Ever since Xu He went to the city to pick up herbs, he has hardly gone out these days. He stayed at home for a few days under the pretext of burning winter charcoal.
It was a nice day, and he saw that his knees were covered with scabs. After taking a few doses of medicine, his typhoid fever improved a lot, so he took a basin to the river to wash clothes.
The clothes of the whole family were packed into a large basket, which he carried on his back and held in a wooden basin. There were not many good days in winter, and many boys and girls were already washing clothes by the river. They were all chatting and laughing, and it was quite lively.
"Brother He is here to wash clothes too. Come on, I'll make room for you."
A woman called him over enthusiastically, and Xu He didn't hesitate to go forward and put down the basin.
"Madam Mao, you called He Ge'er over here, aren't you trying to find out about my second sister?"
"Why, young lady, you can't ask or inquire about the situation?" The Mao lady was also straightforward and said, "He'er, has your family found a husband for your sister? Has she chosen one?"
Xu He rubbed his clothes: "No."
His answer was the truth, and it was also what his second sister and mother told him to say. Whenever someone asked him about something, he had to say no, so that he would have more families to choose from.
"Mrs. Xu has to be very selective in choosing someone. It's impossible for her to choose someone so quickly. If you are interested, wouldn't it be better for you to find a matchmaker and go directly to our house to talk?"
In addition to married women, there were also many unmarried girls and boys washing clothes. When they heard the women with sons staring at Xu Shaochun and asking questions, they were naturally unhappy. Xu Shaochun had taken all the good things in the village, and now they had to listen to her marriage plans just to wash clothes. Who would be happy about that?
At this time, a man passed by on a ridge in the distance, and someone changed the subject with sparkling eyes: "Look, isn't that the second son of the Guang family? He really went to the city to get medicine and came back."
"What a sin! The butcher in our village is really not a human being."
There were two girls who didn't go out and didn't know much about the news. They heard something like a big event and couldn't help asking, "What's going on?"
"Don't you know about Zhang Fangyuan's proposal?"
When Xu He heard the man's name, he stopped rubbing the clothes and couldn't help but look up at the man in the distance. His brows suddenly furrowed.
"Earlier, the matchmaker told Zhang Fangyuan about the fifth daughter of the Guang family. A while ago, the butcher went to see her. He despised the Guang family for being poor and insulted Guang Er for not doing his job properly. The two had a quarrel, and the butcher got angry and started fighting. He smashed the table and beat Guang Er. Guang's mother was so angry that she is still lying at home now."
The two girls opened their mouths in disbelief: "Is this true?"
"How could it be false? Guang Er walked with a weak and angry look on his face, and he even went to the herbalist to get medicine. Guang's wife wept when anyone asked her about this. I felt sorry for her."
"Zhang Fangyuan is a bad guy to begin with. He hangs out in the city, gets into fights and makes trouble, and even runs a casino for others. Can this be considered a legitimate job? He has such high standards and is always complaining about this and that. It's a wonder he can get married."
"When his fourth uncle and his aunt were questioned, they defended and refuted, saying that the Guang family was not a good family, and that Mr. Guang's hands and feet were not clean, and told everyone to be careful."
The woman sneered, "I've never seen anyone so protective of their relatives. Even if the marriage didn't work out, they're still fellow villagers. They fought with them and said such nasty things when they couldn't find a reason to defend themselves. They slandered the people who moved here from outside. They really went too far."
"I originally thought that He was a reasonable person, but I didn't expect her to be of this character. From now on, I will not propose marriage to Xiaomao from their family."
"What about Xiaomao? He's only a little old. Right now, the biggest headache for the Zhang family is probably their nephew Zhang Fangyuan. Does he look like a decent person when he makes trouble? I'm afraid that no matter how much money he gives as a betrothal gift, he won't be able to get a wife in the village."
"You unmarried girls and boys must be alert and keep your eyes open. Don't be deceived, or you will suffer in the future."
Everyone was talking excitedly, but suddenly a voice broke through the excitement and said coldly, "What Aunt He said is true. She did not protect Zhang Fangyuan. The second son of the Guang family is just dishonest."
Everyone was startled to see Xu He refutate everyone's conversation with a cold face and righteous words. They were surprised that a quiet and taciturn person like him would join the conversation, but also dissatisfied that he did not follow everyone's words.
"What do you know, a little boy? The Zhang family is not related to your family. Why are you still speaking for them?"
Xu He remained calm: "I am telling the truth."
The woman said, "Hey, look at this He brother, he is still being stubborn."
A boy teased, "Brother He, you are speaking for the butcher like this, is it possible that he is going to propose marriage to your family? Your family has agreed, right?"
"Yes, your sister has such high standards, she will definitely not agree. Do your parents want to marry you to him? Even if there are not many choices, you should still think carefully. Zhang Fangyuan is not someone you can easily get along with, and you never know when he will attack you."
Everyone burst into laughter.
Xu He ignored everyone's jokes. He picked up the wash basin and was about to leave the place of trouble to wash alone. Before leaving, he said coldly: "Believe it or not, don't be on guard against the Guang family. Don't cry and scream if you lose something."
"How can you speak so harshly, young man!" The woman dropped the laundry hammer, pinched her waist and started to curse: "It's natural that all the men in the village look up to your second sister and look down on you. People with your temper are a perfect match for that barbaric butcher."
Xu He was neither angry nor embarrassed. After all, everyone compared him to his second sister behind their backs. It was just a matter of saying it in front of them or behind their backs. He had heard these words many times. He just squatted down and washed his clothes.
The woman wanted to pick a fight but the other party refused to respond. She punched the cotton and was so angry that she didn't know what to do. She cursed a few more times before being persuaded by the others.
"What kind of person is this?"
"He has a weird temper."
Xu He turned a deaf ear and continued washing clothes in an orderly manner.
Little did he know that on the other side of the creek blocked by a dense bamboo bag, Zhang Fangyuan, who had thrown bait into the deep water to fish, had heard the gossip for a stick of incense, but he hadn't said a word.
I'm so tired of hearing so much gossip these days that my ears are about to get callused. I feel like a mute eating bitter herbs and can't express my pain in any way.
He didn't expect the Guang family to be so shameless. They showed him some mercy but then turned against him, crying and pretending to be pitiful everywhere. He had a bad reputation in the village, which gave the Guang family an opportunity to take advantage of him. They really thought that he was bullying the weak and picking on the newly relocated families, so the villagers avoided him wherever he went.
He is thick-skinned now and can be open-minded about it, but he feels very sorry for his fourth uncle's family, who had taken so much trouble to take care of him, but ended up in such a mess, and were even talked about like this by the gossips of the village.
If Xu He hadn't stood up for him just now, with his temper, he would have thrown the fishing rod and started to quarrel, but Xu He was on the other side, so he endured it and didn't go over to get involved. He still couldn't do the thing of beating a woman's brother.
The fishing rod moved, and he pulled it up in a panic. The two-inch long crucian carp jumped around, and he roughly pulled it off the hook and threw it into the fish basket.
Xu He seemed to be in much better health. Compared with his previous hoarse throat like a wild duck, his voice was now clear and distinct.
After he recovered, his voice sounded pretty good.
Especially when saying the three words "Zhang Fangyuan".
He is a quiet person who doesn't like to talk to people, but someone actually spoke up for him. In the whole village, no one spoke up for him except for his fourth uncle's family.
After a long while, he realized that he seemed to be laughing.
…
"Aunt, I caught a few fish in the river. Let's stew them tonight."
After Zhang Fangyuan returned home with the fish basket, he went straight to his fourth uncle's house and shamelessly brought food and food for a meal.
He has the shortcomings of most men in today's era. He spends money lavishly, can't cook or do housework. Recently, he has become more and more familiar with eating at Zhang Shicheng's house.
"Also, I don't have any use for the things I bought from you before. Auntie, take them and see if you can use them."
The pastries were given to Xiaomao to eat early in the morning. They could not be kept for long, so the remaining cloth and silk flowers were placed in the house. He was upset when he saw them when he came home today, so he brought them all over to He.
"The cloth and silk flowers can be saved for later use."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "No, it's probably not going to be used."
"How can you lose heart so quickly, kid?"
"I didn't lose heart. I took the things that the previous family liked and asked the next family for help, and let them know that they were not suitable."
He nodded, yes.
Everyone tacitly agreed not to mention the current gossip in the village, and said something cheerful: "Let's have fish tonight. Let's cook some pickled bamboo shoots and pickled cabbage. It's perfect for both you and your nephew. Xiao Mao has been asking his father to catch two fish for us to eat. Your fourth uncle is good at catching fish in the fields in summer, but he has been fishing in winter and has caught nothing for most of the day. He has been making excuses and refuses to go out."
Zhang Fangyuan laughed, jumped around in the kitchen for a while, and said a few words to He before going into the house. Xiaomao was practicing needlework, and her plum blossom purse had been embroidered to look lifelike. I heard that she could already take work from the cloth shop in the city. She was very motivated and didn't even go out to play.
His fourth uncle Zhang Shicheng was rubbing dried hemp in the main hall. Zhang Fangyuan sat down beside him and rubbed a few strands as well.
"Don't take what people say to heart. You did the right thing. If you can't find it in our village, go to other villages."
Zhang Fangyuan was originally anxious to settle down, but after this incident, he calmed down. After all, this matter depends on fate and cannot be rushed: "I don't take it to heart. Tell my aunt to stop running around. I have other plans in mind."
Zhang Shicheng put down his work, fearing that Zhang Fangyuan would be upset again, and asked, "What are you planning?"
"I'm just running a small business." Zhang Fangyuan said, "The villagers look down on me. First, my reputation was bad in the past, and second, I don't have a job."
"Don't worry, Uncle Si. I won't do anything stupid."
Zhang Shicheng took a long look at the person in front of him, but didn't say anything.
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