Bai Shihai and Deng Min discussed it and felt that Li Shuxian was indeed a good marriage prospect for Bai Shiqing, so they decided to try to match the two together.
After discussing it with Bai Shihai, Deng Min asked Bai Shiqing for her opinion.
Bai Shiqing's face flushed red: "Sister-in-law, what are you saying? That's not what I meant at all!"
She thought for a moment and then said, "Given my current reputation in our village, would Li Shuxian even care?"
"What's wrong with your reputation? Your affair with Zhu Shengping wasn't your fault! We've settled all ties with him anyway."
Deng Min herself wasn't sure about what she was saying. These days, dating is basically a means to get married.
"Sister-in-law, don't even think about it. Besides, how can the woman be the one to take the initiative in something like this?" Bai Shiqing said, blushing.
After thinking about it, she realized that Li Shuxian was a good marriage prospect.
Although he is the eldest son and will inevitably have to take care of his younger brothers in the future, most of them will look after themselves after they get married.
Li Shuxian has four brothers, so when it comes to taking care of her in her old age, the four families will take turns. The most important thing is that Li Shuxian is a good person. He even saved her in a heroic act last time. According to the plot of a novel, it wouldn't be far off if he offered himself to her.
Bai Shiqing had wild fantasies, but at the same time felt that this matter was unreliable.
Her family wasn't well-off, and she had dated other men before. Why would such a good young man like Li Shuxian choose her?
Deng Min said, "We're just asking around, in case Li Shuxian has designs on you too?"
What could he possibly think of me?
"They even brought you potatoes."
Bai Shiqing argued, "He would help carry it no matter who he met. He just felt sorry for me, a young girl, who couldn't carry it."
"Alright, fine."
Deng Min thought to herself that she should go and inquire about it indirectly.
Li Shuxian is of marriageable age, and if he wants to find someone from the same village, his second sister's conditions are definitely not bad.
Huang Meijuan has returned from her parents' home. I don't know how things are going at home, but she has already returned to work.
Bai Jiaojiao hadn't seen her for a week, and when they met, she was very enthusiastic: "Sister Meijuan, you've come."
"Yes, I'm here." Although Huang Meijuan's spirits were still not very high, her complexion was much better than before.
Perhaps going back to one's parents' home avoids being mistreated, which helps to boost one's energy and vitality.
"Alright, it's all over now." Bai Jiaojiao smiled. "This bean harvest will be finished soon. I wonder what kind of work we'll be assigned tomorrow."
Huang Meijuan said, "What do you care about the work? You've only done so much; others have been helping you with everything."
Bai Jiaojiao felt relieved when she heard Huang Meijuan teasing her: "I was afraid that I would hold everyone back if I relied on myself..."
Huang Meijuan smiled.
There's nothing you can do about envying Bai Jiaojiao; that's just her fate, stuck with a man like Chen Jiancheng.
However, compared to some men, Chen Jiancheng was indeed considered good.
Perhaps because she's used to being obedient, she's now taking a tougher stance at home, and Chen Jiancheng is starting to listen to what she says.
Chen Jiancheng is a spineless coward who only responds to force. He used to take Huang Meijuan's subservience for granted, but now that he knows she's not someone to mess with, all his faults have vanished.
Huang Meijuan's current worry is that her mother-in-law will cause trouble when she returns from town.
But she had made up her mind that no matter what, she would never be as submissive as before. Even if she was labeled as unfilial, she would stand up to her mother-in-law and make sure that the eldest son's share was not reduced by a single penny, and that the second son's share was not increased by any amount.
Seeing Huang Meijuan's improved appearance, Bai Jiaojiao was completely reassured about her.
But she knew that simply becoming mentally strong wasn't enough.
In a family, to have a strong backbone, one must have solid personal abilities.
If Bai Jiaojiao couldn't earn money herself, she wouldn't be able to squander Chen Heng's money so comfortably as she does now.
Bai Jiaojiao planned to do something for Huang Meijuan and other women in the village who had low social status at home, like Huang Meijuan.
However, Huang Meijuan's words made Bai Jiaojiao shudder: "My mother came to the village last time and said there's a really good young man in our village who even spoke up for her. Guess who it is?"
"who?"
“Li Shuxian! I have a little cousin who’s of marriageable age. My mother thinks Li Shuxian is a good guy and wants to arrange a marriage between them.” Huang Meijuan didn’t see the change in Bai Jiaojiao’s expression. She was just happy to herself. “If she marries into the village, I’ll have a relative in the village, and I’ll have one more person to talk to.”
"Your cousin?" Bai Jiaojiao calculated the time. "Is your cousin not feeling well?"
"How did you know?" Huang Meijuan was a little surprised, but didn't think much of it. "She is physically weak, but that doesn't stop her from working. You know our village, it's all poor families, how can we raise strong children? But my cousin is quite good-looking. She can't compare to your siblings with their thick eyebrows and big eyes, but in the village, quite a few young men want her."
Upon hearing this, Bai Jiaojiao knew without a doubt that it was the wife Li Shuxian had married before Bai Shiqing in his previous life.
She wasn't just physically weak; she was practically a terminally ill patient on her deathbed.
Bai Jiaojiao also got involved. No wonder her family wanted to dump the mess on others. Huangjiazhuang was such a poor place; how much money could anyone have for medical treatment?
"Did your mother come to propose marriage?"
“It can’t be that fast. The woman didn’t take the lead in this matter,” Huang Meijuan said. She was obviously unaware of the inside story and genuinely hoped that a related sister would marry into the family with her. “My mother told me to inquire about what kind of daughter-in-law the Li family is looking for.”
Bai Jiaojiao didn't say anything more, feeling that she needed to take action.
Regardless of whether Li Shuxian can get together with her second sister, let's help him get through this ordeal first.
As for Huang Meijuan's younger cousin, let whoever can take over this mess do so.
Bai Jiaojiao initially thought that the girl was also a pitiful person, until Huang Yingying arrived at Shili Village three days later.
Huang Meijuan was efficient; she arranged a meeting with Li Shuxian's mother within two days.
Huang Yingying came to Shili Village under the pretext of visiting her cousin, and Huang Meijuan took her to visit the Li family.
Li Shuxian returned home in a flurry at noon. He took a sip of water and walked out, completely unaware that there were no outsiders in the house.
"Where are you going, you brat?" Li's mother called out.
"Oh, Bai Shiqing's cart got stuck in the ditch. I came back to get something and will help her get it out."
"Wait a minute, can't you see we have guests?"
Li's mother called Li Shuxian to a stop, and Li Shuxian turned his head and saw a strange girl sitting in the main hall of his house.
"This is my younger sister from my own family. She came to play with me for a while," Huang Meijuan explained with a smile when she saw Li Shuxian looking on blankly.
Huang Yingying glanced at Li Shuxian, then quickly lowered her head again.
Li Shuxian immediately understood what this meant: "Mother, I promised Bai Shiqing. If I don't go, she'll have to wait for me there."
"You child... hurry up and come back!" Li's mother knew that Li Shuxian was just like his father. If they didn't let the two of them do good things, they would be so angry that they couldn't sleep at night.
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