Chapter 61 – Calculating
Li Mo was walking at the front of the group. He asked, “Lianhua, is your dad home?”
Li Mo was the head of his family, and his younger brothers usually always listened to his advice, especially Li Hua, who respected his oldest brother a lot. And so, Lianhua was especially polite to Li Mo to. “Older brother Li, why are you looking for my dad? He just went out. How about you guys wait inside, and I’ll go look for him? He probably went over to Uncle Chen’s house to play cards.”
“Sure.” Li Mo nodded and led everyone into the village head’s home.
Since there was no one at home, everyone just waited in the courtyard instead of going in further.
Fortunately, it didn’t take long for Lianhua to find her father and bring him back.
Li Mo handed the contract that Li Hua had already written out to the village head. With the village head as their witness, Li Mo paid the money to Third Lia, and the two of them also each pressed their inked thumbs onto the paper as a way of signing the agreement.
After the matter was settled, everyone expressed their thanks and was about to head back to their respective homes.
Lianhua grabbed onto Li Hua’s sleeve and happily said, “Older brother Hua, it’s so nice that your family has bought farmland.” Moreover, Li Hua was a candidate who hadn’t yet taken the county level imperial exam. Once autumn had passed, Li Hua would have most likely pass that exam.
Even her dad said that Li family must have burnt a lot of incense at their ancestors ‘s graves in order to have such a talented son. Li Hua’s future prospects were limitless.
Li Hua pulled his sleeve away and gave her a polite, but distant smile. He didn’t respond to her words. After that, he followed his oldest brother and walked out of the village head’s home through the front doors.
Lianhua went back to standing by the gossipy women that were half-blocking her home’s entrance. She didn’t dare to act clingy by chasing after him. She felt annoyed with herself as she stood in the courtyard and watched as his figure walked further away.
Lianhua’s mom had returned at some point without her noticing. Seeing her daughter like this, she unhappily commented, “Silly girl, how can you let things continue like this?”
“Mom?” Lianhua knew what her mom was referring to. Her little face turned red. In a displeased tone, she said, “Mom, Li Hua is really failing to appreciate being favored. Wasn’t it only last year that he got qualified to take the county level imperial exam for this autumn? Just from that, he thinks he’s better than everyone else.”
Lianhua’s mother firmly poked her daughter’s head. “You’re one to talk. As soon as he comes over, your eyes stick onto him like a barnacle that can’t be removed. Even a man would be scared off by you.”
“Mom,” Lianhua was so embarrassed by her mother’s words that her face was completely flushed red. She looked as if she was about to cry.
The village head could hear his wife and daughter from the inside. He couldn’t resist coming out and shouting, “You gossiping women. You’re bringing shame to our family.”
Lianhua indignantly turned around and really started to cry. “Dad, weren’t you the one the said Li Hua would have bright future prospects and that he’ll be just as good as someone born in a family outside of this village?”
“That has nothing to do with you. Dad has his own plans for you. Foolish girl, be good and stay at home. It’ll be enough if you don’t act shamelessly again,” the village head lectured.
Lianhua’s mother immediately noticed the hidden meaning in her husband’s words. “Husband, what are you planning? Their family already has a wife. Our Lianhua can’t be someone else’s concubine.”
“Nonsense.” The village head rolled his eyes at his wife. “They haven’t consummated their marriage with their wife yet. Besides, she’s just a woman they bought. How could she be compared to our Lianhua? Lianhua, be good. Let’s wait until after the lunar New Year. If Li family is truly blessed by their ancestors and Li Hua passes the county level imperial exam, then not only will dad agree to let you marry him, I won’t even ask for any bride price.”
“Really?” Lianhua’s face showed her joyful surprise. Li Hua was clever and studious. Everyone in the village though he would be able to pass that exam without problems. Now that her dad had said he wouldn’t even ask for a bride price, what family wouldn’t be overjoyed to receive such good fortune?
“How could there be anything false about dad’s words?” The village head looked at his daughter and thought of how Li Hua would be able to smoothly pass the imperial exam and have an official career that went without a hitch. When that time came, he would be able to ride on Li Hua’s coattails by marring Lianhua to him. It didn’t matter what kind of governmental official Li Hua would become in the future. He would definitely benefit just from being the father-in-law of a governmental official.
