Ch 16: The Scumbag’s Daily Wife-Doting Life [QT]

“Am I good-looking?”

Li Tiantian froze, her dark round eyes widening in surprise as she looked at Xie Li. Seeing the sincerity and certainty in his gaze, she paused for a moment. Then her watery eyes grew brighter and brighter until she suddenly covered her face and began giggling shyly.

She truly had no resistance at all against Xie Li’s sweet words.

Seeing her reaction, Xie Li’s thin lips curved upward slightly, and even his mood improved. Wrapping an arm around the young woman, he indulgently let her cling to him and act spoiled in his embrace as the two slowly walked home together.

Halfway there, they passed by the Qian family courtyard. Remembering what happened during the day, Xie Li suddenly stopped.

“Oh right. It was Qian Lanxiang who came to tell me you fainted earlier. Should we go thank her? We can also let her know you’re alright so she won’t keep worrying.”

“Mm… let’s go tell her.”

After thinking for a while, Li Tiantian nodded. Hooking her arm through Xie Li’s, she turned and headed toward the Qian household.

But just as the two approached the courtyard, they heard loud arguing coming from inside.

“What’s going on?”

Confused, Li Tiantian perked up her ears and tried hard to listen to the voices within.

Bang!

Just as she leaned in to eavesdrop, the courtyard gate suddenly swung open from inside.

Li Tiantian froze and immediately straightened up, putting on an innocent expression as though she had definitely not been listening at all.

Amused, Xie Li glanced sideways at her before looking toward the doorway. Then he raised his brows in surprise upon realizing the person opening the gate was actually Hu Dezheng.

“What are you doing here?”

Hu Dezheng also appeared startled upon seeing Xie Li and Li Tiantian. Uneasily taking a step backward, he asked,

“You two? Why haven’t you gone home yet this late?”

“We were just about to head back. Didn’t expect to run into you instead.” Xie Li curled his lips into a smile, amusement lingering in his eyes as he glanced meaningfully toward the courtyard behind Hu Dezheng. “Coming out of the Qian household… so does this mean you two finally got together?”

The last time he saw them heading together to the village office, he already suspected something was going on. But even Xie Li had not expected Hu Dezheng to move so quickly and already be meeting the parents.

Hu Dezheng’s face darkened instantly as he flatly denied it.

“No such thing.”

The moment the words fell, Qian Lanxiang happened to chase out from inside the courtyard.

Seeing Xie Li and Li Tiantian standing there, she froze briefly before suddenly realizing she had completely forgotten to ask about Li Tiantian fainting earlier. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. Her footsteps halted as she awkwardly asked,

“Tiantian, you’re back?”

“Yeah.” Li Tiantian nodded. Glancing toward the dark courtyard behind Qian Lanxiang and recalling the shouting she had just heard, she asked curiously,

“Why was Uncle Qian so angry just now? I could hear him yelling even from outside.”

Qian Lanxiang sighed bitterly, unsure how to explain.

Beside her, Hu Dezheng’s expression darkened. After greeting Xie Li briefly, he stepped past Qian Lanxiang and muttered in a low voice,

“I’m leaving first.”

Then he strode away quickly.

“Why are you leaving?” Qian Lanxiang became unhappy at once. Abandoning Li Tiantian, she hurried after him. “Stop right there! I still have something to say to you!”

Hu Dezheng did not slow down. Qian Lanxiang chased farther and farther after him…

“Wasn’t it just my dad saying a couple words to you? Why are you so angry?”

“I’m not angry!”

“And you still say you’re not angry? Your nose is practically crooked from anger already. Ah, Dezheng, can’t you just say a few nice things for my sake…”

Their conversation drifted back in fragments until the voices gradually faded into the distance, disappearing completely as the two walked away one after another.

Li Tiantian stood there blankly, staring at what had just happened. She felt as though she had somehow missed several chapters of the story.

“What exactly just happened?”

No one answered her.

Frowning, she looked at Xie Li with grievance written all over her face.

Xie Li sighed helplessly.

“Maybe Uncle Qian disapproves of their relationship? Dezheng’s pride is pretty strong, so perhaps he got into an argument with Qian Lanxiang.”

“That’s not right! Uncle Qian isn’t that old-fashioned,” Li Tiantian protested, unable to understand.

Xie Li merely smiled ambiguously without speaking.

Qian Lanxiang’s father and Li Jianguo had grown up together as close brothers. Later, one became the brigade leader while the other became vice brigade leader, and their relationship remained extremely close even now.

And if someone could be brothers with Li Jianguo, how could he possibly not be old-fashioned?

It looked like Hu Dezheng’s romance still had quite a difficult road ahead.

“Forget about them. Let’s go home and rest. I still have to work tomorrow,” Xie Li reminded her.

Unless something truly major happened, the production brigade did not allow leave.

Li Tiantian being pregnant counted as a major matter, so it was acceptable for her not to work. But Xie Li could not avoid it.

Besides, now that there was already one person in the household not working, and with him being Li Jianguo’s son-in-law, if he wanted to avoid gossip from the villagers, he needed to set an example and report to work even earlier.

Li Tiantian thought of this too. After glancing toward the direction where Qian Lanxiang disappeared and realizing she had headed toward the educated youth dormitory, she relaxed slightly before nodding.

“Then let’s go home first.”

…

The next morning, the moment Li Tiantian woke up, she was still thinking about Qian Lanxiang’s situation.

Rolling over, she wanted to discuss it with Xie Li, only to realize he was already gone. Beside the bed sat a small stove, keeping a bowl of egg-drop porridge warm.

Understanding immediately what had happened, laughter flickered through her eyes. Stretching lazily, she climbed out of bed, cheerfully ran out to wash up, then returned to drink the porridge.

Snow-white grains of rice were dotted with tiny green scallions, cooked until soft and fragrant. The smell was irresistibly comforting. Yet when she tasted it, the rice still retained just enough texture between her teeth, creating an indescribably satisfying feeling of happiness.

Beside the stove lay a note.

On it was a short message reminding Li Tiantian not to overexert herself and that even if she planned to go out, she still needed to finish breakfast first.

“I would never forget breakfast,” Li Tiantian muttered to herself with an upturned smile.

Obediently, she finished the porridge, cleaned up the dishes, then locked the house and headed toward the Qian family home.

Breakfast had delayed her a bit, so by the time she left, it was already fairly late.

She originally assumed Qian Lanxiang would have left by now, and as she walked, she wondered whether she should head to the fields to look for her instead.

Unexpectedly, when she passed the Qian household, she discovered Qian Lanxiang lying alone in the courtyard sunning herself.

“You’re the only one home?” Li Tiantian asked as she entered the courtyard.

Seeing it was Li Tiantian, Qian Lanxiang lazily lifted a hand in greeting.

“My parents both went to work. I twisted my leg last night, so I couldn’t go.”

Curiosity instantly appeared on Li Tiantian’s face.

“I was just about to ask. What’s going on between you and Educated Youth Hu?”

What else could it be?

Qian Lanxiang sighed and slowly explained everything.

Ever since Hu Dezheng first came to the countryside, Qian Lanxiang had already liked him. But because she was shy, she kept suppressing her feelings and never made a move.

Later, after seeing Li Tiantian and Xie Li get together, she was inspired and suddenly no longer wanted to keep restraining herself. Gathering her courage, she gradually started getting closer to Hu Dezheng.

Young people’s emotions burned passionately. One thing led to another, and before long, the two of them really did fall in love.

But Father Qian did not approve.

He had once seen the daughter of a neighboring brigade leader get abandoned, and his prejudice toward educated youths ran just as deep as Li Jianguo’s. Original translation at HololoNovels dot com. He would rather his daughter remain unmarried her whole life than marry Hu Dezheng.

Honestly, that was fairly normal.

Because of the thefts and bad behavior committed by some educated youths in earlier years, most villagers carried prejudices against them and refused to marry their children to them.

Xie Li had been able to marry Li Tiantian because he independently built a house, purchased the “three big items” as bride price, treated Li Tiantian well, and passed Li Jianguo’s scrutiny.

Hu Dezheng was the complete opposite.

First, his family’s financial situation was poor. Though both parents technically held city jobs, they had too many children, and every sibling depended on the parents for support. Overall, his family circumstances were even worse than Qian Lanxiang’s.

Second, he cared too much about saving face and did not treat Qian Lanxiang particularly well either. He constantly worried about this and that, refused to make their relationship public, and would not openly introduce Qian Lanxiang to the people around him…

He did not even have the courage to write home and mention Qian Lanxiang to his parents.

Father Qian became convinced Hu Dezheng was not a good match. Disliking him more and more, he took the opportunity yesterday when Hu Dezheng escorted Qian Lanxiang home to stop him and give him a harsh lecture.

And so, Hu Dezheng’s pride was wounded, and he ran off.

Qian Lanxiang chased after him and accidentally injured her leg.

“He refuses to write home introducing you to his parents?” After hearing the whole story, Li Tiantian looked utterly shocked. “Why? Does he not actually like you?”

If that was the case, then no wonder Uncle Qian disapproved of the marriage.

Looking down at her sprained ankle, Qian Lanxiang forced a smile.

“Actually, it’s pretty normal. My parents still haven’t agreed. If he rashly writes home and things end up failing, then what?”

“Are you stupid?” Li Tiantian said in exasperation, practically furious on her behalf. “As long as he wrote the letter, Uncle Qian would already be eighty percent willing to let you continue dating. But he won’t even try… and you’re still defending him?”

Qian Lanxiang fell silent. Looking down at her swollen right foot, puffed up like a pig’s trotter, she spoke hoarsely,

“Then what do you expect me to do? He doesn’t love me the way Xie Li loves you. I’m the one throwing myself at him. What else can I do?”

As she spoke, tears rolled down her face.

Li Tiantian froze, instantly becoming flustered.

“Lanxiang, don’t cry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

Qian Lanxiang turned over, facing away from her as she muttered in a muffled voice,

“Tiantian, go home first. I’ll handle my own problems. I heard you’re pregnant now, so don’t worry about me… I’ll be fine after crying for a while.”

Pressing her lips together, Li Tiantian left the Qian household, turning back every few steps. Only after walking outside did she suddenly realize just how fortunate she truly was.

She liked Xie Li.

And Xie Li just happened to like her back.

For the sake of marrying her, he sold precious personal belongings. To get closer to her, he nearly got injured by a wild boar. He constantly bought little gifts to please her and pursued her wholeheartedly.

Even after marriage, he remained exactly the same, spoiling her so much it almost reached the heavens themselves. Whatever she wanted, he bought for her.

Even her parents-in-law knew of her existence. Every two months, letters arrived asking after her wellbeing, sounding reasonable and loving.

But all of that rested on one single foundation:

Xie Li loved her.

What if he did not?

Would she also become like Lanxiang, constantly compromising herself just to remain by Xie Li’s side?

Resting her chin in her hand, Li Tiantian thought deeply.

Soon, she already had an answer.

She would.

Because she had fallen in love with Xie Li.

…

Li Tiantian continued paying attention to Qian Lanxiang’s situation for quite some time.

But after several months, she no longer had the energy to care, because her stomach kept growing larger, and Xie Li became more and more unbearable.

“Put that down. I’ll do it.”

“What are you moving around for?! I already told you not to carry heavy things. You never listen!”

“Li Tiantian, what are you doing now?”

“Stop right there! Your stomach’s already this big and you still dare squat down? Are you deliberately asking to get scolded?”

Xie Li worried constantly about her health. Other than necessary movement, he refused to let her do anything at all. Every day, he also cooked for her using spirit spring water, feeding her so well that her skin became soft and delicate, her figure rounded out, and she gained more than twenty jin, even developing a little double chin.

Li Tiantian was unwilling to simply sit around and wanted to do housework.

But even when Xie Li occasionally went out to work, Wang Cuihua would appear to supervise her. Concerned for her future grandchild, Wang Cuihua frequently came over to help with chores.

Li Tiantian practically became a useless person.

Under such boring circumstances, Li Tiantian sometimes deliberately caused trouble just to watch Xie Li’s calm expression finally crack. The resulting sense of accomplishment filled her with pride.

“You’re becoming more and more like an old housewife!” Holding her double chin, Li Tiantian tilted her head and grinned smugly at him. “Even my mother isn’t as nagging as you.”

Xie Li sneered.

“Keep causing trouble then. I’m only sparing you because you’re pregnant. Once the baby’s born, you’ll understand what suffering really means.”

Li Tiantian froze before mumbling weakly,

“But I didn’t even do anything bad…”

Terrified by that sentence, she behaved herself for several days afterward.

When her due date finally arrived, Xie Li took her to the clinic. After endless persuasion and who knew what kind of price paid behind the scenes, he finally managed to secure a hospital bed so Li Tiantian could stay there awaiting labor.

“Xie Li, I’m scared.”

The moment the labor pains struck, Li Tiantian, who had believed herself fearless, suddenly became frightened. Clutching Xie Li’s hand tightly, tears rolled from her reddened eyes.

“What if I have a difficult labor? Would you choose me or the baby?”

Xie Li showed no impatience at all. Gently cupping her cheek, he answered seriously,

“I only want you.”

Li Tiantian paused, staring at him as though trying to carve him permanently into her heart.

After a long moment, she wiped away her tears and said solemnly,

“For you, I’ll work hard.”

…

After an entire day and night of exhausting labor, Li Tiantian safely gave birth to a baby boy.

Xie Li: “……”

All this time, he had assumed the child would be a daughter.

Ever since Li Tiantian’s pregnancy was confirmed, he had already begun drafting a detailed “Daughter-Raising Plan,” staying up late beneath kerosene lamplight. The notes and precautions alone filled three entire pages.

Now it seemed his preparations had been insufficient.

He should have written a “Son-Raising Plan” too.

There was no need for excessive detail. As the older brother, a son carried heavy responsibility. He would need to protect his younger sister. A simple ten pages or so should be enough.

Fortunately, his son had only just been born.

There was still time to make up for it.

Having made up his mind, Xie Li looked determined.

Meanwhile, on the hospital bed, the tiny newborn baby trembled slightly after being separated from his mother…

For some unknown reason, he suddenly seemed a little pitiful.

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