Chapter 107 Aunt Li Makes a Divorce Proposal: "I Just Like..."
"I like you just the way you are."
As soon as Wei Ning finished speaking, he saw Ming Xi's eyebrows furrowed together, looking at him with a strange expression, as if she had seen something bizarre.
Wei Ning: "What's wrong?"
Mingxi retorted without hesitation: "Are you sick?"
Mingxi wasn't targeting Wei Ning, it's just...
Okay, she did have a bit of a target for Wei Ning, but only a bit.
Mingxi wasn't stupid; of course she could tell that Wei Ning's words weren't simply about asking her to help find a female comrade with similar conditions to herself.
She simply couldn't understand why Wei Ning would say such a thing. They weren't very close, and they basically had no contact. Why would he say something like that out of the blue, as if he were interested in her?
Mingxi was not a slow-witted person; on the contrary, she was very perceptive when it came to matters of the heart. She could tell at a glance that Wei Ning had no interest in her.
Or rather, it's interesting, but not romantic.
She could sense that Wei Ning was somewhat interested in her, but this interest wasn't romantic; he just found her interesting and fun, like the kind of interest one feels when seeing a kitten or puppy.
That's normal. Her personality is so interesting, it's normal to be attracted to her.
No, this isn't the time to be cocky. Let's get back to the point.
Mingxi was certain that Wei Ning didn't have romantic feelings for her, but it was very strange that he would come over and say such ambiguous things.
Mingxi strongly suspects that Wei Ning is ill, and seriously ill at that.
Wei Ning wasn't angry even after being scolded. He cleared his throat and said seriously, "I'm not joking, I'm serious. What do you think of me? I think I'm pretty good. Both my parents work, and I have no burdens at home. My parents have said that we'll separate from the family after I get married. Besides, my job is decent, with a monthly salary of thirty-three yuan and fifty cents."
"I'm not bragging, but honestly, I'm pretty good. My job is okay, and I have a good personality. I'm honest, family-oriented, gentle, and considerate..."
"Stop! Stop!"
Before Wei Ning could finish speaking, Ming Xi interrupted him: "You are a very nice person, but I'm sorry, I have no plans to date right now, so it's no use no matter how good your conditions are."
Wei Ning even tried to promote himself: "Why don't you reconsider yourself? I think I'm pretty good, after all, I'm good-looking."
Mingxi remained silent, staring at Wei Ning's face for a long while.
To be honest, it's hard to refute that. Wei Ning was indeed quite good-looking, tall, fair-skinned, with deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge. Even in later generations, he would be praised for having a model-like face.
However, no matter how beautiful it is, it's useless.
Mingxi: "I'm sorry, I don't have any plans to date yet. I'm my mom's only daughter, and I want to stay home and spend more time with her for the next two years."
"Okay." Wei Ning said with some regret.
When his mother urged him to find a partner, the first person he thought of was Mingxi.
As for the reason?
There wasn't any particular reason; I just thought Mingxi was an interesting person.
Mingxi: "Do you still need me to introduce you to someone?"
Wei Ning stood up: "Forget it, I'll just go back and listen to my mom's nagging. Anyway, she'll only scold me a couple of times at most, she can't bear to hit me."
He smiled, said goodbye to Mingxi, and left.
Mingxi pursed her lips as she watched his departing figure. She hated men like him who were infatuated with love, wasting her time and preventing her from making money!
Mingxi turned around and looked up to meet Zhao Sulan's eyes.
Zhao Sulan: "Xiao Wei left? I just heard Xiao Wei say that he wanted you to introduce him to someone? I also heard something else, he seemed to say that he was interested in you?"
Mingxi stared with dead fish eyes: "Mom, just say what you want to say directly, no need to beat around the bush."
"Then I'll be frank," Zhao Sulan said. "Xiao Wei is such a good kid, why did you reject him?"
Mingxi stared wide-eyed at Zhao Sulan in disbelief: "Mom?!"
Zhao Sulan: "Hey, don't shout. Seriously, Xiao Wei is good-looking and has good qualities. If he really likes you, it's not a bad idea for you to date him. Even if you don't like him or it's not interesting, you can break up. There's no need to reject him right away. You're in your twenties, which is an age where you can date."
Mingxi pouted, somewhat displeased: "Mom, I don't want to date or get married, I just want to spend my whole life with you."
Zhao Sulan patted Mingxi's forehead: "You silly child, that's what you say, but can you really stay with me for the rest of your life without dating or getting married?"
"Why not!" Mingxi was genuinely unhappy at this moment, and her words carried a hint of defiance.
"Hey, you're getting angry now. Fine, I won't say anything more."
Zhao Sulan couldn't help but laugh when she saw Mingxi pouting, her lips covered in soy sauce.
"Okay, okay, stop being stubborn. Didn't you say you wanted to eat meat pies yesterday? I bought meat today. I'll chop the filling, and you can knead the dough."
Mingxi: "Okay."
Mingxi followed Zhao Sulan into the kitchen, still feeling a little awkward.
She couldn't explain why she was angry. It might be because she had been living with Zhao Sulan ever since she transmigrated, and she had never thought about dating or getting married. But when Zhao Sulan said that today, she realized that Zhao Sulan's ideas were different from hers, and that's why she got angry.
Mingxi served two bowls of noodles and silently kneaded the dough in a corner of the kitchen, while Zhao Sulan chopped the filling with a clattering sound, also without saying a word.
Mingxi usually chatters non-stop when cooking at home, but she was quiet today, which Zhao Sulan wasn't used to. She made conversation by saying, "I wonder if Cong Kai and Bai Gong'an will end up together. I think he's quite interested in Bai Gong'an."
Cong Kai cared a lot about Bai Ling, but Bai Ling didn't agree to go out to dinner with him, so he anxiously came to Ming Xi for help.
Mingxi: "That's hard to say. Whether the two people can make it work in the end depends mainly on whether the parties involved are willing. If Bai Ling is not ready, does not want to date, and does not want to get married, then no matter how much Cong Kai cares, it will be useless."
She was ostensibly talking about the white antelope, but she was actually talking about herself.
Zhao Sulan understood what she meant. She glanced back at Mingxi, who was still looking sullen, and then turned back to mix the filling while saying, "You're still unhappy? If you haven't thought it through and don't want to date, then don't. I'm not pressuring you. I just think Xiaowei is a good match. He's good-looking and lives nearby, in the same alley. If you really get together with him, you won't be too far from me when you get married. Besides, I remember you two were quite close when you were little."
She squinted as she recalled, "I remember when you were in preschool, you would always fight to be the dad and let Xiaowei be the mom whenever you played house. You would always take the opportunity to steal a kiss from Xiaowei. Later, when the other kids didn't want to, you would fight with them. I even had to go to their house to apologize for it."
Mingxi snorted twice. This was something the original owner did, not her, so it had nothing to do with her!
She thought indignantly, "I never expected that the original owner, who looked so well-behaved, was actually a huge lecher, and now I have to take the blame!"
Zhao Sulan got back to the main point: "But if you haven't thought it through yet, it's okay if you don't want to date. Nowadays, young people tend to marry and have children later in life. You're still young, so it doesn't matter if you think about it for a few more years."
Mingxi felt somewhat powerless upon hearing this.
She traveled back from the future, and her views were different from Zhao Sulan's. For her, marriage was not a necessity; she could live a good life on her own without getting married. When she said that not getting married meant sharing a pot with Zhao Sulan and her daughter for life, she truly meant it.
But Zhao Sulan is different. She is a person of this era, so she feels that she still has to get married. Even though she loves Mingxi and doesn't want Mingxi to get married early, she still thinks that Mingxi can give it a try when there is a suitable person.
Moreover, Mingxi could tell that Zhao Sulan was quite worried about Mingxi finding a partner. Zhao Sulan was a matchmaker; she had been doing this for over twenty years, and she had a good standard for what constituted a good partner. Mingxi's circumstances weren't bad. She was good-looking, had a high school diploma, and an office job—her qualifications were already quite good.
However, her family's financial situation is a major obstacle. She comes from a single-parent family, and Mingxi is her only daughter. Mingxi will undoubtedly be responsible for Zhao Sulan's care in her old age. For many men, Zhao Sulan, as a mother-in-law, is a burden. Considering this, finding a partner won't be easy for Mingxi.
This is also why Zhao Sulan felt it was a pity when she saw Mingxi reject Wei Ning today. Wei Ning practically grew up under Zhao Sulan's watchful eye, and she knew he was a good child who would definitely not look down on her as a burden.
To be honest, the conflict between Zhao Sulan and Mingxi is a clash of ideas between two generations. It's not Zhao Sulan's fault, nor is it Mingxi's fault.
But with that feeling stuck in her throat, Mingxi just couldn't shake it off. She said defiantly, "What if I'm over thirty and still not married or dating? Are you going to force me to get married too? Force me to just marry anyone?"
Zhao Sulan looked at Mingxi as if she were an idiot: "Of course not. I'm making you find someone and get married because I'm afraid that after I'm gone, no one will be able to take care of you, and you'll be all alone. But the premise is that you really like that person. If I force you to date and marry someone you don't like, what kind of person would I be?"
She said, "I'll say it again: if you meet someone you like who's a good match, you can give it a try. Don't worry about what will happen to me after we get married. I'm an adult, I can manage on my own. If you can't find someone you like, then don't date!"
Hearing this, the anger that Mingxi had been holding in gradually dissipated.
She moved closer to Zhao Sulan, hugged Zhao Sulan's arm, pressed her face against Zhao Sulan's shoulder, and said coquettishly, "Mom, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been angry with you just now."
Zhao Sulan patted Mingxi's head: "Why are you still saying all those polite, empty words to your mother?"
Mingxi rubbed her face against her shoulder without saying a word.
The mother and daughter cuddled for a while, then Zhao Sulan looked down and said, "Daughter, the noodles on your hands have all gotten on me."
Mingxi chuckled, but didn't let go.
Zhao Sulan: "Let go, it's time to cook, otherwise it will be dark by the time we eat."
Mingxi then let go and went back to kneading the dough obediently.
This time, Mingxi wasn't going to hold a grudge against Zhao Sulan, and she started chatting away with Zhao Sulan: "I went out to see Cong Kai off just now, and Aunt He and the others were gathered together talking about dividing the family property."
Zhao Sulan wasn't surprised; quite a few families in the alley had recently split up their households.
This is also a new era, a new concept.
Nowadays, young people are unwilling to live with their elders after getting married; they prefer to move out and live alone as a couple.
It wasn't like this before. People like Zhao Sulan and her generation were alright, but the generation before them, it was true that as long as their parents were alive, they would never separate their households. No matter how old they were, the whole family would stay together.
If the elderly live long lives, then it's truly a large family, with dozens of people all crammed together and inseparable.
However, when it comes to separating the family, there are bound to be those who are willing and those who are not. When Zhao Sulan was working in the cafeteria, she heard many of her colleagues complain that nowadays, children have no conscience. Once they get married, they forget their mothers and want to separate the family as soon as they get married, not wanting to live with their elders.
Zhao Sulan: "What, did Aunt He and the others complain?"
Mingxi: "No, it seems like our department doesn't care too much about that."
In fact, most families in their courtyard separate after marriage. Even if they don't completely separate, they don't do what the Lin family did, where the children hand over all their wages to the public school. They usually only receive living expenses and pension money.
Zhao Sulan: "Your Aunt Ma has set a good example."
Grandma Ma's children were the first among the younger generation in the neighborhood to get married. After her eldest son got married, Grandma Ma asked the neighborhood committee to come and divide the family property. The division of the family property did not mean the division of the household. The rule was that each household would pay a living allowance every month, and the remaining salary would be kept by the individual.
At first, the people in the courtyard didn't understand what Grandma Ma was doing. They said that if she did this without the help of elders, the family would definitely not be united.
But after Aunt Ma's children got married, their relationship was not affected at all. On the contrary, because they no longer had to calculate who would get more or less, their relationship became even better.
In contrast, the other families insisted on living together with their children, resulting in constant chaos and disorder.
Seeing this, everyone followed Aunt Ma's example and separated the family property as soon as their children got married.
After the family separated, it really worked. Although conflicts were still inevitable when living together, it was much more peaceful than before when they had to nitpick about everything.
Therefore, separating the family property as soon as they get married has become a tradition in their courtyard.
Mingxi: "Aunt Ma is truly wise."
Zhao Sulan: "Your Aunt Li is the same. She followed Old Ma closely, and separated from the family as soon as her eldest son got married."
Mingxi: "It's true, Li Dama's family was one of the first to separate their households. And she was really good to her daughter-in-law. When the young wives in our neighborhood got together and gossiped about their mothers-in-law, Li Dama's daughter-in-law never said a bad word about her. She always said that her mother-in-law was good."
If only outsiders think the mother-in-law is good, that's nothing special; there are plenty of people who can put on an act. But if even the daughter-in-law herself can't say anything bad about her, then that's truly remarkable.
Zhao Sulan sighed and said, "It's all because your Aunt Li suffered too much at the hands of her wicked mother-in-law when she was young. She said she didn't want her daughter-in-law to suffer the same hardships she did when she was young."
Mingxi remarked with emotion, "Aunt Li is still the kindest."
"That's right..."
As they talked, Zhao Sulan took out all the pies and instructed Mingxi to ignite the stove so she could bake the pies.
Making pancakes is quick.
Zhao Sulan rolled the dough thinly, and with a strong fire, each pie took two minutes on one side and two minutes on the other, then flipped it twice more, and it was almost done. Zhao Sulan made one batch at a time, four pies per batch, and soon the steaming hot pies were ready.
She quickly made an egg drop soup, picked out a dish of pickled cucumbers, and told Mingxi to set out the plates and bowls for dinner.
Mingxi rubbed her hands together, sat down, picked up a pie, and was about to take a bite when she suddenly heard a commotion outside the courtyard.
Mingxi craned her neck to look outside the courtyard: "What's wrong?"
Zhao Sulan: "It sounds like noises coming from the front yard. Who's arguing?"
Mingxi stood up, went outside, listened intently for a while, then turned back: "I think I heard Aunt Li's voice? And Uncle Sun's voice too. Could it be that these two are arguing?"
Mingxi found it funny as she spoke.
Aunt Li was the most mild-mannered woman in the neighborhood. She spoke softly and rarely argued with anyone. Uncle Sun was Aunt Li's timid husband, and he was even more of a quiet type, barely uttering a sound. He spoke little in the neighborhood, let alone argued with anyone.
How could two people like that possibly start arguing?
Zhao Sulan listened carefully for a while and then realized something was wrong.
"I can hear Lao Li and Lao Sun's voices too."
"Huh?" Mingxi's mouth formed an "o" shape. How could Aunt Li be arguing with Grandpa Sun? She took a bite of her pie and said, "I'll go to the front yard to see what's going on."
Zhao Sulan: "Wait a minute, I'll go take a look too."
Mingxi quickly made her way to the front yard, where she saw a crowd gathered in front of the Li family's house. She immediately spotted her gossipy old friend, Aunt He, in the crowd. Mingxi, munching on a pie, approached her and asked, "Aunt He, what's going on here?"
Aunt He turned her head and first saw the greasy meat pie in Mingxi's hand: "Hey, meat pie, Mingxi, your family's meal today is pretty good."
Mingxi: "My mom made these today, quite a lot. If you don't mind, I'll bring you a few later."
Aunt He waved her hand: "Never mind then, we'll stew meat at home today."
Mingxi: "Tsk tsk, and you're still criticizing me? Your family's meal today was pretty good too."
Aunt He: "It's autumn, time to fatten up for winter."
Mingxi chuckled twice, pointed at the Li family's house, and asked, "What's going on here?"
Aunt He: "Oh, I don't know. I just came over because I heard the noise. I heard Old Li and Old Sun arguing fiercely."
As if in agreement with Aunt He, a fierce argument erupted in the room the next second.
“Li Chunzhi, are you being unreasonable? That’s my mother, my own mother. How can you expect me, as her son, to just stand by and watch my own mother drown in sewage? How can I be considered a human being?”
"Are you being unreasonable or am I being unreasonable? You can see how she treated me before. In the dead of winter, when the water was frozen, she forced me to wash the sheets and duvet covers with cold water. My hands were covered in chilblains, and they still haven't healed!"
"Who hasn't gotten chilblains on their hands while working? Besides, that happened so many years ago. My mother is no longer here. What's the point of bringing this up?"
"Your mother isn't even here, why do you still insist on spending so much money!"
"You're being unreasonable! I can't be bothered to argue with you!"
"Then don't even think about getting money from me!"
Then came a series of loud smashing sounds, interspersed with the sounds of men and women arguing.
Sensing that things were not going well, Aunt Ma took the lead in advising, "Old Li, Old Sun, don't argue, and if you do argue, don't fight. Talk it out. If it really doesn't work, open the door and we'll be the judge."
"Yes, yes, Lao Li, Lao Sun, you two should talk things out..."
Everyone shouted from outside, and the person inside heard the noise and opened the door. Inside, Aunt Li was sitting angrily at the table, surrounded by a mess of broken glass and bowls. It seemed that she had smashed everything on the table in the heat of an argument.
When Grandpa Sun opened the door and saw so many people standing there, his face stiffened for a moment. He then forced a smile and said, "I'm sorry, everyone. My wife is being unreasonable and we had a fight. I'm sorry to have worried you all. Don't worry, we're fine."
Grandma Ma frowned and glanced at Grandma Li. Seeing that Grandma Li had no injuries, she was somewhat relieved, but her gaze towards Grandpa Sun was still unpleasant. She said, "You can't say that, Grandpa Sun. Since we've all come here, we're here to help you resolve your conflict. Come on, tell me, why did you argue with Grandpa Li today?"
Grandpa Sun stammered, "It's nothing, it's not a big deal."
Aunt Li snorted coldly upon hearing this: "Tell me, why don't you say it now? When you told me to take out my secret savings to relocate your mother's grave, you were so confident. Why are you embarrassed to say it now? Are you afraid of losing face if outsiders find out?"
hiss!
Everyone found this strange.
Grandpa Sun's biological mother passed away a long time ago. Because Grandpa Sun's family was from a rural area in the suburbs, and it was only in his generation that they moved to the city, after Grandpa Sun's biological mother passed away, she was buried back in the village's ancestral graveyard.
Why does Grandpa Sun suddenly want to move his mother's grave after she has been buried in the ancestral grave for so many years?
Let Aunt Li use her own savings.
It all seems so strange. Could it be that Grandpa Sun is just making up some excuse to swindle Grandma Li out of her savings?
Sensing the suspicious looks from the crowd, Grandpa Sun's face turned ashen. He turned around and roared, "Can't you be reasonable? I'm asking you for money because my second son is getting married soon and we don't have enough money. I'm moving my mother's grave because it's leaking!"
oh!
That makes sense to everyone. Aunt Li has two sons. Her eldest son got married a few years ago and moved out. Her second son started dating someone a few years ago and has been saying that he wants to get married.
Aunt Li and her husband were indeed short of money because of this situation.
However, Mingxi still felt something was wrong. How much would it cost to repair a leaky grave? Even if it was so serious that the grave needed to be moved, it wouldn't cost much.
And if that were the case, Aunt Li wouldn't be so angry, right?
Mingxi tilted her head, indicating that she did not understand.
Aunt Li was so angry she was panting heavily: "You sure know how to talk, but if you're so capable, tell the truth!"
With red-rimmed eyes and tears welling up, she looked at the crowd at the door and said, "Everyone's here, please help me judge this. I, Li Chunzhi, am not an unreasonable person. If this guy surnamed Sun really just wanted to move his mother's grave because it was leaking, and he didn't have enough money, I could just ask him to contribute some. But no! I don't know which bastard he listened to, but he wants to spend a thousand yuan to buy his mother a supposedly auspicious burial plot in the village, and another five hundred yuan for a funeral, saying he wanted to make up for the lack of a grand funeral back then. If he could pay for it himself, that would be fine, but he doesn't have enough money, so he wants to take my savings!"
"Why should I? That old woman was never kind to me when she was alive, and now she wants me to pay for her funeral? I won't do it! If she insists on making me pay, I'd rather get a divorce!"
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