Peaceful Farm Life
Chapter 644: It Is Right for Gu Zhe to Do So_1

Chapter 644: Chapter 644: It Is Right for Gu Zhe to Do So_1

Shi Xiaolan was initially stunned, then smiled, "You don’t say, I hadn’t realized that I had already made up my mind. Thank you, An Jing, for being willing to listen to so much of what I had to say. I didn’t know who else to talk to, so I thought of talking to you. Please don’t find me annoying. I’ve just been a bit in disarray."

An Jing shook her head, "I don’t find you annoying at all. You don’t need to thank me. By coming to me and asking me what to do, you regard me as a friend and trust me as your friend."

After a pause, An Jing spoke seriously, "Regarding Wu Xiaoshan’s wish to marry you, just make your own decision. I am not you, after all. Even if I give you advice, you will have to make the final decision."

Shi Xiaolan nodded, "Yeah. Actually, I have made up my mind, as I already told you just now. Now that I know what I am planning to do, my heart is no longer in turmoil."

And so, An Jing said no more.

...

Shi Xiaolan’s heart was calm now, but three days later, she was in turmoil again and went to look for An Jing.

"An Jing, this time I truly don’t know what to do," Shi Xiaolan said with a distressed face, looking genuinely perplexed.

An Jing asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Three days ago, I told Brother Xiaoshan that I wouldn’t marry him, afraid that he would change someday and not treat Niuniu and Yu Yu well. But today, Brother Xiaoshan came to tell me that he is willing to marry into my family... What do you think I should do?"

An Jing was stunned, utterly unexpected that Wu Xiaoshan would propose to marry into Shi Xiaolan’s family.

It seemed that Wu Xiaoshan truly loved Shi Xiaolan and didn’t mind being looked down upon after marrying into her family.

Without waiting for An Jing to speak, Shi Xiaolan continued, "Brother Xiaoshan wants to marry into my family to settle my heart and allow us to be together. But Uncle Wu is unwilling and beat Brother Xiaoshan terribly. Despite that, Brother Xiaoshan insists on marrying into my family, saying that the Wu family has his nephew to carry on the family line and it doesn’t matter if he leaves. Seeing Brother Xiaoshan so determined, Uncle Wu let him do as he wishes. However, Brother Xiaoshan told me that he can marry into my family but with one condition - even after marrying into my family, he must still take care of Uncle Wu and his nephew. If I agree to this condition, he will marry into my family anytime."

An Jing said, "His father is not in good health and his nephew is so young. It makes sense for him to take care of them even if he marries into your family; it can’t really be considered a demand."

Shi Xiaolan said, "That’s exactly what I think. But it’s just that his family is poor, and so is mine. If he marries into my family, I’m a bit worried about the livelihood of our whole family in the future..."

Understanding Shi Xiaolan’s concern, An Jing said, "You don’t have farmland, and his family doesn’t own much either. If he marries into your family, indeed your household will be quite large, and life might be difficult. How about this, I’ll talk to Youbao and have him rent out a few acres of farmland for you to farm."

An Jing did not believe in merely providing short-term aid and did not want to always give Shi Xiaolan money, leading her to gradually develop a dependency and even, eventually, to feel that it was An Jing’s obligation to give money for their survival.

She never wanted Shi Xiaolan to feel indebted to her or to think about repaying her. But she genuinely did not want to keep giving money and eventually have Shi Xiaolan lose all shame, feeling entitled to An Jing’s assistance for their livelihood.

People can indeed change very easily.

She didn’t have the assurance that Shi Xiaolan would never change, so having Wang Youbao rent some land to her for farming seemed like the best solution.