The people of Pinghe Village were also busy. Da Xiong led a few people in a raft to the middle of the lake to cast nets and catch fish, in preparation for the village's collective wedding.
The elderly and children who remained in the village were all sitting in their courtyards sorting through the peanuts and beans they had harvested. Even the square where they usually chatted and played was almost deserted.
However, some people are getting anxious at home. The time for the group wedding is fast approaching, but their life's most important event is still unresolved, making them so anxious that they are jumping up and down at home.
Yun Zhiming ignored the mother and daughter running around in the yard and sat down in the yard to sort through the bean pods.
"Awu, can't you help me see if there's anything suitable? If Xiaoying keeps delaying, she'll only be able to marry someone else." Li Rongrong moved a stool over and sat down next to him to discuss it.
Yun Mingwu looked up at her and said, "We agreed before that I would no longer get involved in these matters, but I still want to advise you to try to find someone in another village. After the last incident, almost no one in the village is coming to propose marriage anymore."
After these days of setbacks, Li Rongrong had come to understand this principle, but she was still somewhat unwilling to give up. "You've been the village chief for so long, and Xiaoying isn't related to anyone in the village by blood. If all else fails, we can look within the clan."
Hearing her words, Yun Mingwu didn't even look at her anymore. "I don't have that much influence. If you two have your eye on either of them, go and talk to them yourselves."
"Why are you so vengeful? Wasn't the matter settled last time? We even made concessions. As family, can't you help us out?" Li Rongrong's tone became somewhat unpleasant after being rejected repeatedly.
"But I see that you have no remorse at all, and you're setting such high standards without even considering your own circumstances." Yun Mingwu was a little angry when he said this. To be honest, he also wanted to marry off his stepdaughter as soon as possible, but he needed the other party's cooperation.
“Xiaoying’s own conditions are no worse than Liping’s. She can’t find someone worse than her, can she? Look at the men who come to propose marriage, they are all much older, or from other villages. No wonder Xiaoying doesn’t like them.”
Yun Mingwu still heard Li Rongrong's low muttering. "I told you before not to compare everything. Is that why you deliberately withheld Liping's blanket last time?"
Li Rongrong immediately flew into a rage upon hearing this, "What do you mean by 'detaining'? I was the one who took the goods to exchange them back, how can you change your mind like this? What will happen when Xiaoying gets married?"
"When you exchanged the items, did you make a promise to your sister-in-law? Did you keep it?" Yun Mingwu was angry when he talked about this. He remembered that his older brother had called him outside and even said that he would use 10% more supplies to exchange for the quilt. His face turned red at that time.
"Didn't we already return it to them? Why are we still talking about this? We're talking about Xiaoying's wedding now." Li Rongrong didn't want to continue the conversation either, and because of this incident, her neighbors were barely paying attention to her anymore.
Yun Mingwu shook his head. "I can't help you, but I can give you a suggestion. You'd better find someone in one of the nearby villages as soon as possible. If all the good partners are taken, you'll only be able to marry someone far away."
“But I only have one daughter. If I let her marry far away, she won’t care about anything. When we get old, we won’t even have anyone to talk to.” Li Rongrong looked at the couples in the village and the dwindling number of eligible young men and women, and she became anxious.
Upon hearing her words, Yun Mingwu gave her a deep look and said nothing more.
Seeing that Yun Mingwu ignored her no matter what she said, Li Rongrong felt somewhat bored and went to her room to find her daughter.
Liu Qingying had actually been standing by the door the whole time, quietly listening to the voices outside, but she never heard her stepfather promise to help her reconcile. So she went back and sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in a huff. When her mother came in, she was sitting there sulking.
"Yingying! If all else fails, we can go to other villages to search. We can't just keep hanging on like this." Li Rongrong began to persuade her daughter as soon as she saw the situation.
"But none of the nearby villages have better conditions than our village. Although I haven't been there much, I know what the situation is like in this area. Those people come to our village to carry limestone back. How well can their houses be built?"
Liu Qingying knew perfectly well that once she left Pinghe Village, it was impossible for her to continue living such a peaceful life.
Li Rongrong was also filled with regret. She shouldn't have offended everyone by trying to get more things for her daughter. Otherwise, Wu Shan's offer would have been the best for them.
A few days ago, she secretly asked someone to go to the Wu family to mediate and offered many conditions.
But she didn't know that because of her actions, the Wu family wanted to avoid any connection with her.
“You can’t keep dragging this on like this. It will be even harder to find someone when you get older.”
Liu Qingying waved her hand dismissively, "If it really doesn't work out, I'll just stay here. They can't possibly kick me out, can they?"
Li Rongrong patted her on the back, "What nonsense are you talking about, child? I'll get old one day too. You and Yunyang aren't siblings, and they can't keep tolerating you here forever."
She knew her own daughter well. Since the disaster, she had stayed at home, helping with housework and refusing to even go to the fields. She was taking care of things now, but once she could no longer move around, the family would have no place for her.
"It's so annoying. I don't know what's wrong with my own father. There's been no news for so long." Liu Qingying was still holding onto a little bit of hope.
Li Rongrong wasn't as optimistic as her. "It's been so long, and there's still no news. It looks like he's probably in grave danger. Besides, there are so many refugees outside. Even if he's still alive, he can't offer you much help. You'd better accept reality."
Upon hearing this, Liu Qingying couldn't help but slump her shoulders. In fact, she knew the truth in her heart, but she had always had expectations, so she still carried the dream with her.
A few days ago, she went to the village entrance to see for herself. When she saw so many emaciated refugees huddled in the corner, surviving by picking wild vegetables on the mountain, her heart began to break.
So during this time, some people tried to arrange marriages for her, but they were all from other villages. Even people from Xin San Village came to matchmake her, which made her very angry. They didn't even realize that they dared to come to her door with just a few thatched houses.
They were just hoping she would throw herself at them. Now she was filled with regret, wondering how she could have acted so impulsively.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com