Juhua was overjoyed to hear this. She said to Zheng Changhe, "When my brother gets ho from school, we’ll go look. Our family has several acres of rice paddies, so we’ll definitely find a lot."
Zheng Changhe nodded repeatedly. "Let’s go later this evening," he said. "I checked earlier. There’s still a lot of deep water in the fields, and it won’t drain away anyti soon. As long as the river level doesn’t drop, the water in the paddies has nowhere to go. I’m afraid it might not even be possible by tonight. If not, we’ll just catch them tomorrow."
After a quick discussion, Liu Sanshun and Li Changxing practically turned the wild pond inside out. Fortunately, they released the small crucian carp they caught. They didn’t even bother keeping the tiniest fish, like the minnows. For one, there wasn’t enough at on them to be worth eating; for another, they were basically just fry.
They knew what they were doing. They netted minnows in the clear mountain streams and sand gourds in the muddy water. Crucian carp, on the other hand, could be found everywhere.
Seeing how interested Juhua was in netting fish, Liu Sanshun patiently explained the habits of the different fish to her and Liu Xiaoi. The two girls tried their hands at it several tis, having a blast. Zheng Changhe stood off to the side, watching with a smile as he helped them drag the net and collect the fish.
Li Changming was casting his net into a deep part of the water when a glimpse of Juhua and Liu Xiaoi laughing and playing caught his eye. He couldn’t help but recall what his mother, Granny Hua, had said a while back, which only reinforced his belief that she was a despicable woman with a twisted mind.
The thing was, after he had saved izi on the mountain that day, Gou Dan’s mother and Qin had co to their house with gifts to express their gratitude. This had made Granny Hua ecstatic, and she inevitably began to indulge in so wild fantasies.
After their visitors left, she said to Li Changming, who was nding a net, "That izi is a fine girl, you know. And her family is quite well-off..."
Before she could finish, Li Changming’s head shot up. He fixed her with a deathly stare and cut her off coldly. "What are you trying to pull, Mother? I’m warning you, if a single whisper of gossip about izi gets out, you won’t be welco in this house anymore!"
Granny Hua had never seen such an expression on her son’s face, let alone heard him speak such words. She flew into a rage. "What am I trying to pull? I’m doing this for your own good! There must be propriety between n and won, and you even sucked the snake venom out for her..."
Li Changming took a deep breath and let it out, suppressing the inferno of rage inside him. He cut her off again. "My affairs are none of your business. If you’d ever genuinely wanted to be involved, you wouldn’t have waited until now. If you insist on provoking people until they co storming to our door, it will be difficult for , your son, to help you. Do you really think Father wouldn’t dare to divorce you?"
Hearing Li Laoda’s na, Granny Hua’s bravado faltered. She muttered resentfully, "Fine, I won’t say any more. Honestly, who do you think you are?"
Li Changming’s younger brother, Li Changliang, was nothing like his honest, upstanding older brother; he was more of a reckless punk. He had long since grown to despise his mother, who was the reason he had to endure the villagers’ gossip and pointing fingers. While he never argued with her, he always ignored her and never listened to a word she said.
Now, seeing his mother was trying to pull another one of her sches, he said coldly to his brother, "Just ignore her. Let Dad handle her!"
A wave of panic washed over Granny Hua as she saw how cold both her sons were toward her.
She felt her standing in the family slipping. Li Laoda and their two sons hardly paid her any mind and kept a tight rein on her. Because of this, she had been trying to behave herself for the past few months, wanting to learn how to live a proper life. That was what had prompted her to go release water into the rice paddies.
But the one ti she, who never handled any family affairs, finally tried to take charge of sothing, she had completely botched it. She provoked Zhang Huai into storming to their door, and Li Laoda had given her a fierce tongue-lashing.
Now, seeing the hostile looks from both brothers, she was desperate to win them back. Wiping at her eyes, she said, "I didn’t say anything terrible, I just brought it up. I was just worried about what her family might think. If Gou Dan’s mother is concerned that izi’s reputation is damaged because you touched her, making it hard for her to get married, then shouldn’t you be the one to step up? Or are you just going to wait for the girl’s family to make the first move?"
Li Changming was at his wit’s end with her irrationality. "I was saving her life!" he snapped. "Nobody cares about that, except you! From this day on, do not bring this up again!" His expression was thunderous.
Granny Hua hastily promised, "I won’t, I won’t! I swear I won’t say a single word about it outside."
She had seen the father and two sons working from dawn till dusk, feeding the pigs and chickens. It was clear they were trying to build up the family’s wealth so the brothers could get married. So, she had actually been on her best behavior for several days, helping with chores and doing a good amount of work.
But she was used to a life of leisure, and being rather heavy-set, she found the back-breaking labor unbearable. That’s why she was always trying to cook up so sche.
When she saw Li Changming’s reluctance to discuss izi, she assud he was afraid he couldn’t asure up to her. A new idea struck her. Adopting the gentle, concerned tone of a doting mother, she said to Li Changming, "Alright, if izi is out of our league, then so be it. But Changming, what do you think of Juhua? The Zheng Family is wealthy now—they’ve bought dozens of acres of land! I was wrong in the past. That Juhua girl is virtuous and capable, so what if she’s a little plain? Once won get old, they all look the sa anyway. If you’re not against the idea, I’ll get a matchmaker to go to their door and propose a marriage!"
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