Chapter 143 Her man is young and strong, why would she be afraid of not being able to use him?
In an instant, everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Zhao Laosi also laughed and said something that sounded like self-deprecation.
Zhao Hui came out of the inner room with a bottle of ink, put it on the table, raised her eyebrows, and shouted in a shrill voice, "Hey, Li Qingfeng! Why are you using up so much ink? My father sent you here to help, not to squander money! Do you know how precious this ink is? Can you write fewer words?"
Li Qingfeng put down his pen, a hint of helplessness appearing on his fair face. He explained, "Xiao Hui, there are rules about the number of characters in couplets. The two lines must be perfectly matched; if even one character is missing, it doesn't form a sentence."
Zhao Hui pouted and poked the red paper with her finger: "Who told you to write such complicated characters? Look at the characters '一' and '几', they're so simple, with few strokes, and they don't waste ink! Just pick the characters with fewer strokes to write, write a few more, and you'll save ink, right?"
These words made Li Qingfeng push up his glasses, both amused and exasperated.
Just then, a woman's voice suddenly came over.
"This one is very good."
Everyone looked over at the sound and saw that Jiang Wanqiu had somehow gotten up and was standing by the table.
Her slender fingers gently touched a couplet that had just dried, and she softly read: "'Spring breeze brings joy and wealth to the house, the new year brings blessings to the door.' The horizontal scroll reads: 'Everything is renewed.'"
She raised her smiling, watery eyes to look at Li Qingfeng, a beautiful curve forming on her lips: "This couplet is so well written, it's festive and full of hope. Spring breeze, joy, and fortune have all entered the home, life gets better and better, and blessings abound. The meaning is wonderful, I'll take this one."
Li Qingfeng's eyes lit up immediately.
He spent almost three days writing couplets for the village. Hundreds of people came and went, praising their beauty and grandeur, but Jiang Wanqiu was the first to seriously discuss the meaning between the lines with him.
"This...this sister-in-law, you can read?" He was somewhat surprised.
Jiang Wanqiu nodded generously and smiled, "I went to school in the city."
"No wonder! No wonder!" Li Qingfeng seemed to have found a kindred spirit, and he immediately started talking. "This is indeed my proudest work. The words are simple, but the imagery is rich. It's perfect for us ordinary people to live our lives and hope for a better future. If you like it, that's really..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Hui interrupted.
"Oh my, what a perfect match, a talented man and a beautiful woman!" Zhao Hui crossed her arms and sized up Jiang Wanqiu with a sidelong glance. "Jiang Wanqiu, do you feel uncomfortable if you don't flirt with men every day? Don't you know where you are? In front of so many people, you're like a vixen, swarming around men!"
These words were so offensive that Li Qingfeng's face immediately darkened. He stood up, leaning on the table, and said sternly, "Zhao Hui! How could you say such things about a female comrade! We were just discussing couplets!"
"Oh, calling her 'that woman'? How intimate!" Zhao Hui sneered, her eyes filled with even more disdain. "Everyone in our village knows what kind of person she is."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu raised an eyebrow: "When I discussed couplets with Comrade Li, we didn't hold hands or get close. We were talking about nothing but perfectly aboveboard things. How did it become flirting in your eyes? It seems that some people have dirty hearts, so they see everything as dirty."
One sentence left Zhao Hui speechless, her face turning pale and then red. She stammered "you you you" for a long time, but couldn't find a word to refute it. If she continued to curse, wouldn't that just confirm what she said?
Zhao Hui could only glare fiercely at Jiang Wanqiu and didn't say anything more.
"Hey everyone, try some of my freshly fried tofu buns!" Zhao Xiaohua saw Jiang Wanqiu had chosen the couplets and happily squeezed out from the crowd at the door.
She was blocked outside and didn't hear what was going on.
Zhao Xiaohua distributed the pancakes and steamed buns from the basket, warmly inviting everyone: "Don't be shy, take some and eat!"
Finally, he said to Zhao Hui, "The rest are specially for you. Didn't your father also bring things over last year?"
The villagers accepted the offer with smiles, but a woman named Zhang Cui slapped away the hand her husband had just reached out.
She shouted in a loud, clear voice, as if afraid no one would hear her: "What are you talking about! Do you think we can just eat whatever we want at their place?"
She snorted, her words dripping with sarcasm: "Who doesn't know that the men in your Zhao family can't have children! I don't know if it's something wrong with what you eat, or if there's something fundamentally wrong with you!" Finally, she turned to her husband, "You think you can't have a son after eating his food?"
As she spoke, she snatched the steamed bun that her husband had just received from his hand, spat it out in disgust, and threw it back into Zhao Xiaohua's basket.
The room fell silent for a moment.
Zhao Xiaohua was so angry at these words that her face turned red and her whole body trembled. She pointed at the woman and cursed, "You...you old woman, what nonsense are you spewing! Why can't we eat my food! Explain yourself!"
The woman, however, stuck out her neck, looking completely smug: "Our village hasn't seen any strange illnesses for years, but the men in your Zhao family all die young and are childless! Either you have some kind of strange disease that will be contagious if you eat your food, or your family is possessed by evil spirits, and whoever takes your things will be unlucky!"
The people around them laughed awkwardly, looking at each other.
Then, several people quietly put the pancakes and steamed buns they had just received back into Zhao Xiaohua's basket.
If you can't have children, it's really a life-threatening situation.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Hui revealed a smug sneer.
She stepped forward, deliberately picked up the couplet that Jiang Wanqiu had chosen, shoved it into her hand, and said sarcastically, "Alright, alright, our family doesn't need your little things! Take it back, take it back, and leave as soon as you've taken the couplet. Don't get in the way here!"
At this point, she gave a meaningful snort: "Some families are just unlucky. The men in their families are hopeless, they can't even leave an heir. What's the use of marrying a pretty city girl? It's useless! Unlike me, if Brother Wenchang had married me back then, at least I'd be my father's own daughter. Even if the Zhao family had no heir, this village..."
"What's in this village?" Li Qingfeng asked with a dark face upon hearing this.
Zhao Hui immediately realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself, smiling obsequiously at Li Qingfeng, "I... I didn't mean that if you marry me, my father is the village chief, and you'll have a powerful backer in the village!"
Zhao Xiaohua pursed her lips tightly, said nothing, and pulled Jiang Wanqiu away.
Back home, Zhao Xiaohua plopped down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), unable to hold back any longer. She raised her rough hand and fiercely wiped away the tears welling up in her eyes.
Zhao Xiaohua felt a tightness in her chest.
How could she not see the disdain and alienation in the villagers' eyes?
Before, they would gossip behind people's backs; now they're openly criticizing them. Especially after Ping An caused trouble this time, the way people look at the Zhao family has become indescribable.
If it weren't for the fact that Wenchang and Wuqiang were somewhat capable, and those people didn't dare to go too far out of consideration for their feelings, then based on the fact that the Zhao family had no descendants, who knows how badly they would have been bullied!
"Mom, don't listen to their nonsense. They're just jealous, jealous that our family is doing well, and jealous that Wenchang is capable," Jiang Wanqiu comforted her. "Besides, having a baby can't be rushed. The experts in the city have said that some women in their fifties or sixties suddenly have children! Wenchang and I are still young, we have plenty of time. Just relax and wait to hold your grandson!"
At this point, Jiang Wanqiu's watery eyes darted around mischievously, and a playful smile curved her lips: "It's good that they don't eat our fried bean buns, we can keep them for ourselves! Such fragrant buns are a waste if we give them to them!"
It's always the wife in your own family who says the best things to hear.
They didn't mind that the Zhao family couldn't have children, and even comforted them.
"You silly girl..." She patted Jiang Wanqiu's hand and nodded, "Yes! You're right! We should keep the good stuff for ourselves!"
As evening approached, two tall figures pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in.
Zhao Wenchang and Zhao Shan have returned.
Zhao Wenchang carried a fat stag on his shoulder and two pheasants in his hand; Zhao Shan carried a string of grayish wild rabbits.
"Wow, you've had a good haul today!" Zhao Xiaohua immediately stood up, her gloom vanishing.
Zhao Shan smiled憨厚ly, put down the rabbit, and according to the old custom, picked up the axe and chopped the silly deer in half, sending half of it to his brother Zhao Jiang's family.
This village, which relies on the mountains for its livelihood, can always manage to squeeze some money out of the mountains, no matter how tight their circumstances are.
Jiang Wanqiu watched as Zhao Wenchang put down his prey. The man carried the harsh aura of the mountains and wilderness, and a few snowflakes that had not yet melted clung to his bangs.
Dinner was served: stewed roe deer with potatoes, stewed pheasant with mushrooms, and fried New Year's treats from Ping An. The table was full of food, steaming hot, and the aroma of meat filled the air.
Jiang Wanqiu picked up a piece of stewed roe meat that was cooked until it was soft and tender, and squinted her eyes with satisfaction: "This is even better than what I eat in the city!"
Grandma Ma Jinhua's face broke into a wide smile upon hearing this: "Eat as much as you like! When you go back to the army this time, take all the leftover meat with you. The old folks here don't have good teeth and can't eat all of this. It would be a waste to leave it here."
On New Year's Eve, the whole family gathered around the table and happily made dumplings.
Steaming hot dumplings were served. As Jiang Wanqiu ate the dumplings, she bit into something hard.
She exclaimed "Ouch!" and spat it out. Looking at it, she saw it was a one-cent coin, gleaming under the light.
"Oh my! It's late autumn's time to eat!"
"Great things are sure to happen next autumn!"
The whole family laughed, and Zhao Wenchang looked at her with a smile in his eyes.
At night, the family stayed up to welcome the New Year. Outside the window, the north wind howled, while inside, a warm fire burned in the fireplace.
When it was time to give out New Year's money, Grandma and Zhao Xiaohua gave Ping An a few cents.
When it was Zhao Wenchang's turn, he took out a brand-new red paper packet from his pocket and handed it over: "Take it."
Ping An took it, and he hesitated for a moment before raising his head. His lips moved, but he didn't say anything.
After drinking a little wine, Zhao Wenchang's domineering aura became even more pronounced.
He glanced at Ping An and chuckled, "Kid, you took the money and can't even say a word? You have no manners!"
Ping An clutched the red envelope tightly and asked in a low voice, "What...what should I call you?"
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