Chapter 40 – Knowing
Li Hua blushed. He wanted to argue, but he didn’t know where to start.
In contrast, Li Yan curved his lips into a smile. He swatted away Li Shu’s hand from his shoulder. Laughing, he said to Li Shu, “You think everyone is like you. You’ve been saying that you wanted a wife every single day since you were thirteen years old.”
“What’s wrong with want a wife? If I didn’t keep bugging you guys about it every day, would you guys have gotten a wife so quickly?” Li Shu meaningfully looked at Li Mo. When will his oldest brother come to his senses? Li Mo was already twenty-three years old.
Looking at his younger brothers’ expectant gazes, Li Mo felt all of his vexed feelings dispersing. As their oldest brother, he was like a father to them. It was only natural for them to be concerned about his relationship with Li Man.
But, as soon as he thought about Li Man’s delicate appearance and fearful gaze, Li Mo didn’t have the heart to go through with forcing her. “Third brother, let’s wait a little bit longer.”
Li Shu impatiently asked, “How long will we be waiting for?”
Li Mo also felt at a loss. “We have to wait at least until she’s familiar with here…”
Before he could finish his words, Li Shu let out an anguished wail. “Continue waiting? Are we going to wait for a day that will never come?”
Li Yan wasn’t as pessimistic as his younger brother. He chuckled and asked, “Oldest brother, how do you know that she doesn’t like us?”
Hearing these words, Li Hua felt very anxious. “Second brother, she can’t even understand our words. Isn’t it too early to be discussing this matter?”
Li Shu twitched his lips and said, “Oldest brother, if she doesn’t know, then you can teach her. If that doesn’t work, there’s still second brother and me. Fourth brother, you’re a scholar…”
Li Mo shouted at Li Shu to stop, “Third brother! Fourth brother is right. She’ll like us in the future. It’s just a matter of time. Right now, let’s give her time to become more familiar with this place. At the very least, we should wait until she can speak out dialect.”
Li Hua promptly agreed, “Oldest brother is right.”
Annoyed, Li Shu glared at Li Hua and said, “What do you mean he’s right? Fourth brother, stop adding unnecessary stuff into the conversation. Haven’t you thought about oldest brother’s age? Other people, who are the same age as him, already have children old enough to plow fields. Do you think oldest brother’s life has been easy during the past years? Don’t you want him to have a wife sooner? For him to have someone that’ll be considerate and caring towards him?”
Looking at Li Shu’s red eyes, Li Hua could see that he was being seriously about Li Man. The words that Li Hua wanted to use to disagree got stuck in his throat.
Ten years ago, one after another, their parents died. Li family fell into dire straits. At the time, Little Five wasn’t even one-month-old. Back then, his oldest brother had taken on the full responsibility of taking care of his four younger brothers by himself.
Actually, Li Hua also hoped that his oldest brother could find a woman sooner. “Oldest brother…”
Li Mo didn’t want his brothers to fall into discord over this issue. “Enough, stop having those wild thoughts. Third brother, do you remember what our mother said before she died?”
Li Shu’s eyes immediately turned redder. He turned his head away and grumbled, “Wasn’t is it just to cherish and pamper our future wife?”
“Good, you remember.” Li Mo patted Li Shu’s shoulder and said, “Oldest brother knows that you’ve suffered in the past several years, but she’s our wife. Are you really willing to hurt her?”
“I?” Li Shu couldn’t say another word. Of course, he wanted his wife to live a happy life.
“Right, of course you wouldn’t be willing. Second Shun’s wife had only said a few bad words about her, and you were willing to beat Second Shun’s wife to death over it. So of course you wouldn’t be willing to hurt our wife,” Li Mo said.
“Oldest brother, I’m just feeling bad for you.” Li Shu forlornly looked at Li Mo.
Li Mo showed a gratified smile. “I know. Don’t worry. Oldest brother knows how you feel.”