Chapter 54: Ji Zhongzi
"What! The wedding date has been moved up!?" Ji Hean stood up suddenly, staring at Ji Zhongzi across from him with wide eyes, "Why?"
Ji Zhongzi quickly pulled Ji Hean's sleeves and soothed him, "Don't get excited yet."
After Ji and An calmed down and sat down, Ji Zhongzi explained, "Didn't we go to the town to celebrate the Spring Festival last time?"
"Could it be that you two fell in love at first sight?"
"No." Ji Zhongzi shook his head, a rare hint of annoyance on his face, "He is the person we met that day!"
"Ah?" Ji Hean was a little surprised, "Well, well, well..."
Ji Hean shuddered when he thought of the man's appearance that day.
"What does he look like?" He finally uttered this question after a long time.
"I don't know." Ji Zhongzi looked grumpy. "At that time, he was dressed exactly the same as we saw him that day. I didn't see what he looked like along the way."
Ji Hean was stunned, swallowed his saliva, and said comfortingly: "It's okay, you will see it after you get married."
"I'm not angry about this."
"What's that anger?"
Ji Zhongzi stepped forward and hugged Ji Hean's arms, "I'm angry because we didn't have any fun that day!"
"Ah?" Ji Hean was confused again, "Why?"
"We had just arrived in town when someone from his village caught up with us and told us his mother had fallen down, and asked us to go back quickly." Ji Hean's face was full of exhaustion, "So we went back."
“….”
Ji Hean really didn't know how to comfort Ji Zhongzi now.
"Then why did you move your wedding date forward so much?"
"I don't know about that either. I only heard from the matchmaker that it was his mother who asked for the wedding to be brought forward. Even the date was set by his mother."
Ji Hean opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing. He really didn't know what to say.
"Do your parents agree to this?"
"Yes, they added another one or two taels of silver as the betrothal gift." Ji Zhongzi spread his hands, his tone was very calm.
Ji He'an was very worried. He didn't want Ji Zhongzi to marry him. He always felt uneasy. However, since ancient times, marriage has been arranged by parents and matchmakers.
Especially for their two sons, if they dare to resist, the consequences will be dire.
"Don't look so sad. Maybe I'll be better off if I get married." Ji Zhongzi pinched Ji Hean's cheek. "I heard from the matchmaker that there are only two people in his family, him and his mother. There won't be sisters-in-law, so there won't be many people to serve. I guess it will be more comfortable than me at home."
Unfortunately, Ji Hean was really worried, and there was always a slight sense of worry in his heart.
"I won't tell you. I'm going back first. Remember to come and see me off in three days. You are my only good friend." Ji Zhongzi stood up and smiled at Ji He'an.
A ray of golden sunlight shone on his face. He was clearly smiling, but Ji Hean felt like crying.
He stood up and gave Ji Zhongzi a big hug, choking with sobs as he said, "Zhongzhong, why don't you just run away? I'll give you money."
Hugging Ji Hean with his backhand, Ji Zhongzi felt warm in his heart and said with a smile: "What nonsense are you talking about? Where are you escaping to? Not only do you say that you have nowhere to go, but even if you have a place to go, you don't have a pass to get there."
Yes, there was nowhere to escape. The government checked the population and household registration of every place very strictly, and every village was very hostile to strangers and outsiders.
Ji Hean also knew that he was talking nonsense.
"It's okay, don't worry, things haven't come to that point yet." Ji Zhongzi is always optimistic.
The two talked for a while, and seeing that it was getting late, Ji Zhongzi left.
When Ji Zheng came back in the evening, he saw Ji He'an's eyes were red from crying. He was shocked and thought that Ji He'an had been bullied.
Later I found out it was because of Ji Zhongzi.
Ji Zheng had no choice but to deal with Ji Zhongzi's experience. The wedding date was approaching, and unless Hanzi broke off the engagement, the marriage had to go ahead no matter what.
"It's okay. Just give him some more of your savings. At least he can live a better life." Ji Zheng comforted.
This was the only way. Ji Hean nodded and tried his best to suppress the discomfort in his heart.
In a blink of an eye, it was the day for Ji Zhongzi to get married.
Although she was said to be getting married, in fact, Ji Zhongzi just took her things and went to another place, and her family did not prepare any banquet for her.
This was within Ji Zhongzi's expectations, so it wasn't that painful.
What made him sad was that no one came to pick him up from Hanzi's side.
"Just live a good life after you go there. If you are wronged..." Ji's mother held Ji Zhongzi's hand and said, "I think you won't be wronged."
"When you get there, you should serve her well. After all, she has brought so much betrothal gifts." Ji's father also said, "Just bear with it if you can. Everyone has gone through this."
Listening to his parents' words, Ji Zhongzi didn't know whether to be sad or angry.
"Don't worry, no matter how wronged I am, I will not come back."
After Ji Zhongzi finished speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed to each of his parents, "Dad and Mom, I'm leaving."
After saying that, he stood up and left without looking back, but the moment he turned around, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
The reluctance to leave my parents, the grievance that my parents don't love me, the fear of the unknown days, all the emotions flowed out with my tears.
Looking at Ji Zhongzi's thin back, Ji's mother finally couldn't hold back her tears. She had complicated feelings towards Ji Zhongzi.
Ji's father, who was standing by, had a gloomy face and sighed deeply. The problem was that Ji Zhongzi had twins, a monster that was neither male nor female.
Ji Hean had been waiting at the entrance of the village early. When he saw from afar that only Ji Zhongzi was coming, he was stunned.
"Why are you alone? Where is he?" The person he was referring to was naturally Zhang Dashu, who would become Ji Zhongzi's future son, A Lang.
"He sent a message last night saying that his mother suddenly had a high fever and he had to stay at home to take care of her," Ji Zhongzi explained.
"Didn't he send someone to pick you up?"
"No, just tell me the route."
Ji Hean was silent, his eyes gradually becoming red. From this incident, it was clear that Zhang Dashu was not a good match.
But what can be done at this moment? The marriage certificate had already been approved by the government on the day of engagement and gift delivery.
"It's okay. I'll take you there." Ji Hean held back his tears and forced a smile.
"Hehe, Xiaoxiao, I'm very happy that you gave it to me." Ji Zhongzi also laughed.
Ji Zheng on the side didn't say a word. Firstly, he only cared about Ji He'an, and secondly, things had come to this point and there was no way to remedy the situation.
The three of them set off.
Ji Hean took out the fox hairpin that he had prepared for Ji Zhongzi earlier: "Zhongzhong, I bought this last time I went to town. I think it suits you very well."
"It's so beautiful!" Ji Zhongzi excitedly took the hairpin and looked at it over and over again, then said, "Please help me put it on."
Gently passing the hairpin through Ji Zhongzi's hair, Ji Hean exclaimed: "It suits you very well, it looks very good."
Ji Zhongzi chuckled twice and said without any shame: "Of course!"
With this interruption, the sadness of the two people disappeared immediately.
As for the money hidden in the bottom of the box, Ji Hean prepared ten taels of silver, but he did not give it directly to Ji Zhongzi. Instead, he hid it in a new piece of clothing he was going to give to Ji Zhongzi.
When the three arrived at the entrance of Shifu Village, they had to say goodbye. Ji and An were not Ji Zhongzi's family after all, so they could only be sent to the village entrance, otherwise they would be gossiped about.
"Okay, you guys go back." Ji Zhongzi waved to Ji Hean who was reluctant to leave.
Ji Hean also waved, "I'll come to see you in two days."
"Got it, got it!" Ji Zhongzi waved his hand impatiently, "Go back quickly, I'll come to see you when I have time."
After watching Ji Zhongzi's back disappear, Ji Hean couldn't hold back her tears anymore and lay in Ji Zheng's arms crying sadly.
Ji Zheng felt both distressed and jealous.
...
Ji Zhongzi felt sad, but more than that, he felt warm-hearted. He was very lucky to have such a good friend.
After asking several families on the way, I finally found the home where he would live next in the north of the village.
The door was closed tightly. Ji Zhongzi felt a little scared. Did this mean that they didn't welcome me?
But there was no point in thinking too much, so Ji Zhongzi encouraged himself and went forward to knock on the door.
I knocked on the door three times regularly and waited for a while, but there was no movement inside.
After thinking it over, he knocked three more times, this time with greater force and with louder sounds, but there was still no movement inside.
Ji Zhongzi was puzzled. Is there no one at home?
Just as he was about to push the door, it was suddenly opened from the inside, followed by a shadow.
“I, I…”
Before he could finish his words, the man stepped aside and said, "Come in."
The voice was still unpleasant, as if the place where the sound was produced had been severely burned by charcoal fire.
Ji Zhongzi felt somewhat uneasy about this man who was taller than him and full of murderous aura.
As soon as he walked into the yard, he smelled a strong smell of medicine. It was really strong, even stronger than in the hospital. Ji Zhongzi couldn't help but wrinkle his nose.
"Put your things in that room, and then come with me to see my mother." Zhang Dashu pointed to a small room on the left and said.
"good."
After putting his things away, Ji Zhongzi followed Zhang Dashu to the room where the smell of medicine was the strongest.
The moment he stepped into the house, Ji Zhongzi frowned. The smell of medicine was too strong, bitter and astringent, making him want to vomit.
"Mom, your son-in-law is here." Zhang Dashu didn't pause at all, as if he didn't smell the medicine.
As for the expression on his face, yes, it was still covered with black cloth, with only a pair of eyes showing.
Following Zhang Dashu's line of sight, he saw a skinny old man lying on the bed. The old man looked lifeless, as if he was already dead.
Ji Zhongzi's heart was trembling and his legs were weak. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't move at all.
"Cough, cough, cough, cough." A series of hoarse, breathless coughs indicated that the old man was not dead yet.
Hearing the cough, Zhang Dashu on the side hurried forward and patted the old man on the back.
"Come here, let me take a look." It sounded like a woman's voice, but it was hoarse and dry, but there was a hint of joy in her tone.
Restraining the fear in his heart, Ji Zhongzi stepped forward and said with courage: "Mom."
"Cough, cough, good boy, cough, cough, good boy." The old woman's forced smile made her face, which was only a layer of skin left, even more terrifying.
Only then did Ji Zhongzi realize that the old man's eyes were out of focus when he looked at him, as if he was blind.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
