Xiaoyue glanced at Uncle Liang's ambiguous expression and thought that since she had no relatives to propose marriage to her, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Moreover, Uncle Liang had said that he had wanted to propose marriage to her for a long time, but he was too embarrassed to do so.
So Xiaoyue spoke first, smiling as she said to Liang, "I've known Liang Qi for over half a year now. As for marriage? I guess you'll have to think about it some more."
I have some clothing orders from the county. To shut everyone up, we can get engaged as soon as possible, maybe before the new year. What do you think?
After hearing Xiaoyue's words, Uncle Liang remained silent for a long time. After a while, he took a drag of his cigarette, slowly exhaled the choking smoke, and coughed twice, choking on the smoke, and said, "Alright, the engagement tomorrow is fine, the engagement the day after tomorrow is fine too, but niece, as your uncle, there's something I don't know if I should say?"
"Uncle Liang, please say whatever you want to say. I am a junior and should listen to your instructions." Xiaoyue had already humbled herself enough.
"There must be quite a few people living in your house, right?"
"Yes, there's Lu Xiaomei and her daughter, Li Qianqian and her brother, Chunyue and Shuiyue, that's all."
"Your uncle has been through this before. You're a young woman, and there are men and women living in your house. You know how much people gossip. I think no matter which family you marry into, the adults in each family will mind."
He took another puff of his cigarette, glanced at Xiaoyue, and said calmly, "You know there are many different rumors circulating in the village, saying all sorts of unpleasant things. Your uncle knows you're not that kind of person."
"Oh?" Xiaoyue raised her eyebrows and said, "Little Sister Lu is dying at Ge Sanlin's house. When Xiaodouding came to me, Ge Sancong was forcing medicine into Little Sister Lu's mouth. How could I just stand by and watch her die?"
Then, Li Qianqian came to my house that day and said that her dad had bought all the soybeans that Li Lei and she had planted all summer and was going to beg for food. You tell me, in the dead of winter, where are they going to beg for food? I thought to myself, if I can get a bite, I'll help her out.
As for Chunyue, my younger sister fell ill in the dead of winter. I stole some steamed buns for her to eat. When I arrived at the dilapidated temple that was drafty everywhere, the child was almost frozen to death. I managed to save both children.
"Uncle, you mentioned men and women. If I hadn't saved her, at least Lu Xiaomei wouldn't be where she is today. I'm doing this to accumulate good karma. I don't care about arguing with those shallow villagers, nor do I have the time or inclination to listen to their gossip. I just want to see how we all live from now on."
Seeing Xiaoyue speak so eloquently, Uncle Liang wondered if he had misjudged this girl before. However, he still had to get down to business. Knowing that she hadn't heard the rumors in the village, he continued, "It's really not easy for you to establish yourself in Niukou Village all by yourself. My elders have lived here since then. Back then, there were fewer than ten households, but now there are forty or fifty."
"You may not care about your child, but gossip is a powerful thing. After that incident with Village Chief Xu's wedding, his family still hasn't arranged a marriage for their son."
Hearing that Uncle Liang was still going to believe the rumors in the village, Xiaoyue frowned, pouted, and remained silent.
Uncle Liang glanced at Xiaoyue again; her little face was cold and indifferent. He guessed that Xiaoyue was taking it to heart, so he pressed his advantage, saying, "Make all your children and adults leave. Let whoever's child they are take them back."
If you really have nowhere else to go, give the child away. If that's not possible, send the child back to where they came from. This will be better for your reputation, and it won't be a burden on your married life.
Xiaoyue tried to force a smile, but couldn't manage it. So she shook her head at Uncle Liang and said coldly, "It's not me helping the people living in my house, it's them helping me."
Li Qianqian is good at needlework, and Lu Xiaomei is also very good at needlework. Why should I sign a contract with the clothing store owner? It's because I have people like Li Qianqian and Lu Xiaomei in my family.
Although Li Lei was just a young man, he did all the chores—cooking three meals a day, cleaning the chicken coop, feeding the donkey, chopping firewood—and Chun Yue even wove cloth for me at my house. What right did I have to look down on him?
"I'm already grateful that they don't look down on me." After saying that, she got up and walked towards the door, thinking to herself that she was nothing more than a worthless person in Uncle Liang's eyes.
She ignored Uncle Liang calling out to her loudly from behind.
When they arrived at Uncle Liang's yard, the big black dog tied up in the yard opened its mouth wide and barked loudly. Its shiny black fur and fierce eyes stared at Xiaoyue as if it wanted to swallow her whole.
Xiaoyue took a step back, and at that moment Liang Qi snorted at the big black dog, which then quieted down.
Xiaoyue suppressed her fear and looked around Liang Bo's yard. Every detail was thoughtfully arranged; the snow from the yard had been piled up in the garden, and there wasn't a single weed or debris on the blue brick ground.
Such families are either obsessive about cleanliness or exceptionally clean. Besides, Uncle Liang hasn't said anything to slander me, which is already saving me face. Yet I'm still foolishly trying to propose marriage to myself.
This is utterly ridiculous! Do I really admire my own face? Is it as big as Little Tiger Head Mountain? Xiaoyue looked up at the sky, trying to hold back her tears.
"Xiaoyue!" Liang Qi anxiously caught up after subduing the big black dog. "Why did you leave?"
"I'm eager to see Sister Yang and her husband. You stay home with Uncle Liang. I'll have Li Lei drive to Tonghe Medical Clinic," Xiaoyue said, then left the courtyard without looking back.
Uncle Liang slowly strolled out of the house, came up to Liang Qi, and patted his son on the shoulder: "You have a long way to go in finding this wife!"
Liang Qi asked his frustrated Uncle Liang, "Father, what do you mean by this?"
Uncle Liang said, "I asked this little girl to do some things. Then she left. The girl has quite a temper."
Looking at Xiaoyue's back that never turned around, this stubborn girl didn't care and turned to walk into the house. As she walked, she said to Liang Qi, "She is also a pitiful child without parents. Who else would be willing to marry her besides you? Just wait and see, the longer she waits, the less valuable she becomes."
"Father!" Liang Qi called out angrily.
Uncle Liang knew he had touched a nerve with his son, so he quickly ran away with a smile, saying, "I just wanted to test her character."
Liang Qi was very dissatisfied with Liang Bo's actions, but he was still his father.
Helpless, Liang Qi followed his father into the room: "Father, what are you thinking? What did you make her do? Don't you want Xiaoyue to be your daughter-in-law?"
Uncle Liang poked Liang Qi's head and said, "Do you know what people in the village are saying about her? Her reputation is ruined, and you're still following her around all day long. You!" He sounded quite disappointed in Liang Qi.
“Father, I don’t care what others say about her, I will marry no one but him.”
Uncle Liang glared at him, bent down, took off his shoes, and threw them at Liang Qi before tiptoeing back into his room.
Liang Qi felt increasingly uneasy, so he grabbed Uncle Liang's dog-skin coat and went out.
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