"But I am not an orphan. I have the protection of my father and family. If I don't get married, will my father, brothers, and family stop protecting me?"
"Of course not."
Mo Qiaoniang was also somewhat stumped by Li Qingruo's question. After thinking for a while, she continued to ask.
"But your parents will eventually grow old, and your brothers will have wives and children. What will you do then?"
That's right. Even if Li Qingruo doesn't get married, the couple won't abandon their daughter, but they will eventually grow old.
By then, the sons will all have their own families, and the wives might not necessarily accept an unmarried aunt.
Men are out and about, and they may not pay attention to things at home. Even if they forget to arrange for a cold dish today or forgot to arrange for fabric tomorrow, it can be enough to make a man anxious.
Just thinking about it makes her heart ache.
"I rent a courtyard and buy servants; they only come to see me occasionally."
"You are all alone, bullied by your neighbors, and mistreated by your servants. What will you do?"
"...Then I'll rent a courtyard not far from the Li family's house, so no one will dare to bully me, right?"
Mo Qiaoniang was completely speechless.
Not only was she speechless, but Liu Yun and Qi Wan, who had listened to the whole thing, were also speechless.
Pan Jinhua remained silent. To be honest, she didn't care whether the girls in her family got married or not. As long as she was willing, she was fine with living any way she wanted.
"But if you don't get married, what will happen to your brothers and sisters? Won't outsiders think you have some hidden illness that's why you're like this?"
"It doesn't matter. If I cared about what others thought, I wouldn't be thinking about getting married. Mother, your daughter doesn't want to get married."
"Is it okay not to have children?"
"Don't younger brothers have children? What's the difference?"
"Of course they're different, hahaha."
Mo Qiaoniang laughed again, and the somewhat heavy atmosphere from before vanished.
Don't take your youngest daughter's ignorant words to heart.
Seeing that everyone was not taking it seriously, Li Qingruo felt extremely upset.
"I won't tell Mother."
He left those words behind and ran away angrily.
No one chased after her; they let her run away. She was at home; nothing bad would happen.
"Second brother's wife, keep a close eye on Qingruo. This child must be frightened by what happened to Cao'er, and she's scared."
Pan Jinhua always felt that Li Qingruo's reluctance to get married might indeed be childish talk. After all, they were raised by the rules of this world and wouldn't break with tradition. There must be other reasons behind it.
In this dynasty, if a woman is not married by the age of twenty, her family will have to pay taxes. Moreover, a woman's unmarried status will also affect the marriage prospects of her younger sisters. How could Li Qingruo not know this? She was probably frightened, which is why she was so resistant.
We need to confirm this. If it's really as she suspects, we'll need to give her some serious advice.
There's a difference between genuinely not wanting to and being scared into not wanting to.
Mo Qiaoniang was taken aback; she hadn't expected this.
That's right. Even she was startled by this. Her daughter and Li Yin were such good friends, so she must have some reservations.
"Yes, Mother, I understand."
Mo Qiaoniang replied solemnly, "It is my mother-in-law who is so thoughtful."
After reminding Mo Qiaoniang, Pan Jinhua also mentioned Liu Yun.
"Qingzhang's wife still needs to be chosen carefully, after all, she is the eldest daughter-in-law in the family."
"Yes, my daughter-in-law just wants someone who is cheerful, generous, and efficient."
"Well, you decide. You can ask him if there's anyone he likes."
“Oh, you’re telling me. I asked him the other day, but he didn’t say anything for a long time. I thought to myself, could it be that I really got the answer? It turns out that the kid suddenly remembered that he hadn’t finished something, so I was happy for nothing.”
Take your time.
"It can't be slow, Mom, I'm getting really anxious."
"Does the Gu family have any suitable candidates?"
"Let me inquire about it."
"...Alright, it's such a nice day, let's talk about something else."
The group finally changed the subject, and Pan Jinhua lay back down to continue looking at the moonlight.
Before I knew it, almost a year had passed since I came here.
Listening to the cicadas chirping in her ears and admiring the unparalleled moonlight, Pan Jinhua gradually fell asleep.
When I woke up the next day, I was already in my own room.
I slept so soundly that when I woke up, I was almost disoriented and didn't know what day it was.
Aunt Yao brought her some porridge; she should eat something light in the morning to maintain her health.
"The old lady slept very well last night."
"Absolutely, it felt so good, I don't even know how I got back."
"The gentlemen were afraid of waking the old lady and making her unable to sleep at night, so the three of them carried your reclining chair back together, so quietly..."
"Haha, they're so filial."
Pan Jinhua laughed. Just imagine the scene: three people tiptoeing to carry the reclining chair—it was quite a funny sight.
"Indeed, it's rare."
Yao Niang has now adapted well to life in the Li family and even dares to take the initiative to talk and chat with the old lady.
From her own observation, this family was united, filial, and kind.
The Li family's life will definitely get better and better.
Pan Jinhua sat down to drink the porridge, which was served with some side dishes, making the porridge taste even better.
"I won't have porridge for breakfast tomorrow, I'll have a bowl of noodle soup instead."
"Okay, I'll talk to them later."
No sooner had he put down his bowl than Li Qing came running in from outside, shouting.
"Grandma, Grandma! Qingtong, Qingtong lifted it up!"
"Grandmother, come quick! Qing Tong has lifted it up!"
Pan Jinhua immediately stood up and hurried outside.
The fact that Li Qing was so excited, combined with the words he shouted, is quite remarkable.
Pan Jinhua naturally knew what Li Qing was referring to: Xiang Yu lifting the tripod!
When Li Qingtong first arrived in Lijia Village, Pan Jinhua pointed to a huge rock and said that if Li Qingtong could lift the rock, he would surely become a general in the future.
From that time on, Li Qingtong would go to the boulder every day to tinker with it. The boulder was estimated to weigh over a hundred pounds, which was incomparable to the tripod that Xiang Yu lifted.
The stone looked quite ordinary. Later, Pan Jinhua even went to great lengths to have it weighed. It was indeed 108 jin (54 catties), and even an adult man would not be able to lift it easily with both hands without systematic training.
Li Qingtong is only ten years old this year. His birthday was just last month. He just turned nine and is now officially ten years old.
She also made a cake and longevity noodles for Li Qingtong at the time.
Pan Jinhua became excited; she might be witnessing the birth of a miracle.
Pan Jinhua followed Li Qing and hurried out of the Li family's house. The huge rock was not located inside the Li family's house, but rather by the roadside.
Because Li Qingtong was fussing around the stone almost every day, everyone in the village knew that the child wanted to lift the stone.
Although they didn't believe the kid could do it, most people just watched kindly without making any sarcastic remarks.
A year has passed, and Li Qingtong has actually lifted it up!
A large crowd had gathered around the boulder, and by the time Pan Jinhua arrived, Li Qingtong had already thrown the stone down.
The surrounding villagers were even more excited than Li Qingtong herself, spitting as they talked, and several men even circled the stone, eager to try their luck.
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