Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Li Changliang thrust his chin out stubbornly. "Who’s yelling at her for no reason? If she acted like a proper mother, would I treat her like this? You look at Qingmu’s mother and Huai Zi’s mother, how they protect their children. If she could be like that, I guarantee I’d be good to her too."

Li Laoda said angrily, "No matter what you think, her not wanting you to marry Liu’er is for your own good, not for herself. Aren’t we just afraid you’ll be heartbroken? If a wedding is immediately followed by a funeral, who could bear that?"

Li Changliang raised his voice. "Then what about my sister-in-law’s family? Back then, our family just had three rundown rooms. Her parents didn’t want to marry her to my brother, either. They were also doing it for her own good. And what was the result? Because she loved my brother, their hearts ached for their daughter, so they agreed to the marriage. Did you think it was because you, Li Laoda, have so much influence? Or because you thought my brother was some incredible talent who was bound to be successful? Bullshit! They just doted on their daughter, that’s all. Why can’t you all dote on me for once and just let me have my way?"

These words left Li Laoda speechless. Li Changming sighed with emotion, while Li Gengtian looked a bit awkward.

Li Changming looked up at his younger brother and said softly, "Changling, stop arguing. Liu’er is right here. With you shouting like this, she won’t be able to find any peace of mind. Don’t worry, Big Brother will help you with this."

He then turned to Li Laoda. "Dad, how about this? Let Changling move out. You and Mom can live by yourselves, and if you get bored, you can come over to my place and play with Jingwen. That will cut down on the friction, and you’ll have more peace. We’ll all be nearby, so we can look after you. When I have a bit more money, I’ll build two more rooms and move you and Mom in closer."

Li Laoda looked at his eldest son with relief. "Alright, we’ll do as you say. But even if we split the household, we’ll still be in the same courtyard. Won’t that just cause more problems?" ’Sun Jinshan is no Qin,’ he thought. ’There’s no way he’d help Liu’er build a house, and besides, Changling and Liu’er don’t want to have anything to do with him anyway.’

Li Changming waved his hand. "That’s not a problem." He turned to Li Gengtian. "Great Uncle, the old sausage workshop in the village is sitting empty, and no one’s bought it. Why not rent it for Changling? Ideally, buying it would be best, but we’re a little short on Silver right now. And even if we had the money, we couldn’t buy it—we have to save it for Liu’er’s treatment."

Seeing his older brother step up and arrange all this for him, Li Changliang was deeply touched. He wanted to thank him but didn’t know how. His brother’s home wasn’t spacious, and his sister-in-law was pregnant. He couldn’t be a burden to them.

So he said solemnly, "Brother, consider this money a loan. Juhua and Huai Zi also offered to lend us money. I will definitely pay you back."

Li Changming smiled. "Even Juhua has offered to lend you money; how could I, your big brother, be outdone? Besides, if it were for anyone else, I wouldn’t dare make the call myself—I’d have to ask Meizi—but since it’s for you and Liu’er, I’m sure Meizi will be happy to help. If you ask me, this is a good thing. If Liu’er were perfectly healthy, how could you have ever married her? Now that she’s fallen on hard times, you’re treating her with a true heart and getting a wonderful wife out of the deal. The two of us brothers have now married the two most outstanding girls from Qingnan Village. Who would have ever imagined?"

Li Laoda and Li Gengtian thought about it for a moment. It was true, wasn’t it? Back in the day, Meizi and Liu’er had been the most outstanding girls in the village, along with Jinxiang.

Li Gengtian slapped his thigh and laughed. "I really never would have thought. I agree, this must be fate—Heaven sent Liu’er back to Changling. It just goes to show you brothers are blessed. And Liu’er is a capable woman—I’m not just saying that, she’s even more capable than Meizi. Meizi’s mother was too protective of her. As long as she gets her health back, you’re sure to have a good life with a bright future. So be it. Normally, I wouldn’t have the energy to get involved, but now your Great Uncle here has managed to save up a little something. I’ll lend you the money. Go ahead and buy that house in the village first, so you can help Liu’er recover without any other worries."

Li Changliang and his brother, along with their parents, were overjoyed. Li Changliang rubbed his hands together and smiled sheepishly, not knowing how to thank his great-uncle.

Li Gengtian looked at the blockhead. He’d been so imposing when he was cussing everyone out earlier, but now he was acting all shy.

He shook his head and said seriously to Li Laoda and his wife, "Since it’s settled, you two need to put some real effort into helping Changling. Changming is right. You’re getting a good daughter-in-law in Liu’er for practically nothing, so you should focus on getting her well—that way it won’t be a loss. Otherwise, if you go through all this trouble and she dies in the end, won’t it all have been for nothing? Changling had a point: if she’s at peace, her spirits will be up. You two old folks should treat her like your own daughter. If she’s happy, her illness might just clear up faster."

Granny Hua considered this. ’That’s right. If Liu’er gets well, the Li Family will have struck gold. Sure, her reputation is shot after being divorced, but if her reputation were good, she wouldn’t be marrying Changling. As long as she can bear children and work, that’s all that matters.’

’Besides,’ she thought, ’Changling just said I don’t protect my children. He said if I protected him, he’d be good to me.’ This thought greatly heartened Granny Hua, and she decided to follow her son’s wishes from now on. Then again, it wasn’t as if she could stop him anyway, so why had she insisted on opposing him? ’I’ve been so stupid,’ Granny Hua thought to herself. She didn’t stop to consider, however, when she had ever been smart.

Once she’d worked it all out, she said to Li Changliang in a fawning tone, "Changling, your mother sees the light now. Don’t you worry, I’ll be sure to take good care of her and nurse her back to health. We’ll treat her like our own daughter, and I’m sure she’ll treat me as well as Meizi does in the future."

Her fawning demeanor made Li Changliang extremely uncomfortable. For a moment, he didn’t know how to react—after all, he usually never gave her a pleasant look.

Li Laoda cleared his throat. "Then it’s settled." He addressed his wife, "Jingwen’s asleep. Go help Meizi in the kitchen; there’s nothing more for you to do here. We’ll handle the wedding arrangements for tomorrow. You just focus on cooking with Meizi and taking good care of Liu’er."

Granny Hua hurried to her feet, took her grandson to his room, and then went to the kitchen to help Meizi.

Meanwhile, Li Laoda and his sons had a long discussion. They decided to keep the wedding simple, worried that Liu’er wouldn’t be able to handle a big affair. The house also needed some work; the large, open room would have to be partitioned to be livable. Their top priority, however, would be putting all their effort into helping Liu’er recover.

When Li Changliang told Liu’er everything—that even his parents had agreed to the marriage and the village chief was lending them money to help—she was deeply moved. Gratitude gave way to a new sense of hope, and her spirits lifted so much that she ate more than half a bowl of rice that evening.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)