Chapter 1379: Marrying a Young Wife

She stood up, trembling all over with anger, pointing her finger at her mother's photo on the wall, and questioned her father: "You don't need to ask us; if you want to remarry, go ask her. Ask my mom if she agrees or not?"

"She met you when she was in the prime of her youth, a refined young lady from a good family meeting a poor boy like you. She used her dowry as capital for you to start your business, and she was content to stay at home, washing her hands to make soup for you, bearing children..."

"Back then, when Aunt didn't have any children and wanted to adopt me, did Mother say anything?"

"For so many years, how much grievance she suffered, how much bitterness she swallowed—it was all for this family, all for you! Now that she has passed away after a lifetime of toil, you can't stand it anymore because there's no one to serve you, is that it?"

"My mom has only been gone for two months and you want to marry someone new? Do you have any conscience? Your conscience has been eaten by dogs..."

"Slap!"

A slap landed on Jian Yixin's face, and the sister and brother were both stunned.

Jian Xiansheng had hit his daughter, then looked at his own palm, his face showing regret and a hint of disbelief.

He didn't truly want to hit his daughter, but how did it happen?

"Yixin..."

"Don't call me. My mom is dead, and from now on, I don't have a father."

Jian Yixin left these resolute words behind and turned to leave.

Jian Yining was left behind, not knowing whether to chase or stay, but in the end, he chased after her.

"Sister, Sister! Sister, wait for me." He pulled open the car door, sat in the passenger seat, and held her back to keep her from driving.

"Sister, I know you're very angry. We are siblings; I can completely understand your feelings, but isn't it too rash for us to just run out like this? Let's go back and hear what he has to say. Our dad isn't a heartless person; he must have some unspeakable reason for doing this..."

The younger brother meant that the woman outside had her eyes on their family's property and was deliberately plotting against their father, and that their father had fallen into the trap of a woman with ulterior motives, which was why he did this.

People are always willing to think the best of their relatives and are willing to believe what they want to believe.

Jian Yixin felt that what her brother said made sense, but having just run out, how could she go back?

She couldn't lose face.

So she said to her brother: "You go back. Go back and ask clearly what exactly is going on. I'll wait for your word."

Before getting out of the car, Jian Yining urged his sister not to be rash and to be careful on the road; he would give her word after talking with their father, then he got out and went back.

In the spacious living room, the father and son sat together.

Jian Yining took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and held it in his mouth. Just as he was about to light it, he inadvertently saw his mother's photo, so he put it away again.

When his mother was alive, she didn't like the smell of smoke in the house, so he never smoked in front of her.

But his father took one out of the cigarette pack and lit it.

He took a deep drag, exhaled a smoke ring, and opened the conversation: "I know that you two can't accept me getting married so quickly emotionally, but does anyone know how I got by when your mom first passed away?"

"The huge house was cold and desolate, yet your mom's Yingzi was everywhere. I called out to her, but she didn't respond; no matter how I pleaded, it was useless."

"I didn't like the daytime, I only liked the night. When it was dark, I was alone in the house as if your mom was watching me from the darkness..."

Jian Xiansheng, who usually didn't talk much, said a great deal in front of his son today.

Jian Yining was deeply shaken.

After his mother passed away, the number of times he had returned could be counted on one's fingers.

It wasn't because he was afraid of seeing his mother's photo, but because every time he came, he felt very unwelcome and would be driven away by his father.

He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now that he thought about it, his dad had been depressed back then!

That's right, Jian Xiansheng was indeed depressed.

After his wife passed away, he suffered from severe depression, which later developed into suicidal tendencies.

After one instance of slitting his wrists, he was coincidentally saved by his distant cousin, Fourth Sister, who had come to visit him.

He asked Fourth Sister not to tell his children about this, so as not to worry them.

Fourth Sister was a warm-hearted person and kept her word; not only did she help him keep the secret, but she also often came to visit him and later invited him to stay at her home for a while.

It was while staying at Fourth Sister's house that he met Xiao Wu, who lived in her backyard.

Xiao Wu was not yet forty years old this year, more than thirty years younger than Jian Xiansheng, and she lived at her maiden home after divorcing and bringing along a boy who was still in elementary school.

Xiao Wu worked cleanly and efficiently, never idle, but she was still pointed at and scolded all day long by her sister-in-law for being a freeloader and for her son being a burden.

Life was difficult for the mother and son at her maiden home, so Jian Xiansheng kindly wanted to help them and secretly slipped the child some good food and, on a few occasions, small amounts of cash.

Then, gossip spread throughout the entire village.

They said that the relative who came to Si Feng's house, an old man with money, had taken a fancy to Wu Ying and wanted to marry her and take her home.

When Wu Ying heard the gossip, she actually didn't deny it; when her sister-in-law asked her, she tacitly agreed!

Her sister-in-law was quite happy; she didn't care if her sister-in-law married an old man or a young man, as long as she married a rich person, she could continue to provide money to her maiden family in the future.

The sister-in-law's attitude toward her sister-in-law changed very quickly, almost a 180-degree turn.

From the cold words of the past to the current concern and thoughtfulness.

She even took her sister-in-law's son to town to buy several sets of new clothes, telling everyone she met that children grow fast and her sister-in-law had no money, so she, as the eldest aunt, had to take care of them more.

Wu Ying wasn't stupid; she knew why her sister-in-law's attitude had changed—wasn't it just because she hoped she would get married off?

Although Jian Xiansheng was older, he was gentle and refined, unlike any man she had ever met.

She went to find Si Feng herself and said she was willing to marry Jian Xiansheng to take care of him for the rest of his life, as long as he could give her and her son a place to live and a bite to eat.

Si Feng thought this was a good thing, but when she came back and told Jian Xiansheng, she was met with opposition.

He didn't want to remarry so soon, and he didn't even intend to marry again in this lifetime.

In his heart, no one could replace his wife!

Moreover, his wife had just passed away; it had only been a few days, and if he started arranging to find someone new, what would his children think?

Si Feng then went to the Wu family to reject Wu Ying, but their conversation was overheard by her sister-in-law, who immediately turned hostile and started cursing in the courtyard.

The cursing was extremely nasty.

She said her sister-in-law was unwanted, that even a seventy-year-old man didn't want her, and that she would rot at home for the rest of her life, and so on.

Wu Ying just cried and nearly hanged herself.

Sifeng returned and tried to persuade her eldest brother again, saying that if there was no other way, he should just marry her; she could even just be a housekeeper at home, at the very least it was a life.

After Father finished speaking, Jian Yining breathed a sigh of relief.

If it were like this, he would be at ease.

He had said so, with his parents' relationship being so good, how could his father want to bring home a younger woman just after his mother passed away?

If it were like this, it would not be impossible.

Jian Yining left his father's house, went to his sister's house, and told her the whole sequence of events.

Jian Yixin was not as angry anymore; if it were like this, she could also accept it, as Father really lacked someone by his side to take care of him, and if it were someone who knew how to show warmth and concern, that would also be fine.