Chapter 1957

In the afternoon.

The bride price issue was resolved, and Xie Ran immediately called Fang Shui Ling to share the good news with her.

On the other end.

At Fang Shui Ling's father's family courtyard.

It was clear that Shui Ling still didn’t know about the resolution; she was arguing with her family inside the house.

Today, Fang Wenping also visited her third brother’s house as a guest, sitting with Shui Ling’s parents in the living room.

“Dad, Mom, what are you doing? What do you want?” Shui Ling was furious, her eyes red. She hadn’t eaten anything all day; even when the maid served dinner at home, Shui Ling didn’t touch a bite. She was still arguing with her parents. “Grandpa already agreed, and everyone in the family supports my relationship with Brother Ran. Why are you still making things difficult for us? Do you hate it when I get to decide for once? Do you hate it when I’m happy? If you don’t want me to marry, I’ll never get married!”

Shui Ling’s father glanced at his daughter. “Your temper is getting bigger and bigger. How can you talk to us like this?”

Shui Ling’s mother calmly said, “We didn’t say we don’t want you to get married. Didn’t we already agree? But the bride price can’t be less; that’s just the rule.”

Shui Ling’s mother snapped, “What are you shouting for?”

Shui Ling burst into tears. “Can’t I shout? What kind of family are you? You’re asking for so much for the bride price! How am I supposed to face Ran’s family? How can I get along with them? They can’t even afford a villa and a million for the bride price. All of that adds up to nearly one hundred million RMB! Who has that kind of money?” Shui Ling understood the situation at Xie Ran’s family. They couldn’t even manage a million in bride price, let alone almost a hundred million. None of them were business people.

Shui Ling’s mother snorted, “If they can’t afford it, they can forget about marrying my daughter.”

Seeing his daughter crying, Shui Ling’s father also softened. “Your mother is just looking out for you. This money isn’t for us; the bride price isn’t something we’ll take. It’s all for you to live well after the wedding, a kind of security. Besides, our families have a bad relationship, and you know that. Now, they’re trying to get you to marry over there. They want to save face for our family. Otherwise, how can we step down if you marry into their family without much of a bride price? Others will think we’ve got something over the Xie family or are afraid of them. It’s not as simple as you think.”

At this moment, Fang Wenping suddenly chimed in. “It’s not as complicated as you think.”

Shui Ling finally found a little support. She rushed to hug her aunt’s arm and cried out, “Auntie, they’re being unreasonable!”

Patting Shui Ling’s head, Fang Wenping said, “It’s okay, Auntie’s here. Don’t cry.”

When Shui Ling's phone rang, Shui Ling’s father shot Fang Wenping a look, about to say something.

Seeing the number, Shui Ling quickly wiped away her tears, her face full of anxiety and sadness, then hurriedly walked to a corner to answer the call. It was Xie Ran calling, but Shui Ling felt particularly anxious at that moment. She was afraid that Ran’s family would be upset and no longer agree to their marriage. After all, the bride price demands were genuinely excessive.

“Almost a hundred million RMB!”

“Which political families can afford that kind of money?”

“Families like theirs are usually quite modest; they’re never as wealthy as people imagine.”

The phone call connected.

“Hello, Ling Ling,” Xie Ran said.

Shui Ling’s voice was shaky with tears. “Brother Ran, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Xie Ran quickly asked. “It’s all good now, don’t cry.”

Shui Ling’s tears streamed down. “What did Uncle and Auntie say about our matter?”

Xie Ran chuckled. “Hurry and wipe your tears. I called to tell you the issue with the bride price has already been resolved; there’s no problem at all.”

“Huh?” Shui Ling was stunned. “Resolved?”

Xie Ran nodded. “It’s all set.”

Shui Ling couldn’t believe it. “So soon? And with so much money? How did your family manage it, Brother Ran? Don’t scare me now.” Shui Ling’s face turned pale. Their family didn’t lack money, but power was immense; even if Xie Ran casually asked a company boss, getting a few million wasn’t a problem.

Xie Ran just laughed. “Where are you getting these ideas? Don’t worry; the money came properly. It’s my brother-in-law who gave it. The villa is a new one my brother-in-law bought in Four Seasons Green Bridge a couple of years ago. It is over 300-400 square meters in size and is standalone with a swimming pool. I’ve been there once, and it’s beautiful. The money is from my brother-in-law too; he gave me a platinum card with over 12 million RMB. So, your parents’ demands for the bride price aren’t an issue.”

Shui Ling was utterly stunned. “Brother-in-law gave it?”

Xie Ran sighed. “I owe my brother-in-law a lot this time.”

Shui Ling quickly asked, “Can we even take this money? Almost a hundred million! That’s…”

“Don’t worry about it for now. Let’s get our wedding sorted first, and we’ll think about how to return this favor later. We’ll figure it out then.” Xie Ran had it all planned.

Shui Ling was still not convinced. “But how can Brother-in-law have so much money?”

Xie Ran replied, “Honestly, I’m not entirely sure either. I know that my brother-in-law used to win a lot in the lottery—like winning the top prize in sports betting or something, I think he won over a hundred times. That made him a billionaire. After that, he had some other profitable ventures. I’m not sure what exactly they were.” Xie Ran also sounded quite emotional while saying this. “My brother-in-law’s life is like a legend. His story could probably be told for three days and nights without end—every step of his life was unbelievable and thrilling. I’ve only really admired a few people—my grandpa, uncle, dad, sister, and now my brother-in-law.”

After hanging up the phone, Shui Ling wiped her tears, smiled, and returned inside.

Shui Ling’s mother looked puzzled. “Hmm, whose phone was that?” She had been crying moments ago, but now she seemed so happy.

Shui Ling didn’t respond to her mother. It wasn’t until Fang Wenping asked that Shui Ling finally smiled at her aunt. “It was Brother Ran who called. He said the bride price is all set.”

Shui Ling’s father looked slightly taken aback. “All set?”

Shui Ling beamed. “Yes, and it’s only gone up, not down. The villa is inside the Fourth Ring Road, with a swimming pool. The location is excellent.”

Shui Ling’s mother couldn’t believe it. “When did their family become so wealthy?”

“It was Brother Ran’s brother-in-law who gave it.” Shui Ling replied.

“That Dong Xuebing?” Shui Ling’s mother was astonished. “He can’t be that wealthy, can he? Where did he get so much money from? Is it some shady source?”

Shui Ling got upset. “How can you talk like that? You’re already asking for so much bride price, which was excessive. Now, when someone brings the money, you’re questioning its source? What exactly do you want?” Shui Ling got upset as she spoke.

Shui Ling’s mother said, “I’m worried.”

Shui Ling’s father looked at Fang Wenping and said, “Sister, you worked in the same department as Dong Xuebing, right? Where did that guy get his money?”

Fang Wenping calmly replied, “I don’t know how he got it, but when he first joined the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, his assets listed were over a billion.”

Shui Ling’s parents:

Assets over a billion

Still working at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection for so long.

This money isn’t an issue; it’s legitimate. Otherwise, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection would have investigated him long ago—there’s no need even to ask.

Shui Ling looked at her parents. “Now I can marry him.”

Shui Ling’s mother sighed. “Go on, don’t get yourself so worked up. Please don’t blame me for giving them a hard time; I was testing their sincerity. Now it seems like they’re handling this pretty well. They arranged the bride price right away; they value my daughter. Humph, it seems their family has good taste, knowing how excellent my daughter is.”

Shui Ling dragged out the last word. “Mom.”

Five o’clock.

At Senior Xie’s house.

“Dinner’s ready; let’s eat,” said Han Jing, coming out from the kitchen, wiping her hands.”

“Aunt, why are we eating so early today?” Xie Jing helped Han Jing carry the dishes.

Han Jing smiled. “Guobang and them won’t be back tonight, just us a few. Let’s eat earlier, you know your brother-in-law has a 7 o’clock flight to catch.”

Ci Lifen said, “Xiao Hao, go upstairs and help your grandpa come for dinner.”

Not long after, they started eating.

Grandpa Xie asked, “How’s Xie Ran’s matter? All settled?”

Xie Yanzhen nodded. “Thanks to Xiao Bing, the bride price issue was resolved too.”

“Then let’s plan the wedding. Give the kids a good one,” said Senior Xie, looking happy and stroking his beard. “Huilan and Xiao Bing’s child is almost 100 days old. We should have a grand celebration then, hehe, our family is full of happy events this year, not bad.”

Dong Xuebing hesitated. “Grandpa, I haven’t heard anything about giving Ding Zhong a 100-day celebration.”

Grandpa Xie laughed. “You didn’t celebrate his one-month, so you can’t escape the 100-day one. Not only should we do it, but we should make it grand. You don’t need to worry about it if you’re not in Beijing. Let your mom take care of it.”

Han Jing said, “Okay, I’ll take care of it.”

Dong Xuebing felt uncomfortable. If it were Xie Ran’s child, it would make sense since the child is from the Xie family, but for Dong Xuebing’s child to be celebrated so grandly was a bit too much, too extravagant. However, since Senior Xie said it, Dong Xuebing couldn’t say much.

Others could see clearly, too. Grandpa Xie even personally arranged to use the Xie family’s influence to celebrate Dong Xuebing’s child’s 100th day birthday; this showed Senior Xie’s importance of Dong Xuebing. In their family, after Xie Ran’s sister gave birth to a son, they never had such a grand celebration for a child’s one-month or 100th day birthday before—it was only a simple family meal. It was only Dong Xuebing who got this kind of treatment.

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