Chapter 133 A Dilemma

Having received Wang Xueying's confirmation, Xia Wenwen felt relieved and happily ran to Lin Shulan's house.

Lin Shulan had been anxiously waiting these past few days. Upon hearing footsteps outside the courtyard, she stood up and went out to greet them.

Upon seeing that it was indeed Xia Wenwen, they hurriedly ushered her into the house, saying, "Oh, Wenwen, we've been waiting for you! Come in and sit down!"

"Aunt Lin!" Xia Wenwen affectionately took Lin Shulan's arm and led her inside, "Let's talk inside."

As soon as she sat down, Lin Shulan asked anxiously, "Wenwen, tell me quickly, have you inquired about Damin's matter?"

As she asked, she deftly went to the stove to fetch hot water, with two tea leaves floating in the steaming enamel cup.

Xia Wenwen took the water glass, took a sip of the scalding hot tea, but her eyes couldn't help but glance at the stove.

A rough porcelain bowl was placed in the pot, and half of a cornbread was sticking out from the rim. The aroma of the cornbread mixed with the steam wafted over, making her stomach rumble.

She cleared her throat twice, a warm smile spreading across her face: "You've been asking! How could I not care? In my heart, you and Brother Damin are both family!"

Her words were sweeter than honey, but her eyes were glued to the stove, not moving an inch. After a pause, she smiled shamelessly and said, "By the way, what food do you have at home? My stomach has been growling ever since I ran all this way."

Lin Shulan was eagerly awaiting her reply when she heard her question. She paused for a moment, then quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes! There are still two vegetable pancakes warming in the pot. I'll go get them for you!"

"As long as I can arrange a marriage for Damin, what do a few meals matter!" Lin Shulan said as she went into the kitchen.

Xia Wenwen didn't stand on ceremony. When Lin Shulan brought over the vegetable pancakes and porridge, she didn't care that it was hot. She stuffed half a cornbread into her mouth in a few bites, ignoring the hot pancakes and panting for breath. She swallowed it whole before wiping her mouth and then began to "take credit": "Aunt Shulan, you have no idea how much I've been working on this for Brother Damin!"

Lin Shulan quickly asked, "How is it?"

Xia Wenwen put down her chopsticks and deliberately sighed, "I've been to several villages, and whenever I mention Brother Damin, the girls shake their heads like rattles. They all say... they all say he has a bad temper and they're afraid of being mistreated if they marry him."

"What?" Lin Shulan's face fell instantly, like a wilted eggplant. "What's wrong with my Damin? Although he's a bit straightforward, he's honest and kind-hearted, and he's strong. What makes him unworthy of those girls? They're really blind!"

She verbally defended her son, but her heart felt like it was being pricked by needles—she knew that Damin was almost thirty and still a bachelor, which caused some gossip in the village.

Seeing her like this, Xia Wenwen chuckled inwardly, but comforted her on the surface, "Don't be angry. I was also extremely anxious at first, thinking that this matter might fall through..."

"Then why did you come today..." Lin Shulan asked, somewhat puzzled.

Xia Wenwen suddenly changed the subject: "Guess what? A ray of sunshine appeared after the darkest hour! I actually ran into someone suitable!"

Lin Shulan suddenly looked up and grabbed Xia Wenwen's hand: "What did you say? There are really girls willing?"

"That's right! When the girl heard that it was a marriage proposal for Brother Damin, she hesitated for a moment, but I praised Brother Damin so much that she finally agreed to meet him first!"

"Oh my God!" Lin Shulan was so excited she almost jumped up. "Quickly tell Auntie, which family's daughter is she? What's her name? How old is she? What does her family do?"

Xia Wenwen suddenly stopped talking, her eyes darting around as she slowly wiped the cornmeal crumbs from the corner of her mouth: "You'll definitely know this girl if I tell you, but..."

She drew out her words, glancing towards the kitchen: "My bag of corn was almost empty yesterday, and I've been eating nothing but thin porridge for the past two days. My legs are so weak. If it's convenient for you, could you spare some for me?"

Lin Shulan's heart was in her throat, and she didn't care about the food. She hurriedly turned around to check the grain jar, and soon brought out half a bag of cornmeal and stuffed it into Xia Wenwen's arms.

"Take it, take it! This should last you a few days! Damin, you'll have to put in a lot of effort with this!"

Xia Wenwen weighed the heavy bag of flour in her hand, and finally a satisfied smile spread across her face: "Actually, it's not an outsider, it's just Wang Xueying from the educated youth settlement!"

"Wang Xueying?" Lin Shulan looked as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water, frowning and waving her hands. "No, no! That girl won't do!"

"Why not?" Xia Wenwen feigned surprise.

"Have you forgotten her family background?" Lin Shulan's voice rose in agitation. "And she can't lift a finger. I heard she was faking illness every day at the educated youth settlement to avoid work. Who in the village doesn't call her 'Sickly Beauty' behind her back? If Damin marries her, isn't he bringing home a tyrant?"

Lin Shulan became increasingly anxious as she spoke, shaking her head and saying, "No, I won't agree to this marriage!"

Xia Wenwen wasn't in a hurry: "So what if her family background isn't good? She's from the city, she's educated and literate, she's a perfect complement to Damin! Besides, she's down on her luck now, if we're willing to marry her, wouldn't she be grateful? She'll definitely listen to Damin obediently from now on!"

Seeing that Lin Shulan's brows had relaxed, Xia Wenwen quickly pressed her advantage: "Think about it, if Wang Xueying had a good family background, it wouldn't be Da Min's turn. Besides, she's weak; that's because she's not used to being in the countryside yet."

At this point, she laughed and said, "What does it matter if a woman does housework or not? Giving birth to a child for Da Min is the most important thing! Just think, if we give you a big, healthy grandson this year, Da Min will have more energy to work, and our Xia family will have an heir. Isn't that better than anything else?"

"This..." Lin Shulan's heart was itching with curiosity after hearing what she said.

"I disagree!"

A clear female voice suddenly rang out, and Xia Qianqian was seen standing at the door carrying half a basket of eggs.

"Qianqian? Why are you back?" Lin Shulan quickly got up.

Xia Qianqian ignored her mother, strode into the house, and pointed at Xia Wenwen's nose: "Xia Wenwen! What are you up to? You dare to push a woman like Wang Xueying next to my brother? She's not good enough for my brother at all!"

Xia Wenwen retorted, unconvinced, "Isn't this also for Da Min's good?"

"For his own good?" Xia Qianqian sneered, her eyes sweeping over Xia Wenwen like knives.

"I think you're doing this for yourself! Did you take some benefits from Wang Xueying? Do you think I don't know Wang Xueying's background?" Xia Qianqian interrupted her coldly. "If we let her into the family, this household will be turned into a complete mess sooner or later! No way!"

Hit on her secret, Xia Wenwen immediately exploded: "Xia Qianqian, what are you up to? Aunt Lin and the others may not have raised you, but they gave you life! In all these years since you came back to the village, how have they wronged you? Are you just going to stand by and watch Brother Damin remain a bachelor?"

"If you don't like Wang Xueying, why don't you say something nice to Brother Damin?"

She sneered, glancing at Xia Qianqian's new clothes out of the corner of her eye. "You married into a good family and live a life of luxury, completely forgetting your own family. How can you live with yourself?"

"And Li Aiqin!" Xia Wenwen suddenly raised her voice, "You pretend not to see her dating Peng Fei; you pretend not to see your own brother remaining single! I think you're just too busy sucking up to your husband's family to remember who you are!"