Prosperous Marriage: Married to My Brother-in-law-Chapter 426: Meeting the Parents (3)_1

"Ah, my future nephew-in-law, are you alright?" A few men clumsily helped Hansen Ruiz to his feet.

Hansen Ruiz rarely showed embarrassment, but after being helped up, he quickly forced a smile. "I’m fine, I’m fine." Then he promptly picked up the bowl of tea and gulped it down. After the tea slid down his throat, he internally groaned. This mountain tea seems unprocessed, in its raw, original state—it’s bitter beyond belief!

However, he was too embarrassed to spit it out, so he had to force it down. After taking one sip, he put the tea bowl back on the table.

"Rachel told me that you come from a good background." Rachel’s father had taken in Hansen Ruiz’s every reaction. When Hansen Ruiz put his own tea bowl down, the father’s tone became even more detached. "This tea, you’ve never had anything like it, have you? With your background, how could our Rachel possibly be a match for you?"

At that, Hansen Ruiz’s expression became serious. He looked up at Rachel’s father, whose gaze was remarkably faint and unreadable. Even he, a cunning ’smiling tiger’ seasoned in the Shopping Mall, couldn’t fathom the man’s thoughts, though he disagreed with his words. Tea... like this mountain tea, he truly had never tasted anything like it before.

"Rachel, come out for a moment."

Rachel’s father suddenly called into the house.

Rachel Bailey was whispering with her mother. When she heard her father’s call, she hurried out from inside, a mischievous smile still on her face.

"Dad, what’s the matter?"

Rachel’s father poured another bowl of tea and said to Rachel Bailey as he pointed to it, "Drink this."

Rachel Bailey looked at the tea, then at her father, and then at Hansen Ruiz. She was slightly stunned but obediently picked up the bowl and began to drink. The bitterness of the tea made her brow furrow, but she persisted and finished all the tea.

"Mr. Ruiz, a bowl of tea can show the difference between you and Rachel. Rachel grew up accustomed to hardship, whereas you grew up used to sweetness. How can sweet and bitter mix? You two are not suited for each other," Rachel’s father once again emphasized that Rachel Bailey and Hansen Ruiz were not a match.

Hansen Ruiz pursed his lips and remained silent, only continuing to look steadily at Rachel’s father.

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Hansen Ruiz suddenly picked up the bowl of tea from which he had only taken one sip and, without so much as frowning, downed the entire bowl. After finishing it, he even poured out all the tea brewing in the pot and drank that too—two large bowls of mountain tea—and his expression still did not change.

After finishing the tea, he didn’t speak but walked to the door, grabbed a broom, and began to sweep up the animal droppings in front of the entrance, without any sign of disdain.

Rachel Bailey watched him in astonished silence.

Rachel’s father and the other villagers stood there, watching him with a detached gaze.

Rachel’s father’s eyes, however, now held a hint more admiration than before.

Hansen Ruiz, who had never done such a thing before, diligently took half an hour to clean up the area in front of the door.

After cleaning, he borrowed a water pipe from one of the villagers to smoke but didn’t know how to use it and choked on the water, coughing violently. Yet, his unassuming attitude made the villagers feel he had passed half the test. There was still another half to go, however.

"Mr. Ruiz, I hear you’re very wealthy," an elderly man who looked to be about sixty years old asked slowly.

Hansen Ruiz replied modestly, "Enough to live on." While responding, he subtly sought help from Rachel Bailey with his eyes. Who is this old man? Rachel only introduced her parents to me; I don’t recognize these other villagers yet.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Rachel’s aunt’s nephew," the old man added slowly.

Hansen Ruiz broke into a sweat! A sixty-year-old nephew and a twenty-six-year-old aunt! This... these generational titles, these ages...

Rachel Bailey chuckled, kindly explaining, "Everyone in our village has the surname Bailey; we all descend from the same ancestor, so generational seniority has been passed down. Even though I’m young, I’ve already risen to the rank of a great-grand-aunt in terms of village standing. Several of them here actually have to call me ’Aunt’."

Hansen Ruiz looked embarrassed again.

"Mr. Ruiz, as you can see, our Aunt Rachel’s family here is still facing such hardship, and their house is in very poor condition. If there’s a heavy downpour, it’ll be completely flooded. If a typhoon hits, the house will just sway and collapse. Could you spare some money to help build a proper house for our Aunt Rachel’s family? Oh, and for us too," the old man pointed to several similar mud-brick and tile houses. He showed no trace of shame, nor did he seem to think they were being greedy, as he continued, "Since you have money, helping us out as well shouldn’t be a problem, right?"