Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Deep in a coma, Li Xiaonuan felt herself floating up again. In the hazy white light, she saw a frail woman walking towards her.

At this moment, the three men carrying the betrothal gifts at the Li family's residence were blocked outside the courtyard gate by Li Xiaoyang. At the head of the procession were an elderly woman of about sixty years old and a man nearing forty.

The matchmaker in colorful clothes, with her thick, fiery red lips parted, said with exaggerated laughter, "Oh, this must be the young master of the Li family, look how handsome he is. Is he engaged yet? If not, let me find you a few matchmakers. Look at this child, he doesn't even know to greet guests. Are your parents home?"

Li Xiaonuan stood her ground, asking coldly, "Who are you? What are you doing in our house?"

Seeing that Li Xiaoyang was being tactless, the sixty-year-old woman snorted coldly and said, "Judging from this way of treating guests, the rumors are indeed true. As a junior, how dare you block your elders? What kind of manners is this?"

Upon seeing these people, Li Xiaoyang knew he couldn't let them into the courtyard. Otherwise, he'd never be able to explain things clearly later. Remembering his grandmother's words a few days ago about someone coming to propose marriage, Li Xiaoyang gritted his teeth in anger.

"Young man, look, we've come to propose marriage. Quickly invite them in. Your sister is home, right? Tell her to get ready. They're already family, how can we not let them in? Go and call your parents to come out and greet them." Seeing the situation was getting out of hand, the matchmaker in colorful clothes quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

The people who had gathered around started talking. Someone asked Li Xiaoyang, "Xiaoyang, your sister was talking about someone else, when did that happen?"

Li Xiaoyang, still with the door half-closed, stood outside, saying expressionlessly, "I don't know either. No matchmakers came. They suddenly knocked on my door, saying they were here to propose marriage. Isn't that strange?"

Upon hearing this, the onlookers echoed Xiaoyang's sentiments. Living in the same village, they all knew exactly who had a matchmaker. Such a direct approach to proposing marriage was truly rare. Who knew what kind of shady dealings were involved?

"Xiao Yang, who's here? Why don't you come in?" Su's voice rang out from the courtyard.

"Mother, no one's here. They've come to the wrong door," Xiao Yang answered loudly.

"Sister-in-law Li, we've come from Niushan County to propose marriage. Didn't Xiaonuan's grandmother tell you?" The matchmaker in colorful clothes hurriedly called out through the tight bamboo fence as soon as she heard Li Xiaoyang call her "mother."

The woman in her sixties snorted again. The timid man beside her whispered, "Mother." Seeing this, the woman grabbed the man's ear and scolded, "You useless thing."

Li Xiaonuan glared angrily at the matchmaker in colorful clothes, then coldly stared at the group. The door behind her was pulled open. Madam Su emerged from inside, her expression full of questions.

"Oh, this must be Li Xiaonuan's mother. Come, let me introduce you. This is the old lady who owns the Niushan County General Store, and the one next to her is her fourth son." The matchmaker in colorful clothes introduced them to Su Shi as soon as she saw her.

Li Xiaoyang was furious, her eyes blazing with rage. She yelled, "What are you doing, you old woman, introducing them like this? Nobody knows them. You've come to the wrong house, get out of here!"

Turning around, Li Xiaoyang said to Su Shi with dissatisfaction, "Mother, I already said you came to the wrong house, why did you come out?"

Mrs. Su looked embarrassed, knowing she shouldn't have come out. But now that she was out, she couldn't go back. Just as she was about to try and smooth things over, the sixty-year-old woman spoke first.

"Son, look at this poor family, they really don't know any manners. Why don't we go back, and I'll find you a better one?"

The rough-looking man stood to the side, his face full of grievance, and cried out, "Mother, the marriage certificate has been written, and the birth chart has been exchanged, so this is fine. If she doesn't know etiquette, Mother can teach her more. Mother, please don't change anyone else, your son likes someone like Li Xiaonuan."

Upon hearing this, the old woman became even angrier and grabbed the man's ear, scolding him: "You good-for-nothing! You've been bewitched like this. How can you bear to let your mother teach her in the future?"

The man hissed in pain and pleaded, "Mother, please be gentle, don't hurt your hand. No matter who she is, she has to listen to you, Mother. I'm willing to do it, Mother~"

The last "Mother" was delivered with a tone of voice, like a child pleading for candy from their mother. Upon hearing this, some of the onlookers couldn't help but burst into laughter.

The burly man, not young at all, was actually acting like a child with his elderly mother. Most incredibly, he was doing it in front of everyone. Laughter erupted, and the man shrank back, moving behind the old woman and bowing his head low.

Seeing this, Madam Su lost face. She hadn't expected the old lady to arrange such a marriage for Li Xiaonuan. Li Xiaoyang was even more direct, shouting, "Get out of here! This isn't the family you're looking for. If you don't leave, I'm going to hit someone!"

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors came out of their homes one after another. Seeing that Li Xiaoyang's face was flushed with anger, Zhou Jingjing went over and asked, "Brother Xiaoyang, what's wrong? What are these people doing here?"

Xiao Yang snorted coldly and replied in a gentle voice, "I don't know where they came from, but what they said was infuriating."

"Looks like they've come to propose marriage. Little Nuan's mother, has your Little Nuan said she's found someone?" Granny Yu asked Su as soon as she arrived.

The matchmaker in colorful clothes, who had been waiting for the others to ask, seized the opportunity to answer: "Of course it's arranged. The other day, they exchanged birth charts and wrote the marriage certificate. Today's visit is to formally present the betrothal gifts."

Aunt Zhou, Jingjing's mother, asked in confusion, "Auntie, have you really arranged a marriage for Xiaonuan? Why didn't you say anything?"

The old woman snorted coldly and said loudly, "What's there to say? Your reputation is already ruined, so just quietly agree to it. It's a good thing my fourth son doesn't look down on your daughter, otherwise, given how you treated her today, I would have had to call off the engagement."

Upon hearing this, the crowd began to chatter again. Madam Su looked puzzled: "Auntie, I've always kept my Xiaonuan's birth certificate; I've never taken it out. How come none of my family knew about this exchange of birth certificates?"

The old woman laughed upon hearing this and said, "Without the birth charter, how could there be a marriage certificate? Besides, the birth charter and marriage certificate have already been registered at the government office, so there's no mistake."

These words shocked Su Shi and Li Xiaoyang. They hadn't expected the other party to have already registered the marriage. This meant the marriage certificate must be genuine, otherwise the authorities wouldn't have allowed the registration. But Li Xiaonuan's marriage certificate had truly always been at home; no one had ever taken it out.

Over there, Aunt Huang slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Auntie, hurry up and go find Xiao Nuan's birth chart. Didn't we lose some money last time? Maybe we lost the birth chart too."

These words were like a wake-up call. As she ran inside, Su muttered to herself, "How could this be? It can't be, it can't be true."

Seeing this, Li Xiaoyang stopped blocking the gate and followed Su Shi into the house. The old woman and the matchmaker, seeing the gate open, led people to carry the betrothal gifts into the courtyard.