The nouveau riche had the same surname as Yan Zhao, called Yan Xishan, originally from Yanguan Village in Xiping City.
On the day he married Chen Meilan, it was the first time in his life he wore underwear, and he couldn't even tell front from back, showing just how poor he had been as a child.
Suddenly having money, not to mention other aspects, he would raise his fists when drunk, beating Zhaodi for the first time, showing an inclination towards domestic violence, which was the main reason Chen Meilan divorced him.
Men, outwardly affectionate, crying and begging not to divorce, but behind the scenes, they can be ruthless and cunning. In the morning, while getting the divorce certificate, he was still crying and refusing to let Chen Meilan leave, kneeling and begging for her forgiveness, even moving the civil affairs office staff to tears, who praised him as a good man.
But as soon as they left the civil affairs office, he spat and lit a cigarette, and by the afternoon, he had used his connections at the police station to have her household registration sent back to her original place.
Chen Meilan naturally wanted to investigate where the money in her sister-in-law's box came from.
But today, the most important thing was the blind date, so she temporarily put the matter of the money aside.
There were no secrets in the village, and when word got out that Meilan was going on a blind date, the whole village gathered outside Chen Degong's house.
Suddenly, Yinbao, who was at the village entrance, shouted, "He's here! He's here! A man in a green shirt is coming!"
Only soldiers and police wore green shirts; their summer uniforms were short-sleeved green shirts.
So, was it true that Yan Zhao had divorced Zhou Xueqin and immediately rushed to Chen Family Village for a blind date?
The second sister-in-law ran the fastest. The young girls and women of the village, along with young men who had come from the neighboring village to watch the excitement, swarmed around Yan Zhao as soon as he reached the village entrance.
The second sister-in-law had never seen Yan Zhao before, but she had always heard her elder sister-in-law say he was like the King of Hell, and complain that he and Zhou Xueqin couldn't see eye to eye.
She secretly guessed that Yan Zhao was probably old, ugly, and fierce, and felt a bit gleeful about it.
After all, the nouveau riche Yan Xishan had fair skin and delicate features, and was wealthy. Meilan was pitiful, now having to marry an old and fierce man who had killed people on the battlefield, a living King of Hell.
But when she saw a bronze-skinned man in a light green shirt, with particularly handsome features and a tall, straight figure walking towards her, the second sister-in-law was stunned on the spot.
She had never been able to imagine what a living King of Hell looked like, but the moment this man opened his mouth to speak, she finally understood why everyone called him the living King of Hell.
"Comrade, how do I get to Chen Degong's house?" His voice carried a chill even as he spoke.
"It's this way, come quickly with us," someone eager to help immediately led Yan Zhao towards Chen Degong's house.
The second sister-in-law stood dumbfounded, thinking to herself, with that clean-cut figure and handsome looks, how could he be old or ugly?
He might be the King of Hell, but he was a handsome one.
Look at his smooth skin, tall and straight figure, he looked at most twenty-seven or twenty-eight, still quite young.
The nouveau riche Yan Xishan was 33 this year, eight years older than Chen Meilan, and everyone thought she had married above her station.
For her second marriage, she was actually going to marry someone even younger and more handsome than the nouveau riche.
Meilan must be overjoyed inside, right?
Zhou Qiaofang hadn't seen Yan Zhao for three years either, because ever since Zhou Xueqin got pregnant with their second child, he had been fighting on the Laoshan front. He only returned home after the war had completely stopped, the front line troops had fully withdrawn, and there was a major military downsizing.
She also came out smiling to greet him: "Colonel Yan is here, quick, come sit inside."
She too thought that after three years on the battlefield, Yan Zhao must have been ravaged by war, but how come at first glance, this man looked even younger than before?
She couldn't understand why her sister had gone so crazy as to insist on divorcing such a good man.
However, when she turned back to look at Yan Zhao's tense face and knife-like gaze, she felt a bit of sympathy for her sister. Who could bear facing such a man every day, looking into his knife-like, unfathomable eyes?
The Chen family's courtyard was large, and today they were drying wheat. This year was a bountiful year, and plump grains of wheat were being sun-dried. Under the midday sun, you could hear the sound of moisture slowly evaporating.
Chen Degong and Chen Meilan were turning over the wheat, picking up a grain and throwing it into their mouths. If they heard a crisp "crack" sound, it proved it was completely dry and could be stored in the granary.
Chen Meilan only turned around when she heard a series of heavy footsteps, just in time to meet the deep gaze of a tall man in a green shirt, and her heart skipped a beat.
In her previous life, Chen Meilan had only heard about him from her two husbands. They said he was a genuine King of Hell in his police work, upright and impartial, inflexible. Both of Chen Meilan's husbands had been pursued and bitten like dogs by him more than once, and the nouveau riche eventually fell by his hand.
It served him right, karma caught up with his two sons, one useless and one chronically ill.
His wife also divorced him because of his coldness and lack of human touch. In short, he was like the golden shield on the police station door, a good shield for the country, but a mess in his private life.
This man had bronze skin, smooth complexion, and the military green shirt gave him an air of coldness, the kind only soldiers who had been on the battlefield possessed.
Actually, setting aside the house and household registration, just looking at the surface, Chen Meilan felt she wouldn't lose out by marrying him.
Even though she was older now, Chen Meilan had to admit, this man exuded masculinity, full of male charm, with impeccable looks.
Since it was the other party's first visit, he couldn't talk to her directly. He shook Chen Degong's hand: "How's the harvest this year?"
"The harvest is very good. Meilan, quickly go pour Colonel Yan some tea," Chen Degong hurriedly said.
Yan Zhao was still clean-cut and efficient, reaching out to stop Chen Meilan: "I don't drink tea, and I've already transferred out of the military, please don't call me Colonel anymore."
"Then let's have lunch together, I'll have Meilan cook for us," Chen Degong said again.
Zhou Qiaofang also hurriedly pulled Meilan, preparing for the two of them to go cook together.
Suddenly having two more mouths to feed in the house, needing to eat every meal, the grain sack was visibly bottoming out.
Her sister had abandoned her child, leaving it at her parents' home to starve.
For these two reasons alone, the elder sister-in-law had to quickly make this marriage happen.
At this moment, Yan Zhao swept his gaze around the courtyard, suddenly strode forward with big steps towards Zhaodi.
Zhaodi was standing with Jinbao, Yinbao, and her cousins Zhenzhu and Baozhu.
She was a city child, and had inherited the good looks of her parents. Although she had recently become thin from not eating enough in the countryside, her eyes were still bright and spirited, both sweet and beautiful.
When Yan Zhao walked over, not only did Zhou Qiaofang's heart skip a beat, but another woman's heart also leapt.
This woman had a small dyed headscarf covering her permed hair, wore a homespun jacket, and was hiding behind the crowd, her eyes fixed intently on Yan Zhao.
This was, of course, the reincarnated Zhou Xueqin, who knew that her two sons would never amount to anything, and wanted to raise a big shot in this life.
In fact, the reason Yan Zhao came to Chen Family Village for a blind date right after his divorce was one of the conditions Zhou Xueqin had set during the divorce.
Although she had divorced Yan Zhao, she didn't want her two sons to fall into the hands of a vicious stepmother.
Chen Meilan had a gentle and kind nature. In her previous life, although Lu Jingyu's two children didn't respect her much, according to Lu Jingyu himself, Chen Meilan's treatment of them could be summed up in four words: treated as her own.
Yan Zhao's personality was too bad, and he stubbornly held onto poverty, not using his power. As the police chief, he lived in a small apartment assigned by the unit and wore his uniform. He felt it was fine, but Zhou Xueqin felt wronged. She was invited by the wives of the nouveau riche and the wealthy to tea houses and high-end clubs every day for meals and tea. They all wore clothes worth tens of thousands and carried bags worth hundreds of thousands.
But she was shabby, poor, unsophisticated, with a petty air about her.
Zhou Xueqin had had enough of that bitter life and absolutely wouldn't endure it again, but Chen Meilan could, right?
So Zhou Xueqin had forced Yan Zhao at the time, saying that if he didn't go on this blind date, she wouldn't give him custody of their two children. That's why Yan Zhao came to Chen Family Village for the blind date.
In this life, Zhou Xueqin wanted to switch places with Chen Meilan, letting Chen Meilan help her take care of her sons.
She wanted to be the wife of the richest man.
"What's your name?" Yan Zhao bent down and asked Zhaodi.
Though Zhaodi looked thin, she was quite brave. Facing this man who had scared the whole family into silence, she answered loudly, "Zhaodi Yan."
"Are you Chen Meilan's daughter?" the man asked.
Zhaodi had just been teased by Yinbao, who said this man would become her father and that he liked to punch people. The child was quite frightened, her teeth chattering, but she still mustered up the courage to answer, "Yes."
"If Chen Meilan remarries, will you go with her?" Yan Zhao pressed on.
Zhaodi pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and said without hesitation, "Yes, I'll go wherever my mom goes. I want to protect my mom forever."
Never mind what Chen Meilan thought.
All the women present were shocked, especially Zhou Xueqin.
It was normal for men to bring children into a marriage, but when women remarried, it was rare for anyone to accept them bringing a child.
Women's children were usually left with their maternal families.
Yan Zhao already had two sons, and his monthly salary was only so high. He definitely wouldn't accept a woman bringing a child.
What could be done? If Yan Zhao rejected Chen Meilan because of Zhaodi, her two sons would suffer.
However, just as Zhou Xueqin was so anxious she could stamp her feet, she saw Yan Zhao raise his head, smile slightly, and say to Chen Meilan, "Comrade Chen Meilan, let's have a serious talk."
Did he agree?
Did he actually agree to Chen Meilan remarrying with Zhaodi?
Moreover, Zhou Xueqin suddenly realized that Yan Zhao, who had never smiled at her, actually smiled at this strange little girl!
The cold-faced King Yan actually smiled.
