Amian only remembered this when she got home.
Meng Chijian had intended to go to the money shop to pick her up, but he waited and waited and waited and she never showed up.
He was strict with Ah Mian on ordinary days, let alone when it came to her studies. Many people thought that it was useless for girls to study, but he had carefully planned a lot for Ah Mian. Once Ah Mian learned to read, he planned to have her set up a small stall to write and read letters for people. That way, no matter what the world was like or what happened, Ah Mian would definitely have food to eat and clothes to wear in the future.
Being able to use an abacus is even more important. Not only can it be used for bookkeeping and auditing accounts for others, but it will also be of great help if Ah Mian wants to open a tofu shop in the future.
As A-Mian approached her doorstep, Ya-Ya and a bunch of kids rushed out, alerting her: "A-Mian, run! Meng San has a huge broom!"
Big Head said, "If all else fails, we'll fight him to the death!"
Ya Ya said, "Go ahead! We'll cover your retreat!"
Ah Mian wore a heroic expression, though she really wanted to run away, but she managed to control the impulse and, not wanting to lose face in front of the kids, put on an even more fearless act.
"I'm not afraid."
She walked into the house, and Ya Ya was dumbfounded: "Ah Mian's wife is so bold."
As soon as the door closed, A-Mian rushed over and hugged Meng Chijian's leg, her eyes brimming with tears, looking utterly pitiful: "I didn't mean to, I just forgot. I took Wangwang to see the lambs being born."
Seeing that she was very good at admitting her mistake, Meng Chijian was very satisfied and felt that the money had not been wasted: "Then go and copy the third page of the Thousand Character Classic five times. Go and apologize to Manager Ye tomorrow, and spend half an hour calculating every day."
Amian said, "Your hands will get sore if you do that."
"Hurry up and go." Meng Chijian was too lazy to pay attention to her bargaining and went to sweep the donkey shed with the newly made broom.
Days passed by like this, and before we knew it, it was time for a day off.
We were going back to A-Mian's parents' home that day, so we made preparations a few days in advance.
Meng Chijian hung the two baskets on either side of A Dou, and A Mian changed into a floral dress and cloth shoes, mounted the donkey, and the two of them and the donkey set off.
"What if we run into my dad and he comes looking for money from us?"
Meng Chijian shrugged: "Throw it at him again, this time throw it farther."
We chatted along the way, stopped for a short rest, and finally arrived at the entrance of Lujia Village in the afternoon.
The two were conspicuous, attracting the attention of many villagers. In everyone's eyes, this was A-Mian's first visit to her parents' home since her marriage.
"Oh my! Is this still Ah Mian? I can't recognize her at all!"
"Looks like they're living a good life. Ah Mian's dad is going to enjoy life!"
"That's right! Ah Mian used to be silly and dull, and she could hardly say a few words. Now she's full of life and very lively!"
"Could it be that Qingshan Village is a better place to live? But when I'm lost in thought, I do seem somewhat similar to before..."
Although A-Mian wasn't wearing gold or silver, her chubby, pear-like cheeks were undeniably beautiful, and her bright floral dress was genuine. Furthermore, she was riding a donkey while her husband led it, which didn't seem like mistreatment of his wife.
Lu Weiwei remained silent in the crowd, as if she had been doused with a bucket of ice water in the dead of winter.
Lu Amian stole the happiness and good fortune that should have been hers!
She knew far more than the other villagers. She had heard that Meng Chijian had actually sent Amian to the academy, spending ten taels of silver, while she herself was treated with disdain by her in-laws even for putting a little extra oil and salt in the pot. What hope was there for her in this life?
She suppressed her anger and sneered inwardly. What's so good about Ah Mian? Isn't she just pretending to be innocent and naive?
What era are we living in that we're still using this kind of nonsense? Do you think nobody can't do it?
Seeing that A-Mian and her group had gone into the woods, presumably to sweep the tombs and pay their respects, Lu Weiwei hurriedly went home to change her clothes and picked up a bamboo basket.
Upon arriving at the grave, Meng Chijian moved things, burned paper money, and carefully wiped the tombstone clean with a handkerchief. A-Mian felt that Meng Chijian was much more diligent than usual, and his back view revealed a strange silliness and joy.
“Mother, I… I’ve brought my husband to see you. His name is Meng Chijian, you can call him A-Jian or A-Meng.” A-Mian knelt before the grave. It was daytime, and there was no rush, so she wanted to spend some time talking with her mother. “I’m going to the academy now, and it cost quite a bit of money. I can write now. Look, I’ve brought these pieces of paper where I wrote, and I’ll burn them for you to see. This is where my name is written.”
Meng Chijian knelt beside her, "Mother, A-Mian is a capable and good wife. If it weren't for her, the family wouldn't have avoided disaster, and we wouldn't be as well-off as we are now. She..."
"Ah—" A piercing scream echoed through the woods, "Help! Help! Someone help!"
Meng Chijian and A Mian turned to look.
Lu Weiwei, dressed in a simple linen dress with half-wet sleeves, collapsed to the ground, tears welling in her eyes: "There's a snake... I was just about to come and see my aunt when I looked up and saw a snake in the tree branch..."
She opened her eyes wide, trying to look innocent and naive: "If I get bitten by a snake, it will definitely hurt a lot."
Meng Chijian stood up, grabbed a stick, and looked around. Snakes were dangerous, but this wasn't a mountain, and even if there were snakes, they were mostly non-venomous rat snakes.
"Ah Mian, be careful, I'll protect you."
Amian looked at her strangely, her face full of question marks.
This scene feels strangely familiar.
Before she got married, when she talked to Zhang Yixing, Lu Weiwei would also come up to him like this.
He seemed to be talking to Ah Mian, but his eyes were fixed on the people around him.
At first, Lu Weiwei was talking to him, but as they talked, she and Zhang Yixing became very close.
At the time, Ah Mian was puzzled as to what was going on, and when she got home she told Ah Dou about it.
Adou is the best. When she was little, Lu Weiwei was not allowed to ride or lead it. Even if she got close, it would raise its hind legs to kick her!
Later, Ah Mian found out why.
It turns out that sometimes when A-Mian was away and A-Dou was tied to a tree, Lu Weiwei would throw stones at A-Dou.
Adou is very vengeful. Even if Lu Weiwei brings carrots and deliberately waves them in front of it, it won't eat a single bite.
Right now, Adou is facing Lu Weiwei with his donkey rear end facing her, his tail swishing back and forth.
Meng Chijian looked around but didn't see a snake, or even any trace of it crawling.
This interruption of his conversation with Amian's mother caused his face to darken.
Lu Weiwei was not discouraged when she saw that no one paid attention to her or came to help her.
After all, that's how it always starts.
At first, Zhang Yixing ignored her, and after a few words he would say things like, "I'll go see what A-Mian is doing," or "We've been childhood sweethearts, and our relationship is definitely different from others."
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