On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

Li Shiyue's words struck everyone like a heavy hammer blow to the head.

Although Li Shiyue did not name names directly, the direction she was looking in was clearly asking about Li Youfu.
Li Youfu felt dizzy from Li Shiyue's question. He raised his hand to press his temples and then turned around to look at Li Yueniang, who was being held in Yu Zhenniang's arms.

"Grandpa?"

"Ai."

Li Yueniang doesn't actually look much like Li Wangren, but there are still some similarities between the biological father and daughter.

Li Youfu looked into Li Yueniang's eyes and brows, searching for the figure of Li Wangren within them.

Even though he learned from Li Shiyang that Li Wangren was not a good person, how could Li Youfu put his mind at ease about the child he had loved for most of his life?

Actually, Li Yueniang wasn't worried about getting married.

Even though her biological father was dead and she had no brothers from the same father, as long as her cousin Li Shiyang was still alive, she could still be considered to have a maternal family.

Even so, does that mean Li Shiyang will never get married?

Once married, it's like separating the family and having your own little family. Naturally, you'll favor your own children. How could Li Shiyang possibly take care of his cousin from another branch of the family all the time?

Looking at Li Yueniang's face, Li Youfu began to think about what Li Shiyue had just said: "A woman cannot marry out of the family; she can only be married into the family or have a man from another family live with her."

“This is Wangren’s only bloodline in this world, so I have to do something for her.”

Li Youfu has to make plans for Li Yueniang, doesn't he?

Li Youfu is so old, how many more years can he live?

Who knows if he will live long enough for Li Yueniang to grow up and get married?
Li Youfu also understood that while he was alive, Li Shiyang could still come back to visit this home.
If he's gone, how could Li Shiyang come back?
When that time comes, how will Li Yueniang live in this world?

After much thought, Li Youfu had actually agreed to Li Shiyue's suggestion that the village women find husbands.

After all, for Yue Niang of his family, bringing a man from outside the village into Liujiatun as a son-in-law was the most suitable thing to do!
"Even if I die, there will always be members of the Li clan who are still alive," Li Youfu thought, and then looked at Li Shiyue, who was still sitting at the head of the table.

"Even if she's being unreasonable in October, there's one thing she's right about."

She's protective of her own!
As long as Yue Niang stays in the village, Shi Yue can't possibly abandon her!

Li Shiyue's eyes met Li Youfu's. Although she didn't know what Li Youfu was thinking at that moment, just by looking at his eyes, she felt that Li Youfu was up to no good!
After patting her hand to attract everyone's attention, Li Shiyue smiled sarcastically at the group of men who had been making the most noise earlier and asked, "Are you all thinking that I should find a man to marry?"
"So you'll just stay here in Liujiatun, sitting in my place so I can be the boss?"

After a brief silence, the crowd erupted in chatter again.

Yes, Li Shiyue is almost seventeen now, which is an age when she could have gotten married long ago.

From the time Li Shiyue followed Li Shiyang to save their lives on the road of fleeing famine, to today when they learned that Li Shiyue had become a sixth-rank official, they seemed to have only now realized a problem: Li Shiyue was a young woman of marriageable age! If Li Shiyue had married another man, would everything in Liujiatun still be able to proceed as planned?

Will their lives, their future, the school, the paper mill, and the charcoal that will soon be sold—will all of this still bring them the same benefits as it does now?

Without Li Shiyue, can Liujiatun still be the same Liujiatun it is today?

Li Wangshui turned to look at the men who were shouting so loudly. He knew that these men had bullied people in Lijia Village in the past because of their close relationship with Li Youfu's branch of the family.

If, as Li Shiyue said, she got married and left Liujiatun, and Li Youfu and his group regained power, then everything they had gained might just vanish like a dream, as the plays say!

The more Li Wangshui thought about it, the more convinced he became. He felt a surge of heat rushing from his chest to the top of his head. With a "bang," Li Wangshui suddenly stood up. He stood up so quickly that the chair collided with the ground, making a "bang" sound.

However, the commotion drew everyone's attention to him in the ancestral hall.

I'll listen to October!

In October, it was said that a woman cannot marry outside her family. So, if I have any more children in the future, I will not marry outside my family!
We'll find a husband for our child and have him stay at home!

If Li Wangshui could think of a problem, how could others not think of it?
When it comes to matters concerning one's own interests, even the most slow-witted person will open their eyes wide!

The second person to stand up in support of Li Shiyue was Li Shiliang, who simply said, "Me too!"
My family is small, so whether it's sons or daughters, they all stay at home!
A mother is even better; a mother is so considerate!

Sitting next to Li Shiliang was Zhao Min, who had been married into the family for some time. In her arms, Zhao Min held her little daughter, whom she had with her ex-husband and whose nickname was Ya Tou.

As for Li Shiyue's words, Zhao Min, being a woman who had married into the family from outside and had only been married for a short time, and who did not yet have children with Li Shiliang, felt it was inappropriate for her to interrupt and say anything at this time.

However, Zhao Min actually agreed with what Li Shiyue said.

Each of these children is a precious gift that their mothers have carried for ten months, risking their lives to be born.

She herself married into another family, so how could she not know what kind of life she was living?
If you can keep your own child by your side, that would be the best thing ever!
Not to mention, she has seen it all these days: there is an endless supply of work in Liujiatun, all of which can earn money and are even family heirlooms!

Therefore, if you keep your child with you, you don't have to worry about not having a single meal to eat!

At this moment, Zhao Min also had some other thoughts in her mind.

After one instance, and another, the people in the ancestral hall no longer felt so resistant to the fifth village rule set by Li Shiyue.

Especially after Li Youfu and his group stopped speaking out, this was considered a tacit agreement.

As for the subsequent rules, such as not beating one's wife, respecting one's parents and elders, and caring for the widowed and orphaned, no one had any objections.

Seeing that everyone had nothing more to say, especially Li Youfu's group who had all lowered their heads, Li Shiyue, sitting at the head of the table, spoke again: "The third thing I want to say, and also the last thing I want to say today, is, 'Be mindful of danger in times of peace; if you are mindful, you will be prepared; if you are prepared, you will have no worries' (from Zuo Zhuan, Duke Xiang, Year 11)." (End of Chapter)