Reborn in the 60s, I hunt to support my family and even seduce the village beauty.

"Xiao Qin, you're here?"

"Here you are, Brother Lü." Qin Meiru was a little nervous.

Yesterday, when Lü Jiawei saw me, his eyes were shining. Why is he so serious today? Does he not like my outfit?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but touch her red lips, which were smeared with flower juice. She wanted to take off the little white flower from her head, but felt that it would be too obvious, so she didn't dare to do it.

These days, apart from major events like weddings, hardly anyone dresses up for everyday life.

It was probably her outfit that displeased Lü Jiawei, and she couldn't help but secretly resent her mother.

It's all my mother's fault. She made me get up so early in the morning, put on new clothes, and apply makeup.

Now look what's happened! This has upset Lü Jiawei. If the blind date falls through, the whole family will be devastated!

These days, every household in the countryside is short of food and clothing. If someone can marry into the city, it's like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

Lei Guohong and Lao Zeng are both shrewd old men. They know that Lü Jiawei is not good-looking and if he marries a city woman, he can only find a low-end one.

It's better to marry a high-class wife in the countryside. Once a rural wife moves to the city, she'll be extremely grateful to her husband and will definitely treat him like a king.

Qin Meiru's behavior at this moment was the most obvious.

Lu Jiawei simply didn't smile, and Qin Meiru felt extremely uneasy, fearing that she might have done something wrong and angered him.

Just as she was filled with anxiety, Lü Jiawei spoke up. Facing Qin Meiru's pretty face, his tone was not very stern.

"Xiao Qin, I heard something when I got back yesterday, and I'd like to verify it with you."

"Wh...what's wrong?" Qin Meiru asked hesitantly.

Judging from Lü Jiawei's tone, it wasn't because of her appearance that displeased him. She had just breathed a sigh of relief when her heart started racing again.

What is it? This made Lü Jiawei's face turn serious.

I haven't done anything heinous!

Could it be? Could it be that the matchmaker guessed about him and his younger brother stealing corn and told Lü Jiawei?

That doesn't make sense either!

If that were the case, the village security team would have come knocking on their door long ago.

Seeing Qin Meiru's guilty expression, Lü Jiawei became even more suspicious.

Having worked as a railway policeman for so long, he has also learned some skills in judging people.

Qin Meiru's expression suggests that something is definitely going on.

"I heard you've been on blind dates before?" He decided to interrogate you little by little, like he was interrogating a pickpocket on a train platform.

So that's what it was. Qin Meiru felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.

Whether in the countryside or the city, it is normal to go on blind dates. Would Lü Jiawei be so petty as to forbid that he has even gone on blind dates himself?

She nodded slightly: "Yes, I went on a blind date before, but it didn't work out."

That's a evasive statement. It's not that she and Chang Kun didn't get together; the bride price had already been paid, and they were just waiting to register their marriage and hold the wedding banquet.

If it weren't for her mother insisting on increasing the bride price, she would have moved into the city long ago.

"It just didn't work out?" Lü Jiawei looked at Qin Meiru meaningfully.

If it just didn't work out, why does she look so guilty?

This woman is definitely not telling the truth!

Qin Meiru felt a little flustered. What did Lü Jiawei know that made him ask her this?

Many people in both villages knew about the arranged marriage and dowry between Lu Jiawei and Chang Kun. Did Lu Jiawei ask around and find out about it?

"I..." Qin Meiru stammered, hesitating for a long time before carefully answering, "My last blind date didn't work out..."

She dared not tell the truth. What if Lü Jiawei was cheating her? If she revealed the matter of increasing the bride price herself, wouldn't everything be over?

"If it didn't work out, there must be a reason, right? Was it that you didn't like her, or that she didn't like you?" Lu Jiawei sneered. Even now, this woman still wouldn't tell the truth.

The temperature wasn't high in the morning, but under Lü Jiawei's persistent questioning, beads of sweat appeared on Qin Meiru's forehead.

She twisted her hands together, almost tearing the hem of her clothes apart.

"Nothing like that..." Her voice was barely audible, as she lowered her head, avoiding Lu Jiawei's gaze. "That... it's actually about the bride price."

Pressed step by step, she dared not be vague or lie any longer. If Lü Jiawei really knew the truth and she still lied, it would leave an even worse impression on him.

"What about the bride price? Didn't you agree on a price?!" Lu Jiawei's voice grew colder and colder.

"It was my mother..." Qin Meiru wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and secretly glanced at Lü Jiawei. "My mother thought the bride price was too low, so she didn't agree to the marriage with that family."

"The bride price is too low?" Lü Jiawei scoffed. "How much is considered low? How much is considered high? Shouldn't the bride price be roughly the same in the surrounding area?"

"It was all my mother's idea! I didn't care about the bride price at all!" Qin Meiru quickly shifted the blame onto her mother, saying urgently, "I won't get the bride price anyway, so asking for a higher amount won't make a difference, don't you think?"

Lu Jiawei rolled his eyes and nodded. What he said was indeed true.

When a daughter gets married, the bride price is given to her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

As for the amount of dowry, it all depends on the wishes of the mother-in-law's family.

Even if the bride price is high, Qin Meiru really won't get much benefit.

Did I misunderstand her?

No, she still wasn't telling the truth!

If the only issue is the bride price, then it's not entirely unreasonable.

But if you accept the bride price and then go back on your word and ask for more, then the situation changes.

"Tell me, what's your mother asking for in terms of dowry? She can't possibly be asking for three to five times more than normal families, can she?"

Lu Jiawei went back and inquired yesterday. Chang Kun said that her family initially asked for a bride price of eight yuan, which is considered a normal price in the countryside.

But after the engagement, they asked for an extra ten yuan and ten catties of pork.

Even if pork is sold cheaply, without considering meat coupons, it's still priced at two yuan per jin (500g). Ten jin of pork would cost twenty yuan.

They accepted an eight-yuan bride price, then changed their minds and raised it to thirty-eight yuan – that's outrageous! That's almost a five-fold increase!

Three to five times?! Qin Meiru did the math in her mind, and realized that this was exactly the price Chang Kun's family was asking for to increase the bride price.

It seems that Lü Jiawei really did know about her previous discussion with Chang Kun's family regarding the bride price.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have asked such detailed questions.

I can't be ambiguous anymore, otherwise I won't even have a chance to explain myself.

"Yes! My mother did something wrong!" Qin Meiru gritted her teeth, still pushing all the blame onto her mother.

"She shouldn't have listened to her relatives' slander, accepted the betrothal gifts, and then tried to back out by asking for more!"

At this point, Qin Meiru felt a bit resentful. If it weren't for her mother meddling in things, she would have already married Chang Kun and moved to the city by now.

There was no need for him to care about Lü Jiawei's expression, making him lower his head and not dare to breathe loudly.

"Explain clearly what your mother did wrong! Don't just confide in me bit by bit!"

"It's my mother! She made him ask her family to increase the bride price after my blind date lost his job, otherwise she wouldn't let me marry him!" After saying this, Qin Meiru felt relieved.

"This was really all my mother's idea; I'm not that kind of person!"

She quickly added that sentence.