Chapter 16 Matchmaking
After digging for a while, she called Xie Shen, "I'm going to go dig some fruit over there."
In Liushutun dialect, peanuts are called "changguo".
"Okay. Sis, I found a big one."
"You're really good, then. I found several small ones."
She stood up, pounded her waist, and walked to the peanut field next to her with the basket on her back. She began to look for peanuts in the same way. However, she did not dare to do too many. She put two handfuls in the basket in total. They were all undeveloped. After drying, they were very shriveled, and the skin was brown. They didn't look good, and some were still empty shells.
After a while, Xie Shen came over to join her and started picking peanuts. After searching for a long time, he found three peanuts.
He stood on tiptoe and looked at Xie Yun's basket with envy, "Sister, you are really amazing. You found so many."
Xie Yun smiled and said, "I have good eyesight. Okay, go back now, don't be late. I'll look for it for a while."
"Why."
Xie Shen agreed and started to run back. After running two steps, he came back and said, "Sister, pour the things in your basket to me. I'll take them home first so you don't have to carry the heavy things."
"That makes sense."
Xie Yun poured everything in the basket into his own basket, and the small basket was almost full.
Xie Shen smiled so hard that his teeth were exposed. "We can feed these sweet potatoes to pigs. We can eat the fruits, and we can feed the peels to pigs."
"right."
"Our pigs are fatter than Xu Cheng's, so they should sell for more money."
Speak of the devil, the devil appears. At this moment, a voice rang out from afar, "Three Fires..."
"It's Xu Cheng."
Without even looking up, Xie Shen walked to the edge of the field, carrying the basket. He bent down and quickly plucked some half-dried grass to cover the basket. He said, "Sister, I'm leaving now. We can't let anyone see how much we found."
"Okay, let's go quickly and be careful on the road. I'll help you drag Xu Cheng."
"Why."
Xie Shen ran away.
This time he really ran away.
When Xu Cheng ran over, Xie Shen was nowhere to be seen.
The young man was panting, steaming all over, and exuding a sour smell that came from not having showered for a long time. Xie Yun preemptively asked, "Why are you running?"
If her son Xie Shen gave off this kind of smell, Zhang Ruifeng would definitely throw him into the pot and cook him.
"Sister Binbin, I called Mumu, but he didn't hear me?"
"I didn't hear anyone shouting."
"I called out Three Fires."
Xie Yun remained calm. "I heard two noises just now. Mumu had already walked away when I heard them. He was anxious to get back to school. What did you find?"
Xu Cheng showed her the small basket: "Just a few small sweet potatoes, a few peanuts, and two unopened cotton bolls."
"You are amazing, you even have cotton balls."
"Hey, I'm going back first, Sister Binbin. I have to go to school this afternoon too."
"Okay, okay, go back."
After seeing Xu Cheng off, Xie Yun wandered the fields. An idea struck her: she first spread some grass in the basket, then added some small sweet potatoes and shelled peanuts. Then, she wandered through the millet and sesame fields, adding a few broken ears of grain and some sesame seeds that had already popped but still had shells inside.
At the same time, the Xie family.
Zhang Ruifeng, who had urged her daughter to rest, refused to do so. She washed the pots and pans, cleaned the stove, and cooked a large pot of small sweet potatoes. She set up a straw mat in the yard and picked out the better ones to dry on top, turning them into dried sweet potatoes for the children as a snack. The worse ones were fed to the pigs.
Then she heard a "cluck, cluck" sound and went to the chicken coop and took out three eggs.
Zhang Ruifeng had a constant smile on her face. Perhaps it was finally sweet after all the hard work. Lately, the hens had been laying more frequently, practically one every day. With six hens at home, she might even find two or three more tonight. She'd crack two to make dumplings tomorrow. She'd also put in a little more effort this time, so Xie Shen would have more material to brag about, and wouldn't go so far as to exaggerate.
Xie Shen came back at this time. He pushed and closed the door in one go and put the basket at the entrance of the main hall. "Mom, these are the cramps my sister and I had. It's mainly my sister. She's so bad, she had a lot of cramps. I put it here."
After saying that, he put on his backpack and ran out, "I'm leaving."
"Slow down, it's not too late."
"knew."
Zhang Ruifeng removed the straw covering the basket and looked at what was underneath. She also thought her daughter was quite impressive. She had only been a child for so long, and she had already managed to gather so much. Others might not be able to gather so much in an entire afternoon. No wonder she had to cover it with straw.
She picked out the peanuts and spread them out in her room to dry. The team had not distributed peanuts yet, so her family shouldn't have any.
Then she dumped the small sweet potatoes into the kitchen shed, where some were already piled up, all ready to feed the pigs. Between now and the New Year, she had to fatten the pigs up.
【Squeak】
The Xie family's door was pushed open, and a woman's voice with a smoky throat rang out from the doorway, "Old Xie, are you home?"
"Here, who is it?"
Zhang Ruifeng stood up and went out to greet them. The person standing at the door was Lao Dai, a famous matchmaker in the brigade.
Old Dai, with a pipe tucked into his waist, asked, "Do you know who I am?"
"Aunt Dai, how could I not know you? You are so noble and yet you are stepping on this humble ground. Is there something wrong?"
"Oh, that's great. Can I go in and tell you?"
Zhang Ruifeng hesitated for a second, then put on a smile and said, "Come in. The room is small and dark. Let's talk in the yard."
Although my daughter said she didn't want to get married yet, it was still difficult to offend the matchmaker.
"OK."
Old Dai agreed readily.
She moved a stool to Lao Dai and said, "Please sit down. I'll get you a glass of water."
"Okay, I'm a little thirsty."
Zhang Ruifeng poured her a bowl of warm water from the hanging pot and said, "Old aunt, don't despise me. This is the condition of our home. We don't have anything good to treat you."
"What are you talking about? Can I still choose this?"
Zhang Ruifeng smiled, looked at her sincerely, and motioned her to continue.
Old Dai knocked on the pipe bowl, filled it with dry tobacco, struck a match and lit it, then shook his arm to put out the match, threw it under his feet, and crushed it.
When she was done and smoking, Zhang Ruifeng finally woke up from her dream, slapped her knees, and said, "Look at me, there's no smoker in my family, and I didn't even think of lighting a cigarette for you. Don't blame me. My husband, Mr. Xie, didn't smoke when he was alive, so it's not in my mind."
Old Dai took two puffs and waved his hand, "I'm not the type to pick fights."
She said, "I won't beat around the bush. I came here today because someone asked me to act as a matchmaker. They're interested in your eldest daughter."
Before she could reveal who it was, Zhang Ruifeng said, "Ah, Auntie, to be honest, my daughter hasn't told me about her in-laws yet. She loves me and wants to stay home for a few more years to help me. You know our family's situation, and we still have overspending to pay off. I can't refuse her kindness. She's only 18 this year, so it's not too late for her to stay for a few more years."
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