Chapter 286: Outrageous Hate to Marry
In her early years, her husband went out to work, and she set up a stall to sell snacks in front of the school. Both of them were good at saving money. After raising their children, they all went to big cities. Her husband passed away a few years ago, and her children had their own grandchildren. They were busy taking care of them and had no time to go home, so the third grandmother was left alone in the house.
"Third Grandma! I'm here to wish you a happy new year!" The door was open, and Su Yuchen shouted as he walked in.
Zhao Xiaojing was pulled by Su Yuchen and looked around with curiosity along the way. The third grandmother must be a particular person. Amid the firecrackers and red paper on the ground outside the door, a clean path was swept out in front of her house, and neat couplets were posted outside the door. When she walked further in, the windows were wiped clean and the window grilles on them were brand new.
"Chenchen is here! Oh, is Yinhua here with him?" Third Grandma grinned and tiptoed to the door when she heard the voice.
Yinhua is Su Yuchen's cousin who lives across the street and doesn't get along with her. Su Yuchen frowned when she heard that.
"What Yinhua? I won't take her!" Su Yuchen was anxious. "This is my classmate. She came to my house to spend the New Year with me! Third Grandma, look at her. Isn't my classmate much prettier than Yinhua?"
"You're both beautiful, you're both iconic girls!" Grandma Three happily pulled the two of them in. She didn't even answer Yinhua's question about whether she was pretty or not, but just turned a blind eye. "Where are your parents? They're busy right now."
"I'm busy. I just want to find some peace and quiet here. I'll do it. You just sit down." Su Yuchen helped Third Grandma to sit on the sofa. He took the tea box familiarly and made two cups of tea for himself. He also added hot water to Third Grandma's cup.
"Third grandma, is this the tea that Brother Pipi brought you? You haven't finished it yet?" The color of the tea leaves in the tea box had turned dark black. Su Yuchen took a look and recognized that this was the tea that Third grandma took out last year and said that it was brought to her by her grandson Brother Pipi and his family. She kept praising it at that time.
"Yes, yes, this is what your brother Pipi brought me when he went on a trip to Zhejiang. This tea is really expensive!" Third Grandma's eyes narrowed into slits with a smile. "I don't like drinking this stuff anymore because I'm old. I just gave it to treat people who came to our house. There's still half a box left. If you like it, take it!"
"You keep it. I can't stay at home for a few days." Su Yuchen looked at her helplessly, pursed his lips, turned his head to look at the snack plate in front of him, and his face instantly became happy again, "Try this, this is the special skill of Third Grandma!"
Zhao Xiaojing glanced at the plate that Su Yuchen pushed over. Inside was an assortment of sweets, including black and white thin sesame candies, thick cylindrical sesame candies, block-shaped malt sugar, and even rice cakes that Zhao Xiaojing hadn't eaten for many years.
"Eat, eat, eat hard!" Grandma San saw the two of them eating snacks and sat aside as happy as if she had eaten too.
Zhao Xiaojing excitedly picked up a piece of black sesame candy and tasted it, nodding her head as she savored the flavor. The candy was thin, and each bite had a crisp, tangy sound, with sesame seeds rustling down. The aroma of the black sesame seemed even stronger, with the hand-roasted caramelized aroma and the perfectly sweet flavor of the maltose. It was a little firm, but not sticky.
"Third Grandma, can you still eat the sesame candy?" Zhao Xiaojing asked while catching the falling crumbs with her hands.
"I can't bite it anymore. My teeth are almost falling out!" Third Grandma waved her hands cheerfully, "I'm happy that you like it. Eat as much as you can! I'll take some away later!"
"Thank you, Third Grandma!" Zhao Xiaojing smiled and turned around to look at the snack platter. It was full of hard sweets, none of which Third Grandma could eat.
"Third Grandma, your cooking skills haven't deteriorated at all. The malt sugar isn't too sweet and tastes much better than the ones sold on the street!" Su Yuchen followed Zhao Xiaojing's gaze, took a piece of light brown malt sugar, and while chewing, he praised Third Grandma so much that she couldn't stop smiling.
"Third Aunt! Are there guests in the house?" The two tasted all the sweets and just finished a cup of tea when a shrill female voice came from outside. Su Yuchen heard it, pulled Zhao Xiaojing and stood up, "Third Aunt, we are still going to Second Master's house. You are busy, come to our house for lunch at noon!"
"Pack it up, pack it up!" Third Grandma took a bag from under the coffee table and stuffed it into Su Yuchen's hand without saying anything. Zhao Xiaojing took a look and found that it was the various hemp candies and malt candies that they had just eaten. Third Grandma had already packed some of them in the bag.
"Third grandma is the best to me. I'll call you at noon!" Su Yuchen smiled while holding the candy.
"Hey, Chenchen's classmate! How come I haven't seen him before?" Someone from the front door walked in. Zhao Xiaojing looked up and saw a couple. They were looking her up and down with an inexplicable excitement in their eyes, which made Zhao Xiaojing feel a little uneasy. "You're Chenchen's classmate, right? How old are you? You're really good-looking!" the woman on the left asked.
"This is my sister-in-law! She's thirty this year, and her son is already eight! Happy New Year, fourth cousin! I wish my cousin a speedy marriage and two children and grandchildren in three years! We'll see each other again someday!"
Su Yuchen rushed to talk nonsense and ran away with Zhao Xiaojing.
"Sister-in-law? How can you have a brother? Hey, why are you running? Chenchen! Chenchen!" The woman behind followed them out of the door and chased for a few steps. Seeing the two running away, she stomped her feet twice in anger before going back into the house.
"My fourth uncle and aunt, are they scary?" Su Yuchen didn't let go of Zhao Xiaojing until they ran to the back of another row of houses. He looked behind him and patted his chest in relief.
"What's going on? You still have four cousins?" Zhao Xiaojing also looked back, looking curious.
The two of them ran for a long time without breathing heavily and their speech was very normal.
"No, they are my third grandmother's cousins. They are related to my family. They are the fourth child. I just call them that." Su Yuchen took Zhao Xiaojing to the main road, and they talked as they walked.
“You don’t know, others are eager to get married, but their family is eager to marry. It’s okay to be eager to marry, and it’s normal in rural areas, but their shamelessness and ability to harass are really too strong!
Whenever they see me walking with a young girl, they pull me aside and ask how old the girl is and if she's married, asking me to introduce her to their sons. I tell them it's useless if they have boyfriends, and they say, "I'm not married, so what's there to worry about?" "If I'd just said you weren't married, do you believe they would have turned around and blocked my door?" Su Yuchen shook his head with lingering fear.
"So exaggerated?" Zhao Xiaojing was surprised.
"Of course not! I'm already scared of them. Last year, they dragged me to introduce her to their son. They even asked all my classmates and close friends from the same village, and pestered me to show them my graduation photos, saying that they wanted my cousin to choose carefully! Isn't that ridiculous? She's going to be the chosen concubine!"
"And then?" Zhao Xiaojing looked gossipy.
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