What happened? Du Jiang frowned suspiciously, looking at the three people entering the yard. Just as he was about to raise his foot to catch up, he heard someone calling his name from behind.
"Du Jiang, Happy New Year." The deep voice gradually approached with the footsteps. Du Jiang looked back and smiled.
"Brother Huo, Happy New Year too."
Huo Yang raised the corners of his lips. "Would you like to come to my house and have a seat? Grandpa and grandma have prepared a lot of food for you."
Du Jiang smiled again, "Okay, but let me go home and get something first. It's not appropriate to come here without anything."
"Even if you don't bring it, grandpa and grandma will be very happy," Huo Yang joked, but did not stop Du Jiang's actions.
The two of them walked hand in hand. At this time, Xu Zhizhou and the others also left the room. They were only surprised for a moment to see Huo Yang and Du Jiang walking side by side.
Xu Zhizhou: "Brother Huo, it's New Year's Day. Why are you here so early today?"
Huo Yang pointed at Du Jiang who was walking towards the room and said slowly, "I came here with her. My grandparents asked me to pick up Du Jiang for dinner. After all, we are both from Cangzhou, so we are fellow villagers." Although he had already confirmed some of his feelings, Huo Yang was unwilling to go against his sweetheart's wishes as long as Du Jiang didn't speak. Fortunately, he still had the excuse of being a fellow villager.
Guan Chuan, who was brushing his teeth in the corridor, burst out laughing. The sudden laughter was particularly loud and attracted a lot of attention. Among them, Huo Yang's was the most sharp. Guan Chuan shuddered and quickly spat out the white foam in his mouth. "Ahem, well, Happy New Year, Brother Huo. Sorry for being distracted just now, hehe."
This explanation is worse than no explanation at all. At least Xu Zhizhou doesn't believe it. "Really? This is the first time I've heard Brother Huo mention it."
"It's not a big deal," Huo Yang said, then turned his head to look at Du Jiang's door. At this time, Du Jiang in the room had almost finished packing. He wrapped the pound of pork belly he had prepared before the New Year in oil paper, and took half a pound of fruit candy before leaving the room.
As Du Jiang walked out, the courtyard fell silent again. Du Jiang seemed to be unaware of the situation and greeted everyone present with a "Happy New Year."
"Okay, Happy New Year"
"Happy New Year"
“…”
Du Jiang's frankness made those previous fantasies seem a bit vulgar.
Walking up to Huo Yang, Du Jiang raised the oil-paper bag in his hand and said, "Brother Huo, I'm done packing. I'll go and wish Grandpa Huo and the others a happy new year."
"Okay, let's go," Huo Yang turned his head and nodded at Xu Zhizhou, then he raised his foot and walked out with Du Jiang.
The two of them left in a very casual manner, leaving behind a yard full of speculation and discussion.
Perhaps it was her first time visiting, so Du Jiang was a little nervous standing at the gate, but Huo Yang did not allow her to retreat and immediately stepped forward and knocked on the gate.
Old man Huo in the courtyard seemed to have been waiting for a long time. When the knocking sounded, he hurried out to open the door, "Here you are, Du family girl, come in quickly."
"Is Du Jiang here? Yangyang, take them to the living room and sit down." Along with Old Man Huo's voice, Old Lady Huo's voice also rang out in the kitchen. "I'll be ready in a moment."
Smoke rose from the chimney above the kitchen. Du Jiang was a little surprised. "Is Grandma Huo making breakfast?"
"No, don't worry about her, girl, come in and sit down." Old man Huo glanced at the kitchen with disgust. If the smile on his face faded a little, Du Jiang would believe that he really disliked her.
They were escorted into the house by Old Man Huo and Huo Yang, one in front and one behind. Unlike the current decoration in the village, the decoration of Huo's living room was more fashionable. Although the furniture was all wooden, it was well-made and exactly the same as the sofas and armchairs in the city. The wide long sofa that could accommodate three people was padded with thick long cushions, which was soft and comfortable to sit on.
Looking at Huo Yang sitting beside him, Du Jiang felt a little less awkward, but his hands were still clasped nervously on his knees, and he sat upright as if he were in class. "Grandpa Huo, Happy New Year."
"Okay, okay, you little girl, you've been here for so long and you haven't come to visit me yet? It's a pity that when I came here, I promised your grandfather that I would take care of you." Old Man Huo smiled proudly, "Yangyang, go get all the melon seeds and snacks from the cabinet in the inner room, and take out the oranges too. The little girl loves them."
"Oh..." Du Jiang opened his mouth to stop him, but Huo Yang was faster. Thanks to his long legs, he stepped into the inner room in two or three steps, and Du Jiang put down his raised hand again.
Old Man Huo seemed not to notice Du Jiang's hand. He reached out and picked up the teapot to pour Du Jiang a glass of water. "Jiang girl, drink some water. By the way, it's time to get you and Yangyang married. Besides, you've been engaged since you were young. Now that you're in the same place, I don't have to send someone back to look for your grandparents."
Ah, Du Jiang was stunned by the sudden news. He didn't come back to his senses for a long time, until a slice of cold orange was stuffed into his mouth. Du Jiang subconsciously chewed it twice. The slightly sour liquid came out when he bit it, and Du Jiang frowned instantly, "Why didn't I know about the existence of child marriage?"
"It can't be helped. It's your uncle who's been chosen. Your grandma loves him the most. My Huo family is now in dire straits. It's normal that you don't know." Old Mrs. Huo shrugged nonchalantly. "Given your uncle's temper, no girl from his family would marry into our family. Your sister is married, and your uncle has no children. Now you're the only one left."
All right, now Du Jiang was no longer nervous, and was left speechless, "So I just wanted to fill the void left by my uncle."
"Don't listen to your Grandpa Huo, he's just trying to scare you." Old Mrs. Huo walked in carrying a braised pork head and glared at Old Man Huo unhappily. "We're just discussing the marriage of our two children, why are you scaring me? If it gets ruined, I wonder how you're going to explain it to Yangyang."
Following what Mrs. Huo said, Du Jiang turned to look at Huo Yang. Seeing Huo Yang glaring at Old Man Huo, he thought, well, it turned out he wasn't the only one who was angry. Du Jiang finally calmed down a bit, but there were still some things he had to ask, "Grandpa Huo, is the child marriage you just mentioned true or false?"
"It's true, and it's also true that you were used as a substitute. However, it wasn't me who suggested it, but your uncle and your grandmother when we left Cangzhou." Old man Huo's face was full of disgust and displeasure when he mentioned those two people. "Fortunately, your grandfather and I have a good relationship, otherwise those two people would never have come to my house." Perhaps fearing that Du Jiang would not believe him, old man Huo took out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to him.
Du Jiang took it and was speechless when he saw the words on it. "My grandma is so partial to me."
"Fortunately, your father and your uncle were raised by your grandmother, otherwise they would have the same temperament as your uncle."
Listening to Old Man Huo's complaints, Du Jiang shuddered at the thought of that scene. "Grandpa Huo is right, but do my parents know about this?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
