noveltune Chapter 335 Li Xiulan's Stubbornness!
Chapter 335 Li Xiulan's Stubbornness!
Guided by the spirit of the ancestral offering, the car turned into a narrower street with noticeably older houses on both sides.
A few minutes later, it stopped at an intersection where some miscellaneous items were piled up.
"We're here. My house is just inside the alley ahead," Xian Zuling said softly, her emotions having calmed down somewhat, though a blush still lingered on her cheeks.
"Okay, you go home first and get some rest." Ye Fan nodded and instructed, "Remember to keep your phone on. I have some things to take care of here, I'll contact you later."
"Yes!" Xian Zuling nodded vigorously, opened the car door and got out. Standing by the roadside, she waved to Ye Fan in the car, her eyes filled with barely perceptible gratitude and reluctance.
Ye Fan waved to her as well.
The car door closed, and the MPV slowly started moving.
Xian Zuling watched the car disappear around the street corner before turning around, carrying her small bag, and walking briskly into the familiar narrow alley leading to her home.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast a long shadow of her.
Ye Fan looked through the car window at the slender figure disappearing into the alleyway in the rearview mirror, his gaze thoughtful.
......
The sky gradually turned dark blue, and the evening breeze carried a coolness through the courtyard.
Li Xiulan was bending over, carefully putting the dried fruit that had been drying in the bamboo basket during the day back into the earthenware jar.
The bright orange apricots, golden dried mangoes, and dark black dried plums exude a sweet and slightly sour aroma; these are the small earnings she has earned through hard work.
On the old bamboo chair at the entrance of the courtyard, Xu Hua—Li Xiulan's mother-in-law and the grandmother of Xian Zuling—sat quietly.
Her cloudy gaze followed her daughter-in-law's busy figure, watching her back, slightly hunched from the weight of life yet still tirelessly moving, the few glaring strands of premature white hair at her temples, and then looking at the few patched-up old clothes hanging on the line in the yard...
Before I knew it, a sour feeling rushed into my nose, and my withered eyes quickly turned red and filled with turbid tears.
She hurriedly raised her withered hand and vigorously wiped her eyes.
This daughter-in-law has really suffered too much.
Ten years ago, the sudden car accident that happened to their son Xianxiao instantly took away the pillar of the family and also took away the peaceful and stable years that their daughter-in-law Li Xiulan should have had.
She was only twenty-eight years old at the time!
As for herself and her husband, one was plagued by illness all year round and could not even do housework properly, while the other could only barely tend to some seedlings in the small vegetable garden.
The whole family was like a wrecked ship that had suddenly lost its helmsman, with all the storms pressing down on the young widow's frail shoulders.
Relatives? As soon as Xianxiao left, those once-close relatives seemed to have scattered overnight.
She and the old man became a burden to be avoided at all costs. Only Li Xiulan, the daughter-in-law with no blood relation, resolutely stayed behind. She gritted her teeth and used her not-so-strong shoulders to shoulder the heavy responsibility of taking care of two elderly people and raising her young daughter to offer sacrifices to the ancestors.
This commitment lasted for a full ten years!
This year, my daughter finally got into university and left this barren land.
Xu Hua knew exactly what was going on.
Having such a daughter-in-law is a blessing that she and her husband have accumulated over several lifetimes, and it is also a huge debt that Xianjia owes!
But behind this good fortune lies the sacrifice Li Xiulan made with her youth and tears.
Whenever she thinks of her son in the afterlife seeing his wife working so hard while she is powerless to help, Xu Hua's heart feels like it is being repeatedly cut and ground by a dull knife.
"Alan!!!" Xu Hua's voice rang out hoarsely, choked with uncontrollable sobs.
Hearing the sound, Li Xiulan turned around and immediately saw her mother-in-law's red eyes and tear stains on her face. Her heart tightened, and she quickly put down the earthenware jar of candied fruit she was holding, hurried over to Xu Hua's side, and squatted down: "Mom! What's wrong with you again? Didn't the doctor say you shouldn't get too excited? Is your chest still tight?"
She held her mother-in-law's cold, dry hand with concern.
"My heart aches for you, Alan!" Xu Hua gripped her daughter-in-law's hand tightly, tears finally streaming down her face, etched with deep wrinkles. "My heart is so heavy!"
Seeing her mother-in-law's pained expression, Li Xiulan instantly understood what she meant.
She sat down on the small stool next to her mother-in-law, gently patting her back with her other hand, her voice extremely soft: "Mom, don't think about these things. I'm fine, really. Things will get better day by day. Ling'er is already in college, isn't she?"
"No! Alan!" Xu Hua was unusually resolute this time. She took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and looked straight at Li Xiulan with her cloudy, tearful eyes. "Every time you mention Xianxiao, you won't let me continue... Today, Mom has to say it! When Xianxiao passed away, you were only twenty-eight! Such a good age, and ten years have passed in the blink of an eye! Ling'er is a good girl; she got into university and will have her own path to walk from now on. You don't need to keep her by your side all the time. Your father and I... two old coffins, how many more years can we live? Alan, listen to Mom's advice, while it's not too late, find a good family to marry into!"
She almost pleaded, "If Xianxiao finds out over there, he'll only be happy! He won't blame you! You can't just live for us! You have to think about yourself too... think about Ling'er! She's so young, she can't... can't carry this burden of your suffering any longer!"
In the end, Xu Hua broke down in tears, as if she were crying out all the guilt and heartache that had been building up for ten years.
Tears welled up in Li Xiulan's eyes instantly, like beads from a broken string, silently sliding down her weathered yet still beautiful face.
Her lips trembled slightly, yet with an almost stubborn defiance: "Mom! Please stop talking... and don't cry yourself sick! I'm not leaving!"
Her voice, trembling with tears, was unusually clear and resolute: "I, Li Xiulan, married Xianxiao. I belong to him in life and in death! Even if he's gone now, I'll still be his wife for life, and this home will still be my home! You and Dad have long been my own parents! Haven't we all made it through these years? If you keep saying things like 'I don't have many years left,' aren't you tearing my heart out with a knife? I won't allow you to say that! Our lives will definitely get better and better!"
She gripped Xu Hua's hand tightly, her nails digging unconsciously into her palm, as if she were using all her strength to prove her determination.
Seeing her daughter-in-law's tearful yet stubborn expression, Xu Hua felt as if her heart was being torn apart, and her internal organs were twisted in pain.
It's her family that's dragging down such a wonderful girl! They've turned what should have been a bright and beautiful ten years of her life into this worn-out and haggard state she is today!
Having spent more than a decade together, she had long regarded Li Xiulan as her own daughter. It was precisely because of this heartache that she could not bear to see Li Xiulan continue to waste the rest of her life in this endless quagmire.