On this day, Zhang Fangyuan drove his carriage to the city to sell meat again, and Xu He also had to go to the city to buy some corn seeds. Some of the corn seeds saved from last year had gone bad, so they had to go to the city to buy some to make up for it. Zhang Fangyuan had finally waited for the opportunity for Xu He to go to the city, and happily called him to join him.
There was pork on the back of the cart, and Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He were sitting side by side in the front. When he met villagers who wanted to hitchhike, Zhang Fangyuan would not give them a ride even if they were paid. On normal days, he would give them a ride, but today, when Xu He went to the city, he asked him to ride alone in his ox cart.
"Did your family give you money to buy seeds?"
"Yes."
"That's good." Zhang Fangyuan drove the horse and said, "Then when we get to the city later, I'll take you to see my shop. Then you'll know the way and can go directly to find me in the city."
Xu He did not refuse.
"I don't have much meat left. I'll sell it all today. You can stay in the city for a while. I'll take you to a restaurant in the city for lunch."
Xu He quickly said, "Why waste this money! Eating out is so expensive."
Zhang Fangyuan smiled, revealing his eight big white teeth: "You want to control me before we even get married?"
Xu He's ears felt hot: "Who wants to care about you?"
"Yes, yes." Zhang Fangyuan touched the back of Xu He's hand with the back of his hand again, and said flatteringly: "I will obey your supervision."
Xu He didn't respond to him.
Zhang Fangyuan took a breath, opened his hands and blew out a breath, then said, "It's a bit cold this day. The wind was weirdly cold this morning, and my hands are a bit stiff."
Xu He raised his eyes to glance at the people, then lowered them slightly. Not to mention that the weather in March was not considered cold, and today was sunny, so it was not that cold. "Wear two more layers when you go to the city from now on."
Zhang Fangyuan lowered his chin and frowned, obviously dissatisfied with Xu He's answer.
He twisted his body and felt that he couldn't use soft tactics on Xu He, so he just said shamelessly: "Pull Brother La's hand again."
Xu He rolled his eyes, and finally spoke the truth. However, he did not agree to his request, so men should not be spoiled: "Drive well."
"I can drive the cart with one hand, and Xiao Hei is very steady. The other hand is free, so it's fine."
"I'll give you the scroll when we get to the city, okay?"
"There's a jewelry shop across from the meat market. Can I take you there to buy a hairband?"
No matter how Zhang Fangyuan pestered Xu He, he remained motionless, his eyes only looking ahead, ignoring his kind words of coaxing. After a while, he asked, "Did you coax other girls and boys like this before?"
Zhang Fangyuan's pupils dilated, and his movements of pulling the reins became noticeably more clumsy: "I've never coaxed anyone before!"
Xu He glanced at him sideways with a half-smile, which made Zhang Fangyuan feel creepy.
"I'm serious!"
“Almost there.”
Xu He looked ahead again and could already see the city gate.
Zhang Fangyuan wanted to argue for a while, but Xu He said directly: "I don't want to listen to your nonsense."
Zhang Fangyuan had no choice but to shut up and drove the carriage all the way to the meat market.
Today I arrived a little later than usual and there were a lot more vehicles and people in the city. The traffic into the city was much slower and we had to stop after walking for a while.
When they arrived at the meat market, it was already bustling inside. It was Xu He's first time to the meat market. His family seldom bought fresh meat. The meat they ate was usually only at the end of the year when pigs were slaughtered. The pork they ate on weekdays was bacon. Besides, even if they wanted to eat fresh meat, it was not his turn to buy it.
He looked around and followed Zhang Fangyuan like a little kid who had never seen the world.
Seeing Zhang Fangyuan was about to move the meat to the stall, he was about to lend a hand, but Zhang Fangyuan threw most of the pork directly onto his shoulder and carried it away by himself.
Xu He pursed his lips, this butcher!
"Hey! Butcher Zhang brought his little brother here today?"
Zhang Fangyuan has also been working in the meat market for almost two months and is considered a familiar face. The butcher next to the stall was squatting on a stone block slurping noodles. Seeing Zhang Fangyuan, who usually works alone, leading a young man, he greeted him.
"No." Zhang Fangyuan put the pork on the chopping board and looked back at Xu He: "This is my wife."
"Oh~ This is the first time I see you bring your husband out."
Xu He's ears turned red with embarrassment at Zhang Fangyuan's frankness, but he also felt warm at his heart for his undisguised recognition. He knew that his appearance was not presentable if he were to go out, but Zhang Fangyuan seemed to have never thought about this. Instead, he felt that having him by his side brought him honor.
He didn't listen to their conversation anymore. He went to Zhang Fangyuan's stall to help organize the tools and cutting boards, and then wiped the stall with a towel.
"I'm going to buy some seeds first."
Zhang Fangyuan wiped the knife and said, "Go ahead."
Finally, he was afraid that the person would run away, so he put down the knife and grabbed Xu He's wrist: "Come back here after you buy it, and we will go back together."
Xu He nodded.
People at the stalls nearby saw how well the two of them worked together and thought they had been married for a long time. There was a hint of envy in the woman's eyes. Zhang Fangyuan didn't look that good to outsiders, but he seemed to treat his wife very well.
"You two have a really good relationship." The butcher on the side saw Xu He leaving and said to Zhang Fangyuan with a smile.
Zhang Fangyuan was very happy to be praised like this, and said shamelessly: "No."
During this period of spring plowing, all the grain stores in the city have opened their shops. One reason is to make it convenient for hired farmers to go to their employers to collect seeds, and the other is to sell seeds. The city was bustling with people from nearby villages selling wild vegetables, such as spring sprouts, prickly ash sprouts, young wormwood, bracken, spring bamboo shoots...
The streets where stalls can be set up are lined with spring vegetables on both sides, and people come to buy and inquire in large numbers. The morning market is really lively.
Xu He was itching to get some wild vegetables to sell. There were a lot of wild onions in the village, which were very delicious when used to make dumplings and buns. In previous years, he might have dug some spring bamboo shoots and wild vegetables to sell, but this year he couldn't do that. His father was bedridden, and Xu Shaochun was taking care of him, while his mother went to the tea factory to pick tea... He had to take care of the family's 18 acres of land almost by himself, and he had no time to go up the mountain to dig spring bamboo shoots and wild vegetables to sell.
After the spring plowing is over, the wild vegetables in the mountains are almost gone.
He sighed slightly, but he was going to get married next month, and by then he would already be married, so he would have to take care of his husband's family's affairs. Even if he lived closer to his parents' home, it wouldn't make sense for him to always take care of the crops for them.
He remembered that Zhang Fangyuan had told him that their family's land was managed by his fourth uncle's family, and that they had already started farming this year. He bought the seeds with his own money and gave some money to his fourth uncle's family, so they didn't have to continue busying themselves with spring farming when he went there.
In this way, maybe we can catch up with the spring.
As he thought so, he went into the grain store where he had sold grain before and bought some grain seeds. When he came out it was still early.
Feeling his pocket, he went to the cloth shop again and picked up some needles and thread and small pieces of cloth. He didn't spend much, but he really didn't have much extra money to spend.
“It’s out.”
"There were a lot of people gathered outside the academy early in the morning."
"Your Jiro is also going to die this year, right?"
"There are more and more people taking the science exams, and what you could pass in previous years may not be possible this year."
Xu He tilted his head and saw several women talking loudly. He listened for a while and then remembered that the college entrance examination was over and the results would be announced today.
He subconsciously thought of Fei Lian. He didn't know whether he had passed the exam or not. Although it had little to do with him, he would be his brother-in-law in the future after all. He accidentally remembered that his mother had told him yesterday to go and check the list. His eyebrows twitched. He really messed up the matter when he saw Zhang Fangyuan. He almost forgot what his mother had told him. Fortunately, he heard the discussion.
After buying the things, he went straight to Songzhu Academy, where the examination list was posted outside the academy.
It was not early enough for Xu He to check the list at this time, so those who were anxious to check the list also looked at it. At this time, there were not many people outside the academy, and most of them were curious people who came forward to take a look.
He walked up to the list and glanced at the densely packed names there. He felt a little embarrassed as he didn't recognize Fei Lian's name at all, so he had to ask for help from someone nearby who could read.
There are some kind-hearted people who are willing to help him look for it.
"Fei Lian... Fei Lian... Don't worry, I'll look carefully. We recruited more than 60 scholars this year, so I'll have to take my time."
Xu He stood by and waited patiently: "Fei Lian..."
The man who had just come out of the academy heard someone calling him at the door, and subconsciously looked in the direction of the voice: "He Ge'er, why are you here!"
Xu He didn't expect to see the real person on the list. He nodded and greeted Fei Lian.
Fei Lian was obviously happy to see him. He looked around at his classmates who were coming out of the academy. Seeing that they frequently looked at him and seemed to be whispering, he lowered his head slightly and called Xu He aside: "Are you here to see the list?"
Xu He nodded honestly: "My mother..."
"I won!" Fei Lian interrupted Xu He, his eyes bright. There was nothing better than meeting someone you like when you are in high spirits. "I am going back to the village to tell my mother the good news."
Xu He thought that his mother and second sister would be relieved now. Remembering that Fei Lian had taught him to write two characters, he congratulated him, "Congratulations, Fei Tong... No, you are now Fei Xiucai."
Fei Lianqing smiled, but when he thought about the arrangements at home and saw the person in front of him, a bitterness emerged in his smile.
"I just heard that there are more candidates for this imperial examination, and fewer people are admitted than in previous years. Fei Xiucai is really talented in writing, and his future is limitless."
"Yeah, it's not easy to take the exam this year. Even if I passed by luck, my ranking wouldn't be that good."
"It would be great if I could hit the target."
Fei Lian frowned. Xu He usually didn't talk much, so to hear him say a few more words made people feel more comfortable than hearing anyone's flattery.
He thought carelessly that since he was already a scholar, he received monthly salary, and the court rewarded him with land, so he also had the ability to support his family. Overnight, their Fei family had become a very good family in the village. So... why not fight for himself once?
There are many classmates who have more than one wife. He Ge'er is simple and unpretentious, so who knows, he might agree: "He Ge'er, if..."
"I haven't seen you for a long time, so I came here!"
Before he could finish his difficult words, he was interrupted by a rough and loud voice. When he looked up, it was Zhang Fangyuan, the village's ferocious butcher. Fei Lian was slightly surprised. The two of them had never met before, so how could he appear here?
Seeing Zhang Fangyuan actually coming to find him, Xu He couldn't help but ask, "Is the meat sold out so quickly?"
Zhang Fangyuan looked at Xu He, his eyes showing that they were sold out long ago and he had been waiting for you for a long time but you didn’t come back. But he was stubborn and refused to answer, keeping his mouth shut to show that he was very unhappy.
Xu He knew that this man was taller than anyone else, but his mind was narrower than anyone else.
Although there was nothing between him and Fei Lian, Zhang Fangyuan was hostile to Fei Lian. In order not to cause trouble, he reached out and grabbed Zhang Fangyuan's big hand and shook it: "I'm asking you a question."
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