"Mom! I want to find you a wife!"
"What?!" Qingshan's mother was stunned.
...
Although Qingshan was young, he was very good at keeping secrets. He promised Jiang Yu not to reveal that he liked Lang Ying to anyone, and he really didn't let out a single word.
Therefore, this was the first time Qingshan's family had learned that he actually had a girl he had liked for a long time down the mountain.
What? Not a girl, but a divorced woman with two children?
No way! I absolutely refuse!
Just as Qingshan's elderly mother was about to explode, she heard her son clinging to her leg and wailing—
"Mom! Go to the village and ask around! Lang Ying is really a good woman!"
"She didn't want a divorce herself; it was her ex-husband who was a complete jerk!"
"What? Lang Ying? She's the secretary of Jiang Xiaoman's tea cooperative?" Qingshan's mother's eyes widened.
"Oh dear, what secretary? They call that the Secretary-General! He's only one rank below the Vice President, but he's still an official." Qingshan couldn't help but feel sorry for his sweetheart.
There's a huge difference between a secretary and a general secretary; can they be the same?
He wouldn't allow anyone to insult Lang Ying's achievements at work!
Unexpectedly, his explanation only made his mother angrier, and she grabbed a half-finished shoe sole from the side and slapped it at him.
He was hitting and cursing at the same time.
"Have you been eating too much bee droppings? What kind of delusional thinking is this in the middle of the night?"
"Lang Ying has such a promising daughter! She can be an official, make money, manage a household, and take care of children. She's an exceptionally good daughter. Why would she even look at a kid like you?"
Good heavens!
Mother, are you my mother or Yingzi's mother?
How can you speak so disparagingly of your own son?
Halfway through the fight, Qingshan's mother also became somewhat discouraged, let out a heavy sigh, and sat back down in her chair.
Of course she knew that Lang Ying was a rare and good daughter-in-law.
There's no need to inquire in the village; these days, people in this old mountain valley often mention Jiang Xiaoman and his subordinate Lang Ying.
Jiang Xiaoman is quite far away from them, but Lang Ying has genuinely secured opportunities for many left-behind mothers who have no source of income to do odd jobs and earn money.
Not to mention those far away, just in their old mountain valley, several wives regularly go to the tea cooperative to help out. They usually stay for a few days or ten days or so, living at Lang Ying's house. After finishing their work, they take their wages home.
The most someone ever brought back was over two thousand yuan, enough for the whole family's living expenses for two months.
That's not all. Lang Ying also taught them how to make the best-looking tea cakes so they could fetch a good price. She also taught them how to process wild vegetables to get a higher grade and a higher price. It was as if she was trying every possible way to help them make money.
In the old mountain valley, people are even more grateful to Lang Ying than to Jiang Xiaoman herself.
How could such a kind and capable daughter-in-law end up with her foolish son?
Qingshan's mother looked up at her youngest son, who was crying with tears streaming down his face, and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
She was willing to shamelessly go to their door and beg, and whether or not it worked out, at least she had tried and wouldn't regret it.
But what about the son?
If your son falls for such an outstanding woman as Lang Ying, will he ever be able to find someone else attractive in the future?
After holding the shoe sole and pondering for a moment, Qingshan's mother solemnly announced her decision...
The next day, Lang Ying declined Director Hu's offer and focused on finishing her scenes on set. After eating her boxed lunch, she was about to go home to change clothes and pickle some radishes from the garden to make some spicy and sour radish slices when she received a call from Jiang Yu.
Lang Ying thought Jiang Yu was calling to invite her and her family of three to a pig-slaughtering feast.
In the month leading up to the Lunar New Year, villagers received phone calls for only two reasons: either they were invited to a pig-slaughtering feast, or they were being asked to pay debts.
Lang Ying had no debts outside, so the only remaining reason was to eat the pig-slaughtering feast.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yu asked her hesitantly when she would be back, as he wanted to take some of the women from the old mountain valley to her home.
"I just finished filming here and I'm going home right away." Lang Ying was completely confused.
When they got home, they discovered that the two leading the group were Qingshan's mother and Huiying, the matchmaker from the old mountain valley.
Behind the two was Qing Shan, whose face was already flushed red and whose eyes were darting around.
Is there anything she doesn't understand?
However, since the person has already arrived, and was brought by Jiang Yu, we should invite them inside first to discuss anything, lest they block the doorway and cause a scene, which would be unpleasant for both of us.
Lang Ying had always assumed that Qing Shan had brought his mother here to propose marriage to her, but little did she know—
"Yingzi, we're already acquaintances, so I won't bother with those empty platitudes."
"I called Sister-in-law Huiying here today because I want to discuss something with you."
“I know your current situation. You have two daughters and you are worried about marrying into another family. You are afraid that your two children will be mistreated in your new family.”
"So, I discussed it with Qingshan. How about this? If you're willing to give this kid a chance, our family is willing to let him move into your family home and become your live-in son-in-law!"
What?!
Lang Ying and Jiang Xiaoman, who rushed over upon hearing the news, were both stunned.
"Auntie, Qingshan is your only son, right?" Jiang Xiaoman couldn't help but swallow.
"I also have an eldest daughter. Don't worry about that. My son is just marrying into Yingzi's family. It's not like he's cutting ties with his old mother. Does he think he'll abandon me if I encounter any difficulties?"
"Yingzi, don't worry. If you're willing to live with Qingshan, you can live in the village from now on. You don't need to go back to serve this old woman. Just bring the children back to have a meal with me during holidays."
"You don't need to worry about things at home. I plan to bring Qingshan's older sister back to live with us. With her here, you can just focus on your own things."
"What?!" This time it was Qing Shan's turn to be stunned.
Didn't his mother discuss this with him?
"Don't look at me like that. You have no say in this family. From now on, you'll just have to live with Yingzi." Qingshan's mother said coldly to her son.
Qingshan:o(╥﹏╥)o
At this moment, Aunt Huiying, who had been invited to act as matchmaker, stepped in to smooth things over and explained why Qingshan's mother wanted her only son to marry into Langying's family.
"In our old mountain village, women have always been the heads of the household for generations!"
"Things are better now. Decades ago, women from the old mountain valleys would go down the mountain, find a man, have a child, and bring the child back to the mountains. They never said they had to bring the man back with them..."
Holy crap! Isn't this exactly what female netizens have been dreaming of: "removing the father and keeping the son"?
Did people in Langshan really have such modern ideas back then?
“Now that Qingshan’s eldest sister has had three children, it’s time for her to go back to her parents’ home. Now that Qingshan has a wife, it doesn’t really matter whether he lives at home or not,” Aunt Huiying said happily.
Poor Qingshan was utterly bewildered.
He always thought he was the pillar of this family.
So, his sister is the real heir to this family? Waaah…
So now that he's grown up, he should be "married off," right?
Lang Ying also looked at him with a sympathetic expression.
No one expected things to turn out this way.
However, if Qingshan could really marry into Lang Ying's family, this marriage would actually be quite suitable for Lang Ying.
Chapter 205
When Qing Shan's mother first brought up the condition of "marrying into the family," it had to be said that it was indeed quite tempting for Lang Ying at the moment.
Isn't it because her family has never had a man to keep her in check that Jiang Erming's family has been able to bully her time and time again?
And those matchmakers, taking advantage of her being a divorced woman with no family to rely on, introducing her to all sorts of lousy men.
Moreover, if she were to marry into an ordinary family, the man would definitely require Lang Ying to move in with her two children.
Lang Ying had had enough of living under someone else's roof, and she didn't want her two daughters to have to endure that kind of life again.
To use a popular internet phrase, Lang Ying's current state is like "her heart sealed with cement"!
The word "man" is absolutely taboo for her; it needs to be avoided.
Therefore, there must be a reason why none of the many matchmakers in the surrounding villages could win over Lang Ying.
But now, this taboo word has been broken by Qing Shan's wise and intelligent mother.
She knew all too well why Lang Ying refused to marry.
As a widow, she understood better than anyone the importance of a child in a mother's heart.
Don't they know that after getting married, having a man to rely on and working together to support the family will make their lives easier?
Of course I know!
But if the price of marriage is that her child will live under someone else's roof, having to depend on others to survive, which mother would be willing to do that?
After figuring this out, Qingshan's mother immediately got her hands on the "secret manual" for winning over Lang Ying!
That meant having their son leave home and marry into Lang Ying's family.
As the saying goes, if the mountain won't come to me, I'll come to the mountain.
Wasn't Lang Ying most worried that her two daughters would suffer mistreatment and be looked down upon if they married into other families?
Then let's get married in a different way!
Moreover, this way, the family won't need to build a separate new house for their son.
Qingshan's elderly mother has already decided that the money saved from building the new house will be given to her son as a "dowry." Once the two of them have saved enough money, they will buy a house in the county town so that her grandchildren can also go to school there.
Who knows, maybe one of their children will even go on to university.
Isn't that better than having your son and daughter-in-law stuck in that remote mountain valley?
Lang Ying was truly at a loss when faced with such a clear-headed and discerning mother-in-law.