Chapter 43 Eating Li's Melon
"Everyone in the village knows what kind of people the Li family is. After Dayaniang ran away, Li Tiedan hasn't been able to find a wife in more than ten years. Who would marry their daughter to such a family?" Old Mrs. Wang was talking on the sofa with saliva flying.
Old Lady Ye wondered, "No matter how bad his family's reputation is, there will always be poor families selling their daughters. How can he not get a daughter-in-law if he gives more gifts?"
"You don't know, his family is not only vicious, but also stingy. How can they afford to spend money to buy a daughter-in-law? They wish other families would give them a daughter for free and give them a lot of dowry as a dowry." Old Lady Wang pouted and shook her head, "Tsk tsk tsk..."
"Two years ago, I heard from Mrs. Zhou, who lives next door to Mrs. Zhang, that the Li family asked a matchmaker to find a daughter-in-law, but when the people from the nearby villages heard it was the Li family, no one was willing. The matchmaker then suggested a young widow, but her family didn't want her. Not only did they not want to give a betrothal gift, they didn't even want to give the matchmaker a thank-you gift. The matchmaker had no choice but to find another family, with a virgin girl, but she was old, and her family said they couldn't afford the dowry, so she stayed at home to work." Lu said with a beaming eyebrow.
“No matter how old he is, he is not older than Li Tiedan! Tsk…” Feng, who was sitting next to him, rolled her eyes.
"And then? Did it work?" Lin Zisu listened with great interest. Without Internet entertainment, it was still very enjoyable to listen to different people's melons.
Mrs. Lu slapped her thigh and said, "The previous wife ran away, and Li Tiedan has been single ever since. It must have been a failure! His family thinks the girl is too old, and even though she has no dowry, they still want a gift. They bargained and said that it's okay without a dowry, and his family won't give a gift. The girl came by herself, and the Li family didn't hold a banquet or go to pick her up. At most, they gave the matchmaker money."
"This Li family is so shameless!" Old Mrs. Ye shook her head after hearing this.
"How could such a family trust us and follow us to escape?" Lin Zisu stood up, stretched her waist, and said with a raised eyebrow.
"Mrs. Zhang kept saying that it was her son Li Tiedan who insisted on going with her. The two old people had no choice but to pack up and leave." Yang, who seldom spoke, also joined the conversation.
Lin Zisu wondered, "The Li family only has one child?"
Old Lady Wang clicked her tongue twice and curled her lips, "How can there be only one? Mrs. Zhang gave birth to five children, and the first four were daughters. When they grew up, they were married off in exchange for a dowry."
"Oh~ Then Li Tiedan is the youngest one." Lin Zisu sat down with a look of understanding. Neither Old Man Li nor Mrs. Zhang are good people. They favor sons over daughters. They can't raise good sons.
The passenger door opened, Shen Xianglan came back with a bowl, and Lin Zisu hurriedly asked, "What's going on? Is he awake?"
"Cuihe, put the bowl in the cabinet." Shen Xianglan stretched out her hand and handed the bowl to Cuihe. Cuihe took the bowl and skillfully put it in the cabinet under the sink.
Shen Xianglan sat down and said, "She hasn't woken up yet. I gave her two bowls of sugar and salt water! It all depends on her luck."
"Our elders don't care about her, but let us take care of her. We can't even bear to eat candy, and we even made two bowls of sugar and salt water for her to drink." When Old Mrs. Wang mentioned sugar and salt, her face darkened.
"The Buddha said, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda! My dear, that child has a miserable life. If we eat less, we can save her life, and it will also accumulate merit for ourselves." Old Mrs. Ye turned sideways and said to Old Mrs. Wang behind her.
Old Lady Wang thought that the two grandchildren she found and the RV she got back were indeed blessed by the gods. Do more good deeds and accumulate good karma, and you will be blessed. Thinking of this, she said with a smile on her face: "Yes, do more good deeds and accumulate good karma, and we will definitely have a smooth journey."
"Ding ding ding! Ding ding!" The sound of gongs came from outside.
"The gong has sounded, it's time to set off. Everyone sit tight!! I'm driving!" Lin Zisu sat down, fastened her seat belt, and started the car.
When the team was almost dark, Lin Youcai saw a river not far from the official road. He blew a whistle, and from the village head's house at the end of the team, the sound of a gong came "Dang dang dang!!!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. One of the things they looked forward to most every day was the time to rest.
Some were patrolling, some were collecting firewood, some were fetching water, some were cooking, everyone was busy in an orderly manner in the heavy drizzle.
When everyone finished their work and were ready to rest, Daya woke up in a daze.
Li Juhua left a bowl of porridge, which was still a little warm. Seeing that Daya had woken up, she brought it over.
Daya opened her eyes and saw herself lying in the carriage, looking confused.
Li Juhua opened the curtain and said, "Daya, hurry up and get up and have some porridge."
Daya swallowed her dry and itchy throat, got up and sat down, looking at Li Juhua timidly.
"Don't think too much, drink the porridge first."
Daya took the bowl of porridge with shaking hands. Li Juhua touched her head and said, "Don't be afraid! The head of the village has made the decision for you. Drink it. It will be fine!"
Daya looked at the porridge in the bowl, swallowed her saliva, and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you... Thank you... Thank you Aunt Li."
"Drink it quickly! While the porridge is still a little warm."
Daya picked up the bowl and slurped the porridge. Her face was not even as big as the bowl, and she wanted to bury her head in the bowl.
Shen Xianglan and her second sister-in-law Yang came over and looked at Daya drinking porridge in the car. They were surprised and then relieved. It was good that she could wake up and drink porridge. There was no medicine or treatment for this. It all depended on whether she could survive.
Shen Xianglan said happily: "He's awake!"
Yang: "Are you feeling well?"
Li Juhua smiled and said, "Just woke up."
"I have some porridge here. I'll go get it." Shen Xianglan said as she walked towards the RV.
Daya had just woken up and didn't know what had happened after she fainted. After drinking the porridge given by Aunt Li, she looked at the aunts who came to see her one after another. From everyone's discussions, she also roughly understood what had happened.
The scholar's wife brought her a bowl of porridge, touched her forehead, and asked her with concern if she was feeling unwell.
My nose felt sore and I couldn't help but let my tears fall down, staining the porridge. Is this what it feels like to have a caring mother?
She had never been cared for so much since she could remember. In the past, she was often beaten and scolded, and went hungry. No one cared about her. The children in the same village laughed at her for having no mother and that her mother didn't want her anymore.
"Why are you still crying? Stop crying. If you keep crying your face will turn into a cat's. Eat quickly." Yang reached out and wiped her face.
Daya rarely had such thick porridge. When she was at home, she ate coarse vegetable cakes and porridge like clear soup. She was so hungry. She hadn't eaten for two days, and her mother wouldn't even let her drink a mouthful of thin porridge.
The porridge in her mouth mixed with tears made her feel so delicious! After drinking a bowl of porridge and feeling a little sick in her stomach, she was reluctant to finish the second bowl of porridge all at once, and drank it slowly in small sips.
After drinking the porridge, Daya wiped her face and found that she was not wearing her tattered and dirty linen clothes.
She propped herself up, stood up, and tried to walk out of the car.
"You're not well yet! Why are you coming down? Sleep with Auntie at night." Li Juhua quickly stopped Daya.
Daya bent down and bowed deeply to the people who came to see her: "Thank you... Thank you... Thank you..." Tears blurred her eyes and fell down.