Chapter 129 Now I Like Dogs
Yang Zhao?
The name sounded familiar, but Song Chunxue couldn't quite place it.
However, her second brother also joined in the fun. Her children had all grown up, and the most difficult time when she needed help the most was over. She no longer needed a man.
"I don't remember." She scooped out a bowl of golden rice noodles from the cupboard, enough for her second brother to eat.
The kids dislike this dish the most, saying it scratches their throats and makes them feel numb, and their throats feel numb all night after eating it.
They like to eat yellow rice steamed buns because they are sweet, but rice flour buns are hard to eat.
Even people who aren't picky eaters like Song Chunxue don't like this food, let alone the children.
So she planned to make two kinds of noodles, and she and her fourth brother would eat some other coarse grain noodles.
Sanwa hasn't had lunch in a long time. After lunch, she'll make some fried dough sticks for Sanwa, sprinkled with salt and scallions.
It's more palatable and presentable than other foods when taken to school for lunch.
"How could I not remember? I almost thought you were going to elope with him back then. You two were herding sheep together..."
"You're talking nonsense! I didn't say that!" Song Chunxue exclaimed in a panic, and subconsciously swore.
“You…” Song Zhizhu was speechless for a moment. “Fine, if you don’t want to admit it, then don’t. Why are you swearing at me?”
“I…” Song Chunxue stamped her foot. “Don’t spread rumors. How could I elope with someone? I was so young back then. I couldn’t tell right from wrong and I didn’t understand matters between men and women. Even if I said I would elope, you can’t take it seriously. If others hear it, they will spread rumors again.”
Song Chunxue pointed to the east side of the kitchen, "There's a road behind it. People from the manor pass by here. Whatever we say can be heard through the skylight. If that gossipy woman hears it, she'll start making things up about me again. Second brother, be careful."
Song Zhizhu curled his lip, "There are too many troublemakers in your village."
"There aren't many people in that village, but it's a bit crowded here. There are many villagers, and they're not from the same family. They like to scheme against each other, as you know."
Song Chunxue said helplessly, "A few years before I married into this village, a new bride jumped into a cellar and drowned because of rumors. Rumors can kill without you even realizing it."
"Alright, alright, you people in your village are just idle. If anyone in our village dares to spread rumors, we'll rush up and tear their mouths apart, and see if they dare to do it again." Song Zhizhu lowered his head and used a fire poker to stir the firewood, his eyes squinting from the smoke. "Your stove fire isn't working well. Haven't you tidied the chimney in a while?"
Song Chunxue turned her head, about to say something, when suddenly there was a "boom" and a puff of smoke came out of the stove fire, and the fire in the stove roared to life.
Song Zhizhu covered his eyes with his arm, too painful to speak.
Seeing this, Song Chunxue forced herself not to laugh.
"You haven't tended a fire in over ten years, have you? You can't get close to the fire. I've learned that the hard way several times. I only dare to poke it with a fire poker. And you..."
She smelled a burnt hair odor.
Song Zhizhu released his arm, wiped away his tears, and said, "My goodness, it hurts so much."
Even so, he still bent down, grabbed a handful of firewood, and stuffed it into the stove.
He subconsciously leaned closer to take a look.
"Second brother, stay away, don't get too close to look, use a fire poker."
Song Chunxue grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, then saw his hair and couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahahaha..." She pointed at Song Zhizhu's forehead, "Your hair... hahahaha, it got singed hahahaha..."
The hair, singed by the fire, curled up in circles on the scalp, and even the gray cloth strip tied up on top of the head was curled at the edges.
Seeing her second brother's appearance, Song Chunxue laughed more and more, and couldn't help but slap her thigh and laugh so hard she couldn't stand up straight.
At this moment, the fourth brother came in from outside.
"What are you laughing at, Mother... Second Uncle?"
The fourth brother walked around to his side, saw his second uncle's curly hair that looked like a black sheep, and patted the stove and laughed.
"Hahaha, did Second Uncle stick his head into the stove? It's so badly burned, hahaha... It looks pretty good though."
Song Zhizhu rubbed his eyes and said irritably, "What are you laughing at? I haven't lit a fire in years. If you laugh again, I'll get angry."
Hahahaha!
Just as she had stopped laughing, her second brother spoke, and Song Chunxue burst into laughter again, unable to stand up straight, clapping her hands while leaning on the cutting board.
"Hahaha, second brother, why don't you... hahaha, go wait in the north room, rest for a while, I'll bring the food over when it's cooked... trim the burnt parts, wash your face, hahahaha..."
Song Zhizhu got up and stepped out of the kitchen. "Hmph."
The fourth brother knelt down by the stove, "Hahaha, it's not that I wanted to laugh, it's just that my second uncle's face is so smeared, like he's covered in soot. How can he go home like this?"
After a while, Song Chunxue and her son finally stopped laughing.
She rubbed her eyes. "Go take a look and help him cut it, otherwise his nephews and nieces will laugh at him when he gets back."
Before long, the eldest brother came in from outside, carrying a bowl of lard pastries.
"My second uncle is here?" the eldest brother said in a low voice. "He even made Chen Feng cry. It's rare to find someone who can handle her. He not only cooked a meal, but also asked me to bring the food in."
Song Chunxue glanced at the crispy lard cake and said, "Everything has its counter, and besides, not many people are not afraid of your second uncle. He's very fierce."
"That's true, I used to be very afraid of him. I'm going to the north room now to chat with my uncle for a while."
"Okay, don't worry about me, the food will be ready soon."
Since her second brother rarely came to visit, Song Chunxue made stir-fried eggs with chives, stir-fried pork slices with glass noodles, and stir-fried cabbage.
After the noodles were cooked, they were topped with some minced meat sauce.
Song Zhizhu praised it highly.
“Chunxue, you’re getting better and better at eating. You even dared to slaughter a pig in August or September. You really know how to enjoy life.” Song Zhizhu said to his son, “Give your wife a little bit of each of these. Although she didn’t know her limits before, you two will have to think about each other when you’re going to live together.”
"You should scold and discipline him when necessary, but you should also treat him well when it's time to be kind. No matter how capable a man is, he'll still need his wife to take care of him when he gets old, don't you think?"
As he spoke, he glanced at Song Chunxue.
Song Chunxue glared at him, sensing that there must be something else behind his words.
Sure enough, when the eldest brother brought the dishes back to Chen Feng, Song Zhizhu spoke up.
"Eldest brother, fourth brother, how old is your mother this year?"
The fourth brother looked blank, raised his fingers and pinched them, "I was born in the Year of the Dragon, and I was born in the Year of the Snake, this year..."
“Mom is thirty-six years old this year, she’s still young.” The eldest son asked curiously, “Why does Uncle ask that?”
Song Chunxue stared at Song Zhizhu with hostility.
"Oh, I see. Second Uncle wants to arrange a marriage for my mother, right?" The fourth brother glanced at the eldest brother. "I'm all grown up now. If Mother is really willing to find a son-in-law to live with her family, I have no objection."
"There is such a person..."
"I have a problem with this, Second Brother, you shouldn't worry about it."
"Why?" Song Zhizhu advised, "That man is an old bachelor, but he's very smart. It's just that things have been delayed all these years. You even had a crush on him when you were younger..."
“I know who you’re talking about, but I don’t need a man. I like dogs now. If you can find me a big wolfhound to guard the house, I will be grateful to you for the rest of my life.”
"..." The three—uncle, nephew, and uncle—looked at each other in bewilderment.
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