“I’m not alone now, I have Tuantuan to accompany me,” Xu Qing retorted. If Li Changfeng said this before, he might not be able to respond, but now it’s different, he has a lovely child with him.
Li Changfeng was severely choked. After Xu Qing coaxed Tuan Tuan to sleep, he jumped up and ate Xu Qing cleanly. During their session, he forced Xu Qing to say that he was wrong several times before he agreed to let him go.
***
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, it is Li Changfeng’s birthday. They won’t make too many extravagant things to celebrate for just two people, a few fresh and delicious dishes are considered good.
Xu Qing wanted to eat hot pot. In such a cold day, it would be unbearable not to eat hot pot. Cook the selected vegetables and meat together, a bit similar to boiled meat slices, but it was also very suitable for Xu Qing and Li Changfeng’s appetite, all the dishes were almost licked clean, and it was a lot easier to wash the dinnerware.
After having lunch and resting for a while, Xu Qing wanted to go to Xie Ama’s place to hang out. It’s not a problem to stay at home every day but it’s good to go out sometimes. Unexpectedly, when the two of them were ready to leave and opened the courtyard door talking and laughing, they found that outside the courtyard door, eldest Li was about to knock on the door.
“Big brother?”
Xu Qing and Li Changfeng looked at each other, it seemed that they couldn’t go out anymore.
Eldest Li came to persuade Li Changfeng. Originally, the Li family thought that Li Changfeng was angry with Li Laosan, and that’s why he said in a fit that he wouldn’t come to pay New Year’s greetings.
Who knew that after waiting for several days, the Li family really didn’t see Li Changfeng and Xu Qing coming to the door. Li Ama was thinking about Tuan Tuan, and his face was dark at home. He said that the old man Li was so old, and he didn’t even know how to handle his own children. Naturally, old man Li didn’t want to lose face to coax Li Changfeng, not to mention sending Li Laosan to apologize. It just so happened that Li Xiao’er was preparing to marry soon, so the old Li couple had to ask eldest Li to be the middleman.
“Come, big brother, have some hot tea.”
Xu Qing poured a cup of hot tea, handed it to eldest Li, and sat beside Li Changfeng with Tuantuan.
Eldest Li felt the heat coming from the wall, and he simply praised, “this thing is really good.” Li’s house doesn’t have such heating system. Li Ama didn’t want to spend money to build it, otherwise it would have been done a long time ago since Li Changfeng and Xu Qing told them how to build it.
“What’s the matter. Go back and build one yourself, it isn’t much trouble. Nobody would be unhappy afterwards,” Li Changfeng said with his arms across his chest, sitting a little lazily.
Eldest Li touched his forehead embarrassedly, “don’t you know your third brother. He is a scholar, and he always thinks more than the rest of us.” Although he also felt that Li Laosan was a little too much raising the tuition fee so high.
Li Changfeng shook his head, “I was thoughtless. What he said made sense. I can’t deny it. I’m no longer a part of the Li family. I married out as a recruited husband. If I keep thinking about helping the natal family, even if my wife isn’t unhappy with it, it doesn’t look good in the eyes of outsiders. I didn’t think about it at the beginning, but luckily the third brother reminded me. I have to thank him for reminding me before it’s too late!”
After speaking, he turned to Xu Qing, who was sitting on the side holding the small one without saying a word, “wife, am I right?”
Xu Qing resisted the urge to roll his eyes and returned a smile, “it’s true, outsiders don’t understand the situation of our family, and what they would have been saying wouldn’t sound good, like we were meddling in the Li family affairs for the family property, calling us white-eyed wolves, and such. If it wasn’t for the reminder from the third brother, we would still be scolded without knowing what’s going on or what caused people to talk about us this way.”
Li Changfeng and Xu Qing took turns in the battle, which made eldest Li, who had a very honest temperament, felt more and more that the two were right, and so was the third brother, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.
Thinking that both parties were right, eldest Li breathed a sigh of relief. He had already did what he was instructed, so eldest Li, who thought he had completed the task, drank a few sips of hot tea and rushed home.
Xu Qing and Li Changfeng were no longer interested in going out. “By the way, the pickled vegetables I made can also be sold at the shop,” Xu Qing remembered several large jars of pickled vegetables that the two of them couldn’t finish, and the cost could be said to be zero. The sale will completely be pure profit!
“I listen to you, but what do you think we shall use to sell it in?” Li Changfeng felt that it was not worthwhile to buy small jars just to sell pickled vegetables in it.
“That’s no problem, you make some small wooden barrels, pierce two small holes on them, and weave a thin rope as a handle!”
Listening to Xu Qing’s words, Li Changfeng reacted abruptly, isn’t his wife very smart?! “My wife is amazing!”
What a butt smoocher! Xu Qing simply didn’t want to give Li Changfeng a good face anymore.
Speaking of pickled vegetables, Li Changfeng suddenly thought of the fermented bean curd, “By the way, fermented bean curd can also be sold!”
Xu Qing’s eyes lit up, and he patted his thigh, “Isn’t that right, that thing is better than pickled vegetables! And it only needs to be wrapped in a few clean leaves! Okay, let’s put it out for sale together!”
The couple here chatted very happily, but eldest Li who arrived home over there is scolded and drenched in sweat.
“You just came back like this?! You didn’t ask whether they will come to pay New Year’s greetings? Do they still care about us old parents?! Why did you just come back? Tell me, what do you think you are doing!” Old Man Li was about to be angered to death by the wooden fish head in front of him! How could such a fool be born!
Eldest Li kept his head down without uttering a word. He felt very uncomfortable. The second brother had already married out the door. When he proposed to support their Li family, it was not only out of fear of others speaking ill but also because he was filial. Now here he is, almost drowned in spit. Does he have to go back there again?
“Without the second brother, can’t I and the third brother support you both? ” Eldest Li said in a low voice.
“What?!”
Old man Li couldn’t believe that this was what his honest eldest son said, “You say it again!”
“Eldest, what are you saying? Quickly admit your mistake to your father.” Li Ama saw that the situation was not right, and immediately persuaded eldest Li to admit his mistake.
But today’s eldest Li is determined, “I said, the third brother and I can support you, don’t worry about the second brother, he doesn’t have it easy.”
“You bastard…you … you…,” Old Man Li angrily looked around to find something to hit eldest Li, but there was nothing in the main room except a stool. The furious Old Man Li picked up the stool and threw it at eldest Li. “I’ll kill you idiot son of a bitch!”
“My God, what are you doing! Eldest, go back to your room and stay there!” Seeing this situation, Li Ama immediately yelled at eldest Li to leave the main room. Eldest Li looked at the stool that almost hit him on the head, feeling aggrieved, turned around and left.
Eldest Li’s wife and two children were in the room and when they saw Eldest Li entering the door, they immediately surrounded him, “Head of the house,” Eldest Li’s wife touched his husband’s face and whispered.
Eldest Li embraced the two children and his wife in his arms and sighed after a long time.
***
The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This is also the New Year, which means that the days of the first lunar month will also come to an end today. After today, the farmers will be busy working in the fields for the new harvest. The last drought caused them off guard. This time they decided to plant the fields as early as possible, in case there was an accident, it wouldn’t be too big of a threat.
Celebrating Lantern Festival is a custom back in China, but in this dynasty, people would just eat meatballs. If it is a well off family, there will be meatballs. If it is a poor family, they will be vegetable meatballs. Some people who are not in good health can only eat pills!
Xu Qing cooked a pot of vegetables and meatballs mixed with leafy veggies, coupled with fermented bean curd and rice, it can be considered a good meal on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
“What are you doing?!” Xu Qing turned his back to grab a pair of chopsticks but saw Li Changfeng chop up the meatballs and pick them up to feed Tuantuan.
Li Changfeng looked at Xu Qing with a guilty conscience, “isn’t it just a little bit meat? I want Tuantuan to eat something good on the last day of the first month.”
Xu Qing sat down and didn’t listen to Li Changfeng’s nonsense, “You said the same yesterday and the day before yesterday!”
Li Changfeng touched his nose and withdrew the minced meat that was about to be fed into Tuan Tuan’s mouth. Tuan Tuan, it’s not that Father didn’t give you a good meal, it was your Ama that didn’t want to!
Xu Qing was afraid that Li Changfeng wouldn’t listen, “you don’t know, there are many people who carelessly cause harm to children just because they don’t know how to feed their children and give so much meat.”
Li Changfeng was eating delicious meatballs, and humbly asked Xu Qing, who was talking endlessly, “Who did this? From which village? I might as well learn from them!”
Xu Qing was stunned by these words. He was taking about what happened in his previous world. How could he know which villager did this or what! ! Xu Qing, who was swept away, was suddenly unhappy, “so you’re saying that you will do this again in the future!?”
Li Changfeng hurriedly shook his head, “no, no, I won’t feed Tuantuan so much until he grows some teeth!” He’s just gonna feed a little less.
“It should be like that,” Xu Qing nodded with satisfaction. “Let’s eat, by the way, don’t go to the field tomorrow, the snow still hasn’t melted completely. It could be dangerous and hurt your body.” He doesn’t know why, the winter in this world seems to be much longer than it was in his previous life. It’s the fifteenth day, and the ground is still covered with snow, although it’s not snowing anymore.
“Alright, then I’ll go to town to buy the seeds first, and I’ll bring some salt and candy back on the way.”
Not to mention the family’s business is really good, the children now all know that there are candies in their shop. Those from well-off families would drag the adults over to buy sweets.
After dinner, Xu Qing began to make shoes for Li Changfeng. It was almost spring, and it’s the best time to wear his handmade shoes. Li Changfeng carved a wooden doll on the side, which was one of the wedding gifts for Li Xiao’er.
Tuantuan fluttered in amusement on the side. Although Xu Qing and Li Changfeng didn’t speak, the room was still full of warmth and didn’t seem deserted at all.
On February 2, the dragon raised its head; the weather was getting warmer, the sky began to clear, and snowflakes no longer fell on the world. On such a good day, Li Xiao’er got married.
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Thingyan: Is it just me coz I don’t think there was anything wrong with what Eldest Li said about supporting the old parents. Why did the old man Li so mad? I feel like he’s getting grumpier these days. Is it the hormones?
Maybe the old man thinks that even if our ML is a recruited husband, he is still the Li family’s son. So, as a son he has the obligation to support his parents. If not, then our ML can be said to no longer recognizing the Li parents as his parents. Something like that?
Also the ML is obviously the most successful of all of his sons. So like it or not by having the second household supporting them, their lives will be better.
What else could it be?
That old man is just delusional.
ML married out of the family as a recruited husband, which puts him into the position of a ger who marries out into another family. To put it simply, ML took over the identity of a female in this world.
And females, or ger in this case, don’t have the obligation to support their natal family as far as I know.
Old man Li, despite throwing his own male son away just like this, in favor for his “soon-to-become-prime-minister-moron” aka Li Laosan, insists that this married out son is still a son and not a ger and wants him to support the family.
Meaning, he wants to get the money from their family, as well as that of Eldest Li and that moron.
But he doesn’t get the fact that Li Xiao’er and ML are in the same situation. Both married out.
Well, with how delusional that family is, they’re likely to demand of Li Xiao’er and his husbands family to support that old couple as well….
Thanks for the chapter! Too many people have too much pride & not enough sense. They really shouldn’t be given authority over others, especially when it’s something as daunting as filial piety.
I think old man Li won’t admit it, but he knows that there is only 1 son he can count on for financial support for the family and isn’t willing to let that go. If they didn’t raise such a selfish and prideful 3rd son, their life would be so much better and even though he married out, they would still all be family. They nearly starved, they have a cold house, they keep listening to 3rd but really, aside from being able to read and write, he isn’t any different from the others. Honestly he is worse because he is lazy and doesn’t want to contribute.
It’s not even just that he’s married out… he’s also separated from the family – after separation giving or not is entirely up to him… he said he would do it out of mainly moral obligation but considering he’s both separated and married out the most he’s morally obligated would be to occasionally gift something and interfering in family affairs is like a no go. For women (since he’s married out he’s in this position) their maternal family is like their backing – having strong relations means someone to stand up for them if they’re wronged after marrying but to the family (and we can see this is their attitude towards the youngest) married out = no longer part of the family – he’s not wrong but the old man sees this as a provocation also. That it’s *his* fault that he’s separated and married out and no longer part of the family (which I mean it really is with how he spoils the third child) that it was actually his family that wronged him but they still expect him to contribute without having a say is the actual situation but the old man feels that explanation hurts his pride as head of the family because it would mean he was wrong to favor the third like that
Welp that was my spiel thanks for reading it for pretty long
Thinking deeper, there is also implication from the big brother’s words that the second isn’t needed and won’t ever return or visit, which is considered inauspicious if their New Years is meant to bring family together. The old man sends things to his 2nd son and old lady makes clothes for their grandson, so the family is still in their hearts, even if there is expectation of support in their old age. Whether it’s about support or not, those two definitely don’t want to permanently cut ties. Sure, there’s selfishness involved but there’s also the love that makes them want to see their son, especially on holidays. Nothing is black and white. While the old couple is biased towards their 3rd son, they don’t hate their 2nd. Remember that the Father Li has beaten up both 1st and 3rd for saying or indicating 2nd isn’t part of the family.