That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1501 No One Can Escape

When Ji Xiangyu and Zhao Meiwen left, Ji Xiangyu was already walking unsteadily. After all, he was a master's student who hadn't even graduated yet. He was too honest when drinking, and he didn't care about his alcohol tolerance, only his face.

So Li Ye asked, "Meiwen, is it okay for Xiao Ji to ride a motorcycle like this? Should I take him home?"

While handing Ji Xiangyu his helmet, Zhao Meiwen said casually, "It's okay, Brother Ye. It's not far. A gust of wind on a motorcycle will sober you up."

Ji Xiangyu chuckled sheepishly and said, "It's alright, brother. I can hold my liquor pretty well; I'm not drunk."

Li Ye was speechless now. He had to consider the pride of the young man, so he could only tell Zhao Meiwen, "Be careful on the road! Motorcycles aren't cars; you can't go over forty kilometers a hour."

"Oh, Ono-nii, I know now, you're becoming more and more like my mom."

"Om~"

Zhao Meiwen gave Li Ye a perfunctory reply, twisted the accelerator and roared away, completely ignoring Li Ye's words.

But just before Li Ye sensed danger and was about to reprimand her, she happened to slow down.

"Gluck cluck~"

A string of silvery laughter rang out, as if it were a sly teasing directed at Li Ye.

"You little brat, you need to be disciplined!"

Li Ye laughed and cursed in exasperation, but inwardly he was very pleased.

Since Zhao Meiwen broke up with her "ex" two years ago, she has been shrouded in gloom, and the sun has not shone in her for a long time.

Judging from her current appearance, all the past events must be in the past.

These days, girls are much like boys decades from now. As long as a boy is gentle with her, doesn't get drunk or swear, and is hardworking and devoted, she's basically satisfied. If they suddenly break up, she can't accept it because of the heartbreak.

Decades later, things have completely reversed. People are now using the threat of breaking up all the time, while if a girl knits a sweater for a boy, it would probably move him to tears.

It's a pity that there are hardly any girls left who can even knit a scarf, let alone a sweater.

The loss of a skill must be because it has no place to be used. When a tough guy doesn't need warmth, why bother knitting a scarf?

"Grandma, I'm going back now! I'll leave the car with Grandpa for now, and I'll come back to drive it tomorrow morning."

After drinking, Li Ye decided not to drive anymore, since the two courtyards were only two streets apart and a few minutes' walk away.

But Grandma yelled, "Stop right there! You cook at your in-laws' house, but can't you wash the dishes at home? Wash the dishes before you leave!"

"Okay, okay, I'll swipe it right away."

Li Ye hurried back to wash the dishes, and then his grandmother, Wu Juying, started nagging him: "Go back and talk to Xiaoyu in bed, don't just think about your cousin's marriage, you need to pay attention to your other three sisters too."
Xiao Ruo, Xiao Juan, and Xiao Ying are all getting on in years, but none of them have a boyfriend. Mei Wen, on the other hand, has already dated three. And your three younger sisters aren't bad catches at all!

"Grandma, I've talked to Xiaojuan about this. She said she promises to bring a boyfriend home before she turns twenty-five. As for Xiaoruo, she's even more opinionated. Nowadays, people value freedom of marriage, and I can't force a match."

"Twenty-five? Why don't you say thirty-five?"

Upon hearing Li Ye's words, Wu Juying immediately jumped up in anger and poked Li Ye's forehead with her finger.

"She says marriage is a matter of freedom, so what? Do you even have a brain? Wasn't Meiwen's previous boyfriend also free to marry? He almost got sold off, don't you know? A good match is one where both partners are well-matched, even if they're not the best, they're definitely not bad."

Li Ye was poked on the forehead by his grandmother and didn't dare to argue back at all.

Although this old guerrilla fighter and Li Zhongfa had a love marriage, she was so old and experienced that she must have had her own principles and convictions.

So Li Ye could only speed up the dishwashing and then flee in panic.

He and Wen Leyu were in a free-love relationship, so his attempts to persuade his younger sisters to go on blind dates and follow their parents' arrangements were really not very convincing.

When Li Ye returned home, he saw his three younger sisters playing with his son as soon as he entered the door.

As soon as Li Ye entered, Li Ying rushed over and asked, "Brother, have you met Sister Meiwen's boyfriend? What does he look like? How tall is he?"

Li Juan also came over and asked, "Brother, I heard from Grandma that Sister Meiwen found a medical master's degree holder. Does that mean their whole family will be doctors from now on?"

Fu Yiruo wasn't particularly curious, but she looked at Li Ye, clearly also enjoying this kind of gossip.

Li Ye said helplessly, "If you guys are so curious, why don't you go check it out tonight? Everyone says they have something to do."

Li Juan grinned, gave an awkward smile, and said nothing.

The younger sister, Fu Yiruo, was much more direct: "We're afraid Grandma will scold us again. You have no idea how anxious and upset Grandma has been these past few days about our personal matters, and we don't dare to talk back."

So you just hide!

"Hmm~"

Fu Yiruo, Li Juan, and Li Ying all nodded, indicating that Li Ye had guessed correctly this time.

Li Ye was somewhat amused and exasperated. His three younger sisters were all afraid their grandmother would arrange marriages for them, so they wanted to know what Ji Xiangyu was like, but tonight they didn't dare approach their grandmother and risk being scolded. "Sigh~"

Li Ye sighed and said, "You guys are finally getting some peace and quiet here, but Grandma caught me and scolded me, saying that your sister-in-law and I don't care about the three of you."

Grandma said, "Meiwen has already started meeting the parents, but you two haven't made a move yet. It's forcing me to resolve your marriage issues as soon as possible."

Li Ying blinked, and asked suspiciously, "Big brother, you're not on Grandma's side, are you? Something's off about your tone."

Li Ye looked at Fu Yiruo and patiently explained, "Grandma has been through it all, and she knows that it's best to find a partner as early as possible. Look at your sister-in-law and me; we met each other in the prime of our lives and fully enjoyed each other's youth."

Li Ye and Wen Leyu met when they were only eighteen years old, and now they are over thirty. They are still very much in love and completely satisfied with each other, so this is the only "evidence of puppy love" that Li Ye can show.

But Li Ying immediately retorted, "But didn't you and your wife fall in love on your own? If you two could meet, why can't we meet someone suitable?"

【I knew it was like this.】

Li Ye put on a stern face and said, "Your sister-in-law and I are incredibly lucky. We met when we were eighteen, and you're both over twenty now."

Li Juan interrupted Li Ye, saying with great grievance, "The country is now advocating for late marriage and late childbirth. Brother, you are also a Party member, how can you be so feudal? How can you not support the country's policy?"

Fu Yiruo chuckled and said, "Big brother, you're not thinking of arranging a marriage, are you? That doesn't conform to the spirit of modern civilization!"

"How dare you interrupt me? I... I really want to break your legs."

Li Ye felt that his "elder brother's" authority had been violated, and he immediately became somewhat furious.

He wasn't trying to use the girls to exchange for a dowry of 388,000 yuan; he even prepared astronomical dowries for them. How could it be an arranged marriage?
Just then, Xiao Dou'er suddenly shouted from the doorway, "Grandma, you're back? What delicious treat are you carrying?"

The three girls, who had been chattering excitedly, suddenly looked towards the door in horror.

"Oh no, Grandma's here."

"Didn't Grandma go to keep Grandpa company today?"

"How should I know? Bro, you need to cover us, the three of us need to hide."

The three girls, who had been so confident in front of Li Ye just moments before, were now all pale with fright and running around in panic.

Before they could even run to the backyard to find a place to hide, Grandma stood with her hands on her hips and shouted from the front yard, "Li Ye, where are those three little girls? Tell them to come out here!!"

Fu Yiruo, Li Juan, and Li Ying all looked at Li Ye. Li Juan even made a "shh" gesture anxiously because she was the one being urged the most.

But Li Ye said helplessly, "Grandma used to be a guerrilla fighter. You think you can hide? Do you think you can hide better than she did?"

"."

A minute later, the three girls stood side by side in the courtyard, forced to accept Wu Juying's lecture.

"I met Meiwen's boyfriend today, and he's absolutely perfect. What makes you guys inferior to Meiwen? Is it your looks? Or your education?"

"I'm telling you, starting next week, everyone has to go on a blind date once a month. Those who don't want to go on blind dates can go find their own."

I don't expect you to marry into wealthy families, just be honest, upright, and reliable. Someone like your brother-in-law, Yang Yumin, who knows how to strive for success, is someone you should definitely hold onto.”

Li Ye watched as his three younger sisters lowered their heads, staring blankly at his toes, as if he had returned to the time in his previous life when he was being "besieged" by his family and pressured to get married.

At that time, Li Ye was also very impatient, thinking that he still had plenty of time to squander, and that there were plenty of fish in the sea, and things would work themselves out.

But now that I think about it, I just realize I was young and impetuous.

Just like the three younger sisters now, Fu Yiruo might be able to think more openly, but the other two think that Wu Juying is old-fashioned and feudal.

This is also a common phenomenon among girls in this era. When the new era comes rushing in, all the old customs seem to carry an air of decay.

No matter what family circumstances or parents' occupations are, nothing is more important than "pleasing to the eye" and "going with the flow".

But Li Ye had experienced a complete adolescence and middle age in his previous life, so he knew that the much-criticized "arranged marriage" was by no means entirely without merit.

A child's character is inextricably linked to his parents and his upbringing.

Moreover, Grandma wasn't materialistic; she only cared about families with a clean, honest, and kind background. In fact, she was a highly sought-after student like Yang Yumin, who came from a poor background but got into Peking University.

Li Ye didn't think it was excessive. After all, he had raised his younger sisters to be who they are today and prepared a large dowry. He couldn't possibly find them some blond-haired guy, could he?
And Grandma even allowed them to go find it themselves.

But among the masses, people with average intelligence are a minority. Do you expect to find someone like Yang Yumin like finding a needle in a haystack? The probability is even lower than finding gold dust in a swimming pool.
Wu Juying's pressure on Li Ye to find partners for her sisters was definitely a deliberate selection process. While it didn't guarantee they'd strike gold, it at least prevented them from falling into a trap.

Xiao Dou'er sidled up to Li Ye and whispered, "Dad, why was Grandma so angry?"

Li Ye hugged his daughter and sighed, "Grandma is getting old. I hope to do my best to make my aunts happy."

(End of this chapter)