I Have 10 Trillion Dollars only Usable For Simping
Chapter 431 - 388 Good with Drinks (Thanks for the tip! Seeking monthly votes!)_2

Chapter 431: 388 Good with Drinks (Thanks for the tip! Seeking monthly votes!)_2

"Put your hand down; it’s not polite to point at others like that."

The elder patted the arm the girl was using to support him, his smile still as warm as a spring breeze, kind and amiable,

The girl, who genuinely respected the elder, obediently lowered her hand, but the words that followed caused Jiang Chen’s face to drastically change.

"Grandfather, we have already obtained the Moon God’s consent; he is now my husband."

Pei Yunxi’s lips quivered uncontrollably, barely holding back.

Lu Songgao looked astonished, but soon understood what was happening, and his expression turned somewhat eccentric.

"Miss, I think there’s been a misunderstanding...,"

At this moment, self-comforting thoughts were ineffective, and Jiang Chen hurriedly spoke up.

The title ’husband’ was already uttered.

What’s next, they wouldn’t force him into the bridal chamber, would they?

Perhaps incomprehensible to a normal person’s thinking, but for these villagers isolated from society, it was indeed not impossible.

Although the girl was young, lively, and fiery...

He wasn’t the type to be so frivolous.

"A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"

The girl frowned, her voice resembling her bell’s, equally crisp.

"I’m not familiar with the customs of your village, so dancing with the miss just now was without ulterior motives—I’m truly sorry, Miss."

Jiang Chen spoke earnestly.

The girl sensed the implication, seeming incredulous and also increasingly embarrassed and annoyed.

"You want to go back on your word? This is mocking the Moon God; the Moon God will be angry!"

In the outside world, many would sigh with regret, a fine young girl, just at the cusp of her life, and already mentally disturbed.

Jiang Chen was a firm materialist; let alone the Moon God, even if Buddha himself were to be angry, he wouldn’t care.

Of course.

He was filled with respect for the cultural customs of the ethnic minorities.

So, he said cooperatively and sincerely, "The Moon God only punishes the guilty, and if the Moon God were to blame anyone, it would only be me."

So responsible.

"You..."

The girl was momentarily at a loss for words, her braided pigtails quivering.

"Ignorance is not a crime; Mr. Jiang is an outsider, the Moon God will surely not blame him," said Lu Songgao, stepping forward to help Jiang Chen out of the situation.

"Teacher Lu, why are you also taking the side of this bad man?!"

The Miao people really did love and hate boldly; just a moment ago, she was calling him husband, and now she was calling him a bad man.

Facing the girl’s wide-eyed gaze, Lu Songgao smiled bitterly.

"Ling’er, Teacher Lu makes sense. The gentleman is a guest and not aware of our customs; we cannot force him into something he’s not willing to do," the elder with white hair and a flower in it spoke softly.

"But Grandfather, no one has ever broken the rule before. If the Moon God begins to blame, then Ling’er will end up alone for life!"

Jiang Chen’s eye twitched upon hearing this.

Alone for life?

Was it that serious?

Did that mean if he didn’t stay with this girl, it would ruin her entire life?

Wasn’t this absurd?

But the girl wasn’t threatening or intimidating; she seemed genuinely fearful.

"Enough."

The elder took her hand, speaking tenderly, "This gentleman isn’t from our village; the Moon God will surely be magnanimous. I promise you, in the future, I will find you a satisfactory husband, how about that?"

The girl hesitated to speak, but she couldn’t defy the elder and finally could only glower at Jiang Chen and reluctantly grunted in agreement.

Jiang Chen responded with an apologetic smile.

"Thank you for your understanding, Chief."

"It’s nothing. We’ll leave you to it then; I hope you all have a pleasant evening," said the elder as he led the girl away.

Jiang Chen let out a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this chieftain was understanding. Otherwise, if it had been someone rigid and stuck in their ways, it might really have been a big trouble.

Think of these customs as the laws of normal society and you would understand.

After watching the elder and the child walk away, Jiang Chen sat down again.

"The world now has one more girl who has lost her illusions about love," a moving voice sighed softly.

"Not helping is one thing, but to kick someone when they’re down, that’s not very decent, is it?"

Pei Yunxi’s mouth corners waved slightly, as he sat back down, "Help? Would helping be destroying ethnic sentiments?"

"Keep trying to put an even bigger hat on it."

Jiang Chen couldn’t help but laugh and cry.

Once seated again, Jiang Chen subconsciously asked, "Mr. Lu, was that girl telling the truth just now? Regarding this custom, has it really never been violated?"

"Mhm."

Lu Songgao nodded without a second thought.

Jiang Chen was surprised.

It’s understandable that each region and ethnicity have their own cultural customs, but for never once to be violated seemed a bit unbelievable.

After all, he hadn’t seen that girl before the Moon God Festival, and the so-called love at first sight was not at all reliable. If, upon interacting, they found each other unsuitable, could it be that they were also to repeat the mistake and not separate?

"So if the feelings turn sour, are they still bound to a lifetime together?"

Pei Yunxi couldn’t help but ask.

In normal people’s thinking, indeed, this is hard to understand.

Especially nowadays, when growing old together is too much of a fantasy; not to mention lovers, how many spouses, after a little conflict, go their separate ways.

"Let me tell you a story."

Lu Songgao pondered for a moment before he slowly began, "Once there was a teacher, full of talent and erudition, who, upon graduation, chose to come to a remote village to teach out of personal will. He thought of it as a journey in life, a spiritual purification, but what he didn’t expect was to meet the most important girl of his life here."

Even though it sounded like Lu Songgao’s own story, neither Pei Yunxi nor Jiang Chen interrupted, listening intently.

"The girl was noble, the chieftain’s daughter, both beautiful and smart. The two matched in talent and grace. As days became nights and moons followed sunsets, their souls attracted each other, and eventually, at the annual Moon God Festival of one year, the teacher mustered the courage to ask the girl for a dance and presented her with a hairpin he had specially bought from the city. Under the witness of the Moon God, they pledged themselves to each other."

"Without any objections and with blessings from the whole village, the chieftain happily promised a splendid wedding for them. Everyone was awaiting this marriage made in heaven."

At this point, Lu Songgao stopped.

"And then what happened?"

It was not Jiang Chen who spoke up but Pei Yunxi.

"Then, the melodramatic yet inevitable happened."

Lu Songgao’s eyes reflected the campfire. Although he spoke of melodrama, his expression was somewhat desolate.

"Shortly after the engagement, the teacher took leave to go home, to share the good news with his parents, but on the way, he was involved in a horrific car accident. Before he died, he told his parents of a girl waiting for him, and he had to return. His parents, they promised."

"The chieftain’s daughter waited day and night for her lover, but what she eventually received was a box of cold ashes."

Pei Yunxi’s expression darkened.

Jiang Chen stayed silent.

Lu Songgao exhaled, "The chieftain’s daughter buried his ashes by the spring near the village and from that day on, she wore an adult’s hairstyle and the hairpin her lover had given her, fulfilling her promise made under the Moon God by herself. As spring went and autumn came, nearly fifty years passed. Because of her story, the villagers guarded the custom of the Moon God Festival even more, and nobody ever violated it."

Jiang Chen looked up at the bustling crowd but could no longer find the figure with the white hair and the flower in it.

It was obvious.

The old lady was the protagonist of this story.

A man’s bones buried by the spring, disintegrated into the mud.

I remain in this world,

With snow upon my head.

This story wasn’t exactly pleasant, but in an era where marriage has become child’s play, it resonated like a morning bell, a profound impact on the soul.

"Mr. Lu, your story makes for a good drink," Jiang Chen picked up his bowl.

Lu Songgao smiled and also picked up his bowl, taking a big swallow.

The teacher who had been teaching in the backward mountain village for six years ruggedly wiped the corner of his mouth.

"So, I hope Mr. Jiang can understand that Ling’er wasn’t deliberately being difficult, it’s just that here, there are no separations in life, only in death."

There are no separations in life, only in death.

Pei Yunxi hugged her knees, lost in thought.