The Comeback of the Cannon-Fodder Supporting Actress

Chapter 588 - 578: The Stepmother Who Refuses to Be a Stepping Stone 66

On the seventeenth day of the first month, Li Zhiyuan had even more to do.

To prepare for the banquet, Li Zhiyuan specially bought a whole pig from the pig farm, and aside from the pig, chickens, fish, and the like all had to be prepared on this day.

The Li brothers and their wives were so busy they were flying around, and so were the villagers who had come to help, none of them idle.

Yet astonishingly, neither Li Zhifang nor his spouse showed their faces.

Well, it’s fine if you don’t come—everyone knows that Wang Baozhu had complications with her pregnancy; she might be really unwell now, so no one is demanding.

But these two shameless ones didn’t show up to work, yet when it was time to eat, Li Zhifang specially brought over several insulated containers to pack away the best dishes.

He took away the whole fish, selected the meat from the drumsticks of the stewed chicken pieces; the meal hadn’t even begun, and he started packing a couple of bowls of rice as well, in essence, taking whatever was good to eat.

After packing up the food, when he left, he even swiped a bottle of alcohol.

The villagers watched, and those who liked to gossip went to speak to Sun Xiumei, whose face had not looked good all day.

What Li Zhifang did brought shame upon the Li Family in people’s eyes.

In the afternoon, those from the Li family who had gone to Lu Family to discuss details came back, absolutely fuming.

With the wedding set for tomorrow, the Lu Family suddenly made more demands, demanding Li Zhiyuan buy twenty fish, several pork hocks, twenty chickens, and in addition, three cases of alcohol and three cases of soft drinks, arguing that they had no money left and couldn’t afford to entertain guests with good things at home tomorrow. If the Li family didn’t make the purchases, the Lu Family would not give their daughter away in marriage.

The Lu Family was purposely doing this—to infuriate the Li Family.

Perhaps they were still thinking about that agreement to sever ties; after all, resentment had been brewing in their hearts, and instead of acting out earlier or later, they chose this critical moment.

They were just watching to see what the Li Family would do.

If the Li Family obligingly gave in, they would be a laughingstock for who knows how long.

But if the Li Family didn’t comply, the marriage would fall through, and even if the Lu Family refused to give their daughter away, the Li Family would still be the butt of jokes for a long time.

In any case, at this moment, Li Zhiyuan was in a bind whether he advanced or retreated.

Li Zhiyuan was so angry that he kicked Li Jingming twice.

Originally, Li Zhiyuan thought that a family like the Lu Family was not worth entangling with; after all, over the past two years, it had just been Li Jingming and Lu Yi dating, without doing anything to be ashamed of, and they didn’t mistreat the girl. When the Lu Family made excessive demands, the two could have simply broken up, and no one would’ve blamed the Li Family.

But Li Jingming, as if under a hypnotic spell, was adamant about marrying Lu Yi, landing him in a situation where he could not back down now.

Li Jingming was furious too.

He hopped straight onto a motorcycle and went to Lu Family, calling Lu Yi out to speak.

"What exactly is going on?"

Li Jingming looked at Lu Yi and asked.

Lu Yi’s face was streaked with tears: "I... I’m powerless, Jingming, I really have no other choice, please, this is the last request, just agree to it, bring the things over, so we can have a proper wedding tomorrow. Once I’m married into your family, I definitely won’t associate with them anymore, and they won’t have anything to hold over me."

Li Jingming looked at Lu Yi, full of disappointment: "You know in your heart, it’s not about the things, it’s about the face. My father, my uncle—they have their reputations, and if we do as your family asks now, they won’t be able to hold their heads high."

"What can I do then?"

Lu Yi was still crying, looking at Li Jingming with pleading eyes.

Li Jingming clenched his teeth: "You come with me, I’ll take you to the county and get you settled, how about you get married from there tomorrow."

Li Jingming’s intention was for Lu Yi to go to the county and stay with a relative, and then to get married from the relative’s place. That way, without marrying from the Lu Family, the Lu Family wouldn’t be able to manipulate them anymore.

But Lu Yi was unwilling.

She shook her head: "If I do that, I... I would be shameless. Besides, after all, they raised me for so many years, this is their last request, I can’t... I can’t refuse it."

Li Jingming looked at Lu Yi as if he didn’t know her: "Do you really think this way?"

Lu Yi nodded: "I have no choice, Jingming, please just help me one more time, okay? Help me this once, and I’ll do whatever you say in the future."

In the past when Lu Yi said such things, Li Jingming might have listened to her.

But now, Li Jingming didn’t want to hear any of it.

Looking at Lu Yi’s tears, all he felt was annoyance.

"No wonder when I said let’s get the certificate first, your family disagreed. Turns out, you were waiting here for me."

Li Jingming sneered: "We’re not giving any dowry gifts. Tomorrow, whether you want to marry or not, before my family’s bridal car leaves, I will send someone to check. If you’re not ready, then this marriage is off."

Having said that, he turned around to leave, but at this moment Lan Cui ran out.

She grabbed Li Jingming and scolded: "What do you mean? It’s just asking your family to buy some stuff. Look at you acting like a ghost, how much money could that stuff possibly cost? Can’t even give that bit of face? You say you like our Lu Yi, but I think it’s all empty talk. In any case, I’ve seen no sign of how much you like Lu Yi."

Li Jingming shook off Lan Cui’s hand: "I’ve said what I needed to, you all think about it. Do as you please. If you truly don’t want to marry me, I can accept that. But if the wedding doesn’t happen tomorrow, you have to return the bride price."

After finishing speaking, Li Jingming rode away on his motorcycle.

He arrived at the entrance to Lu Village and saw a girl standing by the roadside calling him.

Li Jingming recognized this girl; she was a classmate from his junior high school, from the same village as Lu Yi, named Lu Meng.

Lu Meng’s family wasn’t very well off, mainly because Lu Meng was an only child and her parents hadn’t had a son. When the family was divided, Lu Meng’s grandparents were particularly biased and left Lu Meng’s family with nothing.

Later, Lu Meng’s father earned money to build a house and pay for Lu Meng’s education. In any case, the expenses were not small, and up until now, the couple hadn’t saved much money.

But Lu Meng had a particularly good life at home.

Her parents both adored her; the young girl was pampered and pretty, lively and outgoing in nature.

When in junior high, Li Jingming and Lu Meng had even been desk-mates and had a pretty good relationship.

Seeing Lu Meng, Li Jingming suppressed the anger in his heart. He stopped his motorcycle, got off, and smiled at Lu Meng: "What are you doing here? It’s cold, don’t freeze yourself."

Lu Meng rubbed her hands together, obviously cold, but her face was smiling: "I’m waiting for you."

"Waiting for me?"

Li Jingming was quite surprised: "Why are you waiting for me?"

Lu Meng leaned in and asked Li Jingming: "Did you have a falling out with Lu Yi’s family? Are you still getting married tomorrow?"

Bringing up this matter, Li Jingming was pretty frustrated and especially annoyed.

He wiped his face: "I fear it’s not happening."

Despite his tough talk in front of Lu Yi, he was actually unsure himself.

The family had been busy for so long, all the relatives had been notified, the house had been bought and renovated, and so much meat and vegetables were purchased. If the wedding didn’t happen, what then?

He looked up and saw that it would soon be dark, in a blink, it would be tomorrow. By then, when all the relatives arrived, and he had no bride on his side, that would be a huge embarrassment.