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Chapter 481: Chapter 471 How Can You Do This (Extra for Xiǎo xiào 66)
The Li Family had been living in Taoshu Village for several generations, and their neighbors were all long-time acquaintances. That night, Li Hongqi followed Qiu Shuping as they went around to these neighbors’ homes and actually managed to borrow two hundred and fifty yuan.
Of course, Qiu Shuping handed out several IOUs. Being an illiterate rural woman, she couldn’t possibly write them herself, so they were all written by Li Hongqi, after which she pressed her thumbprint.
Why did Li Hongqi accompany Qiu Shuping to borrow money from the neighbors? Normally, he would hide at home, letting his mother charge into battle, but this time the situation was different. He was worried his mother might say the wrong thing and offend the neighbors, which could jeopardize his marriage. So, he decided to accompany Qiu Shuping, primarily to help her find the right words. Indeed, he played a significant role throughout the process. Some families were hesitant about lending money, but eventually, they lent it out of consideration for Li Hongqi being a college graduate and currently a state employee.
Early the next day, Li Hongqi, with the newly borrowed two hundred and fifty yuan in his pocket, rode his bicycle to the county.
He had a busy day ahead. First, he took leave from his unit and his future father-in-law, then picked up his bride-to-be from her workplace. The two went together to the department store to look for clothes and sewing machines.
The ticket for the sewing machine had already been prepared by his father-in-law; they just needed to pay for it.
After setting up the sewing machine at his father-in-law’s house, he hurried off to find the banquet master to pay the deposit, and then to arrange the purchase of meat and vegetables.
When the mother-in-law saw the new clothes on her daughter and the brand-new sewing machine in her home, she finally smiled.
The next day, Li Hongqi’s wedding took place as scheduled. Amidst the sounds of firecrackers, the bride stepped down from the bicycle and followed Li Hongqi into the gates of the Li Family home.
Relatives and friends who attended the wedding at the Li Family all gave Old Li the thumbs up, praising the wedding as well done and grand.
And it was, with four tables set up inside and out, each laden with dishes of chicken, fish, and pork knuckles—a rarity in the countryside.
Old Li didn’t concern himself with these matters; he thought his second son had sent money back, so he happily boasted with the guests. Overly flattered that day, Old Li accidentally drank too much. The guests hadn’t even left properly when he lay on the kang unable to get up. Qiu Shuping angrily gave him a couple of slaps in secret, muttering "good-for-nothing" and "only knows how to drink" among other things. But she had to keep up appearances and see the guests out on his behalf, after all, it was her son’s big day.
After everyone had left, the house and yard were a mess. Li Hongqi and his bride had long since retreated to their room. The eldest daughter-in-law and the little girl had earlier taken some leftover dishes and left, while the eldest daughter was even worse, simply looking around, leaving a yuan, and not even staying for the meal.
So, it seemed everyone was counting on Qiu Shuping to clean up the scattered dishes and bowls both inside and outside the house.
But Qiu Shuping was not one for hard work. Not to mention the past, now that she had a daughter-in-law of her own, these chores surely couldn’t be left for her, the mother-in-law, to do. So, she got defiant, planted her hands on her hips, and shouted toward her son and daughter-in-law’s new room: "Xiaolan, the guests have all left, come out and help tidy up the tables. We borrowed these from the neighbors, and we must return them by tomorrow morning."
Inside the room, lying on the kang, Zheng Guilin heard the rural mother-in-law’s shouting and kicked Li Hongqi beside her, "Why is your mother asking me to do chores? When you were courting me, I made it clear—I’m not some unworldly village girl; I’ve never done housework at home, and you shouldn’t expect me to do any in the future either. What did you promise me back then? Why is your mother calling me to work now?"
Li Hongqi reached out and grabbed the foot Zheng Guilin kicked at him, and without any disgust, kissed it, "That’s right, I promised I would. Marrying a wife means coming back to pamper her, not to marry someone to act like an old maid. You just lie there and rest easy, I’ll go and talk to my mom."
"That’s more like it. Now scram, your mom is making a ruckus outside, and it’s getting on my nerves. Our son doesn’t like it either," Zheng Guilin said, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment, and she gave him another gentle kick with her other foot.
"All right, I’m going right now, right now. You just rest well and let our son rest well too," Li Hongqi said with a fatuous smile to his wife. As he turned around and got out of bed, his face turned somewhat gloomy, but since his back was to Zheng Guilin, no one saw his expression.
Qiu Shuping had been calling out for a while from the outside, not expecting her daughter-in-law to remain inside while her younger son came out instead.
"Why did you come out? Hurry back in, hurry back in. You’ve been tired all day, go back and lie down to rest for a bit. Leave this work; let your wife clean up," Qiu Shuping said, being essentially a good mother who knew how to fuss over her own son.
"Mom, what are you talking about? I’ve been tired all day, Xiaolan’s been tired all day too. She’s not alone right now, and she’s even more tired than me," Li Hongqi said with a voice slightly lower, but loud enough for everyone inside the house to hear.
As expected, Zheng Guilin lying on the kang beam with a sweet smile on her face.
After this reminder from her son, Qiu Shuping remembered that her daughter-in-law was now pregnant with her precious grandchild. However, in Qiu Shuping’s heart, even though the daughter-in-law came from the city and was now pregnant, she was still supposed to take care of her mother-in-law.
"What’s that? When I was pregnant with your second brother, I was eight months in and still working in the fields..."
"Mom, you can’t compare now with back then. You had no choice but to work then, or there’d be no food. Our family’s situation isn’t like that anymore," Li Hongqi didn’t want to listen to his mom go on about those times, he had heard it countless times before, "Xiaolan is exhausted today, let’s not ask her to come out, okay? As for cleaning up the table, it’s not much work, I’ll do it." Li Hongqi finished speaking and readied himself to clear the table by rolling up his sleeves.
"Oh my, you silly boy, a college graduate like you shouldn’t be doing this. Just go stand over there; we don’t need your help," Qiu Shuping could never stand by and watch her youngest son do the work.
"Hongqi, you go rest. I’ll do it," Zheng Guilin, having already reached the doorway while listening to Li Hongqi express his concern and defend her, leaned against the door frame with a sweet smile looking at Li Hongqi. She felt that even if people laughed at her for choosing a husband from the countryside, it was worth it to have found such a thoughtful and considerate man.
"Exactly, your wife and I will take care of it, and we’ll be done in no time. If you, a grown man, were to do this, won’t people laugh at you? Just go inside and lie down," Qiu Shuping also urged him. Her son had grown up without doing much work; Hongqi was born to be an official, and he was about to become one. Of course, she couldn’t let him do such chores.
Li Hongqi looked troubled, not wanting to exhaust his mother or his wife, but under the persuasion of the two women, he reluctantly went back to lie down, and of course, the dishes in the yard were cleaned up by both Qiu Shuping and Zheng Guilin.
Li Hongqi lay on the kang bed with his legs crossed, chuckling to himself as he thought about the future where he would rise rapidly with the help of his father-in-law’s support.
