There are many open-air teahouses on both sides of the river bank.
Chinese people like to drink tea, but in Chengdu, local people prefer open-air teahouses like this.
Set up a wooden table, put on a few wicker chairs, and at most use a big umbrella when it rains. When you have free time, you can invite a few friends to sit at the tea stall for the whole day.
at dusk.
This is the time when the business of these open-air teahouses is at its best.
Chu Tianyao and Liu Na were walking side by side by the river, and they could hear a lot of crisp mahjong sounds in their ears.
"It is said that life in Chengdu is the most comfortable. People here are either playing mahjong or on their way to play mahjong."
Liu Na glanced at the customers around her who were playing mahjong at the tea stall and couldn't help but laugh.
With the street lights on both sides, Liu Na's smile was particularly lovely under the faint light.
"If you like this kind of life, then we will settle in Chengdu when we grow old... By the way, I remember that you don't know how to play mahjong. As a Sichuan native, you will be laughed at if you can't play mahjong."
Chu Tianyao looked at Lu Qiuyu and smiled.
In this land of abundance, Mahjong is so popular that it has almost become a necessary skill for men, women and children.
During the holidays, who wouldn’t want to gather a few tables together?
"Forget it, I can't sit still, and I probably won't be able to learn. If I lose money, I'll be heartbroken."
Liu Na shook her head and refused.
She hates gambling.
Every time she hears these two words, she always thinks of the time when she just married into the Chu family.
After father-in-law Chu Tianshan left, Chu Tianyao was even more unsupervised during that period. He almost lost most of his family property in gambling. Every time Chu Tianyao came back after losing cards, he almost didn't have a good look towards her.
.
"Okay, but speaking of which, I'm really curious, how did you persevere in the first place?"
The two were walking on the gravel path by the river. Chu Tianyao looked at Liu Na and asked.
He certainly knew the reason why Liu Na didn't like playing cards.
Likewise, he was also curious as to why Liu Na had to work so hard in the Chu family to support Chu Tianyao even though she knew it was an abyss. She endured Chu Tianyao's beatings and scoldings, and had to work hard to provide for Chu He to go to school.
Although he and Liu Na were husband and wife, to put it bluntly, they only held a wedding banquet in a hurry, and they didn't even have a marriage certificate.
Liu Na wanted to leave at that time, and no one had the right to stop her.
"You want to know why?"
The night wind blew slowly, ruffling Liu Na's hair around her ears.
She suddenly stopped and looked up at the person in front of her.
Just looking at Chu Tianyao like this, a wry smile appeared on Liu Na's face.
"Looking back now, even I am not sure how I was able to persevere in the first place."
Looking past Chu Tianyao, Liu Na looked at the river scene under the night sky, as if talking to herself.
"Rather than saying that I married you, it would be better to say that I was betrayed by my biological parents."
With a trace of self-deprecation on her lips, Liu Na continued: "In addition, it's not like I haven't thought about escaping, but if I think about it carefully, where can I escape to?
When I return to the Liu family, the outcome will be the same."
"You can leave Yongning and never come back!"
On the side, Chu Tianyao spoke out.
Liu Na shook her head, with a hint of memory in her eyes.
"I'm very grateful to my father-in-law. Although we didn't get along for a long time, he treated me like his own daughter."
At this point, Liu Na paused, as if she was recalling something, and her breathing became a little faster.
"He said something to me when I was in the hospital bed."
Staring at Chu Tianyao, Liu Na said again: "If you are still as unrepentant as before, let me support Chu He to go to college. As long as Xiao He goes to college, it won't matter whether he goes to college or not.
It's my fault... For this reason, he left me a sum of money, but it's a pity that you stole and lost all the money not long after."
Standing there, Chu Tianyao suddenly blushed when he heard Liu Na's words.
This time he has to take the blame for the host.
"So, when you gritted your teeth and persisted, it was just to let Xiao He go to college so that you could fulfill your father's last wish?"
Chu Tianyao asked.
Liu Na nodded.
"Perhaps dad has a spirit in heaven and finally made you repent, otherwise I really don't know how to survive that period of time."
Speaking of her life in the two months after Chu Tianshan's death, Liu Na still doesn't want to recall it until now.
And Chu Tianyao, who had regained this memory, couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic when he looked at the person in front of him.
It's not easy for this woman.
He understood Liu Na very well. Although Chu Tianshan bought him from the Liu family, Liu Na did not hate him.
To put it bluntly, without the Chu family, we would still be the Chen family and the Zhang family, and the result would only be more tragic in the end.
After coming to the Chu family, Chu Tianshan treated her like his own daughter, which made Liu Na feel a bit of family warmth that she had never experienced before.
From that moment on, she felt nothing but gratitude towards Chu Tianshan.
It is precisely because of this gratitude that she has been able to persevere silently during several difficult times.
And sending Chu He to university was the only thing Liu Na thought she could do to repay Chu Tianshan.
"After all, not only me, but also Chu He has to be grateful to you as my sister-in-law."
Chu Tianyao looked at Liu Na and said.
Although she has been hurt so deeply by life, Liu Na can still remember the kindness of others.
"Speaking of which, this is the first time I know these things from you."
Chu Tianyao sighed.
Over the past two years, Liu Na rarely mentioned her father Chu Tianshan's affairs to him. It was only today that Chu Tianyao found out that Chu Tianshan had such an arrangement.
He doesn't blame Chu Tianshan, but understands.
Chu Tianyao is incompetent, and his daughter Chu He is immature. If he passes away, it is not difficult to foresee where the Chu family will go in the future.
It was precisely because of this that he needed to find a wife for Chu Tianyao, and also to leave a way for the Chu family to survive.
It's just a pain for Liu Na.
I'm afraid Chu Tianshan also expected Liu Na's suffering in the future, so he gave these instructions before his death.
If Chu Tianyao continues to be naughty, Liu Na only needs to send Chu He to college, which will be regarded as repaying his favor.
He bought Liu Na from the Liu family, which can be regarded as getting Liu Na out of the Liu family's misery.
As long as she leaves Chu Tianyao, Liu Na's life can start again.
"Perhaps even Dad didn't expect that not only did you change your ways, but now you actually bought the Yongning winery that he spent most of his life on."
Under the street lights on the river bank, Liu Na paused and stared into the night.
Although she didn't spend much time with her father-in-law Chu Tianshan, Liu Na was very respectful and filial to Chu Tianshan.
"I really want to tell him that my choice was not wrong... I have found someone I can trust for the rest of my life. Thank you, Tianyao!"
A smile bloomed on her pretty face. Liu Na turned sideways and looked at Chu Tianyao beside her. Her narrowed eyes were like two crescent moons at this moment, which was extremely moving.
"I am the one who should say thank you!"
Chu Tianyao smiled slightly, opened his big hands and embraced Liu Na into his arms.
The moonlight and the street lights complement each other, shining on the two of them, making it even more romantic.
There were many young couples dating on the river bank. Looking at the two people hugging each other not far away, everyone looked at them with a bit of envy and shyness.
In the simple 1990s, dating was limited to holding hands. Kissing in such a public place was, for most people, a passionate scene that could only be seen on TV.