Li Guangyuan bent over to place the pig feed bucket properly, then asked Li Hongmei to help his mother into the house, before he approached Lin Jiayi.
Lin Jiayi had a face full of grievances, her eyes red as she looked at him, “Guang Yuan, they are all lying, it’s not like that at all.”
Li Guangyuan patted her shoulder, “Go back to your room and change clothes,” then he entered Old Mrs. Li’s room under her expectant gaze.
Lin Jiayi clenched her fists; he didn’t say whom he believed, but he still cared about her after all.
As Li Guangyuan entered Mrs. Li’s room, Old Mrs. Li, still concerned about her younger daughter, immediately began to wipe tears.
Li Hongmei and Li Dongmei, seeing Old Mrs. Li act like this, also started to wipe away tears. Li Guangyuan said, “You two, go out first.”
Li Hongmei and Li Dongmei looked at each other, rose, and left the room.
Li Guangyuan sat across from Old Mrs. Li and sighed, “Mom, you can’t be too biased towards Hongmei and Dongmei. If they keep getting spoiled like this, they will become lawless.”
Old Mrs. Li suddenly dropped her hand from covering her eyes, her eyes wide open, without a single tear in them.
“Listen to what you are saying. They are your biological sisters, born from the same womb as you. Just a few days after that woman entered our family, you started to look down on your sisters? Are you going to look down on your old mother too in a few days? Alright, alright, I get it now. It’s really ’marrying a wife forgets a mother’. In a moment, I’ll tell Hongmei and Dongmei that from now on we must act humble and treat your wife like the Empress Dowager, we can’t let her feel wronged or angry. Even if we’re slapped across the face, and a manure bucket is put over our head, we must still smile and bear it.”
After saying this, she began to cry loudly, slapping her thigh, “I must have done something wrong in my past lives, being widowed at such a young age, eating coarse meals, and raising you three siblings on my own. Just when I married you off and thought I could enjoy some blessings, this disdain from others started. It’s as if living one more day is too long…”
The tears were genuinely flowing this time.
Seeing his mother really crying, Li Guangyuan hastily consoled her, “That’s not what I meant, I’m not taking sides, how could I let her bully you, I was wrong, please don’t be angry…”
Old Mrs. Li Senior, with tearful eyes, said, “Guang Yuan, I only have one son like you, and everything I do is for your sake. I got you a wife to find you a helper. Look around the village, which other new bride doesn’t work in the fields for so long after getting married? I am heartbroken for you, the family even went into debt to get her, I can’t bear to see you working from dawn till dusk, still suffering in famine. My heart is torn apart like it’s being scratched and bitten.”
“Mom, please stop, I know all this.”
“You know yet you still spoil her like this? Just take today’s incident, spilling pig feed while feeding pigs, that’s all grain. No one said anything yet, but you first blame your younger sister. Is that how a sister-in-law should act? She’s just looking at us unfavorably. And that previous matter, in order to save money for your marriage, how long has it been since your sisters bought fabric? Seeing her wearing one new dress after another, can your sister not be jealous? If it wasn’t to save dowry to buy fabrics for her clothes, would I have made your sisters suffer? Now when I think about it, I feel…it’s all my incapability, making you live a poor life…”
Seeing his mother distressed, Li Guangyuan felt pity, and remembering something, he took out a roll of money from his pocket and placed it in Old Mrs. Li’s hands.
Old Mrs. Li’s face still tear-streaked, shakily counted the money, a total of 50 yuan, and looked up at him, “Where did this money come from?”
Li Guangyuan pursed his lips, “Jiayi gave me all her dowry money, take these 50 yuan to pay off the debts and buy some fabric for the younger sister.”
Hearing the dowry money was in her son’s hands, Old Mrs. Li broke into a smile.
“That’s right, now that you’re married, you are family. You and your wife should work together towards a good life, so when I pass away and see your father, I can account for it, worthy of the Li family.”
Li Guangyuan nodded his head, watching Old Mrs. Li happily counting her money before leaving the room.
On the other side, Lin Jiayi changed her clothes after returning to her room, still sulking.
Li Guangyuan’s mom was unreasonable, and his two sisters were troublemakers at home.
All day long, they wouldn’t help her with anything, just bully her with their mom.
Li Hongmei was 19 this year and Li Dongmei was a year younger at 18; both could be considered ready for marriage.
Lin Jiayi remembered that in her past life, Li Guangyuan’s sisters were not married until they were quite old.
By that time, the Li family’s business had picked up, and both sisters found partners with good conditions, all from the city with guaranteed grain supplies.
A mocking smirk crossed her eyes, they bullied her and still expected to marry into high-status families by stepping on her? She was not as easy to manipulate as Lin Chuxia.
This life, she would get the two of them married off early, not letting them catch any of her light.
This was the fate of offending Lin Jiayi.
While thinking, Li Guangyuan came back. Lin Jiayi glanced at him and then turned her back to him.
“Back to pick a fight with me? Let me tell you Li Guangyuan, what did you tell me at the beginning? You said you would treat me well for a lifetime. It’s only been a few days since we got married, and you are already ganging up with them to bully me. Am I the only outsider in this house? Maybe I should just go back to my parents’ home instead.”
She began to pack her clothes.
Li Guangyuan hurriedly hugged her, “Look at you, I haven’t even said anything, and you feel aggrieved already. How could I possibly join them to bully you?”
“Why am I not aggrieved? You don’t see how your sisters bully me. It was them who splashed water and made me slip, yet they blamed it on me. Your mom even brought up the past about the switched marriage proposal, as if I couldn’t get married without your Li family. Li Guangyuan, go and inquire, originally my engagement was with the Qin family. My sister didn’t like your Li family and wanted to marry into the Qin family instead, and I, as her older sister, switched with her. I shouldn’t have switched with her. I should have broken off your family’s engagement, and I could have found someone better. Go ahead and remain a bachelor.”
Lin Jiayi said this, and Li Guangyuan believed her. Not to mention the Qin family’s background, having seen Qin Yang in person, he admitted he couldn’t compare at all.
Only a fool would reject such a man and marry someone like himself.
If it wasn’t for Lin Jiayi accommodating her sister and not despising him, he might really still be a bachelor now.
“Yes, yes, yes, it’s all my fault, I’m wrong. My mom is getting old and occasionally gets confused. Please don’t take it to heart. After all, she is still my mom. My dad passed away early, and it was not easy for her to raise the three of us alone. Please just bear with it for my sake, I remember all your kindness,” Li Guangyuan spoke and then kissed her on the cheek.
Lin Jiayi was still in his arms, rolling her eyes at him, “Remembering in your heart is enough?”
Li Guangyuan, feeling tickled by her gaze, leaned closer and whispered in her ear, “Not just remembering in my heart, but here as well.”