Rebirth begins with an arranged marriage

"Eat, eat!"

Li Xiujuan's father said unhappily, "A perfectly healthy chicken was killed for nothing!"

After saying that, he went into the house with his head down.

This blatant display of hostility made Tang Zhengjin even more uncomfortable. He glared at Tang Huaiyi and turned his head away, indicating that he was about to go home.

Just then, Li Xiufang stepped forward again: "Since we're already here, whether we get married in a year or now, our two families are relatives. How can we leave without having a meal?"

As he spoke, he reached out and invited Tang Zhengjin and Tang Huaiyi into the house.

"We have some things to take care of at home, so we won't stay..."

Tang Zhengjin felt quite ashamed about what had happened today and waved his hands repeatedly.

Li Xiufang then said to Li Xiujuan, "Erni, aren't you going to keep our guests here?"

Li Xiujuan then tried to persuade them to stay, saying, "Tang Huaiyi, why don't you eat before you leave? The chicken has already been killed..."

Tang Huaiyi didn't want to stay either, but Li Xiufang and Li Xiujuan stood at the door repeatedly trying to persuade him to stay, saying that leaving without eating would be the same as not having made any progress, and it wouldn't sound good if word got out.

Considering that it would save face for both of them, Tang Zhengjin reluctantly stayed.

For lunch, we had eggplant stewed with chicken. The eggplant and chicken were from our own farm. Li Xiufang deliberately added extra ingredients, making a big pot of oily stew that smelled so good it made our mouths water.

However, the meal was clearly not very enjoyable. Even though it was meat, which was rare in the countryside, no one had any appetite.

Li Xiujuan's father stopped eating after taking a couple of bites, and Tang Zhengjin didn't eat much either. The two of them lowered their heads and started rolling cigarettes.

Li Xiujuan looked around but didn't eat.

Tang Huaiyi was about to put down his chopsticks when Da Ni Li Xiufang placed a chicken leg on his plate and said, "It's your first time here, you should eat your fill. They get full after just a little, but our young stomachs can't hold up..."

Tang Huaiyi glanced at her, but Li Xiufang acted as if nothing had happened, turning her head back to continue eating eggplant and inviting Li Xiujuan and Li Xiuzhi to eat as well.

At her invitation, Tang Huaiyi and the three sisters, Li Xiujuan, managed to have a meal. The tension between Tang Zhengjin and Li Xiujuan's father eased somewhat. Before leaving, Li Xiujuan's father repeatedly instructed, "We are men, and we must keep our word. We must get married next year."

Tang Huaiyi nodded.

Tang Zhengjin said in a deep voice, "I will bring him to apologize to you then."

"I don't want an apology, I just want a son-in-law who will come to live with us," said Li Xiujuan's father.

After Tang Zhengjin and Tang Huaiyi left, Li Xiujuan's father turned around and glared at Li Xiujuan.

"What did I tell you?"

"You just listen to Tang Huaiyi after he says a few words to you?"

"We're not even married yet. If we get married, won't he take you and the kids away? Will he still be able to support me in my old age? I'm telling you, from now on you're not allowed to listen to him. Only he can listen to you and our family, understand?"

Li Xiujuan remained silent and listened. After he scolded her for a while, she finally said, "Dad, I want to go to school."

"Go ahead, go ahead, I'll be done with it if you work your dad to death!"

Li Xiujuan's father was cursing and swearing when he looked up and saw a neighbor craning her neck to look over from the doorway. He immediately forced a smile and asked, "Third Aunt, have you eaten yet?"

"You've eaten, you've eaten. What's going on? It's a special day with our in-laws visiting, why are you scolding the child?"

"It's nothing. I talked to their in-laws, and the two of them insisted on dating before getting married... If you ask me, why bother dating? It would be better to get married sooner," Li Xiujuan's father said with a smile.

I don't know what the neighbor was really thinking, but he smiled and said nice things: "She's educated, so she's cultured. Her marriage is different from the young men and women in our village. Dating is something only city people do!"

"Sigh, if you ask me, that's just being fussy! We should just live a down-to-earth life."

"Don't be so fussy. They have so many rules and customs that we farmers don't know..."

"Is her third aunt coming over for a visit?"

"I can't sit here anymore, I need to go check on the fields later."

As they chatted back and forth, the neighbor finally managed to retract his long neck.

Li Xiujuan's father glared at her again, then looked at Li Xiufang: "You too, Da Nizi, why did you keep him here for a meal?"

Li Xiufang raised her head and said matter-of-factly, "Dad, if I don't invite him to stay for dinner, what will you say when Third Aunt asks you about it? Who knows what people will be saying behind my back."

"Besides, it's still quite hot today. We've already killed the chickens; shouldn't we save them for the New Year instead of entertaining guests?"

"I'll eat it myself and won't give any to the two of them. I'm so angry!" Li Xiujuan's father said angrily.

"If you want some, we have another one at home," Li Xiufang said.

"You're talking nonsense. Who would want to kill a hen that lays eggs?"

Li Xiujuan's father was furious: "I can see it now, Da Nizi, you're doing this on purpose to provoke me!"

"I didn't mean to upset you, Dad. Think about it, if we're going to find a son-in-law, can we really settle for a spineless coward? Tang Huaiyi is someone who's not afraid to get angry, glare, and speak his mind. Who in the village would dare to bully our family? That's what you call a pillar of strength," Li Xiufang said. "If we treat him well now, he'll have to treat us well in the future, don't you think?"

Li Xiujuan's father's mind began to soften, and his anger subsided considerably.

"What you're saying makes some sense. But this kid made me angry first..."

Muttering to himself, he finally went home.

After arriving home, San Nizi Li Xiuzhi tidied up the main room, while Da Nizi Li Xiufang and Er Nizi Li Xiujuan washed the pots and pans.

As the two sisters were working, Li Xiufang suddenly asked, "Erni, is it that you only care about studying and going to school, and don't actually have your eye on Tang Huaiyi?"

Li Xiujuan paused for a moment, unsure of what to say.

She doesn't want to get married right now; she wants to go to school.

But to say that he didn't fancy Tang Huaiyi is definitely not true...

How can I tell my older sister this?

Seeing that she didn't speak, Li Xiufang asked again, "Would you choose to marry Tang Huaiyi, or choose to go to school?"

Li Xiujuan said first, "Go to school."

Li Xiufang smiled slightly, raising her eyebrows a little.

Before she could speak again, Li Xiujuan felt that what she said was a bit inappropriate, so she added, "Go to school first, and then marry him later."

"You chose both?" Li Xiufang frowned in surprise.

"Isn't that what they said today?" Li Xiujuan asked, puzzled. "That's exactly what they said. Tang Huaiyi wanted to go to school first and then get married, which is why he argued with our father and his father."

Li Xiufang stopped talking, silently scrubbing the pot, her buttocks swaying back and forth as she worked.

After sweeping up the dishwater, she said, "It's so good to study, Erni, you're so lucky."

After saying that, he carried the dishwater out of the kitchen.

Li Xiujuan was bewildered: What's so good about my life?

If it weren't for Tang Huaiyi, I wouldn't be able to go to school today, and I would be married off...

Are you referring to the time when Tang Huaiyi helped me, sister?

In retrospect, I'm definitely lucky.

Tang Huaiyi is really something. Back in my first and second years of high school, he was just like me, quietly eating cornbread and not saying much. But today he's really something...

Lost in thought, Li Xiujuan held the loofah used for washing dishes, her mind wandering, and then she couldn't help but smile.

The dimly lit kitchen brightened up a bit with the girl's smile.