Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Steady, generous, self-respect, self-regard and good at taking care of others.
Where else could they find such a good daughter-in-law?
The Zhou Bing couple was worried that if they did not grab hold of the chance now, they might not find such a good lady in the future. Hence, they were so anxious in arranging the marriage between their son and Qiao Dongliang’s daughter.
“Brother, do you have any issue with the fact that my son is a soldier? My son is quite capable. Although he is only twenty-three years old, he is already a company commander. He is the youngest company commander in the army. I understand that it might not be easy being the wife of a soldier, but from what I heard from my son, the wife is now allowed to go with the army. My wife and I are still young. If need be, we have two daughters-in-law who can take care of us.”
If Nan Nan was their daughter-in-law, she would just need to follow wherever Zhou Jun went. She would not need to stay in the village to wait on both of them.
“Brother Zhou, you are mistaken. I used to serve in the army as well and have nothing against soldiers. However, Nan Nan is still young.” Nan Nan was only 16 years old. She had just started high school. “Both of you must have known that Nan Nan is very studious and her results are excellent. She just started high school this year. Given her intelligence, she would be able to study in the college in the future. It would take another eight years before she graduated from college.”
When Nan Nan graduated from college, she would be twenty-four years old. However, Zhou Bing’s son, Zhou Jun, would be thirty-one years old by then.
“There is no hurry. They can be engaged first. It is good that Nan Nan is very studious. Their children will be very bright as well and would definitely be college graduates!” Zhou Bing’s wife had sparkles in her eyes. She had grown to like her young daughter-in-law more and more.
It was alright that she was young. Zhou Jun was not in a hurry to marry as well. He could wait for a few more years.
Even though Qiao Nan might be the youngest in the Qiao family, she was the most sensible person among all of them. Qiao Nan’s mother could not even match up to her daughter. It was unreliable to judge someone based on their ages. Her mother could not even compare to her daughter at all.
Qiao Dongliang was helpless and did not know what else to say to the Zhou Bing couple who was very enthusiastic about the marriage. “Brother Zhou, it really cannot work. Your son and my daughter do not know each other. What if they do not fancy each other? Wouldn’t I be breeding chaos by agreeing to the marriage? As for what will happen in the future, let’s just leave it to the future. If both of them are destined to be together, I would not object.”
Qiao Dongliang never thought that people would request Qiao Nan to be their daughter-in-law when she was only sixteen years old.
If not for the fact that he got along well with them during his hospital stay, and that they were on such close terms that he already greeted them as ‘Brother’ and ‘Sister-in-law’, Qiao Dongliang would have reprimanded them.
Nan Nan was only sixteen years old. She was still a child. How could they make such a request!
At the same time, Qiao Dongliang felt proud as well. Nan Nan was too outstanding. The way she handled matters was so mature and sensible that she did not seem like girls of her age. But this was exactly what made the Zhou Bing couple disregarded the fact that she was young.
If not for Nan Nan who was so outstanding, there was no need for Zhou Bing’s son who was already the company commander at twenty-three years old to be engaged to Nan Nan in a hurry.
But he did not care whether their son was a company commander or not.
Just as he had said, it was not that important for his future son-in-law to be very successful. What was important was that he must love, cherish and treasure Nan Nan.
In the Qiao family, Nan Nan might have to suffer and toil for over twenty years, but after she was married, her husband would cherish and love her for the rest of her life.
“Alright, we have an agreement. If Nan Nan takes a liking to my son, you cannot go back on your words.” Since Qiao Dongliang had made it so clear, there was nothing Zhou Bing could say. If he was to insist, it might make the situation awkward for them both.
Besides, Zhou Bing knew that he might have been very enthusiastic about getting a wife for his son, but his son might feel otherwise.
When he said earlier that he was going to get a wife for his son, he objected to it and was the least interested in it. Therefore, his son did not know that the lady and her family had kicked up such a fuss over the marriage.
Zhou Bing thought for a while and sighed. It was too bad that such a good lady was not their daughter-in-law.
To put it bluntly, since Nan Nan was still young, it was the Zhou family who stood to gain from it. If they were to marry each other, Zhou Jun would be considered as a cradle robber.
Zhou Bing’s wife patted Zhou Bing’s hands a few times. She blinked at him, hinting to him not to be so anxious. After all, there was still the chance that Qiao Nan would be their daughter-in-law.
Zhou Bing frowned. It was impossible.
Nan Nan was such a good catch. She would have a lot of admirers in the future. What they could do now was to make the first move.
Zhou Bing’s wife gave a meaningful smile. Zhou Jun was her son, how would she not know the kind of ladies that her son preferred?
Every man would fall in love with Nan Nan the first time he set his sights on her. Even if it was not love at first sight, he would adore and love her as well. No one would dislike Nan Nan. Eventually, they would grow to have feelings for each other.
Qiao Dongliang did not seem like someone who would go back on his words. As long as their son would cherish and love Nan Nan, Qiao Dongliang would not have any objections to their marriage. By then, Nan Nan would still have to be their daughter-in-law.
Zhou Bing had no idea what was going through his wife’s mind. There was nothing he could do since she intended to keep him in suspense.
Three days later, Zhou Bing finally realized what his wife meant by her words then.
“Dad, how are your injuries?” Zhou Jun learned of the news that Zhou Bing was injured, and that he had been staying in the hospital for half a month. “Dad, Mom and you have gone too far this time!” Zhou Jun was worried and angry at his father at the same time.
He had already told them that he was still young. It was not suitable to settle down and get a wife.
He wanted to work on his career and get his promotion. If he was to marry now, he could no longer focus on his work in the army.
Many of Zhou Jun’s army comrades used to be very ambitious and career-minded. However, after they were married, though they still wanted to serve the country and work hard for the promotion, they could not do so because of their wives.
While some of them could not help it as they had no other choices, some simply asked for it!
Zhou Jun had a bad headache at the thought of these sisters-in-law.
But Zhou Jun never thought that his dad would do this as well and landed himself in the hospital.
“Young brat, you never show up for the whole year, and this is what you say to your dad when you are here?” Zhou Bing pulled a long face. He was unhappy.
Sons were really different from daughters. Whenever Nan Nan was here, she would ask about her father’s condition and whether he was in pain, showing concern for him. She also prepared nutritious food and soup for him.
But his son only knew to admonish him as soon as he arrived. Had their roles been reversed? Who exactly was the father and who was the son?
Most importantly, he did all these for his son, Zhou Jun.
As expected, sons were not as good as daughters.
Zhou Bing had been frustrated these few days. Zhou Jun’s harsh attitude only worsened his mood. There was so much difference between how a son treated their parents and how a daughter treated their parents. No wonder Qiao Dongliang refused to agree to the marriage. If it was him, he would not agree to marry off his daughter as well.
“It’s you?” Qiao Nan who came into the ward right then was shocked when she saw Zhou Jun.
