a laugh, took the change, and went out.

It was He Chunlian's first time making a movie, and not only did the Gu Family Members come, but even Old Mr. Lan and his grandson came to join in the fun.

The movie theater was packed with people, and bursts of laughter erupted from time to time. Even from the perspective of Gu Yousi's later generations, this movie is a pretty good light comedy romance.

When the movie ended, He Chunlian was recognized by someone.

"Isn't that Lily's Mom?" Several audience members gathered around. "Auntie, you acted so well! You look even younger than in the movie!"

"Really? No way, haha."

He Chunlian was modest in her words, but the corners of her mouth never turned down.

The film's box office revenue has been steadily increasing since its release three days ago.

In just three days, they recouped the filming costs and even made a profit of 100%.

Although this film is a light comedy, it is not lacking in depth, touching on the clash of ideas between the younger and older generations, and the views on love and marriage between men and women...

"Oh dear, Aunt He, look! There's a piece of news in the newspaper today criticizing you."

Auntie Sun came back from buying groceries and also brought a newspaper.

"What? Let me see." Upon hearing this, He Chunlian quickly stepped forward, abandoning the task of cooking.

She had only read half of it when Huang Xirong returned from outside with a big smile. "Sister He, you're reading the newspaper? Oh dear, I'm not saying this to be mean, but newspapers these days are outrageous. They're so harsh in their criticisms. How could they criticize you for only caring about money?"

They were talking about the character.

He Chunlian wasn't angry. "Besides," she said, "People criticizing me means I acted well. You don't get any criticism, but you don't get any praise either."

Huang Xirong's face darkened. He glared at He Chunlian, then turned and went back into the house.

She was also puzzled as to why she wasn't mentioned in the newspapers, even though her role was more significant than He Chunlian's.

Huang Xirong still didn't understand that actors are more likely to succeed when they play complex, contradictory, or controversial roles.

Like the character Lily's Mom played by He Chunlian, who is determined to marry her daughter to a rich man and doesn't even look at those who aren't rich, not even caring about a regular stable job.

Such a character would have been heavily criticized in the past.

But now, it has become controversial.

Zhang Mouyuan, probably worried that He Chunlian was overthinking things, even came to comfort her, saying, "The newspaper isn't criticizing you, so please don't overthink it. The more people talk about our movie, the better your performance is."

"Director, don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who's never seen the world."

He Chunlian said, "Let them curse. The more they curse, the more people will watch our movie."

Zhang Mouyuan was taken aback by the old lady's open-mindedness and gave her a thumbs up, saying, "Yes, you're absolutely right."

A week after the movie's release, a war of words broke out in the newspapers.

Previously, the general sentiment was one of condemnation towards Lily's Mom, but now some people have suddenly started to support Lily's Mom.

"What is love? Does poverty preclude one from talking about love? Does wealth negate the power of love?"

"What's wrong with raising a daughter with great difficulty and wanting her to marry a rich man without resorting to fraud or deception?"

"Not being true, good, or beautiful doesn't mean it's necessarily false, evil, or ugly..."

To He Chunlian's surprise, most of her supporters were actually older women who were married and had children.

Because of this, when she went to the market to buy groceries, the vendors even gave her a few scallions as a bonus. "Lily's Mom, we support you. It's not easy for us to raise a daughter. We don't necessarily want her to marry a rich man, but life is so hard if she marries someone who's poor. People say we're only interested in money, but look at those men, they have to pay for everything from food and drink to their daily needs."

The movie became a huge hit.

The movie theaters are showing it in rotation every day, and the entrance is always packed with people.

Old Master Lan also sent them a box of steaks, saying it was to thank He Chunlian for making the show a hit.

He Chunlian dared not take credit, but she still kept the steak.

She instructed Gu Yinxing, "Come home early after work tonight; we're having a special treat at home."

"I understand," Gu Yinxing replied absentmindedly.

She was puzzled. Didn't Yan Ren get the tickets? Why didn't she see him that day?

Gu Yinxing didn't dare to be distracted while in the hospital. Only after returning home did she consider whether to call and ask about the situation.

She had just returned to the Compound Courtyard that day when she sensed something was wrong. The neighbors passing by all laughed at her, and Auntie Guo even said with a smile, "Yin Xing, hurry home."

"Ah, okay."

Gu Yinxing was completely baffled, only feeling that everyone was acting strangely.

She pushed the cart into the backyard, and as soon as she stepped through the moon gate, she saw that the backyard was full of things, table after table, painted with gold paint, glittering. On the front table was a cage with a large goose dyed red inside.

"Yin Xing, you're finally back! Come inside!"

He Chunlian was dressed very elegantly today, with a gold necklace around her neck. When she saw Gu Yinxing return, she quickly lifted the curtain to greet her.

Gu Yinxing snapped out of her daze, still confused, and parked the car before going inside.

The room was full of people, including Yan Ren, his Grandpa, his Grandma Yan, and Old Master Lan and his family.

Gu Yinxing was immediately at a loss for words and greeted everyone one by one.

Grandma Yan laughed and said, "Yin Xing, did I give you a fright? It's all Yan Ren's fault; he insisted on giving you a surprise."

Yan Ren walked over and pulled Gu Yinxing to sit down. Gu Yinxing didn't know what to do with her hands and feet, her face flushed. "N-nothing."

"Young lady, you're too kind," Aunt Yan teased. "We've come today to propose marriage, following traditional customs. All those things outside were arranged by Yan Ren. Good heavens, I don't know how he got all that dried fruit, and that goose, he specially went to the countryside to buy it."

Gu Yinxing understood immediately upon hearing this.

She glanced at Yan Ren, her lips pursed as if she wanted to laugh but dared not.

"Yan Ren is so sincere, we won't say anything more. You can decide on the bride price; our daughter will bring 1,800 yuan as part of her dowry," He Chunlian said. "Her brother and sister-in-law will also give her a set of gold jewelry."

The Yan Family was somewhat surprised.

After all, the dowry was quite substantial, but judging from He Chunlian and the others' appearance, it was clear that the family wasn't just putting on a show; they probably had some real wealth.

Grandma Yan said happily, "We've prepared everything here. We have a TV and a refrigerator. The 2,800 yuan is for the children. You can buy whatever you want later."

Grandpa also said, "We had Yan Ren's wedding room cleaned up a few years ago, so the children can live there after the wedding."

Both families are well-off and willing to spend money on their children.

The marriage negotiations went very smoothly.

Grandpa and Grandma Yan booked the entire restaurant for the banquet, and Aunt Yan was generous enough to cover the cost of the cigarettes and alcohol.

The two families have chosen a date and agreed to get married in the middle of next month. After the wedding, the couple can go on a trip before returning to work or school.

That gives you about a month to prepare, which is more than enough time.

Gu Yinxing never expected things to progress so quickly. The two families ate together and didn't part until eight or nine o'clock.

Gu Yinxing came out to see them off. Grandpa and the others knew that the young couple probably had something to say, so they walked a few steps ahead.

The streetlights in the alley were already on, casting a dim, yellowish glow.

A gentle breeze dissipated the heat, and the gold candy wrappers left by the children on the ground spun in the wind. Gu Yinxing's heart was pounding.

She looked up, afraid he would see the blush on her face, then lowered her head again. "You... all you've been doing these days is getting those kinds of things?"

"Are you happy?"

Yan Ren stopped and looked down at her.

Gu Yinxing bit her lip, blinked, and her eyelashes trembled slightly. "You're burning money, aren't you?"

Yan Ren chuckled Yan Ren. His voice was very magnetic, and the laughter felt like a feather brushing against Yin Xing's heart. Yin Xing swallowed Yan Ren and punched Yan Ren in the chest. "What are you laughing at?"

"I'm laughing at your hypocrisy."

Yan Ren's Yan Ren defined lips curled into a smile as he took Gu Yinxing's hand. "You're clearly very happy, but you won't admit it."

Gu Yinxing's face turned so red it looked like it could bleed. She didn't know if it was because the alley was too quiet or because the faint scent of soap on Yan Ren Yan Ren, but she felt dizzy and disoriented.

"Yin Xing," Yan Ren lifted Gu Yinxing's chin, and the two looked at each other.

Gu Yinxing felt as if she were about to merge into those eyes.

"I want to marry you, will you?"

"I... I do."

The remaining unspoken words were swallowed up by their lips and tongues, and dark clouds quietly obscured the moon, so that the young couple in the alley could be intimate in secret.

He Chunlian glanced at the clock and said, "That's strange. Why is it taking so long to see someone off? Could they have foolishly gone home with someone?"

She suspected that her silly daughter was capable of doing something that no one else could do.

Just then, Gu Yinxing came in from outside.

She kept her head down, clutching her two shiny braids in her hands. After entering the house, she didn't look at anyone and went straight to lie down on the kang (a heated brick bed), covering her face with the quilt, screaming inwardly.

Chapter 86 The Eighty-Sixth Day of Being Eavesdropped On

Gu Yinxing's engagement caused quite a stir; the whole Compound Courtyard had heard about it.

He Chunlian was good at handling people. Knowing that this commotion was so big and that people would inevitably talk about her, she took a lot of the snacks and candies that the Yan Family had sent and distributed some to each household.

With something gagging them, no one could say anything.

Besides, the Gu Family has always been good at interpersonal relationships and has helped many people in the Compound Courtyard, so everyone can only offer their blessings.

Widow An added, "Sister He, when is your son Yin Xing getting married? You must send us an invitation."

"This is a must. Yin Xing grew up under the watchful eyes of you neighbors. I'd be unhappy if you didn't come," He Chunlian said with a smile.

Gu Yinxing was constantly teased whenever she went out. At first, she was a little embarrassed, but later she became thick-skinned and let people tease her as they pleased.

He Chunlian didn't let her get involved in the wedding preparations at all. With her daughter's cunning, lazy, and greedy nature, getting involved would only make things worse. She made a list and prepared the dowry list in advance.

Needless to say, there should be ten quilts, all perfect; four sets of clothes for summer and four sets for winter; and then there are pots, pans, and other such things...

Gu Jinshui, "If you're going to buy inferior ones, you might as well let me pick them out."

"What are you looking for?" He Chunlian asked. "You're not going to buy antiques, are you?"

"Isn't it good to buy antiques? I'll pick some from the Daoguang Era and make two sets. Can Yan Ren and Yin Xing use inferior things to entertain guests in the future? Using these will be more respectable," Gu Jinshui said.

He Chunlian thought it made some sense.

Although she's not someone who cares much about pomp and circumstance—just look at how wealthy the Gu Family is, they don't even have a TV at home—her daughter is marrying into an extraordinary family, so we should put on a good show to give her face.

Gu Yinxing had mentioned Yan Ren's family situation to He Chunlian. Yan's Father's father and his family were clearly difficult to deal with, and they also had a young son who was already married. We couldn't let them outdo us.

"Then it's your choice. You go buy it, and I'll pay for it."

He Chunlian thought about it for a moment, then made the decision.

Gu Yinxing was still a little embarrassed, "Mom, is it really necessary to go to such lengths? And use antiques? I'm afraid I'll break them."

"This is even better, it reminds you to do..."