"Ten...ten jin of sweet potatoes!"
Upon hearing this, Old Lady Li nearly jumped up.
"What did you say? Ten pounds of sweet potatoes? Did I hear that right, old woman?"
"Me? My family is poor, and I've never been able to afford to get married. That's why I'm thinking of marrying a second-hand woman!"
The man chuckled and wiped his nose with his patched-up sleeve.
"Secondhand? Even a one-time purchase wouldn't be this cheap!"
Old Mrs. Li spat, nearly spitting a mouthful of yellow phlegm onto the man's face.
Li Erhan took a step back, avoiding the old woman's yellow phlegm, and suddenly his eyes widened, his whole demeanor showing no fear: "You old woman, do you think your daughter is still a virgin? How old is she? Only I, Li Laohan, who has never had a wife, don't mind. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't want her even if I offered them a dowry."
"What's wrong with my daughter? Look at her, her bottom is so big, and she's already given birth to several sons. Why don't you take her back and have her give you a big, healthy son?"
“Let me tell you, there aren’t many women like my daughter who are guaranteed to have sons. Besides, my daughter is in high demand right now. Don’t even bother showing up in front of me without a proper dowry.”
The old woman from the Li family pushed the man, who swallowed hard. He was so old, could he really still have a son?
"Mother, what did you mean just now?"
Li Aidi only just came to her senses. She never expected that her mother would be looking for a new husband for her so soon after she returned.
"What do you mean? You good-for-nothing, you think you can just eat and drink for free at my house?"
"Didn't I...Han Qiang give you a thousand catties of grain?"
Li Aidi said weakly that if she were to eat this thousand catties of grain herself, it would last her for several years.
"Was that for you? Not because you're a good-for-nothing? Your brothers are both bedridden. Don't they need to see a doctor? Don't they need to eat?"
"But I'm already so old, and you still want me to remarry?"
The key issue is that the man that Old Lady Li chose for her was older than she looked.
"You're lucky someone even wants you, why are you making so many demands?"
Listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter, Li Er chuckled: "Your daughter is too old. I only have ten pounds of sweet potatoes. If you don't want them, fine."
He had figured it out: where would he get so much food at home?
Besides, if there really is an abundance of grain, wouldn't it be better for him to buy a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl? Why would he want an old woman?
"You... want to marry my daughter with ten pounds of sweet potatoes? That's impossible. But you can take her back and stay for half a month..."
The old woman's words left Li Aidi completely dumbfounded. What did she mean? Was she taking her back to stay for half a month?
Li Erhan actually started to think about it. After hesitating for a moment, he nodded and said, "Half a month is too short. A month is better."
“Alright, one month it is.” This time, Old Lady Li did not refuse.
"I disagree!" Li Aidi hurriedly tried to stop her, but what awaited her was a loud "slap" as a hard slap landed on her face.
"You good-for-nothing! I'm already being kind by finding you a place to eat, what more do you want!"
Li Erhan hurriedly pulled Li Aidi up, intending to leave.
Old Mrs. Li hurriedly followed; her daughter had already left, and she needed to retrieve the grain.
Li Erhan was also from Lijiazhuang, an old bachelor, and he didn't live too far away. Soon, the group arrived at her house.
Along the way, Li Aidi made a fuss, and the villagers pointed and whispered, but no one went up to help her.
"Your daughter deserves it. She couldn't live a good life and had to make trouble. Now look what happened, she's been sent back home."
"That's right, her husband is an official."
In the eyes of the villagers, the village head was also a minor official.
"Serves her right. What is that old woman from the Li family trying to do? Is she going to give her to Li Erhan?"
"You're overthinking it. That old woman is a vampire; how could she bear to give her away?"
...
The crowd whispered among themselves, but Old Lady Li ignored them all. After following Li Erhan home, she asked him for some sweet potatoes, left them there, and went home.
Li Aidi was thrown onto the dirty kang (a heated brick bed), and Li Erhan, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth, pounced on her fiercely.
"Ah, no..."
Li Aidi struggled frantically, but unfortunately, she was an old woman who hadn't had enough to eat for a long time, so she didn't have any strength.
Let alone resisting, she was so badly thrown that her vision is still blurring.
...
"Mom, my leg still hurts. Should we get another doctor to come and take a look?"
At this moment, in the old woman's room, her three sons were lying side by side, while their wives were hiding in their own rooms, coaxing the children, and none of them came over.
The main problem was that the smell in Old Lady Li's house was too strong.
The three of them dared not move their legs, and they ate, drank, and relieved themselves on the kang (a heated brick bed). How could it not smell?
Moreover, with the three of them together, it would be inconvenient for any of their wives to come and serve them.
The old woman from the Li family wanted them to go back to their own house, but her daughter-in-law made all sorts of excuses, saying that the child was too young to stand the smell.
In the end, all three of them were in Old Lady Li's room.
Yesterday, when Li Aidi was still at home, she naturally took care of the servants. But now that Li Aidi is gone—no, she's been sold off—there's no one to take care of her three eldest sons anymore.
The old woman from the Li family had to do it herself. The eldest son said his legs hurt, and the other two sons were also arguing, saying their legs were uncomfortable.
That day, when they returned from Hutouya Village, they only had the village doctor come to take a look and give them a rough bandage. The doctor said the leg injury was too severe and it would probably be difficult to recover.
When the old woman from the Li family was about to make a scene, the village headman told her, "Instead of wasting your time making a scene, you might as well go and find them a better doctor."
If the village doctor can't handle it, you can go to the town. What's the use of this old woman making a scene at home?
You know what, the old lady from the Li family still listens to the village head. She even went to town, but unfortunately, the most skilled doctor in town is Doctor Xu.
But even though Dr. Xu was in Hutouya Village, people there had said they wouldn't help her family with their medical treatment.
The other doctor, surnamed Wu, was also quite skilled. Knowing her situation, Doctor Wu stroked his beard and said, "If the leg is completely broken, there's nothing I can do. Even if it's forcibly reattached, the person will be lame for life."
These words chilled Li's wife to the bone.
Their family originally had three strong men, but suddenly they became three cripples. Who could bear that?
She tried to throw a tantrum again, but unfortunately, Dr. Wu wasn't having any of it.
The servants chased her out, and the old woman from the Li family returned to the village dejectedly. She then went to fetch the village doctor, gave him ten catties of grain, and asked the doctor to make sure he treated her three sons well.
However, the doctor's medical skills were limited, and he said that I would have to lie on the kang (a heated brick bed) for a hundred days, and my legs would probably become lame.
Old Mrs. Li gave Han Qiang another good scolding, but unfortunately everyone pretended not to hear it, and no one dared to continue causing trouble in Hutouya Village.
"Mom, please get a doctor to take a look at me again. My leg really hurts."
The second brother also shouted.
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