Chapter 236: Refusing to call him Uncle even in death

Li Jianguo and Li Long sat squatting on the stones by the canal outside the courtyard gate, chatting about this matter.

Although Li Long already felt that he and Wu Shufen were like two parallel lines that would never intersect, hearing that she was getting married still came as a bit of a surprise.

"That's pretty fast," Li Long said.

"Then your sister-in-law will go when the time comes," Li Jianguo said. "We haven't split the household yet, so our family just needs to give one gift. Of course, if he doesn't invite us, that would be for the best."

"That's impossible," Li Long shook his head.

Although Li Jianguo was among the youngest of the village's founding elders, his standing was quite significant; "young, vigorous, and capable" was exactly how one would describe Li Jianguo, at least among the people in the village.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, whenever someone in the village got married, if the relationship was decent, they would invite Li Jianguo to be the general manager, because having been a quartermaster, he could always arrange things clearly and orderly.

Moreover, Li Jianguo still held prestige in the village; otherwise, the last time he took a stick to Gu Ermao's house, there wouldn't have been no one to stop or resist him.

The Gu family, at any rate, was considered one of the earlier arrivals in the village.

"I'm not going. Dad and Mom are here, and there happens to be work at the threshing ground, so I need to get ready—by the way, are you participating in the wheat harvesting for the team this year?"

"Not participating," Li Long waved his hand. "I won't go and embarrass myself. You and sister-in-law did the labor for the first few years, and I was lazy and never went. If I go now, I'd probably be the slowest; even the women harvest faster than me. Better not go and make a fool of myself."

"That's true." Li Jianguo wanted to laugh when he heard this. He took out his Mohe tobacco pouch, tore off a strip of paper from a newspaper, poured out some tobacco, and while rolling it, said:

"I don't know why you were so lazy the first two years—"

Li Long lowered his head in embarrassment. Since he had been the one acting like a fool, what was there to say?

"It's good that you're better now; you've grown up." Li Jianguo was quite gratified. Just as he stuffed the Mohe tobacco into his mouth, Li Long took out a lighter and lit it for him.

Li Jianguo took a puff, looked at Li Long, and said with a smile:

"You've also matured. Do you think it's time to bring up the matter between you and Gu Xiaoxia? Dad and Mom are here now. My original intention was to have Dad and Mom stay in the Northern Frontier. Stay for another two years, move their household registration over directly, and just stay here from now on."

"Dad won't agree?"

"Yeah. Mom doesn't mind; she thinks it's pretty good here. Dad says the ancestral graves are still back in our hometown, and the genealogy is being continued there. If he doesn't go back for another two years, the elders in the village will start discussing the continuation of the genealogy. He has to go back; otherwise, our branch... our branch is the direct lineage, and Dad has the highest seniority in the village..."

Having lived two lives, Li Long, like many people on the internet, didn't have many thoughts about genealogy or entering the ancestral grave.

After all, having lived in the Northern Frontier his whole life, there were people from all over the country here, which instead caused some traditional habits to fade away. Everyone complemented each other, slowly bringing in useful customs or those popular in the area, forming a unique cultural lifestyle.

Of course, the Northern Frontier was vast, and Li Long was only talking about the village he was in. He didn't know much about other places.

"Then should I go discuss it with Gu Xiaoxia tomorrow? If it's certain, shall we get engaged first?" Li Long asked.

"That works." Li Jianguo smiled. "This matter can be decided first; that way Dad and Mom will be at ease, and that guy Old Gu won't have to overthink it. It's just too bad for him, being a generation above me..."

"Then, Big Brother, will you call him Gu Shu in the future?" Li Long teased.

"Call him my ass, we'll each stick to our own seniority." Li Jianguo took a puff of his Mohe tobacco and said, "He can forget about me ever calling him Uncle in this lifetime."

Li Long laughed.

The next day after breakfast, Li Jianguo led the horse and pulled the roller to the threshing ground, while Li Long rode his bicycle and took Li Juan out of the village.

He dropped Li Juan off at the primary school gate and then headed toward the middle school.

On the way, he ran into Meng Zhiqiang, who was hurrying along with a sack on his back. Li Long still admired this guy; being able to persist in selling fish all this time, he must have earned quite a bit.

It was just that he didn't know much about him in his previous life; he wasn't considered famous in the team, and his family background seemed to have always been quite average, neither good nor bad.

Could it be that things would change in this life?

He exchanged greetings and then rode straight to the middle school.

It wasn't class time yet. Li Long rode to the entrance of the teachers' dormitory. The door to Gu Xiaoxia's room was locked; she must have gone to the office.

Li Long opened the dormitory door, intending to wait inside.

At this moment, Teacher Wang next door saw the bicycle parked outside the door and immediately knew Li Long had come. She walked over, stood outside the door, and asked:

"Li Long? Are you looking for Teacher Gu for something?"

"Yes."

"Teacher Gu has her first class now. If you're not in a particular hurry, I'll go tell her, and after her class, I'll have her come find you."

"Thank you, I'll just wait here." Li Long walked to the door and thanked Teacher Wang.

Teacher Wang nodded with a smile, tucked her books under her arm, locked her dormitory, and headed to the office.

"Li Long is here?" Gu Xiaoxia was already carrying her textbooks, ready to go to the classroom. She was very surprised to hear Teacher Wang's words. "He's in the dormitory?"

"Yes, I already told him you have a class for the first period, and he said he'd wait for you in the dormitory."

"Then I'll go find him after class." Gu Xiaoxia couldn't guess what Li Long might have to talk about, but since he could wait for her to finish the first period, it shouldn't be anything particularly urgent.

Most of the students at this time were still relatively obedient. Although Gu Xiaoxia was a new teacher, she prepared her lessons seriously and was approachable, so she was quite popular in class.

However, in today's class, Teacher Gu seemed a bit anxious; although she didn't make any mistakes in her lecture, she kept looking outside from time to time, which made the students feel a bit strange.

Finally, when the bell rang for the end of class, Gu Xiaoxia hurriedly said goodbye to the students, left the classroom, and headed toward the dormitory.

Li Long was standing at the dormitory door, looking toward this direction. Seeing Gu Xiaoxia hurrying over, he looked at her with a smile.

"Did something happen in the team... in the village?" Gu Xiaoxia asked when she was three or four meters away from Li Long.

"Nothing, we haven't started harvesting wheat yet, so there's nothing going on."

"Then why did you come this time..."

"I have something to discuss with you." Li Long entered the dormitory first and said at the door, "Come in and talk."

Gu Xiaoxia carried her teaching materials into the dormitory and looked at Li Long with some confusion.

"Sit down first, and then I'll tell you."

Gu Xiaoxia sat on the edge of the bed, and Li Long pulled over a chair and sat opposite her, saying:

"It's like this. Previously, I considered things too complex, thinking that since you just started working, if we were to confirm our relationship, it would affect your future development. And I felt that if we established a relationship and prepared to get married too quickly now, it might feel a bit rushed, which is why I told you that..."

Gu Xiaoxia was a bit dazed, not understanding why Li Long wanted to say this.

"Now, I've realized I was lacking in consideration. We aren't young anymore, so..." Gu Xiaoxia suddenly asked:

"You don't mean you want to get married now, do you?"

"No, no, no, that's not what I mean. But my idea is, if you have no objections, how about we... get engaged first?"

Li Long was afraid that if he spoke too slowly, it would cause a misunderstanding, so he stated his idea directly:

"My Dad and Mom happen to be here now, and your father is here too. My idea is to take advantage of the fact that there isn't much going on right now and settle our affairs. As for when to get married, we can discuss that later, but an engagement can be settled first...

I've already told my Big Brother, and I went to your house yesterday and saw Gu Shu. I feel your father shouldn't have any objections either, so my meaning is to discuss it with you first. If you have no objections, then my Big Brother, or rather, my Dad and Mom, will invite someone to go to your house..."

"This..." Gu Xiaoxia didn't expect this matter to be so sudden, but she felt there didn't seem to be anything to hesitate about. After thinking for a while, she said:

"Then... that's fine, I think getting it settled first is okay... then can I ask you a serious question?"

"Go ahead."

"In your heart—do you have me?"

Li Long raised his head and looked into Gu Xiaoxia's eyes.

!.

The beautiful girl in front of him didn't seem so confident in her gaze, a bit uncertain.

He looked seriously into the other's eyes and said:

"Yes, in my heart, I have you. I like you."

These words made Gu Xiaoxia lower her head immediately, a blush covering her cheeks. Girls of this era couldn't accept such a straightforward statement.

After a long while, Gu Xiaoxia finally said:

"Then... have someone go to my house... I have no objections."

Originally, Li Long had thought about taking Gu Xiaoxia to the county to look around after clarifying things, but looking at Gu Xiaoxia's current state, it didn't seem suitable to go out right now.

Li Long then asked: "Then... is there anything else you want to say?"

"No. I heard Wu Shufen is getting married—she entrusted someone to send me an invitation. Are you going?"

"No, I reckon she won't invite me either. I have to go into the mountains these two days," Li Long said. "After we settle our engagement, I'll go into the mountains to do some side business. I have to earn the family foundation for our marriage first."

Li Long said it so naturally that Gu Xiaoxia's heart, which hadn't been very confident, suddenly calmed down.

The young man in front of her was putting all his heart and effort into building the small home the two of them were about to have, so she shouldn't overthink things anymore.

"Then I'll head back first," Li Long stood up and said. "If you have no objections, then I might go to your house this weekend. Will you be going back then?"

"Yes."

"Then shall I come pick you up?"

"No need, no need, it's not far, I can just walk back."

Li Long felt Gu Xiaoxia was shy, so he didn't say much more.

When he went out, opened the bicycle, and was about to head back, Li Long suddenly stopped and said to Gu Xiaoxia, who had already come to the door to see him off:

"Xiaoxia, you... when you have time in a few days, I'll teach you how to ride a bicycle."

"Okay." Gu Xiaoxia nodded, not thinking much of it.

Returning home, the whole family was there. Li Jianguo had already returned from the threshing ground, so Li Long told Li Jianguo about the situation.

As soon as Li Jianguo heard it, he couldn't sit still. He said directly:

"I'll go to Old Gu's house first to tell him. This matter... we've agreed on it, so we'll go through the procedures next."

Liang Wenyu looked at them with a smile; having a happy event in the family was a great thing.

When Li Jianguo went to the Gu house, Gu Bo Yuan was busy organizing the remaining reed grass and wire in the courtyard. Xu Chengjun had already distributed the money for the reed brooms made by each household, but Gu Bo Yuan said he wanted to send the remaining few kilograms of wire to him. He told Gu Bo Yuan to keep it at home first and talk about it when there was a use for it.

Seeing Li Jianguo come over, Gu Bo Yuan was a bit surprised. While busy with the work in his hands, he asked:

"You busy man, how come you have time to come here?"

"To talk to you about Without Xiao Long and Xiaoxia."

"Did Without Xiao Long go back and tell you yesterday?"

"He did." Li Jianguo nodded, pulled a piece of wood from the side, and sat down. "He told me as soon as he got back. He said he hadn't considered things thoroughly before, and now that Dad and Mom are here, shouldn't this matter be settled."

"Not bad, the kid isn't stupid." Although Gu Bo Yuan's gaze was inevitably a bit critical, he was quite satisfied with Li Long's reaction at this moment.

"Without Xiao Long went to school to ask Xiaoxia today, and Xiaoxia also agreed to get engaged first. So my meaning is, let's settle the two's affairs as soon as possible; they aren't young anymore..."

"Alright then." Gu Bo Yuan nodded and then sighed, saying, "Before I knew it, they've grown so big..."

"There's an advantage to being in this team; we don't need to look for any auspicious dates. Look at this Sunday, Xiaoxia happens to be off, so shall we come over then?"

"Okay." Gu Bo Yuan said, "Since the two children have feelings for each other, there's no need to drag it out. The weekend is fine; Xiaoxia happens to be coming back, so you guys just find someone to come."

"Then I'll prepare the things on my side... the six-color gifts must be prepared..."

"No need for so much trouble, we aren't outsiders." Gu Bo Yuan waved his hand. "I believe Without Xiao Long can treat Xiaoxia well after starting a family. Of course, if he doesn't, it's not like my stick can't hit people..."

"You can rest assured about that. If Without Xiao Long doesn't treat Xiaoxia well, you won't need to hit him; my stick is already in my hand." Li Jianguo guaranteed this at this moment. After all, Gu Xiaoxia had no mother, and when she was at home, Gu Bo Yuan hadn't let her suffer any grievances. If Li Long didn't treat Gu Xiaoxia well, Li Jianguo and his wife certainly wouldn't be biased toward Li Long.

Gu Bo Yuan was truly quite satisfied with Li Jianguo's stance. He sighed again:

"In this half a year, your family's Without Xiao Long has changed too much. If he hadn't changed like this, I wouldn't have dared to entrust Xiaoxia to him."

"I was just telling him yesterday, he himself said he didn't know why he was so foolish the first few years—it's good that he's grown up and has a sense of responsibility... I'm not afraid to tell you, the pressure on me as the big brother is not small. Having such a promising younger brother, I feel if I'm not more capable, people will talk behind my back."

"That's true, I can understand... But Jianguo, you say... Without Xiao Long calls you Big Brother and calls me Gu Shu. Look at this seniority..."

"Get lost!" Li Jianguo's expression changed as soon as he heard this. "Let me tell you, we'll each stick to our own seniority! Don't you think about hoping I'll be a generation lower than you... I knew you weren't thinking of anything good!"

"Hahahaha," Gu Bo Yuan laughed instead when he saw Li Jianguo get angry. "My meaning is the same, each stick to our own seniority. After all, we've lived in the same dugout, how could I let you call me Uncle? Hahahaha..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 237 =====