Chapter 334 - 336: Are You Really Stupid or Just Pretending?
"Don’t overthink it, when it comes to the Gao family, my dad won’t just sit by and do nothing," Gao Jiaxing said.
Xia Xiao looked at Gao Jiaxing and whispered, "Brother Gao Guo Cheng has been unmarried for so many years; surely, your relatives are all hoping he’d get married and have kids, right? They probably don’t like him pining for Li Shengmei, so they would definitely support him getting married. Could my dad also be in favor of it?"
Gao Jiaxing tapped Xia Xiao’s forehead lightly, "That’s just your guess. Also, what’s all this ’your family and our family’? Aren’t you a part of our family? Look at you, worrying so much. I’ll take care of this. You’re as close as sisters with Yang Xuehua, and I definitely don’t want to become in-laws with Uncle Guocheng. Don’t worry, Yang Xuehua has nothing to do with this. Li Shengmei can’t become the head of the Gao family just yet."
Xia Xiao chuckled, "Then I’ll have to trouble Brother Gao."
As long as Gao Jiaxing was willing to intervene, Gao Guoqiang certainly wouldn’t side with Gao Guo Cheng, and as for Li Shengmei, that restless one, Xia Xiao even felt embarrassed on her behalf.
Everyone in the production brigade knew that Gao Guo Cheng remained unmarried all his life for her. Li Shengmei had always been avoiding it, but now she was inexplicably eager to matchmake for Gao Guo Cheng.
Wasn’t she just disgusting people? Within the production brigade, who didn’t know? With her trying to matchmake for Gao Guo Cheng, who would want to marry him?
But thinking of Luo Su’e, maybe she would be willing... It was hard to say, though.
Xia Xiao and Ning Hui wouldn’t make a difference by driving away those gossipy people, and rumors couldn’t be stopped. The key to the issue was with Li Shengmei and also Gao Guo Cheng.
At the He Family’s side, He Hongjun frowned and asked what was going on with Li Shengmei. She replied, "It’s all because of my brother. I haven’t wronged him, and he and I are not like that at all. He’s remained unmarried his whole life, and everyone in the production brigade says it’s because of me. It makes me uncomfortable. Now, Yang Xuehua is getting older and comes from a poor background. Isn’t she a good match for my brother? I just mentioned it to her, and she actually refused me."
He Xuexiang said, "Mom, why are you meddling in this?"
Li Shengmei replied, "How can I not? He’s your uncle."
He Xuexiang stayed silent. By name, he was his uncle, but there was no blood relation. Still, at this point, not only He Xuexiang, but also He Hongjun hoped that Gao Guo Cheng would get married, so no one spoke.
Not just the He Family, but also some people in the production brigade felt that because of Yang Xuehua’s poor background and her age, it would be good enough if Gao Guo Cheng took an interest in her. Otherwise, she would end up an old maid, unable to marry.
"You don’t need to get involved," He Hongjun frowned.
He Xuexiang said, "Yeah, Mom, you shouldn’t drag yourself into this. Look how ugly the rumors are spreading in the production brigade. With Grandma and Aunty around, why worry about this?"
"Do you think I have nothing better to do, or that I want to get involved? But it’s been so many years. Gao Guo Cheng is almost fifty now. If he drags this on, he’ll become an old bachelor and then it’ll be even harder to find someone," Li Shengmei said, then glanced at He Xuexiang and Dong Meihua, "If you two had a grandson for me to take care of, I wouldn’t be meddling in these affairs. Taking care of a grandson would be more than enough, leaving me no time to worry about other things."
At these words, He Xuexiang and Dong Meihua paused, exchanging a glance before looking away.
Dong Meihua felt extremely distressed, even wondering if it was her fault for not having any signs of pregnancy.
At that moment, Dong Meihua couldn’t help but think of Xia Xiao. Xia Xiao got married later than she did; if Xia Xiao got pregnant before her, Dong Meihua didn’t even dare to contemplate what Li Shengmei’s attitude would be.
"You leave this matter alone," He Hongjun said.
"The matter is already halfway done, and with these rumors spreading, Yang Xuehua will eventually give in to the pressure and agree. How can I not care about it?" Essentially, Li Shengmei was attempting to use public opinion to pressure Yang Xuehua into agreeing.
He Hongjun snorted and looked at Li Shengmei, "Are you really stupid or just pretending? You think by coercing Yang Xuehua... you should look and see who she’s close with. I just saw Ning Hui and Xia Xiao speaking up for Yang Xuehua. Don’t find yourself attracting trouble."
Li Shengmei seemed unconvinced and was about to speak when He Hongjun continued, "Let’s not mention anything else. With the relationship between Xia Xiao and Ning Hui, it’s as good as Li Zhenchuan and Gao Guoqiang taking the same side. While the Gao family may have your mother within, don’t forget, your surname is Li now."
With this reminder from He Hongjun, Li Shengmei’s face couldn’t hold, indeed, her surname was Li and the Gao family was not her maternal home.
This was also why Li Shengmei didn’t like to return to her maternal home. She had no blood relation with the Gao family, and her own mother was only a stepmother who had not borne any sons. Due to her association with Gao Guo Cheng, Li Shengmei’s relationship with the Gao family was also awkward.
He Xuexiang said, "Dad, Mom, Meihua was also an educated youth. She used to share a dorm with Xia Xiao and Yang Xuehua. Let Meihua go and persuade her."
Dong Meihua looked at He Xuexiang, "I’ve tried. Xia Xiao won’t listen to me and even scolded me."
"What else did she say?" He Xuexiang asked.
Dong Meihua obviously couldn’t possibly relay Xia Xiao’s original words verbatim and simply said, "She said Yang Xuehua won’t marry. If we really want to matchmake, we could consider Luo Su’e."
Li Shengmei was the first to disagree, "That Luo Su’e has been married and already has a child. How could she be a match for my brother?"
"Li Shengmei, you’re a Li, your surname is Li. The Gao family affairs have Gao surnamed people to care about. Why meddle in other people’s business? Can’t you hear how ugly the talk outside is?" He Hongjun scolded in a low voice, his cane tapping the ground as if he wished to use it on Li Shengmei.
Seeing his parents about to start arguing again, He Xuexiang said, "Dad, Mom, let’s not fight. I think we should just leave it at that for now. Meihua, you try again with Yang Xuehua. I’ll go have a talk with Uncle Er."