Chapter 5 Chapter 5 The family said
"My dear sister, you are so patient. Give us a definite answer whether this will succeed or not!"
"No matter how bad it is, it's all my fault."
Matchmaker Hu apologized profusely, "I think it was because I drank cold water the day before I got home, and the next day I had a fever and diarrhea, which really took a toll on me. I should have come yesterday, but I couldn't make the long journey, so I was delayed until today."
"The Kang family came to ask if Brother Fan could come. If so, the 26th of the month is a good day, and they can come over."
When Chen and Fan Shoulin heard that someone would come to their house in two days, they were so happy that they couldn't sit still and immediately agreed.
After a burst of joy, Chen said regretfully, "If this happy event had happened earlier, my eldest brother would have known about it."
"He was anxious to get into the mountains in the autumn, and fearing delay, he had been waiting at home for two days for news. He simply couldn't wait any longer, so he left for the mountains at dawn today. It was unfortunate."
Matchmaker Hu said, "It doesn't matter if it works out. If you let your brother know a moment earlier or later, the marriage will be inevitable."
"That's the truth."
So early the next morning, Fan Shoulin went up the mountain to tell Fan Jing about the marriage.
I went into the mountains, but didn't find anyone in the cabin.
He walked around the area and only saw two traps set by Fan Jingxin. He didn't know which mountain the man had gone to.
Fan Shoulin sat in the wooden house for an hour or so, but Fan Jing didn't come back. He felt very cold and had to go down the mountain again.
When Chen returned, she saw that Fan Shoulin had returned without even seeing anyone, so she scolded him.
Fan Shoulin silently endured the scolding, and the next day he hurried up the mountain before noon, thinking that Fan Jing should be in the wooden house at lunch time, but he found him empty-handed again.
After waiting for the whole afternoon, seeing that it was getting late and Fan Jing still hadn't returned, he went home again.
As expected, we had another delicious meal.
The next day, Fan Shoulin refused to go up the mountain. The Wang family, a pig slaughterhouse at the west end of the village, asked him to help catch the pigs, but he hid away early in the morning.
Chen couldn't scold him no matter how hard she tried, and she had no idea what to do with him.
She wanted to go up the mountain by herself, but she didn't know where Fan Jing lived in the wooden house.
After thinking about it, Fan Jing was going home on the 5th or 6th, and he calculated that he could be back before the 26th, so he might as well wait for the person to come down the mountain and then talk to him.
In the past few days, the two families have consulted the matchmaker to discuss the betrothal gifts and the banquet.
The two families hosted their own banquets and did not interfere with each other. The Fan family gave a gift of five strings of cash.
The Kang family was quite kind and didn't ask for much. Nowadays, it was considered a small amount of money for an ordinary family to marry off their daughter or son, let alone to marry off a live-in son-in-law.
Knowing this, the couple didn't bargain and gritted their teeth to come up with the money.
The matchmaker brought Kang He's property deeds, and the other party sealed the gift money and gave it to the matchmaker.
Chen felt the pain of having to save up five strings of cash, one copper coin at a time, only to have to exchange it for a light document.
She thought that the world had been really bad in recent years. In the past, if the man's family had no land or property, they would not have the chance to be picky and show off, and they would only be rejected when proposing marriage.
At that time, families with young children only needed to accept the gifts and then use the money to help their young men get married.
Who knew that once the war started, everything would be turned upside down. The lives of the brothers and sisters were already difficult, and now these brothers and sisters of the same age have it even harder. There is no one at home who has not been scolded for losing money.
Chen secretly prayed to the Buddha for peace in the world and no more wars.
I hope things will get better in a few years, and the two girls at home will be more approachable.
She patted Qiao Yatou's head worriedly.
Qiao'er raised her chin and looked at Chen: "Mother, can this matchmaker be trusted? Don't let her embezzle our money."
"Matchmaker Hu is a legitimate official matchmaker. Mother has already seen her official matchmaker order. If she dares to embezzle the money, we will go to the county government and report her. She will be beaten with a stick."
When it comes to money, Chen dare not be careless. There is not much money in the family. It would be a shame if she were stupid enough to get cheated of her money.
"Then my eldest brother is getting married. Should we prepare a feast at home?"
Chen snorted, "You have a greedy mouth and want to eat delicious food, but just finding a son-in-law for your elder brother has used up all the money our family has saved with great difficulty. There is no money left for a feast."
Qiao'er's face drooped as she thought that her family didn't prepare a banquet or delicious food for such a big event as her brother's wedding, so she didn't know when she would be able to enjoy the banquet again.
In a blink of an eye, it was the 26th.
Fan Jing, who was on the mountain, found that the food he brought with him was finished. He got some mountain products and packed up and went down the mountain.
In the morning the mountains were grey and misty, a strange sign of the autumn chill.
When we came down a little from the mountain, the clouds dispersed and there was actually a little sunshine in the village.
His body was a little wet from the fog and rain in the mountains. A few strands of hair spread down from his forehead, neither too long nor too short, and when they got wet they were just enough to prick his eyes like little spikes.
I dialed it twice but it was still the same. I went back and cut it with a pair of scissors. When I looked up, I saw a few people in front of me, making a lot of noise and I couldn't tell what they were arguing about.
"Ah! Dajing, come here quickly, come here quickly!"
A village woman spotted Fan Jing and, as if she had seen an immortal, quickly called him over: "There's a strange man here! He won't answer no matter what you ask him. He might be a thief out to scout the place!"
Hearing the villagers talking in unison, Fan Jing walked forward.
I saw a tall man leading several men and women to surround him with hoes.
Fan Jing saw that he had a camel-brown bag hanging on his shoulder and a box in his hand.
She was wearing a snow-gray long gown, the hem of which reached almost below her calves, revealing a pair of black cloth boots on her feet.
He was tall, dressed very neatly, and his back looked familiar.
Fan Jing saw that the man's attire did not look like a thief.
However, after the autumn harvest, farmers have stored grain at home, which makes people covet it. Those thieves with evil intentions will find ways to sneak into the village, giving them an opportunity to steal.
If there are strangers coming to the village, we must not be careless.
Fan Jing thought that if he couldn't argue clearly, he would just send the person to the village head.
At this moment, the man who was surrounded heard someone else coming and turned around.
The two looked at each other, and Fan Jing's eyebrows twitched.
"Why are you here?"
When Kang He saw the familiar face, his eyes felt warm.
Before dawn today, he was arranged by the Kang family to take a ox cart out of Wangshui Township.
The car did not go into the village. Instead, it dropped him off at the village entrance and watched him enter the village.
He walked a few steps along the village road. After the blind date, the Kang family kept an eye on him. Perhaps they were afraid that his old illness would relapse and he would run around everywhere. When he went to the Fan family, no one would find him.
He hasn't been able to go out in the past few days.
Now that he had finally gotten out, he had been planning to run away today. However, after walking a few steps in the village, he hid from the ox cart driver who had brought him there. Before he could even leave the village, he was stopped by a village woman who was weeding in the field.
He couldn't understand the local dialect and had no idea what the village woman was saying.
Seeing that he did not respond and was hesitant, the villagers immediately changed their expressions, shouted and called a few people over, picked up hoes and blocked his way.
If he had waited a few more hours, I'm afraid the hoe would have hit him.
Kang He was originally full of ambition and felt that he could live a good life even if he left the Kang family.
However, when he came out alone, he realized that this was not the peaceful place where he used to live.
He can't even have a normal conversation with others, so how can he make a living?
Kanghe is a flexible person.
Without saying a word, he swiftly jumped behind Fan Jing.
"They... beat me!"
Kang He stood next to Fan Jing, hugged the bag hanging on his shoulder, pointed at several women and husbands, and stammered to complain to Fan Jing using the very limited words in his mind.
Fan Jing was stunned.
"Who hit you? We didn't even touch you with our hoes! Don't blame anyone."
"Dajing, do you recognize this person?"
Fan Jing didn't know what to say for a moment and just hummed.
"Oh, we don't know either. He looked unfamiliar, and when we asked him who he was looking for, he wouldn't tell us."
"If we just laugh, we're probably not serious people."
"Who is he to your family? He's a handsome young man. We've never seen him before. His accent sounds like he's from another place."
Fan Jing glanced at Kang He and saw that he was looking at him with a pair of dark eyes, looking very happy.
He paused and said to the villagers, "My family said we are relatives."
After saying that, he grabbed Kang He's wrist, didn't talk to the villagers any more, and dragged him away.
By the time a few villagers reacted, the man had already gone far away.
"You said you were close? Which one of the Fan family did you say you were close to?"
"Liu Qinghua, have you burned your eyes? Ren Dajing has already held that young man's hand, who else can you marry? The two girls in Fan Shoulin's family are not even old enough to get married!"
"Fan Dajing is talking about getting married?!"
Fortunately, Fan Jing knew the habits of the villagers and left quickly.
If you don't leave, you will be dragged away by these village women and husbands. If they don't ask you about your family's past and future generations, who they are, what they do, what they eat, and what they use, you will never be able to escape.
Several villagers thought that this news alone was quite fresh, and it gave them something to talk about in the dull village that afternoon.
Fan Jing let go of her hand only when they reached the path.
He wanted to ask Kang He a few questions, but when he thought about his problem, he gave up.
Seeing that the man was carrying a lot of luggage, he reached out to take his suitcase.
Kang He saw that he was carrying a backpack with the shoulder rope tied tightly, so he didn't feel comfortable teaching him how to carry things.
He shook the box to indicate that it was not heavy, and pointed to his right hand.
Ten days have passed, and Fan Jing still seems to be concerned about his minor injury.
For a moment, there was an indescribable taste.
He was silent for a moment, then opened his right palm and showed it to Kang He.
After treating the pus and applying anti-inflammatory herbs, the wound has healed again, leaving only a scar where new flesh has grown.
But although the old wound had healed, there were a few new scratches on the palm, as if they were just made.
Kang He frowned.
Seeing that his eyes were looking elsewhere, Fan Jing quickly withdrew his hand and at the same time hooked the bag hanging on Kang He's shoulder.
He carried his bag and strode towards home.
“Hey!”
Kang He hurriedly chased after him, and the two of them returned to Fan's house, one in front and the other behind.
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