Chapter 159: First Meeting (Side Story 1)
After crossing the stone bridge and walking another five or six miles, you will reach the Luo River.
When Xie Yuduo arrived at the river, he discovered that the water level had risen significantly. The boatman on the river bank said that it had rained heavily the previous two days and the water level had not yet receded. They would have to wait until at least tomorrow morning to cross the river by boat.
Although it was only thirty miles away from home and it would only take more than half an hour to ride back on horseback, he had just left the house and did not want to go back, so he decided to spend the night nearby and wait until he crossed the river early the next morning before continuing his journey.
The town closest to Luo River is Baihe Town. The town is not big, with only two main streets, one in the south and one in the north.
After Xie Yuduo found a place to stay and settled his horses, he went out to look for food. The shopkeeper at his residence told him that there was a pastry shop at the end of the town's South Street, which tasted excellent.
He went out and walked south on the street. Before he found the bakery, he saw a lot of people gathered in front of a shop on the street, wondering what the excitement was.
He walked around the crowd and took two steps forward. Sure enough, there was a bakery shop with the aroma of cakes.
"Two meat patties."
The shopkeeper was standing on tiptoe to look at the bustling place. Seeing a young man buying cakes, he turned around and greeted him.
"Okay, okay, I'll make it for you. Please wait a moment. My hawthorn cakes are also delicious. They are filled with osmanthus honey and taste amazing! Do you want to try it, brother?"
Xie Yuduo shook his head.
"No, I don't like sweets."
While the shop owner was making the pancakes, more and more people gathered in the bustling area, and a few words floated over.
"Old Shen...we've been friends for so many years...that's his mother's legacy...You'er is going to be married off soon...there's really nothing we can do!"
Xie Yuduo glanced over there.
They seemed to be discussing some kind of marriage, why did they start arguing?
There were many people watching the fun, and a few who couldn't squeeze in simply sat at the door of the bakery, in groups of three or four, chatting.
"Hey, Yue'er is such an unlucky girl. She's been dating several young men lately, and one of them was about to get pregnant, but Doctor Xu came and yelled at her. I'm afraid it's going to fail!"
"That's right. Ever since Doctor Xu's family broke off the engagement, none of them have come together! A sixteen-year-old girl, as beautiful as a flower, wasted her time."
"Could it be that this girl is really destined to be a husband-killer?"
"Who knows? If she's really unlucky, then the Xu family canceled the engagement just in time! Didn't you see that the eldest son of the Xu family just broke off the engagement? I saw him wandering around the street a few days ago, and he's about to get engaged again, to a girl from Pingshan County!"
Hearing the words Pingshan County, Xie Yuduo took a closer look.
"Now that the engagement has been called off, the silver bracelet given as a betrothal gift should be returned! This Big Brother Shen has never been an unreasonable person, so why is he so stubborn today?"
“Who knows…”
Seeing that the meat patties would take quite a while to cook, he had nothing to do, so he stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the bustling scene.
Fortunately, he was tall and could not be stopped by a large number of people.
In the middle of the crowd, there was a dark and thin uncle with his hands outstretched, his face full of anger and his voice loud.
"Brother Shen, I did say that day that I only need to return the gift money! But that silver bracelet is You'er's mother's legacy, and now the child is getting engaged. If I don't take it back... tell me about this..."
Across from him, a kind-looking older man frowned and argued in a low voice.
A tall young man clenched his fists and was furious. If a middle-aged woman had not stopped him, he would have rushed up and punched the thin uncle.
Just when his mother was about to give up, the door of the shop at the back opened and a tall, fair-skinned girl came out.
Good looks!
Xie Yuduo secretly admired in his heart.
As soon as the girl left, everyone lowered their voices.
When the young man saw the girl coming out, he spoke immediately.
"Yue'er, go home! You have nothing to do here!"
The voice was very loud, Xie Yuduo heard it and remembered it, her name was Yue'er.
The woman also pulled the girl and pushed her back.
Yue'er shook her head and patted her mother's hand.
"Mom, brother. It's okay."
The girl stepped out of the store with a smile on her face and a clear voice.
"Uncle Xu, you did say at the time that just returning the gift money would be enough. But my father sent back the two dou of rice, four boxes of fruit, and two pieces of cloth that your family sent. Can you explain this in front of everyone?"
When the thin uncle saw the girl come out by herself, he looked a little ashamed and his voice became softer.
"Yes, but that bracelet..."
The girl then raised the silver bracelet in her hand and showed it to everyone.
"Uncle, you said this was Aunt Xu's relic, but this bracelet was made by the Sun family silver shop on the east side of town. Everyone recognizes this style. Aunt Xu passed away five years ago, and the Sun family shop only opened four years ago. How could it be Aunt Xu's relic?"
The thin uncle was stunned and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"this……"
The girl smiled slightly and raised her voice.
"This silver bracelet was a birthday present from your son last year. If your family wants to take back the birthday present, just say so. Why bother with the question of whether or not there was a betrothal gift?"
The thin uncle opened his mouth but didn't say anything.
Everyone started to discuss in low voices.
"If the marriage between the two families fails, it would be fine if they just took back the betrothal gifts, but why do they also want to take back the birthday gifts?"
"Hey, a silver bracelet weighs about one or two taels! The current price of a stone of rice is only eight cents of silver, so of course I can't bear to part with it."
"Doctor Xu's family isn't poor, how did it come to this?"
"His eldest son is about to send another betrothal gift. Just think about it, this betrothal gift..."
Seeing that the thin uncle was speechless for a moment and everyone else was talking for a while, the girl raised her voice again.
"I heard that your eldest son didn't die of illness and got engaged so soon, to a good family in Pingshan County! I guess your family didn't prepare much betrothal gifts, and you were afraid that the girl would despise it and lose face. But even so, if this bracelet was taken from my family and given to someone else, wouldn't you feel uncomfortable if they knew about it?"
After hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.
"As for this silver bracelet..."
When the girl stretched out her hands, she saw another pair of them on her jade-like wrists.
"...My family is not short of money! Since your family needs money so urgently, this can be regarded as a wedding gift from my family to Xu You. Tell him to stay at home and prepare for the wedding. There is no need to come to my house to thank me. It would be disgusting if he saw me!"
After she finished speaking, she threw the bracelet away.
The thin uncle caught it in a panic, held it in his hand and looked at it, opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word. He stomped his feet, pushed through the crowd and walked out.
As soon as the thin uncle left, the crowd's discussions became more unrestrained.
"Oh, I didn't realize that Doctor Xu's family still has such people!"
"That's right, he's still asking for something he gave away, or he's saying the girl won't return the betrothal gift. How disgusting!"
"Alas, it's Xiaoyue who's so clear-headed and perceptive. If it were another girl, she would probably cry so hard that she wouldn't be able to speak..."
The crowd dispersed.
Two hot meat patties were placed on the oil paper. Xie Yuduo took them, paid for them, and looked back before leaving with the crowd.
The girl had fair skin, black hair, almond eyes and rosy cheeks. She said she didn't cry, but her bright eyes were full of water.
Even so, she was still wiping tears for her mother.
She is such a good girl.
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