Good Man Operation Guide

Chapter 145.1: Ancient Farmers' Son (2)

Thanks to the meddling matchmaker, Li Lanlan’s impending marriage to the Lin family scholar spread throughout the entire village the next day.

The news spread quickly, mainly because both the Lin and Li families weren’t in good circumstances.

Although Lin Shiheng was a scholar, he had no physical strength and had never been seen working in the fields. Previously, he had two brothers to take care of things, but now that the family had separated and he was left with two elderly parents. Marrying into his household meant serving and laboring for the whole family instead of living a comfortable life.

As for Li Lanlan, she was beautiful and hardworking, taking care of both household chores and outdoor work. However, she couldn’t escape the fact that she had a foolish father.

In these times, when people in the village were struggling, focused on saving money, Father Li was quick to use his money for charitable acts. If Li Lanlan married into the Lin family, such in-laws would be of no help and might even become a burden to her new family.

Both of them were in unfavorable circumstances, but they both had good appearances. This made the other villagers, who had eligible sons and daughters, wary. They would repeatedly warn their young ones not to get too close to Lin Shiheng and Li Lanlan at home, afraid that their youthful innocence would be deceived by appearances.

No one expected that these two people, secretly looked down upon by the villagers, would become a couple.

The elders in the village thought it was a good match, as their own children would no longer pursue them. However, many of the younger generation were unhappy about it.

The concerns of the elders were not unfounded. The younger generation generally lacked the foresight of their elders and had not experienced the burdens of family life. Their thinking was more idealistic. As for Li Lanlan, it was still manageable. Although she was beautiful and hardworking, with a straightforward temperament, her father was truly discouraging.

Lin Shiheng, on the other hand, was different. He had a good life and usually appeared as a clean and scholarly gentleman. Even the way he walked had a certain elegance, completely different from those in the village who worked in the fields. He was a scholar after all.

Although he hadn’t passed the provincial examination, he was only 22 years old. What was there to worry about in these difficult times? If he were to pass the exam, would there still be a shortage of money?

Many girls held such thoughts, but unfortunately, they were suppressed by their families. They were naive, but the elders were not. Was supporting two 60-year-old parents a joke? It’s possible that Lin Shiheng didn’t even have the money to continue his studies. For a girl’s family, marriage was a lifelong commitment, and even if they regretted it later, it couldn’t be changed. The elders leaned more towards families with more land and property.

The village girls who were favored weren’t without their share, but most of them were unable to surpass the male members of their own families. They didn’t dare to resist their elders. Even if they liked Lin Shiheng, they could only shyly hide and look on when he appeared.

Now that they knew he was engaged, those girls in the village who liked Lin Shiheng were dumbfounded.

Those with good temperaments and open-mindedness could brush away their tears, but some girls with bad temperaments had their mentality thrown off balance.

The Li family had no mother, and Father Li was indecisive. Naturally, there was no one in the family to prepare clothes for Li Lanlan, who was about to get married. Even in the poorest families in the village, new clothes were always purchased for daughters getting married.

Ever since Mother Li passed away, Li Lanlan had been managing the household. Therefore, she knew very well that her family couldn’t afford to buy her new clothes. On top of that, her father had disappeared to do good deeds somewhere, just to fill his stomach. According to common sense, Li Lanlan, who was engaged, should be staying at home to take care of her skin, but she had to go out to work.

As soon as she went out, she coincidentally encountered a girl from the village who had always liked Lin Shiheng.

This girl was called Zhou Daya, a common name, but she had a somewhat beautiful appearance. Since her family had many siblings, she and her sisters were lucky enough not to work in the fields, so their skin remained fair. She had always considered herself different from girls like Li Lanlan who had to work in the fields, striving to be more noble.

(TNote: Daya = big girl/eldest girl, a common name for the eldest daughter)

As a result, she, who was supposed to be noble, couldn’t marry Lin Shiheng, which turned out to be a stroke of luck for Li Lanlan.

Zhou Daya didn’t cry like some girls who genuinely liked Lin Shiheng. Instead, she felt annoyed. She was annoyed at her family’s lack of foresight, blocking her from marrying into the Lin family just because their circumstances weren’t good. She was also annoyed that Lin Shiheng lacked vision and didn’t take the initiative to propose. Most of all, she was infuriated that the position she had desperately sought was taken by Li Lanlan, a motherless girl who lived a miserable life and was secretly criticized by her many times.

Because Li Lanlan was beautiful, Zhou Daya, who considered herself a beauty, had never really liked her. She didn’t know how happy she felt when Li Lanlan turned 18 and still hadn’t gotten married. She had talked behind her back countless times. And now, Li Lanlan had actually married Scholar Lin, that she had failed to marry.

She was so angry that she couldn’t sleep well that night. The next morning, when she saw Li Lanlan, who was going to work in the fields, she suddenly felt that there was nothing good about her.

Zhou Daya wasn’t happy herself, and she didn’t want Li Lanlan, who had taken her place, to be happy either. So, without hesitation, she turned her back to Li Lanlan as if she hadn’t seen her approaching, and started talking and laughing loudly with her little sisters.

“Have you heard that the Lin family is going to marry Li Lanlan in? She’s really unlucky. My mother mentioned it at the dinner table last night. She said that the two old people in the Lin family can’t work and are also sick, and Scholar Lin, can’t do physical labor either. If she marries into that family, she’ll just become a ready-made servant for the whole family.”

The little sisters, busy with their tasks and not noticing Li Lanlan, followed along enthusiastically when Zhou Daya brought up the topic, “Exactly, my mother said the same thing. The Lin family is just good on the surface. They have to support a scholar, take care of a sick person, and support their parents. No matter how much wealth they have, it can all be squandered. Besides, they don’t have a solid foundation.”

Cooperating with Zhou Daya, the little sisters added, “And also, Scholar Lin hardly ever goes around the village. His mother mentioned before, when he was in the limelight, that he wanted to marry someone from the city. You tell me, now that their family is in a difficult situation, if he marries Li Lanlan, would he really like her?”

Li Lanlan didn’t feel particularly upset after hearing their words. She had already thought about this matter thoroughly ever since she learned that her father had promised her to the Lin family. In her own opinion, the Lin family was definitely not a good place to go. But her thoughts didn’t matter. When parents’ orders and the matchmaker’s words come together, even if her own father had promised her away, if she refused, she would be considered unfilial. If such a reputation spread, she feared she would never get married in her lifetime.

Anyway, she had already made up her mind. If she married into that family and they were willing to give her a meal to eat, she would serve them well. But if she ended up with inhuman treatment, she would jump into the river.

Her mother was already dead, and her father didn’t care about her. Instead of being bullied all her life, she might as well die early.

Because she had been prepared for a long time, Li Lanlan couldn’t be bothered to get angry. She glanced at Zhou Daya and walked past them with her farming tools on her back.

Her appearance infuriated Zhou Daya, who had been hoping to see Li Lanlan break down and cry. She stood up and glared at Li Lanlan’s figure, angrily saying, “What are you so proud of? Do you really think marrying Scholar Lin would guarantee a life of luxury?”

Zhou Daya’s little sisters felt a bit awkward after seeing Li Lanlan pass by just now. After all, they had talked behind her back. At this moment, seeing their sister’s indignant appearance, they couldn’t help but tug on Zhou Daya’s sleeve and say, “Daya, stop talking, she hasn’t done anything.”

“She hasn’t done anything? You didn’t see the way she looked down on people. Just wait and see. Scholar Lin is different from the men in our village. He has high standards. He definitely wouldn’t be interested in Li Lanlan. He’s marrying her just to have someone to work in the fields.”

“Oh, stop talking. You’re talking about all this before even getting married. Aren’t you afraid of being criticized for being shameless?”

Zhou Daya was actually a little scared. She was at the age of being proposed to, and if people saw an unmarried girl like her gossiping, it would definitely not be good.

So even though she harbored a lot of resentment in her heart, she could only sit down resentfully and focus on her work. However, she couldn’t give up muttering about it, “Li Lanlan will definitely have a hard time after marrying into that family. Who knows, she might be divorced and sent back home someday.”

Zhou Daya persisted in her thoughts all morning, as if by cursing Li Lanlan like this, she could somehow become wealthy herself.