"The Shen family is really a bunch of bastards, they are rotten to the core, no one with the surname Shen is a good person!" A woman's indignant voice came from the room. While Second Aunt Lian was cursing, she took out a few steamed buns and a bowl of pickles from the basket she had brought and placed them on the only table in the house. Turning around, he saw Shen Qing sitting next to him. He paused and swallowed his words. He asked his little daughter to bring the earthenware pot filled with hot water and said to Miao: "I thought you just moved in and you are short of things. You can't cook for a while, so I brought you some to fill your stomach. I met Sister Yan Zi and the others on the way here just now. They said they would come to see you together in the afternoon."
Hunter Liu asked for the rent from Old Shen's family, and then took the hunter's husband back to Xiahe Village. As soon as the couple left, Second Aunt Lian came with her little daughter, carrying food and hot water.
Miao has been married to Lantang Village for so many years, and she still has several good friends among the women and men in the village. The one with whom she has the closest relationship is Aunt Lian Er, because she is also from Shiqu Village and is a sister of the same clan who grew up together with Miao. The two of them married from Shiqu Village to Lantang Village at about the same time.
The other women and husbands who were on good terms with Miao were unable to come over due to the presence of so many men in Shiqu Village, so they could only wait until they left before visiting Miao. Even Second Aunt did not have to avoid this. Because her surname is also Miao, they are related by the same clan.
Shen Qing knew that Second Aunt Lian still took his feelings into consideration, so he didn't make a fuss about it. But when Shen Qing heard Second Aunt Lian scolding the one with the surname Shen, he actually didn't feel anything at all. Although his surname is Shen and he has Shen's blood flowing in his veins, he feels that they are no longer a family.
Miao looked at the high plate of steamed bread on the table and pinched the corner of her clothes nervously: "Why did you bring so much? Did you hide it from your family?" The Lian family has not split up, and Aunt Lian's mother-in-law is still in charge.
There were more than a dozen steamed buns in the basket, which were not only given to Shen Qing and Miao, but also to Miao Xing, Miao Wang and Miao Tongsheng in the yard, who each got two. Logically speaking, they came to support the Miao family, so the Miao family should treat them to a meal. But just like Second Aunt Lian said, Miao and Shen Qing had just moved in, and their things were not in order yet, so they were missing some things and couldn't start cooking. Fortunately, they are all from the same clan and family, so they will not make trouble in this situation. Miao Xing and Miao Wang will just repay the favor after they return.
It's just that a few men came from Shiqu Village early in the morning, moved things and beat up Shen Zhigao and Shen Zhiwei, which took quite a lot of effort. At noon, they were still hungry. At this moment, the steamed bread brought by Second Aunt was just enough to fill my stomach.
It's no wonder that Miao was worried. Second Aunt Lian's mother-in-law had a feud with Old Lady Shen. She had always been unwilling to see Second Aunt Lian and Miao, and she had always been unfriendly to the Shen family. Miao was afraid that if Second Aunt helped them, it would anger her mother-in-law again.
Who would have thought that after hearing this, Second Aunt Lian was actually happy: "It was my mother-in-law who asked me to bring more." She wanted to help Miao, but she didn't dare to take more than a dozen steamed buns at once. Those were real dry food, and she wouldn't even be willing to eat them at home! "My mother-in-law said that after you split up, you are no longer a member of the Shen family. She is annoyed with the old woman in the Shen family, and it has nothing to do with you and Qing'er. In the past, it was because of old lady Shen that she didn't want us to associate with each other, but it will be fine in the future. She even asked me to help you more. Today, the people in our Shiqu Village beat up the two brothers Shen Zhigao, and my mother-in-law was very happy. She personally packed a lot of steamed bread for me to eat for the brothers."
Second Aunt Lian was truly happy. She had a good relationship with Miao, but due to the grudges of the previous generation, she had to interact with him secretly behind her mother-in-law's back. Miao's life was hard, and she couldn't even help him. Now she can finally come and visit openly.
Before, Miao Xing and Miao Wang carried away the peanuts and flour from the Shen family. Mother Shen cried loudly, which made old lady Lian's family so happy that she immediately took ten eggs for her own snack. Second Aunt Lian smiled and said, "You know how frugal my mother-in-law is. She saves all the eggs at home and takes them to the market to exchange for money. How can she afford to eat them at home?" It can be seen that she is really happy.
Lian Rong, the youngest daughter of Second Aunt Lian, was only eight years old. She licked her lips while listening to the adults talking, perhaps remembering the taste of eggs. She looked at Miao Xing and Miao Wang expectantly and said, "Uncle, can you come and play with Uncle Zhigao more often? My grandma would be very happy."
The men were all very happy. Miao Wang rubbed Lian Rong's head and laughed, "Okay, I won't let that bastard go. I'll find a few brothers to put a sack on him and beat him up. Then I'll tell you secretly, and you can tell your grandma secretly, and we'll all have fun together!"
This amusing remark made everyone laugh. However, as he laughed a little, Miao Xing couldn't laugh anymore. If they were from the same village, there would be no need to hide the beating of Shen Zhigao. They could just beat him three times a day like eating meals.
But now they are not from the same village, and Zhao Youdang did a good job on the surface: he asked the old Shen family to compensate the Miao mother and son, helped Shen Qing to break off the engagement in a dignified manner, and promised to provide a separate household for the mother and son. If they go and beat Shen Zhigao again, it would be a bit disrespectful to Zhao You and it would easily cause conflicts between the two villages.
This is how it is in the countryside, everyone cares a lot about their face and whether they are looked down upon by others. It is also easy for conflicts to accumulate over trivial matters. Sometimes, just spitting at someone's doorstep could turn into a fight between two villages.
Although he is not afraid of trouble, Miao Xing does not want the situation to develop to that point. Otherwise, he would have to beat people secretly. In the end, she was married to someone from another village. Miao Xing always regretted it later and blamed himself for being short-sighted and marrying Miao to the Shen family.
Their father died early, and Miao's marriage was discussed together with Miao Xing, the eldest brother, and their mother. Also because her father died early, Miao's mother, a widow, had a very difficult life raising four children. When Miao got married, their family was considered poor in Shiqu Village, so they had to marry Miao to Lantang Village, which was a little poorer than Shiqu Village.
At that time, the Shen family seemed to be relatively well-off, and Shen Zhigao looked like a respectable man when he was young. Who would have thought that he was such a person inside?
When it comes to marrying someone, you should marry someone close to you, someone you know well. Thinking of this, Miao Xing's gaze fell on Shen Qing. Shen Qing was just breaking off a steamed bread and eating it slowly with pickles and hot water when she heard her uncle's voice: "Chunlei, how are you going to arrange Qing'er's marriage?"
Since his sister had suffered a loss, Miao Xing thought that if Qing'er got married, it would be best for her to marry back to Shiqu Village, where they knew each other well and were relatives. She must not meet someone like Shen Zhigao again.
Even if there is any unexpected situation, we are all from the same village and it is right under our noses, so we can deal with it without any worries.
In fact, ever since they were in the Shen family yard, Miao Xing and Miao Wang always asked Shen Qing about everything. It was obvious that Shen Qing was the one making the decisions for this mother and son. However, no matter how determined he was, he did not directly ask the young man what he thought about his marriage. He still had to follow his parents' orders!
Who would have thought that Miao would subconsciously go to see Shen Qing. Miao Xing was a little unhappy: "What are you looking at him doing? Can he make his own decision?"
Having been scolded so many times in the old Shen family, it was almost a conditioned reflex. When the eldest brother's voice revealed a little dissatisfaction, Miao immediately shrank her shoulders and lowered her head. This made Miao Xing feel distressed again: when his elder sister was a girl in her parents' home, although she was gentler in nature, she was not someone who had no opinion of her own. I don't know how much suffering he had endured in Old Shen's family to be scared like this.
Second Aunt Lian looked at Miao's reaction and quickly tried to smooth things over: "It's also the fault of the old Shen family. Qing'er will be nineteen at the end of the year, and he hasn't found a marriage yet, which has delayed the birth of the child."
She said what was in her heart. There are more men than women in this world, and rich families have three wives and four concubines, and servants to call upon. In the countryside, there are only old bachelors who cannot get married, but no women or boys who cannot get married. Qing'er is not very good-looking, so she can't marry into a good family. But can't she marry into a worse family? If no one in this village dares to marry her, can't I marry someone from another village?
In the final analysis, it’s just that I don’t care!
"I think the Shen family saw that Qing Ge'er was capable and wanted to keep him at home to work like a slave for them." Miao Wang understood more clearly and said angrily, "Keeping Qing Ge until he was almost twenty, which respectable family would do such a thing? No wonder he is now involved with a widow, this family is not a good one!"
Miao felt a little uncomfortable when she heard her brother mention Widow Li. Shen Qing, on the other hand, was very open-minded: "Now it seems that it's a good thing that I didn't get married." If Shen Zhigao had divorced him after he got married, how could he have brought Miao out to live alone? Any assistance you provide depends on the mood of your husband's family.
As a young man, Shen Qing had fantasies about getting married, and would blush slightly when he talked about it. Especially when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, most of the girls and boys in the village started looking for marriage at this age. Shen Qing also fantasized about what kind of family he would marry and what kind of person he would marry.
There are also many loving couples in the village, such as Aunt Lian and Uncle Lian, who have a good relationship. Shen Qing envies such a family atmosphere. He did not receive much family warmth and love from Shen Zhigao and the Shen family, so he inexplicably had more expectations about starting a family.
But he had no idea about whom to marry. The girls and boys in the village were discussing which man was handsome and which man was heroic, blushing and muttering to each other, but Shen Qing didn't feel that way at all. How heroic can Yingwu be? He is always his defeated opponent...
Thinking of those boys being beaten and begging for mercy at his hands, Shen Qing's intention to get married faded a little. Besides, now is not a good time to talk about marriage. Shen Qing was very aware of his disadvantages. He swallowed the last bite of the steamed bread before saying, "Uncle, let's put this matter aside for now. If I get married, I will definitely take my mother with me and support her. There are not many families willing to do this, so it's better to save money for two years first."
It's already hard to get married, and now that she has an old mother in poor health, which family would be willing to marry her? There are few sons-in-law or brothers-in-law in the village who take their mothers-in-law to live with them to support them. It is better to save more money so that they can have a generous dowry in the future, or find a son-in-law to marry into their family, which will make their marriage much smoother.
Seeing that Shen Qing was so successful, Miao Xing didn't say anything more. They were just thinking in their minds that after the autumn harvest and when they had some free time, the two brothers could come and help Shen Qing reclaim some wasteland in the mountains. The wasteland has been fertilized and he has a legitimate business now. Shen Qing no longer has to risk going into the mountains to chop firewood.
In the minds of the villagers, farming is still the most legitimate livelihood. This way, we can live our lives well first and then talk about getting married.
After repeatedly reminding Shen Qing to be careful and not to be reckless and go into the mountains, Miao Xing and Miao Wang led their people back to Shiqu Village. The autumn harvest is coming soon, and every household is very busy. It can be said that those who are willing to take time out to follow the Miao brothers on this trip today are all very kind people.
"We'll come back after the autumn harvest and bring you some sweet potatoes and potatoes. You can also take the peanuts to the county town to sell after we arrive," Miao Xing instructed. Although Shen Qing is tall, strong and powerful, his uncle still feels sorry for the child and would like to do more for him. Shen Qing agreed and escorted the person all the way to the village entrance.
Between the two villages are endless fields of crops, and from a distance you can see the golden color of the harvest.
This autumn harvest, Shen Qing no longer has to work in the fields all day long, working like an ox but not even having a bowl of rice to eat. He turned his head and looked at the undulating green hills around him, planning to chop more firewood before winter and carry it to the county town so that he would have no trouble selling it. If they are lucky enough to encounter some small animals, then life will be easier for the mother and daughter, right?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
