Chapter 362: Not to Bow for Five Pecks of Rice

Chen Juming had been troubled these past few days.

Because Cao Yuanmao, far away in Pengcheng, suddenly flew to Dongshan and appeared before her.

In front of many people, he knelt on one knee, presented her with a bouquet of roses, and pulled out an engagement ring.

Chen Juming was completely unprepared and nearly left them both in an unbearable situation.

Because just a few days ago, Chen Juming had only told Cao Yuanmao she would "think about it," but she hadn't decided to "marry out" yet!

In the early 1980s, "marrying out" was one of the best ways for women on the mainland to emigrate overseas; otherwise, overseas connections wouldn't have suddenly become so desirable.

But Chen Juming was not a woman without worth—she had ability, and she always believed she could earn everything she wanted through effort.

Chen Juming experienced for the first time that the most romantic proposal scenes in movies weren't necessarily as moving or joyful as imagined—they could also be deeply embarrassing.

In the end, Chen Juming gently helped Cao Yuanmao up, citing "mainland customs," and proposed first meeting their parents before discussing anything else.

"I haven't even settled anything with that engineer Cao!"

In Dongshan Province, on Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and the second day of Lunar New Year, sons-in-law were expected to visit their in-laws, always bringing some gift—though new sons-in-law brought more, while seasoned ones could be casual.

The group of older women in the office wouldn't listen, and after lunch, they dragged Chen Juming straight to the provincial capital's department store.

While Chen Juming was lost in thought, someone poked her arm—she looked up to see Sister Li from the same office.

Sister Li pulled over a chair and smiled at Chen Juming: "We've all decided to go buy Pengcheng Red Bull together—if we win a prize, we'll split it evenly. Want to come?"

At the department store, Chen Juming saw a large poster for Pengcheng Red Bull and a long line of people waiting.

"Even if it's not Dragon Boat Festival, you still have to bring gifts to your father—buy some now and have him reimburse you."

Chen Juming instinctively advised Sister Li: "The wool comes from the sheep, Sister Li—Pengcheng Red Bull isn't giving anything away for free; this is fraudulent. We shouldn't fall for it."

"Xiao Chen? Xiao Chen?"

Chen Juming listened blankly to Sister Li's explanation, and only after a long while did she understand.

So these past few days, Chen Juming had been agonizing, unsure how to make this decision that could shape her fate.

Chen Juming quickly denied: "No no, I'm translating this foreign document right now! Sister Li, what do you need?"

Sister Li smiled at Chen Juming: "You're zoning out again, Xiao Chen?"

Chen Juming paused, then asked: "Pengcheng Red Bull is a drink—what prize are you talking about?"

"Haven't you watched TV or read the papers these past few days?" Sister Li explained with gossip: "Pengcheng Red Bull launched a summer luck-drink campaign—in each bottled gift box is a scratch-off code; if you win, you get various prizes, with a ten percent win rate."

"Huh?"

Pengcheng Red Bull had released a summer bottled version—twelve bottles per case, slightly cheaper than cans, and now with a scratch-off prize: another bottle, a can of Pengcheng Red Bull, cash rewards, and more.

After meeting Cao Yuanmao, Chen Juming's parents weren't particularly impressed, but due to his dual advantages as a "world-class company executive" and "lighthouse household," they didn't outright reject him—they left the decision to Chen Juming.

"Of course there's something!"

"Oh come on, Xiao Chen—even if you don't win, you still bought bottled Red Bull, right? Dragon Boat Festival's coming—aren't you supposed to bring gifts to your in-laws?"

"Your engineer Cao is so rich—why wouldn't he send your father two cases?"

But Cao Yuanmao said he had no parents, so Chen Juming had no choice but to have him meet hers.

Then, one after another, people ahead of them won prizes, while others sadly heard "Thank you for your patronage."

"I won! I won a case of cans, hahaha~"

"You only won a case of cans? What's so exciting? Thought you'd win a hundred yuan!"

"Be content—otherwise next time you won't even win another bottle."

Chen Juming joined Sister Li and the others in line, watching as person after person ahead won—indeed, the win rate was truly one in ten.

After waiting half an hour, Chen Juming and the others each bought one case.

The case design was practical—easy to carry by the handle, with high-quality printing, clearly meant for gifting.

Or rather, although Pengcheng Red Bull was also in glass bottles, it was nothing like those plastic-string-bound orange sodas.

As soon as the group of older women got their cases, they immediately began scratching off the prizes.

Chen Juming couldn't help saying: "Sister Li, you're opening the cases now—how are you going to give them as gifts?"

"Oh come on, you're giving the drink as a gift, not the luck—the drink belongs to them, but the prize is ours."

Sister Li demonstrated on the spot: she opened the top of the box, pulled out each bottle of Pengcheng Red Bull, then scratched the prize zone on the bottom of the box.

After scratching, Sister Li sighed: "Bad luck today—'Thank you for your patronage,' sigh~"

"My luck's bad too—same thing."

"Mine too!"

"Hey, Xiao Chen, what about you?"

Chen Juming was carefully examining a bottle of Pengcheng Red Bull—admittedly, the bottle was well-designed, just a bit "small."

"I told you not to fall for it—you wouldn't listen. This bottle is only three hundred milliliters, nearly half less than orange soda, yet it costs half again as much."

Chen Juming laughed as she opened her own case, but when she scratched the prize zone, she froze.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?"

"Wow—it's a hundred yuan! Looks like all our luck's concentrated on Xiao Chen!"

"It's everyone's luck—we agreed to split any prize!"

"Right, right, split it."

Chen Juming watched as Sister Li cashed in her prize, and then the crowd ahead erupted in fury.

"Don't push! We have plenty in stock—no cheating—but if you don't line up, we won't sell today."

The loudspeaker repeatedly warned the crowd, its tone harsh, with none of the usual "harmony brings wealth" politeness.

But the crowd didn't care—they only stared ahead with eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Watching the frenzied sales scene, Chen Juming suddenly felt Cao Yuanmao wasn't as impressive as he claimed.

Although the can production line had been banned, Pengcheng Red Bull had clearly prepared in advance—designing the bottled version, shooting ads, and launching a prize promotion as an emergency response.

Can production lines were rare domestically, but glass bottle lines were certainly not lacking.

Moreover, Chen Juming looked at the prize table—the canned Pengcheng Red Bull on display seemed of higher quality than when it first launched.

If Pengcheng Red Bull solved its production issues, could its rise still be stopped?

"Ha—thinking one person can control a company? Pure fantasy."

That afternoon, Chen Juming simply skipped work and returned home.

As soon as she entered, she saw her father and Cao Yuanmao, and a thick stack of U. . dollars on the table.

Chen Juming asked in surprise: "Cao Yuanmao, what are you doing?"

Cao Yuanmao smiled faintly: "This ten thousand U. . dollars is the bride price I'm offering according to mainland customs—my sincerity.

I don't want to keep agonizing—I hope your father and you can give me a definite answer."

「」

Chen Juming stared blankly at her father, and found him staring back at her.

Since she was very young, her father had taught Chen Juming not to bend for five pecks of rice.

But how many pecks of rice was ten thousand U. . dollars worth now?

And if this ten thousand U. . dollars were placed before another woman, would she bend?

Moreover, this ten thousand U. . dollars was only the beginning—after emigrating, there would be twenty thousand, thirty thousand, fifty thousand.