Ch 12: The Scumbag’s Daily Wife-Doting Life [QT]

For today’s wedding banquet, Xie Li collected half a pig and two huge basins of fish from the villagers. He also hurriedly planted water spinach, long beans, and winter melon in his space.

The banquet spread was incredibly lavish.

Xie Li planned to serve five dishes and one soup: braised fish, braised pork belly, cold dressed water spinach, stir-fried long beans with pork, twice-cooked pork, and winter melon pork rib soup.

In this era, such a menu was practically unbelievable. Most families hosting weddings would already be considered decent if each table had three dishes, and they were usually all vegetables. But Xie Li’s menu was almost entirely meat dishes, leaving the villagers helping in the kitchen utterly dumbfounded.

Very satisfied with their reactions, Xie Li smiled gently and said, “Thank you for your hard work, everyone.”

“Not hard at all, not hard at all.”

The villagers hurried to answer. Helping cook for one day earned each person one whole yuan. To them, it felt like money had fallen from the heavens. Who would complain about a little trouble?

Xie Li smiled, straightened his new clothes, and estimated it was almost three in the afternoon. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. It was time to head to the Li family home to bring Li Tiantian back. The educated youths had arrived early, all wearing their best clothes. Seeing him set off, they laughed and noisily followed behind, helping make the wedding procession look more impressive.

Thankfully, this place did not have the custom of tormenting the groom during the wedding. Xie Li brought his whole group to the Li household, slipped a red envelope to the bridesmaid Qian Lanxiang, exchanged a few words with his future in-laws, and smoothly got to see Li Tiantian.

Li Tiantian was alone in her room.

She wore a red short-sleeved blouse and a red ankle-length skirt. A red rose bloomed in her black hair. Sitting on the bed with her chin propped in her hand, she stared blankly into space. The moment she noticed Xie Li enter, she jumped to her feet, her cheeks quietly flushing red.

“You came?”

“I came to take you home.” Xie Li extended a hand toward her, his gaze calm and reassuring as he let out a soft laugh. “Tiantian, come with me.”

A thin gold bracelet circled Li Tiantian’s wrist, a gift Xie Li had given her a few days earlier. Lowering her head, she fiddled nervously with the chain before finally gathering her courage and placing her hand into his.

“Mm. Let’s go.”

Xie Li said nothing. He lowered his eyes to glance at the young woman beside him, warmth quietly surfacing in his gaze.

Hand in hand, they walked out of the room, and the crowd waiting outside instantly burst into noise.

“The bride’s here! The bride’s here!”

For every girl, the day she marries the person she loves is undoubtedly the most beautiful day of her life. Li Tiantian was no exception. Her eyes were clear and shy, gentle light glowing softly within them. Leaning beside Xie Li, she looked at him with complete trust and dependence as he accompanied her out of the house.

“Dad, Mom, I’m heading over first.”

Li Tiantian spoke to Li Jianguo and Wang Cuihua standing nearby.

Wang Cuihua laughed fondly. “Go on, go on. You head over first. We’ll come afterward.”

Li Tiantian puffed out her cheeks slightly and forced out a nervous smile. Then she turned toward Xie Li and opened her arms, allowing him to lift her onto the ox cart.

Behind them, people carried out her dowry: a bicycle, a wristwatch, a sewing machine…

Li Tiantian could not help pursing her lips into a smile, her unease about marriage gradually settling.

All of those things had been part of the bride price Xie Li prepared for her. Her parents told her that Xie Li had spent all his savings just to buy the “three big items” and help her save face. They told her to live well with him after marriage. With a man who cherished her so deeply, they could finally feel at ease for the rest of their lives.

But in truth, they had worried too much. Even without the three big items, she would still have chosen to stay with Xie Li wholeheartedly.

Li Tiantian’s eyelashes trembled lightly as memories of all the moments they had shared surfaced in her mind. The smile at the corners of her lips turned sweet enough to melt people.

“Sit tight. We’re setting off.”

Xie Li suddenly reminded her.

Snapping back to herself, Li Tiantian obediently answered with a soft “Mm.”

The ox cart slowly began moving forward, leaving the Li family home behind.

Seeing this, all the village children who loved excitement chased after them. Along the way, they watched the bride toss flowers and candy, swarming together to snatch them up. It was called “sharing in the wedding joy.”

After circling the village once, the ox cart finally stopped in front of Xie Li’s house.

Most of the villagers were already gathered there waiting. The moment they saw the bride and the dowry arrive, whispers immediately spread through the crowd.

“Did you know? All those dowry items were actually bought with Xie Li’s bride price.”

“Really?”

“Why would I lie to you? I saw it the day the things were brought back. Xie Li and those educated youths hauled them into the village together.”

“He even got all three big items? He’s really willing to spend money.”

“The Li family’s daughter really married into a blessed life.”

The villagers watched with envy, muttering that appearances truly could be deceiving.

Judging from the way Xie Li normally dressed and behaved, he did not seem like the child of a wealthy family. No one expected him to be this generous.

Meanwhile, the unmarried young women were focused entirely on Li Tiantian. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Holding their cheeks dreamily, they sighed, “The bride’s wedding clothes are so beautiful. I wonder if I’ll be able to borrow them when I get married someday?”

“I heard Xie Li specially had them mailed from out of town. You can’t even buy fabric or craftsmanship like this in the county. They’re incredibly rare. If you damaged them after borrowing them, you’d never be able to pay for it,” an older, more mature girl beside her coldly poured water on the fantasy.

“Ah? Then forget it. I wouldn’t dare borrow them.”

An older auntie in front of them turned back and glanced at the girls with a smile. “If you can find a man like Xie Li, why would you need to borrow anything from others?”

The girls froze for a moment, clutching their wounded hearts as they sighed.

“How could we possibly find someone like that…?”

…

The wedding procedures were incredibly complicated: welcoming the bride, helping her off the cart, tossing red envelopes, handing out wedding candy…

Before they knew it, evening had arrived.

At dinnertime, as dish after dish was carried onto the tables, everyone’s eyes locked onto the food and refused to move away. The courtyard instantly fell silent.

“The dishes are all served. Everyone, eat well and drink well.”

Li Jianguo and Wang Cuihua had only just arrived. They quickly stepped forward to help Xie Li greet the guests.

Seeing them there, Xie Li relaxed and, after saying a few words, went inside to check on Li Tiantian.

When they first met that afternoon, he had already noticed how nervous she was. Earlier, he had left her in the bridal room to rest for a while, and now he wondered whether she was feeling any better.

Creak.

Xie Li pushed open the door and saw Li Tiantian standing by the window in a daze.

Smiling, he walked over and sat beside her, chatting softly to comfort her and tell her not to be nervous.

Li Tiantian nodded firmly. “I’m not nervous.”

After saying that, she glanced at him and whispered softly, “I think you’re the nervous one.”

“?”

Xie Li froze for a second. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he laughed helplessly.

“So you noticed.”

Alright. Truthfully, he was nervous too. But in front of a girl, he still wanted to appear dependable and steady, to make her feel safe and calm her emotions.

Now, seeing that Li Tiantian seemed much calmer than he was, he felt there was probably no need to comfort her at all.

“The banquet’s already started. Let’s go toast the guests.”

Xie Li stood up as he spoke.

Li Tiantian nodded obediently, and together they left the room, moving from table to table to toast the guests who had come to celebrate.

Halfway through, the shrill voice of a child suddenly rang out from the courtyard gate.

“Mom! I saw so much meat! I want meat!”

Xie Li frowned slightly and exchanged a glance with Li Tiantian before both of them turned toward the entrance.

“How did they end up here?” Xie Li found it strange, because he had never invited this family.

The people who had arrived were Li Tiantian’s cousin’s family: Li Erniu, Jia Xiaotao, and their precious son Li Tiansheng.

Ever since Li Tiansheng ruined Li Tiantian’s face cream three months ago and showed no remorse afterward, and after Li Tiantian complained about it to him, Xie Li had developed a terrible impression of the entire family.

Later, he bought Li Tiantian another jar of cream to make up for the loss, but once he learned how the little girl had been mocked and bullied by them before, he could no longer change his dislike for them. He had even started resenting Li Jianguo by association.

Not to mention the scene Jia Xiaotao caused in the fields…

From that moment onward, Xie Li had already decided he would not let them off easily.

They should count themselves lucky. If Xie Li had not spent the last three months busy making money and preparing for the wedding, their family would long since have lost the peaceful life they still had in the village.

And now they had walked right into his hands themselves.

A trace of coldness surfaced between Xie Li’s brows as he raised his voice.

“Cousin, sister-in-law, you came?”

Jia Xiaotao had originally planned to sneak inside quietly and freeload off the banquet, but her noisy son drew everyone’s attention. Furious, she pinched him hard before forcing out an awkward laugh.

“Yes, yes, we came. Almost missed the feast.”

Xie Li smiled faintly and said nothing. Instead, he turned toward the inside of the courtyard and called out loudly,

“Hu Dezheng, come register them!”

Hearing the shout, Hu Dezheng rushed out of the house clutching a small notebook.

“Coming, coming! Who’s here?”

Today, Hu Dezheng was in charge of collecting wedding gift money.

Jia Xiaotao’s family stood out far too much among the crowd, so he spotted them immediately. Walking over while flipping through the notebook, he asked,

“What names should I write down?”

Jia Xiaotao’s expression instantly darkened. Forcing a smile, she said,

“We still have to give gift money? We’re family. No need to be so formal, right?”

“…Uh…” Hu Dezheng froze and glanced back at Xie Li. Seeing his cold expression, he immediately understood something. Pretending to look troubled, he turned back to Jia Xiaotao.

“But everyone who came gave some. Wouldn’t it look bad if you didn’t?”

“You blind idiot!” Anger flashed through Jia Xiaotao’s eyes as she cursed him. Then, with a dark expression, she turned and ordered Li Tiantian,

“Tiantian, I’m your sister-in-law! Since when does eating one meal require paying money? What kind of logic is that? Hurry up and send this educated youth away!”

Li Tiantian looked at her coldly.

“I don’t have a sister-in-law as impressive as you.”

Jia Xiaotao nearly exploded with rage.

This was outright rebellion!

Unable to win against Li Tiantian, she immediately turned toward the usually silent Li Jianguo for support. But the moment she opened her mouth, she saw Li Jianguo deliberately shift his gaze away.

He looked at the sky.

Then at the ground.

Anywhere except her.

Jia Xiaotao froze, suddenly unable to speak.

She had already stopped going to the Li family house to freeload meals for three whole months. Why was her eldest uncle still angry?

No one spoke.

For a moment, the atmosphere stiffened awkwardly.

The dishes Xie Li prepared today were all excellent. The villagers originally came out of respect for Li Jianguo, but the banquet food turned out to be an unexpected delight. Every single dish smelled incredible, and everyone was happily eating mouthful after mouthful with their chopsticks.

Little fatty Li Tiansheng stared at the food with wide eyes, drool practically spilling out. Seeing the meat dishes he liked were almost gone, he immediately began wailing loudly.

“Meat! Meat! I want meat!”

Her son’s screaming made Jia Xiaotao even more irritated. Her face alternated between green and white while the villagers, enjoying both food and entertainment, all stared openly at their family.

She felt utterly humiliated, like she was being paraded through the streets for public shame.

At that moment, she finally understood why her father-in-law had committed suicide after being publicly humiliated.

Right now, she wished she could dig a hole and crawl into it.

“Money!”

With a dark expression, Jia Xiaotao slammed down fifty cents, then dragged her husband and son toward the banquet tables.

Hu Dezheng immediately beamed.

“Alright, got you registered!”

Xie Li nodded, his smile faintly mocking as he continued leading Li Tiantian around to toast guests.

This was his wedding day. He did not want to cause trouble here.

Still, fifty cents meant nothing to him.

But to Jia Xiaotao, it probably hurt like carving flesh from her body.

This was only the first step, just collecting a little interest first.

Xie Li was very much looking forward to the retaliation that would come after the wedding.

He was not afraid of their hatred.

What he feared was that they would not come at all.

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