Chapter 416 "There are millions of men in the world. If you don't like this one, just find another."
(Thanks to Yunyun for casting a monthly vote.)
Li Qiutian, who was in her twenties and still didn't want to find a man to marry and have children, was not someone in the Li family who could force her.
With Li Shiyue's overt support for her as her elder sister, what would outside the Li family, Lijiatun, or even outside of Lijiatun dare to say anything?
Even if they wanted to say it, how could they dare to say it to Li Qiutian?
However, in Zheng Meiniang's and Li's mother's eyes, as long as Li Qiutian is willing to get engaged, that's a good thing!
Moreover, the two of them really grew to like Qin Fen more and more the more they looked at him!
Li Xiatian sometimes gets jealous of Qin Fen's affection for him.
Li Shiyue and Li Qiutian once heard Li Xiatian complain to them, "My mother and aunt treat my brother-in-law better than my husband!"
Last time we ate together, I specially gave one of the chicken legs to my brother-in-law.
I think Mother and Aunt are hoping that you and your husband will get married soon!
Li Xiatian's words, tinged with a hint of jealousy and a bit of teasing, made Li Qiutian blush.
Li Shiyue chuckled twice and said, "Sister Xia Tian, I think you're not really standing up for Jiang Huai."
You've become a mother, yet you still want your mother and aunt to favor you!
That chicken only had two legs. One was given to you, and the other was given to your brother-in-law who was having dinner at our house for the first time. But you're already being favored!
It's just a chicken leg, isn't it?
Let's get together again next time and kill a chicken!
Kill ten or eight of them, and you can have all the chicken legs!
Then I'll see if you get jealous, sister! Haha.
The three sisters took their conversation as a joke.
But this also proves from another angle just how much Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang liked Qin Fen.
According to Li Shiyue, both Jiang Huai and Qin Fen did not have parents by their side;
But all things considered, the Jiang family came from the prominent Jiang clan.
Although Jiang Huai's biological parents are gone, there are many members of the Jiang family who are related to him by blood.
What about Qin Fen?
Qin Fen truly has no relatives; he's a complete and utter loner!
Besides, Jiang Huai possessed, to some extent, the "aloofness" of a scholar;
This aloofness doesn't mean that Jiang Huai deliberately maintained his status as a scholar;
Rather, it means that Jiang Huai grew up receiving a refined and scholarly education, and he was a person who always observed proper etiquette.
Jiang Huai was a scholar, unable to do manual labor, which created a certain distance between him and village women like Zheng Meiniang and Li's mother.
And what about Qin Fen?
Qin Fen had never been to school; he didn't even know his own name, let alone how to write.
Aside from his family's hunting skills, all he had was his physical strength.
Before he got engaged to Li Qiutian, he had already sent wild boar legs to the Li family, and then sent pheasants and rabbits as well.
Ever since Qin Fen and Li Qiutian got engaged, he would travel more than ten miles to Lijiatun every few days, either to help carry water or chop firewood.
In fact, although Shitou was the only male in Li Shiyue's family, none of the women in the family were weak.
Besides, Shi Tou was used to doing household chores, such as fetching water, chopping wood, feeding the horses and donkeys, and even washing clothes by the river. He was very good at all of these.
Even though one person couldn't manage all the fields and stones of the Li family, Liu Tan, who had been appointed the new Prince of Zhenbei by the court after Li Shiyue returned from the Turks, directly promoted Li Shiyue!
Li Shiyue went directly from a sixth-rank Zhaowu Colonel to a fifth-rank Ningyuan General!
He truly deserves to be called "General Li"!
With a higher rank, the corresponding benefits will naturally increase as well.
Not only did her salary increase, but her stipend and salary also increased significantly.
The official land area has increased from four qing to over six qing!
It can be said that all the land near Lijiatun that could be allocated to Li Shiyue as official land was transferred to her name through her connections.
The number of tenant farmers on her land also increased from eighteen to thirty-eight!
Therefore, even if the Li family only has one male member, Shi Tou, they will not have to worry about spring planting and autumn harvest, as the tenant farmers on Li Shiyue's land will naturally help the Li family with the work.
Of course, Li Shiyue would have to pay the tenants more for the extra work they did.
Even without these tenant farmers, the spring planting and autumn harvest in Lijiatun in recent years have been carried out in accordance with Li Shiyue's overall plan.
There was absolutely no situation where Li Shiyue's work in the fields was delayed because there were few family members.
But Qin Fen truly devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Li family after getting engaged to Li Qiutian.
He not only came to help the Li family with tasks like carrying water and chopping firewood, but also stayed at the Li family's house during the spring planting and autumn harvest season, sharing a kang (heated brick bed) with Shi Tou.
On the land, Qin Fenqing treated himself like an ox, putting in real effort when working for the Li family!
You know what, to meet such an honest man, who is also six years younger than Li Qiutian;
How could Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang not be overjoyed? How could they not take extra care of Qin Fen?
Another reason why Li Shiyue felt that her mother and Zheng Meiniang were more willing to care about Qin Fen was because of this.
That is, on the day Qin Fen got engaged to Li Qiutian, he handed over all the money he had saved to Li Qiutian for safekeeping!
Li Qiutian naturally rejected him first.
However, Qin Fen said something quite good. He said to Li Qiutian, "From now on, I will marry into your family. You will be my wife, and I will listen to everything you say!"
Here, take these and buy whatever you want!
I know this little bit of money is nothing;
But don't worry, Autumn, I'll definitely work hard from now on!
All the money I earn in the future will be yours!
In Li Shiyue's view, Qin Fen's unreserved trust and thoughtfulness truly touched Li Qiutian!
Li Qiutian and Li Xiatian are two completely different kinds of people, and their attitudes toward relationships are completely different.
Li Xiatian is more "romantic" by nature. She cares more about men's affection for her and cherishes this "ethereal" feeling that cannot be quantified.
Or, to put it another way, what Li Xiatian needs in her relationships is a man's love; she needs love to make a living!
But Li Qiutian isn't that kind of person; her needs don't lie in that.
If she were someone like Li Xiatian, she wouldn't be in her mid-twenties in this era and still not want to get married and have children.
Li Qiutian is more concerned with reality and with her own interests in this material world.
For Li Qiutian, Qin Fen's liking for him was inexplicable.
Li Qiutian couldn't understand or believe in things like love at first sight or lust at first sight.
Therefore, Qin Fen's actual material and practical contributions to the Li family were like sending pig legs and wild game.
Help the Li family with chores;
Giving all his money to Li Qiutian is exactly what she needs!
These are the real benefits that Li Qiutian can feel!
Therefore, Li Shiyue said to Li Qiutian, "Sister, I'm afraid you'll get married next year!"
People are different, and their needs and ways of dealing with emotions and major life events will naturally differ.
Both Li's mother and Zheng Meiniang had privately told Li Shiyue about their concerns regarding the future of Li Xiatian and Li Qiutian.
Li Shiyue smiled and said to the two of them, "Why worry?"
"If you become strong, what is there to fear?"
Isn't that right?
The worst outcome is simply that the couple can't live together anymore, in which case they can get a divorce!
Are the Li family afraid they can't afford to raise their children?
Would the Li family be afraid of what others say?
Even after a divorce, what if you have children?
“My elder sisters, Li Shiyue, whether they want to marry into the family again or not, how could there be any man who doesn’t want to marry into my Li family?”
There are countless men in the world; if you don't like this one, just find another.
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