’Why do things like this always happen to our Li family?’

Seeing his grandfather’s expression, Li Changyu quickly explained, "Grandpa, I’m just asking a hypothetical question. Nothing’s going on right now. I just want to know, if the person I choose doesn’t meet your, Mom’s, and Dad’s expectations, would you still let me make my own decision? For example, maybe her family is poor, or she isn’t very pretty, or perhaps she isn’t that capable. In short, what if she falls a little short of your ideal for a daughter-in-law? Would you still give me your blessing?"

Li Mingrui finally relaxed and chuckled. "We’re country folk. We can’t expect you to marry a princess. As long as the important things are in order, we’ll certainly respect your choice. A poor family or not being pretty doesn’t matter much. But as for being ’capable’... that’s something to weigh carefully. Changyu, you wouldn’t want a lazy wife, would you? Someone like Granny Hua—would you like that?"

Li Changyu only really wanted to know if his family would object to Juhua’s looks. He had only brought up poverty and capability as a smokescreen.

Hearing Li Mingrui’s words, he couldn’t help but give him an exasperated push. "Grandpa, what are you saying!"

Li Mingrui gave a dry chuckle. "Grandpa’s just joking with you! All that stuff you mentioned isn’t really important. The most important thing is that she’s virtuous. ’A virtuous wife brings peace and harmony to the home.’ Just look at your mother. She was worth all the trouble your father went through for her. If you chase after beauty or money and try to marry someone who’ll cause trouble, we absolutely will not agree."

Li Changyu was overjoyed and said quickly, "I won’t, I won’t. She... Heh, I mean, Grandpa, I’m not a fool. Why would I marry someone like that and make my own life miserable? How would I get through the next several decades?"

’If Juhua isn’t considered virtuous,’ he thought, ’then no one in this village is.’

Knowing he would have his family’s support, the anxious, uncertain feeling in his heart immediately settled. Now, all that was left was to figure out how deep his feelings for Juhua truly were, and whether he was determined to compete with Huai Zi for her.

This was something he had to figure out, and quickly.

Otherwise, by the time he finally sorted out his feelings and decided he wanted to marry her, she might already be engaged to Huai Zi. Wouldn’t that be a disaster!

Besides, even if he did sort out his own feelings, he still had to win Juhua’s heart. Otherwise, his wish would never be fulfilled.

This was crucial. Otherwise, back on the boat, Huai Zi wouldn’t have become so crestfallen over a single remark of his.

It looked like he was going to be busy over the New Year—he would have to make a few more trips to the Zheng Family’s home.

Li Mingrui was old and shrewd; he had noticed long ago that something was off with his grandson. No matter how Li Changyu tried to hide it, his fluctuating expressions of joy and worry could not escape his grandfather’s worldly-wise eyes.

’My grandson definitely has someone in his heart.’

’Who could it be?’

No need to rush. He figured that if he just paid close attention to the boy, he would eventually find out whether the girl was in Qinghui or Xiatang Market.

But life is often full of surprises.

On this matter, both Li Mingrui and his son, Li Gengtian, had made their private guesses, and both were wrong. They had never once considered Juhua.

Although she was a good girl, she was cursed with an unattractive face. They never imagined in their wildest dreams that a young man like Li Changyu wouldn’t care about that and would fall for her. What was even more shocking was that even Huai Zi, disregarding what had happened all those years ago, was now vowing to marry Juhua.

It was truly the talk of the village!

Of course, that was all a story for later.

At dinnertime, with a large spread of dishes served by Mrs. Fang, the atmosphere in the Li household was quite lively. Mr. Zhou no longer ate with them, as he had always felt it was an inconvenience. Li Gengtian had hired someone to cook for him separately.

Having made up his mind, Li Changyu was in a much better mood. The dried vegetable and braised pork his mother made seemed especially flavorful, and he eagerly polished off a bowl of rice.

He set down his bowl, but instead of getting more rice, he said to Mrs. Fang, "Mom, you’re a great cook, no worse than Juhua’s. You should think more about how to turn the things we grow into delicious food. It would be even better if we could put it in jars to preserve it for a while. Couldn’t we sell it then?"

Mrs. Fang shot him a look. "I’m busy enough as it is. I don’t have a spare moment while taking care of you lot. Where would I find the time to think about things like that?"

Li Gengtian, however, seemed pensive upon hearing this.

Li Changyu laughed. "I’m not asking you to drop everything to think about it. Your work is already housework and cooking, right? So why not think a little more while you’re at it? Look, everyone pickles vegetables, but Juhua came up with spicy pickled cabbage. Every family butchers pigs, but Juhua made sausages. And we’ve been eating shanyu vermicelli for ages, haven’t we? She combined it with the spicy cabbage to make a hot and sour vermicelli dish. Mom, you’re such a good cook. If you use your head and experiment a little, I’m sure you could create something wonderful too."

Li Gengtian nodded repeatedly. "That’s right. Changyu’s right, dear. You should give it some thought. I also think you could do a great job. The main thing is to experiment."

Li Changyu added, "Exactly. You have to be bold and experiment. I heard from Juhua that she and Liu Xiaomei are trying to make new things. For example, Liu Xiaomei is trying to figure out new ways to roast melon seeds. If she can roast them with a novel flavor, we’ll have another product to sell. Juhua is trying to make dried fish. She said she wants to turn it into a snack or an appetizer. See? Isn’t that different from how we usually think? We’re farmers, and we have so much produce from our fields. If we sell it directly, not only will few people buy it, but we also won’t get a good price. That’s why we need to come up with new ideas."

Li Gengtian and Li Changfeng both nodded in admiration. Li Mingrui smiled at his son and said, "Ever since Changyu started working, his mind has gotten a lot sharper."