It is absolutely true that Lao Zhang took Erhua to find the landlady in exchange for two chickens.

Then why was it like this when Erhua returned home?

That day, Lao Zhang took Erhua off the ox cart and walked for almost half a day before finally seeing smoke faintly floating in the distance. He took a deep breath and realized that there must be a house there. The smell of cooking was so familiar.

The farmer's house consisted of two low mud houses that looked shaky. There was a small yard outside, surrounded by a fence. Lao Zhang shouted a few words outside, but Erhua couldn't understand.

After a while, an old man and an old woman came out of the low house and happily invited the two of them in.

It was almost dark and when guests arrived, the old couple took out a candle and lit it.

Erhua took advantage of the candlelight to glance inside the house, and then he understood why marrying a housewife here only required two chickens.

Let me put it this way, this house is on the same level as the pigpen at home, short, dilapidated, and completely uninhabitable, but five people live there.

Old Zhang chatted with them in a gibberish manner, and the old aunt looked at Erhua from head to toe with a smile on her face, obviously satisfied.

"What are you talking about?"

Erhua was a little nervous and uncomfortable.

"Isn't this about you?" Lao Zhang had a confident look on his face. He took out five one-dollar bills from his pocket and put them on the table.

The old couple did not take the money, but shouted twice to the other room. After a while, three little mermaids came out.

Erhua thought: Lao Zhang is really reliable, all three little mermaids are beautiful!

"Which of these three can I ask for?"

He leaned over and asked, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You wish!"

Old Zhang smiled and rolled his eyes at him, then pointed at one of them and said, "Look, they said that the second one, Amei, can go with you."

As soon as he pointed, Amei's face turned red to her ears. Erhua felt a little embarrassed, but still couldn't help but look.

This little girl is very fair, even fairer than Luo Zhen. It may be because of the different climates in different regions, but the three sisters are all very fair.

She had a pair of almond-shaped eyes and thin lips. Although she was very shy at the moment, she was still whispering something to her sister.

This is an idea.

Erhua was very satisfied. With a beautiful and opinionated mistress of the house, life could be good, right?

"Why is it the second one?" Erhua asked casually.

"What? You don't like it? Then let's go somewhere else, let's go!"

Old Zhang said this and was about to stand up.

"No, no, no, I like it! I'm satisfied!" Erhua hurriedly pulled him to sit down. "I was just curious and asked casually. If you don't want to say it, then don't say it!"

"You kid!" Old Zhang laughed and said, "The old couple said that they have three daughters in the family. The eldest daughter wants to stay at home to find a son-in-law. The third daughter is too young, so the second daughter can only be the one!"

So that’s how it is. Erhua nodded, thinking about it and it made sense.

But when he looked at this short and shabby house, he wondered which man would come and be his son-in-law.

Old Zhang seemed to see through his doubts and said, "The money for recruiting a son-in-law comes from the second and third sons, right?"

When Old Zhang talked to the old couple, Erhua couldn't understand. Conversely, when Old Zhang talked to Erhua, they couldn't understand either. It didn't matter, as long as they kept smiling, it would be fine.

The two of them naturally stayed overnight. They ate a kind of cake. There was no octagonal table in the room, so the seven of them sat around on the ground. A few large leaves were spread on the ground, which served as the dining table.

Erhua didn't taste anything when he took the first bite. He picked it up and looked at it carefully in the candlelight. The cake was made of a mixture of green leafy vegetables and wheat flour, but he couldn't tell what kind of green leafy vegetables it was.

Seeing that he didn't take the second bite, Amei glanced at him, smiled faintly, picked up the cake, dipped it on the leaf, and put it in her mouth.

This is to teach him how to eat!

Erhua's heart moved slightly. Although this is a remote and poor place, Amei is actually generous and smart.

He felt more and more that he had made the right decision.

Picking up the pancake, he dipped it in the sauce and put it in his mouth. It tasted fresh and salty at first, and when he tasted it again, a hot and spicy burst exploded in his mouth. Suddenly, his mouth felt like it was full of needles. He really couldn't swallow it, nor could he spit it out. He couldn't sit still, nor could he jump up.

It wasn't until a spicy smell hit my eyes and two tears came out that the pain subsided a little.

Everyone else was amused.

"Haha, you're not used to it, right?" Lao Zhang put a big dollop of hot sauce in his mouth, acting like a real hero.

"It's okay if you're not used to it. When you go back, ask Amei to make it for you every day. You'll get used to it if you eat it more often. You have to practice the taste!"

Erhua wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled awkwardly. Lao Zhang looked at Erhua and then at Amei, feeling that he had done a great deed.

There are only two rooms in Amei's house, one of which is for sleeping. The five members of the family lie in a row. Now there are two more grown men, so naturally they cannot sleep together.

The old couple brought back some straw and made a bed in the dining area. Fortunately, the weather was hot, so they didn't feel cold sleeping in their clothes.

At this moment, Lao Zhang started snoring. As Erhua had just arrived, he couldn't sleep.

The matter with Amei is settled, and Lao Zhang said that he can set off for home the day after tomorrow.

This is a great thing that makes me feel proud. In just two or three steps, I can bring such a beautiful wife home, and my family will definitely help me renovate the house. Isn't this what I really want?

Yes, what does Erhua want?

I want to get rich, I want to be proud, I want to surpass Dahua, I want to be the most promising child in the family!

What else?

Luo Zhen's face appeared in front of him again at an inopportune time.

Erhua turned over and tried to get Luo Zhen out of his mind. Once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back. What are you thinking about!

The more he hurried, the more his mind became filled with thoughts of Luo Zhen's smile, Luo Zhen's careful carving, or Luo Zhen's disappointed and sad look when he knew he was going to get married.

Thinking of this, Erhua felt a pang of pain in his heart.

He slapped himself twice and cursed inwardly: You are a piece of trash, even more cowardly than Dahua. Even at this point, you are still thinking about other things!

I really couldn't sleep, so I just got up and went outside to pee.

We all live in the countryside, but the countryside here is surrounded by high mountains, and the village is sunken in the valley, which makes it a bit creepy at night.

"This place is really remote and scary."

Erhua walked out muttering, fearing that a wolf would jump out from somewhere and drag him away. But then he thought, wolves like to eat children with tender skin and flesh, and they probably don't like someone as rough as him.

Just as he finished thinking, there was a rustling sound in the bushes, which startled Erhua so much that he perked up and lost all his urge to urinate.

He tried to run back into the house, but as soon as he turned around, he was hit hard on the head with a club.

A big man fell to the ground like a soft, torn bag.