eurekapd Chapter 105 I'll Marry Anyone
Chapter 105 I'll Marry Anyone
Under the old willow tree at the entrance of Lijia Village, Li Weimin was leaning against the trunk, panting heavily.
He ran all the way here.
I lost one shoe while running, and the sole of my foot was scalded by the hot dirt road, causing a string of blisters that were excruciatingly painful.
His gray cloth jacket was already soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body and revealing his bony frame. His hair was a mess, like a bird's nest, with a few withered grasses hanging on it.
Just now someone shouted from the west end of the village that they saw Li Xianglian return.
She also brought a man with her, who I heard is very fierce.
Li Weimin acted impulsively and rushed out.
Xianglian was definitely forced into it. She's soft-hearted and indecisive; her old hag must have sold her to some ruthless person for money, and now she's waiting for him to save her life.
He gripped the rotten wooden stick in his hand until it was sweaty.
"Xianglian...wait...I'm coming..."
Li Weimin swallowed hard, his throat filled with the taste of rust.
He stared intently at the end of the dirt road, his eyes bloodshot from exhaustion.
He would fight to the death with anyone who dared to touch Xianglian.
"Ding-ling-ling—"
The sound was crisp and melodious, conveying a sense of joy and pride.
Li Weimin suddenly raised his head, his small, bloodshot eyes staring intently ahead.
At the end of the dirt road, the gleaming bicycle drew ever closer.
The sunlight was so bright that he could barely see.
But he could see the man on the bicycle; he was tall and strong, like a black panther ready to pounce. His imposing masculinity and domineering presence were so overwhelming that they could be felt from a distance.
And the woman sitting in the back seat...
The wooden stick in Li Weimin's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".
Is that Xianglian?
Is that Li Xianglian from my memory, who always kept her head down, wore patched old clothes, and had a sallow complexion like a dry twig?
The woman in the car was wearing a pale yellow polyester dress, the bright color making her look like a fashionable woman straight out of a magazine.
A gust of wind blew by, and the bright skirt swept across the man's trouser legs.
Li Xianglian wrapped her arms tightly around the man's waist, her cheek pressed against his strong back.
She didn't look at the road or her surroundings, and when she passed the big willow tree, she didn't even glance at the roadside.
She was smiling.
That smile was one that Li Weimin had never seen before.
It's not the kind of forced, bitter smile you put on to please someone, nor is it the kind of carefully ingratiating smile you give. Rather, it's a genuine, relaxed smile that comes from being cherished and pampered.
She clung tightly to the man's waist, leaning against his back with complete trust and reliance.
The two men passed by Li Weimin, stirring up a gust of wind.
The wind carried the fresh smell of pork, along with the pleasant scent of face cream—the scent of Li Xianglian.
Throughout the entire process, Li Xianglian didn't even glance at the roadside.
All she could see was the man on the bicycle, and their way home.
Li Weimin was completely ignored, just like a piece of roadside trash.
The bicycle quickly disappeared into the distance, eventually becoming a black dot and vanishing around the corner of the village road.
Li Weimin felt as if all the bones in his body had been removed, and he slid limply down the tree trunk to the ground.
He recalled the scene he had just witnessed.
Qin Rushan's rolled-up sleeves revealed clearly defined muscles, a strength honed through years of labor and training; while he himself looked at his pale, thin hands, which he couldn't even grip a wooden stick tightly.
He remembered the pig leg weighing dozens of kilograms on Qin Rushan's handlebars, a symbol of wealth that would make the whole village envious; while he didn't even have enough money in his pocket to buy a piece of fruit candy.
He recalled the radiant happiness on Li Xianglian's face, a happiness he had never witnessed before.
It turns out Liu Xiaocui was right; he was indeed a good-for-nothing.
It turns out that the so-called "Xianglian's suffering" was nothing but his own wishful thinking, a fig leaf he used to cover up his incompetence.
They're doing just fine.
It's a hundred times, a thousand times better than following him.
Li Weimin covered his face, letting out a whimper like a dying wild animal.
The sound echoed at the empty village entrance, sounding particularly eerie.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but the sun was beginning to set, casting a very long shadow.
Li Weimin stood up unsteadily, dragging his bare foot, and walked back step by step.
It was already evening when I returned to my own courtyard.
The courtyard was filled with the smell of dried tobacco.
Li Jianshe sat on the millstone, smoking a cigarette, his face gloomy.
Liu Xiaocui was sweeping the yard with a broom, muttering something unpleasant under her breath.
Seeing Li Weimin walk in looking like a ghost, Liu Xiaocui threw the broom on the ground and immediately started yelling.
"Where have you been! Huh? If you're going to die, go somewhere else, don't die at home and bring bad luck!"
Seeing her son's wretched appearance, Liu Xiaocui was even more furious. She rushed over and jabbed her finger hard into Li Weimin's forehead. "Look at you! Where are your shoes? Why are your pants torn again? Have you been waiting outside that slut's house again? Have you no shame?!"
"They're a member of the Qin family now! Do you think you can just dream about it? Why don't you take a good look at yourself in the mirror!"
Li Weimin was poked so hard that his head tilted back, his body swayed, and he almost fell over.
He neither dodged nor refuted.
His eyes were empty, devoid of any color.
"Speak up! Are you mute?" Seeing his stubborn and unyielding attitude, Liu Xiaocui was furious and raised her large, shoe-sewing hand to slap him.
"daughter."
Li Weimin suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse and dry, like two pieces of broken sandpaper rubbing together.
Liu Xiaocui's hand froze in mid-air, startled by her son's deathly tone.
Li Jianshe also looked up, squinting at his son.
"I will marry you."
"Huh?" Liu Xiaocui was stunned for a moment, not quite understanding.
"Li Xiaotao." Li Weimin looked up, his face expressionless. "You can marry whoever you want. It's up to you."
As long as it's not Li Xianglian, what difference does it make whether you marry a human or a ghost?
Anyway, that's pretty much it for this lifetime.
Liu Xiaocui heard it clearly this time.
The face, which was full of fat, instantly relaxed, and his triangular eyes narrowed into slits with a smile. The hand that was about to hit someone immediately patted Li Weimin's dusty shoulder.
"Oh! That's right! My son has finally figured it out!"
Liu Xiaocui slapped her thigh with joy, "Mother always said that Li Xianglian was a jinx! Look at Li Xiaotao, although she has a bit of a temper, she's strong and healthy! She's good material—capable of working and bearing children! Plus, she has the Party Secretary as her father. If you marry her, you'll be able to walk around the village with your head held high!"
"As long as you agree, I'll take care of it!"
Liu Xiaocui excitedly twirled around the yard, "Tonight... no, right now! Have your dad take some wine to Matchmaker Liu and shut this up first!"
Li Jianshe tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, stood up, and the gloomy look on his face disappeared.
He walked up to his son with his hands behind his back, looked him up and down, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Now that you've figured it out, stop being foolish. What kind of woman can't a man have once he has power and status?"
Hearing his parents' calculating words, Li Weimin felt his heart turn completely cold, leaving not a trace of warmth.
His mind was filled with the man's broad back and that enviable pig's leg.
"The bride price..." Li Weimin moved his lips, his voice weak, "Give it a little more. Don't let people laugh at us."
Two hundred yuan.
He wouldn't be worth two hundred yuan even if you sold him.
But if it could buy them the title of the Party Secretary's son-in-law, the old couple would definitely be willing to give it up.
"Yes! Definitely!"
Li Jianshe gritted his teeth and went all out, saying, "What's two hundred yuan if I can get related to the Party Secretary? It's worth it even if it empties my savings! If you become the village security chief or something, that money will still be ours, right?"
The family of three stood in the dimly lit courtyard, contemplating this "perfect match".
No one noticed that Li Weimin's lifeless eyes had lost all their light.
Meanwhile, at the other end of Lijia Village.
Amidst the shade of several old, crooked willow trees stands a large brick and tile house that stands out from the surrounding mud-brick houses.
Although the vermilion gate is somewhat mottled, the brick carvings of the auspicious symbols of fortune, prosperity, and longevity on the gate tower indicate that this family holds a prominent position in the village.
This is the home of Li Youtian, the village party secretary.
Inside the main room, bright red "double happiness" characters had already been cut out and were placed on a polished long table.
Li Youtian sat in a grand chair, holding a purple clay teapot in his hands, and the two nasolabial folds on his face relaxed.
"Dad, did the Li family really agree to pay two hundred yuan?"