Li Qinghe didn’t see Qian Laixing very often, and even though he seemed gentle, he wasn’t as good as Xu Changjie. Mrs. You had always protected him well and never allowed him to see any girl.
However, in Li Qinghe's memory, Qian Laixing and Qian Laiwen had a good relationship, since they both read books and went out together a lot. Another thing was that both were weak scholars. Most of the two’s incomes for their studies was earned by Qian Laiman and his parents. They couldn’t make money, and neither could they work hard, except studying.
If this person wanted to marry Yu Yan out of some feelings, then this was total nonsense. He was clearly eyeing Yu Yan's embroidery skills. It would’ve been better to say he wanted to marry a money basket rather than a wife.
Thinking of this, Li Qinghe's feet accelerated, and her intention of throwing off Mrs. You was obvious.
Since Mrs. You used to do farm work, she was able to catch up with her quite easily. "Qinghe, take a break, I want to talk to you properly."
Obviously, Li Qinghe did not stop. Instead, her feet accelerated faster. As luck would have it, someone on the mountain greeted Mrs. You, which allowed Li Qinghe to leave her behind.
After reaching the house, Li Qinghe put down the firewood and took a sip of water when someone knocked on the door outside. It's not over yet!
Upon opening the door, Li Qinghe found that it was Mrs. You outside standing there. She entered the courtyard without fear of Little Rhubarb.
"Qinghe, I’ll tell you the truth. My family's Laixing went for a stroll yesterday and met Miss Yu. He fell in love with her at first sight, and he asked me to propose marriage. Can you ask your aunt about it?"
Li Qinghe sighed. "Yan'er hasn't been thinking about marriage lately. Wouldn't it be best if you asked Third Aunt yourself?"
Mrs. You disagreed and said in a low voice, "No, it's hard for me to ask. If they don't agree, the news will spread out and won’t be good for our family. She doesn't want to discuss marriage right now, but that's because she hasn't met the right person yet. Laixing will take the county exam next year. If he succeeds, then he’ll be a scholar. Who can refuse such an easy life?"
"You two have a good relationship, and besides, your third aunt isn't her real mother. That means your third aunt has better relations with you, in turn. You can ask her for me, and if she doesn't say yes, just pretend I never came."
Li Qinghe was helpless, as she said, "I'll go now, why not come with me?"
Mrs. You nodded. "But it's hard for me to come forward, so I'll wait for you outside and you can help me ask. I have a plan in mind, and I'll come to propose marriage when it's right."
She sounded really confident speaking about the marriage proposal.
Li Qinghe's third aunt was drying clothes in the yard when she got there. She was quite surprised to see her coming, asking, "Qinghe, how is it that you can come over today?"
"I'm here to speak to Yan'er." She went inside after speaking, already familiar with the way to Yu Yan's room.
Yu Yan also teased her. "Why do you want to look for me? Is there something serious going on?"
"There really is." Li Qinghe lowered her voice. "Did you meet Qian Laiman's brother yesterday?"
Yan Yi was taken aback. "I don't know, yesterday I went to town and met so many people, how could I have known who he was?"
"His mother went to the mountain deliberately to block my path today. She said I should come and ask you. She said her son was unlucky and fell down this year, but next year, he'll make the designated list in the county exam."
Yu Yan laughed. "That's what your brother-in-law said last year. I don't know if he'll be on this year's list."
In just two days, the results of the county test would be announced.
"She told me to ask now what your opinion is of this marriage and then she won’t pester me anymore." Li Qinghe shook her head and said, "She chased me all the way here, so I have to ask now."
"Why didn't she come to my house to ask?" Yu Yan asked with a smile.
Li Qinghe waved her hand and said, "She said that if you don't agree, it’ll be bad for the reputation of the two families. She’s probably afraid that if you refuse, her son's reputation will worsen."
Yu Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Why would I say yes to such a family?"
"That's right." Li Qinghe was not surprised by her answer at all. "Then I'll respond like that. My intention wasn't to ask, but I feared that you’d want to agree."
Yu Yan gave her a look. "Go ahead and answer."
The two laughed and talked for a long time before Li Qinghe left the yard. Not far away, Mrs. You quickly came over and asked, "How was it?"
Li Qinghe shook her head. "She doesn't want to. She doesn't even know him, and they aren't familiar with each other."
Mrs. You's face froze when she heard this. "No, have you told her that Laixing will be able to take the county exam next year? How could she say no?" She looked up and down with some suspicion. "Could it be that you didn't ask her at all?"
"If you don't believe it, just go do it yourself." Li Qinghe was annoyed and lifted her foot to walk away. "I still have some work to do."
She was busy with work, but wasn't much annoyed, mainly because she didn't want to continue to involve herself with Mrs. You. She still remembered that when Mrs. You came to give money, she had acted proud and arrogant as if her son was the greatest treasure in the world. For these kinds of people, it was better to have less contact, and even better if she avoided them altogether.
Mrs. You didn't catch up to her this time. Li Qinghe breathed a sigh of relief and continued to climb the mountain.
Two days later, she heard that Mrs. You asked Mrs. Qian again to go to Third Aunt's house, but she got the same rejection this time.
In the middle of April, Li Qingmiao's baby was born. Both the mother and son were safe, and they named him Li Guangyao. Li Qingmiao's parents were so happy that they talked to everyone and invited them to the full moon celebration.
When Li Qinghe heard the news, she went to her house with the eggs. She met Mrs. Zhou on the way, who was carrying a pot of soup. "Mother, let me help you."
Mrs. Zhou avoided her. "It's too hot, I'll do it myself." Her eyes deliberately swept over her stomach. "It’s better to have a child early. A family will only be lively with children, and the couple will have better feelings. It doesn’t matter how much silver you earn, how can it be as lovely as children? You have a big yard, don't you feel empty?"
As she was caught off guard, Li Qinghe was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and said, "Mother, children are born when they are meant to be born."
Mrs. Zhou glared at her. "Looking at you both, you two have such a great relationship, so why haven't I heard any good news for more than a year?"
When Li Qinghe heard this, she blushed slightly, coughing lightly to hide her embarrassment. "I did not mean it."
In fact, it was intentional. They had both planned on cleaning up all the wasteland and using it. It was originally expected to be thoroughly cleaned in the spring of next year, but it was already done this year, so they decided they wanted to wait longer since then she would be older and it would be less dangerous.
Mrs. Zhou left it at that. "You have your plans, and I cannot persuade you, but could you just take pity on me, please? After you have given birth to your children, I can rest assured that I will see your father even if I die… Your elder brother and elder sister-in-law too…" She shook her head, looking like she couldn't speak any further.
As they talked, they had already reached the Li house, and the courtyard was filled with joy. Mrs. Li boiled red eggs and gave them away, saying that she wanted everyone to be happy. When Mrs. Zhou saw the swaddled child, she became very emotional and reluctant to leave. After a while, she couldn't stand it and went to ask for two red eggs to give to Li Qinghe.
Li Qinghe carried the two red eggs in her pocket, and her thoughts were full of what Mrs. Zhou had said about giving birth to a child. When she saw Zhou Chengkang cleaning the yard, she peeled an egg and handed it to him to eat. She said with a smile, "Mother insisted on giving it to us, saying it’ll bring us good luck."
Zhou Chengkang held her hands after eating the eggs, kissed her fingers, smiled, and told her, "Don’t worry. Sooner or later we’ll have children, and we won’t let her down. We'll give birth to eight or ten children."
"Do you think even the pigs in the backyard can give birth to eight or ten? At most, it’ll be three… two."
Zhou Chengkang laughed loudly and very happily.
After the couple laughed, they started seriously planning to have a child. After calculating everything, they decided that it would be better to wait until next year. It was best not to choose the autumn harvest and spring plowing season to have children. Otherwise, he would not have enough energy to care for her. After spring plowing in March would be the best time for them to have children since it would not be too cold nor too hot.
Li Qinghe was still planning when she learned Mei Shi was pregnant after two days.
The two learned not just that Mei Shi was pregnant but that the Zhou family was having an argument and it was their neighbor who came over to tell them.
The person who came was a fat woman in her 40s. "Hurry up, Mrs. Liu and your mother have quarreled."
Li Qinghe felt confused. Mei Shi has already married Elder Brother Zhou, isn't it normal to have children? What's all the fuss about?
Seeing that the two of them might fight again if they didn't agree with each other, Li Qinghe and Zhou Chengkang rushed back in a hurry. There was no more noise in the yard when they arrived. Zhang Haiyao stood under the eaves with her child in her arms, and when she saw the two entering the door, she sneered, "You came back just now. If they really fought, wouldn't it have been too late?"
Li Qinghe was too lazy to pay attention to her. Upon entering the room, they saw Mr. Zhou and Old Lady Liu sitting opposite each other with ugly faces, and neither of them were speaking.
Zhou Chengkang asked directly, "Mother, I heard you were quarreling. Why?"