Li Hongxing had never seen such a handsome young man before. He spoke with gentleness and elegance and had an extraordinary demeanor. She knew without a doubt that he must be a young master from a wealthy family.
Li Hongxing was very envious of Li Youran. She was just an abandoned wife, yet she was able to get involved with such a young master. It was truly enviable.
If she could also speak with such a young master, and marry into a wealthy and powerful family in the future, even as a concubine, she would be content.
Putting aside the endless gold and silver, and the inexhaustible delicacies, the status and position alone were enough to make Li Hongxing yearn for it.
Li Hongchao's mind was entirely focused on the goods on the cart, which contained chicken, duck, fish, meat, and various snacks and fruits.
Li Hongchao had never seen such delicious food before. He wanted to rush onto the car, open the snacks and fruits, and have a hearty meal.
"We're friends, so talking about money would be too formal. Why don't you save some rare books for me if you ever come across any good ones?"
Li Youran insisted on giving money, and Liu Zhiyuan couldn't refuse, so he had to back down.
“Alright, when I come across a good rare book in the future, I will save it for you first.” After careful consideration, Li Youran realized that Liu Zhiyuan was not short of a few taels of silver, and rare books were more meaningful and valuable to him.
The entire cartload of goods was unloaded directly into the yard. Seeing that most of the items were food, Li Youran cleared out the storeroom on the east side of the kitchen and then called on Li Hongxing and her brother Li Hongchao to help move the things.
Although Li Youran didn't like the two siblings, she didn't discriminate against them when it came to food. She simply opened a box of pastries for them to eat.
"You Ran, how do you have such great abilities to be able to get in touch with such a young master, and even have him send you a whole cartload of things?"
Li Hongxing's tone was very uncomfortable, as if Li Youran had done something shameful and she had discovered it.
"If Sister Hongxing also wants to meet such a gentleman, tomorrow I will have Second Aunt take you to the matchmaker. There are plenty of handsome young men there, many of whom are from wealthy families."
Li Hongxing was lost in her beautiful fantasies. Upon hearing Li Youran's words, she made up her mind that she must have Li Erniang take her to find a matchmaker the next day.
"Sis, you must find a brother-in-law like this, then I can eat whatever I want!"
As Li Hongchao spoke, he stuffed some snacks into his mouth.
My parents had long ago said that they would marry my eldest sister off to a rich man, so that the family would never lack food and he wouldn't have to worry about finding a wife.
“Hongxing, you’re so beautiful, you’ll definitely marry into a wealthy family, but…”
"But what?" Li Hongxing asked nervously upon hearing Li Youran's words.
“But you’re new here, there are some things you don’t know yet.” Li Youran sighed and said, “Official families consider merchants to be the lowest of the low, while our family…”
Li Youran was only halfway through her sentence when she took out a handkerchief and pretended to wipe away her tears.
Li Hongxing suddenly realized why Li Youran, despite marrying a scholar, became a discarded wife; it turned out that in their hearts, merchants were the lowest of the low.
She had previously thought that merchants were of high status because business people had money, but it seems she was completely wrong.
Thinking of this, Li Hongxing looked at Li Youran with a hint of disdain.
She wanted to marry into a wealthy family, and the first thing she needed to do was get away from these lowly people. But right now, she was struggling to even have enough to eat. If she left, where would she go to fill her stomach?
"Every man for himself, or he'll be damned." Li Hongxing thought to herself, "It's best to get married as soon as possible, lest things get complicated."
Seeing Li Hongxing's expression, Li Youran knew that her words had had an effect, so she continued.
"In the end, it's still the wealthy families who have money. Just one of their little fingers is worth more than ten of our family's pancake shops."
Sure enough, Li Hongxing's eyes lit up after hearing Li Youran's words.
“Wang Xiangyu, if you dare to tell anyone about this, I’ll make sure you can’t leave this house lying down.”
"Do I need to tell anyone? Everyone's talking about it everywhere!"
Wang Xiangyu covered her cheek, which had just been slapped by Lu Chuan, and roared angrily.
"So that's why you were in such a hurry to marry me! It turns out your affair was exposed and you were afraid you wouldn't be able to find a wife!"
Wang Xiangyu regretted her decision as much as she had once longed to marry Lu Chuan. She never imagined that all her scheming would ultimately lead her into a trap.
She never dreamed that Lu Chuan was impotent. How come she had never heard of this in her past life? And Li Youran even gave birth to a big, healthy boy…
"I don't care what others say. As long as you insist that what they say is false, those rumors will naturally fall apart."
Lu Chuan took a deep breath and then continued.
“In a few days, I will take you to a temple in the next county to pray for a child.”
Wang Xiangyu didn't react for a moment, and by the time she did, Lu Chuan had already left.
"Lu Chuan, you're not human!" Wang Xiangyu roared.
No wonder Li Youran was able to give birth to a healthy baby boy in her previous life; it turns out she used a donor…
There is an unwritten rule here that if a couple is unable to conceive for a long time, they will take the wife to a temple to stay overnight.
The husband would cover his wife's head with a sack, then go down the mountain and wait at the foot of the mountain.
Then, in the latter half of the night, a young man would enter, and the two would consummate their marriage. During this time, the man could not utter a single word, and he would leave before dawn the next day.
After daybreak, the husband went up the mountain again to bring his wife home.
If the wife becomes pregnant, it means the husband is infertile. After the child is born, the husband will treat the child as if it were his own.
If a wife cannot conceive, she is considered infertile, and she will be divorced.
The situation took a dramatic turn, and Wang Xiangyu was so disheartened that she couldn't accept it for a while. After shouting a few curses, she fainted.
"Mother, my stomach hurts." Li Hongchao rolled on the ground clutching his stomach, pleading in agony, "Mother, please get me a doctor, I'm dying from the pain."
"Dad, hurry and get a doctor for the child!"
Seeing Li Hongchao in so much pain, Li Erniang was extremely worried. This was his lifeline! What would she do if something happened to him?
"You ate three boxes of pastries in one go, no wonder your stomach hurts." Li Youran looked at Li Hongchao, who was rolling on the ground, with disgust and said, "I advise you to be quiet for a while, otherwise your stomach will feel even worse."
"Seeing a doctor won't help, I'll just eat some hawthorn to aid digestion."
Li Erzhu's mind wasn't on his son, but on the things in front of him.
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