My Beloved Super Fierce Wife
Chapter 373 is here to repay a favour

Chapter 373: 373 is here to repay a favour

Before the last three characters were even out, Lin Qingmu hurriedly yelped with a lack of finesse.

"No, no, no!" His hands waved so fast they blurred, "Dear mother, please no."

As he spoke, he showered Li Xiuli with flattery.

"My mom’s the most open-minded, she’s nothing like the aunties and dames in the village. She wouldn’t disregard her own kid’s wishes, would she?"

His eyes twinkled as he looked at Li Xiuli, waiting for her to respond.

He was genuinely scared that one day he’d suddenly be saddled with a fiancée.

Li Xiuli was charmed to bits but kept her face stern.

"Stop trying to butter me up; I’m not buying your sweet talk."

She pricked him with a word, but eventually, she gave him a straight answer.

"Rest assured, if you’re unwilling, we won’t arrange any random betrothal for you. It’s your life, you have to be satisfied with your bride..."

Tangtang had told her so many stories of unhappy marriages, how could she mess up now?

Children have their own fate; let things take their course.

Plus, the third son was not yet twenty, there was no rush in finding a partner.

Besides, he had a proper job and looked decent enough; he wouldn’t lack for a bride.

Lin Qingmu clenched his fists and jumped with joy on the spot.

"Thank you, mom, you truly are the best mom in the entire brigade," he said sweetly.

Li Xiuli felt a bit embarrassed being complimented by her rascal of a son.

She immediately changed the subject.

"What nonsense. Hurry and tell me how much all this stuff costs, so I can inform the people in the village..."

Lin Qingmu cheerfully responded.

"Alright!"

While they were halfway through the inventory, Gao Ping arrived carrying a fish.

"Everyone’s here!"

"Auntie!" Lin Qingshan and Lin Qingmu called out to her.

Gao Ping put the fish down and looked over Lin Qingmu.

"Qingmu, did everything go smoothly on your trip? You’re looking more and more different."

Li Xiuli smiled and invited her sister-in-law to sit down.

"Why compliment this scoundrel? He doesn’t have a clue. If you flatter him even a bit, he’ll be floating up to heaven."

She complained verbally, but her eyes overflowed with pride.

Anyone could see how pleased she was with Lin Qingmu.

Gao Ping laughed, "Alright, alright, we’ve been sisters-in-law for so many years, I know exactly what’s in your heart.

The kid’s good, and he deserves the praise."

Lin Qingmu lifted his eyebrows smugly.

Finally, someone was speaking fairly!

Li Xiuli, afraid her youngest would get too conceited, quickly dropped the subject.

Seeing the fat fish Gao Ping had brought, she scolded, "If you’re coming, come, but why bring something with you?"

Gao Ping simply smiled, "I’m here to ask for help, it wouldn’t be right to come empty-handed. Otherwise, what kind of person would I be?"

Li Xiuli was just mouthing off.

If her sister-in-law were someone who only took advantage, they wouldn’t have such a good relationship.

"So you’re here to pick some things, right? They’re all here; anything you like?"

As she spoke, she pointed to the big bundle that Lin Qingmu had brought back.

"Okay!"

Gao Ping agreed and then began to look through the items in the bundle.

"These cotton boots look good, warm and sturdy-looking. Do you have size forty-four? I want to send a pair to Weiguo."

Li Xiuli didn’t know and looked towards Lin Qingmu.

Lin Qingmu nodded, "We do, both forty-three and forty-four."

"That’s good, keep a pair for me," Gao Ping said.

Then, she saw some fine-looking fabric in the bundle.

She immediately thought of her daughter.

"...This fabric looks nice too," Gao Ping commented, caressing it.

"This is fabric from the big city; it’s definitely good quality."

Li Xiuli said, and then she asked about the only daughter of the big house, Lin Caixia.

"How’s Caixia? It’s been quite a while since I heard any news about her."

Lin Caixia, at twenty-four, was already married with a child.

Because of some issues, she didn’t maintain much contact with the family.

Gao Ping’s expression turned worried.

Thinking of her troublesome daughter, she felt a lump in her heart.

She sighed deeply.

"It’s the same as always, you know the Ding Family.

She wouldn’t listen to me or her dad; she insisted on marrying there. All the hardship she has to endure by herself, I can’t suffer on her behalf..."

What’s the use of choosing a partner just for their looks, if they turn out unreliable and can’t live a good life together?

And with that terrible mother-in-law, the tough days are long.

Li Xiuli remembered how Caixia had stubbornly fought with the family to marry that handsome young man from the next county and helplessly shook her head.

The more children you have, the more debts you owe!

Fortunate for her, Tangtang was smart and sensible, a child sent to repay debts.

Otherwise, with her temper, she would probably have been angered to the point of spitting blood.

"Whatever kind of life one ends up with, it’s their own choice, after all. We as parents can’t control our children’s lives forever, can we?"

Gao Ping internally concurred.

The life one leads is chosen by oneself.

Couldn’t take Kantan Avenue, instead took the muddy path – she couldn’t tie her daughter up and force her to take the better path, after all.

"Let’s not talk about her anymore, I’ll continue picking," Gao Ping didn’t want to mention her vexing daughter, every mention felt like a punch to her chest.

Li Xiuli: "Okay, we also have some canned goods here..."

Twenty minutes later, Gao Ping had made her selections.

"That’s all.

Qingmu, you calculate the price, and remember what I said, no trickery, charge the price as it is."

Lin Qingmu laughed, "...No trickery."

After calculating, he didn’t overcharge as it was family; he charged everything at cost price.

"The total is eighteen."

Gao Ping’s expression immediately turned serious, her eyes full of suspicion.

"You must have miscalculated. These items are worth at least twenty-eight. Those cotton boots alone are a few yuan, and then there’s all the other stuff. It can’t possibly be only eighteen."

In the countryside, having eighteen yuan at once was considered considerable wealth.

The big house lived quite well, though not without difficulty, but could afford such an amount nonetheless.

Lin Qingmu helplessly pulled out the receipt, facing his aunt, "It’s eighteen, here’s the receipt. You can check for yourself."

The goods were indeed much cheaper over there.

Upon examining it, Gao Ping saw the prices were roughly accurate.

However, Qingmu hadn’t charged even a bit for labor.

Her eyes widened as she protested, "Why haven’t you charged a penny more? You had to travel back and forth and carry these things. You can’t just not take any transportation fee. I’ll give you an extra two yuan for your trouble..."

Lin Qingmu opened his mouth, "That’s not..."

Before he could finish, Gao Ping sternly cut him off.

"No arguing. If you don’t take it, I won’t take these goods."

Bringing goods back from such a long distance was not easy.

Good quality items without a tax receipt, it was only right to pay some transportation cost.

Lin Qingmu looked helpless.

In the end, it was Li Xiuli who decided, "Third son, listen to your aunt."

It made things easier when exchanging goods with other villagers.

After all, even with his aunt, he had accepted a transportation fee, so it wouldn’t be fair for unrelated village neighbors to benefit for nothing.

"Alright, I’ll listen to my aunt," Lin Qingmu conceded.

-

The day of Zhou Peiyu’s wedding quickly arrived.

Lin Tang was fortunate to witness a wedding of this era.

The Ding Family had decorated the bridal room well in advance in preparation for their son’s wedding.

Having all the "three rounds and one sound" items in full, costing nearly a thousand, was rare for a family that wasn’t part of the cadre, and few could afford the whole set.

The Ding Family showed good faith, the main betrothal gifts included a bicycle and a watch, in addition to a wardrobe, a washbasin, and other similar items.