80s Transmigration: The Young Widow's Hustle to Riches-Chapter 140 - 137: The Butcher Suddenly Becomes a Literary Youth
Grandma Yang kept shaking her head. "It’s not as simple as you make it sound. Marriage involves two whole families. Just look at Ding Bang and Xie Tian. Back then, Xie Tian defied her parents and raised a life-or-death fuss, insisting on marrying Ding Bang. You know exactly how that turned out."
"Life as a family isn’t as simple as you think. Grandma is telling you, if you want Lin Lan to have a good life with you, you have to persuade your old man to accept her willingly. You two will only be happy and your relationship will only last if the family gets along harmoniously."
Li Xiangyang lowered his head and thought for a moment. He realized he’d been taking things for granted and scratched his hair in frustration. "Okay, I’ll convince my old man first, then I’ll go see Lin Lan."
Seeing he had taken her advice, Grandma Yang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Exactly. A persistent suitor can win over any woman. As long as you’re sure she’s the one and you’re determined to marry her, how could you fail to move her heart!" Saying this, she got up and walked toward the stove. "The rain is so heavy, Ding Bang won’t be back. Let’s eat without them."
"Alright!" Li Xiangyang stood up to help set the table.
After dinner, they sat for a while. By the time it was completely dark, the rain had stopped.
Grandma Yang handed him a flashlight. Li Xiangyang got on Yang Dingbang’s bike and took another ride past Lin Lan’s house, and once again, Wangcai started barking. WOOF WOOF!
A moment later, he heard Little Douzi run out and scold Wangcai. Only then did he pedal away, a wide smile on his face.
Just as he reached the entrance to the alley, he saw Xu Dong cycling toward him, shining a flashlight. Li Xiangyang stopped and asked, "Looks like more rain. Where are you off to?"
When Xu Dong saw him, he stopped his bike too. "Your dad saw you still weren’t back this late and sent me to Ding Bang’s place to see if you were there."
"I just came from Grandma Yang’s."
Xu Dong shot him a glance and said with a sly grin, "I heard a certain someone just ordered a table full of food, but the moment it started pouring, he left without taking a single bite and dragged Mr. Wang off to pick someone up."
Li Xiangyang shot him a withering look. "Shuiqing told you?"
Xu Dong nodded. "He asked me just who this girl you’re into is. Who is this mystery woman who made you so nervous?" He then leaned closer and added in a conspiratorial tone, "And I’m telling you, your dad heard about it too."
Hearing this, Li Xiangyang fell silent for a moment. "I took Lin Lan home today, and I think she figured it out. I could tell she was really uncomfortable, so I went to Grandma Yang’s house..."
Xu Dong nodded. "Grandma Yang is right. If your dad doesn’t like her and you force her to marry into the family, everyone will just be picking fights with each other. How could anyone live like that?"
"If Lin Lan were some helpless woman who had to rely on others to survive, it would be simple. But with her skills, she could even have a man marry into her family and support him just fine. Why the hell should she come to your house to get grief!"
"To be honest, buddy! I think that girl your aunt introduced you to the other day is prettier than Lin Lan. Why don’t you just..."
"Hold it!" Li Xiangyang stared at him. "You just said she could support a man who marries into her family, right?"
"Yeah!" Xu Dong looked at him, speechless. "Sunflower, to this day I still don’t get it. What is it you see in Lin Lan?"
"I don’t know either. It’s like it just took one glance, or maybe I don’t even know when it happened, but she’s been seared into my heart." Li Xiangyang’s face lit up as he spoke. "I know how I’m going to put it to my old man now."
The words were barely out of his mouth before he was on his bike, speeding away.
"A butcher suddenly turning into a romantic poet... it’s enough to give me goosebumps!" Xu Dong shook his head and rode after him.
When Li Xiangyang got home, he found his old man sitting in the living room watching TV. He parked his bicycle and went inside. A glance at the screen showed it was a *Chor Lau Heung* drama. "Well, look at you! Not watching *The Hunchback’s Return* tonight?" he teased.
"Zhigang changed the channel." Old Li chuckled, pointing at the main character on the screen. "This fellow’s not bad. He’s got the same flair your old man had back in the day."
Li Xiangyang scoffed. "In your dreams! You were more like a social butterfly, maybe."
Suddenly, Old Li remembered something. He walked over, turned off the TV with a sharp CLICK, and sat down opposite his son. "I heard you rushed off like your pants were on fire to pick someone up. So, where is this person? Why didn’t you bring her home for me to meet?"
Li Xiangyang put on a grim face. "She’s not interested in your son."
Old Li shot him a look. "So tell me, which family’s girl is she? There isn’t a single family around here that I don’t know."
"Dad!" Li Xiangyang leaned back in his chair, hesitating for a moment. "Let me think it over before I tell you."
Old Li dragged his chair closer, staring at him with suspicion. "You haven’t gotten tangled up with some shady woman, have you?"
Li Xiangyang met his gaze but said nothing.
"Are you going to talk or not?" Old Li fumed, giving him a light punch on the arm.
Li Xiangyang pulled him back down into his chair. "Dad! Just sit tight and listen to what I have to say!"
Hearing the serious "Dad," Old Li knew this was important. He immediately sat up straight and proper, waiting for his son to speak.
Li Xiangyang also sat up perfectly straight and looked at his father, speaking with the utmost gravity. "Dad, I want to ask you a question. Do you want me to bring a daughter-in-law into this family for you, or would you rather I marry a woman of your choosing, even if it means you push me out the door to become some other family’s live-in son-in-law?"
"That’s bullshit! The son of me, Li Yidao, is going to be some live-in son-in-law?" Old Li roared, spraying spittle in Li Xiangyang’s face.
"Dad, don’t be angry!" Li Xiangyang continued, his expression unfazed. "I’m telling you, the woman I love is a good woman. She’s capable, kind, and an amazing cook. For the rest of my life, she’s the only one I want. I wouldn’t have a goddess from the heavens over her."
Old Li sneered. "So wonderful! And you’re worried I won’t approve? Then just tell me straight. Who is she? Did you steal her from someone?"
He mentally sifted through all the women he knew, trying to figure out who could possibly meet this description.
"Steal someone’s girl! Is your son that much of a scoundrel?" Li Xiangyang stared at him. "And let me tell you, this is completely one-sided right now. The woman in question isn’t even interested in your precious son!"
Li Xiangyang’s words broke Old Li’s train of thought. He glared. "He’s the son of Li Yidao! Why the hell wouldn’t she be interested?"
"She’s plenty capable on her own. In just six months, she’s bought two storefronts on Limin Street, and today she bought a house near the city’s No. 1 Middle School. You tell me, a woman like that..."
"I’ve got it. It’s Ding Bang’s widowed sister-in-law." Old Li stared at him, fuming. "No wonder you, you little dog, were so attentive to her. You went to all that trouble to buy coal and then personally scurried over to deliver it. The second you heard she didn’t have anything to bake with, you ran over to Old Song’s and took off with his baking pan."
Li Xiangyang looked at him and gave a sheepish grin. "Heh heh! I learned from the best, after all."
"What the hell are you grinning at!" Old Li spun around, grabbed a feather duster from beside the TV, and swung it at him. "You son of a bitch! You pass on all the young, unmarried girls to go after a widow? You’ve made me lose all my face! I’m telling you right now, I will not approve!"
