Chapter 44

Li Changting returned the ox cart. Not long after he came back, the patriarch suddenly came to him.

"I was not in when you went to my house just now. I had something to discuss with you." The patriarch looked a little anxious. He glanced at the two busy old masters in the yard and said, "let's go in and say."

In the room, Xu Qing and Li Jinmei, who have washed the steamer, are talking. When they see the patriarch and Li Changting come in, Xu Qing gets up and wants to avoid suspicion: "do you have something to talk about? Let's go out."

"No, No." The patriarch waved his hand. "Stay and listen. Give me some advice."

"Is the patriarch in trouble?" Li Jinmei saw the patriarch's irritable face and asked suspiciously.

At the beginning, Xu Qing thought that it was the fat man Cao who went back to complain, which shocked the clan leader. However, the clan leader's worried look was not like that. Instead, it seemed that he had been bothered by something for a long time, so he had no way to ask for help.

The patriarch took a sip of tea and sighed: "do you remember the son of Cao Laoer? It's Cao min, the 16-year-old one. "

Li Jinmei nodded. Xu Qing and Li Changting shook their heads and said they hadn't seen each other very much.

The patriarch sighed: "three years ago, the boy went to the private school in the town to study. I heard that he was going to take the examination of scholar this year. I saw him two days ago. He looks ok, but he is arrogant and arrogant. He was offered by his family as an ancestor. He can do nothing but study."

Li Jinmei didn't understand: "what did the patriarch mention him to do?"

Patriarch: "you know my granddaughter, lian'er, is seventeen this year. The family has been looking for someone else for her. Two days ago, the second son of the Cao family suddenly came over with a pile of gifts. He said that his son Cao min had a crush on our lian'er and wanted to marry her. He also said that if lian'er wanted to marry her, he would give her 20 liang of bride price and a set of silver jewelry."

Li Jinmei said anxiously: "Oh, you can't promise! What kind of family is the Cao family? They eat people and don't vomit bones. What good life can Li Lian have when she married? "

The patriarch patted his thigh: "isn't it? I refused at that time! Lian'er doesn't want to marry either. Who doesn't know who his Cao family is and who dares to marry a good girl in? "

Li Changting: "is the Cao family angry and want to marry? Threatening you to marry your granddaughter? "

The patriarch waved his hand, slightly embarrassed: "that's not true. After I refused at that time, Cao Laoer went back in silence. Originally, I thought this was the case. But the next day, lian'er suddenly told me that she was willing to marry! The child The child is killing me! She clearly knows that the Cao family are not good people, and she has to marry them. This is to destroy her happiness all her life! "

Xu Qing suddenly wants to laugh, but she still asks seriously: "is it the Cao family that threatens Li Lian behind her back, saying that if she doesn't marry, what will she do to the patriarch's family?"

Li Jinmei also said: "there must be a reason for this sudden marriage. What did Li Lian say?"

"Well, I don't know where to put it when I mention it. Li Lian is really..." The patriarch sighed heavily, "she said that uncle Cao has decided to let Cao min be his filial grandson. When Uncle Cao dies, 70% of his legacy will belong to Cao min. Cao min finds lian'er herself and says that she will be a scholar in the future. So she moves to the town to buy a house and let her be the lady of the scholar. She is very popular. In addition to the legacy of Uncle Cao, it is said that nearly 500 taels of silver can reach Cao min, so there is no need to worry about food and clothing for the rest of his life. "

Xu Qing said to them:.... "

Li Jinmei thought: "five hundred taels of silver, in our small town, you don't have to worry about a comfortable life, but After all, Mr. Cao is not dead, and the silver has not come to Cao min's hands. Now everything is empty talk. "

Xu Qing chuckled: "the point is not whether the silver is in Cao min's hands, but after Cao min takes the silver, will he really treat Li Lian well? He is an ambitious man. With money, won't he marry a better wife, or even a few concubines? "

The patriarch patted his thigh and said, "isn't that the reason?"?! I see that Cao min's temperament is not right. If he is a kind and loyal person, he is willing to treat lian'er sincerely. But Cao min is not good at heart and wants to seduce lian'er with silver. Lian'er is also a money seeker, and she is so scared of her by the hundreds of liang of silver. "

Xu Qing sneers. She has been playing with Li Lian since she was a child. She can't understand Li Lian's character any more. Just going to the town to be a scholar's wife is enough to make Li Lian excited, not to mention a few hundred taels of silver.

Li Lian's vanity is stronger than anyone else. She can't see anyone better than her. Looking around, there is no better "golden turtle son-in-law" than Cao min. how can Li Lian not marry.

The patriarch then said, "lian'er has learned how to cut first and then play. She went to Cao's house and agreed to get married. I don't agree. She gave me a hunger strike. It's so unreasonable! In recent days, the village has been made a mess by the Cao family. Many villagers complain to me that the Cao family is bullying others. I'm already in a mess. If lian'er married into the Cao family, the villagers would think that I'm in the same boat with the Cao family! When the time comes, what will the Cao family do? Who will my in laws help? If I help outsiders, what should the Cao family do with lian'er? If I help the Cao family, how can I stand up to my conscience and those poor villagers? "With that, the patriarch couldn't help crying, and his voice choked up.

Xu Qing and Li Jinmei look at each other. They really don't know what to say.

Li Jinmei: "Li Lian is too ignorant. Her family is against her marrying Cao min. she doesn't know how to consider for her family at all. She only cares about herself."

The patriarch wiped his tears: "I, her father and her brother are all against it. Only her mother supports her. These two women are really women's opinions! I don't know at all. Take the overall situation into consideration! If lian'er really likes Cao min and has to get married, I'll admit it. But lian'er doesn't like Cao min at all. She's just going to go to the lady of the scholar who hasn't got a shadow and several hundred taels of silver. I'm really angry! "

With that, the patriarch sighed: "I have the responsibility to discipline lian'er, but I can't watch her jump into the fire pit! I was too anxious to eat and sleep. I also said that if she wanted to marry Cao family, she would break off the relationship. But after all, she was my granddaughter. How could I give up I really don't know what to do, so I came to discuss with you to see if there is any way? "

Xu Qing doesn't want to waste his brain cells for Li Lian's troubles. It's going to rain and his mother wants to get married. No one can stop her.

Li Lian had damaged her reputation everywhere in the village before. She hadn't settled with Li Lian yet. To tell you the truth, Xu Qing didn't want to take care of her at all and didn't care about it.