"I didn't wait long, I just arrived. You bought a lot of things, let me help you." Li Meng said as he took the things from Qi Xinlan's hand.
"Brother Li, thank you for today. I'll treat you to a meal. I'm hungry too." Qi Xinlan said with a smile.
"Then I won't be polite." Li Meng said with a silly smile.
When they walked into the state-owned restaurant, there were only a few people there. When the waiter saw them come in, he raised his eyes slightly and said in an impatient tone, "What do you want to eat?"
"Do you have braised pork?" Qi Xinlan was not angry. The waiters in state-owned restaurants are quite arrogant now, and the current market is in short supply, so there is no shortage of consumers. In a few years, a large number of working-class people will go into business, and state-owned enterprises such as supply and marketing cooperatives and state-owned restaurants will gradually withdraw from the market.
"No, only dumplings and noodles." The waiter said in an extremely impatient tone.
"Then give me two bowls of dumplings." Qi Xinlan said lightly.
After ordering food, Qi Xinlan and Li Meng found a relatively clean seat and sat down.
"Brother Li, I don't know if the dumplings are enough for you. How about waiting a moment, I'll go out and buy some buns." Qi Xinlan thought about Xu Minghao's appetite. As a soldier, Li Meng should have a big appetite too, and the dumplings might not be enough for him.
"Sister-in-law, it's okay. There's enough to eat. Their dumplings are very big. I'm usually full after eating one bowl." Li Meng said with a smile.
"Brother Li, do you come to town often?" Qi Xinlan asked.
"Not really. It's mainly because I have a buddy who works at the police station. Every time I come to town, I will chat with him." Li Meng replied.
"Brother Li, can I ask you for a favor?" Qi Xinlan's eyes lit up when she heard the word police station.
"Sister-in-law, what's the matter? As long as I can do it, I can definitely do it for you." Li Meng said, patting his chest.
"That's right, that's right... I have a sister who met a man named Xiao Feng. He said that the factory director is his cousin-in-law. If I want to work in the textile factory, I have to pay 100 yuan. My sister's family situation is not very good, so she is hesitating. I think your brother is in the police station. Can you help us check whether it is true?" Qi Xinlan pretended to be nervous.
"Okay, leave it to me. I'll give you an answer tomorrow." Li Meng thought it was a small matter. He could handle it himself without his brothers' help.
"Thank you so much." Qi Xinlan said happily.
As soon as she finished speaking, the waiter brought up two bowls of dumplings. Just as Li Meng said, the dumplings were really big, one dumpling was as big as her palm.
After finishing their meal, Qi Xinlan and Li Meng did not linger any longer. Instead, they called an ox cart and slowly headed home.
When I got home, I was hit by a bolt from the blue.
The Li family came to cancel the engagement!
The Li family is Sister Taozi's family. Why would Sister Taozi break off the engagement? She likes my brother so much?
This kind of thing never happened in my previous life. Could it be that it happened when I ran away from my marriage? Is it just because of my rebirth that the butterfly effect has been brought forward?
No matter what, she has to find out what's going on!
The atmosphere at home was extremely depressing. Qi Guohui chain-smoked, his face etched with worry. Zhao Lan was equally gloomy, and Qi Xinwei, needless to say, had locked himself in his room for the entire day without coming out.
"Mom and Dad, what's going on? Why did the Li family cancel the engagement?" Qi Xinlan couldn't stand this atmosphere and couldn't help asking.
"I don't know. First, Xiaotao came to ask Xinwei to go out. Xinwei was cheerful when he went out, but his face turned bad when he came back. He even locked himself in the room for a whole day without eating or drinking." Zhao Lan sighed.
"Since they look down on us, there's nothing wrong with quitting." Qi Guohui's face was serious, and there was a hint of anger in his tone.
"How could that be?" Qi Xinlan looked puzzled. She didn't believe it. If the Li family looked down on their family, why would they agree to the engagement in the first place?
"Of course not. I heard that a family in Chenjia Village fell in love with Li Tao and was willing to pay a betrothal gift of 800 yuan. So the Li family couldn't wait to come to cancel the engagement. Since they don't like our family, we won't stop them from making money." Qi Guohui smoked his pipe and became angrier and angrier as he spoke.
"I don't believe it. I'll go find Sister Taozi." Qi Xinlan's first reaction was disbelief. She didn't know much about the Li family, but she believed in Sister Taozi's feelings for her eldest brother.
"Then go find it." Qi Guohui said expressionlessly.
Seeing this, Qi Xinlan immediately ran out of the house.
"Sister Taozi..., Sister Taozi..., are you... there?" Qi Xinlan ran all the way here without even taking a breath, and when she stopped, she was a little out of breath.
"What are you doing here? Do you want to go back on your word?" A woman with a bad face came over. This person was Cai Hong, Li Tao's mother.
"Aunt Cai, I want to look for Sister Taozi. Is Sister Taozi at home?" Qi Xinlan didn't care about the other party's unfriendly tone and continued to ask.
"Why are you looking for Taozi? Taozi is not here, go back quickly. I tell you, since the engagement has been cancelled, you can't go back on your word." Cai Hong glanced at the door nervously, and while speaking, she pushed Qi Xinlan out.
"I don't believe it. Sister Taozi will never agree to cancel the engagement. She likes my brother so much. Are you forcing Sister Taozi?" Qi Xinlan saw Cai Hong glancing into the room and guessed that Sister Taozi was at home, so she spoke louder.
"You..." Cai Hong was about to curse when she was interrupted by a voice.
"Mom, please let her in." Sister Xiaotao's voice came from inside the room, but it was very cold, like frost in winter...
"But..." Cai Hong said hesitantly.
"Don't worry, I won't regret it since I promised."
When Qi Xinlan heard their conversation, she felt more and more that there was something fishy going on.
Qi Xinlan pushed open the door and saw Sister Taozi sitting on the bed, staring out the window with lifeless eyes, tears silently streaming down her sad face...
"Sister Taozi, what happened? Can you tell me?" Qi Xinlan felt a pain in her heart when she saw Sister Taozi like this.
"Lan Zi... tell your brother that I am the one who has let him down in this life, and ask him to forget me..." Sister Taozi said with a choked voice.
"I won't tell you. You can tell me what's going on. Maybe I can help you." Qi Xinlan's eyes were a little moist. No one knew better than her how much Sister Taozi loved her elder brother!
"Lan Zi, go away. You can't help me." Sister Taozi hugged her legs with both hands, curled up like a hedgehog, her shoulders trembling slightly, and occasional sobs could be heard.
"Sister Taozi..." Sister Taozi didn't want to talk. Qi Xinlan had no choice but to hug Sister Taozi and silently give her strength, hoping that Sister Taozi would calm down and tell her the truth.
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