The next day, Xu He slowly woke up after hearing a few distant and not-so-loud rooster crowings.
Zhang Fangyuan's family didn't have any small livestock, so the only thing that reminded them of the dawn was their habitual waking up from sleep. I went to bed late last night, so I got up late this morning. It was already bright outside.
Normally, Xu He would burn a stick of incense every time he went to the fields.
He moved his body, trying to get up, but he clearly felt uncomfortable.
There was a long leg pressing on his waist, hooking him from the waist down, and his shoulders were also circled, with a furry head resting on his shoulders. He felt like a rag doll that could only be held to fall asleep...but...the doll he was holding was so heavy.
He pushed the person but failed to move him, instead he pulled the painful part of his body. It felt like the soreness on his body after carrying a heavy load, with bruises all over his body. The pain in his lower back made him blush.
Xu He thought that this didn't seem to be much different from being beaten, except that the person who did it was not angry.
He really didn't understand why the married women and boys were still so rosy-cheeked and felt that their lives were so happy. If he had to go through this every day, he would not be able to laugh.
Haven't they been poked with a big stick? Last night he was in so much pain that he cried out. Zhang Fangyuan stopped but was still reluctant to let him go.
Said: Let's just go through the motions first, get familiar with it, and then...
What else? Isn't once enough?
He now suspected that the bastard Zhang Fangyuan was teaching him nonsense, but this kind of thing was simply beyond his understanding and tolerance. How could he open his mouth to ask others to verify whether he was right or wrong? He has no friends and no reliable relatives.
It was really miserable at this time.
Fortunately, she married Zhang Fangyuan. If it were any other man, it would be better to let him die.
He was worried and thought about sleeping in separate rooms. It seemed that Zhang Fangyuan didn't sleep very comfortably, as he was sleeping on top of him. In the past, he must have slept on the big bed and could stretch out freely. Of course, he just complained a little in his heart, but he actually had no say in the matter.
I can’t push it, big guy!
It was time to get up and cook. He was feeling anxious, so he pulled out a hand and twisted Zhang Fangyuan's arm hard.
“It hurts, it hurts!”
Xu He's ears turned red, as if he had been shouting like that last night.
Zhang Fangyuan opened his eyes and looked at the man with clear eyes: "Why did you wake up so early?"
"It's early in the morning, please put your hands and feet away, I have to go cook." Xu He pushed him: "Aren't you going to the city to set up a stall?"
Zhang Fangyuan was in a bad mood after waking up, and he rubbed Xu He's shoulder with a hoarse voice: "I haven't gone to buy livestock yet. I won't go for the next two days."
"Why not go?"
Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help but pinch Xu He's skinny face and said, "Which man would want to run away right after getting married?"
Xu He didn't answer: "Then you sleep a little longer, I'll call you when the food is ready."
This treatment is very good, but Zhang Fangyuan does not want to marry her to serve him: "If you get up, I will get up too."
After saying this, he got out of bed and quickly put on his clothes.
Xu He looked at Zhang Fangyuan, who was full of energy, and was happy that he got up with him, but he looked embarrassed. He sat up slowly, endured the discomfort, and put on his clothes slowly.
The bedroom door opened, and a breeze blew in, making people feel relaxed and comfortable.
Zhang Fangyuan turned around to look at Xu He who had gotten out of bed: "The weather looks great today."
Xu He responded and walked over with gritted teeth. Zhang Fangyuan was not in a good mood as he looked at the man who tried his best to hide his expression but still couldn't hide the awkwardness of his steps.
He touched the tip of his nose in embarrassment. The last-placed student taught an "illiterate" and as a result, both of them had terrible grades.
Zhang Fangyuan walked over a few steps and suddenly picked up Xu He by the waist.
“What are you doing!?”
Zhang Fangyuan said nothing. He carried the person to the central hall and placed him on a cushioned chair. "There are a lot of dishes left over from the banquet. I'll heat up some food and it will be enough for the two of us."
He went back into the house and took out the gift box that contained the gift money from yesterday: "I haven't had time to settle the bill yet, you sort it out here."
Xu He was moved and temporarily forgave Zhang Fangyuan, and decided that they could sleep in separate rooms tonight... and in the future.
He really likes counting money, the heavy feeling makes him feel particularly secure. The gifts brought for the blind date were all copper coins, all of which were kept in a box. There were dozens of tables of people yesterday. Although one family might only sit for most of the table, there were still quite a few families.
Xu He patiently counted them one by one, strung them together hundreds of times with hemp rope, and placed them in circles in the jar. Every household has a jar for saving money, and people call it a "piggy bank".
The piggy bank of a small family is a ceramic pot with a handle, a large belly and a small neck. If there is a lot of money, it needs to be put in jars. Rich families would put copper coins in several large jars. I heard that those wealthy families with millions of dollars even have special cellars at home to store money.
When he was at the Xu family, he also had a piggy bank the size of a teapot, which could hold a maximum of three hundred coins. Even so, he had never filled it up.
Seeing so much money this time, he couldn't help but put his hand into the pile of money to feel the temperature of the copper coins for a while.
The total amount of gifts received this time was two thousand six hundred coins.
"Xiao He, it's time to eat."
Zhang Fangyuan placed the empty box in the middle hall and brought a large jar of copper coins aside. It was good to fill the piggy bank with copper coins, as it looked like there was a lot of money, but it was really inconvenient. He still had to exchange them for silver and banknotes for safekeeping.
"Have you finished counting?" Zhang Fangyuan brought all the hot dishes over on the tray that had not been returned yet, including a pot of black chicken soup, a fish in sauce, and twice-cooked pork.
Xu He told the total and went to the side to get some rice.
He placed the white rice in front of Zhang Fangyuan and asked: "How much did the banquet cost?"
"The biggest part is pork worth more than 1,000 wen, and there are also chickens, ducks, fish, and other miscellaneous things. I think it's about even. Even if I have to pay more, it won't be much, at most 100 or 200 wen."
Xu He didn't quite agree with Zhang Fangyuan's careless way of calculating money. One has to calculate every penny clearly in life, otherwise one won't know how the money is spent and won't be able to save any money.
"You'd better figure it out carefully after dinner."
Zhang Fangyuan smiled and put a piece of meat into Xu He's bowl. "Okay, I'll listen to you. Eat quickly! You're so skinny. If you don't eat more, you won't grow taller."
Xu He then picked up the bowl and said sullenly, "I'm already quite tall. It would be useless if I were taller."
"Height doesn't matter, what matters is good health."
Xu He nodded, and the couple ate together and then went about their business.
We had a big banquet yesterday, and although the people who came to help had done a simple cleanup, many things were borrowed and had to be returned.
Xu He wanted to go with Zhang Fangyuan to return the things, but Zhang Fangyuan refused and told him to stay at home.
Zhang Fangyuan moved the borrowed tables, chairs, pots, pans, and utensils to return them to each household. It was a lot of trips here and there, which was troublesome and time-consuming. Fortunately, he had a horse-drawn carriage. He tied the things on the carriage and ran it back and forth three or four times from home.
Xu He had no choice but to clean the house. The two of them worked separately and the work was quick. Xu He saw that there were still a lot of dishes left over from the banquet, not to mention the side dishes, there were still quite a few meat dishes, which were placed in large pots and small plates, covering half of the chopping board.
The villagers who were having the banquet were eager to eat enough for three days at one time. Usually, there would only be some soup left after a banquet. It can be seen how much food Zhang Fangyuan bought this time, and there was still some left.
He picked out all the meat and divided the meat and vegetables into two large bowls. Boiled vegetables could be directly fed to the animals, but he was reluctant to throw away the dishes that had been fried with oil and water. What also gave him a headache was that there were no leftovers from the livestock at home. Farmers don't have many leftovers, but once they do, it would be terrible if there is no livestock to eat.
Although it was cheaper for Zhang Fangyuan to buy pigs outside, now that he was here, the family still had to buy piglets to raise, whether they were raised to sell or slaughtered for their own consumption.
In addition, you have to buy a few pairs of chicks and ducklings. Who doesn't carve out a corner in the backyard and build a shed to raise these? Not only can you sell them for money, but you can also catch one to eat during festivals, and they will lay eggs when they grow up, so you kill two birds with one stone.
Xu He was standing in front of the stove, washing the pot, thinking about how to spend the day. He heard the sound of a horse grunting in the yard. He looked out the window and asked, "Is he back?"
"Yeah. Now I've returned all the things I borrowed."
Zhang Fangyuan unloaded the cart, tied up the horse, and went into the house to drink a bowl of water.
"There are still quite a lot left. You can decide who to give some to." Xu He pushed the basin of meat he had picked forward. "The weather is getting hotter and hotter, so it's easy for the food to go bad. It would be a pity if it went bad."
Zhang Fangyuan said, "You make the decision. Send whoever you want to send."
Xu He thought for a moment and said, "Then send some to Fourth Uncle's house. Chen's house is close to our house, so we can see them every day. Let's send some to them as well."
Zhang Fangyuan's parents are both gone, and Xin Ge'er doesn't have to get up early to serve tea. Fourth uncle's family is the closest to Zhang Fangyuan. He asked if he should go to his fourth uncle's house to meet the elders, but Zhang Fangyuan said no. Fourth uncle and fourth aunt had told them early in the morning that the two of them just need to live a good life, and they would not use their status as elders to pressure Xin Ge'er.
Xu He felt touched. He felt that life had suddenly become more comfortable and no one was overly strict with him anymore. Even so, Xu He thought that he should meet the person while delivering the gift, as it was at least a courtesy.
Zhang Fangyuan nodded, put down the water bowl, and took out the bracelet he had prepared to give her: "Put it on."
Xu He looked at the silver bracelet and said nothing more.
"Come, I'll put it on for you."
Zhang Fangyuan rolled up Xu He's sleeves and put the bracelet on. He pinched Xu He's thin wrist and found that he didn't have much flesh except for his skeleton. "My mother's arms are thicker than yours. When she wore this bracelet before, she didn't have as much space as you."
Xu He touched the bracelet and looked at his own skin which was slightly darker than wheat color without saying a word.
"It's okay. I'll take good care of it and it will grow back better in the future."
Zhang Fangyuan took the opportunity to touch Xu He's hand again, his thick eyebrows twitching slightly: "If nothing else, following the butcher can guarantee that you will have meat to eat every day."
Xu He curled the corners of his mouth imperceptibly, and said this as if he came here just for these things.
Zhang Fangyuan held Xu He's hand for a while, and suddenly remembered the time when he went out: "When I went to return the table and stool just now, I passed by your house. Guess who I met?"
Xu He's eyebrows moved slightly: "Who?"
"The wife of the Fei family brought Fei Lian and some gifts to your house."
"The Fei family has gone to propose marriage!" No one from the Fei family came when they got married yesterday. Considering the awkward situation before, they probably wouldn't come.
Now that the Fei family finally came, his mother and second sister must have been very happy, and the mother and daughter finally put their minds at ease.
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