Ch 8: The Scumbag’s Daily Wife-Doting Life [QT]

“Become a live-in son-in-law?!”

Several people in the room spoke at once.

Wang Cuihua sounded shocked.

Li Tiantian sounded stunned.

As for Xie Li, he merely repeated the words calmly.

“That’s right. Become a live-in son-in-law.” Li Jianguo’s tone was firm as he stared seriously into Xie Li’s eyes. “Are you willing?”

Xie Li narrowed his eyes slightly and fell silent, rapidly weighing things in his mind.

Truthfully, he felt a little awkward about it. In this era, when a man married into the wife’s family, outsiders viewed him as useless, a freeloader, a kept man…

But strangely enough, he did not actually feel very resistant to the idea.

Xie Li had never cared much about other people’s opinions.

Still, he worried that becoming a live-in son-in-law might alter the original course of events from the previous life. Especially since the original host’s parents had only one son. If he truly married into another family, would they end up hating Li Tiantian?

And if the three of them could not get along, would Li Tiantian really be happy?

After thinking it through, he lifted his head.

“I can accept that.”

Li Jianguo visibly froze.

“You mean it?”

“Dad! I don’t agree!”

Li Tiantian abruptly interrupted them.

“I don’t want Xie Li to marry into our family!”

Wouldn’t that make him a kept husband? What would the villagers say about him then?

Li Tiantian had seen examples of live-in sons-in-law before, and not a single one had lived happily. Her expression turned determined.

“I don’t want Xie Li to marry into our family.”

Li Jianguo was furious.

“What nonsense are you saying?”

He had only just confirmed that Xie Li was willing, and before he could even be happy for one minute, Li Tiantian shattered the joy completely.

“Isn’t this a good thing? You’d still get to stay at home, and I’d agree to let you marry. No house needed, no bride price needed. You could get married immediately!”

Li Tiantian hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

“No. People will look down on him.”

Xie Li was the best and gentlest young man she had ever met. He was someone she truly liked. She could not bear the thought that whenever others mentioned him, they would only say, “Oh, him? The team leader’s live-in son-in-law.”

He had a name.

His name was Xie Li.

“No matter what you say, I won’t agree,” Li Tiantian repeated stubbornly.

Xie Li felt deeply moved. He stood and said softly:

“It’s alright. As long as I can marry you, I’m willing even if it means marrying into your family.”

Unexpectedly, the more generous he acted, the more determined Li Tiantian became. She even blurted out:

“If you marry into my family, then I won’t marry you at all!”

Xie Li looked helplessly toward Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo’s mood was beyond description. If not for the fact that this was his only daughter, whom he had treasured her entire life, he would already have exploded in anger.

“If he doesn’t marry in, then you two can forget about getting married!”

“If he does marry in, then I won’t marry him!”

And just like that, father and daughter began stubbornly butting heads.

“If he doesn’t marry in, then you two can forget about getting married!”

“If he does marry in, then I won’t marry him!”

“If he doesn’t marry in, then you two can forget about getting married!”

“If he does marry in, then I won’t marry him!”

“…”

Xie Li developed a headache and glanced toward his future mother-in-law, who sat entirely detached from the chaos.

Wang Cuihua remained calm and composed. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. When she noticed Xie Li looking at her, she gave him a gentle smile.

“It’s fine. Once they finish arguing, we’ll talk about this again.”

A few minutes later, father and daughter finally stopped.

Li Jianguo was breathing heavily in anger, looking as though he almost wanted to slap his daughter. Li Tiantian, meanwhile, remained unusually stubborn, refusing to compromise no matter what.

At that moment, Wang Cuihua, who had been coldly observing everything, suddenly spoke.

“Old Li, I suddenly understand why you treated Li Erniu so well all these years.”

Li Jianguo frowned.

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“You don’t understand?” Wang Cuihua sneered. “Isn’t it because I never gave you a son, so you treated Li Erniu like your own? Weren’t you planning to leave everything in this family to him eventually? Isn’t that why you kept supporting him day after day?”

Li Jianguo stiffened instantly. His survival instincts kicked in at full force.

“That’s not true. Don’t overthink things.”

“Overthinking?” Wang Cuihua laughed coldly. “Am I overthinking, or is that exactly what you were thinking? You know the answer yourself! Wasn’t it bad enough that your mother bullied me for not bearing a son? And now you want to bully my daughter too? I’m telling you right now, don’t even think about it!”

The married couple of twenty years suddenly began fighting.

Ironically, the two people at the center of the original issue, Xie Li and Li Tiantian, became the least important people in the room.

Li Tiantian looked utterly lost, unable to understand how her parents had somehow started arguing instead.

Xie Li, however, recalled how calmly Wang Cuihua had behaved earlier and began noticing the hidden clues.

The argument escalated rapidly, though mostly in one direction. Wang Cuihua berated Li Jianguo nonstop. Already feeling guilty, he could barely form any effective defense at all.

By the end, his old face had turned completely red. He looked pleadingly at Li Tiantian.

“Daughter, hurry and calm your mother down.”

Li Tiantian finally snapped back to herself and immediately shook her head.

“I won’t. You deserve it!”

Wang Cuihua also sneered.

“Don’t speak up for him! Doesn’t he just look down on us mother and daughter?”

“I never looked down on you!” Li Jianguo sighed deeply. His back seemed to hunch several degrees lower, as though he had suddenly aged years.

“If you don’t look down on us, then why are you so obsessed with having your daughter bring in a husband? In the end, isn’t it all because you resent not having a son to inherit the Li family throne?”

At last, Li Jianguo understood what his wife truly meant. He collapsed heavily into a chair.

“I understand now…”

Then he turned toward Xie Li.

“You don’t need to marry into the family anymore.”

Xie Li had already anticipated this outcome. He nodded, smiling faintly while secretly looking at his future mother-in-law with admiration.

Then he turned back to Li Jianguo.

“Thank you, Father-in-law, for being so broad-minded.”

“Brat, who are you calling Father-in-law?!” Li Jianguo redirected all his anger onto him. “I’m telling you, if you don’t marry into the family, you don’t even have a place to live. I’m not marrying my daughter off to that.”

“In that case,” Xie Li asked politely, “if I want to marry Tiantian, how large a house would I need? And where in the village would be the best place to build it?”

Li Jianguo froze, distracted.

“About the same size as our house is fine. As for location…” He thought for a moment. “Closer to here would be best. That way if you bully Tiantian, I can come deal with you.”

Xie Li remembered the original host and Li Tiantian’s marital home from the previous life and smiled slightly.

“I remember there was an empty patch of land diagonally ahead on the left when I came here. What does Father-in-law think of that place?”

“I already said stop calling me Father-in-law!” Li Jianguo snapped irritably.

“Alright then, Team Leader. What do you think about that plot of land?” Xie Li replied helplessly.

“It’s fine. That spot’s pretty good.”

Xie Li nodded.

“Then I’ll trouble you to approve the construction permit.”

Building houses in the countryside was fairly simple. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. As long as the production team approved it, villagers could choose a suitable location and build.

Construction was also quick, since the houses were mostly made of wood and mud bricks.

Li Jianguo stared blankly for a moment before suddenly realizing he had somehow been smoothly guided into approving the matter.

“This…”

He glanced at Xie Li, then nodded.

“Fine. I approve it. But remember your own words. Only after you have a house will I allow you and Tiantian to be together.”

Xie Li did not think this would be difficult at all.

Not only had he already planned to grow medicinal herbs, but even if he only continued harvesting vegetables every day, he could still earn a considerable amount of money.

He nodded calmly.

“That’s acceptable. But regarding the engagement…”

“I’ll decide that matter,” Wang Cuihua interrupted. “We’ll choose an auspicious day later and arrange your engagement first.”

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