The vegetable market was suddenly thrown into chaos, leaving a mess everywhere. People ran around like headless flies, blocking the streets and alleys.
Even the officials from the yamen couldn't squeeze in.
Amian was in a panic and confused state. When she saw someone approaching her donkey, Adou, she didn't care about anything else and simply pulled out the fire tongs from her leg. She held them in her hand, but she had never practiced martial arts, so she swung them around wildly without any technique.
"ah!"
The person who was picking up money from the ground was hit and immediately felt a burning pain. The crowd scattered. She was originally powerless, but with a weapon, things were different. Moreover, at this moment, every inch longer meant an inch stronger, and no one dared to approach her.
"I'll fight you to the death!"
Although Adou was just a skinny donkey, he and Amian had grown up together since childhood and he was Amian's only companion after their mother passed away. She believed she knew Adou's temperament best; he was usually very well-behaved, never slacked off when working, and had rarely even shown his "donkey temper."
It would never hurt anyone unless someone deliberately tried to harm it.
Right now, A Dou kicked out with his hind legs, randomly kicking the person who was just shouting about the bean shop!
Not only that, it looks like a lot of people are about to be trampled and injured!
Amian also charged forward headlong, ready to risk her life, but suddenly she was lifted into the air. Her arms swung around in the air like a windmill, but no one could hit her anymore.
She was puzzled, feeling as if she had bumped into an iron wall. When she looked up, she was shocked to see a cold-faced man standing in front of her. He smelled of tobacco and rust, and was tall. Because he was backlit, she couldn't see his face clearly, but his aura was extremely imposing.
He held Ah Mian in one hand as if she were a chick, while his other hand gripped the reins tightly on Ah Dou.
Ah Mian struggled twice but couldn't escape. She didn't know how this man had developed such strength, and she secretly thought to herself that something was wrong.
"If this were a knife, how many people would you have killed here today?"
Ah Mian guessed he was a thug hired by those people, and suddenly shouted, "They're eating people! They're beating people! Someone help me! You can have all the money on the ground! And you heroes who were just trying to charge me twenty coins, your money is on the ground too!"
The man paused for a moment and loosened his grip. She suddenly pulled out a pair of pliers, expecting to pull him back. However, the man didn't move at all and seemed to have no reaction!
She rolled on the ground and saw that he was still holding onto Adou's rope. The copper coins disappeared in the scramble of the crowd, with only a few people helping to stop him.
Amian pounced on him like a madwoman and bit his wrist hard. Even when blood was drawn, the man didn't let go and didn't even flinch.
Instead, they looked at her as if she were some kind of trinket.
"let go!"
Seeing the officials approaching from afar, A-Mian panicked even more. She was having the worst day ever. The Luo brothers were rushing over to help, and there were cries of "ouch, ouch" all over the streets and alleys.
Amian quickly said, "Here, take this. Don't make things difficult for him." She handed him the fire tongs; anything made of iron was valuable.
The man gave a strange smile and loosened the rope.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Ah Mian secretly rode off on Ah Dou's back!
However, the monk may run away, but the temple cannot.
The next day, people from Lujia Village came to demand medical expenses. Lu's father, who had originally planned to go to the city for a drink, was surrounded, beaten up, and had his money stolen.
Moreover, a rumor spread like wildfire through the village that Lu Amian, this quiet girl, was "restless" at heart.
In the countryside, this crime is a worse reputation than murder or arson. A woman, even if she is ugly or lazy, can still be saved, but no family wants to be labeled as "restless".
After returning home, Lu Amian hadn't seen Zhang Yixing for a long time, and guessed that he wouldn't dare to appear in front of her again. Not only that, but her marriage was also likely to be canceled, which could be considered a blessing in disguise. Although she lost some money, she could still happily be Amian.
However, while she was enjoying herself, Lu's father was driven to the point of no return.
Ever since Ah Mian caused a scene at the market, countless people have come to the Lu family to settle scores. Because Ah Mian is a woman, they are unwilling to deal with women (especially since they can't catch her), so they have set their sights on Lu's father, who drinks and gambles every day.
Not only did they demand "medical expenses" from him every few days, but they would also beat him severely whenever they saw him playing cards in the city, just to vent their anger.
In this situation, when he heard that the blacksmith's family had not canceled the engagement, he didn't dare to raise the price this time and hurriedly agreed.
After being beaten outside, Lu's father wanted to teach Lu Amian a lesson when he got home, but no one answered when he called out to her.
He suddenly lost all his strength and collapsed to the ground in his bare house. In the main room, there was a memorial tablet with incense burning, and the faint red light was so bright in the dark night that it hurt one's eyes.
"A wild girl...a crazy girl...if we can't control her, who can?"
The next morning, the blacksmith's family delivered the betrothal gifts.
Whether they hadn't heard a word about it or had no other choice, the dowry was quite generous.
Traditional Chinese weddings are not as complicated as the traditional betrothal ceremony, but the rituals are still quite elaborate, and all the items are paired up for good luck.
The gift list included: four boxes of pastries, two large pieces of pork (with slices), two chickens, a load of wedding cakes, a load of peanuts and dried fruit, two jars of Shaoxing wine, two ten-pound carp, and six taels of silver.
Ah Mian was illiterate, but she knew numbers and that one thousand coins equaled one tael. This dowry was quite a lot in the countryside!
Father Lu glanced at his youngest daughter, who was secretly hiding pastries in her sleeve, with a complicated expression, and sighed.
Ah Mian didn't know, but he did. The reason the groom's family gave so many betrothal gifts was that they knew the groom's family couldn't afford any return gifts, and they wanted him to use the money to prepare return gifts for the bride's family.
In the past, Lu's father would definitely have used the money to drink and gamble, but recently he's been beaten up and is afraid of being robbed—rather than have it stolen for "medical expenses," he'd rather buy some things!
Lu Amian was happily eating her betrothal gifts, wondering why her father neither stopped her nor beat her with a stick, but instead alternated between crying and laughing like an idiot.
"Ah Mian, is it delicious? Do you know what this is?"
"have no idea."
"This is a very popular pastry in the city right now, peach blossom pastry. It's sold in restaurants and teahouses, and a box of it isn't cheap."
These peach blossom pastries are indeed delicious. Ah Mian has already tasted that they are filled with red bean paste and have a sweet brown sugar flavor. She has already eaten two in one go.
"Ah Mian, don't blame me for not discussing this with you. You've already eaten the snacks, so you're now part of their family. Don't even think about running away again. Besides, you can't take Ah Dou with you. If you dare to run away, I'll make sure you eat roasted donkey meat tonight!"
As he spoke, Father Lu locked Adou in the woodshed and hung a large lock on the door.
His words startled Ah Mian so much that she opened her eyes wide and didn't even dare to eat her snacks.
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