Divorce with three kids? I'll build a house and eat meat, driving my in-laws crazy.

Chapter 133 Why do you look both old and young?

She took a letter out of her bosom and handed it to Bailu.

Bai Lu hesitated for a moment, then opened the letter and found that it was written by her father.

After giving a brief greeting to Madam Bai, Master Bai brought up Bai Lu's marriage.

He didn't pressure her; instead, he found her another husband: Nie Tianlei, the resident doctor at the Nie family clinic.

Bai Lu clutched the letter, her heart filled with mixed emotions, feeling that even her father could no longer tolerate her.

Although he knew he would get married sooner or later, his father had mentioned it quite often.

But hearing her father say these things again through a letter now only made her feel wronged.

As expected, Father has forgotten about his daughter after marrying a new wife, and is now in cahoots with that Xue woman.

"Lu'er, a woman is always going to get married. If you ask me, Nie Tianlei is just an illegitimate son. You are the eldest daughter of the Bai family. How can you marry an illegitimate son?"
Listen to your mother: when choosing a husband, choose either a wealthy man or one from an official family. The county magistrate's son has both.

Although the magistrate of Chu County was only a minor official, it was a position that the Nie family could never reach in several generations.

Where there are officials, there is money; there are no poor people among officials.

In fact, what Xue said made some sense.

Although she did all this for Chu Yu, Bai Lu marrying Chu Xiu wouldn't be much worse off.

Chu Xiu isn't a bad person. He used to like to travel around, but now he's working hard at Li Ruru's house every day and doesn't have time to think about anything else.

He was carefree and had no desires.

If Bai Lu were to marry him, the two might actually achieve a harmonious and respectful relationship.

Bai Lu stuffed the letter into her pocket and snapped, "So what if I'm a concubine's son? Aren't concubine's sons human too? You think you're so superior?!"

After saying that, she snorted and went back to her room. Madam Xue wanted her to marry the magistrate's son, but she insisted on speaking up for Nie Tianlei.

Compared to Xue Shi, she preferred to believe her father and the world as the one who was kindest to her.

The maid, Shuya, poured a cup of tea and asked cautiously, "Miss, are you really going to marry that Doctor Nie? Have you met him?"

Bai Lu shook her head in frustration. She didn't want to get married, and she didn't even know what Nie Tianlei looked like.

Shuya continued, "Miss, the Nie Family Medical Clinic is right across from Hongfu Restaurant. Would you like to go take a look?"

She also knew that her mistress would eventually get married; it was a woman's fate, and even someone as noble as her mistress could not escape it.

Since there's no escaping it now, it's better to learn about your future husband's character beforehand.

If Nie Tianlei is unreliable, it will be better to make plans for the next step.

The young lady was so beautiful that even if she broke off her engagement and remarried, countless suitors would still come to propose marriage.

If she were a young lady, she would wake up laughing every day and wouldn't be sitting here silently worrying.

Bai Lu took out the letter and read it several times before nodding and saying, "Okay, as you wish."

-

That evening, Li Ruru cooked a large meal to welcome the young boys who had helped build the house.

Because there were outsiders present, she didn't prepare a very lavish meal.

A large bowl of congee with preserved egg and lean pork, jade-colored pancakes, served with cold potato salad, stir-fried carrots, cold amaranth salad, and pickled green beans, Jerusalem artichokes, and radishes.

"Come and eat, everyone." Li Ruru waved her hand, and the young men washed their hands and happily gathered around the table.

Chaochao was in charge of serving everyone's meals. She gave each person a large bowl of porridge and then pointed to the table, saying, "There are pancakes and vegetables too. They can roll them up themselves if they want."

The young men smiled shyly as they went to get the corn tortillas; they had eaten pancakes at home before.

However, I always eat it with pickled vegetables. This is the first time I've seen so many vegetables, and I don't know which one to pick.

“Eat as much as you like, there’s more if you’re still hungry,” Peipei said with a smile.

Xiao Yishan said proudly, "You guys eat quickly, my godmother's cooking is the best in the world."

Li Ruru turned her head to look at him. The originally dark-skinned, thin, and silent boy had somehow become so lively.

The fact that Xiao Yishan was able to invite so many young men today shows that he still has some connections in Chenjia Village.

Li Ruru was unaware that these boys belonged to the lower class in Chenjia Village and were often the targets of bullying.

Xiao Yishan was once one of them, which is why they agreed to help today.

"Just building a thatched hut, 20 coins for labor, plus a meal—that's a great deal!" a young man exclaimed. "Wow, this wild vegetable porridge tastes so good!"

"See? I didn't lie to you." Xiao Yishan raised his chin; his godmother's cooking was simply unbeatable.

The people of Chenjia Village had never eaten preserved egg and lean pork congee before. They only saw that it looked a bit dark and assumed it was wild vegetable paste.

A steaming hot meal warms the heart.

Since Dang Xingzhi didn't come to Li Ruru's house, there was naturally no food for him.

Li Ruru handed the basket to Yinyin, "Take this to that grumpy grandpa."

Yinyin had already eaten and was chasing Qiqi around the yard when she heard her mother's words. She grabbed her basket and rushed out the door.

A man and a dog arrived at the wasteland next door, where the weeds had already been cleared away.

The ground was leveled, but the house only had a roof and no walls.

"Grandpa Fang, where are you?" Yin Yin called out in her childish voice.

"Woof woof~ Awoo~" Qiqi barked along.

Fang Xingzhi, who was watching the sunset, heard the sound and stepped out from the dim light.

He was tall and slender, calm and composed, with a refined and scholarly air.

Yinyin exclaimed happily, "Grandpa Fang, how come you look both old and young?"

She didn't know how to describe the feeling; she only felt that Grandpa Fang's face was old, but his body was very young.

He looks very energetic and spirited, completely different from other elderly people of his age in the village.

"Woof woof~ Awooo." Qiqi agreed with its little master.

Fang Xingzhi hadn't noticed the dog at noon, but as soon as he saw it, he immediately took two steps back.

This isn't a dog, it's clearly a wolf.

This family is actually raising wolves! The village head doesn't even know how to control them. What if they bite someone?

"Little girl, you'd better keep your wolfhound on a leash."

Yinyin patted Qiqi's head and said earnestly, "My Qiqi is very well-behaved, it doesn't bite."

"Woof woof~ Awooo." Qiqi agreed; he only bites bad guys.

Fang Xingzhi chuckled awkwardly and asked, "Little girl, is there something you need from me?"

It's alright, quickly take this wolf away, he's scared.

Yinyin ran up to him with the basket and said, "My mother asked me to bring this. Eat it while it's hot."

Fang Xingzhi touched her little face and said, "It's so hot, you need to let it air out."

He hadn't expected Li Ruru to bring him food, and was momentarily at a loss for what to do. He changed the subject, saying, "Do you want to watch the sunset? Grandpa will take you."

"Um... okay." Yin Yin wasn't interested in sunsets at all, but seeing Grandpa Fang's enthusiastic expression, she didn't refuse.

Fang Xingzhi carried her to a raised earthen slope in the yard and pointed to the west: "Look, the sky is red."

When he spoke to Yinyin, he unconsciously picked up his glasses.

Qiqi ran up too, and the two of them and the dog looked up at the bright red sky.

After watching for a while, Yinyin got really bored and asked Fang Xingshan, "Grandpa Fang, where are you staying tonight?"

She could see that the dilapidated thatched hut only had a roof and was drafty on all sides. If it rained at night, she would be soaked to the bone.

Without a second thought, Fang Xingzhi replied, "Of course, I'll stay here."

"Aren't you staying at my house? There's room at my house. My mom said that Brother Xiaowu and Brother Yishan can share a room, and you can have your own room."

“I don’t feel comfortable living here. I’m more at ease here. Okay, you should go back now. Your mother must be worried because she can’t find you.”

When Yinyin got home, she ran to Li Ruru to complain: "Grandpa Fang told us to tie Qiqi up properly, saying that Mom's cooking was too hot and not tasty."

Li Ruru's face was very pale. "What else did he say?"

"She also said she wasn't used to living in our house because she felt uncomfortable."

(End of this chapter)