The Country Maiden: Fields and Leisure-Chapter 48 - No Prospect (Revised)
48: Chapter 48: No Prospect (Revised)
48: Chapter 48: No Prospect (Revised)
It seems emotions had already been kindled before the He Family’s boy came to Qilidun the last time to flirt with my daughter.
They had met at the market gatherings.
My girl was pretty, and that He Family’s boy was not bad-looking either, and his family was quite well-off, generous with their spending.
He bought this and that for my daughter, and she took a liking to him.
When he visited Qilidun that time, it wasn’t to tease my daughter but because they hadn’t seen each other for a long time.
They had arranged to meet under the pretext of visiting relatives so they could be intimate with each other.
Wang Yongping saw it, and ended up breaking the He Family boy’s leg.
I said back then, why was my girl so upset when Wang Family’s boy stood up for her, throwing tantrums at home, slamming doors and windows.
Later, when the He Family came to make a scene, demanding compensation from the Wang Family, Wang Family’s boy was driven out by his own mother to make money.
By rights, my daughter should have at least gone to see him off, but she just complained of headaches and fevers, and that was that.
Li Dagui asked for details, then sat there with a stern face, silently puffing on his smoking pipe.
Li Jinzhi was getting anxious.
She knew in this family, what her father said was what counted.
If she couldn’t get past this hurdle, even if she were carrying Brother Da Wei’s child, she wouldn’t be able to marry Brother Da Wei.
She had no choice but to reiterate the advantages of marrying into the He Family, highlighting them again and again.
She praised them extravagantly, as if she would never be satisfied unless she praised them to the skies.
She couldn’t help but spill all the private words and promises He Dawei had shared with her, one after another.
He Dawei seemed truly sincere about Li Jinzhi, promising that if the Li Family agreed to the marriage, in addition to the usual gifts of wine, meat, sugar, and pastries, he would also give an extra Five Taels of Silver.
They would also provide a set of nice clothing for Li Jinzhi’s parents, and all of Li Jinzhi’s clothing and jewelry would be provided by the He Family.
He also promised that once they were married, they would move to Shiqiao Town to open a shop where he would be the Shopkeeper, and they would get a Maid to serve the young couple.
Compared to the Wang Family, these terms were indeed much better.
What could the Wang Family offer?
When the two families had arranged the marriage in the first place, it was us who had to offer a dowry.
Why?
That’s another long story.
That Wang Yongping and Li Jinzhi had an arranged marriage at an early age was thanks to the merit of Wang Family’s second son becoming a Scholar years ago.
At the time, Wang Yongan was a buoyant youth of just 19 when he earned the title of Scholar, making him a rare young talent in not just the eight villages around but also across Shiqiao Town and Peace County.
Wang Yongan’s achievement as a Scholar caused quite a stir.
Everyone believed he would surely make something of himself in the future.
They thought it wise to form connections before he made his fortune, otherwise, how would they be able to get close to him later?
Therefore, at that time, those hoping to enter into marriage with the Wang Family nearly broke down the door with their visits.
Unfortunately, Wang Yongan had already been engaged to the daughter of Qian’s Grocery from the town.
People who came looking to marry into the family found no luck there, so settling for less, they turned their attention to Yonggui.
Meanwhile, Li Dagui was a shrewd man and recognized the rising prospects of the Wang Family and wanted to forge a connection.
If there was a way to be related to the Wang Family, it was through marriage.
He too went knocking on their door incessantly, but of the four sons in the Wang Family, three were already spoken for.
His own daughter was still young, but after some consideration, only the Fourth Child was left.
Around the same age as his daughter, he was a perfect choice, so it was settled on him!
Old Granny Zhang was a sharp woman.
The Li Family’s conditions were good and Li Dagui was a guy who knew the world.
Seeing that Li Jinzhi was young but promising in appearance, she agreed opportunistically and the families exchanged the marriage document.
Because it was our family asking the Wang Family, the betrothal gifts we received were very modest: two pounds of meat, two pounds of wine, a bag of sugar, and a bag of pastries.
The Li Family compensated the Wang Family’s Fourth Child much better.
They even made clothes for him and sent pastries they bought from town, all in the hopes that Wang Family’s second brother would again become a Graduate, so that their family could also claim to be relatives of a Graduate, which would give them face when they went out.
If Wang Yongan scored high in the examinations and became an official, Li Dagui felt that, with his own cleverness, he could definitely make something of himself by relying on Wang Yongan and the Wang Family.
Who would have thought that Wang Yongan, it seemed, had spent all his luck and talent on becoming a Scholar, and after achieving that, he repeatedly failed to advance further.
In the first few years, everyone thought it was just a misstep or bad luck, and that Wang Yongan was certain to succeed in the future.
But as Wang Yongan failed year after year, time and time again, everyone’s expectations slowly dissipated.
When Wang Yongan himself gave up and went to teach in the county town, Li Dagui, watching his daughter who was as beautiful as flowers and jade, was filled with complete regret.
But he was a man who cared about face, and if at this time he stepped forward to call off the engagement with the Wang Family, the spit of everyone could drown him.
Fortunately, his daughter was still young, and Old Granny Zhang from the Wang Family had shown a few times the intention of the two families just getting by and arranging the marriage.
All of which he had refused.
Marrying his daughter to the Wang Family would no longer bring any benefits to the Li Family.
Li Dagui had long been scheming in his heart, he just hadn’t found a suitable candidate immediately.
Now, analyzing the He Family’s circumstances in his mind, they had an only son—wouldn’t all the family property be his son and daughter-in-law’s in the future?
Moreover, listening to his daughter, it was clear that she had wholly secured He Dawei, and that was even better.
In the future, supplementing her family, the income from the shop would be managed by his daughter, who could skim a little from time to time, and the money for the family boys to study could be scraped together.
Once the youngest boy in the family had read a few books, he could also go study in the town and live in his sister’s home, saving the cost of meals, which really was saving a large expense.
Considering these points, marrying the He Family’s Boy wasn’t a bad option at all.
Furthermore, his daughter was already with the He Family, you couldn’t just force your daughter to die, and then lose everything, now would you?
Thinking it over, marrying into the He Family was currently the best choice.
Li Dagui agreed to it in his heart, but now he worried about how to explain it to the Wang Family.
Old Granny Zhang from the Wang Family was no easy opponent—if she knew this was the reason for breaking off the engagement, she might be outraged and could mess up his daughter’s marriage.
He had to think of a plan!
While he was still fretting in the room, he heard his daughter outside crying for help.
Before he could even step outside, his wife came bursting in, sobbing with snot and tears, “Head of the household, you must stand up for our daughter!
Look at her, the Wang Family’s damned brute almost strangled her to death!
Look at these marks on her neck, he was intent on killing her, trying to take our daughter’s life!”
“What?” Li Dagui jumped up.
He ran out to the courtyard, only to see his daughter being carried in by his eldest son, looking as pale as a ghost, with a clear strangulation mark on her neck, her clothes soaked and still dripping water.
She reeked of a foul odor.
Li Dagui frowned and caught a glimpse of his daughter-in-law pinching her nose with disgust, forbidding her husband to enter the room.
His mind quickly understood—his daughter had been so scared she wet herself.
So disgraceful!
