Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Seeing Li Xiaogang regain his energy, Li Xiaonuan finally felt relieved. In her previous life, Li Xiaonuan had only encountered awful relatives in books or movies. In this life, she had finally met one head-on.

But in my memory, the five brothers of the Li family used to be very united and had a good relationship. Back then, Grandma wasn't like she is now, and she was very good to Li's father. When did all of this begin to change?

It seems like it started about six years ago, the year Grandpa died unexpectedly. After that, the whole family fell apart, and Grandma became increasingly harsh. It was also from that time that Dad became much quieter, always working silently for his brothers without ever asking for anything in return.

Li Xiaonuan had discussed this matter with Li Xiaoyang, but Li Xiaoyang couldn't say anything either. She also asked Su Shi, but Su Shi refused to reveal anything. From Su Shi's sorrowful and regretful eyes, Li Xiaonuan was certain that something must have happened.

Since no one was willing to talk, Li Xiaonuan had no choice. She thought that she would find out eventually, and then she could figure out a solution. A family couldn't live like enemies, hating and blaming each other.

Unable to figure it out, Li Xiaonuan stopped thinking about it. She was quite busy right now. Besides Li Xiaogang's apprenticeship ceremony and banquet, she also had to report to the Wei family and deal with the picky old lady. Add to that the work in the fields, and it could be said that Li Xiaonuan was as busy as a spinning top.

Fortunately, Li's father was still living in the clinic; otherwise, Li Xiaonuan would have needed to find someone else to help. Although Su could share some of the burden, it was limited to farm work and housework. She knew nothing about the apprenticeship ceremony and had no intention of getting involved. Li Xiaonuan wanted Li Xiaoyang to participate, but he was tied up with several acres of land and couldn't get away.

It was around this time that Li Xiaonuan started thinking about buying more land. That way, she could find some long-term and short-term workers, and the family wouldn't be so short-handed. However, at the moment, she couldn't spare the time to do those things, and she didn't have anyone she could trust to help her.

That's why Li Xiaonuan felt there wasn't enough time and she was short-handed. She had to hurry and plan the future of the Li family before she could complete her plans step by step. First, she needed a lot of land, a lot of land.

She had no idea how many acres a large eco-farm would cover. Currently, her resources only allowed her to buy a dozen or twenty acres of fertile land to supplement her family's income.

She had suggested that Wei Yu exchange the seeds with the barbarians, but she didn't know if he could manage to do so. If there were some good crop seeds that weren't available locally, Li Xiaonuan believed she could use them to earn the estate's first pot of gold.

Now, her only hope is to buy some land to ensure her family's food supply. What can she do? Her family is poor. She has no business acumen, and no other skills.

Lost in thought, Li Xiaonuan was suddenly tapped on the shoulder from behind. Turning around in surprise, she saw it was her cousin, Xiaoqian. Seeing that Xiaoqian seemed to have something to say, she asked, "Xiaoqian, is something wrong?"

Xiaoqian looked outside to make sure no one was around before shyly asking, clutching a corner of her hand, "Big sister, you're more familiar with Doctor Qi, do you know what color he likes?"

Li Xiaonuan didn't think much of it, but asked in confusion, "Why are you asking this?"

Xiaoqian had already prepared an excuse before asking the question, so she replied, "I saw that Doctor Qi was working very hard to treat my father. I don't have anything worthwhile to offer, so I wanted to make him some clothes to repay him."

That makes sense, so Li Xiaonuan helped her analyze: "I'm not familiar with Doctor Qi, but I've noticed he prefers to wear simple clothes, so you should follow his example. The colors shouldn't be bright, and the patterns shouldn't be complicated. It's best to make them look fresh and natural to match his temperament."

Xiaoqian listened attentively, nodding occasionally, and finally asked in a question, "Big sister, what is temperament?"

Li Xiaonuan was stunned. How did she use a term from her past life? Seeing that Xiaoqian was still waiting for an answer, Li Xiaonuan explained helplessly, "Character is the aura that a person exudes, the kind of qualities that make people feel that he is different from others. Don't worry about that for now. Doctor Qi is the kind of person who is very easygoing and elegant, so just make clothes for him in that direction."

Xiaoqian only half understood, nodding blankly, then shaking her head. Before she could ask again, Li Xiaonuan said directly, "Starting tomorrow, pay attention to his usual actions, speech, clothing, and how he treats others. You'll gradually figure it out."

Xiaoqian still didn't understand and wanted to ask more, but seeing that Li Xiaonuan had already started preparing dinner, she had no choice but to give up. She returned to her room and secretly recalled Qi Ji's voice, smile, clothes, and accessories when she saw him these past few days.

Strangely, no matter how hard she tried to recall, she could only remember Qi Ji's handsome face. Everything else was blurry. Unable to remember, she rolled around on the bed, clutching her blanket. Even after she stopped rolling, she would continue thinking. This went on and on until Xiao Sha came in and called her out for dinner.

After moving into Li Xiaonuan's house, Li Xiaoqian never did any housework again. Whenever she had free time, she would stay in her room, daydreaming about her future with Qi Ji. Tang Shi had privately criticized her for being too lazy and not helping Li Xiaonuan with chores.

But Xiaoqian disagreed. They were guests at her uncle's house, so why should they do anything? Besides, Xiaoping and Xiaosha would help anyway, so it didn't matter whether she went or not.

Tonight is Grandma Lan's first return home since she left Li Xiaonuan's house four years ago. So Li Xiaonuan specially prepared several meat dishes to show her family's welcome to the elderly woman.

At the dinner table, the old lady looked at the several meat dishes and was quite satisfied. However, remembering what Li Xiaogang had said earlier, she also felt that Li Xiaonuan was spending money too extravagantly. She then adopted a haughty tone and lectured Li Xiaonuan:

"Xiao Nuan, you need to be mindful of your spending. For example, tonight's dishes—there are only a few of us, why did you cook a whole chicken and also stew a duck? Tomorrow, take out the remaining money, and I'll help you figure out how to arrange the banquet the day after tomorrow."

Before going to pick up the old lady, Li Xiaonuan had already discussed it with her family. At this critical juncture, as long as the old lady's requests weren't excessive, they would go along with her wishes. After all, she was an elder in the family and wouldn't harm anyone.

Therefore, Li Xiaonuan nodded and agreed, "Okay, Grandma. You eat first. I stewed the chicken beforehand until it was very tender, and then I poured the sauce over it. The meat is very soft."

Before Li Xiaonuan could finish speaking, Xiaoqian chimed in, "Yes, Grandma, you don't know, but we're only able to eat chicken and duck because of you. We've been staying at my sister's house for several days now, and we've only had meat twice, both times it was stewed pig's trotters."

These words left Mrs. Tang extremely embarrassed. She didn't know why Xiaoqian would say such a thing. But as a parent, she had to explain to avoid damaging the harmony between the two families. Everyone had witnessed what kind of life Li Xiaonuan's family had been living these past few days.