"Second aunt, look at what you said. If you come to my house, I will definitely let you and second uncle take away a full meal. Besides, this is made with the wheat flour you brought. Second aunt, you should eat more too." Xuemei said flatteringly.
"Okay, but Xuemei, the dumpling soup you made is quite authentic, except for the green peppers. I drank a bowl of it when I was a child, the year my brother was born. You see, I'm from the north and I can't even cook noodles. My parents were very careful with food at that time and didn't even let us sisters touch it, which led to me, a northerner, not being able to cook noodles." Zhang Zhaodi said sadly.
"Hey, wife, why bring up the past? If you want to eat it in the future, come to your brother-in-law's house and let Xuemei cook it for you." Wang Weimin said.
"Yes! Second aunt, if you and second uncle want to eat dumpling soup or other noodles, just come to my house. I am working now and can still afford to buy food to cook for you. You don't need to bring anything, just come over." Xuemei also continued what Wang Weimin said.
"My niece is really generous, this is it!" Wang Weimin gave Xuemei a thumbs up and said with a smile.
"That's good, of course, but you'll be getting married soon. Do you think your second uncle and I will have to go to your husband's house to find you then? That would be a joke. I'd better come over and learn how to do it when I have time." Zhang Zhaodi joked.
Xuemei said shyly, "Aunt, it's too early for what you're talking about. I'm still young. Besides, if it really was someone like that, I wouldn't marry him. Right? Dad, Mom."
"Xuemei is right. She is still young and we can wait for a few more years. There is no rush." Father Liu said quickly.
"Okay, second brother and second sister-in-law, stop teasing Xuemei. She is so thin-skinned. If you keep teasing her, her face will turn as red as a monkey's butt." said Liu's mother.
When Xuemei heard this, her face and neck turned even redder and she lowered her head under the table.
"You can't joke anymore. If you do, your face will fall to the ground." Wang Weimin said with a silly smile.
Mother Liu looked at Xuemei and said in relief, "Brother, that's enough. You and sister-in-law should worry about Xinyan. Xinyan will be twenty next month, and it's time to decide on a husband."
"Two years ago, your second sister-in-law and I felt that we hadn't kept our child with us for a few years when she was young, and we were reluctant to let Xinyan get married so early, so we wanted to keep her at home for a few more years. We originally planned to let Xinyan go and find a boyfriend after the autumn harvest, but now that Xinyan has a job, the guys we had our eyes on before are not so suitable anymore." said Wang Weimin's uncle.
"The ones I saw before were all young men from several nearby villages who worked efficiently and had good tempers, and their families were easy to get along with. Now Xinyan has a job, although she is still an apprentice. After all, she will be in the county town for a long time. It is not good to find a rural couple to see each other for only a few days a month. But if Xinyan marries to the county town, I am worried that Xinyan will be bullied. After all, her parents' home is far away, and she doesn't know a lot of things. Xinyan has a good temper." Zhang Zhaodi explained.
"Brother and sister-in-law, there's no need to rush. The most important thing for Xinyan now is to work hard, get recognition from her master as soon as possible, and become a formal employee. I just said that. As long as Xinyan has a job, there will be plenty of people who come to propose to her." Mother Liu comforted.
"Brother, sister-in-law, Li Niang is right. We can't rush this. Xinyan is in good condition now, so she should find a better partner. You can start asking the nearby villages if there are any unmarried young men working in the county town, and their families should be relatively harmonious. In fact, I have a candidate, but I wonder if you three agree?" said Father Liu.
"Who? Brother-in-law, tell us who it is so we can see it together." Wang Weimin asked curiously.
"My second brother's eldest son, Mingzheng. He is just a few months older than Xinyan and will be twenty years old in June." Father Liu replied.
"That's great. Mingzheng is a serious college student. I'm afraid he won't look down on our Xinyan." Wang Weimin said.
"Second brother, what are you talking about? Although Mingzheng is a very good child, Xinyan is not bad either. She is good-looking and can handle both housework and work. She is a good match for Mingzheng. It's just that Mingzheng has indeed helped Xinyan with her work, so it's not a good idea to talk about this now." Liu's mother analyzed.
"I think so too. Mingzheng is a good guy, but if we propose marriage now, I'm afraid people will say that my Xinyan is too fussy. Let's talk about it later. Your brother and I should go home and discuss it with our parents!" said Zhang Zhaodi.
"You are right. Let's talk about it later." Father Liu said after considering it.
Xuemei looked at everyone, wanting to change the subject, so she asked, "Second Uncle, what is Sitong doing at home? Why didn't she come with us today?"
Sitong graduated from junior high school and failed to get into high school by one point. She didn't really want to go to high school, so her grandma and others didn't force her to repeat the year.
"A few days ago, your eldest uncle wrote to me saying that the county will be recruiting a group of soldiers for the art troupe in half a month. We plan to let Sitong try out. We went to your third uncle's house yesterday afternoon. Your third uncle helped find an acquaintance to teach Sitong to sing." Wang Weimin replied.
"Then Sitong can definitely do it. Sitong has a good voice and sings well," said Xuemei.
"Among the children now, your second uncle and I are most worried about her. She is 17 years old this year, and we can only keep her at home for two or three years at most. But she doesn't have a skill like your eldest cousin and cousin, and she is not very strong. She can't earn many work points at work, so it is difficult for her to choose a good husband. Your second uncle and I both hope that she can be selected by the art troupe this time." Zhang Zhaodi said worriedly.
"Second sister-in-law, what you said is right. Sitong is good-looking, has a likable personality, and sings beautifully. She will definitely be selected." Liu's mother said sincerely.
Liu's father and Xuemei also nodded in agreement.
…
When my second uncle and second aunt left, Liu's mother specially packed five pounds of chestnuts for my second uncle and grandmother's family to eat. My fourth aunt had gone to an island to join the army earlier this year. For the past two years, my fourth uncle and his family had sent us kelp and dried seafood. But this year, they couldn't come back for the Lunar New Year, as my fourth aunt is now over four months pregnant. Before the autumn harvest, Xuemei specially sent a large package of gifts to my eldest and fourth uncles.
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