Good Man Operation Guide

Chapter 145.2: Ancient Farmers' Son (2)

Most of the other villagers felt the same way as her. Although they had no grudges against Li Lanlan, they didn’t have high hopes for this marriage either. The specific reasons were similar to what Zhou Daya had said.

Scholar Lin rarely left his house, but whenever he did, anyone with eyes could see that he was completely different from the villagers. Moreover, when the Lin family was still intact, Mother Lin never hid the fact that her son wanted to pass the imperial examination and marry a girl from the city. Now that the Lin family was facing difficulties, if he wanted to marry Li Lanlan, it was probably for the sake of having someone to work in the fields.

The Liyang village only had one scholar like Scholar Lin, but the villagers had connections with other villages and knew some gossip.

For example, there was the Wangjia village, which also had a scholar, but that was 20 years ago. Scholar Wang was just like Scholar Lin, constantly failed the exams. He didn’t understand household chores, and as the expenses for his education increased, the Wang family gradually showed signs of decline.

So, he married a wife, who thought she would become the wife of a scholar, but ended up serving the entire family. Scholar Wang didn’t know anything except studying, and with a father and mother who didn’t like the daughter-in-law, she had a difficult time. Now, 20 years had passed in the blink of an eye, and that wife was now an old woman. It was said that she complains every time she visits her family, and her life was extremely miserable.

In the eyes of the villagers, Scholar Lin was like a second Scholar Wang.

He was even worse than Scholar Wang. At least Scholar Wang doesn’t have a father who couldn’t do farm work and needed medicine to sustain his health.

Li Lanlan quietly endured the disapproval of the people in the village and waited until the agreed-upon day of marriage.

Father Li, who always does good deeds everywhere, didn’t go out to do any good deeds on this day. He stayed at home obediently, waiting for the Lin family to come and take away his daughter.

When a daughter gets married, the father usually says a few words for her and may even talk to the son-in-law, telling him to take good care of the daughter. However, Father Lin was quite different. He held his own daughter and told Li Lanlan to go and take good care of the Lin family, without mentioning anything else.

Li Lanlan had long been chilled by her biological father’s attitude, but she wasn’t disappointed. She didn’t wear new clothes and covered her head with a red veil, treating it as if she were wearing festive attire.

The two families couldn’t afford a lavish wedding ceremony, so the groom simply came to take the bride, and then the bride’s family would go to the groom’s place for a simple meal, hardly even worth calling it a feast.

On this side, Li Lanlan sat inside with her head covered, waiting, while Lin Shiheng arrived under the guidance of the matchmaker.

He looked very spirited today, complemented by his handsome appearance, attracting the attention of many young girls along the way. Unfortunately, Li Lanlan couldn’t see him with her head covered. She was waiting for the matchmaker’s call so that the groom could lift the red veil, and she would know that her future husband had arrived.

A handmade red cloth flower was placed in her hand by the matchmaker, with the other end held by Lin Shiheng. The matchmaker was thinking about the betrothal gifts that were about to come, and she smiled with great joy, shouting loudly in a high-pitched voice. Even though there were only a few scattered villagers spectating, she managed to create the illusion of a large crowd outside, “The groom is taking the bride home—”

According to the village tradition, when a girl gets married, she should be carried by the male members of her family from the entrance, all the way to the big tree at the village exit, before following her husband home.

The couple reached the entrance, and Father Li was happily watching, about to step forward to carry his daughter, when suddenly a child squeezed out from the crowd and urgently shouted, “Uncle Li, my grandmother fell down. Can you please take my grandmother to town to see a doctor?”

The crowd of onlookers immediately became noisy.

On such a joyous day, this child came running to the bride’s father for something else. How could he be so thoughtless?

“What?! She fell down? I’ll go right away!"

The joyful expression on Father Li’s face vanished in an instant. He turned to leave, but Li Lanlan, already uneasy because of her upcoming marriage, stopped in her tracks, her face pale beneath the red veil.

“Father!!”

She called out to her father, “Today is my wedding day. Even if you have to go, at least carry me to the tree first, okay?”

Father Li hesitated and glanced back at his daughter. He hesitantly said, “Lan Lan, this is a matter of life and death...”

Li Lanlan’s face grew even paler beneath the veil.

For a woman to get married without being carried by a male family member to the tree was something only done in dire circumstances. If Father Li left now, she, as a woman who hadn’t reached the tree, would be seen as ill-omened in the eyes of many villagers.

This was a major event that could impact her entire life!

She was in despair when suddenly Lin Shiheng, who had been silent all along, spoke up, “Father-in-law, anyone can take this child’s grandmother to seek medical treatment, but Lan Lan only has you as her father.”

Some villagers who were watching thought kindly and suggested, “Yes, the Li’s family is celebrating, it’s not appropriate for him to leave now. Since I have free time, I can take her.”

“No!”

The child’s expression immediately changed. It was clear that if someone else took them, they wouldn’t help with the medical expenses. He looked persistently at Father Li and played the emotional card, “My grandmother is confused due to her illness, she would beat someone else. She trusts you, Uncle Li. Uncle Li, please help us. My mother is at home crying in distress.”

Father Li immediately thought of the child’s mother, a young widow who was such a pitiful woman. She lost her husband early and had to take care of her mother-in-law alone, all while raising a child. Now she encountered this situation and must feel incredibly helpless.

He no longer hesitated and hastily told his daughter, “I’ll go and save her first. We’ll talk about everything else when I return.”

Then, he followed the child and left the scene of his daughter’s wedding.

Li Lanlan trembled, unsure whether she was angry or sad.

With only her father as the sole male member of the family, without anyone to carry her to the tree, she would become an unblessed bride. If something happened in her future husband’s family, they would likely blame her.

Her own father, so easily and thoughtlessly, ruined her life.

Once was not enough; he did it again.

Li Lanlan could hear people talking outside. It was the familiar voice of Zhou Daya, though she disguised it, the malicious glee was still evident.

“What are we going to do? If no one carries Li Lanlan out, how can she get married? Oh dear! If she marries Scholar Lin like this, will she bring disaster to the Lin family in the future?”

Zhou Daya knew she should restrain herself when there were people around, but she couldn’t help it. When she saw Lin Shiheng, who looked even more handsome today, her suppressed anger couldn’t help but bubble up.

If it weren't for Li Lanlan, this good-looking scholar husband would mine.

But it didn't matter. With Li Lanlan s own father acting so cruelly, no family would hove a good opinion of him. Scholar Lin seemed like a person who cored about his reputation, so he might even decide not to marry her out of anger.

The more Zhou Daya thought about it, the happier she became.

However, the next moment, the smile froze on her face.

Lin Shiheng, standing at the inner gate of the Li family, walked up to Li Lanlan and squatted down in front of her, with his back facing her.

“Come up, I’ll carry you.”

Li Lanlan, still in a daze, heard these words.

It took her a second to react, realizing that this was her only chance. Li Lanlan disregarded everything else, bit her lip, and reached out to climb onto her future husband’s back.

Lin Shiheng stepped out and started walking forward. The matchmaker, who had been embarrassed due to Father Li’s departure, became happy and quickly moved ahead to liven up the atmosphere.

“Come on! The bride is leaving the house! The first step brings early childbirth, the second step...”

Li Lanlan couldn’t hear what the matchmaker was saying anymore. She laid her head on Lin Shiheng’s back, feeling the movement of his muscles as he walked.

She had various thoughts in her mind...

He wosn’t os frail os I had imagined. On the contrary, he seemed sturdy and strong. He corries me without any swaying.

His voice was pleasant to listen to, different from the way people in the village spoke. It carried on air of scholarly refinement.

He seemed different from what others hod said. Although I haven't seen him, I could feel that he doesn't look down on me.

Li Lanlan felt a bit nervous and cautiously embraced her future husband with both hands. She felt a mixture of joy and nervousness, thinking that perhaps her future days wouldn’t be as bad as she had imagined.

Amidst the enthusiastic cheers of the matchmaker, the scholar from the Lin family carried her all the way to the tree at the village entrance and then led his new bride back home.

From now on, Li Lanlan would be a wife in the Lin family.