Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 127 You're not going to find someone else, are you?
“So what? There are no outsiders here,” Lu Jia said. “Besides, I’m not being casual; I’m very serious.”

Having already spoken once, the second time was a piece of cake for Lu Jia. Besides, she had already been married once in her previous life and had lived a few years longer than Qin Zhou, making her practically an older sister figure. Shouldn't she be more proactive?

Of course, Lu Jia could understand that the young man was still naive and somewhat embarrassed about matters between men and women.

Wouldn't she have to be even more explicit then? If both sides are being secretive, how much trouble will it cause?

"Xiao Qin," she said earnestly, "you can tell me what you want. It's better to marry someone you know than someone you don't. We've worked together well, and you know what kind of person I am. After we get married, at least you'll have a home!"

"Little Qin"?
Is this what they call "taking advantage of one's age"?
Shen Qingzhou couldn't help but roll her eyes.

That's quite a bold statement. I wonder who's actually older.

He took a deep breath: "That's true."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jia felt that he was about to relent, so she added more leverage: "We're not doing this for nothing. If you have any ideas in the future, and feel that we really can't live together anymore, it's not impossible for you to call off the engagement."

"However, we'll have to wait until Lu Ying successfully marries Yan Qu."

"Of course, even if we break off our engagement, we won't become enemies. If you need any help from me, I will definitely do it for you."

Shen Qingzhou gazed at the tree branches swaying in the cold wind outside the window, sat silently for a moment, and said, "I've already been rejected twice, and I don't want to be rejected a third time."

Lu Jia was taken aback for a moment, then immediately said, "We are engaged in a proper ceremony, and we need to sign a written agreement. As long as you are willing, I will never go back on my word."

In fact, Lu Jia never thought that the proposal would not count.

She did propose the engagement to avoid repeating past mistakes, but she was not one to abandon someone after they had served their purpose, nor did she ever treat marriage lightly. Once she had spoken of it, she never intended to take it lightly.

The reason he said he could break off the engagement in the future is because he knows that she herself is likely to benefit the most from this marriage.

After all, it's already a big favor that they changed their minds and agreed, right?
"Then our decision doesn't count."

“Of course not.” As the conversation deepened, Lu Jia immediately perked up and dragged her stool closer: “Aren’t my uncle and aunt in the capital?”
“Even if we don’t look for them, my mother will be going to the capital in three to five days. She is my adoptive mother, and with her permission, we have the authority of my parents.”

Shen Qingzhou looked at him and said, "I heard that the Cheng family has a young master who is very talented and handsome."

You mean my cousin?

Shen Qingzhou remained silent.

"He's a really nice guy, quite helpful. You want him to be our officiant? That's not out of the question..."

Shen Qingzhou took a deep breath.

After he finished smoking, he pulled out a few sheets of paper from his pocket: "Take a look at this document, is this what it says?"

The document had the words "engagement" written in large characters at the top.

Below were their names, along with Qin Zhou's birth date and time.

Isn't this a formal engagement contract?

Lu Jia was pleasantly surprised: "You actually prepared in advance?"

"Just writing for fun when I have nothing else to do."

Shen Qingzhou said calmly.

However, an engagement document is not a marriage certificate, and no one will know that Qin Zhou is Shen Qingzhou.

Nothing serious will happen.

However, the engagement document alone made her this happy...

Lu Jia was already grinning from ear to ear: "You should have been so agreeable earlier!"

I was just criticizing her for being too direct, but he's done it anyway, he's already written the documents and brought them over, isn't that even more direct?
The document was very simple, just stating that the two parties were to be married, and his signature and fingerprint were already at the bottom.

She immediately fetched a pen, ink, and inkpad, wrote down each name and date of birth, and then placed her handprint on it.

"Alright!" She waved the paper and blew away the ink stains. "I'll keep both of these for now. After Mother gets the certificate in the capital, I'll give you another one."

Seeing her beaming face, Shen Qingzhou felt inexplicably at ease.

Once you've signed his marriage certificate, you naturally can't sign it with anyone else.

He also took out a piece of jade from his pocket: "Take it."

Lu Jia glanced at it, then took it in her hand. This was also a piece of jade that looked quite valuable, but unlike hers, it had no inscriptions on it, only a tiger's head carved on it. Even the shape of the jade resembled a tiger; it was more like a token than a piece of jade.

"Isn't this very valuable?"

"No matter how valuable it is, it's worth it."

When Shen Qingzhou said this, her voice was so soft that it sounded like she would be willing to give up all her possessions to Lu Jia.

Lu Jia's heart skipped a beat for no reason, but as someone who had been through it all, she had to keep a straight face.

So she calmly accepted the jade, saying, "Then I won't be polite. Thank you!"

Shen Qingzhou bit her lip and glanced at her again: "If I hadn't come back, what were you planning to do? You wouldn't have found someone else, would you?"

“That’s impossible!” Lu Jia shook her head. “How could we find someone more suitable than you in such a short time?”

If it can't be found in a short time, what about if it takes a long time?

Shen Qingzhou subconsciously picked up the cup of tea and brought it to his lips, but he missed and spilled the tea.

It felt like something had been overturned in my heart.

Lu Jia was immersed in joy when she remembered, "Once we're engaged, we're always heading towards marriage. We can't rush the wedding date. I still have a lot to do after I go back to the Lu family. You have to let me sort things out first."

Shen Qingzhou stroked her clothes, which were soaked by the water: "You know that in my current situation, I have absolutely no confidence to go and propose marriage."

"And naturally I have to make something of myself in order to fulfill the marriage agreement and not let your father look down on me."

"But how long this period of time is unknown."

"That's alright," Lu Jia said nonchalantly. "I'll wait for you, of course."

Shen Qingzhou added, "Now that we're engaged, as your fiancé, I naturally can't go to the Lu family with you."

"So what will you do in the future? Where will you go?"

Before Shen Qingzhou could reply, Lu Jia immediately added, "Then you should still stay at the Xie family's house! You should still live with your mother and the others."

Shen Qingzhou neither agreed nor disagreed.

"Qin Zhou, from now on you'll have us. You're no longer alone! Listen to me, you'll live with the Xie family."

Lu Jia made the final decision.

Shen Qingzhou gazed at her, the cold wind unable to penetrate his heart.

—They'll be here from now on.

She'll be here from now on.

That's heartwarming enough.

He picked up the cloak from the bedside and wrapped her up tightly.

"It's cold, go to sleep."

"Qin Zhou," Lu Jia looked up and said softly under the lamplight, "Are you really willing?"

This was a marriage she had insisted on, and now that she had finally gotten what she wanted, she wanted to be reserved and act indifferent, but she still couldn't ignore his feelings.

She seemed a little bothered, afraid that he was only doing it reluctantly from beginning to end, without even a hint of willingness.