Liu Xiangmei had a delicious meal at her sister's house, and her complexion became even more rosy.
The only one who has this skill is the youngest son of the Xu family. She thought the food she cooked for the first time was delicious, so she went home and took her daughter to learn how to cook. However, she found that it still requires some talent and cannot be learned by force.
There were Liu Xiangmei's favorite pig's trotters and winter bamboo shoots on the table. She was very happy and wanted to praise He Ge'er, but Xu Shaochun kept putting food into her bowl, so she had to hold back her words.
Liu Xiangmei went back home some time in the afternoon. The first few days of the year were neither busy nor idle, so Liu Xianglan did not keep her for long. She said that she could come to her sister's house to visit when she went to the market in the city in a few days.
Zhang Fangyuan had been busy with his small business in the past few days, going out early and returning late, and the villagers hadn't noticed him much. But after selling pork that day, he came back in a horse-drawn cart, and people saw him along the way. He didn't care about the villagers stopping to look at him and went straight home.
He put all the money he earned in the past few days into a jar under the bed. When he took the money out, it made a rustling sound, which made people feel at ease. All of it was poured out and piled up on a small table. Although it looked like a lot, it was actually only a few thousand coins. It would be much more convenient to go to a money shop to exchange it for whole bills, but one needs change to do business, so one must have enough loose change on hand.
After counting, there were about four thousand coins.
It cost him 2,460 coins to buy a live pig. After the pig is slaughtered, excluding the internal organs and the pig head, the meat yield is about 70% to 85%. This time the pig he bought was good, with a meat yield of about 80%. After a few days of hard work, he earned more than 1,000 coins, and he was quite satisfied.
If this continued, it shouldn't be long before he could redeem the silver bracelet he pawned, but now was not the right time. He had to buy pigs to sell and have enough money to make ends meet.
After collecting the money, he unloaded the cart in the yard, fed the horse with plenty of grass, and took some snacks he bought in the city and some daily necessities to his fourth uncle's house for a meal.
“Is it selling well?”
"Not bad, I'll take a day off and then go back to look at the pigs." Zhang Fangyuan ate the dishes cooked by his fourth aunt. He hadn't eaten well in the past few days and his mind was completely focused on the stall: "I've hung a sign next to the shop. Anyone who has pigs can contact me."
Zhang Shicheng sat on a chair by the door. He had just returned from visiting relatives at home and had already eaten. So he accompanied Zhang Fangyuan to eat. Watching his nephew eating his rice with big mouthfuls, he stretched out his legs and leaned back in the chair comfortably, and asked him about the market conditions in the meat market.
He and Xiaomao were in the bedroom, unpacking the things Zhang Fangyuan had brought. There was a bag of dried nuts, which were snacks for the children. Without his mother telling him to do anything, he smiled and put the things in his arms.
Then she saw several large bags of salt and sauce, and He was extremely happy: "Your cousin is getting better at living, and knows how to buy practical things. But he bought so much, and even bought a pot of wine for your father. He still can't change his wasteful habits."
"Hey, what is this?" Xiaomao listened to his mother's laughter and was about to reply to her, but he saw a small wooden box at the innermost part of the bundle.
He took it out and opened it with confusion, and saw a folded headband lying safely in the long wooden box.
The dark green silk headband is smooth and gentle to the touch. It is embroidered with a golden lotus pattern and auspicious cloud patterns, which is very beautiful. If you tie your hair in spring, it will definitely look good.
"Mom, what a beautiful headband!"
Xiaomao couldn't help but exclaim: "How come my cousin is so good at choosing things!"
However, He frowned slightly, took the headband and looked at it. Although the headband was good, the color was a bit dark and it didn't seem like something Xiaomao would wear at his age.
Although she saw that her little brother liked it, she still said, "Maybe your cousin wants to give it to someone else."
Xiaomao was a little disappointed, but he still said sensibly: "Then I'll give it back to my cousin. He has already bought me some dried fruit, and this ribbon doesn't look cheap either."
He smiled and nodded, ruffling the boy's hair.
Zhang Fangyuan had a full stomach and told his uncle what he needed to do. He wanted to run away, but Xiaomao ran out first and said, "Cousin Yuan, is this something you want to give away?"
Hearing this, Zhang Shicheng also looked towards his brother. Seeing the box in Xiaomao's hand, Zhang Fangyuan blushed and hurried over to take it: "Ah... yes. Oh, my memory is so bad. I just came back hungry and came here in a hurry. I even forgot to take the things out."
Xiao Mao was not unhappy when he saw that the gift was really for someone else. Instead, he said, "It's very beautiful. Who is my cousin going to give it to?"
Zhang Fangyuan scratched the back of his head, feeling a little helpless in the teasing eyes of his fourth uncle's family of three. He just smiled foolishly and carefully put the things in front of his chest: "I have something else to do, so I'll go home first."
Several people did not try to stop him. They watched the tall figure walk out the door and all smiled and shook their heads.
Zhang Shicheng stood up from his chair: "This kid has finally found his way."
He smiled and touched Xiaomao's head: "Brother Mao, I think it won't be long before you have a cousin's wife."
Zhang Fangyuan did not go back directly after leaving Zhang Shicheng's house. Instead, he wandered around the village with a clear goal but seemingly aimlessly. He was just worried about how to call the person he wanted to give a gift to if he was at home.
However, when he walked around behind Xu's house, he did not see Xu He at home. Instead, he met some villagers who tried to talk to him, but he had no patience and sent them away after a few words.
"Brother He, be busy during the New Year."
"Um."
"I was really busy during the New Year holidays. I was always going here and there, and I didn't see you often."
Xu He was pulling radishes in the field. Hearing the chatter, he asked bluntly, "What do you want to give to my second sister?"
The man felt a little embarrassed when he heard this and took out the things he wanted to deliver. It was obvious that this was his first time doing this and he was not very proficient in the business. Seeing that the man was a little embarrassed, but still found out everything, Xu He knew that he had to give him money for running away, so he repeated his own rules to him, and the man nodded repeatedly.
Xu He sighed slightly. From what he heard from his mother today, he realized that she valued the Fei family. After some time, he would not let these people get away with it, otherwise they would be happy for nothing.
"Well, thank you then. Please continue to be busy..."
Xu He didn't even bother to raise his eyelids: "Go back, there's no need to tell me this."
The man left angrily, turned around and lowered his head and almost bumped into Zhang Fangyuan who was coming towards him. The man was so scared that he swallowed his saliva and ran away in fear. After running away, he looked back at the butcher who was striding past him, and thought that if even the butcher was eyeing Xu Shaochun, then there was no hope for him.
Zhang Fangyuan looked at the young man happily pulling radishes in the field. He did not say a word to disturb him, but squatted on the edge of the field and just watched.
Xu He picked enough radishes for the pigs tonight and was about to put them in a backpack to carry back when he felt as if there was a huge pug squatting on his head. He looked up and saw Zhang Fangyuan smiling at him with his canine teeth showing.
He was startled: "What are you doing squatting here?"
"Just squat on you."
Xu He pursed his lips, but he was not angry: "What's the matter with you?"
Zhang Fangyuan stopped making jokes. He took out the thing from his chest in a flattering, attentive and tentative manner and handed the box over on the ridge of the field.
Xu He's eyebrows twitched, and seeing Zhang Fangyuan's silly look, he couldn't help but be stunned. The box in front of me is a wooden box with flower patterns. Just by looking at the box, I feel that the things in the box will not be bad.
It had been a long time since he had looked so carefully at something that someone else had passed on to him. Every time he gave it to his second sister intact, he never expected...
But what was there to be unexpected? His second sister was a village beauty. Now Zhang Fangyuan had turned over a new leaf and had a serious job. Even his aunt liked her. Naturally, he had the conditions to win over his sister.
Why was he meddling in other people's business? He suddenly felt some inexplicable guilt. Even when he saw his second sister piling up gifts as big as a mountain, he never even batted an eyelid.
Oh, by the way, his second sister is getting engaged to the Fei family, so Zhang Fangyuan will return empty-handed. He must be feeling sorry for him. After all, this big guy is actually a pretty good guy, just like a hedgehog on the mountain, with thorns on the outside, which looks intimidating, but the meat inside is actually very soft and takes good care of him.
So caring...is it because of my sister? Just like his cousin Chen Si said, Zhang Fangyuan was very warm to him, took him to see a doctor, bought him candied haws, and accompanied him to dig bamboo shoots... Was he trying to get close to him?
But when he was with him, he hardly mentioned his sister, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten close to him... But he also remembered that when Zhang Fangyuan came to his house to slaughter pigs, he did look at his second sister from the window...
After some struggle, Xu He realized that he was still grateful to him. Regardless of whether he approached him because of his sister, he also hoped that people like Zhang Fangyuan would achieve their dreams and live a good life.
He put on a seemingly relaxed expression and took over: "Don't think that I won't charge you for your escape just because we are familiar with each other. I don't need your money, so you have to pay it anyway."
Zhang Fangyuan was quite happy to see that he accepted the gift as a matter of course and did not make any excuses. But after hearing what he said, he became unhappy again: "No way."
Xu He was also sour: "I can afford the gifts, but I can't afford to pay for my trip. Why are you so stingy?"
"This is not a question of being stingy or not. Just ask me how much money you want and I'll give it to you. But isn't it inappropriate to accept a gift and ask for travel expenses?"
Xu He's hands froze and he was slightly stunned. He didn't understand what Zhang Fangyuan meant at once, and it took him a while to figure it out. He looked at the box in disbelief, then looked up at Zhang Fangyuan and stuttered, "You...what do you mean?"
"Open it and see if you like it."
Zhang Fangyuan said a little unnaturally: "I saw it in the city and thought it was okay, so I bought it casually."
Xu He opened his mouth several times but didn't say anything. He didn't open the box and looked at Zhang Fangyuan: "Why do you want to give me something?"
Zhang Fangyuan blushed at the sight of those large black and white eyes, and stood up quickly, becoming taller than Xu He, who was already standing low. "I don't have anyone else in the village who can give me this, so open it and see if you like it."
Xu He stared at him intently: "I'll go home and check it out. My hands will get dirty if I pull out the radishes."
"Oh." Zhang Fangyuan's heart was beating fast. He didn't dare to look Xu He in the eye. He coughed and said, "Then you should finish your work and go home. I still have things to do. I'll be home soon."
After saying this, Zhang Fangyuan ran away with his long and powerful legs as if he had done something stupid.
Xu He watched the figure disappear at the end of the field before he slowly withdrew his gaze.
He held the box carefully in his hand. He didn't know what was in it, but he was afraid of crushing the box. For a moment, he didn't know whether to hold it tight or loose in his hand.
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