Cai Lili was, after all, a young woman, and even if she were to speak frankly at this point, she would still feel a little embarrassed.

“What I meant was that you don’t need to take Xiao Ni back to your hometown in the countryside,” Cai Lili said, her mind clear and knowing what she wanted.

Moreover, she can't be picky at this point. After all, she's getting on in years. If she can't settle her marriage in a short time, her mother will definitely interfere for the sake of the bride price.

It wouldn't be particularly surprising if someone were to sell their daughter for money.

Rather than waiting until then and being completely helpless.

Instead of getting bogged down in trouble, it's better to be decisive and settle things now.

Moreover, judging from Shen Fenghua's words, Tian Daniu had also had contact and exchanges with He Jun.

The group of people got along well; as the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.

He Jun is a good man, and his friends are probably not much worse.

Mother Tian was almost stunned by this windfall. "Girl, don't you think that Xiao Ni and I are a burden?"

You should know that in the past, if a marriage proposal was mentioned, it would almost always fall through if the family had a widowed mother and a younger sister who was still in school.

Even if a few women were interested in Tian Daniu's job, they would make a special request: after getting married, their mother must take their younger sister back to their rural hometown; otherwise, they could forget about it.

After a while, Tian's mother finally had the idea of ​​taking Xiao Ni back to the countryside.

She's a woman, and it's one thing if she can't help the child, but she can't hold the child back, can she?

Cai Lili reached out and took Tian's mother's hand. It was covered with calluses, and the rough texture of it was heartbreaking to touch.

"How could I possibly think of you as a burden? We're both women, why should women make things difficult for each other? If we're fortunate enough to be part of the same family, then we should definitely support and help each other."

Tian Xiaoni stood to the side, looking at Cai Lili and feeling the gentle kindness emanating from him. Suddenly, she said something surprising: "Mom, I like this sister-in-law."

Cai Lili's face immediately turned red.

Tian Daniu scratched his head sheepishly and gently scolded, "Go on, don't talk nonsense."

"Don't be so mean!"

Cai Lili glanced at Tian Daniu, bent down, took Tian Xiaoni's hand, and asked her softly, "How old are you this year? What school do you go to? Where do you study?"

After a brief inquiry, Cai Lili discovered that Tian Xiaoni had not yet started school and only knew a few characters when she lived in the countryside.

Now that I'm in the city without a city household registration, no school is willing to accept me.

Besides, although there is no tuition fee for studying, there are still miscellaneous fees, which is another expense, and a huge burden is placed on Tian Daniu's shoulders.

Mother Tian was reluctant to part with it.

She didn't want either mother or daughter to become a burden to her son.

Cai Lili thought for a moment, "I still have to go to school. If I don't go to school, I'll never amount to anything in my life."

Just like herself.

If she hadn't started school as a child and continued until junior high, earning a diploma...

Even if a job were offered to her, she wouldn't be entitled to ask for it, since no factory would allow an illiterate person to be a leader.

Her ability to break free from her family and live a life with her head held high is inseparable from her current job.

And to be selfish, she's not a saint; she's not just thinking about giving.

Tian's mother was clearly the kind of person who would repay even the smallest kindness with the greatest gratitude.

If she were to marry into the family and send Tian Xiaoni to school, Tian's mother would be so grateful that she would be able to take charge of everything in the household.

Even if she has a child, she won't have to give up her job because of it. As long as she has a steady income, she believes she will be in a dominant position in the family.

A small, insignificant favor can bring peace to the family and the mother-in-law's wholehearted dedication.

What a great deal this is!

As Cai Lili spoke, she observed everyone's reactions. "I work at the steel factory. If Xiao Ni is willing, I can use my connections to get her into the steel factory's primary school."

After saying that, Cai Lili smiled apologetically, "It's just that Xiao Ni might have to suffer a bit and start learning from the first grade."

Despite his age, not having gone to school is a disadvantage, so he has to start from scratch with those little kids.

Mother Tian was almost moved to tears. "Oh dear, how could we accept this? We've been eating for free, and now you two are going to have to go to school too? How much pressure will that put on you?"

A couple?

Cai Lili handled the situation with ease, while Tian Daniu blushed with embarrassment.

“Oh well, we’ll be family sooner or later anyway,” Cai Lili laughed, then was pulled inside by Tian’s mother and sat down to drink tea. “Since things have come to this point, I’ll just tell you about my family situation.”

Cai Lili's family situation was also a mess, a tangled mess that couldn't be untangled.

So she ran away very decisively at that time.

If we're going to get married now, then these basic, hard conditions need to be made clear: "I don't have a family to rely on, so you can discuss the bride price and dowry with me. But since I'm willing to run away from home, it means I'm not someone who's willing to suffer losses or be wronged."

At this point, Cai Lili looked at Tian's mother apologetically, "Auntie, I don't have any bad intentions, I'm just impatient. You might have to be more tolerant of me."

Mother Tian hurriedly said, "It's good for a young girl to be a little quick-tempered. A bit of a temper will prevent her from being bullied when she goes out. Unlike me, who has been meek my whole life, anyone can come and kick me."

That's so sincere, it couldn't be more so.

The marriage is basically settled at this point.

Grandma just acted as a go-between; Cai Lili took over the rest.

She's confident she can keep this whole family in line.

Cai Lili wanted to leave, but Tian's mother wouldn't let her, saying, "Just sit here and try my cooking."

"good!"

To be honest, she was getting a little tired of eating in the cafeteria every day.

Although the Tian family wasn't very wealthy, they weren't exactly stingy either. It was mainly because Tian's mother was thrifty; she was very careful with every penny to save money for her son's wedding. Now, their daughter-in-law was about to arrive.

At this point, being stingy would be foolish. She pulled out all the meat coupons in the house, grabbed the money and rice coupons, left her little girl behind, and rushed out like a whirlwind.

The reason for keeping Tian Xiaoni was also for Cai Lili's sake, since the marriage hadn't been formally arranged yet.

It's inappropriate for a lone man and woman to be together, but if we add Tian Xiaoni, wouldn't all these problems be solved?

Mother Tian gave herself a thumbs up for her cleverness and ran off happily.