"The city is not like the village. There are all kinds of people in the city. The hooligans are much more powerful than the hooligans in the village. The main reason is that there are not many people in the village who can get along. When you look up, they are neighbors. When you look down, they are relatives. Their ancestors were born and raised here. In the end, someone is suppressing them."

"When these people arrived in the city, they didn't recognize their relatives. They were all bullies."

The two of them bought some things and went back to the village. Zhang Fangyuan saw that Xu He was still a little absent-minded, so he said something to comfort him.

"They all seem to be very afraid of you." Xu He suddenly asked stupidly but seriously: "Were you like this before?"

"I used to pick fights, but I never bullied ordinary people. I always brought people to collect debts or guard the building to prevent others from provoking and causing trouble." He was strong and tall, and he could dominate others. He had been a butcher since he was a child, so his attacks were more ruthless than those of ordinary people: "Those little hooligans who knew me would give me some face."

Xu He thought that people were just giving you face, and it was obvious that they were trying to scare you. Looking at the big bruises on the foreheads of the two men today, I wonder how many times they were hit. Although it is not the first time that I know Zhang Fangyuan will beat people, the last time he caught a thief, he only broke the skin, obviously he showed mercy. Today, he saw his real strength when dealing with two hooligans.

"Don't be afraid. I just hit those two guys because I was angry today." When he went out in the morning, his wife showed him a piece of mushroom, but those two knocked it over and scattered it on the ground. How could he not be angry? "I definitely don't hit my own people."

He stretched out his arms, put them around Xu He's shoulders, and patted his furry head.

"I know."

Xu He was a little frightened today. The carriage was shaking. He let out a breath, and Zhang Fangyuan hugged him, so he leaned on him.

Zhang Fangyuan felt very happy at once, but he felt sorry for his wife and wanted to go back and beat up those two guys again.

"Then stop thinking about it. We are going to help out at Chen's house tonight. You should take a good rest first."

Xu He opened his eyes and said, "I'm not thinking nonsense. It's just that you scolded those two people and left without even paying them any money."

“…”

"Don't worry, they will come back to pay the money someday. It's not that easy for them. I think the boy won't dare to say anything to you again. His husband will definitely keep him under control."

Xu He said nothing more this morning, and said, "You can keep the money that is returned to you." Consider it hard-earned money.

"good."

I'll ask for more tomorrow.

When the two returned to the village, many people from the Chen family had come to help, and the Zhang family could hear the hustle and bustle.

After Zhang Fangyuan unloaded his things in his yard, he directly pulled over the things that the Chen family had asked him to buy. Immediately, several men from the Chen family came over and moved the things downstairs.

Xu He also went to help. Seeing that there was something to do, he didn't know what to do. Just when he was thinking about helping to build the stove, Chen Si came out and said, "He'er, can you cut vegetables? Aunt Hu originally cut them. Someone from home just now said that the child had a fever, so she rushed back."

"Can."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

Zhang Fangyuan came out after moving the things into the house. Seeing Xu He tying his collar, he stepped over to help him tie the knot at the back of his waist and rolled up his sleeves. “I’m going to borrow a table from the village with Chen Si later.”

"Um."

The woman who was picking vegetables and peeling garlic at the table next to her grumbled and motioned for everyone to look.

"Look at that young couple."

"I didn't expect Zhang Fangyuan to be so nice to the people in the house."

"How can that be bad? After all, I worked hard to get her."

Xu He sat down at a rectangular table made of door panels at one end, moved the chopping board and started cutting vegetables and meat. There is a big pot of meat, some of which are cut into pieces. The fat meat is cut into pieces for twice-cooked pork, the lean meat is shredded for stir-frying, and the chicken is chopped into pieces for stewing soup. When everyone saw Zhang Fangyuan leave, they stopped talking about him. Villagers usually don't talk about other people's faults in front of each other. After all, it was a lively event, and it would not look good if they started arguing in other people's homes.

Then they started talking and laughing about other things in the village, such as whose baby was about to turn one month old, whose old man was about to die, and so on. Xu He didn't like to join in on these conversations, but would listen for fun. He felt that helping with other people's weddings or having a drink alone was more interesting than getting married himself.

"I heard from Madam Chen that the chef we hired this time is a great chef from the next village, and his dishes are delicious."

"I think the chef Zhang Fangyuan hired last time was pretty good."

"Have you tried the Fei family's wine?"

"have eaten."

The women and the boys lowered their voices a little: "There are quite a few tables, but the dishes are very small, with twelve dishes on each table. The quantity is not even enough for eight dishes, and they force it into twelve. When I went to help clear the tables, there was not even any soup left on each table. There was not enough rice either, and everyone was too embarrassed to say anything."

"Well, how can you want to do it well but not spend money?"

"Either they're like the butcher, using half of the animal to make twelve dishes, each in a big bowl or pot. Or they're like this family, who only make eight dishes, at least enough. Many families are like this, and no one laughs at them."

As Xu Shaochun's maternal relative, Xu He stayed at home for dinner and reception on the wedding day. He did not go to Fei's house and had no idea what the banquet at Fei's house was like. It was said that his second sister had been married for some time. Since her marriage, although they lived in the same village, he went out early and came back late, so he had never run into her.

The Chen family had some affairs today, but his mother didn't come to help. His mother loved it the most when there were affairs in the village, so she would have gone there early in the past. She had plenty of people to chat and brag with, so of course she liked going very much. Today I guess there are only two of them left at home, and Xu Changren is injured, so he can't leave and can't come over. I think he will come over tomorrow.

It's no wonder that every family in the village wants to have a son. One reason is to carry on the family line, and the other is that all the boys and girls are married, so the couple will be lonely.

The Chen family set up two tables for dinner on the first day. Xu He helped to clean up and wash the dishes after dinner. Today the man didn't stay at the table and drank for a long time. He would have to get up early tomorrow to help with the work. It wasn't too late when the couple returned home.

After washing up, Zhang Fangyuan thought that since he didn't have to go to the city to set up a stall tomorrow, he could get up a little later than usual, which gave him an excuse to ask for something else.

Xu He leaned against his chest and felt the person's body getting hot on his back, so he quickly moved to the other side.

Zhang Fangyuan shamelessly pressed forward: "It's still early."

"That one is gone." Xu Hequ looked at Zhang Fangyuan with his hands bent: "Have you forgotten?"

Zhang Fangyuan's thick brows furrowed. How could he have forgotten about this? No wonder he felt like he hadn't bought something when he came back today. But Xu He counted the things carefully and said nothing was missing. He had clearly agreed to buy a new one when they ran out of stuff. His wife had a very good memory and she must have deliberately not reminded him today.

This little brother!

"Hmm?" Xu He moved his eyebrows innocently and regretfully, and tucked the corner of the quilt: "Go to sleep. Aren't you going to meet your bride with cousin Chen Si tomorrow?"

Zhang Fangyuan felt even more itchy when he saw him like this. It was obvious that he knew that he would not do anything without anything. However, he grabbed the slender waist and stretched out his legs to press him down: "Why don't we try without anything. I see that the front is already very good, it will definitely not be like the beginning."

Xu He felt the familiar breathlessness, and quickly opened his hands to push Zhang Fangyuan, who was sniffing at him like a dog. He knew he couldn't push the stone away, so he was anxious and angry: "A Yuan!"

"Angry?"

Xu He pursed his lips tightly, with two small ridges raised between his brows.

Zhang Fangyuan quickly got off him: "I was just teasing you."

Xu He ignored him. When he felt relieved, he turned over with his back to him and closed his eyes as if he was going to sleep. Zhang Fangyuan was afraid of him being like this. He was a talkative person to begin with, and if he got angry, he would be like a mute and would have even less to say. He tugged at Xu He's clothes in a flattering manner: "Really? I'll just tease you."

Seeing that the person still didn't answer, he asked again: "How do you know my name is Ayuan? My parents only called me that when they were alive."

After a while, Xu He said, "I heard Xiaomao call me."

"Oh, yes." Zhang Fangyuan took advantage of the situation and hugged her back again: "You should call me that from now on. It sounds more intimate."

Xu He did not comment, but this time he leaned on Zhang Fangyuan and did not do anything else. However, Zhang Fangyuan couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He stared at Xu He for a long time, and finally kicked the quilt under the bed.

The next day, the couple got up, washed and went to Chen's house for breakfast. The morning was the busiest because they had to prepare dinner early. The auspicious time for the wedding was set early, and when the people were brought back and the ceremony was completed, the first row of banquets would begin. The schedule was quite tight.

Xu He drank the porridge and saw that his mother had come as expected today, so he greeted her. At about 3 p.m., his second sister and her new mother-in-law, Madam Fei, also came over. The two seemed to be getting along quite harmoniously.

Xu Shaochun's face was flushed with rosy glow, and she greeted everyone she met. She was even more beautiful than before she got married. In fact, her features and eyebrows were still the same, but after marriage she had lost the immaturity of a girl and had gained some charm of a young woman, which attracted more attention from men than before.

Xu He got married before his sister, so he naturally knew why she was like this. It must be because their married life was quite comfortable, and Liu Xianglan received a lot of premarital education before she got married. He was selling vegetables in the city not long ago and happened to hear a few women with daughters and boys talking about it. He then realized that in fact, mothers have to teach their children those things before they get married.

Unfortunately, Liu Xianglan said nothing. He didn't have those kinds of things in his life. Everyone had to figure things out on their own after getting married. How could he know that there were special treatments?

But he didn't take it to heart, since it didn't matter now anyway.

Xu He also greeted Xu Shaochun and continued to busy himself with his own things. Xu Shaochun was very hardworking outside, washing vegetables and wiping dishes. The women all boasted to Madam Fei that they had married a good wife.

Mother Fei smiled. She was of course happy to be praised, but she didn't show it obviously. Before his son returned to the academy, he carefully instructed the family not to be too ostentatious, as that would be bad for their reputation.

No matter how arrogant she was, she would not dare to affect her son's fame and reputation.

It was almost noon. Xu He carried the cut side dishes into the kitchen and saw several people from the Chen family gathered together, talking about something in a panic.

"There are only three or four tables for lunch, so anyone can cook. But the important thing is the evening banquet, how can we do it without a cook!"

"It will take a long time to invite someone now, and we may not be able to invite him. We didn't tell him in advance, and he has no relationship with us. Who would rashly come?"

"Forget it, forget it. We've already prepared everything. We can just find someone in our village who cooks good food and make do with it. There's nothing we can do about it."

"Who should I call, then?"

When they saw Xu He coming in, their eyes lit up. Madam Chen went forward and pulled Xu He, "Brother He, I remember your sister can cook. Wasn't it your second sister who was in charge of slaughtering the New Year pig last time? I just saw her coming. Can you ask her to help?"

Xu He held the dish bowl awkwardly: "I, I still need to ask my second sister if she agrees."