Qian Liang nodded, "That's right, but we haven't raised enough for the bride price yet, and we haven't bought the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a set of three rings, a watch, and a radio). Xiulan's parents will come over in a few days to give them the bride price. Mom came to see me today, is she here to help me with the bride price? Mom and Dad gave bride prices to my older brothers before, so it's not fair that I don't have to give them anything. That would be too unfair."
Qian Liang pressed on, "Mom, how much dowry are you planning to give me? Did you discuss it before you came?"
Upon hearing Qian Liang's words, Qian's mother was taken aback. "Didn't you already get your marriage certificate? Why do you still need a bride price?"
“Xiulan’s parents said that if they can’t raise the bride price, they’ll take Xiulan home in a few days. The people in the city don’t know Xiulan is already married, so she can still remarry when she goes back,” Qian Liang said hurriedly. “Mom, how much bride price are you going to give? Let me see if it’s enough. If not, I’ll ask relatives to help. We can’t really let Xiulan be taken back by her in-laws to remarry…”
Before Qian Liang could finish speaking, he saw his mother and the others leave in a hurry. Nie Xiulan curled her lips and thought, "Sure enough, birds of a feather flock together. No wonder they raised a good-for-nothing like him. If the parents are no good people, how can their son be any good?"
Anyway, she won't stay here for long. Once she's gotten her revenge on all the people she hates, she'll quietly leave. Qian Liang doesn't know where she lives, so he won't be able to find her.
While working in the pigsty, Liang Zhaodi was secretly planning how to help Xiaogou marry Wenxi, so that no one could threaten her relationship with Lu Xiaoyun.
There were several methods, but Liang Zhaodi felt none of them were perfect. Wen Xi was a bit difficult to deal with; she had discovered this on the night of the welcoming banquet. If she couldn't take Wen Xi down in one fell swoop, there probably wouldn't be a better opportunity later, or perhaps she wouldn't even have a chance to make a move.
They had to make it a fait accompli, solidify their relationship, and leave Wenxi no chance to object.
That morning, as everyone stood at the village office waiting to be assigned tasks, Captain Qian first gave a passionate speech, and then said, "There's not much work left in the fields now. Let's all work harder today and try to finish it all so that we can all take a break and rest starting tomorrow to look forward to the New Year."
Everyone cheered loudly upon hearing this. Wenxi was also very happy. She no longer had to work and could go to the waterfall every day to collect fish and shrimp nets. Otherwise, she would have lost a lot of money!
In order to get off work on time tomorrow, everyone worked especially hard and actively today. Everyone's face was filled with the joy of the holiday. Some even skipped going home to cook lunch, just to finish the work as soon as possible. Wenxi, Shen Jiaojiao, and Jiang Yue discussed it and decided not to go home for lunch either, but to finish the work first and then go home, so they wouldn't have to come back in the afternoon.
Wenxi gave each of them a handful of White Rabbit milk candies so they could replenish their energy while working.
Finally, around 4 p.m., all the work in the fields was finished, and Captain Qian announced that everyone would officially have a holiday starting tomorrow.
On the way back, Song Lan, Zhou Bai, and Tian Shengnan came over to discuss going to town the next day. Wen Xi shook her head and refused, "You guys go ahead. I want to rest tomorrow and go the day after tomorrow or the day after that."
She hasn't dug up the fish and shrimp nets for days, so she definitely needs to go and do that first!
Tian Shengnan nodded, "Okay, then we'll go first, and then we'll all go together during the last few days of the year when the market is open."
"Okay," Wen Xi readily agreed.
When only the three of them were left to walk together, Wenxi said, "Jiaojiao, Xiaoyue, if you want to go tomorrow, go with Tian Shengnan. There are five female educated youths at the educated youth settlement, and only Tian Shengnan is acceptable. You can get to know her a bit, but before you really understand her, don't get too close to her, and don't say everything you want to say, understand?"
Shen Jiaojiao took Wen Xi's arm and said with a smile, "Xiao Xi, I've decided to go with you. I want to sleep in tomorrow."
When they got back to their doorstep, they saw the carpenter waiting by the gate with a wooden cart full of furniture. When he saw the three of them return, he smiled and said, "Comrade Wen, all the furniture you ordered has been made. This is the last batch."
"Thank you, Uncle Zheng." Wenxi hurriedly took the key off her neck and opened the courtyard gate and the house door. Then everyone carried the furniture off the wooden cart and into the house, placing it in the spot that Wenxi had already chosen.
All the furniture is in place, and the house feels more like a home now.
The three little girls' faces were filled with anticipation for a bright future.
"I'm so hungry. I'm not going to cook. I'll just boil some noodles." Wen Xi frowned and rubbed her stomach. "Jiaojiao, Xiaoyue, you two get ready first. I'm going to boil some noodles."
In order to finish work early, I didn't go back for lunch and just relied on White Rabbit milk candy to fill my stomach. After all, there were many people in the field, and it would definitely arouse suspicion if I took out a relatively large item from my pocket in front of everyone!
Cooking takes at least an hour, which is obviously not enough time, so Wenxi decided to cook noodles so that she could have dinner as quickly as possible.
Wenxi first started boiling water, then began kneading the dough. Once the water boiled, she scooped up spoonfuls of the kneaded dough and slowly placed them into the boiling water. After the dough balls had set and were no longer sticking together, Wenxi added cabbage and shredded radish, covered the pot, and continued to simmer.
After the noodles were cooked, Wenxi called Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue over for dinner. A big bowl of noodles, with its original flavor and the fresh taste of vegetables, was very satisfying.
After dinner, all three of them started sweating.
While wiping the sweat from her forehead, Wenxi said, "We always take a quick shower, so we don't know if we're really clean. The day after tomorrow, we'll bring our clothes with us and leave early in the morning. We'll head straight to the bathhouse in town and take advantage of the fact that there aren't many people there so we can have a good soak."
"Okay, okay." Shen Jiaojiao readily agreed. She had been wanting to take a proper bath for a long time, but the conditions in the countryside were not good. Every time she took a bath, she would just wet a towel and wipe herself down briefly because it was too cold to bathe for too long. But it was different at the public bathhouse, where she could soak for a longer time.
The next morning, Wenxi woke up on time. Without wasting any time, she went to the kitchen to get busy. She boiled water in one pot for washing and cooked lily oatmeal porridge in another.
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