1970s: My childhood sweetheart ran away, and I turned around and married the wildest chief.

She already had 20,000 yuan, and her older brother had some too. Her grandfather was a shrewd man who never put all his eggs in one basket. He had long ago divided the family's money into several places and hidden them away, so even if something happened, it was impossible for them to lose everything.

She was worried that her mother didn't have any money, but she didn't expect them to bring out the hidden wealth so quickly.

The original 20,000 and the 60,000 given today were both part of her dowry, though the actual amount was much more than that.

In fact, the cash alone amounted to 300,000 yuan. The Xu family gave 200,000 yuan, and the parents gave 100,000 yuan. This was only a small part. The bulk of the dowry consisted of gold, silver dollars, antiques, and jewelry.

Grandpa probably doesn't have much cash reserves. After all, gold is the only hard currency in times of chaos, and cash is hard to preserve. The Xu family must have exchanged a lot of their assets, so it's already quite unexpected that he could give her so much.

However, it's not convenient to take these out right now, so I just wrote her a list.

They only gave her 60,000 yuan in cash; the rest they kept hidden.

The Xu family was originally wealthier than the Qiao family. During the chaotic times, the Xu family survived a lot, and now the Xu family is much wealthier than the Qiao family. Therefore, the dowry was mostly given by the maternal grandparents.

However, although they gave her a lot, her grandmother and mother specifically instructed her to only say that there was a dowry of 30,000 yuan, and to keep the rest for herself.

Thirty thousand should be an amount that won't arouse Lu Mingzhou's suspicion and will also satisfy him.

Having experienced turbulent times, gone abroad, and then returned after overcoming numerous hardships, no one really knows the current state of their family. However, given Lu Mingzhou's intelligence, he shouldn't believe that the Qiao family has nothing left. Since they do, they should naturally show their appreciation for Lu Mingzhou's great risk in saving them.

However, at the same time, it cannot be too much, because Lu Mingzhou has a promising future but comes from a poor family. His maternal grandfather is always worried about Lu Mingzhou. He is concerned that a young, ambitious man like Lu Mingzhou will one day become greedy and use his precious granddaughter as a stepping stone.

Today's gifts were too much, exceeding Lu Mingzhou's understanding. He could only feel that the Qiao family had even more to give. After all, the Qiao family had a son, and it was impossible that they gave less to their daughter than to their son.

Grandpa Xu couldn't say for sure when this world would end. If even his own son could report them, who could guarantee that Lu Mingzhou wouldn't?

Thirty thousand was just the right amount, enough to satisfy Lu Mingzhou without tempting him. After all, someone of his status wouldn't risk such a small sum.

As expected, Lu Mingzhou was surprised but not too surprised when he heard the amount. He guessed that the Qiao family probably had some wealth, and with Qiao's parents earning high salaries, they could indeed come up with 30,000 yuan.

"Your brother isn't even married yet, how come he's giving you so much?"

Thirty thousand! Many people can't earn that much money in their entire lives. Even some cadres' daughters don't get such a large dowry when they get married; two thousand is the maximum.

Regardless of what the future holds, at least for now, Qiao's parents are unemployed, and Qiao Yuanhe is not married yet. He will have to support his parents in the future, which is a heavy burden.

Qiao Wanqing smiled and said, "My parents have high salaries! They've been living in the research institute's staff quarters for the past few years, and they don't have any children to support. The whole family is on salaries, so their expenses aren't high, and they've naturally saved up some money. My mother still has some living expenses."

"The fact that the Qiao family wasn't labeled this time is all thanks to you. My uncle is in Kyoto, and he doesn't have enough connections here. The Xu family didn't even use their local connections. My grandfather was hesitant before, worried that if they used their local connections, those people in the circle might think the Xu family was helpless. It was hard to say whether they would come to help or take advantage of the situation."

Offending someone else might be fine, but the person they've offended is Bai Zhengxiong, the head of the Beichuan City Revolutionary Committee and a key figure in the Bai family—a position that many powerful families fear. Even if they use the people they've secretly cultivated, they might not be a match for Bai Zhengxiong, and it might even harm them.

Therefore, in this crisis, whether it's the Xu family or the Qiao family, as long as they don't hand Qiao Wanqing over, they will most likely suffer greatly.

Just as they were still trying to figure out a solution, Lu Mingzhou, a third party, suddenly stepped in, and Bai Zhengxiong suddenly died. Now, things became much easier.

Although on the surface Bai Zhengxiong's death had nothing to do with Lu Mingzhou, Grandpa Xu couldn't help but suspect it, because Lu Mingzhou was the biggest beneficiary of the whole affair.

Regardless, Lu Mingzhou did indeed help a lot, and he definitely deserves some benefits.

Qiao Wanqing continued, "Everyone in the family is safe and sound, so finding a job in the future is just a matter of time. Anyway, my older brother doesn't even have a girlfriend yet, and who knows when he'll get married. Now that I'm completely out of poverty, I might as well give him more money. It's his own daughter, so he won't feel bad spending it!"

"Back then, those people from the Revolutionary Committee ransacked my house and took away several thousand yuan. My mother was heartbroken."

Lu Mingzhou stroked her long hair and said with a smile, "Keep them all and spend them slowly later."

His voice carried a hint of pleasure, because he was very satisfied with the Qiao family's actions.

He didn't marry Qiao Wanqing for the Qiao family's money, but the fact that the Qiao family did this at least shows that they are a sensible family and would be a good business partner. The marriage relationship is very important to him and will accompany him throughout the rest of his life.

He had no shortage of money, but who would complain about having too much? He had already guessed that the Qiao family must have some wealth, and as it turned out, that was indeed the case.

Thirty thousand yuan isn't much if it's used for illegal activities, but it's a different story if it's clean money.

He worked hard for so many years, and with his parents' help, he only had a little over ten thousand yuan in savings.

Of course, he wasn't stupid. Since the Qiao family had taken so much, he could guess that they probably had much more. But it was their money, and he didn't care how much it was.

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier. Lu Mingzhou was actually quite happy. He rarely got a break, and the rain kept the neighbors from coming to claim the house, giving him time to spend some quality time with his wife.

He pulled his wife into his arms, kissed her, and hugged her. Soon they were snuggled up in bed, enjoying each other's company. When they got tired, they would lean against the headboard and chat. When they were rested, they would continue. Newlyweds always have inexhaustible energy.

The next day, the weather cleared up, and Lu Mingzhou went to work. Qiao Wanqing was home alone, so she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some new pots, pans, and dishes for the house.

The kitchen only had earthen stoves; the logistics department did not provide iron pots, so customers had to buy them themselves.

Qiao Wanqing bought two iron pots according to their dimensions, as well as a stove to place between the two pots to warm the water. When she got home, she put them directly into the stove holes, then used wet mud to seal the gaps around them to prevent smoke from leaking out. She waited for the mud to dry.