Chapter 368 Men Marry Women
The third day of the Lunar New Year is a very important day for women.
It is the day when married women return to their parents' home with their husbands and children.
When Li San Niang came over from Fang Chengxian's place, the table in the main hall of the Li family was filled with all kinds of boxes and other items.
Li's mother stood there, carefully gesturing with her hands to count the pile of things.
Sister-in-law Li and Sister-in-law Li stood aside listening to Li's mother say, "This is cakes, bought from Xiang Gui Ji. This is fabric, for your brothers' wives. Hu Tou and the others have troubled them a lot with their martial arts training."
Li's mother then said to Li's second sister-in-law, "This bundle contains medicine that can be taken after catching a cold. It's fine to give medicine to other people, but we can't give it to them. If you give it to your brother, since we are close relatives, then it's fine."
Kogoro, you shouldn't take him back. The round trip takes a long time, and if the child gets cold, it will be a loss.
You leave Kogoro here; I'll take him with me today.
Turning back, Li's mother said to Wu Qiaolan and Baoya, who were going back to the village with Li's second brother and sister-in-law, "Even though it's just the two of you left at home, you should still go and pay your respects to your uncles, aunts, and in-laws."
"Take these things," Li's mother said, feigning anger as she saw Wu Qiaolan try to refuse. "What kind of relationship do you have with your mother? Just treat this place as your own home. I've only prepared a few gifts for you; just accept them."
After much persuasion and giving each of them a thorough dressing check, and seeing that all four children were dressed neatly, especially the disobedient Xiao Silang who was wearing a hat, Li's mother finally let them leave.
Li San Niang led Lu Zhu'er and Li's mother out to see the two groups of people off. After watching them all walk away, she went home.
The carriage was driven by Li Erxiong, since they needed to go to the outskirts of Chang'an, which was far away and had many people, so it was more convenient to drive by carriage.
Since Sister-in-law Li's family, the Jiang family, lived in the inner city, they could easily hail a taxi on the street, as it was convenient.
Back in the main hall, including Li's father, mother, and Xiao Wulang, along with Li Sanniang and Luzhu'er who were already at her parents' home, as well as Qiuxiang and Shijiu who were with Li Sanniang, a total of seven people sat together, eating snacks and chatting.
Li San Niang was holding a handful of watermelon seeds, which someone had brought with them a few days ago when they delivered New Year's gifts to the Li family.
This stuff is really just for the taste; there's only a tiny bit of meat inside, so it's not very tasty.
But Li San Niang continued peeling the melon seeds with great concentration, placing each peeled seed in a small dish, while Lu Zhu'er sat obediently to the side, waiting.
Li's mother couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she pushed the plate of snacks toward Lu Zhu'er, saying, "Zhu'er, eat this. If your mother waits until it gets dark to get you a whole plate."
"Sigh, the thought of my dewdrops going to someone else's house in the future makes my heart ache."
Li San Niang peeled a small, shallow dish and placed it in front of Lu Zhu'er, letting her grab it and eat it.
Li San Niang touched the dewdrop's hair and sighed.
It's important to understand that, not only in the Tang Dynasty at that time, but even in modern society, most women, after marriage, would live with their husbands, and some would even live with their husbands' parents.
Even if they are not together, they should go to the man's house first for this important traditional festival.
Just like during the Lunar New Year, it's not always the case that you have to go to the groom's family first before you can go back to your parents' home.
The term "maternal home" is used to refer to the place where a woman's parents live after she gets married, as if that place is no longer her own home.
Li's mother only had one daughter, Li San Niang, but Li San Niang divorced and returned home after only a few years of marriage. She did not want to remarry, so she would basically live with Li's parents for the rest of her life.
This means that they never leave home or their parents.
Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year, the day for daughters-in-law to return to their parents' home. As the mother-in-law of both of her daughters-in-law, Li's mother bought a lot of things as gifts for them to take back to their parents' home in order to show how much she values them.
You're just never satisfied.
You've already divorced. People like your eldest and second sisters-in-law can only go home during holidays and when their parents celebrate their birthdays.
Your second sister-in-law's family is outside the city, far away, and not very cheap.
Even if your sister-in-law's family is in the city, she still has to count the days before she can go home.
In our family, mothers and sons are treated equally, but that's not how it is outside.
Li's mother felt that Li San Niang was ungrateful, since every girl goes through the same thing.
How could we possibly prevent Dewdrop from getting married?
"Mother, what do you think? Should I find a son-in-law for Dewdrop?"
Li San Niang thought about the current laws, realizing that it was unacceptable for someone to reach a certain age without getting married or taking a wife, as that would result in paying more taxes.
Moreover, Li San Niang was very self-aware; ultimately, individual strength is no match for the larger environment.
When Luzhu grows up, she will definitely get married. Even if Li Sanniang is willing to spend more money to pay more taxes, what will the outside world say about Luzhu?
Unless, like Lu Zhu'er and Sun Midwife's granddaughter Chunlan (who appears in Chapter 276), they have a physical ailment that prevents them from having children, and they report this to the authorities, they can avoid being forced into marriage because they are too old to marry.
Besides, who knows if the dewdrop will meet a handsome man she likes in the future and then want to get married?
"No, this won't do."
Look at Granny Yang's family in the beginning. She married the youngest son of a family in the countryside who had many brothers and never had enough to eat. But what happened after that?
They still came knocking on my door, demanding this and that.
What proud young man would willingly become someone's son-in-law?
Dewdrop's cheeks puffed up as she happily ate the melon seeds that Li San Niang had peeled for her. Her big eyes sparkled with joy at the delicious treat.
Dewdrop was only three years old and had no idea what Li San Niang meant by being reluctant to part with her, so she continued to eat happily.
"I think when Lulu is a little older, we should be firm and ask my elder brother to teach her martial arts."
As long as a woman is healthy, she will have to give birth to children and face the dangers of death. Having a good physique is ultimately a good thing.
Li's mother looked embarrassed. She really didn't expect that Lu Zhu'er was only three years old, and Li San Niang was already thinking about Lu Zhu'er's future marriage and children.
Li's father, who had remained silent until now, nodded in agreement: "Third Sister is right. It's better for the mother to be healthy, whether it's for pregnancy and childbirth or anything else. Being in good physical condition is always a good thing."
Li's father's approval gave Li San Niang more confidence, but Li's mother rolled her eyes at Li's father, disapproving of his idle talk.
Normally, Li's father wouldn't dare to spread wings, since Li's mother is still the head of the Li family.
But today, Li's father did not remain silent. He nodded and said, "What Third Sister said makes sense. If I had known that Third Sister was born, I should have thought of this. I should have had Eldest Brother teach her martial arts when she was a child."
Li San Niang was stunned. She really didn't expect that her father would agree to her words because he was thinking about the time when she was born.
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