Fortunately, Qian Xiaobei's parents were willing to support her education, giving her a chance to change her destiny.
If they had been like most parents who favored sons over daughters, choosing to marry Qian Xiaobei off for a bride price to help their son get married, or directly trading Qian Xiaobei to their sons for wives, that would have been a true tragedy.
Qian Xiaobei received a higher education, and in the future, she would have an opportunity to change her own fate.
However, it remained to be seen if Qian Xiaobei could truly break free from the shackles of destiny.
It was also possible that Qian Xiaobei would be dragged down and ruined by her original family her entire life.
"Xiaobei, you must have seen that for our family's brothers to get married, apart from the elders' subsidies, they all earn their own money."
Su Xiaotian thought of using her own family as an example to explain this matter, allowing Qian Xiaobei to see another way of life.
"But my brothers and younger brother are incapable!"
"Being capable or incapable is just a way of living. Regardless of how one lives, it's one's own problem, not relying on others." Sudancn.com
"Furthermore, are your brothers and younger brother incapable of earning money, or are they unwilling to earn money?" Su Xiaotian thought that in many families in later generations, the boys were not incapable of earning money, but rather the parents were unwilling to let their sons work hard to earn money.
Boys from such families lacked any sense of responsibility and were only willing to live by taking money from others in the family.
She guessed that the Qian family was likely the same.
As expected, Qian Xiaobei fell silent after this statement.
This was the reality; the brothers and younger brother in the family didn't have to do anything. Even with the household responsibility system, their parents, fearing their sons would suffer, were willing to toil in the fields themselves.
Su Xiaotian stared at Qian Xiaobei, and it was clear to her.
Indeed, the Qian family was in this situation.
Su Xiaotian sighed and said, "Xiaobei, filial piety is a good thing, but excessive obedience is not necessarily true filial piety."
"That's right, Xiaobei. In the future, you will start your own family, and your brothers and younger brother will also have their own lives."
Qian Xiaobei remained silent.
The girls walked towards the dining hall again, but the atmosphere was somewhat subdued.
Su Xiaotian glanced at Qian Xiaobei, who was still lost in thought, and couldn't imagine what kind of path this girl would take in the future.
Having been brainwashed since childhood, it would be difficult to change her ingrained ideas all at once.
For now, she could only try to persuade her and subtly change some of her thoughts.
If she could truly think for herself and bravely resist the unreasonable demands of her family, perhaps there would still be hope.
Otherwise, her life would truly be ruined.
No matter when, a woman who only cared about her maiden family could never live a good life.
Su Xiaotian hadn't expected that her advice to her second brother would lead to these matters concerning Qian Xiaobei.
This had somewhat affected her mood.
But they were all young. Upon reaching the dining hall and seeing the food they liked, all their worries and troubles were instantly forgotten.
Even Qian Xiaobei seemed to have forgotten about them.
Meanwhile, Su Ciliang took his newly appointed girlfriend to a small restaurant outside the school.
The taste of this small restaurant wasn't exceptional, but its decor was distinctive, and it had private booths, offering strong privacy for conversations.
Su Ciliang was drawn to this aspect.
This was considered their first date alone, and they couldn't have outsiders disturbing them.
Although it was their first time dating alone, they had interacted quite a bit before and were familiar with each other, so their initial awkwardness quickly faded.
Su Ciliang proposed that he formally bring Li Jianhong to his home that weekend to meet the elders.
Li Jianhong, however, hesitated.
She had never been afraid when visiting the Su family before, but now that her status had suddenly changed, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive.
Even though she knew the Su family would welcome her, she felt a lack of confidence.
"Can I go in two weeks?" Li Jianhong said hesitantly.
"An ugly bride must eventually meet her in-laws. Besides, you are so beautiful, why be afraid?" Su Ciliang said with a teasing smile.
"I..." Li Jianhong, her face flushed by the teasing remark, suddenly didn't know what to say.
In the end, she agreed.
The weekend arrived quickly, and Su Ciliang formally brought Li Jianhong to the Su family home.
Along the way, Su Xiaotian looked at her roommate, a smile on her lips.
She really hadn't expected things to progress to the point of meeting the parents so quickly.
During the holiday, she would have her second brother visit Li Jianhong's family and formally meet her parents, to finalize this matter.
It was wonderful.
Su Xiaotian was completely unaware that she was acting like a worried old mother.
Upon arriving home, Grandma Su and the others were even happier.
Their second son had also found a future wife. Once his matters were settled, it would be time for the third son.
Grandma Su was overjoyed and personally cooked to entertain her future third granddaughter-in-law, her face beaming with happiness.
Once all her grandsons were married and established, her old bones could finally rest easy.
The thoughts of the two elders were similar. The goal in life for their generation seemed to have always been for their children and grandchildren.
Only when their children and grandchildren lived well did their own lives have meaning.
"Old man, once the children's affairs are settled, we'll go back to our hometown. I really miss the people there," Grandma Su said with emotion.
She even missed Old Mrs. Chang a little.
The countryside was good; it was so happy to sit under a big tree and chat.
It was nothing like being in the capital, where everyone was like strangers.
"Yes, you decide. When the brats get married and Xiaotian is also married off, we'll go back!" Grandpa Su agreed with Grandma Su.
His wife had suffered too much with him throughout their lives. It was only in the last few years that life had become a little better.
When they were old, he would definitely build a large house in their hometown.
No, he would build a small villa so his wife could also live a good life.
"What do you think, will these children follow us back?" Grandpa Su thought that the children were all very capable now. If they really returned home, would only the two old people be left behind?
If that were the case, wouldn't their lives lose much of their meaning?
While returning to one's roots was important, wasn't having children and grandchildren around even more important?
"You old man, what are you thinking? The children are doing well outside. What prospects would they have if they followed us back?"
Grandma Su glared at Grandpa Su as she scooped the braised fish from the pot.
Grandpa Su wasn't angry at being scolded by Grandma Su; instead, he smiled foolishly.
That was true. After all the effort put into raising the children to be successful, bringing them all back would be a joke.
Had he become senile?
Was he going to have the children follow him back to farm?