HLnovel Chapter 315 Persuasion
Chapter 315 Persuasion
Liu Cai'er took the handkerchief and wiped away her tears. She took a deep breath and said in a sobbing voice, "Xiao Tang, you are still young and don't understand. It is an undeniable fact that your aunt has been married and had children. If your aunt had married your Uncle Shuisheng, our whole family wouldn't have said anything, but if word got out, outsiders would inevitably gossip."
Your Uncle Shuisheng is in high spirits right now, and he may act impulsively. He may not care about my past now, but if there are more people pointing fingers, won't your Uncle Shuisheng feel resentful?
"What if he can't withstand the gossip and strange looks from others, and changes his heart towards his concubine, like that beast Xie Laifu, and lays a hand on her? What will happen to his concubine then?"
Lin Xiaotang felt that Uncle Shuisheng wasn't that kind of person, but people's hearts are fickle, and she couldn't guarantee that Uncle Shuisheng would never change his mind like her aunt did.
Just like Auntie said, Uncle Shuisheng doesn't mind Auntie's past now, but there are too many rumors outside. Men care about their image. What if he can't stand the strange looks from outsiders and starts to dislike Auntie?
My aunt has already been divorced once. After marrying Uncle Shuisheng, she couldn't make it work. It's unlikely that she will ever meet a good man again in her life.
She thought for a moment and advised, “Auntie, women don’t necessarily have to marry men to be happy. We women have the ability to do business and make money, we can support ourselves, and we can get rich through hard work. This is the foundation of our lives. If you are worried that you will not be happy after marrying Uncle Shuisheng, then don’t marry him. You have wages, and you also have your mother and us. When you get old, my brother Xiaoyu and I will take care of you.”
Liu Cai'er's tears gradually dried, leaving only some tear stains. Her eyes were red and she looked pitiful.
She sighed and said, "You and Xiaoyu will eventually get married when you grow up. Now that your mother has given birth to a younger brother for you, when he grows up, he will be the one to shoulder the burden of this family. He will have to take care of your parents, so how can he also take care of your aunt? What will we do if we have to support three elderly people at once?"
Lin Xiaotang smiled slightly and comforted her, "Auntie, you don't need to worry about this. We'll work hard to earn money, and when we become successful, we'll buy a big house and hire servants to take care of us. As long as we have money, supporting a few elderly people won't be a problem at all."
Liu Cai'er felt that her niece was right. Back in the countryside, they didn't even have a tael of silver for a year's household expenses, but now she earned five taels of silver a month.
The work she did was all light and easy, much easier than working in the fields from dawn till dusk.
Such a life of wealth and leisure is hard to find even with a lantern. She doesn't know what good deeds she did in her past life to be able to be sisters with Feng'er, benefit from her brother-in-law's business, earn such high wages, and live such a good life.
Logically speaking, after being divorced by her husband's family, she only had two options: either be forced by her parents to remarry into another family to earn some dowry for them, or be homeless and have no way to survive.
Unexpectedly, her sister and brother-in-law's family gave her a third way to go, allowing her not only to live, but also to live a good life.
She felt a little better after hearing what her niece said.
"Yes, Auntie thinks it's good not to get married. Actually, Auntie has never understood why women have to get married and have children. When they reach a certain age, they are kicked out by their parents. Their husband's family is not their home, and they can't go back to their own family. They are like duckweed, without roots to rely on."
Who can argue with that? Even in this information-rich modern age, this is still the case. In families with many children, as soon as a daughter reaches marriageable age, her parents and extended family members start pressuring her to get married, as if a daughter would be breaking a law if she didn't.
However, it's much better for only daughters. If their families are well-off, they don't have to go to their husband's family after marriage. They can form their own small family and take turns visiting each other's parents during holidays. That's also very good!
She couldn't possibly tell her aunt that the reason they became like duckweed was because the family property was left to the men, and the women's families couldn't give them any security, so when they reached marriageable age, the women could only get married.
“Auntie, we may not understand the rules left by our ancestors, but we have our own ideas and awareness. As long as we can make money and be confident in our own abilities, we can still live a good life after we buy a house and hire servants.”
Liu Cai'er's eyes lit up and she said, "That's right. Let's save up enough money and buy a small house of our own in this county. We'll hire servants and wait to enjoy our lives. As for getting married, life in one's husband's family is like drinking water—only the person drinking it knows whether it's hot or cold. I'm very satisfied with my life now."
Seeing that her aunt was in a much better mood, Lin Xiaotang mustered up the courage to ask, "But, on another note, Aunt, do you actually like Uncle Shuisheng?"
"Aunt..."
Liu Cai'er's face flushed slightly, and she became a little shy.
Lin Xiaotang didn't even need to guess; she could tell at a glance that her aunt liked Uncle Shuisheng. However, her aunt had her concerns, and Grandma Xiangqin opposed her marriage to Uncle Shuisheng. That's why her aunt hesitated and gave up the idea of marrying Uncle Shuisheng.
In fact, she could tell that her aunt and Uncle Shuisheng liked each other. Uncle Shuisheng had never been married and had never had a romantic relationship, so he was very inexperienced when it came to love and not good at expressing himself. Her aunt had suffered the pain of marriage, been hurt, and been betrayed, so she dared not try again easily. There was also the obstruction of Xiangqin's grandmother between them, which was why things were not going well.
She believed that as long as Uncle Shuisheng remained steadfast and treated Aunt well, sooner or later Aunt would be moved by Uncle Shuisheng, and the two of them would be able to form a good marriage.
“Aunt, if you like Uncle Shuisheng, you might as well be bold and seize the opportunity. If the two of you really like each other, those past things are not a big deal. If Uncle Shuisheng really cares about your past, he certainly won’t go against Grandma Xiangqin’s wishes and will insist on marrying you.”
"Since we moved to Dushui County, no one knows your past, not even Uncle Wu Yu or Manager Su. Fourth Uncle and Xiao Jiu aren't the type to gossip, so don't worry about causing trouble."
Liu Cai'er sighed, "That's what they say, but there's an old saying that there are no secrets that stay hidden forever. Who can guarantee that this matter will never get out?"
No one can guarantee that!
The aunt has her own concerns, and if she cannot dispel them, no amount of persuasion will help.
Lin Xiaotang could only say, "Auntie, no one knows whether or not these things you're worried about will happen in the future, or even when they will happen. Instead of worrying about these things unnecessarily, Auntie should make the most of the present. If you are destined to marry Uncle Shuisheng, why not marry him sooner? You and Uncle Shuisheng are not young anymore. Do you really want to continue to waste your time?"
What she said made a lot of sense, and Liu Cai'er couldn't find any words to refute it for a moment.
"Auntie's mind is a bit confused. Please let Auntie think about it some more."
Lin Xiaotang nodded and said, "Yes, Aunt, think it over carefully. Don't make a choice you'll regret. If you really like Uncle Shuisheng, then be bold this time."
As for Grandma Xiangqin, she likes you quite a bit, but she just can't accept you becoming her daughter-in-law right now. Uncle Shuisheng just said that he's already convinced Grandma Xiangqin, so you don't need to worry about her. As long as you get along well with her, she's not a demanding mother-in-law.
Liu Cai'er bit her lip and said, "Yes, Auntie knows. It's getting late, you should go back and rest. Don't let Xiaoyu sleep alone, she's timid."
She was in a bad mood and didn't realize that Xiaotang, a little girl of only a few years old, actually understood the emotional issues between adults, nor did she think that these things were completely illogical.
"Yes, Aunt, don't overthink things. Just follow your heart and don't let yourself regret it."
After saying that, Lin Xiaotang opened her aunt's door and went back to her and Xiaoyu's room.
Shuisheng sat in the courtyard, looking annoyed. In fact, he hadn't gone back at all. He had vaguely overheard most of the conversation between Liu Cai'er and Lin Xiaotang.
It turns out that Cai'er's refusal to accept him and agree to marry him was not entirely because his mother opposed their marriage. It was because Cai'er was worried that he would change his mind in the future and treat her badly because of rumors.
He rubbed his head hard, looking distressed. He had never felt this bad, not even when his family was at its poorest and most miserable.
After Xiaotang returned to her room and closed the door, the courtyard was quiet, and no one else was around.
He walked to Liu Cai'er's window and whispered, "Cai'er, I know you can hear me, I know you have feelings for me, and I understand why you refuse to marry me. You're afraid that the rumors will become a knife between us, afraid that I will change my mind about you because of those rumors, and that you will have to go through the same suffering as before."
I know that no matter how much I promise you now, it's all just empty words. But we've been together for so long, and I've never had any prejudice against your past, nor have I ever minded those things. That beast treated you badly because he was of bad character. Even if he was your only man, he still let you down. But you can't condemn everyone based on one example.
I don't ask for your complete trust, I just ask for a chance. I've made up my mind to marry you. If you won't marry me, are you just going to watch me spend the rest of my life as a bachelor?
Liu Cai'er was in a state of turmoil and confusion, unable to make up her mind. In addition, her niece's words of advice had softened her heart, and she began to waver.
Shuisheng stood outside the window saying those embarrassing things, worried that people would hear and laugh at the two of them, saying that at their age they were still acting so shamelessly.
Blushing, she walked to the window, opened it, and glared at Shui Sheng.
The two stood facing each other through the window.
"At your age, why can't you keep these things to yourself? Why do you have to say them out loud? What kind of talk is that?"
When Shui Sheng saw that Liu Cai'er was willing to talk to him, he was as happy as a child. He swept away the gloom in his heart and grinned.
"What does my age matter? This is my first time getting married, why can't I talk about it? I'm just telling the truth, it's nothing shameful, what's there to be afraid of?"
Liu Cai'er glared at Shui Sheng and immediately closed the window.
"We can talk about it tomorrow. Go back to sleep now."
What does "Go back to sleep quickly" mean?
Shuisheng immediately pressed, "So, did you agree to marry me, or not?"
Liu Cai'er was in a state of confusion. She didn't know what to do. Seeing that Shui Sheng was unwilling to leave and seemed determined to get to the bottom of things, she made a tough decision and blew out the candle.
"Cai'er, you should rest well. I'll talk to you again tomorrow."
Shui Sheng was turned away again. Only after Cai'er extinguished the candle did he reluctantly leave.
The next day.
Liu Cai'er got up and opened the door. Shui Sheng, who was leaning against the door, suddenly lost his support and stumbled back several steps, ending up inside Liu Cai'er's room.
Her eyes nearly popped out of her head in surprise, and she stammered, "You...you...you didn't get up early to deliver braised pig's trotters to the restaurant? Don't you have anything to do? What are you doing here?"
Shui Sheng scratched his head and said, "Cai'er, I'm sorry, I didn't sleep all night and came to find you early this morning. I was afraid of disturbing your sleep, so I didn't dare to knock on the door. I was afraid you wouldn't pay attention to me, so I stood at the door waiting for you to come out."
"After what happened yesterday, Qingchuan went to Pingding County and Wucheng respectively, while Xiao Jiu went back to Qinghe Town."
So that's how it is. Everyone is being considerate of their feelings and isn't assigning them any work.
Liu Cai'er blushed, feeling quite annoyed. "Now that everyone knows, I feel a little better. If no one says anything, I feel incredibly embarrassed."
“What’s so shameful about it? We’re all adults. Who hasn’t talked about marriage? Wu Yu and Lao Si are at the age where they should be looking at each other. They’ll get married sooner or later. Who’s laughing at whom?” Shui Sheng smiled.
Her shyness proves that she has feelings for him; she feels guilty and is worried that others will laugh at them.
Liu Cai'er pouted and said, "That's different. You're all men, thick-skinned. I'm a woman, and I've been married before. How can a second marriage be the same?"
Shui Sheng immediately retorted, "So what if she remarried? She married a beast before and her life was miserable. Does she have to force her to suffer for the rest of her life and drive her to her death? Can't people find a good person to marry?"
Liu Cai'er stomped her feet in anger, "What kind of good person would say they are a good person? I see you're getting better and better at talking. I never noticed before. With your glib tongue, who would dare to marry you?"
Shui Sheng immediately covered his mouth and fell silent, his eyes filled with a hint of pitifulness, pleading with Liu Cai'er to give him a chance.
How could she make a decision so quickly after only one night? So she forcefully pushed Shui Sheng out of the room.
"In broad daylight, a man and a woman alone together can easily attract gossip. You should get back to work."
Shui Sheng sighed inwardly. Cai'er wouldn't budge, so he had to keep trying.
He obediently left Liu Cai'er's room. When the pig's trotter shop opened for business, no matter what work Liu Cai'er did, Shui Sheng would rush to do it all, making the two female workers in the shop extremely envious. They praised Shui Sheng as a down-to-earth, capable, and considerate good man.
Liu Cai'er was furious. She threw down the rag and went to her sister's room to help her sister soothe the child.
Liu had already learned about her sister's affair with Shuisheng last night, but since she was still in her postpartum period, she did not immediately try to persuade her sister.
Today, my sister came to my room on her own initiative, so I guess I finally got the chance.
She cautiously probed, "Sister, what do you think of aquatic people?"