"Mo Xiangdong, are you going up the mountain too?"
Mo Xiangdong was walking with his head down, carrying a bamboo basket on his back, when he was stopped by Erni and Sanni who caught up with him from behind.
"Ah, um." Mo Xiangdong saw the person coming clearly, tightened his grip on the axe, responded, and walked forward with his head down.
"You are such a heartless boy. I always think of you when I have something good to do. I didn't even say hello to my sister when I saw her." Erni was most familiar with Mo Xiangdong. She walked up to Mo Xiangdong and gently patted his back, pretending to be angry and said.
Mo Xiangdong was used to silence. Feeling the soft touch of the girl leaning on his back and the sweet scent of the cold cream, his wheat-colored skin turned suspiciously red, but he continued to walk forward without saying a word.
"What are you doing up the mountain? To chop wood? After Sanni and I finish looking for mushrooms, we'll come and help you pick up some dead wood. It'll be tiring for you to do it all by yourself." Jiang Erni liked Mo Xiangdong quite a bit. Although this kid had a weird temper and was not pleasant at all, Jiang Erni couldn't help but soften her heart and stick up to him when she saw that he needed help.
"No need." Mo Xiangdong refused without even thinking about it. He seemed to feel that his tone was too cold and hard, so he added, "I can do it myself."
Jiang Erni curled her lips. She had been accustomed to being ignored by this kid over the years. As an older sister, she could only give in to this immature kid. When the time came, she would pick up all the dead firewood and send it over. She didn't believe that this kid would just throw it away.
"Second sister, are you familiar with that Mo?" San Ni pushed her second sister's shoulder and asked curiously. She had never seen her second sister, who had a bad temper, be so patient with anyone.
"Not familiar, not at all." Erni glared at Mo Xiangdong who was walking in front, and lowered her voice to speak viciously into Sanni's ear.
Sanni looked at her suspiciously. She was not familiar with her, but she still asked her to help collect firewood. This was obviously not something the second sister would do.
"Are you going on a blind date?"
Just as Erni and Sanni were glaring at each other and pushing each other in the back, Mo Xiangdong, who was walking in front, suddenly said something like this, which made Erni unable to recover for a moment.
"You must have listened to the nonsense from those aunties in the village. My grandma was just being too enthusiastic. I don't admit it. I'm still studying and my future is uncertain, so how can I have time to think about getting married!" Jiang Erni said nonchalantly, but she didn't know what she was thinking about, and glared at Mo Xiangdong.
"You are so concerned about this kind of thing, you are probably thinking about finding a wife, right? Let me tell you, at your age, studying is the most important thing, don't think about these things. Didn't you learn it when you were in school? Sex is a knife that scrapes your bones. You are such a fool, be careful that nothing will be left of you except your bones."
Jiang Erni didn't know why, but she felt a slight sense of loss when she thought about the possibility of getting married.
"No."
Jiang Erni wanted to say something, but Mo Xiangdong interrupted her with this sentence without any context.
"Not looking for a wife?" Yes, that's right, not looking for a wife. Jiang Erni nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice, following him closely. To be on the safe side, she tirelessly emphasized to him how stupid it was to get married while studying.
Mo Xiangdong walked in front, deliberately slowing down his pace to match Jiang Erni's. Listening to her chattering, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he looked a lot more cheerful than at the beginning, completely wiping away the slightly gloomy expression just now.
Jiang Sanni stared in amazement at her second sister and Mo Xiangdong, who were walking in front of her as if she were not a living person, the tall and thin man, and the chattering girl who had given up her violent temper and was walking behind the man like a little bird.
Jiang Sanni rubbed her eyes. If it weren’t for the five-year age difference between her second sister and Mo Xiangdong, she would have almost suspected that there was something going on between them.
******
When Erni and Sanni came home with two baskets of wild vegetables and mushrooms, there were a few strangers sitting in the house. An old lady in her early sixties, with a serious expression, looked Erni and Sanni up and down when they came in. There was also a woman in her thirties, wearing a floral cotton jacket, who smiled before she spoke and walked towards Erni and Sanni.
"This must be your Erni, this girl is really hardworking. These two baskets of mountain products must have taken a lot of effort. My little sister is a big lady, and asking her to do any work is like asking her to die. She is not as sensible as Erni and Sanni. Old Madam Miao is so lucky."
Jiang Erni saw that there was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties sitting next to the strange old lady. He was wearing a brand new gray cotton jacket and his back was straight. Only the empty leg of his trousers showed that he was different from others.
A strange man appeared out of nowhere, and Jiang Erni's sensitive antenna was instantly electrocuted. The smile she had on her face when she entered the room disappeared instantly.
"She looks pretty, but she's a little older, and I heard she's still in college. At her age, she should hurry up and have a baby. We only have one son, Jinbao, and we're waiting for him to marry a wife to carry on our family line. If the marriage goes through, she should drop out of college and come back to give me a grandson. Given our family's financial situation, we can afford to support a freeloader."
The old lady looked at Jiang Erni critically. Her high cheekbones, thin lips, and drooping eyelids made this strange old lady look like someone who was not easy to get along with.
"Mom, I think it's good to go to college. College students are so rare nowadays. If Erni is willing to marry me, I can pay for her to finish her studies. We can also have a child in two years."
The man looked Jiang Erni up and down, as if he was admiring a beautiful object, with a cold assessment of value, without any warmth.
"Ah, Madam Miao, you see, what I told you was right, wasn't it? Brother Li is the most down-to-earth person. Which family would be willing to pay for their daughter-in-law's education? And the Li family is not a small family. Go to the county town and ask around. Everyone knows our Jinbao. Now the Li family has contracted the canteen of our county textile factory. The money they earn every month is enough for Erni to be a comfortable young lady. And the Li family's house was rebuilt two years ago. Now it is a very imposing two-story building with blue bricks and gray tiles. Not many families in this city can compare to it."
The woman, who was about 30 years old, was probably the introducer. She praised Li Jinbao to the skies in front of Old Lady Miao, ignoring his lame leg and instead focusing the old lady's interest on the house and money she mentioned.
Li Jinbao's already straight back became even straighter under Hongniang's praise. Even the old lady's expression became even more arrogant. Although she was sitting, the look in her eyes when she looked at Erni was extremely condescending and picky, making Erni look like she was not wearing any clothes, naked in her overly aggressive eyes.
"Grandma, why did you let his mother come to our house? I've already told you that now I just want to study hard and don't want to get married." Jiang Erni turned her head away from those strangers who inexplicably gave their so-called "suggestions" and spoke to Old Lady Miao with a stern face.
"You are a girl who should get married when she grows up. Your grandmother is worried about you, so she asked me to help you find a suitable partner." The matchmaker saw that the girl was about to give up, so she hurriedly came up to dissuade her, "Our Jinbao is a man that all the girls in the city are fighting for. You are lucky and blessed that he has chosen you now."
"Then let him find his city girl. I don't need this blessing anymore." Jiang Erni threw the basket behind her to the ground and looked straight at the old lady in front of her: "Grandma, I am still your granddaughter, why don't you want me to be well? You can even sell me to a lame old man for money. In your heart, I am not even worth that little money."
There was suppressed resentment in Jiang Erni's voice. Jiang Sanni looked at her second sister like this and didn't know how to dissuade her.
"How much dowry did they give you to let you sell me like this? When I make money, I'll give you double the amount. Can't I just buy myself?" Jiang Erni said this and rushed into the house. After a while, she came out with a package and ran out without looking back.
"Second sister, second sister!" Jiang Sanni shouted a few times from behind, turned around and said to Old Lady Miao, "Grandma, I'll go stop my second sister." After that, she ran out without looking back.
"Lawless, lawless!"
Old Mrs. Miao slammed the table and gasped in anger.
What did she do? She hadn't done anything yet, but the girl scolded her. When the matchmaker brought the man to her house, Old Lady Miao was also confused. When the matchmaker introduced him, he said that the man was young, successful in his career, good-looking, and the only son in the family. It was just that his legs were a little inconvenient, but it didn't affect his walking.
Moreover, people like Erni's identity as a college student, and say that if the two children fall in love with each other, they will let Erni continue her studies.
Old Mrs. Miao thought to herself that the other party had a house (a small building), a car (a bicycle), and had contracted the canteen of a machinery factory. He also had a city hukou. It was hard to find such a partner. Although the introducer said that the other party had some problems with his legs and feet, Old Mrs. Miao was used to the fact that Old Man Jiang and her son had a slight limp, but it did not affect their lives. She did not think it was a big problem at all.
Old Mrs. Miao thought that although the introducer might embellish some aspects, the general direction would not deviate from it.
But who knew that after seeing the real person, the old lady realized how true the saying passed down by the older generation was: I would rather believe the three legs of a toad than the mouth of a matchmaker.
He is in the prime of his life, thirty-nine years old, with a handsome appearance, just a little bit away from being ugly. He has some difficulty in walking, and half of his calf is gone. That's considered a slight difficulty, but it makes him a cripple.
Even if the old lady didn't like her granddaughters, she wasn't stupid enough to marry them to such a man. Besides, her children were all college students, and it would be very prestigious if she told others about it. If the villagers knew that she married Erni to a lame and old man, who knows what they would say about her behind her back.
The old lady was just about to reject them tactfully when Erni and Sanni happened to come back, and the following scene happened.
The old lady who was accused by her granddaughter for no reason was so wronged that she almost died. She was angry at Hongniang's concealment and Erni's disrespect for her. She patted her chest and gasped, looking at the mother and son of the Li family, and almost rolled her eyes.
"What does this girl mean? She actually said that our Jinbao, a lame old man, has no manners. He is really born by his father but not taught by his mother. Jinbao, let's go. Our family can't afford such a woman."
The mean old lady was not in a much better mood than Old Lady Miao. In her opinion, her son was a perfect person. Although his leg was accidentally caught in a machine when he was a child and half of it was lost, leaving him with a slight disability, his talent and character could completely make up for this defect.
How many young girls in the city clamored to marry her son, especially after his family had earned money, built a house, and bought a TV and a bicycle, there were countless matchmakers who came to her house to inquire about the matter. If her son had not been so discerning and had not insisted on picking a girl he liked, she would have had a grandson long ago.
She didn't expect that when she came to the countryside today, she would be humiliated by the village girl whom she despised from the bottom of her heart. The old lady was trembling all over. She cursed Jiang Erni, the ungrateful woman, and pulled her son to leave.
"Who is uneducated? Our Er Ni is a college student at Metropolitan University and will be a female doctor at Capital Hospital in the future. What kind of person is your son? He wants to marry my granddaughter. If the matchmaker hadn't deceived me and praised your son to the sky, I wouldn't have let you set foot in our land. You are still whining about the dropout student. Did I say I would marry our granddaughter to your son? You are daydreaming. You are a toad wanting to eat swan meat. I think you are the one with a mental problem."
Old Mrs. Miao is always protective of her own people. Even if it is her granddaughter whom she doesn't think highly of, she is still more important than outsiders.
"You, you, you--" The old lady of the Li family pointed at the arrogant old lady Miao with trembling hands, unable to speak.
"Well, your Jiang family is awesome. If I don't spread the word about your family's virtues when I get back, I'll see who dares to marry your daughter in the future."
Old Mrs. Li handed her son a walking stick and threatened Old Mrs. Miao viciously, but she was probably afraid of Old Mrs. Miao's mouth, so after threatening her, she turned around and left with her son.
"My granddaughter is loved by everyone. There are many young and talented people who want to marry her, so you, an old lady, don't have to worry about her. You should think about your son first. Can he still give you a grandson at such an old age?" When it comes to quarrels, Old Lady Miao has never been afraid.
Li Jinbao frowned and pulled his mother, who was very angry about what Old Lady Miao said and wanted to argue with her, out.
Old Madam Miao stood at the entrance of the hall with her hands on her hips, spitting at their backs: "What kind of people are you introducing? What's wrong with our Er Ni? You come here to humiliate me. With the cunningness of that old hag, our daughter will be tortured to death by her if she marries her."
Especially with such a mother-in-law, even if Erni got married, she would not be able to help her family and her brother. Of course, the old lady did not say this.
"The Li family is quite well off." Hongniang looked at the mother and son of the Li family who walked out of the yard, and then looked at Old Lady Miao. She really didn't care about either side, but after thinking about it carefully, she stamped her feet and said, "Okay, I won't interfere in your granddaughter's marriage. You can just pretend that we were not here today." After saying that, she hurriedly chased after Li Jinbao and his mother.
“Hey!” Old Mrs. Miao chased a few steps outside the house. Her granddaughter had been angry and left without any explanation, so how could several people leave so easily?
"It's you!"
Jiang Yiliu was riding a bicycle with his fourth sister back from the county town. When he saw Li Jinbao and his son approaching the gate of the yard, his hands moved before his brain could react. He jumped off the bicycle, rushed to Li Jinbao, and punched him.
"Xiaobao!" Si Ni, who was sitting in the back seat of the car, was almost thrown to the ground by Jiang Yilu's action. But before she could complain, she was frightened by her brother's action.
Li Quezi, Jiang Erni's husband in her previous life, was a useless man who only had a city hukou and was supported by his parents who were workers. He couldn't get married at such an old age, and Fan Xiaojuan somehow hooked up with the old lady of the Li family. The old lady of the Li family was attracted by Erni's big butt and good childbearing ability. I don't know how Fan Xiaojuan persuaded the two elders of the Jiang family to sell the second granddaughter at a high price just like marrying the eldest granddaughter.
Like the eldest sister's husband, Li Quezi was also a man who liked to get drunk and beat his wife. However, the second sister was better than the eldest sister and would resist. More often than not, Li Quezi's unilateral beating would turn into a fight between the couple. However, this Quezi had a shameless mother. Even though it was her son who was at fault, she always helped her son beat the second sister. No matter how fierce Jiang Erni was, she could not beat two people.
In the previous life, before Jiang Yiliu was reborn, Jiang Erjie finally got rid of this disgusting marriage, but the reason was that the other party cheated on her and had a mistress who gave birth to his son. He no longer bothered with her and divorced happily. The second sister did not get away with this man, and she cut a piece of meat from him. With the money, she finally lived a comfortable life. They had no children, so even if they divorced, it would not affect Erni at all.
But how could that money compensate for the pain that the Li family brought to my second sister over the years?
Even after being reborn, Jiang Yilu's first reaction when he suddenly saw the man whom he hated in his previous life was to take action.
Everyone was stunned. When Jiang Yilu was about to throw a second punch, everyone rushed over, especially the old lady who came out of the house. She was almost frightened to death by the scene before her.
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