Li Mai bent down, leaned closer to him, examined his face, and asked softly, "What's wrong? Did something happen at home today?"
Zhou Quan glanced at her, instinctively wanting to deny it, but when he met her half-smiling eyes, he couldn't bring himself to lie.
Li Mai knew in her heart that something must have happened at home today. Zhou Quan was a simple-minded person, and his likes, dislikes, and happiness were all written on his face.
Li Mai, a seasoned veteran who had navigated the world of the future, immediately understood that something must have happened at the Zhou family's home today.
However, since he was unwilling to say, Li Mai didn't ask any further. She stood up and prepared to leave, thinking she could ask Zhu Zhu later that evening.
He didn't tell me, perhaps because it was about him!
Unexpectedly, Zhou Quan quickly reached out and grabbed her, a hint of urgency in his eyes. "No need to ask Mother. It's not that I don't want to tell you; I'm just thinking about how to say it."
He thought Li Maisheng was angry with him.
“Just over two months ago, Pan, the wife of Zhou Chun, came to our house and wanted to arrange for her younger sister to marry Zhou Lin. But my mother refused, saying that the eldest son was not yet married and the second son should not be asked for a wife yet.”
"I guess they heard that I got married. Today, Chun-ge's wife came to the door again, wanting to introduce her sister to Zhou Lin. My mother refused again, and they started arguing. My father and I didn't want to get involved, and we were worried that my mother would get the short end of the stick, so I pretended to fall to the ground to scare the woman away."
"When Zhuzhu saw me fall, she was so scared that she cried, which attracted the neighbors. Everyone helped to chase the woman away, and my dad and Xiaolei took me back inside."
Li Mai finally understood. The matter was resolved, but he felt inferior again. He felt that he had failed to protect his family and help his parents at this time.
So that was the reason for his silence.
"Do you feel that as the eldest son, the eldest brother, you should stand up to protect your family at this time, but you can only be sent back inside by your family for protection?" Li Mai did not pull her hand away, but turned to look at him, seeing the redness in his eyes and his aggrieved look, and asked softly.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Quan felt instantly warmed, and even felt a little wronged. It was true, Xiaomai understood him.
Li Mai smiled and comforted him, "Don't be sad, because you are a patient now and need the protection and care of your family. But once you get better, you can take care of your family in return."
Zhou Quan watched her silently, subconsciously obeying her words, and softly replied with an "okay," not letting go of her wrist.
For some reason, as long as he listened to Li Mai say a few words, no matter how sad he was, he would instantly feel that he wasn't so sad anymore, and he even felt that every word Li Mai said made sense.
"Mother, I'm back!" Zhou Lin's voice came from the courtyard.
Zhou Quan quickly let go of Li Mai's hand and gave her a shy smile.
Li Mai gave him a reassuring smile, then turned and went out to help carry the things.
When they went outside, they found everyone standing at the entrance of the chicken coop watching the chicks.
"Sister-in-law, I need to talk to you." Zhou Lin rushed towards his sister-in-law as soon as he saw her come out.
Li Mai looked at Zhou Lin and asked, "What did your master say after looking at the blueprints for that wheelchair?"
“I just wanted to talk to you about this, sister-in-law. My master said he couldn’t do it, but the strategist definitely can. He’s already sent word to the strategist, and he expects the strategist to come to our house tomorrow to ask you about it. I’ll give you the blueprints again, sister-in-law. You can talk to our strategist directly tomorrow.” Zhou Lin’s tone was a little excited as he took out the blueprints and handed them to Li Mai.
Li Mai nodded, "Alright, if your advisor is an old carpenter who likes to study mechanical arts, I can discuss with him about making it more difficult."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Lin became even more excited, "Sister-in-law, how difficult should it be?"
Li Mai shook her head. "I don't know yet. I'll discuss it with him when he arrives."
"Alright!" Zhou Lin agreed, but then thought he should ask his master for leave that night. He wouldn't be going to work tomorrow and wanted to hear what his sister-in-law and the master were discussing.
While the family was eating, Zhou Lei told Zhou Lin about all the good things that had happened in the family that day, and also mentioned that Zhou Chun's wife wanted to arrange a marriage for Zhou Lin.
Zhou Lin was surprised after hearing this. "Didn't we turn down their business last time? Why are they here again?"
“Mrs. Pan is a shameless person. As long as Xiao Lin hasn’t been engaged, she won’t let it go. In the past two years, Xiao Lin has been the best matchmaker in our village,” Mrs. Zhao said confidently, glancing at her second son.
Zhou Lin blushed slightly at his mother's praise. "Mom, don't say that. There are plenty of better young men in the village than me."
“But none of them are as good-looking as you, nor do they have your skills!” Zhao said with a smile.
Li Mai listened quietly without interrupting.
After returning to the room after dinner, Li Mai asked Zhou Quan, "Is it because that Pan family has a bad reputation? Why is Mother so opposed to marriage with her family?"
Zhou Quan nodded, "Yes, ever since Pan married into the village, she's always flirting with other men when she goes out, especially the good-looking ones in the village. Every time she meets them, she always gives them a flirty look."
"Of course, that's just what everyone sees on the surface. That's why the wives in the village don't like her and are even more afraid of their husbands meeting her. As for what she's like in private, people don't know, but it's said that her mother-in-law and her husband treat her quite well." Zhou Quan told her what he knew.
"What about her mother-in-law and her husband?" Li Mai asked again.
"Her mother-in-law seems to be just average. I heard she's argued with many of the other women in the village of the same generation as her," Zhou Quan said softly.
"As for Zhou Chun, he often works outside. I used to go out to work with other people from the village, and he was one of them. But I heard that after he came back, he treated his wife very well, and he didn't believe the rumors in the village about his wife. However, he was a bit of a scoundrel. He would occasionally go to the nearby villages to spend the night with widows where we worked."
Zhou Quan was open and honest with Li Mai, but he still felt a little embarrassed when it came to such matters.
After listening, Li Mai nodded. "I understand. It's best for us to have less contact with such families in the future. Mother was right to refuse to be related to them."
"Hmm, you must be tired after a long day out. Lie down and rest for a while!" Zhou Quan was still sitting by the window, seemingly enjoying sitting there and quietly watching Li Mai walk around the room.
Li Mai waved her hand, tidied up the things on the cabinet, and handed him the book. "This book is for you. The shopkeeper recommended it. He said it's a travelogue by a high monk from a temple who traveled all over the world. He said it introduces the local customs and regional characteristics. I thought you would like it."
Zhou Quan took the book, glanced at the cover, and looked up at her in surprise, "It's actually Master Juechen's travelogue?"
"Ah, you know Master Juechen?" Li Mai asked.
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