Chapter 157 Rotten Peach Blossoms

When the youngest sister's husband came over, the second sister, Song Chunxiang, got up early to make pancakes and boiled egg drop soup.

Her eldest son had just gotten engaged and soon went out to farm.

My second sister's husband, Liu Tong, went to the field with his youngest son to pull up corn stalks.

My second sister was busy at home, digging out the lamb's quarters that had been dried in the spring, washing them clean, and boiling them in water, preparing to mix them with food for lunch.

"Let's go for a walk outside and I'll show you how my pigs and chickens are doing."

Song Chunxue didn't move. How could she not know what her second sister was thinking? She wanted that man from the Zhou family to come.

Honestly, my second sister went to great lengths to find her a man.

"Why don't you go take a look? My family also raises a mule, a bit darker than jujube red, very stubborn, and very strong. Shall we go check it out?"

Song Chunxue knew that if she didn't go out, her second sister would always find another way.

She stood up helplessly. "Let's go take a look."

The second sister chuckled and got up to straighten the silver hairpin in her hair.

"Oh my, you've really made money now! You can even afford silver hairpins. They look so beautiful." Saying this, she pulled Song Chunxue's hand and led her outside. "Your outfit wasn't made for your wedding, was it?"

"Yes, it's been sitting at the bottom of a trunk for ages, and I only took it out to wear this year."

The second sister touched the fabric she was wearing. "It's still new, although it's a bit old, but she looks very energetic."

Looking at Song Chunxue's slender figure, the second sister lowered her head and touched her own bulging belly.

"Hey, you've had more children than me, how come you're still so thin?" she sighed. "Your brother-in-law always says I have a python hanging from my waist, it's so annoying."

"Pfft..." Song Chunxue accidentally laughed out loud, "Second sister, I didn't mean it, it's just that brother-in-law is too good at talking. What did you say about him?"

"Hmph, he thinks he's handsome. He was quite good-looking when he was young, but now he's bald and shiny. I just call him Baldy Liu. He's so handsome he could light up the night without a lamp."

Song Chunxue laughed so hard she bent over.

"Look, even if one person dislikes the other, it's still better than one person. Having someone to scold is better than having a long face all day long."

"..." Song Chunxue's smile faded. "Second sister, if you say that again, I'm leaving to go see my third sister."

“Going to your third sister’s house is the same. She came to my place last month and said that she and your second brother were discussing finding you a companion.”

"But I told my second brother I wanted to find a dog, and he agreed. He also said he wouldn't keep trying to find me men anymore. I really don't need one now." If she had known her second sister was waiting for her here, she wouldn't have come.

Why doesn't she remember that in her past life, her sisters weren't so eager to find her men?

That's so unlucky.

"Shh, shh," the second sister whispered, nudging the path and winking at the road not far away. "Here he comes, here he comes. The Zhou family man I mentioned to you is here. He really hasn't given up on you."

Song Chunxue turned her head and saw a man in a moon-white robe walking towards her on the path not far away. He had a slight limp in one leg, which was not noticeable unless you looked closely.

"Oh, you even came dressed in such dirty clothes. He really is thinking about you. Maybe all these years have been delayed because of you. You should speak properly later and not waste his good intentions."

As the second sister spoke, she raised her voice and said to the man who walked up to her, "Zhou Zaibang, where are you going dressed so nicely? Going to meet a matchmaker again?"

Zhou Zaibang?

Song Chunxue remembered that in her previous life, her second sister had asked someone to pass on a message, asking her second brother to match them up.

Later, his second brother took him to Lijiazhuangzi, but she happened to be out and not at home.

Since then, she has never heard his name again, and no one has mentioned finding her a man.

Later she found out that it was something the boss said that made them so angry that they left without eating.

Looking back now, the eldest brother was afraid that the man would take a share of their family fortune, which is why he spoke up.

Otherwise, when Li Guangzheng was harassing her before, he would have already cursed her back.

Zhou Zaibang is much better than Li Guangzheng.

Outside the low wall made of rammed earth, Zhou Zaibang's gaze fell on Song Chunxue's face, and he couldn't help but smile and lower his head.

"I'm here to see my sister-in-law. If I remember correctly, this is your younger sister. Are you here to visit her?"

Song Chunxiang grinned mischievously, "Yeah, it's been over ten years since we last met, you still remember?"

Zhou Zaibang's gentle gaze fell on Song Chunxue without flinching.

“Yes, I’ve always remembered.” He said gently, “When your sister came, we picked wild vegetables together. She had just gotten married and didn’t even realize she was pregnant. She ate too many apricots and started menstruating. My sister-in-law was terrified and asked me to find a doctor.”

"..."

"..."

The two sisters glanced at each other, then immediately looked away, thinking to themselves, "What a twisted fate!"

He's incredibly honest; is it appropriate to bring this up now?

Just praise her for being pretty; there's no need to bring up these useless things.

Second sister Song Chunxiang was so angry that she stomped her feet.

Song Chunxue smiled slightly, "I remember now. Back then, it was all thanks to you, otherwise my eldest son would have been lost somewhere."

Song Chunxiang chuckled dryly, "Yes, yes, since you're here, let's go inside."

Upon arriving at the north room, Zhou Zaibang sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). Song Chunxue found some corn cobs, lit a small fire in the tea stove, and let him brew tea.

Song Chunxue sat on a low stool to the side and casually picked up the almanac that was lying on the dining table and looked at it.

She guessed and conjectured, but today seemed to be the beginning of winter.

She stopped listening to what her second sister and Zhou Zaibang were talking about, trying to figure out whether the beginning of spring this year was before or after the New Year.

"Fifth sister, I'm asking you a question." Second sister nudged her and gave her a wink. "They're asking if you have a lot of chores to do at home, and if you need them to help."

"Huh?" Song Chunxue waved her hands repeatedly, "No need, no need. There's not much work left now. This year's wheat was threshed long ago, so there's only some coarse grain left, not much at all."

Speaking of this, Song Chunxue realized that she couldn't stay outside for too long. When she got back, she had to grind the grain and put it in bags as soon as possible, otherwise it would get colder and colder.

Zhou Zaibang smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "What I mean is, would you be willing to let me do some work for you? Do you think I'm good enough for you?"

Song Chunxue looked at her second sister and saw that she finally understood what was going on.

“I… I’ve been doing this all these years. I can manage on my own, but I’m not used to having another person.” She stated frankly, “I have no intention of finding a son-in-law to live with me, nor do I intend to remarry.”

Her second sister pinched her thigh.

Song Chunxue gasped in pain.

“It’s alright, hehe, it’s alright,” Zhou Zaibang probably didn’t expect her to refuse so decisively, his smile was more like a grimace, “Actually, I understand. If I had come to you a few years earlier, it would have been when you needed me most, but I was out making my way in the world those years and didn’t know you were a widow…”

Upon hearing the rest, Song Chunxue's expression turned cold.

“I wouldn’t have looked for someone in previous years either. You’re a good catch, so you don’t necessarily have to find a widow.”

Her expression was indifferent, and Song Chunxiang then realized that this widow was not the one Song Chunxue loved to stay with.

This is her sore spot.

“Don’t misunderstand, that’s not what I meant,” Zhou Zaibang said anxiously. “I really want to spend my life with you. I never thought about marrying anyone else when I first met you. Now that you are single, I want to take good care of you.”