03 You should have an idea of how much the bride price should be

Liu Datou, seeing the crowd growing, raised his voice again, "Liu An told me that the girl initiated it. My son is a man, and if a girl takes the initiative, how can he resist? If it weren't for the pregnancy, we'd have let this matter drop. But now that she's pregnant, our Liu Family doesn't want to be the one shrinking back into its shell. Don't worry, as long as the girl enters the Liu Family's door, we will treat her well."

"That's right, it was Xiaofeng who took the initiative. Xiaofeng said she was willing to be with me and didn't want to spend her life with an idiot. It happened two months ago on the hillside; we even did that there. It was Xiaofeng who initiated it, and I just couldn't..." Liu An's voice trailed off suggestively, clearly implying something any adult would understand.

Upon hearing this, everyone came to a full understanding.

The situation seemed to be this: He Ximei forced Xiaofeng to marry an idiot, but Xiaofeng absolutely refused. In desperation to get herself married off, Xiaofeng approached Liu An and they had an affair that led to her pregnancy.

Hearing Liu An's words, Xiaofeng, who was lying on the bed inside, smiled.

The villagers might not know the real situation, but she, with the memories of the original host, knew very well that the child in her belly was not Liu An's. As for whose it was, the original host had also not figured it out.

That day, she and Su Xiaotao went to the market. As they passed the hillside, Su Xiaotao suddenly said she needed to visit a relative's house in a nearby village to pick up some stuff and asked her to wait there.

The original host waited under a big tree on the hillside for Su Xiaotao. Not long after Xiaotao left, Liu An appeared. Seeing Su Xiaofeng alone, he approached to tease her and even tried to grope her, much like he had done that day.

Su Xiaofeng broke free and ran as fast as she could, with Liu An laughing and chasing after her.

In her panic, she entered a small woods behind the hillside. Behind the woods was a steep slope, and before she could reach the slope, Liu An caught up with her, tearing at her clothes. The original host was desperate and struggled with all her might. During the struggle, both of them tumbled down the slope. However, they rolled in different directions; Liu An to the north and the original host to the south. When she came to a stop, she felt her body hit something soft, and then she lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, the original host felt as if she had a shameful dream. There was a lot of blood on the ground around her. Seeing the bloodstains, the original host was so frightened she barely dared to breathe, and she took a hidden path home, terrified that others would discover what had happened.

Early the next morning, the original host suddenly remembered a serious problem: her period had not come for two months. Fearing a certain impossible possibility, she became both anxious and scared. She lingered at the entrance to the village for a long time, unable to think of a solution. She then ran into Liu An, and what followed was the beginning of this scene. Her soul, that of a 21st-century elite woman, transmigrated into Su Xiaofeng's body.

All in all, she was pleasantly surprised.

She was happy that there was a child in her belly, fulfilling her past life's wish to have a child without getting married. But she was worried about the original host's predicament and the living standards of the Su Family.

About the Su Family's living standards, based on her memory, one word described it: poor.

Not just ordinary poor, but the poorest in the entire village. No need for further explanation, one look at their house was enough to tell. Using modern terms, their house was definitely a dangerous structure.

Outside, Liu An continued to talk to himself, "Uncle, Auntie, Xiaofeng and I truly like each other. Now that Xiaofeng is pregnant with my child, I, Liu An, naturally cannot abandon her. I want to marry her and take her home. As for the bride price, the villagers are witnesses; you set the amount."

Liu An of course knew that the child in Su Xiaofeng's belly was not his. That day, before anything substantial happened between them, they rolled down the steep slope, where he encountered two men in black. The men in black were armed with sharp weapons and seemed to be chasing someone. Liu An lay motionless on the ground, too scared to make a sound, afraid the men in black would discover him.

If it weren't for running into Su Xiaotao early that morning, he almost completely forgot about Su Xiaofeng. Having not succeeded last time, he resolved that today he would definitely take Su Xiaofeng into his possession.

Harboring ulterior motives, she saw Su Xiaofeng at the entrance of the village and, delighted, pulled her towards a concealed spot, only to run into Old Man Su.

"That's right, you just name the price, and as long as we find it reasonable, there will be absolutely no second word," Liu Datou raised his voice to declare, "But then again, your daughter is no longer a pure maiden, carrying one in her belly, she isn't worth much if you speak to any other family, so you better have an idea of how much dowry you want."

A girl, right? If she's a pure maiden getting ready to be married off, asking for a higher dowry or such is understandable. But if she's not a pure maiden, already with a child, even if it's of the Liu family's blood, the girl's side still needs to beg the man's side.

After all, if the man's side changes their mind and doesn't want to marry her, she would have no place to even cry.

Under such circumstances, the dowry is usually just a token of formality.

Liu Datou certainly had his own calculations in mind; if Old Man Su asked for too much, he would immediately turn around and leave, and see what they would do.

As Liu Datou said this, he looked up and asked the villagers beside him: "Everyone, tell me, isn't that the custom?"

"Since the two families are to be joined in marriage, it's only natural that you should sit down and have a proper talk. The dowry and all that are minor matters, as long as the two families have no objections, it's fine," said the uncle, who was among the older and more respected villagers, and also Old Man Su's own uncle. Naturally, he had to step forward and say a few words at this time.

Now that the situation had escalated to this point, there was clearly only one way out—marriage. The wedding was imminent, harmony was of utmost importance, and other aspects such as the dowry and rituals were negotiable.

"If you ask me, what dowry is there to talk about? If we delay this wedding further, Xiaofeng's belly will start to show. It's most important to pick a date and get married," Hu Xiulan, Su Xiaotao's mother, was someone who liked to gossip.

Old Man Su stood at the doorway under the eaves, his face going dark as he listened to Liu Datou's words, finding it hard to make a decision for some time.

In this matter, it was no longer important whether Xiaofeng or Liu An had initiated it. The important thing was, Xiaofeng was already pregnant.

You're pregnant, and besides marrying the man, you have no other choice.

"Old Man Su, you're not really considering agreeing, are you?" He Ximei saw the look on Old Man Su's face and knew he was about to agree.

"He Ximei, are you disappointed?" Hu Xiulan laughed: "The person's under your watch and yet you couldn't keep an eye on her. In the end, Xiaofeng is still going to get married."

Just as He Ximei was about to retort, she heard Old Man Su say: "Since it has happened, we should find a solution. You all come inside..." Before he could finish saying "let's talk inside," a woman's voice rang out.

"I disagree." Su Xiaofeng, who had been listening in bed for a while and could bear it no longer, got out of bed and walked out. She stood at the doorway, about five or six steps away from Old Man Su, and pronounced each word distinctly: "This child in my belly is not Liu An's."

Everyone was shocked!