Reborn in the 1980s: I became a stepmother in the 1980s

Part 36 Discuss wedding

"Yes, on the day of the pre-arranged marriage, Sine went over there," spoke up Zhou Yueshen, implying that since their daughter had already married according to the agreement, there was no need to return the dowry.

At this statement, even Zhou Suisui's complexion changed. How could they send their daughter away for marriage without her even returning home first? Wouldn't she resent their entire family for this?

Lin's mother and father were even more panicked, their faces filled with confusion. "How could this be? Sine didn't even know about the marriage. We never discussed it. How could you say she's already married?"

Now they understood. Zhou Yueshen's visit wasn't about money; it was to inform them that he had already married their daughter.

No matter how many lavish gifts were brought, this was not what they had hoped for. It wasn't about looking down on Zhou Yueshen; it was because their daughter was too innocent in this matter. She knew nothing about it; she was only a victim of being switched at birth. There was no reason for her to bear the consequences of their mistake.

"No, I know. Lin Sisi told me about it a month ago. Honestly, when I heard about it, I couldn't believe it either, which is why I didn't want to come back." (This was the original host's thought.)

As she finished speaking, she unmistakably felt the gaze of a certain man upon her. Swallowing nervously, Sine continued, "But later, I came to realize that marrying someone is just marrying someone."

Indeed, the original host had felt uneasy upon hearing that Lin Sisi had arranged a marriage in the countryside, fearing that Lin Sisi would come back and take away the military officer fiancé, leaving her with the countryside marriage instead. Sure enough, her guess was spot on.

"What? Sisi told you about it?" Upon hearing this, both Lin's mother and father's expressions changed. Lin Sisi had been cherished and raised by them since she was young. Although they couldn't provide her with a wealthy lifestyle, they never let her suffer. They even went to great lengths to send her to school. When she didn't perform well in high school and couldn't go to college, they arranged a marriage for her. It just so happened that when Zhou Yueshen came to propose, Lin Sisi seemed to have a favorable impression of him, so they agreed. Otherwise, even if the other party was wealthy, they wouldn't agree to have so many children to raise. Little did they expect that shortly after agreeing to the marriage, Lin Sisi seemed to have changed overnight. Suddenly, she spent all her time in the city. One day when she came back, she even told them that they weren't her biological parents.

Later, when they went to the city to find the Sis, they discovered that both families had switched babies by mistake. While Lin Sisi went back with high expectations, their biological daughter was unwilling to return. Although it was difficult for the Lin family to accept, they understood that forcing her to return to a less fortunate family was not right, so they let the matter rest.

However, Lin Sisi's departure left the promised marriage in question. Upon their return, they found out that the three thousand yuan had been stolen. Everyone scrambled to repay the debt, never once considering having Sine take on the responsibility of marrying in place of Lin Sisi. It turned out Lin Sisi had actually told Sine about it. No wonder the girl was unwilling to return—she was surely afraid that if she did, they would marry her off.

When they had accepted the three thousand yuan as bride price, they had been criticized for selling their daughter. Now, both husband and wife wore troubled expressions.

But with things having reached this point, what more could they say? They could only look at Sine with even more guilt in their eyes.

"It's all our fault. We're to blame for not being capable enough and causing trouble for you," they said, wiping away their tears.

Zhou Yueshen could understand their predicament. "Don't worry, Uncle Lin, Aunt Lin. I'll do my best to ensure Sine has a good life."

Sine was about to be moved by his words when Zhou Yueshen continued, "As long as she treats the child well, I don't have any other demands." Indeed, as long as she did so, Zhou Yueshen would ensure her a lifetime of comfort and security.

A twitch formed at the corner of Sine's mouth.

Lin's father and mother hesitated to speak. They weren't opposed to their daughter marrying Zhou Yueshen. It was just that Sine had only just returned, and marrying her off so quickly felt unfair to her.

Sine slowly replied, "I'm fine with this arrangement. You don't need to worry about me. But although the bride price doesn't need to be repaid, the thief must be caught. I find this whole situation rather suspicious."

"Why did the whole family leave so much money at home while searching for me?"

Sine asked the question she had been pondering.

"It wasn't like that. At the time, Sui Sui and Sisi were both at home, but they were busy working in the fields. Sisi went out to find her classmates, and when we returned, the house had been ransacked."

"Oh? Lin Sisi was at home?"

Sine couldn't shake the feeling that Lin Sisi was somehow involved in this matter, but she lacked evidence to support her suspicion. It wouldn't be appropriate to accuse Lin Sisi of being the thief, especially not in front of the parents who had raised her for eighteen years. Besides, just returning and making such accusations might make others think she was being unreasonable and trying to frame Lin Sisi out of spite. After all, people naturally tended to trust someone they had known for eighteen years over someone who had just reappeared.

"Three thousand yuan is not a small sum. Didn't you report it to the police?"

Sine asked calmly, "Did you report it to the police?"

"We did, but the police said it's too far away for them to investigate," the couple replied, looking troubled.

With such a large sum of money missing, they were more eager than anyone to recover it. However, in this era, when someone took the money and ran, without surveillance cameras, who knew who it could be?

Glancing at her, Zhou Yueshen spoke up, "I'll contact some people to investigate this matter. Don't worry. Three thousand yuan is not a small amount, and we can't just let it go like this."

Though he was wealthy, Zhou Yueshen wasn't heartless. Losing such a sum of money wasn't trivial, especially considering it was the bridal gift he had given to the Lin family. If the bridal gift money was stolen, what kind of message would that send? Even the bride herself wouldn't be happy about it.

He did have some connections, or else the remote countryside like this would never have gotten attention from the police.

Hearing this, Lin's father and mother felt a mix of shame and gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Comrade Zhou!" Lin's father expressed his gratitude.

"It's nothing," Zhou Yueshen nodded slightly.

With someone offering to help and their daughter genuinely returning home, Lin's parents felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders after a long time. The tension in their wrinkles had eased considerably. They quickly got up and said, "Look at us, we've been chatting away and haven't even cooked dinner yet. Honey, you stay here and chat, while I and Sui Sui go make dinner."

Lin's father chimed in, "Right, Sui Sui, find the Tieguanyin tea that I stored somewhere in the cupboard for Comrade Zhou and Nian Nian."

Sui Sui responded with an "Okay" and hurried into the kitchen to find a small packet of tea leaves. It wasn't much, just something a guest had given them before. Lin's father never had the heart to drink it, only using it to brew tea when he felt like having a drink. It was for his alcohol detoxification.