Seeing that Li Man was at a loss as to how to answer, Li Hua smiled, stroked her cheek, and asked softly, "I'll just stay by your side all the time, okay?"
"Okay, I'm really looking forward to it." Li Man also smiled softly, took the hand that was caressing her cheek in her palm, and said seriously, "But, don't you say that men have ambitions everywhere? Are you really willing Stay with me in this valley for the rest of your life? Knife"
"If this is the case, it will be a blessing for our family." The indescribable sincerity in Li Hua's smile is exactly as he said. The life of the Li family is prosperous now, with no worries about food and drink, harmonious brothers, loving husband and wife, and If the child who is about to be born can live here in peace for the rest of his life, it is really a blessing.
Li Man hesitated, "Really?"
"Of course." Li Hua suppressed her smile and said seriously, "In the past, I did have the idea of studying to change my family's predicament, but now it's completely unnecessary, isn't it? Our life is very good now. And I, I don't want to be an official, so what is the purpose of continuing to take the exam? Besides, do you think my temperament is suitable for being an official?"
"This?" Li Man really looked at Li Hua carefully, and naturally formed a picture of Li Hua wearing an official uniform sitting in the court hall in his mind, and laughed, "Really, you look like an official, It's really funny."
Moreover, if such a handsome man became an official, he might not have much majesty, but would attract a lot of peach blossoms instead.
Li Hua pinched her chin, seemingly dissatisfied, "How funny?"
Li Man broke free from his hand and said with a smile, "I don't think so anyway, but if you become an official, it's good to benefit the people, and your name will go down in history, haha."
"Heh." Li Hua also laughed along with her, but did not continue this topic. Being an official, he had never thought about it. He used to work hard to study, and it seemed that he was going in this direction. At that time, he felt that the only thing he could do was study. However, only with a good future can the fate of the family members be changed.
However, after Li Man came, he didn't need to do all of this.
And that unattainable dream of being an official has already been suppressed by him to a place that he can't find in his heart. He knows his own character very well, and he is too upright and transparent. Such a person is actually not suitable for being an official.
Not long after, Li Xiangcao finished the meal and came up to call the two to go downstairs for dinner. Li Hua supported Li Man and went downstairs cautiously.
In the kitchen, Zhang Ben leaned on a cane and was setting the dishes. When he saw the two of them coming in, he smiled and continued to work.
These days, the Li family has taken good care of him, and Zhang Ben has gradually let go of his guard. He just treats himself as a part of the family and does what he can do every day, which makes him very happy.
In particular, he and Li Xiangcao seem to have reached a certain kind of tacit understanding. When Li Xiangcao is working, he will definitely help and do it together. If he can't do it, he will definitely stay by her side. .
After Li Mo and the others finished their work, they all came back one after another.
After breakfast, Li Xiangcao started to work on this lunch. The preparation was very sumptuous, and the dishes on a large table looked mouth-watering.
"There's still wine." Li Xiangcao took out another jug of wine from under the cupboard. Everyone cheered. Li Shu took the wine jar and offered to pour wine for everyone. When it was Li Man's turn, Li Mo stopped him , "Man'er doesn't drink."
"Ah?" Li Man was a little disappointed, but for the sake of the child in her stomach, she could only endure it.
Li Shu knew that Li Man wanted to drink. If it was in the past, he would definitely ignore his elder brother and rely on her. But now, for the sake of the child, he resolutely did not pour it for her, and only coaxed, "Daughter-in-law, I will drink two more bowls later. Drink your share back, too."
"Dare you, don't drink too much." Li Man gave him a hasty look. If he drank too much, he might fall asleep in the afternoon and wouldn't be able to wake up at night, but today is Chinese New Year's Eve, and the whole family will have reunion dumplings at night. , By the way, we still have to watch the year.
Li Shu giggled, "Don't dare." Then he passed the wine jar to Li Yan who was opposite, and Li Yan poured wine for Xiao Wu and Li Xiangcao who were beside him.
Everyone toasted, and only Li Man brought a bowl of soup and clinked glasses with everyone. However, the mood was still very good, but when everyone looked up, the wine in the glass had just been drained, and a timid shout outside the door made everyone stunned.
"Brother."
Everyone followed the prestige, and saw a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl standing at the door.
"Yingzi?" Li Xiangcao hurriedly got up and left the table, walking towards the little girl, "Why are you here? Your parents..."
Just as I was about to ask, I saw a few people in the yard looking very embarrassed.
"Sister-in-law." The little girl looked at Li Xiangcao, tears streaming down her face.
Li Mo and the others hurriedly left the table and came out to take a look. They saw their elder aunt Li Xiangyu, elder uncle and elder cousin all coming.
"What's going on here?" Li Xiangcao hurried over and saw Li Xiangyu lying half-lying on the small cart with bedding and other daily necessities piled up in a mess.
Li Xiangyu tore off the scarf on her head, revealing a haggard face, staring at her sister with red eyes, tears were already streaming down without saying a word.
The eldest uncle Tian Xiben was a man of few words, and in this situation, he just drooped his head, let alone uttered a word in despondency.
In the end, it was Li Xiangyu's eldest son, Tian Ning'an, who angrily explained to Li Xiangcao, "Sister, my family is gone. We were kicked out. It's all because of the Zhao family. When we catch them, I will definitely It’s impossible to peel off their skin.”
Only then did everyone realize that the Zhao family, who had been sent away by Li Mo and others overnight, did not come along this time.
"how
What's going on? Li Xiangcao asked nervously, "What did they do to you?" Did they drive you out? "But, how is it possible? However, the whole family has come, and they have brought all their belongings. They describe it as a mess, as if they were kicked out.
"Sister-in-law." At this time, the little girl Tian Ningying walked to Li Xiangcao and cried, "Uncle Zhao stole the money from the family, and secretly mortgaged our house and lost it to others."
"What?" The Zhao family was too bold, and everyone couldn't believe it.
"We only found out today." Tian Ning'an also said with a choked voice.
"What about the Zhao family?" Li Shu asked.
"I ran away early." When Tian Ning'an thought of this, he became even more angry, "About five days ago, the surname Zhao suddenly said that the son from the county asked someone to come and pick them up for the New Year reunion. This is a good thing, and I prepared a new set of clothes for each of them, and sent them away. But who knows, they cheated our family, and they slipped away because they were afraid that the matter would be exposed. "
Speaking of this, Tian Ning'an complained and glanced at his mother. He had told his mother that the Zhao family's intentions were not righteous, but her mother didn't believe it.
However, in this case, Li Xiangyu was the one who suffered the most. The family made special purchases for the New Year and saved money for him to marry a wife next year, but was stolen by Zhao Quan. Because of this, his mother became seriously ill, but the illness has not recovered. , Early this morning, a creditor came to collect the house. At that time, she was still lying on the bed, sick for several days, and her body was already weak. When she encountered this kind of thing again, she argued with others, and she was almost beaten if she couldn't argue.
The brothers and sisters were quick, and only then did they grab some bedding, clothes and other things.
Li Xiangyu, who has always been strong, fell down completely this time. She was dragged into the ice and snow, and couldn't get up for a long time. In the end, they had no choice but to carry her into the car, and pushed her to Li's house.
Everyone was silent for a while, and the atmosphere was a little depressed.
Li Xiangyu raised her red and swollen eyes, glanced resentfully at the people in the yard, then slapped the car frantically, and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Who told you to bring me here? Push me away, Let’s go, even if we die from freezing and starving, don’t come here.”
"Mother." Tian Ningan yelled at her mother angrily, "What time is it, you still say such things."
Tian Ning'an didn't know exactly what unhappiness happened between his mother and the Li family, but that morning, after his mother returned home with the Zhao family, she and the Zhao family mother and daughter scolded and abused his cousins from time to time, and he felt that Something was wrong, and I rejected it a few times, but my mother always said that he was ignorant, and said that his cousins and cousins were getting mad now, and no one was in their eyes, and they would no longer look down on him or anything.
But now, the Tian family's family has always been indifferent and mean to them, asking them for help, he would rather sleep on the street, but the Li family, he thinks that his cousins are kind and honest, and he will never leave their family alone.
That's why I made my own decision and brought my parents and sister here.
"Let's go, let's go..." Li Xiangyu was so frantic that she couldn't even shout out, and kept yelling to leave.
Li Xiangcao couldn't stand it anymore, and shouted, "Sister, stop making trouble, you can leave if you want, but the two children, do you want them to live with you on the street?"
Li Xiangyu shut up, and just hugged the bedding on the car and began to cry, the voice sounded very desolate.
Li Man leaned against the kitchen door, watching the scene calmly. The Zhao family had evil intentions, and Li Xiangyu was cheated, which seemed to be expected. However, she didn't expect to be cheated so badly.
"Big cousin." Tian Ning'an looked at Li Mo for help.
Li Mo looked back at Li Man, Li Man shrugged her eyebrows, turned around and went back to the kitchen without saying a word, she is pregnant now, her legs will be sore after standing for too long.
"Go into the house." Li Mo knew that Li Man was feeling uncomfortable. In fact, he was not. However, Li Xiangyu's family has fallen to this point. Apart from her being hateful, there are also innocent cousins. He can't ignore it, especially today. It was still thirty years old, and he felt that even if it was a passing beggar who arrived at their door, he would have to give them a few delicious meals so that they could spend the New Year with peace of mind, not to mention that these were still his relatives.
"En." Tian Ning'an responded, turned around and took off the quilt from the trolley, and said to Li Mo, "Big cousin, don't worry, we have already reported to the police, and I believe that family bastard will be caught soon. "
"Yeah." So what if you catch it, can you get the house back? Li Mo was very skeptical, but at this moment, it was useless to say more, he took the initiative to help carry the luggage.
Li Yan and the others watched from the sidelines, their faces were not very good-looking, but they all understood that the eldest brother could only do this.
Fortunately, the Tian family is not the Zhao family, and Tian Ning'an is also more interested than the Zhao family. He didn't let Li Mo reach out, and moved all the things to the main room by himself, and then said to Li Mo, "Big cousin, I know that at this time, we It's inappropriate for a family to trouble you, but in this situation, I don't know who to go to. I don't care, but the key is my mother and younger sister. My mother is still sick, and today she suffers again. Such tossing, I'm afraid it will make my illness worse, if I don't take good care of it, I'm afraid... "
"Don't talk about it, stay here first, and talk about other things later." Li Mo comforted.
Tian Ning'an's eyes were red, and he shook his head, "No, your house only has these few rooms, our whole family is here, I'm afraid we won't be able to squeeze in, I thought, otherwise, we'll live in the old house first. "
"It snowed a few days ago, I'm afraid the house over there will be destroyed." Li Mo said, "Let's build two shops here first."
Tian Ning'an
Still shaking his head, "Don't be afraid, I'll clean up in the afternoon, if it's really unlivable."
"this-"
"Big cousin, let's make it so." Tian Ning'an was not being polite, the key was to know her mother's temper, she just came and shouted to leave, what is this? He understood very well that his mother had a conflict with her natal family, and he was afraid that it would be difficult to mediate for a while, and living together, he was afraid that this year, everyone would have a hard time.
As for him, as long as he has a place to stay and can take good care of the sick mother so that the younger sister won't suffer, he can take his time for the rest.
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Li Mo didn't say much, turned around and came out to settle Li Xiangyu with him.
Li Xiangyu's body is very weak now, and she was drowsy during the bumpy journey. When she arrived here, she only woke up faintly after hearing Li Xiangcao's words, and she was ashamed and angry for a while, and she made such a fuss.
In fact, after she woke up, she also realized something, that she cheated the Tian family and the children, and she couldn't let the children suffer with herself, so after Li Xiangcao yelled at her, she really shut up .
At this moment, Li Mo and Tian Ning'an reached out to help her get out of the car. She looked at Li Mo's extended hand and his concerned eyes. Suddenly, sadness came from her heart, and tears burst into her eyes, but she didn't help Li Mo, but her body He leaned over and grabbed his son, "Anzi, carry me into the house."
"Yes." Tian Ning'an thought about his mother's weak body, and was afraid that he would not be able to walk, so he squatted down in front of him and carried his mother on his back.
Li Xiangcao was behind, holding Li Xiangyu's arm, and they entered the kitchen together.
In the kitchen, Li Man and Xiao Wu were sitting in the fire barrel. Seeing them come in, they only raised their eyes and glanced at them, but did not speak.
In fact, she couldn't find anything to say, and didn't know what to say.
Let her be like a sensible little daughter-in-law, warmly welcome and entertain Li Xiangyu's family? That's impossible, she didn't think she was generous enough to forget Li Xiangyu's harm to her so quickly.
Instead of directly kicking their family out, she felt that she was already pretty good.
Li Mo was very embarrassed. On the one hand, he felt sorry for Li Man, but on the other hand, he couldn't leave the Tian family alone.
Fortunately, at this time, Li Xiangcao was a smart person. She called everyone to sit down, and then sat next to Li Man, and helped her pick up a lot of food, "Man'er, are you hungry? Eat quickly, eat more, The baby in the womb will grow well."
The baby in the womb? Hearing this, Li Xiangyu instinctively raised her head and glanced at Li Man. The astonishment in her eyes made Li Man very upset. Is it strange that she has a child
"Thank you, sister, you can eat it too. This lotus root is your favorite." Li Man glanced at Li Xiangyu indifferently, then Li Man picked up the chopsticks and picked up vegetables for Li Xiangcao, and then began to eat slowly.
"Yes." Li Man's attitude reassured Li Xiangcao a little.
But when Li Xiangyu saw this scene, she felt stabbing. She was already sick and had no appetite. At this moment, the youngest daughter was feeding her soup, and she only drank a couple of sips before leaning her head on the chair, closing her eyes and not moving. .
"Forget it, you can eat." Tian Ning'an told her sister.
—
It was supposed to be a very pleasant lunch, but because of the sudden arrival of the Tian family, the atmosphere was extremely depressed. During the meal, except for Tian Ning'an who occasionally scolded the Zhao family angrily, everyone else didn't say a word. No.
After the meal, Li Hua took Li Man upstairs to rest, Li Xiangcao and Tian Ningying helped Li Xiangyu to his room, and the others went to the old house together.
Li Mo saw that the three thatched huts were still damaged, especially the kitchen, the side near the stove had collapsed, and it was impossible to light a fire for cooking.
Fortunately, the other two rooms are just a little damp in the room, and they can still be used after cleaning.
So, one afternoon, the cousins started to tidy up the two rooms.
—
On the second floor of the new house, Li Man sat in Li's painting room, picking up a pen and thinking about writing when she had nothing to do.
Li Hua saw that she had written a few times, but she was not as casual and easy as before, so she took away her pen, sat beside her, and said, "I know you are not happy about your aunt's family."
"Should I be happy?" Li Man raised her eyebrows and looked at him.
Hearing her tone, Li Hua knew that she had a knot in her heart, and hurriedly explained, "If it were me, I would be unhappy too."
Li Man curled her lips and said nothing.
Li Hua said again, "But we have children, for their sake, making our children unhappy together, isn't it too bad?"
"Er—" Li Man thought about it too, but after thinking about it again, she said depressedly, "I don't want to either, but, Li Hua, when I see your aunt, I really can't be happy."
"Then ignore her." Li Hua smiled and rubbed her little head.
Li Man shook her head helplessly, "It's so difficult." After all, she is still under the same roof. Now, her family has lost even a house, and she doesn't know how long she will live here. If you look at this aunt, she will be unhappy every day.
Li Hua reached out and hugged her, "If you don't like her, don't pay attention to her. We don't look at her, don't listen to her, out of sight and out of mind, if you can't control yourself anymore, then... just look at me."
"Look at you?" Li Man gently pushed him away, fixed her eyes on his elegant face, and found that he seemed to be more handsome than before.
"Well, look at me, isn't it better to look at me than to look at my aunt?" Li Hua smiled, lowered her head, and pressed her forehead against hers, "Anyway, I don't think you can get enough of you in your life, how about you look at me? I found that , you rarely look at me, don’t I look good?”
"Who said I don't see you anymore?" Li Man felt that what he said was biased. She often looked at him in a daze, okay? When he was reading, when he was writing, when he was sewing, when he was sleeping, and even... the way he kissed her emotionally, she secretly opened her eyes and obsessively watched it.
"Hehe, then you still like to watch me? Then just watch, I will give you the rest of my time, okay?" Li Hua said, and kissed her forehead.
Li Man made a face at him, "Then I can't just look at you all day long, my eyes must be blurry."
"It's good to see the flowers, then I can't see others anymore." Li Hua laughed.
"No." Li Manjiao glared at him angrily, and suddenly, she moved forward again and touched his lips, "I don't look at others, and you are not allowed to show it to others."
"That's natural." Li Hua smiled, covering the back of her head with one hand, deepening the kiss.
He didn't let go until Li Man was out of breath. Looking at her rosy cheeks and misty eyes, he knew that she might have forgotten all the unpleasant things in her heart.
The fact is indeed the case. After Li Man calmed down, she thought about it carefully. Although Li Xiangyu hated her, she had already fallen to this point, and she couldn't be arrogant.
Life still has to go on.
Li Xiangcao brought her sister to her room, wiped her body, changed into clean clothes, and covered her with a quilt, but seeing Li Xiangyu's big eyes wide open and dazed, she could only coax her: , "Sister, don't think about the past, now, go to sleep quickly, and everything will be fine when you wake up."
"She...really has a child?" Li Xiangyu turned her face blankly, staring straight at Li Xiangcao.