Zhou Dafa had suffered from his weak constitution before. Although his health had improved, he was still slightly weaker than the average person. This was most evident in the fact that he would fall ill every winter, even if it was just a minor cold, it was still quite painful.
Therefore, the second wife didn't have any other requirements for the new bride, as long as she was physically strong.
To be honest, it was Zhou Dafa who chose the girl himself. The second wife's tavern was doing well and they often needed to buy wild game. Zhou Dafa was in charge of purchasing wild game. He often got his goods from his future father-in-law, and they became familiar with each other over time.
Later, the hunter often brought his third daughter with him to deliver goods, and that's how Zhou Dafa met her. When the Zhou family went to propose marriage, the girl was surprised, not expecting that Zhou Dafa would choose her.
In the girl's own words, "Young Master Zhou is such a refined person, educated, and has a house in town, why would he be interested in someone like me?"
The villagers all disliked her for being rude, saying she had a bad temper, was wild, and was more manly than any man. They said anyone who dared to marry her would be completely dominated by her; she was a real tigress.
Zhou Dafa, however, felt that his sweetheart was healthy and had a cheerful personality, which was exactly what he liked.
After Dafu's marriage was settled, Xingxing and Ruru had some free time and stopped causing trouble. Erfu, Sifu, and Wufu clearly didn't want to get married too soon, so they deliberately hid on Potato Island and didn't come back. So they weren't in a hurry to worry about their three brothers' marriages and decided to wait until they returned.
Who knows, they might end up choosing someone themselves?
The sixth day of next month is Zhou Dafa's wedding day. Xingxing plans to wait until she attends the second wife's wedding banquet before returning to Beijing. She heard that her future cousin-in-law is a very cheerful person, knows some martial arts, and is a good hunter.
Xingxing really wanted to meet her, so she invited Ruru and Chunchun to go to town together to see if they could run into that wonderful person.
Ruru readily agreed, but Chun Chun blushed and said, "My mother said that once you're engaged, you can't show your face in public; you have to stay home and learn embroidery."
“Ruru is engaged too, but she still comes out to play. Our family doesn’t have so many rules. Staying at home doing embroidery is so boring and tedious. I’m going back to the capital in two months. If you don’t spend more time with me now, who knows when we’ll see each other again.” Xingxing chattered on and on about a bunch of reasons.
“That’s right, when Xingxing goes back to Beijing, I also have to go back to Changting County. We won’t see each other for a long time after that. When we’re not in the village, you’re always doing embroidery at home, right? You can never finish embroidery, and it hurts your eyes.” Chen Yueru chimed in with a bunch of encouragement.
Chun Chun thought what they said made a lot of sense. Actually, she also wanted to go out and play, but she couldn't disobey her mother's orders. However, she was now persuaded by her two best friends, and Yu Zhong happily ran to ask her mother if she could go out and play for a while.
"Xingxing and Ruru invited you to go to town to play?" Zhao Xiu hesitated for a moment before agreeing, waving her hand and saying, "Go ahead, but you'll be their sister-in-law in the future, so remember to take care of your two younger sisters when you go out to play, don't just think about playing by yourself."
"Yes, Mother, I will remember your teachings." Chun Chun had been learning to read and write since she was a child, following the village chief's guidance, and would occasionally nitpick over the words.
The next day, Zhao Xiu dressed Chun Chun up nicely. First, she styled her hair into a beautiful bun, then she put on the silver hairpin that Xingxing had given her, and then she put on a pair of silver earrings. Her clothes were made of fine material, and her embroidered shoes were new.
Chun Chun stared at the pretty young woman in the bronze mirror, almost unable to recognize herself. She looked at herself from left to right for a while before finally stammering, "So I can be this beautiful!"
Zhao Xiu chuckled, but then felt a pang of sadness. Her husband was the village chief, and they were considered relatively well-off in the village. However, in recent years, they had to support their son's education and buy a house in town. Every penny they had was spent on knives and other necessities, and they never dared to spend it recklessly.
Dongsheng will continue to participate in the imperial examinations, and the family's money will be saved for these examinations. Therefore, the two daughters have never had any jewelry to wear since they were young, and they rarely have new clothes made. When they were young, they wore patched clothes. In the last two years, the daughters have grown up and have stopped wearing patched clothes.
Today, Chun Chun's new clothes and jewelry were gifts from the Zhou family. The silver hairpin and silver earrings were gifts from Xing Xing, who gave them to Chun Chun privately on the day of their engagement. Chun Chun originally did not want to accept them.
But Xingxing said this was for her future sister-in-law, unlike the silver hairpin, which was for her best friend. The girl had a whole set of reasons, leaving no room for rebuttal.
"You'll definitely have a good life after you marry Dafu, and you won't have to suffer like you did at home. Alright, go out now, Xingxing and Ruru are waiting outside." Zhao Xiu sniffed, feeling both gratified and guilty. She felt that she hadn't paid enough attention to her two daughters before, as all her attention had been focused on Dongsheng.
Chun Chun knew exactly what her mother was thinking. She smiled and said, "Mom, you and Dad have always been very good to my sister and me. You're much better than many people in the village. We've never gone hungry since we were little, and we've never been cold in the winter. You and Dad have never scolded or beaten my sister and me. Dad even taught us to read and write. What girl can be as lucky as us?"
"Good child, you and your sister are both good children." Zhao Xiu smiled through her tears.
“Dongsheng is also a good younger brother. He’s the only boy in our family. He’s successful, and my sister and I are proud of him. You and Dad don’t need to feel guilty.” Chun Chun spoke gently and intimately.
Half an hour later, the carriage arrived in town. After entering the town gate, Xingxing leaned close to Chun Chun and whispered, "Sister Chun Chun, why were your eyes red when you left? Did you cry?"
Chun Chun's smile was gentle. Hmm, ever since she got engaged to Da Fu, Xing Xing felt that Chun Chun had become more and more gentle and virtuous. It felt so strange. Could it be that women who get engaged all become more mature and sensible?
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
